Is this the worst generation ever for games?

[kernow]

I think some people like a certain amount of quality to their games, some others are happy playing anything. Check first play for examples!

[ezee ryder]

Yeah but you get some people who just moan about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING, even with the standout quality titles.

Oh and I don't think it is a case of some people are happy playing anything, it is just a case of if a game interests/intrigues them then they will play it. Some people on here just like to look down upon those people

[kernow]

I honestly don't care what others are playing, you could say the people who strive to be indifferent are as bad as the people who moan about the lack of quality games though

BRB, going to the shop to buy a copy of UFC2009 and Red Faction.

oh and fracture! can't forget that quality title.

If you read the first plays for these 3 specific games, _even_ the people that were interested and DID buy them are complaining about various quality or gameplay issues.

I know this era isn't really much worse than any other, every generation has a load of mass produced, low quality titles. Some people enjoy them, some people won't give them a second look.

[ezee ryder]

You could but I don't think you would be right. Playing a wide variety of games doesn't really compare to moaning about minute things in quality games, well at least for me it doesn't.

UFC 2009 is a quality game, good choice.

[kernow]

^_^

See thats the difference between you and me, I tried the demo and thought it was terrible, deleted it within minutes, but then I don't know what I was expecting to be honest, I don't even watch UFC or whatever. I try most of these modern titles through PSN demos or whatever, and 90% of them get deleted within 10minutes, never to be played again or purchased.

Of course with every generation theres quality titles. I think I'm getting old.

[prinnysquad]

kernow - Steady on there, fella. I bought Fracture for an absolute snip, and having read reviews and spoke to Spatial about it I was under no delusions about its quality. At no time did I consider it to be quality title. It's not like it was a rush out, day one, full price purchase. However, the terrain deformation feature was enough to convince me to at least try it out, being suitably different to the usual stuff in the genre. Having given it a fair crack, there are some good bits in the game, and some terrible aspects to it. I've seen enough of the terrain thing to believe that it would be a good feature in a more competent game. It's not like I hold the game in any real esteem or 'strive to be different.' It's not a mighty principle, just giving a game a tryout. I know of no people who take a kind of inverse snobbery route to gaming, apart from maybe one of fammYdoDD's mates.

[ezee ryder]

Fair enough kernow, I don't have any problem with that.

However as importaku pointed out there are alot of gamers (not just on here) who just moan about everything and act like every game should cater to their personal needs and likes. When that doesn't happen the constant moaning begins.

As for the Red Faction (UFC or Fracture) threads, I don't see any complaining/moaning in those threads to be honest. People have just stated what they dislike/like about that game and got on with in it.

[Malc]

Another reason why gamers may be becoming more moany about the latest games is due to the amount of piracy that goes on around this generation and easy access to demos online. For example, if someone has paid for the latest game, all £30-£40 of it, they are more likely to forgive and see past its minor flaws and enjoy the game. Whereas if people are downloading loads of games/demos all the time, then they are almost filtering through to find something that is absolutely flawless (which is almost impossible to find) and because they have lost nothing in downloading it in terms of finances, they will happily point out its tiny problems and whine about them on forums.

[kernow]

I do feel there is as much people who consider themselves gamers who'll play anything as gamers who have higher quality assurance requirements i.e me I guess. For every person who buys GTA4, theres a person who wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

I enjoyed Killzone 2, until the last level, I don't play games online so I didn't experience the main bulk of the title as every game seems to be made for online, and have a 1p mode as an 8hour afterthought nowadays, but it was alright, pretty boring though, I dunno.

Ignore me people, I obviously have crap taste in games

[Matt]

I wouldn't be as negative as that Ezee. I know I complain about a few things, but usually only matters which I genuinely think are important. On the other hand, you get the people who'll happily take whatever they're given. You may find people wanting more ungrateful, whereas I find people who unquestionably accept baffling.

Besides, there's not been a perfect game yet, so criticism of even the most loved title is valid. Once we stop wanting better, the publishers will soon realise and start churning out re-runs to us without any new innovations OK maybe that's extreme, but you know what I mean. Life is all about questioning and pushing further. We weren't happy seeing the Moon, we wanted to be on it. And games have a long way to go....

Personally, I think this is an awesome generation. And maybe as games do get better, the little flaws, those small control issues / graphics issues / online issues that wouldn't have mattered so much a generation or two ago, are now more relevant. It's the gameplay equivalent of Uncanny Valley.

I'd not be so quick to dismiss criticism.

[ezee ryder]

Yeah no game is perfect and criticism is all fine and dandy but some people just moan about the silliest of things. If a game has something wrong with it I will be the first to point it out but it seems like most gamers these days prefer to focus on the negatives rather than the positives. This is more and more apparent now with the rise of internet forums.

This has been a great generation for games, some really top notch games. I just don't get all the moaning and complaining.

[Megamoppy]

Personally I believe this Gen has been fantastic so far. NMH for wii in particular, COD4/5 for 360 (avoiding listing) and once i get a PS3 I'm sure there will be plenty more for me to get stuck into. However though i know this gen is awesome I'm still more excited about getting my exams over with so i can get a hold of a PS2 and play some games which passed me by (GOW, MGS3 etc.).

So while i'll defend this gen, i'm also being a hypocrite.

[Matt]

Yeah no game is perfect and criticism is all fine and dandy but some people just moan about the silliest of things. If a game has something wrong with it I will be the first to point it out but it seems like most gamer prefer to focus on the negatives rather than the positives. This is more and more apparent now with the rise of internet forums.

Hmmm. At the same time, on this forum for example, I often find intelligent debate lost under the "Rah rah rah it's the best game EVER!" fanfare that accompanies the weekly "big" release.

Also, what may be silly to you, may not be to someone else. And as I've said, as games get better and better, it's the smallest issues that can be annoying to people. Games are less about using our imagination these days - gone are the days of a few pixels standing in for your game avatar, where the imagination was the only thing adding cohesion to an 8-bit world. One thing I don't like this gen is the LOD popping, it puts me off some games. Petty? Maybe. Certainly it's better this gen than last gen, but last gen, the worlds didn't look so good, so you'd forgive it more easily. That's not the case now. Last gen, I lapped up GTA3; this gen I found the smeary world and horrid shadows reuined it for me. Guess either my tolerance has gone down, or my standards have gone up

Still, have absolutely no doubt that this gen, games have improved a lot. There is a huge gulf between the titles the 360 launched with and what we have now - not just graphically, but also in terms of gameplay.

[Brats]

I am so glad I'm a 'glass half full' gamer. I can see the bad, but I can accept it if the good is worth playing. I'd much rather be that way rather than let little things spoil my enjoyment.

Remember back to the frame rate discussions (shudder)? Not wanting to drag up any technical discussion on that subject, but there were people in that thread who categorically said they blankly refuse to play a racing game that did not have 60fps.

Huh? I prefer 60fps just like everybody else, but to deny yourself what could be a great game on such a small technicality is either just bluster or cutting your nose to spite your face.

It's no different to the people who say they are going to boycott Left 4 Dead 2 based on the little we've heard of it so far. I'm all for discussion in an intelligent way, but I can't see anything intelligent about that. And that's the problem with games criticism on forums, so little of it is intelligent.

So often a problem is a little nut that needs to be cracked and the only solution some people can think of is to use the biggest f*ck off hammer they can possibly find.

And if you're not in agreement, you're somehow an apologist. What a loooooad of w*nk.

[Malc]

I agree with all of that Brats. The internet has alowed any unintelligent twat to voice their opinion. Which is why I like this forum so much because there is more intelligent people and discussion here than places like NeoGaf, Rllmuk etc.