Question of the Day, July 6, 2010

[Jaebird]

A perfect example of games getting worse: No More Heroes 2. I can't, for the life of me, understand why this game is suppose to be good. It controls poorly, the camera is borderline schizophrenic, the plot is forgettable; all the characters can go into the meat grinder for all I care, and the graphics look worse than a PSOne game. Overall, if a game makes me feel as though I wasted the 3$ to rent it, I'm not having a good time.

There have been very few games within the past couple of years that have been good in the sense that they are games, and not some excuse to get by on the "artsy" or "edgy" credibility. And I'm not trying to say no one can be innovative anymore. You can still try to do something different, but when it sacrifices the actual game part of the game; then there's a problem.

 

[Jared]

I think they are really the same, they just change with the times. Yes, they might look better, and, they might get a little more shinny.

But overall, not alot has changed

 

[Firia]

2D is slowly returning to the mainstage, as opposed to being bumped in favor of 3D. High quality sprite animation make people go gaga. And old gaming tropes are on the rise with the retro revolution! The gaming era I loved, and watched fade into obscurity is returning, and it is wonderful!

 

[Eisenfaust]

i think it works out even... sure, graphics have gotten better, and have brought some good changes, etc (there's more to it than that, i know) but my favorite game was perfect dark for the n64, and my... love for it has never really died... essentially, combining the advantages and the damn pathetic failures that modern gaming has brought around, it turns out relatively even

 

[tehweave]

Pretty much the same i think, maybe we just experince them different as we get older.

It is and always will be this, with small shades of gray.

As for my tastes, it seems more like games in general aren't nearly as good as they were when I got into gaming (n64 PS1 era) but the 'best of the best' games are getting better in quality.

So really, since games are so mainstream now, there's a huge amount (much larger than 10-15 years ago) of really crappy ones, but the 'good' ones are improving.

Like I said, shades of gray.

 

[craddoke]

I agree with the other posters claiming that the quality is generally the same (i.e., a handful of decent games and loads of crap) - the biggest difference, though, is that fifteen or twenty years ago a game almost couldn't help but be innovative in some way. Have a semi-talented programmer or big budget (depending on the time period, this could be read as "a budget")? Create a new engine or game mechanic. Have a decent writer? Develop a story that hasn't been told in video game format yet.

Nowadays, all the low-hanging fruit are gone and studios have decided that throwing money at the problem is the best solution.

 

[nick n stuff]

better cos there are only a few games form my youth that i can still enjoy. the new interest in motion controls may cause decline

 

[Lucifer dern]

seems like as ideas are running out things like story and graphics are becoming more central to every game. so the gameplay may be getting worse but the other stuffs getting better. so things are just as good/bad as ever

EDIT: however when someone gets round to remaking dungeon keeper, i will remove my point her and replace it with GAMES ARE THE BEST FUCKING THING EVER. or i would if i could tare myself away from it...

 

[Denamic]

They're getting WAY better; we're just getting spoiled and harder to please.

 

[gregitaly]

For the most part, yes games are getting better. If you take off your rosy-colored nostalgia glasses for a second, you'll begin to notice that a lot of the "classic" video games are kind of crappy. Take the original Legend of Zelda for instance. You can harp on and on about how "revolutionary" and "first of it's kind" it was, but if you objectively play it nowadays, it kinda sucks. Now, I'm not saying your favorite twenty year old game is bad, I'm just saying that you shouldn't let your nostalgia judge your perceptions for you.

 

[Jaranja]

Personally, I'd say better. In the past we may have had such classics as Tetris and the original Sonic and Mario games, but even so, they were nothing compared to what they have become or could still become now. And with new technology, multiplayer, graphics and better storylines too, games are definitely getting better. Nowadays we have the likes of Halo, Lost Planet, Assassin's Creed, Alone in the Dark (reboot - hey, I liked it, okay?), inFamous, Heavy Rain, Total War, WoW, and so on. How can you look at those and say games are getting worse, eh?

It's true, developers have a lot more to work with now and, let's face it, the original Mario games can't hold a candle to the new ones.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I know games have changed over time. But that does not mean that games have gotten worse. Say what you like about all the games now being gray and brown and feature space marines, but look at all the Contra clones. There were thousands of them! Not only are the quality of graphics improving, but the overall quality of games is as well.

 

[Anacortian]

The graphics have gotten better. While there are some the simply hammock on graphics (bad games), there have been a number of games that were still engaging and good (WoW, LotRO, Portal, Plants vs. Zombies). The fact that this previous list is not a complete list of good, recent games only shows that games are getting better.

So yeah! There is still shit out there, but there always has been. Want a list of old shit games? Watch the Angry Video Game Nerd. 90% of everything is shit, and video games, old and new, are no exception, but the real gems have been getting a more brilliant luster.

 

[JediMB]

Overall it's kind of the same, but the very best of games spike higher today than they did a decade or two ago.

 

[Fursnake]

Visually games are improving, but the quality of content and delivery feels the same and is becoming stagnant as most companies rely on milking franchises over and over again. Also, a lot of games don't seem to deliver as much gameplay duration as the older games, instead delivering mediocre and short single player experiences and expecting gamers to ride the multiplayer train to get their money's worth.

 

[GonzoGamer]

There are some trends atm that I don't like (more simplification etc.) but generally speaking its the same. Good games come out, bad games come out.

As someone who grew up with nes and atari, I would have to agree that there will always be bad games and good games they?ve gotten much better in the broad sense: since those days the games have gotten much more variety, better looks, and longer play. But have they gotten better than the last generation? I don?t know. I perceive Fallout 3 to be at least as rich an experience than San Andreas was for me last gen (in terms of open world exploration) but I would have to say I haven?t found a driving game as fun as Burnout Revenge or anything as trippy as Katamari (except the recent katamari games). I?m hoping that by the time this gen of consoles ripens (which should be happening right around now) we will know things are better.
However, I do agree with you that some trends seem a bit dangerous for the industry (like more simplification and the continued use of QTEs).

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

I'm surpised about the amount of people who said worse... good on ya escapist.
Me? 'Bout the same

 

[Enigmers]

I suppose as I'm growing older I'm growing as a gamer and I can enjoy them more, but I can't really say the overall quality has gotten any better or worse.

 

[The Night Shade]

The same they just change a lot from older times