Has 2011 so far been the worst year for games in a generation?

LA Noire is the only game I've bought this year, and that was disappointing. What's going on? I know we have BF3, MW3, and AC coming up but where are the original action adventure games that made gaming what it is today? IMO, there's way too much fantasy stuff around and not enough games like Unchartered 2, RDR (not Zombie dlc, obv.), GTA, andeven Mass Effect, atleast the Mass Effect plot is placed in a feasible context. 30-50 year old gamersneed more interesting games than magic-this and zombie-that.

Rant concluded. I would like to buy more games than 2-3 a year, itamazes me that the industry seems to only care for big shooters and zombies.

Disagreements? Love to hear it...

I also purchased LA Noire, and while I do think the story was fine, the fact you couldn't play in the end really bugged me. It was okay but a bit boring at times too, I found the whole "Black Dalliah" cases to be quite intriquing until it concluded with a weak ending. Read Dead Redemption was a great great game I agree on that. As for 2011 being a bad year for gaming I have to disagree. Batman: Arkham City ( which comes out tomorrow) looks simply amazing and i've been anticipating it more then any other game this year. Assassin's Creed I'll still play but lost my excitement for, the gameplay looks pretty much the same (though I love the story) I was also anticipating Skyrim and Uncharted 3 but quit following those too, I'll get them but Batman's what I care for now.

Though so far this year I'd say the best game I bought is Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the boss fights are hard, the plots engaging and I can totally see myself replaying it. I must agree though, we do need more adventure games or action. I say give me a PS3 version oflikea Legend of Zelda game (but don't make it a Legend of Zelda game)

I don't agree 2011 has been a bad year, but Summer 2011was one of the worst3-month stretches this generation in terms of absolutely zero quality. But since Deux Ex: Human Revolution, there's been a very steady stream of high quality, and many many more on the way. I agree that tastes change and mature as you grow older (I'm 33), and your interests in gaming have the potential to narrow. I know mine have. But I'm really looking forward to Batman, Skyrim, and Uncharted 3 for the rest of the year. I still love the hobby, and I think there's a market for mature and thoughtful games.

Some said 2010 was, some say 2009 was and some say...

I wouldn't say so. Like every year there's been a pile of generic, uninteresting, or dissapointing games, but there have also been quite a few gems (ex. Bastion, Terraria, Catherine, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky). There's also some good recently released games and soon to be released games. (ex. Dark Souls, Skyrim).

• Batman Arkham City
• Battlefield 3
• Modern Warfare 3
• Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
• The King of Fighters XIII
• The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
• Uncharted 3
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Super Mario 3D Land
• Mario Kart 7
• Resident Evil: Revelations

i think this is shaping up to be one of the best years of the generation. there have been some games that were good even if they were a little disappointing, but portal 2 was excellent and im playing through dark souls which is shaping up to be even better. i missed catherine, the whitcher 2, and deus ex, but ill eventually get around to them. then theres still the upcoming games like skyrim and skyward sword which are very promising.

the only bad thing has been the delays of the last guardian and journey, but those will only make for a solid next year with the witness and some others.

LA Noire is the only game I've bought this year, and that was disappointing. What's going on? I know we have BF3, MW3, and AC coming up but where are the original action adventure games that made gaming what it is today? IMO, there's way too much fantasy stuff around and not enough games like Unchartered 2, RDR (not Zombie dlc, obv.), GTA, andeven Mass Effect, atleast the Mass Effect plot is placed in a feasible context. 30-50 year old gamersneed more interesting games than magic-this and zombie-that.

Rant concluded. I would like to buy more games than 2-3 a year, itamazes me that the industry seems to only care for big shooters and zombies.

Disagreements? Love to hear it...

gavin78

But I can agree with you somewhat. I like the fantasy type games such elder scrolls and RPG's, but I feel gaming is getting less and less interesting. It just feels like something is missing in games these days. And yes RDR is probably one of the best games to hit stores ever. I even like the zombies DLC, it is a awesome game.

