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[Deftech]

Anyone that dislikes EA is good in my book! lol

I love games as much as I have in the past, for the most part. I also agree that too many are relying on the online mayhem aspect. Halo 2, perfect example in my case. The story was junk(opinion), and I didnt buy it for the online play, so into the shitter that went.

Thats why Im excited about Gears of War. Specifically made for SP and Coop play, the story revolves around it.  

[hamwbone]

i think i played halo 2 for one week... sucked

/goes back to the 12 hour battlefied 2 marathon...

[m_hael]

I got bored of "Generic FPS with spangly new "funky" tech but no new gameplay, hyped to death in every mag & forum"... none have fulfilled since System Shock II.

games that don't hype and lie about their gameplay don't piss me off and I often enjoy them...

[Deftech]

QUOTE(HELLTICK @ Jan 15 2006, 04:47 PM)

Yeah, I hear you guys...I guess its just getting old. My first computer was a commodore 64 which had tons of fun games 'jumpman jr' being one of my fav's.

whoa!

now theres a blast from the past! I havent thought about or played that for 20 years!

ahh to be a kid again  

[jaygould30]

I've felt this way for a long time as many of you have. I think the real killer of fun for me was when the dreamcast did so poorly. I always felt like Sega was always really creative and was never afraid to do something different and that even stands true today. They just don't have as much say anymore in the industry. You all have already talked about all the points of why games just don't feel as fun anymore so I'll just add to the pile. To me the industry has decided to try and please the "mature" gamer to greatly. The amount of FPS, Fighters, Racing, and other blood/sex/car type games greatly exceeds the "everyone" type games. Most of the games that I've loved over the years were not those types of games but instead were the more childish games. Thats not to say that those games shouldn't be made...but rather that they shouldn't be such a main focus. Gamers need choice and variety. Games have become to serious. Yes games were always serious to people but it just isn't the same as now. People take it as life and death and by doing this it becomes like a job not a game. And as stated before graphics seems to be all anyone cares about anymore. Actually realistic graphics is what they are worried about. One of my favorite games in the last 2 years was Viewtiful Joe because of the gameplay and innovative style. This exact topic is why I will always support Nintendo because I feel if we lose them then there will be no more innovative gameplay just more realistic games. Yes I am nostalgic like many but I don't think it is correct to use that term to act as if it's our fault that games made years ago are without a doubt more innovative and more fun to play then games today. With the 360 I'm feeling a little better about the future of gaming. Online play is a great thing to bring back some fun. But I think the greatest thing I see from them is when looking at their game lineup I see much more balance in the types of games. For instance games like Blue Dragon (which is probably the game I'm most looking forward too) is a game I would never have imagined being developed on the xbox. But to be honest I don't see the industy ever getting back to the way it was when they actually had to work to make enough money just to get bye. Basically they are already so high up that they have no reason to take risks anymore and will continue to stick to the winning formula. I think if the industy is going to see any major innovation it is going to have to be from something major. What I'd like to see is Sega get back into the game with a new console. I know it is wishful thinking but I feel deep in my gut that when the time is right they are going to strike back big time. Of course this could just be me dreaming but I don't see why they couldn't. We all know they are capable of it and if they wait long enough they will have a huge nostalga thing going for them. I'd bet that everyone in here would get one. Same thing with companies like atari and such. Basically what I'm saying is it's going to have to be either (1.) a game developer who gets tired of watching the industry sit at a stand still, or (2.) a new company that has enough drive and isn't going to take any shit and is willing to take risks. Like I said this is just how I feel and I just felt like adding onto the pile. Take it for what its worth.

[mgamer20o0]

it would be nice if sega would come out with a new system but i dont think that will happen. i was glad when they said they were going to just be making games. i figured at lest i would still be able to play there games. where did they go? they havent published much more then sports and developed even less. sega is a company ms should buy up throw a bunch of money at in hopes of them coming up with something great.

[Legendary Badass]

I've told people for years that the more difficult games are the old ones. Look at it like this. In Super Mario Bros. Mario could run out of time, touch and enemy, fall off a cliff; and each of these things will make you start the level over. Granted the levels were shorter then, but now you have a much easier path through a game. 3-D movement makes avoiding obsticles a little too easy at times. I find that as time goes by, more games get made for the people that are only ok at games, and that leaves the experts feeling unsatisfied.

