Enjoying current-gen?

My PS3 is a month old and for some reason I haven't really been enjoying it as I hoped for. I own 5 games, which are in my genre interests, but I still don't find it all that great. FF XIII is my latest purchase, and was a huge letdown. I don't think I'll be bothered with that game again, even if I'm at Ch. 12.
Do you think developers are neglecting gameplay and are more focused on todays standards of graphics?In all honesty,FF XIII felt more of a movie than a game.

Anyway. just curious what your thoughts are on your 360/PS3/Wii?

What is your favorite era of games?

I think PS2 did it the best. Good gameplay and graphics were balanced.

True. Well, there are still a few games I'm looking forward to that will be released soon/later this year, but a game that has that fun factor still hasn't come by.

Yes. The Wii has brought me some extraordinary gameplay experiences, and by the looks of it, the best is yet to come.

My personal feel is that this is the best generation of machines. For a start, never in the history of consoles has there been 3 competitive machines, all with their own merit. Secondly, the games are the best I've ever played, if games like Assassins Creed 2, Uncharted 2, Arkham Asylum, COD4, FIFA10, God of War 3 don't make you slightly excited, then I'm afraid that is your issue.

The games have been beyond what I thought this generation would be able to produce, games that have the graphical power that can explore new avenues like Heavy Rain.

Not only is there 3 consoles, but 2 hand-helds that both offer their own pros and cons. Great times!

This gen has been pretty good. Got a good number of games on the Wii, 360, DS, and an okay number on the PSP.

Currently loving this gen and its games.

I have the PS3 & 360 Elite and they are both great I kinda favor the PS3 but not much. Both consoles are great with lots to offer.

I'm enjoying it, but I feel like there's a clearer focus on cinematic storytelling, more than in any other generation. It's a shame, because we already have movies for that. I think video games have the potential to involve the player in their stories more intricately than any other medium before it, and it saddens me to see that most are just taking the easy way, showing every bit of story through cutscenes.

Just to make sure I'm clear about my point, the Half-Life series did interactive storytelling very, very right. MGS4 did not.

Aside from that, I'm extremely grateful that online gaming is at long last fully integrated to the console experience. We had a peek of it last-gen, but this is the real thing, and I'm loving it.

I'm enjoying the current generation and I find things to be pretty evenly balanced between graphics and gameplay. Both are more innovative than ever. I'm excited to see which direction things take in the next few years.

The PS3 was released in 2006.

By this time in the PS2s life - we were getting several AAA titles a month.

The PS3 and 360 combined - don't even come close, (and will never come close), to the library of games for the PS2.

I have 90+ games for the PS2, most of them exclusives. I have about 35 games for the PS1.

There aren't even 5 games for the PS3 that I would want, that I don't already have for PC

Today I played

• Drakensang: The Dark Eye (PC)

• Lego Star Wars - The Original Trilogy (PS2)

I'm happy with the PC/PS2 combination. Maybe the next generation of consoles will be worth it - but I'm passing on the current ones.

My thoughts is that this gen is the worst gen so far in video games.I agree with you 100%.My 360 and wii have collected more dust than any other consoles I have ever owned.I thought it was just me getting old at first but now i'm sure that that is not it.I have read so many post that more or less say the same thing.

This is the perfect chance for some company to make a console and focus it more on the hardcore crowd.With more fresh and original ideas and make it easy and cheap for the developers too make titles.

Actually - Drakensang is nothing like Oblivion - but I'm glad you enjoyed it..

well the casual games are winning with the wii and some games are nothing new but loving it alot of fun games

I would also like to point out that I have never ben the retro gamer I am now until this gen and that says something all on its own.Never before have I ben so bored with a gen.I tracked down a sega saturn,gba sp, and a nintendo gamecube and have had way more fun with these old consoles than I have ever had this gen.

