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Thread: Talking 'Bout This Generation

  1. #1

    Talking 'Bout This Generation

    This generation in video games that is.

    Overall, I'm pleased although it has had its share of problems.

    - Lots of high-quality games across pretty much every genre.
    - Lower software prices (not so much for day one but for quicker price drops) but higher console hardware prices.
    - Defective hardware, especially the 360.
    - Smaller, downloadable games have created a bit of a revival of old-fashioned 2d gameplay. Unfortunately, most of these have just been cheap imitations of classics.
    - Control issues: forced waggle and touch-screen.
    - The rise of multi-format development. Personally, I like having the PC tech race slow down a bit because of consoles. It's nice having a computer that doesn't feel totally outdated two years later.
    - DLC. I'm not paying extra for any of this shit unless it's a full-sized expansion pack.
    - More gamers than ever before. I generally see this as a good thing for any medium although I don't understand why a lot of games aimed at traditional gamers are being made so easy. I played Assassin's Creed 2 for around 8 hours and hadn't been killed once. So, I stopped playing. I played Mass Effect 2 and Fallout NV on their hardest settings on my first playthroughs and they still weren't that difficult. This shit needs to stop. It doesn't seem to be a problem with the FPS genre (that has other issues lately) so why is it with action-adventure and ARPGs?
    - I feel this has been a less progressive gen as far as game design goes. There have been some nice refinements of existing concepts (like Bayonetta) and some unique takes (Mirror's Edge) but gaming a decade ago seemed to be pushing boundaries more. Stuff like Grand Theft Auto III, Shenmue, Deus Ex, Jet Grind Radio, etc.. strike me as more ambitious than today's games. Although, given the slowdown of gaming technology, maybe it's a bit unfair to expect any major leaps.


    So, what do you think of the current video game generation?

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater View Post
    - More gamers than ever before. I generally see this as a good thing for any medium although I don't understand why a lot of games aimed at traditional gamers are being made so easy. I played Assassin's Creed 2 for around 8 hours and hadn't been killed once. So, I stopped playing.
    Well, were you having fun but then decided to stop on principle alone? This seems weird to me.

    I think the only damage I took in that game came from bad jumps off rooftops, and even that was easily patched up with a button press and around 12 vials of medicine. But I thoroughly enjoyed the game.

    A game can be easy and still manage to be fun. I guess different people play for different reasons.

    edit: it can also be argued that as the medium grows the very concepts of dying and game overs are being challenged in a lot of different ways with what I see as mainly positive results. I'm glad I had the balls to make it through the unforgiving early years of gaming, but I can agree with taking away some of the bigger frustrations of gaming. I will always enjoy a challenge, but that feeling of conquering a difficult game isn't and shouldn't be the only emotion associated with playing a video game. I enjoy big, dumb action movies, but man am I glad that there are other genres around as well.
    Last edited by Mzo; 03 Feb 2011 at 03:32 PM.
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  3. #3
    The lack of challenge was killing the fun in this case. I can enjoy a super easy game if other aspects grip me but it's not like I cared for the story in that game.

  4. This generation has been pretty weak IMO although with six years, billions of dollars, and hundreds of companies working on stuff, many good games have come out.

    The easy games have bugged me too. I just beat A Crack in Time and that game was not challenging in the slightest on hard. You simply needed to have a rudimentary understanding of how the weapons worked and how to strafe. I guess people just want to beat games without figuring anything out.

    Some other points:
    1. Remake trend - I'm already over this. Playing old games is trivial at this stage. Yet every time I see a "top 10 games that should get remade" article it gets tons of attention so that's what people want.
    2. in-game preorder bonuses - get the fuck out of here with this junk. Burn in hell forever if the bonuses are store-specific.
    3. Peripherals - this gen was the first one where peripherals were not an automatic dead end. Obviously music games have run their course but millions of people spent a ton of money on them. And stuff like steering wheels, joysticks, etc., were as popular as ever.
    4. "art games" - it seems like this gen is where morons really started looking for "art" in games, which led to overpraising of crap like Flower. Still it gave boring non-gamers like N'Gai Croal a career and they need to put food on the table too.

  5. This generation is kind of hard for me to judge. On the one hand, my playing time is at its lowest ever with this generation. Also, I only really play one system, the Xbox 360, despite owning a PS3 as well. I almost forget that the Wii exists. On the other hand, my enjoyment of video games is at an all-time high because of the quality of games and integration of standard online connectivity (mainly Xbox Live).

  6. Probably the best generation of games EVER, IMO.

    2D is back in a big way, indy development is coming into its own, and damn near every game there has ever been is accessible again, regardless of language or hardware.

