Are games starting to lack a certain something?

Dont get me wrong todays games are amazing but to me it feels that games are losing there replay value so much quicker then they used to, I meen i have a fair few games for my xbox360 and pc yet quite often find myself with nothing to play. Maybe all these crazy graphics are being used to compensate for lack of gameplay and fresh idea's...maybe are they lacking that certain something or maybe i just expect more then i used to. whats your opinion?madgrezz

I can certainly name a few:

1) Longevity: What happened to the 80 hour epics? Even the standard JRPG is down to 40/50 hrs now.

2) Originality: Luckily, this is coming back thanks to the showing of games such as Mass Effect, Bioshock and Assassins Creed. Though I hoped to expect more from the Next-Gen controllers and stuff, rather than sticking to the standard configuration weve had for 2 gens now.

3) Soundtrack: "wtf is he on about?!" you're thinking. Well, I believe soundtracks in games have declined, games such as FF7 and 8 had some fantastic, energetic music for things like boss battles, as did suikoden 2. Music in games now tends to be more ambient than active.

I think that the main problem is that we all have Attention Deficit Disorder and cannot stay interested in a game for very long.Large_Soda

Thats one solution :p and its probably right, but, no doubt, nobody will stay interested enough to find out. Im not usually into blaming media for anything, but maybe TV adverts have some blame here, as soon as the adverts come on, what happens? You flick to something else. All I wanna do is watch my sodding program start to finish, you can have the adverts BETWEEN PROGRAMS not between parts! Maybe thats the reason we can't stay focussed on anything, adverts pee us off too much :D

[QUOTE="Large_Soda"]I think that the main problem is that we all have Attention Deficit Disorder and cannot stay interested in a game for very long.F4ll3n_1

Thats one solution :p and its probably right, but, no doubt, nobody will stay interested enough to find out. Im not usually into blaming media for anything, but maybe TV adverts have some blame here, as soon as the adverts come on, what happens? You flick to something else. All I wanna do is watch my sodding program start to finish, you can have the adverts BETWEEN PROGRAMS not between parts! Maybe thats the reason we can't stay focussed on anything, adverts pee us off too much :D

It's hard to say... when you think about games back in the NES days, they've got a lot of replay value (most of them anyway), but they were designed that way. Games were more arcade-centric and replaying them over and over ensured steady cash flow. Now, steady cash flow is insured by shelving a game and moving onto a new one. But really, part of what removes the replay value is that the games aren't simple anymore... simple gameplay lends itself well to multiple playthroughs.

But who knows? I mean, I've played through the original Legend Of Zelda about 100 times. I played through Wind Waker once. For all you people who played through Contra a million times, how many times did you play through one of it's more recent installments? It's not like the gameplay of these games has changed dramatically, so maybe the change is in us.

[QUOTE="F4ll3n_1"]

[QUOTE="Large_Soda"]I think that the main problem is that we all have Attention Deficit Disorder and cannot stay interested in a game for very long.wreak

Thats one solution :p and its probably right, but, no doubt, nobody will stay interested enough to find out. Im not usually into blaming media for anything, but maybe TV adverts have some blame here, as soon as the adverts come on, what happens? You flick to something else. All I wanna do is watch my sodding program start to finish, you can have the adverts BETWEEN PROGRAMS not between parts! Maybe thats the reason we can't stay focussed on anything, adverts pee us off too much :D

The BBC channels in the UK work like that as well, in fact, they hardly have any adverts at all, but theyre like the biggest TV company in Britain. Sky 1/2/3 are the worst I think, they play 5 minutes of program, have 5 minutes of adverts, then play 50 minutes of program, then have 10 minutes of commercials and then play the last measly five minutes of program....then more adverts till the next program.

It's hard to say... when you think about games back in the NES days, they've got a lot of replay value (most of them anyway), but they were designed that way. Games were more arcade-centric and replaying them over and over ensured steady cash flow. Now, steady cash flow is insured by shelving a game and moving onto a new one. But really, part of what removes the replay value is that the games aren't simple anymore... simple gameplay lends itself well to multiple playthroughs.

But who knows? I mean, I've played through the original Legend Of Zelda about 100 times. I played through Wind Waker once. For all you people who played through Contra a million times, how many times did you play through one of it's more recent installments? It's not like the gameplay of these games has changed dramatically, so maybe the change is in us.

Generic_Dude

Dont get me wrong todays games are amazing but to me it feels that games are losing there replay value so much quicker then they used to, I meen i have a fair few games for my xbox360 and pc yet quite often find myself with nothing to play. Maybe all these crazy graphics are being used to compensate for lack of gameplay and fresh idea's...maybe are they lacking that certain something or maybe i just expect more then i used to. whats your opinion?madgrezz

I can certainly name a few:

1) Longevity: What happened to the 80 hour epics? Even the standard JRPG is down to 40/50 hrs now.