22 reasons why I love 2011

1. Uncharted 3
2. Rage
3. Shadows of the damned
4. Catherine
5. Gears of war 3
6. Skyrim
7. Battlefield 3
8. CoD MW3
9. Batman AC
10. Dark Souls
11. The Witcher 2
12. Deus Ex HR
13. Mortal Kombat
14. Infamous 2
15. Saints Row 3
16. Star Wars ToR
17. Zelda SS
18. Lord of the rings war in the north
19. Bulletstorm
20. Crysis 2
21. Warhammer 40k spacemarine
22. Stronghold 3

My favorite games this year have been L.A. Noire and Dead Space 2. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon isn't too bad, either. I'm looking forward to Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. I might get Sonic Generations and Batman: Arkham City later on down the road after their release dates.

It's been a good year for gaming in my view. I felt 2010 was the worst year this gen.

Deus Ex has been my favourite game released so far this year & I'm looking forward to Skyrim the most. I haven't been that impressed with the games released so far but I doubt it's the worst year for games in a generation.

I've waited so long for King of Fighters XIII... 2011 is a godsend... also, today marks the release of Arkham City.

So yeah, 2011 has been good to me.

LA Noire is the only game I've bought this year, and that was disappointing. What's going on? I know we have BF3, MW3, and AC coming up but where are the original action adventure games that made gaming what it is today? IMO, there's way too much fantasy stuff around and not enough games like Unchartered 2, RDR (not Zombie dlc, obv.), GTA, andeven Mass Effect, atleast the Mass Effect plot is placed in a feasible context. 30-50 year old gamersneed more interesting games than magic-this and zombie-that.

Rant concluded. I would like to buy more games than 2-3 a year, itamazes me that the industry seems to only care for big shooters and zombies.

Disagreements? Love to hear it...

gavin78

Inbetween Littlebigplanet 2 (my favorite game ever, and I've been gaming for 34 years), Disgaea 4, Infamous 2, Resistance 3, Catherine, the Team Ico Collection and Mass Effect 2 (which just hit the PS3 this year) I'm quite happy with this year's releases.

I'm loathed the Getaway games so I passed on LA Noire, but based on what I've heard I can see why it disappointed you.

Last but not least you and I have different definitions of fantasy. If a guy crouches behind a wall and magically heals from a gunshot (a concept I loathed when I first came across it in The Getaway, though I've gotten used to it) midway through a firefight where he will kill a thousand enemies, or features some crazy plot where Russia invades the US, the game is fantasy IMHO. If grounded fantasies float your boat, enjoy, but don't kid yourself about their fundamental ridiculousness.

Bear in mind, I've got nothing against grounded fantasies (Uncharted 2 is the best single player experience I've had in a very long time and I have part 3 prepurchased).

I think it's been a good year for gaming.

Crysis

Infamous 2

Rage

Skyrim

Batman

Saints Row 3

LA Noire is the only game I've bought this year, and that was disappointing. What's going on? I know we have BF3, MW3, and AC coming up but where are the original action adventure games that made gaming what it is today? IMO, there's way too much fantasy stuff around and not enough games like Unchartered 2, RDR (not Zombie dlc, obv.), GTA, andeven Mass Effect, atleast the Mass Effect plot is placed in a feasible context. 30-50 year old gamersneed more interesting games than magic-this and zombie-that.

Rant concluded. I would like to buy more games than 2-3 a year, itamazes me that the industry seems to only care for big shooters and zombies.

gavin78

Shooters are where the money is unfortunately, and zombie game aren't nearly as prevalent. People just grow tired of them more easily.

UC2,RDR,GTA,ME. It's not strange that games that are very high quality, and vast in scope don't come around every other day when you had to use the same developer for two games on a list with four.

I don't have a problem with magic. It's nice to throw a fireball every once in a while, and some games use magic in interesting ways. I can usually ignore it in most of the games with magic that i play. Biotics in ME are basically magic, but it's easy to dismiss that since it doesn't follow the standard elemental pattern.

