Everything is average nowadays.

[Mother Yeti]

I'm not equating nothing. All I said was that the increase in technology has slowed and asked what game blew you away through said increase from the past. I never said that I think increased technology leads to better games so I'm not sure where you are getting that from.

Your thread is titled "Everything is Average Nowadays." Your first sentence is "The rate of improvement in games ... is declining." It sounds very much like you're saying that games as a whole aren't getting better. But then it becomes clear that you are talking about graphical/technical improvement. That's where we're getting that from.

And if that's how you judge the quality of games, you are going to continue to be disappointed. There will probably never be another great leap forward like the one that occurred when the N64 was released. And, as another poster mentioned, you've probably been gaming for awhile and as a result your capacity to have your mind blown has decreased.

 

[Amnestic]

[HEADING=1]And now, a public service announcement: BETTER QUALITY OF GRAPHICS DOES NOT EQUAL BETTER GAMES! Really. They're important, but not crucial.[/HEADING]

As someone who counts a 2000 PC game, a 2002 Xbox game and a 2003 PS3 game as his favouritest bestest games ever, I wouldn't even say they're important. A good graphical style which fits the tone of the game is more important than clearly displaying the 32nd freckle on Sir Swordsandarmour's face.

 

[HT_Black]

I'll say...Mass Effect. The first one mind you; you know, the one that came out before Bioware decided to ape Among Thieves for all it was worth. It had beautiful graphics, top-notch acting, and innovative (at the time) gameplay.

Half-lfie 2 would've won had it not blown my socks off a year beforehand.

This painfully undersized review brought to you by H.T. Black.

 

[Captain Pancake]

Morrowind. One of the few games that actually instilled a feared respect in me for the game world with it's masterfully built atmosphere and level design.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

I'm a little disturbed that you're confounding better graphics with better games. I'm generally of the school of thought that constantly chasing the newest extra-shiny bump-mapped super-pixels is making games worse because it ends up eating the lions share of the games budget that could have been spent on, you know, gameplay, story, good characters, etc.

There are reasons why games are getting shorter, more expensive and all the same, namely the graphics tread-mill.

That's right. Better graphics do not necessarily make a game good, especially if the gameplay and most significantly to me the story are shite. Then all the shiny-shiny in the world won't save that pile of crumpets (albeit mouldy crumpets, because I like real ones).

 

[Aunel]

Crysis was pretty amazing to me.
The level of detail I was shown blew my mind, and the gameplay was fun for me.
And the fact that my computer could run it was pretty amazing to me as well.

true that.

OT: Brutal legend!
finally something that display's bassists as awesome!

 

[MurderousToaster]

Please see: BioShock. The atmosphere in that game outdid anything I'd ever played before. That game was most certainly not average.

i'm guessing they also havent played mass effect 2

I think you should refer to the original post.

"Please don't say Mass Effect 2."

I hope it was sarcasm you were using.

 

[Brotherofwill]

First of all, I WILL use Mass Effect 2 because it DID blow my mind like no other game since Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate 2. I'm sorry you don't find it that good, but c'mon, some people like different things than you do.

That being said, there is a simple reason why you feel like you do: You've likely been gaming for a while now and you've seen what there is to be seen. It's harder to get blown away because you're used to the industry and the products it makes. If you were to suffer total amnesia and enter today's game market with a fresh mind, you'd be amazed on a regular basis.

There are two things you can do at this point. One is what most people in your position do: grow more and more cynical and dismissive until your only motivation for playing games is to ***** about them. Or your second option: Accept that you know all the standard tropes and models used in today's gaming, stop expecting someone to reinvent everything for you and learn to enjoy the subtle nuances that differentiate games.

I can safely say that the second option is going to provide more fun. Oh, and there IS a third option: Start making games and show everyone how it's supposed to be done.

Excellent analysis of the problem there. I thought about including the mentality of "been there, done that", which every slightly older gamer will experience at one point or another, but that would have probably made it too long for people to read. I'm well aware of this, and I'm also aware that a young'un going into this medium will have a vastly different experience than me.

