There aren't that many series I've played from the beginning that I've given up on as much as just skipped parts of.

I played the first 4, I think, Assassins Creed games, the first one was quite lackluster, the series peaked with sequel 2.5, and then tanked. Last year I started Odyssey, after skipping 5 or 6 iterations, and it was a great game. Thing is, these games are so similar (open world, cost a lot of time) that you don't want to play too many of them, and quality is so inconsistent that it's easy to get burned when you do play one. So you need to cherry pick them (this goes across series of Ubi games, really).

I've played all the Doom games except for Doom Eternal, I bought it on sale but the focus on Doom Lore sound stupid as hell, especially considering the 2016 game made fun of such things, and the gameplay changes they've made don't sound great either.

Started Dark Souls, gave up on it, eventually started again and had a great time, but don't feel like every playing such a game again. I don't understand people that have played all those (Dark Souls + related) games.

If a new Deus Ex game is released I'm not sure I would try it, the last one was quite bad.

World of Warcraft I stopped playing at the beginning of 2013. I played from beta in 05right through 2013 and it just wasn't fun anymore it became almost another job that I was paying a monthly fee for. And each expansion just diluted the story and game play even more. It also didn't hurt that most of the players on the server I was on we're becoming meaner and angrier and that also just sapped even more fun out of it. Me and my wife were feeling the itch to play again but we instead started playing Guild Wars 2 and we've both been loving the story and just how friendly and helpful the other players are. And the best part no monthly fee and just overall a better game than WoW in my opinion.

I loved Command & Conquer, but Generals was where I jumped ship too. My recollection of why is that it just lacked a soul. No cutscenes. The music and unit voices were bland and forgettable. Nothing at all about it stood out, or seemed larger than life or just fucking cool like previous C&C games.

I'm done with Diablo. I don't care how good 4 is, I'm out. I never liked D3's always online singleplayer. It launched in a horrific state. After they shit canned that idiot Jay Wilson, the expansion helped a lot. But the fact that it's fallen into this seasonal "We just give you a complete set that lets one of your skills do 100x damage, now that's your build" is tedious and boring. About the only thing that would interest me in the series again is a return to something like the first Diablo. Claustrophobic, dark and resource starved.

Doom Eternal finally shook me off too. Doom 2016 was an impossibly good entry in the series. I can't believe how much they fucked it up with Eternal. The extended acrobatics. Spelling out the optimal way to kill each enemy when you first encounter them. Suddenly taking the lore way too seriously. And I'm really not a fan of how they rebalanced your ammo, so that it feels like you are always running out. You have like, 1/4th the ammo you had in Doom 2016. Plus all the stupid collectibles and cosmetics and the hub world... just no.

Fallout lost me with 3. Which is to say, I thought 3 was ok. It seemed like it was trying to live up to the Fallout aesthetic of demented cynicism and nihilistic humor. But honestly I think they made the game too large, with too little soul stretched too thin. Following games appeared even worse, and I never even tried them.

But most series I liked died on their own. There will never be another Quest for Glory, Wing Commander, Dungeon Keeper, graphical Zork or Legacy of Kain. Although it does occur to me numerous games I thought about adding to the list had their IP pillaged one last time. Might & Magic X exists somehow. Mechwarrior V got made, and it's not the literal worst, even if it's underwhelming. If a VI ever gets made in my lifetime, I imagine it'll be after another shuffle of who owns the license, so it might be worth assessing on it's own merits.

I suppose no game series can be allowed to die a natural death anymore. The IP will get pillaged for a mobile game if nothing else.

I stopped playing MMOs when free to play became a thing. Horrible kids ruining potentially good games. Oh and they are all mostly pay to win anyway. ( So are most free games.)

But I it's a good thing cause I am no longer addicted. Or rather I'm a sober addict cause I did have a relapse on Lineage 2 classic a couple of years ago after a bad breakup...

Tomb raider is also a game series I'm much less excited about now days. Tr1 was the game that mad me fall in love with PCs back in 1996. The latest one was angel of darkness incarnated.

Namrok wrote on 2021-04-30, 13:51:

Fallout lost me with 3. Which is to say, I thought 3 was ok. It seemed like it was trying to live up to the Fallout aesthetic of demented cynicism and nihilistic humor. But honestly I think they made the game too large, with too little soul stretched too thin. Following games appeared even worse, and I never even tried them.

