Worst Change in the Industry this Gen?

DLC. Followed by putting multiplayer into everything.

[QUOTE="TheGuardian03"]DLC lol ?Dr_Snood

Lack of creativity, lack of intrinsically rewarding challenges, making gameplay shallow and heavily prescripted, a focus on games realistic rather than imaginative adventures, DRM, day one patches, tons of studio closures, crappy DLC, metrics driven game design, rise in game prices (even for crappy games), excessive hype and spoilers prior to launching a game (raised expectations + less surprise = dissatisfaction), little variation in art direction, extremely linear level design (lack of secrets, dead ends, side/alternate paths, side missions, etc.), too many cut scenes, very little post game content (such as bonus modes or missions after beating the game), very short single player campaigns, talent quitting to go work on facebook/phone games, lack of any co-op multiplayer, lack of local competitive multiplayer, etc.

Z) All of the Above

... Z) it is

Well, losing my personal information to pirates was fairly disheartening...

Seriously though.

• DRM. I really can't think of a worse change than this. Otherwise functional games have been broken by poorly implemented "always on" internet connection anti-piracy measures.
• Motion Controls. Fail to see any significant benefit to gaming at all besides a gimmick that only a few developers even take the time to try to utilize correctly.
• Hardware dependability. I've gone through one 360, am now on my third PS3 andit is now currently not working either (sent it in under warranty twice, got it back both times still not fixed). I take immaculate care of my hardware too.

-The 3-4 hour single-player campaigns.

-Worthless DLC that's already on the disc

Some really bad dlc rip offs and anoying pre order deals. For example the LA Noir pre order mess. Also putting MP in games that dont need it.

I'm really ticked off with games trying to be movies. The "cinematic experience" is taking control out of gamers hands.

I'm playing Uncharted 2 right now and am on chapter 25... It's just not a great game, but apparently all of this superficial flashyness has reviewers and gamers alike fooled.

Pikminmaniac

Not really. If the game was just a cinematic experience with awful gunplay and jumping then it would suck,but the thing is imo at least it doesint have those things.

DLC. Followed by putting multiplayer into everything.

shinian

I agree with both.

DLC lol ?TheGuardian03

Picked other since for me, the biggest change is not as much time for gaming this gen. :cry:

:P

Probably the obsession with online multiplayer. Was I the only one who thought it was pathetic how people couldn't live without PSN? It's pathetic that some people can't live without knowing their spot on the leaderboard.

Probably the obsession with online multiplayer. Was I the only one who thought it was pathetic how people couldn't live without PSN? It's pathetic that some people can't live without knowing their spot on the leaderboard.

GeoffZak

Picked other since for me, the biggest change is not as much time for gaming this gen. :cry:

:P

SecretPolice

True.:P With college, friends and life I personally never have to time to own many games really.:? PC gaming has changed this a little because of cheap games and DD, but I normally only buy games that I know I will play and finish.:P ... Well that was true until Dragon Age 2.:x

[QUOTE="GeoffZak"]

Probably the obsession with online multiplayer. Was I the only one who thought it was pathetic how people couldn't live without PSN? It's pathetic that some people can't live without knowing their spot on the leaderboard.

C_Rule

Yeah, my KDR must be below 1.0 in every FPS I play. (That means I have more deaths than kills.) But I don't care, as long as I can have fun. Online multiplayer is a good thing, but I hate how it's become so big, most gamers don't care about the single player campaign anymore.

The industry focus on instant gratification over gamers having to work towards achieving a goal. So I guess my vote is towards casualization.

Online MP focus, DLC and motion controls all of which have yet to prove they have any place in games that are'nt on-rail or Wii-Sport clones imo.

DLC. Hands down. I'm all for meaningful expansions, but nickle-and-dime DLC has got to go.romans828_2002

[QUOTE="Pikminmaniac"]

I'm really ticked off with games trying to be movies. The "cinematic experience" is taking control out of gamers hands.

I'm playing Uncharted 2 right now and am on chapter 25... It's just not a great game, but apparently all of this superficial flashyness has reviewers and gamers alike fooled.

finalfantasy94

Not really. If the game was just a cinematic experience with awful gunplay and jumping then it would suck,but the thing is imo at least it doesint have those things.

I didn't say they gameplay was aweful. It's just passable really. I think I was really unlucky with glitches in this game though. I have experienced 4 major glitches on my first play through.

-Drake has ended up half way through the ground. He was stuck there until I had to wiggle myself out of that predicament (Happened when two beast creatures attacked Tenzen and myself)

-I engaged a gaurd in hand to hand combat on a narrow bridge. Our efforts resulted on us fighting on thin air. When Ifinished him off, we both fell to our deaths

-In chapter 25 with the firstbattle against the blue natives of shambala, one of my enemies was running around elivated like six feet from the ground for about 2 minutes.

-also in chapter 25 I decended halfway down some stairs to deal with a gaurdwith hand to hand combat. What resulted was both of us flailing our arms at hyper speed like little girls with no progress whatsoever. So I stopped pressing attack and he hit me a couple times. When I pressed attack again, the same thing happened.

[QUOTE="finalfantasy94"]

[QUOTE="Pikminmaniac"]

I'm really ticked off with games trying to be movies. The "cinematic experience" is taking control out of gamers hands.

I'm playing Uncharted 2 right now and am on chapter 25... It's just not a great game, but apparently all of this superficial flashyness has reviewers and gamers alike fooled.

Pikminmaniac

Not really. If the game was just a cinematic experience with awful gunplay and jumping then it would suck,but the thing is imo at least it doesint have those things.

