5 Games That Did Their Franchise Proud in 2018, and 3 That Dropped the Ball

Fallout 76 patch notes

Games That Dropped the Ball

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Fallout 76

fallout 76

Over the years, the Fallout franchise has been in a bit of a decline. While many fans loved the direction Bethesda decided to take the series in via Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 faced criticism for straying from the norm a bit too much.

Innovation is always important in a franchise, but Fallout 76 is the exact consequence of pushing too far in one direction. Adding multiplayer has been a big discussion amongst those who love the series for a while, but many were still worried when it was revealed that Fallout 76 would be an always online multiplayer title.

Those worries were realized when the game released, as it seemed like Bethesda only released the game in order to have an online version of Fallout to test opinions on the mode.

One of the biggest disappointments revolves around what they did to the franchise’s narrative structure. Where previous installments focused on NPC interaction and choice, Fallout 76 has little to no NPCs in it at all, telling the stories and quests by audio tapes instead.

This choice may seem like it makes sense for a world that just went through a nuclear fallout, but it doesn’t fit the mould of what fans expect from a Fallout game. Instead, it simply leaves players lonely and bored.

NBA 2K19

Sports video games are always one of the most profitable genres in all of gaming, as casual players love to immerse themselves in their favorite sports. Even adamant casual fans couldn’t stomach the issues with NBA 2K19 though, and their disappointment was understandable.

This year’s version of the game is severely bogged down with microtransactions, ads, and pay-to-win tactics that take away from the best mode in the game, MyCareer.

MyCareer mode lets you build and customize your player from the ground up, weaving a narrative around them as they rise through the ranks. NBA 2K19’s Career Mode is bogged down by the aforementioned microtransactions, as progression is halted if you don’t invest real money into the Virtual Currency (VC) system.

Skill Points are tied to the VC system, meaning you get more with each purchase. If you don’t buy the currency, then your player will brick and miss passes consistently, meaning you merit good enough stats to earn more points naturally.

This is emphasized when playing against others online, as most can just boost their player’s stats with the VC in order to win effortlessly.

While The Mad Ants Prelude story is great, anything after it simply feels like a grind because of how the progression system is tied to microtransactions.

Metal Gear Survive

Ever since it was announced, Metal Gear Survive simply sounded like a cheap cash grab. At the height of the survival game genre’s popularity, Konami announced they’d be making a survival game set in the Metal Gear Solid universe.

The concept angered fans, as it was such a far cry from the series roots. Still, some were optimistic.

Once the game came out, it was clear that little to no effort had been put into making it stand out. Gameplay was grindy, combat wasn’t fun, and the world felt grey, boring, and more lifeless than the enemies that inhabited it.

The game is so bad that many don’t even remember that it released this year. That includes Konami apparently, as almost nothing has been done to improve the lackluster nature of the game since it debuted in February.

Metal Gear Survive didn’t just drop the ball, it threw an interception that would make Nathan Peterman proud.


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Author
Andrew McMahon
Andrew was Twinfinite's Features Editor from 2020 through until March 2023 and wrote for the site from 2018. He has wandered around with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications sitting in his back pocket for a while now, all the while wondering what he is going to do for a career. Luckily, video games have always been there, especially as his writing career progresses.