People can't say its nostalgia either because many of the titles that I have played for these I have never played.If anyone is looking for something to hold them up then I would say go and find an old console you have never had and check it out.I can also say without a doubt that those consoles are all way more innovative than current consoles.Most of the games I have played feel fresh even though they are like 6 to 14 years old.When the old stuff is more innovative than the new stuff something is wrong.

I would also like to point out that I have never ben the retro gamer I am now until this gen and that says something all on its own.Never before have I ben so bored with a gen.I tracked down a sega saturn,gba sp, and a nintendo gamecube and have had way more fun with these old consoles than I have ever had this gen.

People can't say its nostalgia either because many of the titles that I have played for these I have never played.If anyone is looking for something to hold them up then I would say go and find an old console you have never had and check it out.I can also say without a doubt that those consoles are all way more innovative than current consoles.Most of the games I have played feel fresh even though they are like 6 to 14 years old.When the old stuff is more innovative than the new stuff something is wrong.

fubbal

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. *Shrugs* So long as you're enjoying yourself, that's what's important.

This is the perfect chance for some company to make a console and focus it more on the hardcore crowd.With more fresh and original ideas and make it easy and cheap for the developers too make titles.

fubbal

Not sure what games you would classify as "hardcore", it would appear that there are plenty. And its a catch 22, developers can't make cheaper games unless there is the consumer at the other end.

I do agree with you that originality is something that should be at the forefront a little, but thats not to say that the games of this gen are bad either.

I honestly can't understand it when people say this is the worst gen, either they have extremely powerful nostalia memories or they're very hard to please.

I would also like to point out that I have never ben the retro gamer I am now until this gen and that says something all on its own.Never before have I ben so bored with a gen.I tracked down a sega saturn,gba sp, and a nintendo gamecube and have had way more fun with these old consoles than I have ever had this gen.

People can't say its nostalgia either because many of the titles that I have played for these I have never played.If anyone is looking for something to hold them up then I would say go and find an old console you have never had and check it out.I can also say without a doubt that those consoles are all way more innovative than current consoles.Most of the games I have played feel fresh even though they are like 6 to 14 years old.When the old stuff is more innovative than the new stuff something is wrong.

fubbal

I agree 100%. Gaming has lost that hardcore aspect, imo. Tell me why I'll play Uncharted on the hardest difficulty the first time through, and the game is still too easy. There are very VERY few games that supply ANY sort of difficulty. MW2? That's as casual as you can get. I haven't played a game yet that made me want to go back and give it another go, after a disappointing death. Really, if there's something I look forward too in the next gen, it would be some level of difficulty coming back.

A poster mentioned buying an old console. I think he's right, because in the last few months i've been looking at buying a Saturn out of boredom. In the past year I've given my gamecube away to someone that has a 360, and he says he gets more use out of the Cube. Strangely enough, I wouldn't mind having that console back.

I agree 100%. Gaming has lost that hardcore aspect, imo. Tell me why I'll play Uncharted on the hardest difficulty the first time through, and the game is still too easy. There are very VERY few games that supply ANY sort of difficulty. MW2? That's as casual as you can get. I haven't played a game yet that made me want to go back and give it another go, after a disappointing death. Really, if there's something I look forward too in the next gen, it would be some level of difficulty coming back.

A poster mentioned buying an old console. I think he's right, because in the last few months i've been looking at buying a Saturn out of boredom. In the past year I've given my gamecube away to someone that has a 360, and he says he gets more use out of the Cube. Strangely enough, I wouldn't mind having that console back.

Heirren

[QUOTE="Heirren"]

I agree 100%. Gaming has lost that hardcore aspect, imo. Tell me why I'll play Uncharted on the hardest difficulty the first time through, and the game is still too easy. There are very VERY few games that supply ANY sort of difficulty. MW2? That's as casual as you can get. I haven't played a game yet that made me want to go back and give it another go, after a disappointing death. Really, if there's something I look forward too in the next gen, it would be some level of difficulty coming back.