Ah yes, I suffered through 3. New Vegas was much better, but spending another 100 so hours with that engine, those physics, those graphics kind of made me sick of it. Apparently they improved the combat in 4 but just looking at screenshots of it made me feel uneasy, I could tell it would be bad in mostly the same ways, plus written by the idiots at Bethesda again.

Fallout 4 wasn't bad I was expecting worse.

Heroes of Might & Magic.

The fourth entry in the series was a big departure from the previous titles in terms of gameplay. In particular, the change from hexes to squares on the combat grid was what irked me the most. HOMM5 rectified some of the gameplay problems, but the shift to (ugly) 3D polygonal models and the change in the campaign setting kinda left me feeling estranged from the series. I never picked up any of the subsequent games.

chinny22 wrote on 2021-04-30, 12:19:

I started wondering about this the other day when my brother said he was playing Warcraft 3 at the moment. I like Warcraft 1 and […]
Show full quote

I started wondering about this the other day when my brother said he was playing Warcraft 3 at the moment.
I like Warcraft 1 and 2 but even back in 2002 something about Warcraft3 just didn't grab me and lost interest in the franchise as a whole.

My top 3 series are (as in owning titles)

C&C/RA. I preferred the storyline of C&C but already by the 2nd game the futurist units were less interesting then RA2 which I played a lot more.
I did enjoy Generals but then stopped, not sure why. I guess I had a enough RTS's to satisfy my needs and only got the remaining titles cheap off ebay 2 years to complete the collection not that I've played them. I've already spent more time playing the remaster.

GTA. This was the genre that took over from RTS. Played them all from the original till San Andreas. The newer "HD Universe" games look enjoyable but decided sticking to the "3D" universe is a good clear cut.
I still prefer a physical disc to Digital releases and DLC packs.

good topic!

whilst never a 'gotta catch em all' collector of series your two examples stand out for me too

C&C/RA - really enjoyed them all from the 90's but particularly enjoyed the narrative setting (lovely fmv!) and units of the earlier games more than the later ones. I'm sure they are good but i never played beyond red alert 2, it didn't appeal much after that. I may as yet though

GTA - played them all until GTA IV, spent ages in the worlds of GTA3,VC,SA but IV (when i could get it running at acceptable pace), for all its detail just wasn't much fun. The most important gameplay aspect to the game series - the driving - was a chore not a joy and the humorous observations of popular culture, political and personal hypocrisy and so forth that so perfectly decorated the series was still there, but somehow not quite as sharp nor as funny anymore. I know GTA V to be good by all accounts, I'll probably delve in too - but no great appetite for it

gerry wrote on 2021-04-30, 15:15:

good topic! […]
Show full quote

chinny22 wrote on 2021-04-30, 12:19:

I started wondering about this the other day when my brother said he was playing Warcraft 3 at the moment. I like Warcraft 1 and […]
Show full quote

I started wondering about this the other day when my brother said he was playing Warcraft 3 at the moment.
I like Warcraft 1 and 2 but even back in 2002 something about Warcraft3 just didn't grab me and lost interest in the franchise as a whole.

My top 3 series are (as in owning titles)

C&C/RA. I preferred the storyline of C&C but already by the 2nd game the futurist units were less interesting then RA2 which I played a lot more.
I did enjoy Generals but then stopped, not sure why. I guess I had a enough RTS's to satisfy my needs and only got the remaining titles cheap off ebay 2 years to complete the collection not that I've played them. I've already spent more time playing the remaster.

GTA. This was the genre that took over from RTS. Played them all from the original till San Andreas. The newer "HD Universe" games look enjoyable but decided sticking to the "3D" universe is a good clear cut.
I still prefer a physical disc to Digital releases and DLC packs.

good topic!

whilst never a 'gotta catch em all' collector of series your two examples stand out for me too

C&C/RA - really enjoyed them all from the 90's but particularly enjoyed the narrative setting (lovely fmv!) and units of the earlier games more than the later ones. I'm sure they are good but i never played beyond red alert 2, it didn't appeal much after that. I may as yet though

