Are games in general getting worse or is that nostalgia talking?

[SpaceArcader]

I find it quite disappointing these days that multiplayer trumps over gameplay and narrative. In general it seems like some companies at the moment do the following : copy and paste, set pieces here, have a slow motion bit here oh lets have an on-rail section everybody loves that. In my opinion, I think if companies want to focus on multiplayer then just do multiplayer and leave campaign and narrative alone. Does anyone remember Dead Space 2 and Bioshock 2's multiplayer? My thoughts exactly.

 

[linkvegeta]

I would have to say getting a bit worse. I have went back and played a game for nostalgia reasons and realized it wasnt that good of a game. then I played another and it was good.

Honestly I point fingers at EA and publishers like them that try and pump out a game per year. that heavily reduces quality in a game and make me very sad. there is the occasional gem though.

 

[Woodsey]

Not really, but there does seem to be a recent sway to make every game apply to complete retards, which is harming certain experiences.

Crysis 2 has an F to look button for example. An actual button whose sole duty it is to face you towards buildings that are collapsing. REALLY?

The new Hitman meanwhile will allow you to see through walls. The old games used to have a fucking map that let you see people's positions - now we have a feature that could quite possibly dictate level design.

 

[Sovvolf]

I imagine its mostly nostalgia. A lot of problems we have with video games today were just as present when we were kids. We were probably just too young to care at the time that we honestly don't really remember all that much. We mostly just remember the stand-out games that we really enjoyed and such, ignoring the other shite.

Though speaking of which I did see a video that might help you out in explaining this (I'm really not good at explaining things) http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/2011/03/gaming-in-the-90s-sucked/

Hope that helps.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

I only got in to gaming in the early 00's, but I have gone back to play some more old school games just to see what all the fuss is about. My verdict? Very much unimpressed.

I does bother me that AAA gaming is getting noticeably more samey, and that online multiplayer is held in such high regard even though it will almost always be ruined by the other people on it no matter how balanced it is or how good the maps are. But with most of the older stuff I played I found the humour to be cliched and boring, the gameplay to be unpolished, the stories to by and large have no depth and the graphics to be generally shit.

The only old school style games that I can honestly say I've loved are the Timesplitters ones, and seem as the last 2 definitely came out in the 00's as I recall I'm not sure they even count.

 

[Museli]

Games aren't getting worse in my view, it's just that I have to dig a bit deeper to find the gems. In the last couple of years I've sunk hundreds of hours into incredible indie games that cost less than a tenner each. The stuff you want is out there, it just might not be in the same place that it used to be.

 

[Greatjusticeman]

Eh, kind of, not really.

It's kind of hard to say that with the slew of awesome games coming out this year, and then ME3 and Bioshock Infinite coming out next year.

 

[TheDuckbunny]

They're evolving. Some for the better, others for worse. There are always different games serving different people so it isn't really an easy question to answer. But I do believe nostalgia is always present when playing older games. They're easier to like.

 

[shrekfan246]

I would have to say getting a bit worse. I have went back and played a game for nostalgia reasons and realized it wasnt that good of a game. then I played another and it was good.

Honestly I point fingers at EA and publishers like them that try and pump out a game per year. that heavily reduces quality in a game and make me very sad. there is the occasional gem though.

I'd just like to be the one to point out that since 2005, EA have published over 130 games - Only five of which have received average review scores in the 90% range. The "game a year" thing you're referring to I assume is aimed at franchises such as Call of Duty and the EA Sports games. But if you're going to point fingers at publishers, which I actually laud you for because I don't like them either, you should be more specific and say that they're trying to force developers into pumping out a game a year.

TL;DR: I agree with you, but I don't agree with how you phrased your general statement because publishers pump out much more than one game per year. I'm a writing freak, sorry.

EDIT: On topic, I think that whenever developers focus on multiplayer aspects, the single-player suffers immensely for it. And since I don't care for multiplayer, that makes me sad.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I find it quite disappointing these days that multiplayer trumps over gameplay and narrative. In general it seems like some companies at the moment do the following : copy and paste, set pieces here, have a slow motion bit here oh lets have an on-rail section everybody loves that. In my opinion, I think if companies want to focus on multiplayer then just do multiplayer and leave campaign and narrative alone. Does anyone remember Dead Space 2 and Bioshock 2's multiplayer? My thoughts exactly.

My problem is that multiplayer game content is included as a replacement for the lessened amount of sp game content.
It seems like we get less game than we did last gen.
Sure things have gotten nicer looking since last gen but I had more fun on the ps2.

