One thing you didn't see coming this gen...

Title is pretty self explanatory, but I'll go on. We are closing out another generation and if you can harken back to last gen and remember what things looked promising, what looked in trouble and what looked stable... What elements of this generation shocked you... For better or worse....?

For me...

For better....

1.Nintendo made the console I've always wanted. Period. I was expecting another soft offering from Nintendo and instead I got the dream console I've always wanted. Nintendo is most certainly back on top and I didn't see it coming.

For worse...

2. The complete and utter destruction of the mass effect franchise. This one really surprised me. EA had probably the biggest rpg license in gaming coming into this gen and not only did they not have a vision for the single game they offered this gen, but they had no follow through. It's as if they wanted mass effect to relegate itself into mediocrity so they wouldn't have to think about what would make a new ME game great. It was sad and unexpected and did I mention really effing sad?

What things, if any did you not see coming this gen for better or worse....

Resident Evil 2.

For years it was just a rumour no one actually expected, or if it did eventually come, end up a massive shit-show action QTE game.

One of the few times a AAA games hyped, looked great, and ended up unequivocally great with no attachment or bullshit attached.

Well, I guess we can say segmenting the original music was bullshit, but that can easily be forgiven this once. They did deliver a bunch of free DLC.

Would argue this game rejuvenated the series, not 7.

For Better:

the trend of post-launch content in multiplayer games becoming free. This has been happening with mid-tier/indie games for a while, but seeing the likes of Ubisoft and EA games like Rainbow 6 Siege, Battlefield and Battlefront bringing post-launch content like maps and weapons free of charge (or even co-op games like The Division 2) is a welcome surprise. This has typically come at the cost of annoying cosmetic microtransactions but IMO that is a good tradeoff (as someone who doesn't care about cosmetic stuff in MP games) since it prevents splitting of communities.

For Worse:

the trend of everything becoming a RPG/loot game. too many games have RPG-style levelling/random loot mechanics where they don't really fit. Eg. almost every Ubisoft game, God of War, Horizon ZD... it just feels like a way to artificially extend game lengths by gating story missions behind player levels and try and addict players with random loot. I actually enjoy playing a good loot game, be it a ARPG or something like Borderlands, but they are becoming too common and i'd rather devs like Bioware and Monolith (division games) work on other stuff.

To be fair, Mass Effect & Mass Effect 2 were still being develop under MS before EA came into the fray, Mass Effect 2 however was still in development with MS before EA bought Bioware and Mass Effect 3 was develop with EA involve. And the trilogy was still awesome, especially Mass Effect 3.

Now what I didn't see coming this gen has to be MS Xbox One being the the most redundant console I never expected! Last-gen, MS Xbox 360 was and still the best MS console I love and enjoy that console then the original Xbox. But to see MS releasing the most disappointing console Xbox One, I totally did not see that coming at the start of this gen. MS clearly didn't learn jacked why they were the top from last-gen, they pull a Sony PS3 movie as if they switch places with Sony.

Other then that, this gen was really good compare to last-gen and I don't often complain but I can say the games coming form Sony/Nintendo exclusives have been good to me and I can also say PC gaming has been getting way more praises cause last-gen was a bad spot for PC, this gen is proving that PC is as popular as ever before.

For better I guess it would be Capcom coming back so strong. While I’ve pretty much always enjoyed most of Capcom’s games, even when they weren’t necessarily so hot, and while I pretty much knew that I’d enjoy Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and Devil May Cry 5 I was a bit taken aback with just how utterly awesome they turned out. Those games are probably my top three games this gen.

For worse I’d go with Capcom again and Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite. The Marvel games are some of my favourite fighting games so I was certainly looking forward to Infinite. The gameplay was really damn good however it was surprising at just how bad or lacklustre everything else was. Kind of a shame really.

@TheEroica: The biggest shock this generation is PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.

I really did not expect that they would upgrade their hardware systems so dramatically. The X is just so much better than the standard Xbox One that I doubt I will buy the next generation until they upgrade the system.

Playstation outselling Xbox by such a large margin was also surprising, i thought they will peter out towards the end of their life-cycle but by this point, I doubt MS will catch up.

The lack of Halos and Gears was also a bit surprising, we had four Gears of War games on the X360 but only two so far for this generation.