GTA - played them all until GTA IV, spent ages in the worlds of GTA3,VC,SA but IV (when i could get it running at acceptable pace), for all its detail just wasn't much fun. The most important gameplay aspect to the game series - the driving - was a chore not a joy and the humorous observations of popular culture, political and personal hypocrisy and so forth that so perfectly decorated the series was still there, but somehow not quite as sharp nor as funny anymore. I know GTA V to be good by all accounts, I'll probably delve in too - but no great appetite for it

I love GTA Vice City, except for the horrible 1st person perspective and the indoor battles. Think I played it about about 10 times or so.. Its nostalgia within nostalgia.. 😀

GTA 4, I remebr playing it. It should have been awesome, better in most ways, but nah I did not really enjoy it. GTA 5, I'll leave that one for later, it's too much of a commitment..

Looks like there are many common "abandoned" series here.

• Doom Eternal: loved the original Doom/Doom 2, loved Doom 3 (yeah, I'm one of those heretics), kind of liked Doom 2016, but that arena-based "combat loop" really put me off, I was expecting them to improve on that for the sequel and better integrate the enemies to the level design. Well, they doubled down on that instead, in addition to the absurdly convoluted story and "lore", as well as making everything look like a cartoon when it comes to enemy design, animations and colorful things flying around (not that Doom needs to be realistic, but come on!). So I'm done with new Doom.
• Assassin's Creed: liked the first few games despite the almost inexistent challenge, the way they reconstructed ancient cities/locations was amazing and the story kept me hooked. I abandoned the series when they decided to drop the modern sci-fi storyline, but seeing that many people disliked that, I think I'm in the minority.
• Tomb Raider: really liked the first two, then felt the quality decreased but still got some enjoyment out of them. The newer ones are just too much shooting and cutscenes/story, not enough tomb raiding. I loved getting lost in the huge level and solving those environmental puzzles.
• Dragon Age: absolutely loved the first one, the second one was probably the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in gaming, a truly wretched game in my opinion. I managed to finish it somehow, but by the end I was wishing that every character would die in horrible agony.Didn't bother playing the third one, all I saw was a clip of the characters having a discussion about modern social issues, and at that point I decided that I was fed up with nu-Bioware trying to force their morality lectures on the player, and that's not what I seek on medieval fantasy RPGs.

• Call of Duty: I really liked up until CoD 4: MW, but then is just kind of lost interest. On free weekends I tried some of the newer episodes, but only the multiplayer part was free and I was never really into MP to begin with.
• Need for Speed: I really liked the series since the 90s, but after Carbon, I lost interest. Undercover looked a boring ripoff of MW, I played some Shift, but by then I was more into Forza Motorsport and played with the thought of getting Hot Pursuit, but by then my brand loyalty was completely destroyed and I completely moved on to other racing games, not missing NFS at all.
• Fallout: It went to shit. After NV I followed the marketing around 4 and I didn't like what I've seen. Then there came a free weekend, I decided I'll make full use of it 22hrs of it, but all it did is reinforce my opinion.
• Tomb Raider: It went to shit. I liked the original series, I thought the Legend-Underworld-Anniversary pseudo-trilogy were awesome, but the 2013 reboot, I wanted to beat it, but couldn't play more than about 7 hours and after that I was so pissed I haven't touched a video game for weeks.
• Assassin's Creed: I liked 1, 2 and 3, I got 4, Unity and Syndicate for free, but I just lost interest in the series and touched nothing after 3. Maybe because 3 ended Desmond's story. I also followed the news and wasn't the fan of the idea that the series lost it's identity, turning it into some RPG-light whateveritisnow thing.

Joakim wrote on 2021-04-30, 16:46:

gerry wrote on 2021-04-30, 15:15:

good topic! […]
Show full quote

chinny22 wrote on 2021-04-30, 12:19:

I started wondering about this the other day when my brother said he was playing Warcraft 3 at the moment. I like Warcraft 1 and […]
Show full quote

I started wondering about this the other day when my brother said he was playing Warcraft 3 at the moment.
I like Warcraft 1 and 2 but even back in 2002 something about Warcraft3 just didn't grab me and lost interest in the franchise as a whole.

My top 3 series are (as in owning titles)

C&C/RA. I preferred the storyline of C&C but already by the 2nd game the futurist units were less interesting then RA2 which I played a lot more.
I did enjoy Generals but then stopped, not sure why. I guess I had a enough RTS's to satisfy my needs and only got the remaining titles cheap off ebay 2 years to complete the collection not that I've played them. I've already spent more time playing the remaster.