I've not been all that impressed with games released this year with the exception of portal 2, and the witcher 2. It would be nice to see more action adventure games. Even if i'm unsure if the adventure games i imagine are the kind you are after.

Hell no! We got a Zelda OOT remake and were getting a completely new ZELDA on wii!!!! (i like zelda)

There aren't that many games I myself want to play though... I'm really excited for...

Zelda SS
Batman AC (not liking the whole single player pass thing)
Sonic Generations (looks like a great sonic game)
Assasins Creed Revelations
and maby Skyrim.

....... ZELDA!!!!!!

Nah, it's actually been a very solid year. Portal 2, Ico/SotC HD, Bastion, Deus Ex, Catherine, Batman, Skyrim coming up,etc.

The most disappointing year for me this gen was 2008, but that could have been because the quality of 07's output was so amazingly spectacular that I had unrealistic expectations. The actual worst year in terms of personal enjoyment would have to be 09. I didn't even like Uncharted 2 as much as everyone else did. I expected this wondrous puzzle platformer with solid shooting, and got a stock standard cover shooter with some automated platforming and virtually no puzzles worthy of the term. Also, Drake turned out to be a sleazy phychopathic murderer with a penchant for smartass quips in between the mass killing. Next to the dreadfully written and totally uninspired MGS4 (and FF13 for that matter), UC2 is probably my biggest letdown this gen.

The past few years have been bad years for games because the shooter genre has been dominating the market.

So far the only game released this year that I bought was White Knight Chronicles 2.

$60 for a game is asking for too much, which is why I haven't been buying many new games lately. Instead I've been spending $5 - $20 on PS2 classics that I missed out on. (Such as Persona 3, Resident Evil 4 and Dragon Quest VIII.) And you know what? I'm enjoying those games a lot more than most current generation games.

Blame casualisation and consolisation.

The next gen consoles are coming out at some point in the not too distant future - I think publishers are just trotting out the same old mediocre junk until then, advertising the hell out of, and hoping it sells.

Also the gaming industry has become just like the movie industry - everything's a sequel and whatever you do, don't EVER take a chance on anything the least bit different.

No, pretty good year.

- Skyrim

- Saints Row 3

- Deus Ex HR

- LA Noire

- Rage

- Toy Soldiers 2

Skyward Sword nuff said.

Heck no. It's one of the best.Elann2008

I agree. You tell 'em elann

Are you kidding, I think 2011 is a great year, we still have swtor, bf3, and SKYRIM. I already picked up gears 3 and it blew my mind, the multiplayer was amazing although the campaign was a bit lacking for me. Oh and the hidden gem for me this year was Deus Ex Human Revolution, thanks to the above post for remindign me hehe

Me dunno.Ma didnt buy any games dis ya.

For me this has been the best year this gen. I've enjoyed pretty much all of the games I've played that have been released this year -

• Littlebigplanet 2
• Ghost Trick
• Radiant Historia
• Portal 2
• Mortal Kombat
• Marvel vs Capcom 3
• Dead Space 2
• Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
• Crysis 2
• LA Noire
• Alice Madness Returns
• Limbo
• El Shaddai
• Catherine
• Deus Ex HR
• Ico / SOTC HD
• Dark Souls
• Guardian Heroes HD

To finish out the year I'm going to play Uncharted 3, Batman AC, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Skyrim, King of Fighters XIII, and Super Mario Land 3D. That's a lot of good games. It's going to be hard to choose GOTY.

It's been my least favorite year by far. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 looks to be the only game that won't disappoint me this year.

Nah, it's actually been a very solid year. Portal 2, Ico/SotC HD, Bastion, Deus Ex, Catherine, Batman, Skyrim coming up,etc.

