Note: The video above does contain some swearing, as he’s visibly upset by the news of Scalebound cancelled, as am I. You can read my thoughts swear-free down below if you’d like.
Once in the land of “exclusive console games”, Microsoft and other companies decided to release games that could only be purchased and played on their own gaming system. One of the greatest “exclusive game series” that ever came out was Halo. Microsoft found its cash cow and proceeded to release subsequent games in the franchise until it had milked it dry but decided to keep releasing games anyway. *knock knock* Halo Wars 2 and Halo 5 anyone??
Then a studio came along and released a game that could be used on every gaming system available. That game was “Call of Duty” and as much as we hate that stupid game, they are still spitting out games and cashing in big on the success that can be had in a multi-console game franchise.
With the background in place, I can now comfortably begin my rant. Before I do, watch this visually impressive trailer that not only shows great graphics but also some great gameplay.
Looks like a great game eh? Well I hate to burst your bubble, but Microsoft in their infinite wisdom decided to cancel it. It was scheduled to be a holiday 2016 release, but they delayed it and then just this week up and canned the whole game. Here’s what I don’t get, this is a finished game. Look at it, it is essentially finished except for a couple finishing touches. What really irks me is the fact that I had shelled out money for a brand new Xbox One just so I could have my hands on this “exclusive game” when it came out. Thanks Microsoft for cancelling Scalebound.
The Good
I was really looking forward to controlling a dragon to fight alongside me, having it focus on certain aspects while I ran around with my own ranged and melee attacks. The fact that I could customize the look of my dragon appealed to me as well, though knowing me I would have colored the whole thing blue. Just for the sake of my favorite color and another well known dragon of the Inheritance Cycle series.
Visually, I was impressed. It all looked stellar. Like this was a fantasy game I could get behind and enjoy as much as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The fire looked crisp, the scenery was well made and the fighting graphics looked good as well.
Co-op teamplay. This looked interesting, along with the idea that the players I fought alongside brought their own dragons to the game made it feel like we could gear up for massive battles and get some hard earned loot and experience at the end of it.
The Bad
In all fairness, I was all positive for this game. The only cons I could see were elements where your dragon didn’t listen to you and did whatever it wanted to, or random bugs that would crash the game or the dreaded unskippable cutscenes.
But lets be honest, who didn’t want to see something funny happen like your dragon running off and doing something stupid? I could understand the AI getting confused and messing up at times, but that’s what makes for some good laughs to post on YouTube and remember that it is just a game. So have some fun.
What Went Wrong
Here’s what I think went wrong. Microsoft cancelled Scalebound for these reasons:
- It wasn’t going to generate much in sales.
- The AI Dragon was too buggy.
- The story wasn’t good enough.
- No player vs player battles/little multiplayer experience OR
- An Intern accidentally flushed the original copy down the toilet.
Out of all the reasons I listed, I think 5 is most promising. Think of it this way, Microsoft has plenty of money already. They also have enough common sense to have solid AI and story to back up their games, nothing new to prove there unless this AI Dragon really did have problems. But from what I could see, nothing was wrong with the dragon. Maybe some higher up whined enough about no multiplayer experience and that’s what killed the game, since it didn’t seem to have much else besides co-op. Truthfully, for me it didn’t need any multiplayer aspect. I didn’t want to fight against other people, I came to fight off these huge beasts so I could be the “strongest dragon rider there ever was.” Not every game needs multiplayer to be fun, remember that Microsoft.
In the end, I wasted money getting a system for a game that will never be released now. Scalebound was the ONLY game I was looking forward to in 2017, I wanted to play it that badly. Sorry, I don’t care about Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves or whatever else exclusive garbage you have coming out. You’ll find me back on my PlayStation 4 enjoying the games I already have. Now to figure out what to do with this Xbox One, should I use it for golf practice or sell it… hmm…
Were you looking forward to Scalebound? Did you help test the game? Was the game that bad or did it have a chance at greatness? Leave a comment! Thanks guys 🙂