GTA. This was the genre that took over from RTS. Played them all from the original till San Andreas. The newer "HD Universe" games look enjoyable but decided sticking to the "3D" universe is a good clear cut.
I still prefer a physical disc to Digital releases and DLC packs.

good topic!

whilst never a 'gotta catch em all' collector of series your two examples stand out for me too

C&C/RA - really enjoyed them all from the 90's but particularly enjoyed the narrative setting (lovely fmv!) and units of the earlier games more than the later ones. I'm sure they are good but i never played beyond red alert 2, it didn't appeal much after that. I may as yet though

GTA - played them all until GTA IV, spent ages in the worlds of GTA3,VC,SA but IV (when i could get it running at acceptable pace), for all its detail just wasn't much fun. The most important gameplay aspect to the game series - the driving - was a chore not a joy and the humorous observations of popular culture, political and personal hypocrisy and so forth that so perfectly decorated the series was still there, but somehow not quite as sharp nor as funny anymore. I know GTA V to be good by all accounts, I'll probably delve in too - but no great appetite for it

I love GTA Vice City, except for the horrible 1st person perspective and the indoor battles. Think I played it about about 10 times or so.. Its nostalgia within nostalgia.. 😀

GTA 4, I remebr playing it. It should have been awesome, better in most ways, but nah I did not really enjoy it. GTA 5, I'll leave that one for later, it's too much of a commitment..

ah yes indoors, remember that mission where you had to break windows rushing from shop to shop in the mall - it wasn't bad but it was awkward.

I probably spent more time in SA than the others, there was so much to do, but the environment that felt most complete and 'themed' was VC

I'd like to play the '..stories' versions from PS2 as well, I even have them but just cannot get used to console controls for a GTA game, it really hampers play - if there was a ps2 emulator that could (somehow!) map the mouse & keyboard to the controller i'd play them then

gerry wrote on 2021-04-30, 15:15:

C&C/RA - really enjoyed them all from the 90's but particularly enjoyed the narrative setting (lovely fmv!) and units of the earlier games more than the later ones. I'm sure they are good but i never played beyond red alert 2, it didn't appeal much after that. I may as yet though

Namrok wrote on 2021-04-30, 13:51:

I loved Command & Conquer, but Generals was where I jumped ship too. My recollection of why is that it just lacked a soul. No cutscenes. The music and unit voices were bland and forgettable. Nothing at all about it stood out, or seemed larger than life or just fucking cool like previous C&C games.

I agree Generals felt lacking and soulless without the FMV, I don't really consider it part of the C&C Universe. The only thing that saved it for me was at least they were relatable units rather then from the future.
I cant even remember if they had a campaign section. I only played Skirmish

Namrok wrote on 2021-04-30, 13:51:

I'm done with Diablo.

I still haven't finished LOD! but the graphics and been forced online made me say no thanks. 1 and 2 have so much replay value anyway.

gerry wrote on 2021-05-04, 07:04:

d like to play the '..stories' versions from PS2 as well, I even have them but just cannot get used to console controls for a GTA game, it really hampers play - if there was a ps2 emulator that could (somehow!) map the mouse & keyboard to the controller i'd play them then

I keep wanting to try the PSP version on a emulator, Haven't got past the "I should really try that" stage though.

Interesting, seems most people last about 3-4 titles, Doesn't matter if they started out as dos titles or later windows titles. I'm not sure what to make of that but interesting all the same!

chinny22 wrote on 2021-05-05, 10:29:

Interesting, seems most people last about 3-4 titles, Doesn't matter if they started out as dos titles or later windows titles. I'm not sure what to make of that but interesting all the same!

I've noticed the pattern elsewhere too

with a few exceptions,

band's best albums : first few
movie series best instalments : first 1 to 3, if that
novel series : goes off a bit if beyond a trilogy
sitcom series : funny for 3 series, then loses a little bit of sharpness, then devolves into soap opera with jokes

I think it's just that the good idea than gets things going is 'used up' quite quickly, and then the creators are sort of forced into new territory trying to think up new things while hanging on to what made it good, and the balance isn't sustainable

Oddworld would be for me.