Revival of Doom series

Last gen there was no hope for Doom to be revieve as they just cancelled Doom 4 which was call of doom. this gen not only they revive it as old school but become game of the gen and now sequel is coming out in 2 month which also looks like another masterpiece. I see System shock 3 as same treatment.

and for bad

Destruction of Deus Ex series

Square enix revive Deus Ex last gen as the best comeback ever as Deus Ex HR was masterpiece and one of the best game of last gen but this gen they ruined Mankind divided by cutting it into half as a result it flop and now square or Eidos has no interest in making another Deus Ex. complete destruction of one of the greatest series on earth.

Honesty NOTHING!

This gen played out exactly how I expected it.

Sony #1 Nintnedo #2 and......................................................................MS #3

If you were blindsided by anything that happened this gen then that just means you're aren't too sharp when looking at the gaming landscape.

Gamepass, Play anywhere and streaming is also another L that delusional MS corporate muppets are saying is, "the futures" lol. Yeah those non-existent Gears 5 sales are sure to convince Sony and Nintnedo that's the way to release their multi million dollar games in the future, not.

For Better: The return of Doom, Wolfenstein and Capcom.

For Worst: graphic downgrades, Bioware, Konami, Epic games launcher, Microstransactions, lootboxes, lack of new AAA Ip's.

For better: Starting to see a trend of mid level AA games take more of a foothold (something that nearly vanished last gen). I also like to see that not all indies are just low level trash these days, and many of them add to the mid tier I alluded to above. Also, I really like that since architecture is similar between PC and consoles these days that many games that would have died a shallow watery grave being on PC only made it to console where they actually had a chance.

For worse: Playing off of what I said above as my last point is also one of the biggest things I hated this generation. Cheat devices, mouse and keyboard, and things like modded controllers have become just fine to use for kids these days and pretty much ruins the competitive online experience of those who don't use similar devices. The fact that I have been heavily considering buying a Scuf controller is beyond ridiculous, but it's only for the fact that there is a ceiling to how good someone can get on a controller before something like a modded controller or mouse is just a tier above. Not wanting to strike rock bottom it feels at times that getting something like a Scuf is the only way to compete at higher levels these days. However, I don't want to stoop to that level... I know that the Xbox has the elite controller which is awesome, but I seriously hope that both SONY and MS release controllers with back paddles with their next gen counterparts to help even out the playing field, even if they are considered "elite" controllers. It's hard to bring myself to thinking it's ok to use a device with extra buttons even though 90% of pros use it, and it's no secret that most of the best players are using something similar or even worse. If it is a standard option released by the companies themselves I wont think twice though... lol. I hesitated even buying a PS4 Pro or X1X because I felt I would be at an unfair advantage... reasons like this are why I've never taken the plunge and became a full fledged PC player over the years. I like that everyone is on an even playing field on consoles... but that isn't the case any longer... so my only hope is that they fix it and even things out. I love competitive gaming win or lose (of course I prefer winning), but knowing the people you are playing are at an unfair advantage right out of the gate is discouraging and lets some wind out of your sails. It runs off other legit players, and breeds more of them with the old "if you can't beat them join them" bs....

Promising: It is awesome to see the new CoD game place players in rooms based off of their input device and automatically puts controller players with other controllers and mouse with other mouse users. It's cool that we can have cross play but STILL be matched against players using similar devices.

Hope of next gen: More games take the cross play route with similar views as CoD. Put all players in categories based on input devices, and also give console players the same options as PC players as far as POV and options that can affect gameplay. Also, I want devs to be able to detect cheat devices and ban players or put them in the appropriate room, including devices like sim apex that fool consoles into thinking the user is on a controller. I love the idea of cross platform, but it needs to be an even playing field where no one side has an advantage over the other, and cheat devices are not tolerated. I know they have really cracked down on cheating on PC over the years, but they haven't really done much on the console side, so I hope to see players who try to skirt the rules and get an unfair advantage on consoles be met with similar consequences.

The Witcher 3 Game of The Year Edition

I had played many RPG games before this so I thought I knew what to expect coming into this but boy was I wrong.

The fact my choices actually mattered and how deep the side missions went was insane. I remember getting so into the side missions I actually forgot about the main plot for several hours. The characters backgrounds were so deep and it wasn't always obvious who the good or bad guys were since their motivations made sense depending on the perspective.

The world was absolutely LITTERED with stuff to do. Not the generic fetch quests but actual content (Gwent anyone?)

When the final credits had rolled, I thought "Okay I'll just quickly finish up the DLC and be done with it".

I ended up spending an additional 50+ hours on the 2 DLC packs which could have easily been sold as standalone games and yet was offered for free ( Shocking in today's microtransaction world).

