Is this the generation the end of quality single player games?

[Internet Kraken]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Nah, there's been plenty of good single player games this generation.
I think looking back from the next generation people will see that this one hasn't been all that bad at all, although advancement in game design has slowed down a lot.
Especially caompared to the PS1 to PS2 eras where graphics and gameplay really were advancing quickly. But it still hasn't been bad.

I mean, Halo 3's campaign is much better than Timesplitters 2's campaign.

I respectfully disagree.

TimeSplitters 2's campaign was a great deal smarter. It expected (demanded) a certain degree of both skill and thinking to progress through the game on normal and hard. Although the plot wasn't any deeper than "These are aliens, they time travel, they are evil, fuck 'em up,"
The gameplay and level design made up the short fall.

Halo 3 has nothing that can't be solved by either straight up firepower or pressing the button the NPC's scream at you to press until you press it. The Lord of the Rings in space style plot wasn't bad, but it was hardly System Shock 2 either. To me it's like a summer blockbuster, gorgeous but too easy and too dumb.

 

[squid5580]

I would quote bioshock as an example but since the sequel promises multiplayer it would be pointless.

There's a different team working on the multiplayer component, so the main team isn't distracted from the single player.

Still it doesn't really matter when you only have X amount of space to work with. It would really be nice to see games coming with 2 discs 1 for sp and the other for multi. That way stuff isn't being left out (like GOW 2 did) to be sold later for 10 to 20 bucks.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

 

[squid5580]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

2 of which will have a major focus on multiplayer. Which to me means there will be less focus on SP. No matter how you slice it putting in 1 takes away from the other. Resources from the team, space and getting the servers up and running properly all take away from the SP experience that could have been. Or you take away the story and all the other single player stuff that a game needs and focus purely on MP also works well (TF2, Warhawk and L4D spring to mind as well as a few upcoming games like MAG and Section 8 but judgement for those is reserved).

 

[Internet Kraken]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

2 of which will have a major focus on multiplayer.

The Bioshock 2 multiplayer is being developed by a completely separate team.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

The campaign in COD4 was amazing despite a huge multiplayer focus.

As for Bioshock 2, the idea of multiplayer in it does worry me, only time will tell...
Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

2 of which will have a major focus on multiplayer. Which to me means there will be less focus on SP. No matter how you slice it putting in 1 takes away from the other. Resources from the team, space and getting the servers up and running properly all take away from the SP experience that could have been. Or you take away the story and all the other single player stuff that a game needs and focus purely on MP also works well (TF2, Warhawk and L4D spring to mind as well as a few upcoming games like MAG and Section 8 but judgement for those is reserved).

 

[squid5580]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

2 of which will have a major focus on multiplayer.

The Bioshock 2 multiplayer is being developed by a completely separate team.

Should have quoted the entire post no? I am sure I addressed that.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

2 of which will have a major focus on multiplayer.

The Bioshock 2 multiplayer is being developed by a completely separate team.

Should have quoted the entire post no? I am sure I addressed that.

Well that's what I get for being lazy and not reading the entire post. Still, I don't think the multiplayer aspect of Bioshock 2 will have a negative impact on the single player. Wasn't there some major member of the Bioshock team that left the company? If the single player is lacking in quality, I'm betting it's because of that.

 

[Terramax]

I have no arguments against that but I do have problems with developers making a single player campaign because they "have to". You know the ones, the games with such dramatically bad single player but quite good multiplayer.

I think you've got a good point there. Take Quake 3 (and presumably Unreal Tournament). Even though there is a single player, non-online mode for both, they were built with online play in mind and didn't hide the fact.

For both the single player was really for those who didn't have online yet or wanted to brush up on skills privately. None of the two that I've played seemed to tack on some poor story mode. Both are still remembered fondly, and I know the former is still played by a large community still because of it.

No, now stop spreading panic. All is well, return to you homes people. Nothing to see here.

Seriously, there are still loads of games coming out with good singleplayer content. And I doubt that's gonna change.

I think that's missing the point of the original post. He wasn't saying there was going to be an end to single player, but that some games and their developers are sacrificing a fun single player for online multiplay, raising the issue that perhaps some games are better to just be made of one of the two.

Think about it, as well as being possibly more profitable, what if Bungie made two separate Halo games instead of Halo 3. Halo 3 could have been just a single player experience, with ALL their efforts on making the longest, most rewarding sinle player experience they could, then worked on a Halo solely for online in the same way. Then perhaps long-time Halo fans would've got the great single player story resolution they were hoping for instead of the let down that many have reported?

Although I'm sure many would have critisied them for milking the franchise for all it was worth if they did. I guess devs can't win XD

 

[squid5580]

I
EDIT: Stop mentioning Bioshock. In my opinion it was the worst, most over rated piece of crap I played this generation.

It is not condusive to good discussion to ask people for thier opinions, then dictate to them that they should not express them.

As for single player games, I actually loved the campaign in COD WAW, it was gruesome, morally ambiguous and got me pumped full of adrenalin in many parts (the airfield battle, storming the reichstag)

With games as huge and immersive as Fallout 3, Mas Effect, BIOSHOCK, Dead Space... I could go on and on but yeah I think the single player scene is pretty healthy right now.

You know what game I do think suffers due its focus on co-op? Gears 2. Tank levels need to be banned.

Exactly. If anything, single player games are flourishing right now.