2) Originality: Luckily, this is coming back thanks to the showing of games such as Mass Effect, Bioshock and Assassins Creed. Though I hoped to expect more from the Next-Gen controllers and stuff, rather than sticking to the standard configuration weve had for 2 gens now.

3) Soundtrack: "wtf is he on about?!" you're thinking. Well, I believe soundtracks in games have declined, games such as FF7 and 8 had some fantastic, energetic music for things like boss battles, as did suikoden 2. Music in games now tends to be more ambient than active.

F4ll3n_1

Wait for blue dragon my friend :)

It's hard to say... when you think about games back in the NES days, they've got a lot of replay value (most of them anyway), but they were designed that way. Games were more arcade-centric and replaying them over and over ensured steady cash flow. Now, steady cash flow is insured by shelving a game and moving onto a new one. But really, part of what removes the replay value is that the games aren't simple anymore... simple gameplay lends itself well to multiple playthroughs.

But who knows? I mean, I've played through the original Legend Of Zelda about 100 times. I played through Wind Waker once. For all you people who played through Contra a million times, how many times did you play through one of it's more recent installments? It's not like the gameplay of these games has changed dramatically, so maybe the change is in us.

Generic_Dude

[QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]

It's hard to say... when you think about games back in the NES days, they've got a lot of replay value (most of them anyway), but they were designed that way. Games were more arcade-centric and replaying them over and over ensured steady cash flow. Now, steady cash flow is insured by shelving a game and moving onto a new one. But really, part of what removes the replay value is that the games aren't simple anymore... simple gameplay lends itself well to multiple playthroughs.

But who knows? I mean, I've played through the original Legend Of Zelda about 100 times. I played through Wind Waker once. For all you people who played through Contra a million times, how many times did you play through one of it's more recent installments? It's not like the gameplay of these games has changed dramatically, so maybe the change is in us.

sophospeare

There are three things you need to take note to...

1. You are getting older. Not everyone will play video games for to long in their lives...

2. There are too many games today, so instead of getting totally awsome games every few months (to enjoy for a long time), we get tons of games in half the time that are half effort and not as good as they can be...

3. You spend too much time gathering information on video games. Info from places such as this place, magazines, and other sources. So, you will know too much about the game by the time its released, so you won't be as surprise or thrilled as you owuld be if you didn't gather all that info. I stopped reading so much info a while back because its ruinning my gaming experience.

PS: Heres one of the most important factors that I see that would help ruin an experience. That my friends is... HYPE!

Thats why I don't hype games and tell others to do the same, but I guess ownage is just as addicting as drugs for some people.

I can certainly name a few:

1) Longevity: What happened to the 80 hour epics? Even the standard JRPG is down to 40/50 hrs now.

2) Originality: Luckily, this is coming back thanks to the showing of games such as Mass Effect, Bioshock and Assassins Creed. Though I hoped to expect more from the Next-Gen controllers and stuff, rather than sticking to the standard configuration weve had for 2 gens now.

3) Soundtrack: "wtf is he on about?!" you're thinking. Well, I believe soundtracks in games have declined, games such as FF7 and 8 had some fantastic, energetic music for things like boss battles, as did suikoden 2. Music in games now tends to be more ambient than active.

F4ll3n_1

Dont get me wrong todays games are amazing but to me it feels that games are losing there replay value so much quicker then they used to, I meen i have a fair few games for my xbox360 and pc yet quite often find myself with nothing to play. Maybe all these crazy graphics are being used to compensate for lack of gameplay and fresh idea's...maybe are they lacking that certain something or maybe i just expect more then i used to. whats your opinion?madgrezz

There are three things you need to take note to...

1. You are getting older. Not everyone will play video games for to long in their lives...

2. There are too many games today, so instead of getting totally awsome games every few months (to enjoy for a long time), we get tons of games in half the time that are half effort and not as good as they can be...

3. You spend too much time gathering information on video games. Info from places such as this place, magazines, and other sources. So, you will know too much about the game by the time its released, so you won't be as surprise or thrilled as you owuld be if you didn't gather all that info. I stopped reading so much info a while back because its ruinning my gaming experience.

PS: Heres one of the most important factors that I see that would help ruin an experience. That my friends is... HYPE!

Thats why I don't hype games and tell others to do the same, but I guess ownage is just as addicting as drugs for some people.

Cedmln

Hey people its good to see such a response to my post and i agree with aot of the things said, me im from the days of snes and megadrive i cant remember how many times i played sonic the hedgehog and mario but i know its was alot.. a hell of alot actually, but i meen sonic games now suck in my opinion theve lost what they used to be there 16mb graphics and midi sound lol but serousily there was just something that used to keep me captivated in them.