There are other furstating measures that cause me to like games less than I used to. Like getting online only to hear some 10 year old cursing. Or loosing rank, on a game that you are proud of. Heck I've avoided some games out of fear that I would de-rank thanks to some sort of useless teammates.

Back when I was a kid we didn't have a disliking for a developer. Some were great like Konami and Rare. While Ultra was not so good, we didn't feel a hatred for them. Now, I actually avoid some publishers because the history is long enough that you know the game will be a mistake to play.

I also think that games are crossing a line I never expected. I started gaming in the 80's. Back in the 80's you could shoot a lot of bad guys and no one really cared. Then in 93 Mortal Kombat's much hyped use of blood causes parents to get concerned. I never really cared about how violent games were because they weren't real life and anyone with sense knows better. I had been playing games for a long time, but from 01 to 03 I was a little out of the loop. When I return to gaming I find that all of a sudden you have games using the F-word, characters that are prostitutes, and in general more sex than I'd prefer to see. I have a bit of a problem with this because it doesn't really add to the gameplay, it just causes media ruckus and on top of that I think it reflects were our society is heading. Mortal Kombat's blood didn't add anything to the gameplay, but I now see that it was a gateway that opened the door to material that I actually object to.

[Vinestrike77]

My two cents on this topic:

We're now in our third decade of games. My first console was the Atari 2600 back when I was 6 somewhere in 1983. That makes me a 24 year old expert! I truly think that we expect more out of games. I have two nephews 4 and 5 years old, and I got to see them during the holidays. They were playing Spider Man for the Nintendo Gameboy, I was amazed on how many hours this kids were playing the same boring level over and over again. I actually tried it and I gave up after five minutes of not being able to make all four pizza deliveries before time ran out.

Back then we were all like that. I would replay a level over and over again because it was either the only game I had or had all the time in the world to try and do it. Now a days I can't stand to replay the same level more than three times I would rather move on to other games. I have yet to beat any of the 6 games that I bought since I purchased the 360 on day 1. For example on Friday night I played need for speed most wanted, I'm currently third in the blacklist and need to complete a nine minute cop chase without getting caught for me to be able to challenge the #2 racer in the blacklist. After an hour of playing it I was not able to accomplish the goal, I kept getting caught every time. I was so frustrated that I though about returning the freaking game the next morning, I wanted to log online and find a cheat to beat the game, I felt that I wasted and hour of my life without accomplishing nothing since I did not get any further in the game. The emotions that I went thru Friday night of pure dissapointment are not felt by a young gamer like we were back in the day.

I guess now we want a sense of accomplishment more quicker than in our hay day, now that we all have our own goals, jobs, money and other toys to play with we feel that time is taken from us if we don't accomplish a game in certain amount of time. I do think our mindsets and needs are way more differen then back when we were young bucs playing this games.  

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(Gbeav @ Jan 14 2006, 01:19 AM)

... This generation of consoles might be a big flop gamewise unless someone comes up with some new ideas.

I couldn't DISAGREE more...

While I agree whole heartedly with just about everyone in this thread, we're aging gamers and our attention spans are growing shorter. The game companies are delivering more realism and less fantasy... yes yes yes.

Unfortunately I don't see it changing, in terms of gameplay and innovation vs graphics and realism it's going to get worse before it gets better.

The thing is despite our (as in the people in this thread) cries for more innovation, the "gamer" at large doesn't care. The gamer at large doesn't support Nintendo, they never owned a dreamcast, and that last version of madden released was the best game ever because it's football and they like football and it's got the latest roster.

If gamers truly wanted the innovation we're asking for here, then the market would be dying right now, but it's not, actually the video game market is the biggest it's ever been, and making the most money it's ever made. Because all the crap that we say we hate... is what is actually selling.

on a different note I don't know that I fully agree that games are less innovative now... We're looking at all the generic titles that have been released recently and comparing them to the highlights over several decades of classic gaming. Take a slice of time, I'll give you a whole year, "back in the day" and give me a list of the worthwhile games that came out in that time frame.  Not to mention there were literally 100s of knock-offs of the popular titles that were just pure TRASH. There were about 7000 games made for the NES throughout it's live span, most of you never even played a whole 1% because less then 5% was worth playing. Contrast that to the PSX which only had about 900 titles in it's life span. Sega consoles had even less. Both that Saturn and the Dreamcast had less then 400 each. I can name just as many if not more DC titles I enjoyed then NES titles I enjoyed when I was young.