And this year we're getting Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, Batman Arkham Asylum... oh yeah and BIOSHOCK 2.

2 of which will have a major focus on multiplayer.

The Bioshock 2 multiplayer is being developed by a completely separate team.

Should have quoted the entire post no? I am sure I addressed that.

Well that's what I get for being lazy and not reading the entire post. Still, I don't think the multiplayer aspect of Bioshock 2 will have a negative impact on the single player. Wasn't there some major member of the Bioshock team that left the company? If the single player is lacking in quality, I'm betting it's because of that.

I doubt that 1 person leaving at this stage would have any impact. They already have the base built. The world is already there. It would take serious effort to screw it up in the creative sense. With that said trying to cram too much into a small disc could. There is a potential of huge deleted scenes lying on the edit room floor because "we need MP". Just look over at GOW 2's Dark Corners pack. A whole scenario gone because there was no room. They apparently wanted it in there but they also needed MP. SP lost. That is my big concern with Bioshock 2.

 

[Shynobee]

I have to admit, while not horendous, the quality of singleplayer gaming experiances has been declining as of late.

There are always the few shining gems of single player games, but for the most part they are average at best. Infamous/Prototype come to mind for me. Both were average single player games, nothing more nothing less.

As for games like CoD and Battlefield: Bad Company, the single player has always felt like an add-on to me. Yes its still fun for a while, but its painfully obvious that the multiplayer is expected to be the main draw. While their is nothing wrong with this, its just a little dissapointing to me personally.

But, the main reason I believe that single player experiances seem to be lacking is just because there isn't much more developers can put in a single player game to make it feel fresh and original. While multiplayer games have the bonus of being different games each play through, (at least for a little while longer than single player games.)

In the end, I just think that gamers are just people whose attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, not that the games are getting worse and worse.

 

[sokka14]

i agree with you.
the main reason i agree with you (and there are a few reasons) is that i find myself pretty much confined to my PS2 also. probably would fork out for a 360 (but not a PS3) if it had a decent line-up of the fun engrossing single-player games i love. i know it's only my taste, or maybe i'm just not as much into gaming as i used to be, but i wish i could get excited about a few new releases, and i can't.

on a related note, but not attempting to prove anything:
i played Saints Row 2 (borrowed a friend's 360 for a week when he went on holiday) because of all the hype, and to be honest, thought it fell well short of GTA3 and VC. towards the end it was getting quite tedious. good game, but not great.

 

[Uilleand]

Not as long as Bethesda and Bioware exist, and considering Bioware has not slowed in years, and Bethesda has been becoming huge since Fallout 3 and now its recent gain of id. So unless Bioware gets cursed and Bethesda just stops making TES games, single player will be very strong.
There are others, but these 2 more than prove my point.

*nods enthusiastically*

BioWare has filled the next two years of my gaming dance card...

 

[Zelurien]

I know polls aren't the most accurate of things, especially online ones, but recent numbers show that only about 50% of 360 owners actually play online with any regularity. That goes down to 20% for the PS3 and I'd imagine even less for the Wii.

Even if those numbers are rising quickly (which I doubt) developers still have to cater to the mass market which includes a large amount of non-online gamers.

Plus when you consider how well GoW 1&2 mixed single player with multiplayer, and games like Fallout 3 and Bioshock, there's still great single player action to be had. I personally really like when a game can offer both.

Why is everyone saying that Gears Of War was great, it sucked ass. The singleplayer was alright but the multiplayer was god awful. And not just because I sucked at it, it's called one thing, THE FUCKING TWO PEICE, where someone hits you with their shotgun and then blows your brains out, I refuse to play when their is no skill involved and thats all anyone was doing. And since it's impossible to kill anyone befor they get to you since the hammerburst sucks ass and the lancer can kill for shit, you just end up keeping out your shotgun out the whole time to see who can two peice first.

I was actually more thinking of Horde to be honest. Had a lot of fun with that... well still am actually. I have to agree about GOW 1 now that you mention it. Unlike you though, it IS because I sucked at it.

 

[UncleOvid]

Not as long as Bethesda and Bioware exist, and considering Bioware has not slowed in years, and Bethesda has been becoming huge since Fallout 3 and now its recent gain of id. So unless Bioware gets cursed and Bethesda just stops making TES games, single player will be very strong.
There are others, but these 2 more than prove my point.

Wait, you mean the guys who are crafting Knights of the Old Republic 3 as a MMORPG? Dude, so totally fuck them.

Did you somehow miss out on Mass Effect?

No no, I'm aware. I'm just seriously disappointed that two of my favorite story-driven, unabashedly single-player games are being diluted into MMO free-for-alls.

I admit this view is entirely informed by my deep personal prejudice against online multiplayer. Carry on.

 

[hermes]

No, there are a lot of single-player games with good campaign.

I would also include a related issue into this thread: Is this generation the begining of half assed multiplayer modes just for the sake of it? I say yes

 

[Xerosch]

The thing is I don't like playing online. My 360 is hooked up to the internet because of patches and downloadable stuff. But I still find 90% of the games I played in the last 3-5 years extremely predictable and thus boring. It's the main reason I became a retro gamer.

I don't care how long a game is as long as they are intense
I don't care about speedkilling as many assholes as possible online, but I like a good pacing
I don't care about killer graphics, I want good gameplay and story