The most disappointing year for me this gen was 2008, but that could have been because the quality of 07's output was so amazingly spectacular that I had unrealistic expectations. The actual worst year in terms of personal enjoyment would have to be 09. I didn't even like Uncharted 2 as much as everyone else did. I expected this wondrous puzzle platformer with solid shooting, and got a stock standard cover shooter with some automated platforming and virtually no puzzles worthy of the term. Also, Drake turned out to be a sleazy phychopathic murderer with a penchant for smartass quips in between the mass killing. Next to the dreadfully written and totally uninspired MGS4 (and FF13 for that matter), UC2 is probably my biggest letdown this gen.

streak000

I think it's been a good year, but I'm becoming more selective with what I play as well, which probably accounts for some of that. These people that just wig out and assume at the beginning of the year that a bunch of games they know nothing about are going to be life-changing make me laugh, because they're always the ones b****ing in December about how underwhelming the year was... of course it was! They get it in their heads that a bunch of games can't simply be good, they have to be legendary.

I agree with you about Uncharted 2 and (especially) MGS4. That game singlehandedly killed the series for me... the story was the only real selling point seeing as other games in other genres offered better experiences in stealth and action, and the story was so rotten that there really isn't any reason for the game to exist, in my opinion.

I purchased Dungeons and Dragons Daggerdale, Dead or Alive Dimensions and Forza Motorsport 4 this year. I pay for Live, bought some Avatar stuff and I bought an in-game item in EQ. I don't plan on buying anything else in 2011 and I follow gaming.

Disagreements? Love to hear it...gavin78

Some said 2010 was, some say 2009 was and some say...

wiouds

Shogun 2, Witcher 2, Portal 2, Deux EX HR, Batman AC, Dark Souls, BF3, Skyrim, Uncharted 3, Skyward Sword, Super Mario Land 3d, I could go on and on about more games, but I really will stop there, the problem is that some of us are jaded and we don't look at the whole picture, just because I don't like hockey and soccer doesn't make any hockey and soccer game I bad game, it's just not my thing.

2011 has been a calm year so far but November will be the storm. Get ready to duck and cover when Skyrim and Skyward sword hit the shelves.

This year bought :

360S console

Fallout NV and RDR

4-5 bargain bin games under $20

4000 MS points (1300 left)

2 months of Gamefly subscription

Will buy : Skyrim, Saints Row 3

Maybe : MW3

Yes, it has been the worst year so far for games that I can personally remember.

I have purchased an all time low of one new release this year [Mortal Kombat]. I would have had two other games to add to that list [Xenoblade, Last Story], but they weren't released in the US, so this also marks the first year that I can remember of owning a console and not purchasing a game on it all year [I won't be able to purchase Zelda because I won't be able to play it due to medical issues until next year].

Then games are oddly stuffed together this winter, and so stuffed that games go up on the "chopping block".

There aren't a LOT of games that I'm interested in this winter, but the ones that I are are major time suckers:

Battlefield 3 and Skyrim being two major time-suckers that do come out this year.

Early next year Tribes Ascend and Diablo are added to that list.

On the console side I am interested in Uncharted 3 and Zelda for release this year, and next year I'm interested in Twisted Metal and SSX.

Some other games I gave consideration to this year include Deus Ex, and was planning on purchasing Witcher 2 and Heroes of Might and Magic 6 while on sale, perhaps this Christmas.

This list is pretty small, but because of Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Diablo 3, and Tribes, nearly everything else is getting relegated to the "back log", or a "Won't purchase". This is just a failure of game companies to attempt to release their games throughout the year, rather than continuing to compact them into the holiday season. Had the games been spread out throughout the year, I would end up purchashing essentially all of these games, but because they're all compacted into a 3 month spread, I'm going to be purchasing less than half of them at full price, and some I might not be purchasing at all.

In hindsight, I'm pretty glad it happened that way since my house was hit with a major storm and yard required months of repair work [still going on now, but I can't participate any longer because of a medical condition], but that doesn't change the fact that it was the worst year in gaming that I can remember.

Assuming the rest of this year's big games deliver, this could be one of the best. I agree, however, that the first half of this year was very slow (especially compared to last year).