They did everything nice until the recent Soulstorm release.
If anything, New'n Tasty at least kept that Oddysee vibe, but Soulstorm looks nothing like 3D Exoddus should've been. The cutscenes are totally marvelous though, like a movie, more or less. But gameplay wise, feels nothing like the OG Exoddus was.

I also suspect one reason is interference by publishers as companies are sold on eg

Games made by Westwood
C&C/RA
Games still made by Westwood after the EA acquisition in '98
C&C2/RA2
C&C Reengage (OK game but not really their comfort zone)
Games made after Westwood was liquidated in '03
Generals and beyond

id
Doom, Doom2, Doom3
id after ZeniMax acquisition in '09
Doom 2016
Doom Eternal

Blizzard Pre Activision
Warcraft 1,2,3 and World of Warcraft
Starcraft
Diablo 1, 2

Blizzard after Activision acquisition in '08
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Starcraft 2
Diablo 3, etc

But then you have companies like Rockstar that haven't changed hands at all like Rockstar where it is probably just a simple matter of running out of fresh ideas.

It's easy to blame Activision for Blizzard losing it's way. But I think it might be more accurate to blame WoW. Once that was making all the money and basically monopolized the MMO space for a decade, it was going to be Games as a Service forever more. With or without Activision. No more returning to an offline single player game that only sell a few million copies with a one time $50 fee, maybe another $30 for an expansion pack. WoW had 12m subscribers at it's peak. That's an astronomical sum of monthly income that dwarfs by orders of magnitude anything they'd made off their previously best selling game, Diablo II.

I'm sure the merger with Activision didn't help. But I'm pretty sure the glut of GaaS money did most of the damage.

Probably the most recent would be Five Nights at Freddy's - I liked the concept up through game 4 and FNaF world but I feel once the story started getting to that strange Sci-Fi, underground bunker, child-storing robots phase it jumped the shark. To me the the series was always about the Pizzaria and haunted animatronics stalking you. Pizzaria Simulator and Custom Night were more of what I wanted, but after that, especially after moving to PS4, it just did not get me as much. Part of it is also likely because I was into the whole creepy nostalgia aspect and once we start getting into Megaplexes and stories about guys with underground tunnel systems full of robots that exceed the tech of the time, it stops being believable.

Monkey Island - When they were coming out with a new Monkey Island game in 96 (CMI) and I thought "Awesome" then saw the graphics, and thought GAAAAH! Guybrush, what the heck did they do to you dude? After that I was turned off by it quite a bit. To me, Monkey Island will always be the Ron Gilbert made versions that were in 256 color VGA in DOS. I also noticed a difference in writing. TBH, anything that predated the mid-90's kind of put me off toward the later half of the 90's, not just PC games.

Mega Man
---------
I've played through the first 3 games, but I don't like the embellishments they were starting to add by then. I prefer the simple mechanics of the first 2 games.
In terms of characterization/personality/whatever - I liked this simple also. You Mega Man! Go - Kill Bad Guy!
Even the robot dog thing in MM3 is a regression IMO from the mechanical gadgets you get in the first 2 games. They were trying to add personality but I just found it silly. Mega Man being equipped with his own mechanical gadgets is an idea I like a lot better.
As years went by in the age of the "X" series games the series was turning into an anime cartoon with superfluous characters and unnecessary dialog and storylines. I don't need that stuff and don't care for it, but I could ignore it if not for the gameplay that I also just don't find as enjoyable as the early games.

Zelda
-----
I never got into the 3D games. I played Ocarina of Time way late and wasn't impressed, but I'll try it again sometime if I ever get my cartridge back. I also played Majora's Mask but didn't get very far.
I've played Breath of the Wild a few times. I like it but it doesn't hold my interest for very long. What happened to the dungeons? The simple "temples" or whatever they're called feel like dessert, they can't be the meat of the game.
My favorite thing to do in traditional Zelda was overworld exploration and you can certainly do that in Wild, but I think top-down Zelda was more fun to explore than the 3D perspective.
Constantly breaking weapons are annoying. Exact opposite complaint I have with Bethesda, who stupidly got rid of that feature entirely from their games.