I belong to the second category and enjoy most games, especially games that pitch some slightly new ideas and concepts like Ico, SotC or even Flower. I won't however accept the constant rehashing of game motives, stories and design that has plagued a lot of titles and I think neither should anybody. I enjoy games like Mass Effect, Uncharted 2 as the 20 hour popcorn entertainment that I can get out of them but for me to embrace something as mind blowing there have to be a lot of factors that go together. Well all I;m saying really is that it doesn't take a lot to entertain me, but it does take a lot to blow me away.

Wish I could programm, maybe one day.

 

[JeanLuc761]

I'll say...Mass Effect. The first one mind you; you know, the one that came out before Bioware decided to ape Among Thieves for all it was worth. It had beautiful graphics, top-notch acting, and innovative (at the time) gameplay.

This painfully undersized review brought to you by H.T. Black.

Did you just say Bioware copied from Uncharted 2? How do you figure that?

I agree that Mass Effect 2 has a greater emphasis on shooting but the game is certainly as innovative as its predecessor.

OT: as has been discussed in this topic, visuals certainly aren't everything but they're definitely important. However, I'm looking more towards gameplay innovation than I am pixar-level graphics.

 

[Magnalian]

ArmA II blew my mind. It's the closest you'll ever get to a total combat simulator, and it's one of the most moddable games ever made.

Game of the year 2009 for me.

Every single thing is unscripted and powered by dynamic Ai, and the editor is incredibly easy to use. The ArmA and Operation Flashpoint games (NOT the second one, different design team) are so realistic the US an UK armies use a modded version to train their soldiers.

Spoiler: Just look at it in action

Wow. Just... wow. Besides those clips, I have yet to see a game that really blows my mind. I guess my mind is just not easily blown.

 

[Brotherofwill]

I'm not equating nothing.

Uh-Oh, double negative alert...

I did that on purpose, just so you know. Yeah...

Your thread is titled "Everything is Average Nowadays." Your first sentence is "The rate of improvement in games ... is declining." It sounds very much like you're saying that games as a whole aren't getting better. But then it becomes clear that you are talking about graphical/technical improvement. That's where we're getting that from.

And if that's how you judge the quality of games, you are going to continue to be disappointed. There will probably never be another great leap forward like the one that occurred when the N64 was released. And, as another poster mentioned, you've probably been gaming for awhile and as a result your capacity to have your mind blown has decreased.

Agreed. That did come off as a little extreme. My mistake if it sounded like I treasured graphics.

Agreed again. That's pretty much what I meant with my first sentence. We'll likely never see such a leap again, so I wondered which leap was the biggest 'shocker' for people that blew them away.

i meant that he probably hasnt played it if he hatesit so much.

I've played it but I haven't finished it yet, which is saying a lot. I just think that the game is a little bloated and the pacing is frequently off but I certainly don't hate it and plan to finish it soon. I did prefer the first part in almost every way and finished that in like 2 settings.

 

[Fappy]

Oblivion blew my mind when it first came out.

 

[HT_Black]

I'll say...Mass Effect. The first one mind you; you know, the one that came out before Bioware decided to ape Among Thieves for all it was worth. It had beautiful graphics, top-notch acting, and innovative (at the time) gameplay.

This painfully undersized review brought to you by H.T. Black.

Did you just say Bioware copied from Uncharted 2? How do you figure that?

I agree that Mass Effect 2 has a greater emphasis on shooting but the game is certainly as innovative as its predecessor.

OT: as has been discussed in this topic, visuals certainly aren't everything but they're definitely important. However, I'm looking more towards gameplay innovation than I am pixar-level graphics.

WARNING: Spoilers in this post will not be denoted.

Firstly, do you remember how ME1 was loaded to the brim with the stock assortment of bioware hippy/trippy left-wing messages (racial tolerance, give peace a chance, so on and so forth)? In Me2 there was at best the vaguest hint of an anti-elitism message featured for all of three lines in one mission. Ever since KoTOR, Bioware has been a cut above the crowd because of the way it managed to keep slipping morals and the ghost of political commentary into its games. this latest entry, contrarily, might as well be any generic sci-fi flick.

Second, it removes the ghost of innovation that pervaded #1's combat system in favor of tacking on arbitrary ammunition limits and stat simplifications. (There's really not much else to say.)

