Does anyone else feel the same way about current gen games?

[Gamerforlife]

As far as the "tons of FPS games argument"... It's been that way for years with other genres. You had the 10 billion 8 and 16bit side scrollers. The Mario 64 ripoffs in the 32bit generation. Hell even the Space Invaders and Pac Man clones in the days of the 2600... The only generation that didn't have a prevailing genre is the last one as far as I can tell.

And they usually lead to collapse. But the FPS craze started over 10 years ago and has subsequently taken over the market.

This generation has given rise to some of the best games ever made.

Like?

It has been a crap generation in terms of industry norms, evil corporations and the plagues that are shooters and multi-player crap, but there's been some great games. Some of these games blew me away. Some didn't wow me at first, but I appreciated more in retrospect

1. Viva Pinata - One of the most endearing, charming, relaxing and unique games I've ever played
2. Castle Crashers - One of the best 2d beat'em ups ever
3. Batman Arkham Asylum - Best superhero game ever made....until next week
4. The soon to be released Batman Arkham City, which is already getting perfect ten scores from early reviews and is my pick for game of the year
5. The Dishwasher Vampire Smiles - THE best 2d beat'em up ever
6. Valkyria Chronicles - A flawed, but nice new twist on real time strategy rpgs
7. Not the best game, but best rpg combat system I've seen in Final Fantasy 13
8. Mass Effect - The game industry's biggest and best sci fi franchise
9. The Darkness - Great comic book storytelling
10. Heavy Rain - One of the most mature games I've ever played with one of the best stories
11. Portal - PERFECT puzzle game with PERFECT writing, dialog and comedy
12. Portal 2 - Same as above (with the historical introduction of Steam support on the PS 3)
13. Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction
14. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - Finally, a Tomb Raider game that isn't stale
15. Outland - Prince of Persia meets Ikaruga
16. The Dishwasher Dead Samurai - Prequel to the best 2d beat'em up ever made
17. Alice Madness Returns - A nice sequel with a good story and fun combat
18. X-Men Wolverine Origins - I actually think its combat is more fun than God of War
19. Ghostbusters (Xbox version) - The combat is sloppy, but this really feels like the next Ghostbuster movie and is a fun ride

Plus, HD updates of some of the best games ever made like Rez, Beyond Good and Evil, the Sly Cooper series, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus

As for 3D Dot Game Heroes, I played some of it. I liked it, but it's not as well designed as a proper Zelda game. Little Big Planet is overrated and has horrible gameplay

[Flake]

Or, you and flake have bad taste.

I hate to use a Cracked.com article as a reference point but recently there was an editorial about how old time gamers can't understand the gamers of today. I believe it was discussed on this forum so I won't go too in depth on it. Suffice to say, the point that was made was that games today aren't better or worse than the games of yesteryear - they are simply the games of today.

While there are probably a few quantifiable, definitive factors in judging a game's quality, the majority of what makes a game 'great' is how it is perceived by the audience.

The original Doom is still held up as a great and enjoyable game - but there are numerous FPS' that came after it that are thought to be straight crap. Are those games actually 'worse' than Doom? No way - but at the time they came out, they were not received as being what a game in that genre should be in order to be 'great', despite the advances in technology or presentation they enjoyed over older titles.

If the original Contra had never been released and had instead languished on a floppy disc somewhere until someone found it and put in on XBLA, wouldn't there be the chance that it would fall flat and not be received as so good a game as it is acknowledged to be today?

If so many people are happy with the games they are playing today (and they are) then I think it stands to reason that those of us who cannot get into these modern games are the ones who are deviating from the cultural norm that all other gamers are ascribing to.

[Gamerforlife]

Hell, I forgot to mention great games like Flower and Dead Nation. Flower is sublime. Let's not forget some nice arcade classics this gen has brought back too like X-Men Arcade on the PSN and Xbox Live Arcade services

I like a lot of games that came out this gen, just don't like where the industry itself has been moving

[o.pwuaioc]

If so many people are happy with the games they are playing today (and they are) then I think it stands to reason that those of us who cannot get into these modern games are the ones who are deviating from the cultural norm that all other gamers are ascribing to.

And Britney Spears and *NSYNC were great music acts.

[Flake]

If so many people are happy with the games they are playing today (and they are) then I think it stands to reason that those of us who cannot get into these modern games are the ones who are deviating from the cultural norm that all other gamers are ascribing to.

And Britney Spears and *NSYNC were great music acts.

You and I wouldn't agree with that statement but there are millions who could list off a hundred reasons why they deserved the money and accolades they received.

It's all subjective, man.

[o.pwuaioc]

If so many people are happy with the games they are playing today (and they are) then I think it stands to reason that those of us who cannot get into these modern games are the ones who are deviating from the cultural norm that all other gamers are ascribing to.

And Britney Spears and *NSYNC were great music acts.

You and I wouldn't agree with that statement but there are millions who could list off a hundred reasons why they deserved the money and accolades they received.

It's all subjective, man.

Meh, I'm not one to buy into that. Clearly some games appeal to people, but good and bad taste is larger than that...in my opinion, that is.

[o.pwuaioc]

By the way, I saw the cracked article. I don't agree with half of what he said, largely because it doesn't apply either to me nor to historical circumstances.

[AppleQueso]

Read through old usenet postings on google groups and the letters to the editor in old magazines on retromags. For as different as we try to make gaming seem now, we pretty much complain about all the same things.

FPS oversaturating the market? Back then it was fighting games. DLC being overpriced? Pretty much everybody was pissed at Super Street Fighter II's $70 price tag. People were still graphics whores, possibly even moreso back then. etc, etc.

[o.pwuaioc]

Read through old usenet postings on google groups and the letters to the editor in old magazines on retromags. For as different as we try to make gaming seem now, we pretty much complain about all the same things.

FPS oversaturating the market? Back then it was fighting games. DLC being overpriced? Pretty much everybody was pissed at Super Street Fighter II's $70 price tag. People were still graphics whores, possibly even moreso back then. etc, etc.

I'm not sure who is denying these facts. They've been oft-repeated here, but that doesn't change the substantial charge...

[AppleQueso]

Gaming sucks now, but gaming has kinda always sucked. The only difference is that with current gen games we don't have the benefit of hindsight.