    The pet-peevy stuff is only there to bother you if you put yourself in the path of it, IMO.
    Last edited by YellerDog; 03 Feb 2011 at 03:58 PM. Reason: spoilers for lyfe
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  7. This gen sucks. There aren't enough games in the most popular genres.
    How many sandbox games are there? How many third person shooters? Not nearly as many worthwhile ones as you may think. Why is it that these systems have been out for five years and when a parent asks for a game that is open ended like GTA but without the over the top sex, drugs, and rock and roll, I have to stare at them blankly and ask if there are any movies or shows the kid likes?
    You like shooter games, but have played both Medal of Honors, both Gears, all the CoDs, and all the Halos. What is left for me to recommend? Frontlines and Hour of Victory?
    I think for as long as these systems have been on the market, the amount of games for them is pathetic.

  8. Quote Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name View Post
    This gen sucks. There aren't enough games in the most popular genres.
    How many sandbox games are there? How many third person shooters? Not nearly as many worthwhile ones as you may think. Why is it that these systems have been out for five years and when a parent asks for a game that is open ended like GTA but without the over the top sex, drugs, and rock and roll, I have to stare at them blankly and ask if there are any movies or shows the kid likes?
    You like shooter games, but have played both Medal of Honors, both Gears, all the CoDs, and all the Halos. What is left for me to recommend? Frontlines and Hour of Victory?
    I think for as long as these systems have been on the market, the amount of games for them is pathetic.
    I can't tell if you're trolling or not. I'll guess not for the sake of argument:

    The parents are asking for that game because their kids want GTA. So no, you're not going to get a sandbox game where all you do is shoot things and have it sterile and G rated, that's a game that would only be marketed at little kids and likely not do very well. Now, if you're talking about worthwhile sandbox games in general, there's also Dead Rising, Saints Row, Oblivion, Fallout 3, RDR, and Crackdown.

    As for quality FPS', there's also Bioshock, Condemned, the Darkness, Borderlands, and FEAR. You listed Gears so I'm guessing third-person is included here, so add Vanquish and the Club. I'm sure there's a bunch more good shootin' games I'm forgetting right now.

    Everything we listed is also at least double the amount of worthwhile games in the same genres from last gen, which considering the current generation has only been around for about a year or so longer than the previous is pretty damn good. The FPS lineup for last gen was, what, Halo and Killzone?

  9. Quote Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater View Post
    - I feel this has been a less progressive gen as far as game design goes. There have been some nice refinements of existing concepts (like Bayonetta) and some unique takes (Mirror's Edge) but gaming a decade ago seemed to be pushing boundaries more. Stuff like Grand Theft Auto III, Shenmue, Deus Ex, Jet Grind Radio, etc.. strike me as more ambitious than today's games. Although, given the slowdown of gaming technology, maybe it's a bit unfair to expect any major leaps.
    Disagree on this point. Little Big Planet (and ModNation Racers to a lesser extent) have pushed user content creation. Rock Band brought music gaming to the masses and still pushes out new songs weekly. Gears of War popularized third person shooting, among other things. Several others like Fallout 3, Dragon Age, BioShock, and STALKER strike me as pushing different boundaries. I think it's a bit too easy to put on the rose colored glasses for years passed.

    As far as this generation, overall I like it. I do wish there were more representation of Japanese games on consoles, but that's about it. Seems like there are more games being released today than there were 5 years ago, especially when counting in the downloadable games.

  10. This generation reminds me a lot of the 16-bit generation. It's largely a refinement of existing concepts, some of which have now crystallized into widely-adopted conventions, and other once uncommon concepts like physics and destructable environments are becoming standard.

    DLC has lowered costs in a way that I hoped/predicted a move to third-party hardware would have. The royalties are still high, but the lowered cost to the end consumer and lowered development cost has helped to ameliorate the problem of the previous gen where niche games were getting squeezed out.


    In terms of game design, the biggest thing we've seen this gen is the end of the Japanese as the dominant force in game design. The entire nation has taken a nose dive in terms of success and influence, and it seems justifiable given their output, too. Some of this is a stubborn refusal to adopt conventions that have being dominant in the west, but there also just seems to be a lack of innovation from Japanese devs. They seem to just think this gen's games should just be last gen's games, but prettier.


    This might soon become a problem for the west, too. It's been a strong gen, but this is also the first time I remember being five years into a console generation of hardware and still having no idea what the next step is. And the industry doesn't, either. There's no concrete plans for new hardware on the horizon, and other than some "3D" bandwagon shit I haven't really seen any ideas on how the added power of a new console gen will open up new gameplay possibilities rather than just improved detail.
    Last edited by Frogacuda; 03 Feb 2011 at 04:55 PM.

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