 

[Byere]

I'm a nostalgia and retro lover. I agree, gaming has pretty much gone down the toilet nowadays. I agree with Linkvegeta though, there is still the occasional gem out there... even if most publishers/developers seem to try and get out more quantity than quality.

 

[linkvegeta]

I would have to say getting a bit worse. I have went back and played a game for nostalgia reasons and realized it wasnt that good of a game. then I played another and it was good.

Honestly I point fingers at EA and publishers like them that try and pump out a game per year. that heavily reduces quality in a game and make me very sad. there is the occasional gem though.

I'd just like to be the one to point out that since 2005, EA have published over 130 games - Only five of which have received average review scores in the 90% range. The "game a year" thing you're referring to I assume is aimed at franchises such as Call of Duty and the EA Sports games. But if you're going to point fingers at publishers, which I actually laud you for because I don't like them either, you should be more specific and say that they're trying to force developers into pumping out a game a year.

TL;DR: I agree with you, but I don't agree with how you phrased your general statement because publishers pump out much more than one game per year. I'm a writing freak, sorry.

Holy Crap! that more games that I thought. Im talking more about games that EA are pushing like Biowares games. Even bioware didn't like how dragon age 2 came out, they said they had to release it because of EA crazy deadlines. I mean they have already announced Mass effect 3! ME2 is still new. there should not be a new ME for a few more years at least.

 

[disfunkybob]

Remember, there was a lot of shit back then too. If you take a 5 or 10 year span and cherrypick the best games since the rise of the NES, you could make a pretty good argument about most periods of time. You can do the same thing with music or movies.

Depending on your personal tastes, maybe this time period isn't your favorite. But such is the ebb and flow of art (and life).

 

[Guilherme Zoldan]

I think Gaming overall is a lot better. Sure there are lots of souless greedy game companies popping out chest-high-wall brown shooters and God of War rip-offs but at the same time the new technologies and the bigger market has allowed for some truly creative and interesting titles to appear. Not to mention mainstream games still have their gems, Bayonetta is in my opnion the best action hack-n-slash game ever made for instance.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

They are getting better, not worse, but the improvements we see per game is getting smaller.

 

[jobobob]

People are becoming more cynical and cant enjoy games anymore, they always look back to the games of their childhood, but if they release one like that they cry "rehash" So there's just no pleasing them.

 

[shrekfan246]

Holy Crap! that more games that I thought. Im talking more about games that EA are pushing like Biowares games. Even bioware didn't like how dragon age 2 came out, they said they had to release it because of EA crazy deadlines. I mean they have already announced Mass effect 3! ME2 is still new. there should not be a new ME for a few more years at least.

To be fair to Bioware, they have multiple divisions that work on each game. That's why they've been able to release: Mass Effect in 2007 (2008 for Windows), Sonic Chronicles in 2008 (2009 in Japan, funnily enough), Dragon Age: Origins in 2009, Mass Effect 2 in 2010 (2011 for the PS3), and Dragon Age 2 in 2011, as well as countless amounts of DLC. I do agree with you on how EA pushes them, but that's because I believe Bioware should have split for another EDIT: "publisher" :EDIT when EA crushed Pandemic Studios (I have a hatred for EA that I will not get into here).

 

[mikey7339]

I'm a nostalgia and retro lover. I agree, gaming has pretty much gone down the toilet nowadays. I agree with Linkvegeta though, there is still the occasional gem out there... even if most publishers/developers seem to try and get out more quantity than quality.

I have to lean that way myself. This is the big problem though. Games are stagnating and consolidating at every level. Not only have entire genres disappeared but those that remain are gravitating towards a few games and copying the core elements/feels from them under a new title.

Think about it, when is the last time you played a star fighter simulator like wing commander? They don't exist any more, the closest we have is ONE level in Halo Reach from the current generation of games. And those games were absolutely a blast. I don't know how many of you played the first Descent: Freespace but that is a great example of how that genre could deliver great game play and an impressive, engaging and genuine awe inspiring story without ever leaving the cockpit. Now...nothing...it's gone.

Another good example is Sim City, when was the last time something even remotely close like that came out from a big publisher? Roller Coaster Tycoon is another good example. Now...nothing.

Nostalgia is a big factor in why a lot of us think games are getting worse but it's not for the reasons you think. Yes it is in part because we have great memories of enjoying them in our younger years. And we keep replaying them, in part because of that. But we have to keep replaying them if we want to get the same experience because a lot of the game types we used to enjoy just aren't being created any more.