Cliff Bleszinski, or "Cliffy B" as he is cordially known, made his name on the Gears of War franchise which began 11 years ago back in 2006. As with most creatives, Bleszinski rode the wave as far as he could before needing to move on to something else, but he apparently has kept an eye on his old stomping grounds. In speaking with Gamespot, Cliffy B compared Gears of War 4 to Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the sense that all it ended up being was more of the same.
He said:
"What [Gears of War developer The Coalition boss Rod Fergusson] did was give the people what they want. He did the J.J. Abrams Episode VII. I've watched Episode VII five times. I still get misty-eyed and get all excited but when I think objectively about it, I'm like, 'There wasn't a lot of risk there.' So I'm hoping they take a little bit more risk in the future."
This is not to say that Gears of War 4 is a bad game by any means, but it's more a case of a fear of change. Game development has become a somewhat counter-intuitive culture of constantly looking to fans for approval. And while it has its benefits (particularly in the image department), it can also rob the creative professionals who make these games from being…well…creative.
Gears of War 4 predominantly scored well from critics, and currently, sits at an average Metascore of 84. However, it's a far cry from the system sellers that the first three entries of the series were (which Bleszinski was a lead developer on).
The future of the Gears of War franchise remains to be seen, but you'd have to think there's going to be at least one more during the Xbox One's life cycle.
Source: [Gamespot]
