@youre_a_sheep Problem there is that the people making the games grew up in the age where their point of reference does not include experience with anything else. The veterans of the industry are in the minority now, are on PC, or have promoted to higher executive roles.
@saygoodie I used to feel this way until I obtained an XB1. XB1 graphics are indeed better than 360. It won't drop your jaw (diminishing returns), but I suspect that will change. The gameplay, however, is that which has not budged.
@Articuno76 Good point. I think the only thing that separates them from us is a degree in journalism. Still, many great writers. You just have to find the one that shares your tastes and stick with them. I really loved the Daily Radar staff, RIP.
The first time I ever played a video game on a console was as a kid on the Atari 2600. On that day I played Night Driver and Space Invaders. It was an amazing experience, in that, there was never anything like it before, and I was hooked. Prior to that, the closest I came to video games was the Coleco Head to Head sports handhelds, and Coleco Alien Attack handheld. Needless to say, by the time the games Danny started with came around, I, and others in my age group, were already being mystified by the evolution of videogames from years past. What this means is that the perception of the medium is relative to a constant. That constant is what the core of all games are- taking CONTROL of a virtual identity in a controlled and simulated environment surrounding a story or set of required goals. All that has changed at its core is the level of fidelity that we do it.
What has also changed is that "homegrown" feeling you get from a game that truly feels like it was somebody's labor of love, not something off a production line of 500 workers. That is why so many games from the past have garnered a classical and cult status, while too many games today must be sifted thoroughly of single minded, flashy graphics and ad campaigns to achieve the idea, indeed if there is a good game to be found therein. It is for this reason, having experienced the games that we have in the past, that gamers in my age group are a bit more discerning, though, we probably appreciate where (good) games are at this point though a level of immersion that we do not take for granted and are amazed by. But we will always be searching for that "true game" feeling that is hard to come by.
But this is how the industry is growing the new consumer base, as a horde of eye candy starving zombies. Also, the corporate clout of a company was never a standard by which to judge a console or game in my day. The idea of that is ridiculous and ludicrous- but defines one aspect of the awkward superficiality of today's gamers. If there is one point to be made about this contrast of "old to new, " it is how gameplay has taken a back seat, often times, to graphics. When I was growing up it was about gameplay first. I think that's where this brings us to the relevance of "the review." To me, personally, the review can be the only tool (besides one's individual tastes<which is what review's come between>) that can, and must, intrinsically, be devoted to one purpose- which is, to sort the convolution of superficiality and tell us if the game is good or not- in other words, does the game possess one simple thing- good gameplay. What your idea of good gameplay is most likely does reside in your "gaming IQ, "and it is my belief that one's gaming IQ, not to sound elitist, indeed resides in one's "gaming age."
For fun, I have noticed a lot of gamers commenting on their time with the Amiga- which was indeed the most graphically advanced format to play games. But, let us not forget the most graphically advanced way to play on a home console- the Colecovision. I love you, Zaxxon.
Sell the Playstation division, pay your bills with the money, allow PS4 to continue to progressively and independently evolve. Or, hold on to the brand and hinder its development by halting underfunded projects and games. While this situation is proceeding inside Sony, I doubt they will be as spendthrifty to pay for exclusivity of software- largely making PS4 into a glorified multiplatform console devoid of identity that just so happens to play Uncharted 4, Infamous, and Killzone.They need to jettison the brand and allow it to realize its potential. I think we can already see the unfairness in pricing that is reflective of their financial woes in the exorbitant PS Now service.
Mantiis' comments