Man, this is a tough one. I am one of those that believe most games now are worse than they were, even just one generation back, in which they were for the most part worse than the generation before that. However, with all that blah blah blah said (lol) I do feel SOME games have been making strides in the right direction.
1. 3D Mario games. I never was a big fan of the original Mario 64, but I feel that most new iterations of 3D Mario games are getting better and better, and I can't wait for the next one in line, whatever that may be.
2. Super Mario Maker (Yes again with the Mario... Nintendo be killin it - I never thought a 2D Mario game could get BETTER than SMB3 or SMW, but a game that has endless levels and no end to the creativity that incorporates all the best games and then some. The ONLY thing that could be better is if they make a Super Mario Maker 2 and add a fully fledged Mario campaign and STILL retain the Maker part. Sure, the original has a campaign of sorts, but not really.
3. Dynasty/ Samurai/ Orochi Warriors and Empires (these games continue to get better and better. There is really no denying it. If it's your thing cool, if not that's cool as well. I used to be a bigger fan than I am now, but I still buy new games from time to time as they continuously evolve the franchises in the right directions.
4. Sandbox games in general, including survival games (Now, I'm not saying that ALL sandbox games are better, just that the quality as a whole has gone up. Perhaps that is because more and more are being made though, not too sure.) I am loving the survival horror games and just plain survival games like 7 Days to Die, Rust, and Ark. I really hope they continue to evolve these games in the right direction, and they are EASILY the best newer genre around, and one of the only pushes toward originality and something that is moving in the right direction. Sure there are ripoffs galore, but that's not a bad thing in my book. Most are pretty fun to play.
5. MLB The Show (Each year the series gets better and better).
6. NBA 2K (Although I HATE the laggy online play of this series and much prefer Live's online play, it is hard to argue that each of the past 4 years aren't getting better and better. The shot meter this season is AMAZE BALLS.
7. Racing sims as a whole
8. Size of game worlds (I love how the average game worlds are getting larger and more detailed. That said, in some cases like the bridge from Morrowind - Skyrim (don't get me started on that steaming pile Skyrim...) it actually goes down, but it is really the exception here andot the rule, which is a good thing. I think it's awesome how large and detailed gaming worlds are becoming.
I'll post a few more later, have to go for now. I know not all of these are games, but I decided to also list some improvements overall since quality is sometimes hard to judge otherwise. As far as fun gameplay goes, I feel the industry has gone downhill overall, but as far as setting a solid foundation.. yeah, I think it's there. It just feels as though the last couple gens have been little more than guinea pig gens. What I mean by that is that it feels like they are testing the water with hardware and tech more than worrying about the software, for something down the road instead of taking advantage of what we have NOW. I personally think starting NEXT gen that gaming will hit a golden age (yes there will be another gen, you can take it to the bank). I feel that many of the bugs and kinks have been worked out of modern day gaming (similar as to struggles with the net over the first few years of induction) and now that a solid foundation is built from a technical, hardware, and app standpoint that they will put more time and energy into games moving forward since they can finally recognize a standard that was previously unattainable through hardware that was being pushed to do too much. At some point, the hardware will match the vision and we will enter another awesome age of gaming (or so I believe... or hope) It's not that all games have been horrible over the past couple handful of years, it's just that it feels incomplete and like an afterthought to the growing industry. I feel that industry has grown and is starting to fill those shoes that just a couple years back were at that awkward stage of development where the potential was there but was wobbly as the foundation grew. Now that things are ironed out however, I truly expect next gen (especially with how many gaps have been bridged between platforms) that something great is coming in the next few years. Add that to the fact that Indies are booming more than ever, and the industry is more profitable than ever and what was once an awkward teenager should start to blooming into a full fledged bad ass sooner rather than later. When that time comes, I will accept it with open arms (not that I don't already grudgingly do that anyways... grumble grumble), but I won't be telling all the damn "this generation is the best ever" kids to get off my lawn, because at THAT POINT, I might just agree. Oh yeah, and that's not to mention the fact that internet standards are rising everyday, and by the time this all happens the speed of average internet might actually put people close to par with each other which also eliminates the need for things like lag compensation. That is truly the ONE biggest thing holding gaming back these days. The vision is there, but the tech and average internet speed isn't quite there yet. The good thing is that it is only a short time until we get to the point where those struggles are history.
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