Poll: Is Gaming Going Downhill

[Jakkal]

I think that gaming is going downhill somewhat, but mostly because of the excess of sequels or spin offs. Take Call of Duty for example, repeating the same stuff over and over gets old, and Modern Warfare brought a fresh idea to the series (probably why it sold so well). It's just that when developers come up with a good idea, they never use it in moderation. They have to beat every new idea into the ground, instead of creating a fresher idea.

 

[Jakkal]

I don't see your point.

Sequels aren't bad and don't mean any less creativity, it just means, normally anyway, interlinking characters, which can help you sympathize and care about.

Plus sequels a good marketing tool, keep the same character and names, make a new environment and plot, boom, ya done. New ideas and awareness of brands, very nice.

And games about Space Marines"" don't have to be bad, sci-fi can be a great fictional starting point, maybe just because they haven't been done well, but that doesn't mean much.

And if you mean creative like Mario, I will facepalm. I hate old-school Nintendo, wacky super-hyped worlds full of soulless mushroom people isn't my thing.

You are right, the Halo series was good because the sequels linked the story, but most games today (like Medal of Honor/Call of Duty) neglect story completly and just repeat the same story over and over again with a few new miscellaneous features (such as ripping off regenerating health, or adding co-op etc.)

 

[Dyp100]

I don't see your point.

Sequels aren't bad and don't mean any less creativity, it just means, normally anyway, interlinking characters, which can help you sympathize and care about.

Plus sequels a good marketing tool, keep the same character and names, make a new environment and plot, boom, ya done. New ideas and awareness of brands, very nice.

And games about Space Marines"" don't have to be bad, sci-fi can be a great fictional starting point, maybe just because they haven't been done well, but that doesn't mean much.

And if you mean creative like Mario, I will facepalm. I hate old-school Nintendo, wacky super-hyped worlds full of soulless mushroom people isn't my thing.

You are right, the Halo series was good because the sequels linked the story, but most games today (like Medal of Honor/Call of Duty) neglect story completly and just repeat the same story over and over again with a few new miscellaneous features (such as ripping off regenerating health, or adding co-op etc.)

Well, (CoW)MW1 and MW2 are gonna be different, with interlinking characters and connect to the last game, and that is a "war clone", or whatever, and a sequel.

I'm sure that game will be amazing, even if all the PC players on here and saying it's the worst, over hyped thing in the world, but yeah...It's very easy to prove the OP wrong, I think.

 

[Godhead]

so now you're saying that using the WASD format is going to be something that fucks you over because almost every single game uses it and you want someone to use 1 for forward, # for backwards, & for left strafe, and k for right strafe. Actually that sounds awesome hold on *copyrights 1#&K format* ITS MINE NOW BITCHES!!!!! >
Edit: What about Mankind is yet to Recognize my Genius? Cookie for reference

 

[dumblogic511]

Heavy Rain
God of War 3
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in time
Uncharted 2


These games say different.

How do 4 sequels and a game that hasn't come out yet prove me wrong?

They're future promises of good games coming out.

And why is it so bad that they're sequels? Jak 2 is my favourite game of all time and it's a sequel.

So just because you liked the original, you think the sequel will be awesome?

I don't see your point.

Sequels aren't bad and don't mean any less creativity, it just means, normally anyway, interlinking characters, which can help you sympathize and care about.

Plus sequels a good marketing tool, keep the same character and names, make a new environment and plot, boom, ya done. New ideas and awareness of brands, very nice.

And games about Space Marines"" don't have to be bad, sci-fi can be a great fictional starting point, maybe just because they haven't been done well, but that doesn't mean much.

And if you mean creative like Mario, I will facepalm. I hate old-school Nintendo, wacky super-hyped worlds full of soulless mushroom people isn't my thing.

Sequels are not necisarily bad, but modern sequels seem mostly like the Halo series(Lets add a new gun, and a few new maps, and throw in some weak story, and we get a shitload of money.) Also, by originality I mean something that hasn't been done before. They don't have to create a new genre, but it is not that difficult to think of something besides Huge Buff war heros. By original, I mean games like Tim Schaefer makes, he doesn't necisarily create a new genre, but he puts an individual story with a somewhat individual gamestyle into each game.

 

[Cargando]

As long as Valve keep on making games, I'm happy. [sub/]If only they'd get on with Episode three...[/sub]

True, there is a lot of crap out at the minute, but that's only because all the main releases are in 2010 (Bioshock 2 and Cataclysm for example).