A poster mentioned buying an old console. I think he's right, because in the last few months i've been looking at buying a Saturn out of boredom. In the past year I've given my gamecube away to someone that has a 360, and he says he gets more use out of the Cube. Strangely enough, I wouldn't mind having that console back.

Daavpuke

Yeah, I want it back because it was the least supported of the consoles I bought last gen--so I'm sure there are plenty of games to buy.

I have not yet tried Demon Souls. I've also heard that it is a difficult game, and it may be, but I guess I just have a hard time believing what I'm told, as these same people will tell me how this and that game are hard--but end up giving no challenge. These same people say Ninja Gaiden is impossible.

I want it never to end.

I agree 100%. Gaming has lost that hardcore aspect, imo. Tell me why I'll play Uncharted on the hardest difficulty the first time through, and the game is still too easy. There are very VERY few games that supply ANY sort of difficulty. MW2? That's as casual as you can get. I haven't played a game yet that made me want to go back and give it another go, after a disappointing death.Heirren

*shrugs* I'm the opposite. I think we have too many games that try too hard to be difficult, and do so just for the sake of it, and so end up feeling cheap and frustrating. I play games to relax and enjoy my free time, doing the same section over and over while being brutally beaten over and over isn't fun, and once I get past I also don't get any sense of accomplishment, I get a sense of "I'm never doing that again, what complete and utter garbage". I'm glad we're at a point in time where gaming is open to more people, the more the merrier. I enjoy Uncharted/Uncharted 2 a bunch, and find both more than plenty challenging on normal, would never bother with the hardest difficulty, crushing. I'm glad gaming "lost" the hardcore aspect you want, if it hadn't, I would have had to finally just give it up after twenty plus years of gaming, and that would have sucked.

Older games on the NES and SNES and etc, were only so hard because the tech wasn't there to program reasonably challenging AI, and brutal cheap difficulty covered up for it, and covered the fact that the game was ludicrously short on content and could probably be beaten in two hours. I put up with it back then because it's all we really had, but gaming has advanced to the point that I have a choice, and I'm not thrilled with the idea of going back to the cheap and irritating stuff. I have no rose colored view of the "old days", I lived them. This, this right here, is the golden age of gaming. That was the stone age. Good for a nostalgic smile and a quick play every so often, (bless the Virtual Console) but I would never want gaming to go back to that fully again.

I have no rose colored view of the "old days", I lived them. This, this right here, is the golden age of gaming. That was the stone age. Good for a nostalgic smile and a quick play every so often, (bless the Virtual Console) but I would never want gaming to go back to that fully again.

Heirren

Couldn't have said it better myself. I think the nastalgia feeling clouds peoples memories a tad. Naturally if you played a game when you were in your teens, you'd have fond memories of it, but if that game came out today, no-one would touch it.

[QUOTE="Heirren"]

I have no rose colored view of the "old days", I lived them. This, this right here, is the golden age of gaming. That was the stone age. Good for a nostalgic smile and a quick play every so often, (bless the Virtual Console) but I would never want gaming to go back to that fully again.

Dollar75

Couldn't have said it better myself. I think the nastalgia feeling clouds peoples memories a tad. Naturally if you played a game when you were in your teens, you'd have fond memories of it, but if that game came out today, no-one would touch it.

I've enjoyed the other generations more.

However, I think it is good that technology is progressing for video games. Soon we will be in a good era of games that will make the current games look like burnt toast. I can't wait 'til we start seeing some photorealistic worlds in non-realistic worlds.....yet, I don't want to see that at the same time. I like art-styles and if photorealism came prevalent, it would be like the switch from traditional animation to CGI; it would start to become mainstream. Not cool. :P

[QUOTE="Heirren"]

I have no rose colored view of the "old days", I lived them. This, this right here, is the golden age of gaming. That was the stone age. Good for a nostalgic smile and a quick play every so often, (bless the Virtual Console) but I would never want gaming to go back to that fully again.

