Man there are some really great replies in this thread so far. Thought provoking stuff for sure on how you guys say the medium was influenced last generation.
Now I'll answer my own questions. But with one caveat. I'm not even remotely through with the Seventh Generation of gaming yet, so my experience is more limited than some here. I only just got my first 360 and PS3 in December of 2014. So because I'm only just now breaking into the 360 and PS3 libraries, what my answers are now could change in a year or two. Anyway, the Wii on the other hand, I've had for years and played quite a bit more on on it. And I've owned a DS and PSP for years and years as well.
What was your favorite platform in general?
According to my HLTB, it's the Wii. Followed closely by the DS. Both systems fostered some truly outside-the-box game designs thanks to their novel control schemes. And I'm a big fan of unusual things, in general the weirder the better for me. So I was naturally attracted first to these two platforms.
Which game do you think had the best graphics for each platform?
360 = From what I've played on the system so far,
Red Dead Redemption is my pick. The game has breathtaking environments. I haven't played
Halo 4 or
GTA 5 yet though.
PS3 = From what I've played on the system so far,
Valkyria Chronicles gets my vote. Gotta love those sketch-cel-shaders. That said, I haven't played the Naughty Dog or Quantic Dream showboats yet.
Wii =
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is just non-stop amazing.
Endless Ocean: Blue World is a close second.
DS =
Ghost Trick. The character animation is off the charts along with deliciously detailed backdrops.
PSP = No contest, it's
Final Fantasy Type-0. On the PSP this game has graphics that don't even seem possible for the platform. Too bad the actual game design sucked such ass.
What was your overall favorite game(s) for each platform?
Tough one for me, still got a lot left to play on each. But here's my picks for what I've played so far:
360:
Red Dead Redemption because it's a western lover's wet dream come true.
PS3:
Valkyria Chronicles, love me some SRPG. I haven't tried the
Souls games on this system yet though.
Wii:
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor. I'm not even a shmup lover or whatever this is but holy mother of Moses this game is awesome.
DS:
Hotel Dusk. Best adventure game I've ever played, outstanding characters and dialogue. The atmosphere is fantastic... music's awesome... it's just perfect to me.
PSP:
Brandish: The Dark Revenant. One of the best pure dungeon crawlers ever made.
What do you think was the most overrated game(s) for each platform?
360:
Gears of Bore - But I still enjoyed the co-op!
PS3:
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - I thought I was getting Indiana Jones but I got Rambo.
Wii:
Kirby's Return to Dreamland. Boring ass rehash with no new ideas and barely enough content to fill four hours.
DS: The
Zelda games on DS are stinkers. I beat them both out of spite.
PSP:
Grand Knights History. Wonderful art design and graphics, but narcolepsy inducing gameplay.
What do you think was the most underrated game for each console?
360:
Bionic Commando. I am a HUGE fan of the NES version of this game, and I found that the 360 reimaginging/sequel was actually pretty damned fun. Also challenging, and I appreciated that.
PS3: I don't know if it's underrated, but
Vanquish is super fun. I don't see it mentioned much on forums anymore. And that sucks. Don't forget about
Vanquish guys!
Wii:
Endless Ocean and
Endless Ocean: Blue World. People just don't give these games enough time to "get" what they are really about. Exploration, adventure, relaxing... deep sea abyss monsters that make you shit your pants. You know, all things that are good.
DS:
Brothers in Arms DS. Super fun third person shooter with great presentation and mission variety. People thought it was going to be a crappy mobile port but IT WAS NOT.
PSP:
The 3rd Birthday. Yeah the plot is terrible and the voice acting is criminal. But the gameplay is riveting, the graphics are extraordinary, and I don't have a problem with my protagonist's clothes ripping to shreds when she gets damaged. Also this game is balls busting hard and you will DIE DIE DIE till you like it son.
What are some of your fondest memories of games from this era?
Definitely on board with the Wii multiplayer extravaganza. Not just the delicious Wii Sports stuff either. I beat
Dokapon Kingdom's story mode twice over two different groups of people, and it was 20 hours of bliss each time. In an era of internet multiplayer mainstreams, Wii made local multiplayer matter again.
I think my best memory of playing my DS was in late October of 2007. It was sunset and I was lying in bed bathed by the red-orange glow from the window. A storm had gathered in the distance, and I could hear its booming grow nearer. I was just starting
Hotel Dusk and was totally absorbed into its plot off the bat. As I walked through the Hotel Dusk, suddenly the power went out from the storm. But my little DS was still trucking, and me and Kyle Hyde kept going. My room was red with sunset, and every now and then thunder would roar through the house. And that moment felt absolutely perfect for playing that particular game. I fell in love with the DS right then and there.
Getting the 360 was great for local co-op. It made me realize that my wife loves dark and bloody games, and thankfully there's plenty of those on 360. When my wife gleefully chainsawed me in half in
Gears of War, I knew we were truly meant to be.
The PSP was really eye opening for me because it felt more like a handheld console than a pure aught handheld. Playing stuff like
Crisis Core and
Resistance: Retribution in my hands... it was just a transcendent experience. Like Bone said, the PSP (and DS) brought enough power to put their games on the same level as consoles... from a gameplay perspective. Just about any type of game you could want to play was now possible on the PSP (and the DS to an extent).
Sadly I haven't played my PS3 enough to have a nice memory to share yet. But I plan to play it more next year.
Ultimately, what changes do you think the Seventh Generation made to this medium overall?
You guys already hit on the big stuff... DLC becoming a thing, digital storefronts becoming ubiquitous, online multiplayer reaching new heights. Motion controls that actually didn't suck (at least not totally). Handhelds reaching console-gameplay parity. The rise of indie gaming. All good things. Also FROM SOFTWARE becoming a megaforce happened in the Seventh Generation.
Guess I'll mention some bad things then.
Howabout platform-FEEL-exclusivity pretty much ceasing to exist. With so many games existing on 360/PS3/PC simultaneously, there were fewer and fewer console games that catered to the unique strengths of their platform (outside the Wii of course). This was especially true with AAA games because of risk averse publishers.
The loss of mid-tier productions. It's like every game is either AAA or indie now, and that dichotomy took root in last generation. Where's the B-tier stuff? That used to be where we saw a lot of innovation come from during the PS2 era.
WAY too many cover shooting / open world games. Even game series that traditionally didn't have these elements saw them shoehorned in.
Nobody gave a damn about futuristic arcade racers. There was like what, one on the 360? One on the Wii (WiiWare at that). A few on the PSP and one on the PS3? This genre died in the Seventh Generation.
THE RISE OF MOBILE and its beginning of the end of dedicated handheld gaming. Thankfully it's been a slow end, but I can see the darkness at the end of that tunnel.
I'm tired of typing but I'll add more thoughts on all this later.