It is for this reason that Cyberpunk 2077 is a day 1 buy for me. I almost never buy games day 1 because I know its going to be buggy AF and have content left out that will only be included in a GOTY edition down the line but I know the amount of content in the base game will be insane that $60 will be a steal.


The negatives......

Microtransactions. F*** them.

Good: Deadly Premonition 2

Bad: Microtransactions, gaas, multiplayer shit

Better: PS4 Domination.

Worse: Nintendo continues to make terrible consoles, horrible online, no games. It is baffling how they continue to do so horrible. Only kept alive as a company because of rabid fanboys.

the switch.

I didn't expect the Horizon games to overtake the Motorsport ones but they did which is a good thing.

What I also didn't expect was for Sony to get worse, but they have, I can't say one positive thing about Sony, worst online, worst controller, worst "games" worse anti consumer moves, they absolutely suck.

MS overall strategy and lack of investment in first party exclusives took me by surprise. They tried to ride the momentum of 360 into this gen and they forgot what made 360 successful in the first place. By the time they realized they fucked up, it was too late. They seem to be heading in the right direction now with Game Pass, Play Anywhere, and a renewed investment in first party studios.

@ajstyles: it feels like you've never played the switch...

And he'll never will. AJ just flats out bashes Switch despite it's the hottest thing on the market.

@TheEroica:

Definitely Resident Evil 2 Remake and Final Fantasy VII Remake. I've been waiting for them for generations and what we've gotten is more than I could've possibly asked for!

Yes, they sure get hot! LOL

For worse:

I was surprised by battle royale becoming as huge as it has. Such a simple thing becoming humongous all of a sudden. It's weird to me, as I've seen BR in the past as just one of many modes in other MP games. A not so fun mode, at that. The BR games I've tried all feel shallow to me, so I'm not that thrilled to see BR games as "the thing to make" now.

I also dislike mtx and lootboxes like most gamers born before 2005.

For better:

The indie scene continues to flourish. I've come to depend on indie games, as AAA games have become so much worse. It's becoming harder to separate the AAA games that are designed to be fun from the AAA games designed to squeeze as much money from you as possible. Then when an incredible, lenghty, beautiful game like Hollow Knight comes with a price of a dinner, it gives me the feels.

I was very surprised that Ghosts4ever is actually a girl.

I don't know if I can say I saw it coming or not. Here is what I think the market went. Lets face it the doom and gloom of console market is sort of real. Or maybe I should say the lack of growth like other markets is real. Yes everyone wants to grow including sony. The problem is some made the mistake of rushing to build levies and trip on themselves early on.

On the publisher side the Japanese publishers failed. they struggled to just go on a hybrid approach. Good to see them recovering. DMC can sell like dmc while Monster Hunter does its thing. Since when has DMC ever sold 10 million copies. It is what it is embrace it. Smartly position it and let creators entertain some people.

MS was actually right but as i said it wasn't the time. They ended up tripping all over the place. The vision wasn't even clear. Coming of 360 I did not think they would fumble so badly.

Lets face it nintendo kinda cocked up but then fused to be come an even greater Nintendo. There some other things particularly mobile that were threatening them. They needed to pay attention and embrace it all.

Sony went the hybrid approach. They money hatted king maker COD hell maybe the entire activation catalog. Whatever other 3rd party wanted to try and still not happy with this gen sony benefited from there strong position. So much so that they whiff on some other potential killer things. They recently took over Evo despite really not having a real first party title. Very strong e sport presence yet the only title is GTS. Internally they got rid all the other failures and focus on the same thing they do best. The thing that 3rd party struggled with. Yes for the attach rate bullshit that people are throwing around here. There games have never sold better. So much so none of the 3rd party can really match on similar type of games. So yeah a bunch of your single player franchise died while sony entered that space. And no Nintendo despite being exclusives masters there competition is actually xbox at this point. Overall they have enjoyed the strongest software performance. So much so that online alone beats there competition without them doing dog shit.

In the end though we learned that change or the merging of different service is coming. MS was right. The problem is it wasn't the right time to mumble around. The lesson learned is to provide a strong vision providing choices. Actually sony is stand to loose a lot of share on stronger MS unless they can grow the market together. They have relized they have to push services in a serious way to grow. Cant hide behind the user base anymore when things like cross play exist.

This made me laugh more than it should have, well done :)

@i_p_daily said:

@nethernova said:

I was very surprised that Ghosts4ever is actually a girl.

This made me laugh more than it should have, well done :)

WAIT!?!? All these years, all this time. Ghosts4ever is actually a woman? I, I don't know what else to say!!!

The force has failed me -_-