Where have all the Good Games Gone?

[GoodSarmatian]

I would note that one exception is where trends in gaming have gone against your individual preferences. Space 4x games aren't that common any more and, perhaps most obvious, would be the shift to slower, linear cover based shooters as opposed to more open run and gun style of Duke Nukem 3D and Doom. Obviously if they simply quit making games for a category, old games are unquestionably better.

Part of the problem is that my tastes have become quite particular. I don't mind the cover based shooter thing as long as the chest high walls don't look completely out of place. I even think it's an improvement.
Linearity...well, when I was young, games only had two dimensions, so that's nothing I can complain about, and the JRPGs I grew up with were for the most part strictly linear
They don't make less nonlinear games than they used to, just take Bethesda.

Plus, 30-year olds have seen a lot more Space Marine games than fifteen-year olds. It gets repetitive.

I haven't seen a lot of space marine stuff. I don't own a console and I'm not that much of a shooter guy.

 

[say1988]

The industry has made some strange decisions lately. We all wanted remakes of Syndicate and Xcom...but as FPS-games???

Really? The vast majority of the market doesn't. The next part goes with it:

While this is true, at least for JRPG's, quantity at least seems to be going doing. Quality is out there but it's hard for me to find. Though, I have heard the PSP has been were JRPG's have been getting big, and I don't have one, so it may just be that I'm not noticing them I suppose.

When an industry trends away from an area some people will be left behind, but that doesn't mean quality has gone down, just that selection has changed.

I think that another issue is that most titles in a genre tend to have VERY similar User Interface and overall concept. For example in rts you get to see the endless repetition of collecting gold, wood, stone etc, and build mines, factory etc etc. This was not always the case.

For the vast majority of cases this has always been true. It is just that we have forgotten about all but the best of each set of clones. For the most part there were only two popular RTS games in the 90s either Westwood's Dune/Command & Conquer with one resource and build menu or WarCraft (i.e. AoE) with multiple resources and building units at individual places. Yes there was innovation, but most was just polishing iterations. And more innovative games were just as often left behind these iterative games in sales, just like today.
For strategy in particular, the relative demand is significantly lower than it was in the late 1990s so there is far less development because there are far fewer games.

 

[NetGear]

Its usually both. You cant ignore that an individual changes. They gain higher expectations over time but quality also generally goes down when anything goes mainstream. They have to cater to the mass in order to grow their circle of people. and avg human being isnt so bright. And its usually these lower percentages that get tagged along as these circles of group get inflated.

Gaming has become more accepted as mainstream activity over the years. And its the price we pay.

Also: i think gaming industry parallels what happened to movie industries quite well. Take for instance, in movie industries lot of innovations and creative attempts happened in the early years when the industry was young and didnt have its firm method of how to do and fund things yet. Today movies are lot more stale and formulaic, but thats not to say there isnt innovation happening at all. There will always be few brillant makers and independent movements to keep things fresh. IMO 90s game era will be seen alot like the movies of the 30s, so it will especially be seen as going down hill if you were 'spoiled' during that generation.

 

[Joecoolyo]

The problem with games these days is that so much emphasis is put on graphics and flashy bullcrap, while not nearly enough is put on gameplay..

Dunno, sometimes the flashy bullcrap can be fun. Like, for instance, I've found myself lately playing a lot of Just Cause 2. No reason whatsoever; it's just that it's a beautiful/flashy game that's fun to rampage around in for a couple hours.

 

[Maniacal]

Just Cause 2 is supposed to be a flashy game filled with explosions and B-movie voice acting though, which is why it is so good.

 

[Joecoolyo]

Yeah, which is why flash in a game isn't necessarily bad

 

[Leonel]

I think Skyrim is just really swell! I'm bias though as the game has music from Morrowind in it so it just brings up good memories.

 

[Antilogic]

I haven't played a new RPG in years, at this point. Every so often, I boot up the SNES or Playstation and play some of the good old FFs. Much more PC-oriented nowadays, and even then I'm disappointed (i.e. Civ4 -> Civ5).

I definitely appreciate more complex games now than I did as a teen, so the recent trend towards social games, Facebook games, and more simple stuff disgusts me. I'm digging up some more obscure titles, and that has been rewarding.

 

[warpus]

Dunno, sometimes the flashy bullcrap can be fun. Like, for instance, I've found myself lately playing a lot of Just Cause 2. No reason whatsoever; it's just that it's a beautiful/flashy game that's fun to rampage around in for a couple hours.

Yeah, but in that particular case (and I know, I've played this game for hours) the gameplay IS good.

As far as I'm concerned it should be ALL about the gameplay. AI second... Graphics third.

 

[GoodGame]

Why they are on Good Old Games! /Obligatory plug for www.gog.com

GOG's name has to be taken with a grain of salt. Some really good oldies are on there, for sure.


I've been playing the hell out of Star Trek Online, and a bit of Warhammer Online. World of Tanks is a pretty good game.


Other goodies I've finally bought this year would be Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, etc...


AT OP, If GOG doesn't have what you want, dig through Steam's catalog.

 

[Dachs]

I haven't played a new RPG in years, at this point.

Spoiler screenshot :

You're missing out.

 

[Quackers]

You realise your saying this when:
-Skyrim and modern warfare 3 are barely 1 week old,
-Battlefield 3 has been out for a few weeks,
-Assassins creed 3 has just arrived,
-SWTOR is out soonish.

/slap spoilt gamer!

 

[Dachs]

Well, I wouldn't put MW3 and AC3 into the "good game" list. But, yeah, spoiled gamer is spoiled.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

In five or ten years, people will complain that none of their games are good and will long for the games that have come out now.

 

[Maniacal]

People complain about this every year

Anyway, if you have an idea of what kind of games you'd like to play make a thread in AoG about it and you will get plenty of feedback.

 

[SerriaFox]

People complain about this every year

Anyway, if you have an idea of what kind of games you'd like to play make a thread in AoG about it and you will get plenty of feedback.

Considering what this site is dedicated to, I thought the type of game I would be interested would be obvious. For the record I can't stand CiV

 

[Oruc]

I dont know about you lot, but my interests have narrowed considerably. When I was a kid I would play all sorts of games, sports, racing, management sims, FPS, platformers, RPGs, turn based and RTS. Now I only seem to play RPGs, sandbox games (gta, saints row) and paradox games.

 

[Joecoolyo]

Yeah, but in that particular case (and I know, I've played this game for hours) the gameplay IS good.

As far as I'm concerned it should be ALL about the gameplay. AI second... Graphics third.

Yeah, I guess it is the gameplay that kinda keeps you stuck to it, but with that type of game I still think really pretty graphics shouldn't be sidelined! I want to drool over the gorgeous view... when I drive my pickup truck over the side of a mountain.

 

[squall78]

Just Cause 2 is supposed to be a flashy game filled with explosions and B-movie voice acting though, which is why it is so good.

60 hours in, about 50% completed. It's pretty much exactly what you describe. The perfectionist in me won't quit until I get 100%..... which will be a while. Then I also have to beat NV, MGS4, and Dead Rising 2.

 

[Maniacal]

Speaking of the devil, Just Cause 2 is on sale on GamersGate for as little as $4.99 USD.