Everything is average nowadays.

[CINN4M0N]

Braid. It was a 2D platformer, but so complex and had so many layers. I couldn't beleive how fun I thought it was.

 

[Riobux]

Honestly, Dragon Age: Origins. I wasn't expecting a game as dark as that when I bought it by any means so when I made a city elf that was being oppressed by humans while some of his race were being raped by humans, my mind was blown.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Please don't use Mass Effect 2.

Why not?

If you want massive leaps forward then you'll have to wait for Virtual Reality, 'till then STFU!

Easy there with the insult. Get a grip man. I said that as a joke because I knew atleast half the posts were to use that game, so I wasn't far off in my assumption. I still don't see what's so mind-blowing about it, but then again I have yet to finish it.

I have 2 points here, the first one sounds nit picky,and I'm sorry for that but I think its relevant.

1) I can see how the grapic improvement from Halo 1 to Gears 2 is minor compared to Mario NES to Mario 64. Thing is the Mario NES/64 comparison is a little unfair to the Gears/Halo;
The NES and the N64 for are separated by a generation (the SNES) were as the 360 is a direct follow on the the 360.
Comparing Super Mario Bros NES to Mario World SNES http://openbytes.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/super_mario_world_snes_screenshot21.jpg (I'm not so good with the internet trickery) would be alot more fair.
As for Mario on the 64, that generation of consoles was the start of the true 3D revolution in gaming, thats why it felt so amazing. which brings me to my next point

2) I totally see what you mean by diminished return. From last gen to this, graphically it only feels like minor tweaks and a cross over from standard def to high def, but we are awaiting the next technical revolution. Holograms? Real 3d? I don't know. But I do feel pre 3d gaming era, each gen just introduced more pixels and more colours, nothing revolutionary.

1) Very good point about the 2 generation leap in that time frame so it's probably not fair to compare the development. I just did because 9 and 11 years are a similar length.

2) I really hope we get a gameplay oriented 'revolution' rather than a technical one. 3D 3D D) gaming sounds ok but I doubt it would make the games a lot more fun. Let's see where the whole Gem/Natal/ Wii thing is heading, maybe some good new concept will come from here. I'm not a big fan of motion gaming but I still think it has some potential.

True about the pre 3D era improvements. That's also why I picked Mario 64 as the game that blew my mind. The gameplay was incredible for that time and the added dimension + new gameplay mechanics really brought a change to video games.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

I have 2 points here, the first one sounds nit picky,and I'm sorry for that but I think its relevant.

1) I can see how the grapic improvement from Halo 1 to Gears 2 is minor compared to Mario NES to Mario 64. Thing is the Mario NES/64 comparison is a little unfair to the Gears/Halo;
The NES and the N64 for are separated by a generation (the SNES) were as the 360 is a direct follow on the the 360.
Comparing Super Mario Bros NES to Mario World SNES http://openbytes.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/super_mario_world_snes_screenshot21.jpg (I'm not so good with the internet trickery) would be alot more fair.
As for Mario on the 64, that generation of consoles was the start of the true 3D revolution in gaming, thats why it felt so amazing. which brings me to my next point

2) I totally see what you mean by diminished return. From last gen to this, graphically it only feels like minor tweaks and a cross over from standard def to high def, but we are awaiting the next technical revolution. Holograms? Real 3d? I don't know. But I do feel pre 3d gaming era, each gen just introduced more pixels and more colours, nothing revolutionary.

1) Very good point about the 2 generation leap in that time frame so it's probably not fair to compare the development. I just did because 9 and 11 years are a similar length.

2) I really hope we get a gameplay oriented 'revolution' rather than a technical one. 3D 3D D) gaming sounds ok but I doubt it would make the games a lot more fun. Let's see where the whole Gem/Natal/ Wii thing is heading, maybe some good new concept will come from here. I'm not a big fan of motion gaming but I still think it has some potential.

True about the pre 3D era improvements. That's also why I picked Mario 64 as the game that blew my mind. The gameplay was incredible for that time and the added dimension + new gameplay mechanics really brought a change to video games.

TBH, I'm not too excited about the new 3D thing thats going on either, not until we don't have to use stupid glasses anyway.

How about hologram projectors that put a holographic gun in your hand instead of a controller, while playing FPS's? (I think I'm a couple of decades ahead of myself there)

I Think Metal Gear was my 1st "wow" moment for that generation

 

[Squilookle]

I'd say the original Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, which I played for the first time late last year. I'm no fan of realistic war sims, but the way they did mission structure was unlike anything I had seen before and really sucked me in. It's a testament to a game that in a mission where you have to get across country unnoticed, I found a rocket launcher and DIDN'T use it on the patrolling helicopter, because I was just that nervous about getting spotted.

mine was the first halo game growing up on the N64 I had some decent games with storyline and fps's like turok which wern't that great. Halo blew my ming in graphics and story line opened me up to fps's.

You owned an N64, are talking FPS's, and yet didn't mention Goldeneye, Perfect Dark or TWINE.

It's no wonder Halo blew your mind...

 

[Brotherofwill]

I Think Metal Gear was my 1st "wow" moment for that generation

Man I loved that game. Sadly I played it in English when I couldn't properly understand the language so a lot of things went over my head. Awesome game.

You owned an N64, are talking FPS's, and yet didn't mention Goldeneye, Perfect Dark or TWINE.

It's no wonder Halo blew your mind...

I agree. N64 FPS's kicked ass. If anything you should have high standards going away from that console after playing the good shooters.

 

[Chipperz]

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.

Yes, the fact that the government is floundering and outright denying any problems while the only organisation willing to actually make a stand against something which is trying to wipe out all life in the universe is a terrorist group dedicated to furthering the goals of a galactic minority through any means necessary is nothing like political commentary. Not at all. I'm amazed Fox hasn't jumped on it, but I guess none of them have actually played it to find that out.

OT - Borderlands. I haven't been struck by a game's style and finesse like Borderlands for a long time.

...Come again, stranger? Maybe it's just me, but I can't make heads or tails of what you just said there. If you can, do you think you could rephrase that somehow?

I was just pointing out that Mass Effect 2 still has a political commentary, it's just not the usual "can't we all get along" stuff. It's now far closer to just bitching that the government (ie The Galactic Federation Council) never does anything and, although I'm well aware that I might be the only person that got this vibe, there was a sense that while it may not be the best solution, terrorist groups (ie Cerberus, who may be the most benevolent terrorist group in the history of time, but are a terrorist group none the less) get stuff done.

 

[Silvance]

I have to say I must agree with this thread. I love ME2, ME1 was great. DA:O is great. However when I pit them against games I loved a decade ago, there's no contest. RPGs like Suikoden II, Star Ocean II, Guardian's Crusade, Breath of Fire 3, and FFVII (I don't wanna hear it.) Most of those I replayed and rebeat(is that even a word?) at least 10-15 times, SO:2 especially. These days it takes a truly great game for me to play though it more than twice.