Third--and this is where the alarms really start going off-- ME2 only has a ghost of the atmosphere of the first, in spite of the touted 'Darkened story'. If you will recall, the closest the first came to humor was Garrus's off-handed remark about how Krogans had a set of four; on the other hand, Mass Effect 2 has:

-Joker flirting with EDI
-Shepard headbutting a Krogan warlord
-Mordin singing 'Modern major general'
-Liara threatening to kill a man with mind bullets (sort of)
-A joke about Grunt going through puberty
-EDI making a joke about how she enjoys the sight of humans on thier knees (regardless of your interpretation)
-And so on and so forth

The problem is that ME2 ditches the tension and seriousness of the first one in favor of these numerous randomly-inserted comedic bits; it'd be like Rorscach putting on a clown wig, or John Cleese interrupting the flying Circus every five minutes to go find the muthphuka what killed his wife.

But again, agree to disagree.

 

[Mother Yeti]

Oblivion blew my mind when it first came out.

Actually, this. When you emerge from the sewers and lay eyes on Cyrodiil for the first time - that is definitely a "holy shit" moment.

If you have a decent graphics card. Otherwise it's a more like a "god damn it" moment.

 

[Jandau]

First of all, I WILL use Mass Effect 2 because it DID blow my mind like no other game since Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate 2. I'm sorry you don't find it that good, but c'mon, some people like different things than you do.

That being said, there is a simple reason why you feel like you do: You've likely been gaming for a while now and you've seen what there is to be seen. It's harder to get blown away because you're used to the industry and the products it makes. If you were to suffer total amnesia and enter today's game market with a fresh mind, you'd be amazed on a regular basis.

There are two things you can do at this point. One is what most people in your position do: grow more and more cynical and dismissive until your only motivation for playing games is to ***** about them. Or your second option: Accept that you know all the standard tropes and models used in today's gaming, stop expecting someone to reinvent everything for you and learn to enjoy the subtle nuances that differentiate games.

I can safely say that the second option is going to provide more fun. Oh, and there IS a third option: Start making games and show everyone how it's supposed to be done.

Excellent analysis of the problem there. I thought about including the mentality of "been there, done that", which every slightly older gamer will experience at one point or another, but that would have probably made it too long for people to read. I'm well aware of this, and I'm also aware that a young'un going into this medium will have a vastly different experience than me.

I belong to the second category and enjoy most games, especially games that pitch some slightly new ideas and concepts like Ico, SotC or even Flower. I won't however accept the constant rehashing of game motives, stories and design that has plagued a lot of titles and I think neither should anybody. I enjoy games like Mass Effect, Uncharted 2 as the 20 hour popcorn entertainment that I can get out of them but for me to embrace something as mind blowing there have to be a lot of factors that go together. Well all I;m saying really is that it doesn't take a lot to entertain me, but it does take a lot to blow me away.

Wish I could programm, maybe one day.

Glad we agree for the most part. I would just like to state that I disagree with calling ME2 "popcorn entertainment" since I found it one of the most emotionally engaging games that I played in my (almost) 20 years of gaming.

 

[Fappy]

Oblivion blew my mind when it first came out.

Actually, this. When you emerge from the sewers and lay eyes on Cyrodiil for the first time - that is definitely a "holy shit" moment.

If you have a decent graphics card. Otherwise it's a more like a "god damn it" moment.

Lol yeah I bet that could have been a boner killer

 

[Senrab]

This thread is average.

 

[Hiphophippo]

I'm going to be edgy and say that there are crazy advances in both gameplay and fun being made almost daily in the indie game field. Some (nearly all) of the most memorable games I've played the last couple years were small time pc games.

www.tigsource.com

Learn a little.

 

[Lemon Of Life]

Oblivion blew my mind when it first came out.

This. And Bioshock for a fantastic setting and Big Daddies.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Snip

Amazing. Very good analysis of the problems of ME 2. I've had a similar experience as you and haven't even finished it yet. However my biggest gripe with it is the incredibly shoddy pacing and the way that you never feel any immediate threat.
It's become so formulaic with the structure of
1. find party
2. satisfy party in side missions that reveal a tragic secret of the individual party members
3. Big, epic conclusion where you most likely have to sacrifice a team member or two, beat the final boss and sleep with one of your crew (I'm predicting step 3 based on Dragon Age and the first part, haven't played that far).

Prefered the first ME in almost everything.