jammy2211

Don't get me wrong, I have a huge place in my heart for the little innovations, the small ideas, the easter eggs that can make a game something special. This generation has been better then any other for refinement and polishing, and the games as a whole nowadays are far more accomplished then even those releasing 7 or 8 years ago. However in all my appreciation for this somewhere I long for something new or different, whereas you don't. I like this hybrid school of game design, but it's ultimately still just leading to the overall feel of things going stale. I'm struggling to really put my feelings on this into words, maybe this is just what its like to start getting older . This generation has been incredible and is still probably still my favourite of all - even with nostalgia tinted glasses. I could easily talk for hours about all the brilliant stuff that has come with it. Just with all the brilliant stuff that is coming from it, I have that one little niggle in the back of my mind, and the OP seemed to feel roughly the same. It's an interesting discussion to see how others feel about it, hopefully i can get some clarity on my thoughts from it . This generation has been incredible and is still probably still my favourite of all - even with nostalgia tinted glasses. I could easily talk for hours about all the brilliant stuff that has come with it. Just with all the brilliant stuff that is coming from it, I have that one little niggle in the back of my mind, and the OP seemed to feel roughly the same. It's an interesting discussion to see how others feel about it, hopefully i can get some clarity on my thoughts from it .

I was never putting forward an argument, just expressing my feelings (Hence why I started the whole post with 'I think'). I'm well aware of the many reasons that could be, but it's still how I currently feel about gaming and how i feel about this generation. Whether or not there is a bias in me or I've just played too many games - it's still a part of my feelings towards this generation. I viewed this thread more as a discussion then a debate, no ones claiming to be right, I'm just interested what other peoples take on this type of stuff is.

I am probably enjoying this generation probably more then any other, and obviously am focusing my discussion on the negative for the purpose of this thread. I think for the most part that refining of working game formulas to make them as good as possible is fine, I sure as hell won't miss Uncharted 3 or Batman: AC or sequel-x Don't get me wrong, I think it's important that many of these game worlds are expanded upon, the stories fleshed out and I have alot of time to appreciate this sequel type stuff too. But they've been doing this for 5 years nearly now, and I guess at some point I want to play something that really ignites my imagination. When I look back to this generation I'll think of really good games, but nothing yet stands out at blowing me away. I'm well aware I could just be getting older, I could have just played too many games to feel something new, but this is the only reservation I have about this generation and whether or not it's reductionist or naive it'll still be there.

FFVII wasn't the first JRPG I played (not even on the PS1) but it was the first game of which the scale and depth of which just blew me away. Just that feeling where about 10 hours in you leave Midgar, and you realise the environment you spent the whole start of the game in was a spec on the whole game world was just mind blowing. You throw in the whole Aeris thing and amazing storyline and it's a game people will never forget and people still talk about today. My point is games this gen just haven't had that memorable factor to them, you can think that even just first Guitar Hero was released only 5 years ago, and that carved a whole new genre to itself and gave us a game like nothing we've ever played, an experience we've never had before. Since then it feels that nothing coming out nowadays has that potential to completely blow me away in the same way. Games like LittleBigPlanet, Borderlands, Mirrors Edge came close but they were still just a bit too familiar to really feel like nothing but really brilliant games. I'm sure my age / experience in playing games is hurting me here and that the more you've gamed the less will surprise you, but I'm sure it's not asking too much that in the 5 years these consoles have been out something could be the same breath of fresh air as many of the gaming greats that came out on previous console. I still at the moment sit with the air of hope that it's simply a matter of time .

I think the biggest disappointment of this generation is, as being disucssed, the iterative nature of games now. All the 'big' games are now sequels, and all orignal / new IP's normally don't stray from taking a successful formula and adding a small twist to it - like Assassin's Creed was just GTA with platforming. It's all very derivative, and despite these games often being brilliant, I think it'll feel less memorable then the first time I played Mario 64,Final fantasy VII or GTAIII etc. The Downloadable space is a God send and done alot to rectify that, but it will always still feel that games like flower and Limbo just can't be that memorable like previous generations best games, simply cause they're too small. Still fun though. Nintendo have done some really good stuff with casual / fitness type software but in all honesty, while I'm sure it's pretty significient for gaming future and will define where gaming heads, it hasn't really interested me outside of SMG1&2. Personally I think I've grown to appreciated games more in this generation as I'm older now and have more money, but I don't think there have been as many games that really stand to define this generation. We're at a stage where it's all about doing what's already been done but really really well, which leads to awesome games but an overall sense of repetition after too long. Hopefully we'll see that change in the future, afterall this generation doesn't seem to be drawing to a close anytime soon.

I think they'll go down the COD route here too, seeing as it makes the most financial sense / easiest developement route to share as many resources (i.e. voice acting, storyline, Cut scenes, marketing budget etc) then create a completely different game. The core gameplay might vary, but what that means is anyones guess, most likely a greater focus on local multiplayer and an aiming / cover system designed for motion controls. I can understand Ubi's reservations about it though, Call of Duty is the biggest brand name in gaming right now, and they can't really expect a similiar game in a similiar genre to out sell any Call of Duty game; on any system. They need something to differentiate this on the Wii :/.

...So they came from either further behind.

Sony did, and then back the other way :P.

$50 million should cover you for a one platform game. Gears of War only cost $7 million, Gears of War II $12 millioon and the two Uncharted games were like $18 million...

The HD developement thing really hasn't affected them - There is only a userbase of like 5 million HD console owners in Japan anyway, and no one's rushed to put many high budget JRPG's on the Wii. It's just when there are 5 times as many PSP's and DS's in Japan then home consoles, you're going to put most your support there. There's probably more RPG's nowadays then ever before - and as a genre it very rarely had any 'huge hits' outside of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts. Not alot has changed, just on the PSP and DS people tend to ignore them more, as it's hardest to really make a JRPG standout on limited hardware.

The JRPG isn't in a decline, it's just the Japanese people have moved from the PS1/Ps2 to the handhelds. But this project sounds cool, I just can't get over the title, 'The Last Story'. It's like a shameless rip right from Final Fantasy right up to the logo. I know he made FF in the first place and all, but still, it seems shameless and cliché. Need to see some footage!

People complained about FF:CC being too different, and were pissed the GameCube one was like a multiplayer FF when all we wanted was an epic single player. Now we've gone full circle .

Cheers, I've never played a GOW but love the hack n slash type genre. Figure it's best to work through the trilogy from start to finish . I'll get on top of that soon, probably make it my next purchase. Got an unopened Red Faction Guerilla to play first...

Can anyone suggest the best site for me to import the GoW Collection? It's been confirmed as not coming standalone to Europe now >_>.

Most these companies can't afford to make their games in HD, they just don't have the tech required.