 

[Jakkal]

I don't see your point.

Sequels aren't bad and don't mean any less creativity, it just means, normally anyway, interlinking characters, which can help you sympathize and care about.

Plus sequels a good marketing tool, keep the same character and names, make a new environment and plot, boom, ya done. New ideas and awareness of brands, very nice.

And games about Space Marines"" don't have to be bad, sci-fi can be a great fictional starting point, maybe just because they haven't been done well, but that doesn't mean much.

And if you mean creative like Mario, I will facepalm. I hate old-school Nintendo, wacky super-hyped worlds full of soulless mushroom people isn't my thing.

You are right, the Halo series was good because the sequels linked the story, but most games today (like Medal of Honor/Call of Duty) neglect story completly and just repeat the same story over and over again with a few new miscellaneous features (such as ripping off regenerating health, or adding co-op etc.)

Well, (CoW)MW1 and MW2 are gonna be different, with interlinking characters and connect to the last game, and that is a "war clone", or whatever, and a sequel.

I'm sure that game will be amazing, even if all the PC players on here and saying it's the worst, over hyped thing in the world, but yeah...It's very easy to prove the OP wrong, I think.

Well thats why I think that MW was a fresh spin on the series, especially because it has a real story, not just trying to make yo sympathize with people who have no personality when they get killed (old CoD). i'll have to wait on MW2 though as you cant tell from trailers if they game will have any real depth like it's predecessor.

 

[SimuLord]

I haven't seen a good game in my favorite genre (trade sims) since Port Royale 2 in 2004. No, East India Company doesn't count. And the city-building genre's golden age came to an end with SimCity 4---studios just don't want to do those heavy fans-only games anymore.

Even my favorite developer (Paradox Interactive) has had a hell of a time getting their new 3D Clausewitz Engine (in use since Europa Universalis 3, which came out in 2007) to show an AI worth talking about---the biggest flaw in Hearts of Iron 3 is that the AI completely falls apart when you try anything ahistorical.

The vast majority of my gaming time is spent on games from 2006 and earlier (and if you don't count Oblivion, 2004 and earlier.)

 

[Katana314]

Well, MW2 is gonna be different, with interlinking characters and connect to the last game, and that is a "war clone", or whatever, and a sequel.

I'm sure that game will be amazing, even if all the PC players on here and saying it's the worst, over hyped thing in the world, but yeah...It's very easy to prove the OP wrong, I think.

Assuming truth in qualitative statement from interviews equals
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

For once can you guys shut up about the word "story"? The game's atmosphere adds up to a lot more than that. I could put the entire "story" of Halo in this topic:

You and a bunch of marines while fleeing from aliens called covenant find a big ring that destroys all life with zombies. You blow it up, but then after another big fight on earth find there's another one and that the religious idiots in the covenant want to activate them. So you kill all the religious guys then help a revolution among the covenant and blow up some of the other rings and then Chief gets lost in space again.

Kinda un-daunting when it's in a small paragraph, right? What goes into a game is more than the actual "Story"; what HAPPENS in it. People are interested in the way it happens, the mood, the feelings, and it is no understatement to say there are plenty of games that do it better than Halo. Heck, I might include Modern Warfare as an example. There are definitely recurring characters with unique personalities, and even specific grudges against the enemy.

One of my favorite games for character development is Brothers in Arms; a game where the plot boils down to "A bunch of countries defeat Germany", but the character development goes miles further than that.

Point of what I'm saying is; you can definitely take something existing and redo it in a way that makes it unique. Many games these days copy off one another, but some just do it better. There are about 500 movie-based thug-beater superhero video games and they all suck. But people adored Batman: Arkham Asylum because they actually did it WELL. To stay positive, look at the games you own and realize sometimes there's a bit more in them than you realize.

 

[madman485]

in my opinion, console wars has become a battle of who has the best hardware/graphics. soon we're gonna start reaching the threshold where graphics can't be improved and neither can the hardware. when that point comes, game developers are gonna step back, realize its not all about aesthetics and they will start to focus more on the games themselves.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Heavy Rain
God of War 3
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in time
Uncharted 2


These games say different.

You forgot Demon's Souls. F*ck, that game is intense.

OT: Games are getting more and more expensive and originality doesn't pay. Do the math. Though I'll be to busy enjoying the tsunami of great games that are coming out these months.