I didn't say they gameplay was aweful. It's just passable really. I think I was really unlucky with glitches in this game though. I have experienced 4 major glitches on my first play through.

-Drake has ended up half way through the ground. He was stuck there until I had to wiggle myself out of that predicament (Happened when two beast creatures attacked Tenzen and myself)

-I engaged a gaurd in hand to hand combat on a narrow bridge. Our efforts resulted on us fighting on thin air. When Ifinished him off, we both fell to our deaths

-In chapter 25 with the firstbattle against the blue natives of shambala, one of my enemies was running around elivated like six feet from the ground for about 2 minutes.

-also in chapter 25 I decended halfway down some stairs to deal with a gaurdwith hand to hand combat. What resulted was both of us flailing our arms at hyper speed like little girls with no progress whatsoever. So I stopped pressing attack and he hit me a couple times. When I pressed attack again, the same thing happened.

Lack of creativity me thinks, Especially from Japan. Devs like Capcom, Namco, and SE were far superior in the last 2 gens compared to this one.

digital games

For me:

Lack of creativity. Games used to have so much of it. They weren't afraid to play around with the child at heart in us gamers, even when maintaining a serious storyline. I'm playing 3D Dot Game Heroes and I'm loving the charm, yet for many games i play on my PS3, it's dead.

Consider:

Spyro ---> Ratchet and Clank ----> Generic Superhero Cole McGrath

Crash ---> Jak ---> Drake

Sly Cooper ---> Cole McGrath

Timesplitters ---> Haze

See where things gravitated towards?

I miss being a 3 foot monkey or a Lombax. Now I play as a bald superhero-- or is he an infected soldier?

Seems to be an American thing too. Games like Demon's Souls even has a hint of silliness in it (the gesturing system for example)

A part of this is simplicity too-- older JRPGs where you read text instead of hearing voice acting... it just felt different and more creative-- as if it left more towards the imagination.

Alpha-Male22

[QUOTE="Pikminmaniac"]

[QUOTE="finalfantasy94"]

Not really. If the game was just a cinematic experience with awful gunplay and jumping then it would suck,but the thing is imo at least it doesint have those things.

Bread_or_Decide

I didn't say they gameplay was aweful. It's just passable really. I think I was really unlucky with glitches in this game though. I have experienced 4 major glitches on my first play through.

-Drake has ended up half way through the ground. He was stuck there until I had to wiggle myself out of that predicament (Happened when two beast creatures attacked Tenzen and myself)

-I engaged a gaurd in hand to hand combat on a narrow bridge. Our efforts resulted on us fighting on thin air. When Ifinished him off, we both fell to our deaths

-In chapter 25 with the firstbattle against the blue natives of shambala, one of my enemies was running around elivated like six feet from the ground for about 2 minutes.

-also in chapter 25 I decended halfway down some stairs to deal with a gaurdwith hand to hand combat. What resulted was both of us flailing our arms at hyper speed like little girls with no progress whatsoever. So I stopped pressing attack and he hit me a couple times. When I pressed attack again, the same thing happened.

It is pointless extra flash. The core gameplay is what matters to me and Uncharted 2's is just good. Not great or fantastic. Everything is broken up as well. You cannot play the game at your pace. You have to slow down so that the game can give you the experience it wants to give you. There is only one set piece which I thought was effective and that's the car chase sequence. It had a direct and fun effect on the gameplay.

Basically when I play a video game I want to be in control. Uncharted robs control from me far too often.

I'd prefer a game to use excellent and engaging gameplay to pull me into the experience

All of them along with DLC, DLC is a poor man's mod that you pay most of the time.

xboxPSTreyExpo2012

Not to encourage you, but I laughed.

Anyway, streamlining by far. I'm not a fan of overly-complex games, and I think a lot of games recently have been nailing the level of complexity for their genres (with the addition of RPG elements and such), but developers are getting into a really bad mindset of simplicity being inherently better than complexity. It seems like with every other sequel, the devs hype the game by telling you what they've taken out rather than what they've added. They forget that generally the more complex a task is, the more rewarding it is to succeed.

Thrill rides are fine, but by no means should every game be a thrill ride.

Activision, DLC, CoD

Spyro ---> Ratchet and Clank ----> Generic Superhero Cole McGrath

Crash ---> Jak ---> Drake

Sly Cooper ---> Cole McGrath

Timesplitters ---> Haze

See where things gravitated towards?

I miss being a 3 foot monkey or a Lombax. Now I play as a bald superhero-- or is he an infected soldier?

Seems to be an American thing too.

Alpha-Male22

I feel you, man. That's exactly how i feel.

It is pointless extra flash. The core gameplay is what matters to me and Uncharted 2's is just good. Not great or fantastic. Everything is broken up as well. You cannot play the game at your pace. You have to slow down so that the game can give you the experience it wants to give you. There is only one set piece which I thought was effective and that's the car chase sequence. It had a direct and fun effect on the gameplay.Pikminmaniac

It is not pointless. It may not have much bearing on the gameplay, but that's the beauty of games - there are many different ways they can draw you into their world, whether it be the game mechanics, the story, the visuals, the sound design...it's a collaboration between interactivity and presentation.

Of course it would be better if they made cinematic setpieces that you were in control of at all times, but it's incredibly hard to do that and maintain tension. The moment you don't make the jump or whatever, the illusion is broken and you're just wrestling with a game mechanic, but at the same time there has to be the possibility of failure to provide the player with some sense of danger or urgency.

It's just a product of what Uncharted is that it only gives you "the experience it wants to give you". There's nothing wrong with that, it's just what they were shooting for, and if you enjoy that type of experience the game does an amazing job of it.