Dollar75

Couldn't have said it better myself. I think the nastalgia feeling clouds peoples memories a tad. Naturally if you played a game when you were in your teens, you'd have fond memories of it, but if that game came out today, no-one would touch it.

Megaman 9 and 10 say hi. :P

But yeah, while retro games are great, I am glad games have advanced to what they are now. There are plenty of good games I have played this gen.

do I enjoy the current gen - yes, there are plenty of good games on the market

is it the best gen - no , my favourite gen was the 5th gen (PS1/N64/Saturn), simply because im not a big fan of FPS games, and thus my game selection is more limited then it was before.

that said, the titles I do buy are very good

[QUOTE="Heirren"]

I agree 100%. Gaming has lost that hardcore aspect, imo. Tell me why I'll play Uncharted on the hardest difficulty the first time through, and the game is still too easy. There are very VERY few games that supply ANY sort of difficulty. MW2? That's as casual as you can get. I haven't played a game yet that made me want to go back and give it another go, after a disappointing death.SteveTabernacle

*shrugs* I'm the opposite. I think we have too many games that try too hard to be difficult, and do so just for the sake of it, and so end up feeling cheap and frustrating. I play games to relax and enjoy my free time, doing the same section over and over while being brutally beaten over and over isn't fun, and once I get past I also don't get any sense of accomplishment, I get a sense of "I'm never doing that again, what complete and utter garbage". I'm glad we're at a point in time where gaming is open to more people, the more the merrier. I enjoy Uncharted/Uncharted 2 a bunch, and find both more than plenty challenging on normal, would never bother with the hardest difficulty, crushing. I'm glad gaming "lost" the hardcore aspect you want, if it hadn't, I would have had to finally just give it up after twenty plus years of gaming, and that would have sucked.

Older games on the NES and SNES and etc, were only so hard because the tech wasn't there to program reasonably challenging AI, and brutal cheap difficulty covered up for it, and covered the fact that the game was ludicrously short on content and could probably be beaten in two hours. I put up with it back then because it's all we really had, but gaming has advanced to the point that I have a choice, and I'm not thrilled with the idea of going back to the cheap and irritating stuff. I have no rose colored view of the "old days", I lived them. This, this right here, is the golden age of gaming. That was the stone age. Good for a nostalgic smile and a quick play every so often, (bless the Virtual Console) but I would never want gaming to go back to that fully again.

I would agree with your statement regarding games taking the cheap route to reach a higher level of difficulty. This however, is a testament to the game designers of the past. Back then, well designed games set up a rule of parameters that the player would follow, and the difficulty could be considered frustrating, but at least it was more akin to learning an instrument than chewing gum--which is where its at now.

The older generation games remind me of watching a film like Memento, whereas todays games are like going to see The Day After Tomorrow, eating popcorn with one hand, drinking a beer with the other, making out with a girlfriend, and taking a dump in the middle of the picture--still feeling like you didn't miss a thing.

Considering what you just said, it makes complete sense that the wii is the system on top right now, and likely the reason motion controls are taking over. It hasn't happened yet, but todays MW2 might be tomorrows, "sit in a fake row boat and fake paddle across the fake lake, and catch some fake fish." I sure as heck don't want to do that.

However, thankfully we still have developers that put out games like Half Life 2/Portal, and beautifully designed ones like Mario Sunshine. I still enjoy whats out there, to an extent, but it feels more like watching tv than playing an actual game.

Nostalgia?

If nostalgia was the reason I didn't like the current generation - I'd have said the age of the Atari 2600 was the greatest generation -

I also gamed on a Coleco, Sega, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, etc.

The PS2/XBOX/Gamecube are absolutely the consoles with the best variety and quality of games, that there's ever been (especially the PS2) - and they are certainly miles above what we have now

I have issues with this generation of games as well. A lot of my most memorable times were on either the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Playstation, and PS2. I think for the money that I put out is not worth it. I mean, 10+ hours of standard gameplay is pretty lame for $60. What's more annoying is a lot of games are multiplayer shooters.

