PS4 And Xbox One: 9 Ways To Improve Every Future Game
2. Don't Force Online Down Our Throats
Microsoft ran headlong into a storm of consumer backlash after announcing DRM and mandatory check-in for Xbox Oneso harshly, in fact, that they rescinded those policies practically overnight. The jury is out: gamers hate mandatory online anything. This same principle extends to shoehorning mandatory multiplayer into otherwise solo experiences. Case and point: Borderlands 2. All of the four DLC expansions available for Gearboxs latest Pandora outing contain end-game bosses so difficult that they are next to impossible to defeat without a full party of players. This wouldn't be a problem were it not for the fact that the core game and indeed the meat of the expansions are single player affairs. Borderlands 2 is a minor case, but the principle is sound: games should not force players to stay online or play with others. Dark Souls 2 handles this expertly, letting players aid or impede one another but also allowing both to be eliminated entirely without compromising the core experience. Sometimes you cant finagle a party of friends due to scheduling difficulties, sometimes you just want to play by yourself. Maybe you just aren't up for multiplayer. Destiny, The Division, Assassins Creed Unity and others need to respect that and allow players to play their way.
A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games?
Well that doesn't sound anything like me.