 

[Jamienra]

Point of what I'm saying is; you can definitely take something existing and redo it in a way that makes it unique. Many games these days copy off one another, but some just do it better. There are about 500 movie-based thug-beater superhero video games and they all suck. But people adored Batman: Arkham Asylum because they actually did it WELL. To stay positive, look at the games you own and realize sometimes there's a bit more in them than you realize.

i agree. the other great thing about batman is that its original. when spiderman first came out it was amazing due to it being original. but when u get every superhero in new york fighting aliens again and again there needs a new outlook on superheroes. i think games designers are finally realizing this. single player is becoming much more popular and designers are thinking of new ways to make games good and orignal (or at least original compared to what they are now. by reverting to old ways :s). like batman and assassins creed

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Games aren't going downhill, it's always been this way. Our memory just gets blurrier and we forgot how many shitty games were released 10 years ago.

 

[Dyp100]

Heavy Rain
God of War 3
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in time
Uncharted 2


These games say different.

How do 4 sequels and a game that hasn't come out yet prove me wrong?

They're future promises of good games coming out.

And why is it so bad that they're sequels? Jak 2 is my favourite game of all time and it's a sequel.

So just because you liked the original, you think the sequel will be awesome?

I don't see your point.

Sequels aren't bad and don't mean any less creativity, it just means, normally anyway, interlinking characters, which can help you sympathize and care about.

Plus sequels a good marketing tool, keep the same character and names, make a new environment and plot, boom, ya done. New ideas and awareness of brands, very nice.

And games about Space Marines"" don't have to be bad, sci-fi can be a great fictional starting point, maybe just because they haven't been done well, but that doesn't mean much.

And if you mean creative like Mario, I will facepalm. I hate old-school Nintendo, wacky super-hyped worlds full of soulless mushroom people isn't my thing.

Sequels are not necisarily bad, but modern sequels seem mostly like the Halo series(Lets add a new gun, and a few new maps, and throw in some weak story, and we get a shitload of money.) Also, by originality I mean something that hasn't been done before. They don't have to create a new platform, but it is not that difficult to think of something besides Huge Buff war heros. By original, I mean games like Tim Schaefer makes, he doesn't necisarily create a new genre, but he puts an individual story with a somewhat individual gamestyle into each game.

To your reply to the other guy: Yes I do, they made the first game, they understand and they normally have a bigger budget so they can add more ideas in, I don't see why someone would ruin there sequel on purpose.

Well, the thing is, the "weak storyline" was your opinion, as I found it extremely enjoyable in the generally small SP time games have these days, plus it was better then most Space Marines games coming out at the time (other then HL, but the first was meant to be terrible compared to the second, course that goes either way). Also most sequel do keep the same game mechanics and start to add more features, it only makes sense really, add a new gun and expand upon the combat, what else do you expect from a sequel? I think the original Zelda games is the only ones I can think off that changed the gameplay.

 

[oppp7]

No, gaming is not going downhill. The world is getting there, but if we figure out faster-than-light travel even that should stop.

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

It isn't going downhill, it's just becoming different. Older franchises and favorites are being replaced by newer ones: Jak by Uncharted, Unreal by Halo/Call of Duty, and some are even replacing previous versions of themselves; like Grand Theft Auto IV.


Give it a little while, the hobby is just shaking up a little bit, there are still quality titles being made well in to the future, like Red Dead Redemption, and the inevitably great Mass Effect 2.

If anything, games are going further uphill, away from many of the pathetic excuses for entertainment that came out in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

 

[thawk]

The past few weeks gave me Torchlight, Borderlands and Dragon Age - so far my game of the (last 5) year(s)

So, no, gaming isn't going downhill

 

[martin's a madman]

Then stop buying those kinds of games and actually take the time to look for something original.
Gaming isn't going downhill. It's the same as it ever was. If something is popular, of course others are going to try to capture the success of it and try their best to emulate it.

I disagree, look at your older game console games, and look at your new game console games and tell me you don't see the originality fading. Sure their were plenty of bad games then but they were much more original, and while their were clones in the older days too, it wasn't nearly as bad as it has become.

How long can things be original after everything has been done? When things are new, everything is original for them. After a while things start be repeated because there are very few things that have not been done.

 

[L33tsauce_Marty]

Well yeah, if you keep thinking like that.