Back in the day every game was a side-scrolling platformer.... now every game is an FPS... it's just evolution, 2D graphics lend themselves well to platformers, 3D graphics lend themselves to FPSs.

If you're really looking for innovation, innovative titles are still being released, but they're met by such apathy by the buying public that anything other then the sequel to the last generic hit release is a death sentence for developers and publishers...

[Sweenerdog32]

I think it's mainly because the companies are becoming increasingly agressive in sales and marketing. It's (mostly) Sony and MS battling it out over who can generate the most sales. This leads to the companies releasing sub-par games in order to make a quick buck. I've got my fair share of FPS's for this gen (except for Black, it looks amazing ), and I'm looking for different genres.

 I recently aquired King Kong for the Xbox, and it is amazingly refreshing. It may be a FPS, but it is an FPS with a difference. It combines elements of puzzle solving, shooting, and basically how fast you can run. Then there's Kong (it?)self. This changes the whole perspective of the game, rectracting to third person, and moving over to the 3D fighter side of things.

Another great innovative title is Stubbs the Zombie. Even if it was a little short, it was a different game. It was great fun to eat people's brains, instead of shooting them. They used the Halo engine, designed for FPS, and changed it into something completely different.

Even though I will be purchasing an Xbox360, I am becoming increasingly interested with the Revolution, becasue (as the name suggests) it is changing the way we look at gaming. (Just look at the controller.   Interesting...)


Phew....

[Vinestrike77]

QUOTE(acidsnow @ Jan 16 2006, 10:18 AM)

I believe new generation of games require more thinking.  Honestly when I come home from a long day of work I kinda want to unwind and play a game that doesn't require much thought.  For example back in the day it used to be Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, ect . . .   Don't get me wrong I still love an analynically challanging game, but only on the weekends . . .

Acidsnow you hit it right in the nail when it comes to analytical thinking. Sometimes I have time to play a couple of hours after work but just to think that I have to do more thinking after a hard day at the office makes me stay away from playing and just unwine with some wine and watch commercials.

I'm a corporate financial accountant so I'll I want to do when I come home is to not think about numbers and to have to play a game that involves critical thinking or decision making games makes me hold off until I have a clearer mindset.

That's why I enjoy a good Geometry Wars during the weekday to unwind and shoot Geometrical Lines like crazy. Nothing better than an accountant unwinding by shooting the shit out of a quadrant filled with geometrical signs.

[HELLTICK]

QUOTE

We're looking at all the generic titles that have been released recently and comparing them to the highlights over several decades of classic gaming.

Hey Twisted, I agree tolally but doesnt "several" refer to seven? like 'couple' is two, and 'few' is four.
You havent really been play'n vids for 7 decades...have you? <jk>

QUOTE

There were about 7000 games made for the NES throughout it's live span, most of you never even played a whole 1% because less then 5% was worth playing.

Yes, but atleast if smart at the time you could return the game and choose a better title without ANY hassle...nowadays if opened, they treat you like a criminal returning gaming software.

QUOTE

I believe new generation of games require more thinking. Honestly when I come home from a long day of work I kinda want to unwind and play a game that doesn't require much thought. For example back in the day it used to be Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, ect . . . Don't get me wrong I still love an analynically challanging game, but only on the weekends . . .

As mentioned....you nailed it.

Later!

[Jason9875]

C&C games had to be the best I ever played.

Though I will say that I loved Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004 I cannot put down, DoW pwns, CoD 2 was fun while it lasted, and WoW has me addicted beyond any other game.

Though I will say that Half Life 2 sucked nuts, WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT UNSKIPABLE CUT SCENES ARE A GOOD IDEA SHOULD BE KILLED. Though its mods such as Source Forts, The Hidden, Goldeneye Source, Battle Grounds, Dystopia, and Garrys mod are awesome.

And as for Star Wars Empire at War, I WILL BUY THAT GAME THE FIRST CHANCE I GET!

Finally a, hopefully, great Star Wars RTS.

[adfinder23]

QUOTE(HELLTICK @ Jan 16 2006, 09:09 PM)

Hey Twisted, I agree tolally but doesnt "several" refer to seven? like 'couple' is two, and 'few' is four.
You havent really been play'n vids for 7 decades...have you? <jk>

No, several does not mean seven it just means more than 3, but not too much more. So 4,5,6,7,8 could all be counted as several. Since gaming began for the most part in the 70's, several works.

[hamwbone]

about the comming home from work and just playing a fun- non thinking game, i think that might be what it is, and why geometry wars is so fun =)