Fallout
------
I haven't played enough of this series to count it but I'm mentioning it anyway. I never played Fallout 1 or 2 (I want to). I started with Fallout 3 which I really enjoyed. I know it's unpopular with the F1-2 fans, and I can see how in terms of lore Fallout 3 would be grating. Since it was the game I started with I didn't really notice and just enjoyed the atmosphere and gameplay.

I was in a pretty negative mindset at the time, particularly with respect to the BS of the political world, so that probably helped me to take some sick pleasure in the setting of Fallout 3 where all political constructs are obsolete rubble. I've heard people say it's depressing, and I agree it is, I just didn't mind.
The gameplay of that game has some faults but I found it very entertaining. The silliness worked for me with that game.
They're the same gameplay mechanics that I *dislike* in Elder Scrolls (Oblivion/Skyrim). Maybe that's the bias of liking whatever version of a game that you played first, but I also think this gameplay style works better for Fallout than it does with medieval fantasy. Especially the combat, which I find infuriating in Skyrim but I enjoy it in Fallout 3. It works better with guns than it does with swords.

Now that I know more about the history, I do think the factions in Fallout 3 are too one-dimensional with obvious "good guys" and "bad guys".
I have New Vegas, haven't done much in it yet but I've already seen playthroughs of that game. It looks good. The western desert is where I'd want to live in real life, so I think I can dig that, but the radio guy sucks.

I've watched a partial playthrough of Fallout 4 and have no interest. I don't care about the setting, I don't see that it adds anything compelling vs F3-NV, and I really hate that they got rid of item durability. How can you put a game in a post apocalyptic survival setting and then fill the world with perfect unbreakable equipment? If you find one copy of a weapon you're set for the rest of the game. The whole concept of scrounging around for scrap to turn a few broken pieces of junk into one less broken piece of junk has been lost. I find that outrageous.

Elder Scrolls
--------------
I'm on the fence about TES6 - I'll look at it whenever it exists, but feel the series has declined. The peak for me is TES3 Morrowind, which was also the last TES game that was designed primarily for PCs and the last that I'd call a traditional RPG.
When Bethesda consolized Elder Scrolls and Fallout, they changed both series from traditional RPGs into hack and slash adventure games. They're a different genre now.
Presumably this is because console players using a game controller on their couch don't like the same slow pacing or complexity as PC gamers traditionally did. I'm no different - as much as I love Morrowind I'd never want to play it on an XBox. But that doesn't mean I want TES to change to cater to the XBox. That's what happened though, because that's where the money is.

Skyrim's leveling flattens the difficulty of the world to ensure you can go anywhere. The irony of this is that it makes it feel like exploration doesn't matter anymore. Everywhere you go will have the same stuff. Every cave will have the same random loot, the enemies will be the same, it just doesn't matter. It hurts the sense of adventure.

Skyrim tries too hard to throw quests at you. I've got so many in my journal I don't even remember most of them, and have no sense of caring about them. They're generally just "follow the quest marker" instructions.
If you pass an NPC on the sidewalk they start announcing their personal life drama and yell "Talk to me! I've got a quest!" It's a far cry from the conversations in Ultima 6, that's for sure.
Not that Fallout 3's NPC are any better. I know they're not, I just didn't care as much. The "Mr Burke" encounter at the start of F3 has to be the most ludicrous thing I've ever seen in a game. Not what he's asking you to do - the jarring way he goes about asking it. Bethesda needs to have some patience and let the player decide what nooks and crevices of society they want to explore, get immersed in, and build a rapport with. Not just throw stuff at you randomly.
Bethesda seems to have a poor opinion of the player and tries to backseat drive you through their games.

Skyrim's invincible items is a shared complaint with Fallout 4, but it irks me slightly less in the TES setting. I think it's weird that Bethesda invested a lot of effort trying to make blacksmiths interesting in this game, but at the same time they changed the mechanics so that they're useless. Buying their equipment is unnecessary because you can get that stuff everywhere in the wilderness, perfect condition, and it all fits you. Nothing needs repair.
The only thing blacksmiths are good for in Skyrim is to buy your excess loot. They're not blacksmiths, they're financiers.
If I was to mod Skyrim this is an area I'd like to improve, but I think it would not be feasible within the features that exist in the game engine.

When TES6 comes along there's a chance I drop out. But... it's hard for me to totally give up on it.