I had some fun with games like SW:TFU, God of War collection, SF4, and a little bit of Dragon Age.

What's sad is that I get more gameplay for my dollar from farming ore on WoW. For a typical $60 game, which lasts somewhere in between 10-20 hours, I could get 4 months of playing an MMO that equals more game time and with a much better multiplayer experience.

I think they're trying too hard with this generation.

The PS3 was released in 2006.

By this time in the PS2s life - we were getting several AAA titles a month.

The PS3 and 360 combined - don't even come close, (and will never come close), to the library of games for the PS2.

I have 90+ games for the PS2, most of them exclusives. I have about 35 games for the PS1.

There aren't even 5 games for the PS3 that I would want, that I don't already have for PC

Today I played

• Drakensang: The Dark Eye (PC)

• Lego Star Wars - The Original Trilogy (PS2)

I'm happy with the PC/PS2 combination. Maybe the next generation of consoles will be worth it - but I'm passing on the current ones.

Born_Lucky

That's the same combination of systems I have. All the current-gen games I have are on PC though and I'll always buy current gen games for PC until I get a console which I'll probably just buy exclusives on...

Like Xbox 360, the only games I'd probably buy are Halo 3, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, stuff like that. PS3, I can really only see myself get the Uncharted series, God of War 3 and Killzone 2. Oh well, works for me. PC games have very decent prices IMO and STEAM is a very wonderful service. :P

Just thought I'd share.

I'd say I'm enjoying it, but not as much as some previous generations. I find myself downloading PS1 games from the PSN about as often as I'm purchasing new games for the PS3, and I'm enjoying each set of games about equally. Overall my favourite generation was probably last generation, as I found many PS2 games that are still some of my favourite to play today.

I enjoyed FF13 immensely, enough so that I'm now well into my second complete play through, on my 360 copy of the game. (beat it on PS3 first) I have a pretty fair amount of games for this gen, a good chunk of them digital, and I'm pretty content with it overall. The only weak point being the Wii, and my disappointment over it's lack of horsepower and universal HDTV compatibility, (on my TV I am literally forced to play in 4:3 ration for the games to look bearable on it at all, my LCD HDTV doesn't do such a hot job with 480p wide screen, it seems) and the continuing lack of a customer friendly convenient storage solution. I just got Project Gotham Racing 4 for only seven bucks used today at Gamestop, and think I got an absolute steal with that one. Sorry you feel the way you feel, you're missing out. I see little to no evidence for the claims that today's developers are putting graphics over gameplay in the design process, I see a ton of games that are giving me both in great excess. But hey, maybe this gen just isn't for you. If things don't change for you, just cash in your chips and leave the current gen table, and just enjoy your old games. No biggie.SteveTabernacle

I pretty much agree with every thing you said (cept the enjoying of FF13 seeing how I don't own it and have only played it at my friends) and I don't really see how people think this gen neglects gameplay for graphics, gameplay seems just as good if not better than last gen, but if its not your thing then yea as Steve said its fine just enjoy the previous gen or get psyched for the next gen:p

In addition I think theres a fine line to be had between defending this gen at all costs, and sulking about and constantly complaining about it. For example it seems some people just do not like change and always like to act as though the previous thing was miles ahead of whatever there is now. I'm not sure if it nostalgia or just humans not likely things different. On the flip side though, we have people who always think the newest thing is better and simply enjoy whatever, the new (in this case generation of gaming consoles) happens to put out. That again is no good as gaming companies see this pattern and then pump out whatever erm...crap they feel like for the quick buck.

I am personally pretty happy about this generation (at least with the PS3 and 360). My one complaint might be games of longer length so many games are so short! However, I'm not going to say that games used to be longer, because in all honesty they most likely only seemed longer between me being younger, less skilled, and overall playing less.

I am enjoying this generation the most.

I'm loving this generation. I'm also very pleased that it's turning out to be a nice long one.

yes i love this gen. but there are better ones. just to much shooters