11 worst recent trends in gaming

[Epyo]

http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/113609.shtml?&AFC-HSUIT&ATTR=DIGG

pretty accurate and agreeable. bravo gamepro.

[Use]

Good article. I agree with alot of it, even though I'm pretty much out of the console racket for now (for good?). But I especially hate commercial soundtracks or that god-awful Hollywood symphonic drivel. Having started playing Skies of Arcadia again I miss great, original game soundtracks even more.

[Aleaver]

Ah yes...good catch here...Thief III springs to mind with the Bloom lighting effect. It made everything look somewhat blurry IMO

[SyntherAugustus]

#1 wins.

[Remilia Scarlet]

I don't believe I've ever agreed so much with a top-whatever list.

They mention Resistance: Fall of Man in point #1. IMO, Resistance is a pretty awesome game, but after a while, there just isn't much difference between Chimera and Nazis. If you swap them out, you're left with another CoD game.

For once, I'd like to see a game that focuses on the trench warfare of WWI rather than anything from WWII.

[TheDarkArchon]

Aleaver said:

Ah yes...good catch here...Thief III springs to mind with the Bloom lighting effect. It made everything look somewhat blurry IMO

The painted world in Oblivion springs to mind here for me: It hurt my eyes in a most horrible way.

[Steeveeo]

good find, totally true!

[EANB]

Pretty much any new release on the PS2 'needs' to use bloom effects nowadays, its the only way it can compete with other systems.

I agree with the rest of it too, EA is driving most of its titles into the ground with sequels that dont add anything new to the franchise.

[Maes]

Lol good points, although EA's trend is by no means recent. All FIFA Soccer titles fro 1995 to 1999 (and beyond, probably) looked exactly the same...or WERE the same? NM...

At least you can do something about WWII games: e.g. modding Battlefield 1942 with a WWI expansion, Battlefield 1918.

[Sharessa]

Pretty much true. The number one rule is that they should just stop copying other games. First off, no more first person shooters. Dead genre.

[caco_killer]

For once, GamePro makes a list that I actually agree with it.

[VileSlay]

yeah that list is pretty spot on. I think Danarchy is right in saying fps should be added to that. they feel so run of mill now.

I think another thing that needs to be added to that is movie licensed games. most of 'em are crap. the "worst video game of all time" (E.T. the extra terrestrial for atari) was a movie license. there's a good deal of them that are just shoveled out there with bad graphics and physics and watered down versions of the story with extra "missions", cuz many movies don't have enough to make a nice long enjoyable game with good replay value. at least thats how I see it.

[AndrewB]

I agree 100% with the article.

Though at this point there's no need to bow out of console gaming completely. The Wii and DS (which I'll soon get) are countering these problems quite nicely.

[scwiba]

Danarchy said:

Pretty much true. The number one rule is that they should just stop copying other games. First off, no more first person shooters. Dead genre.

I don't know -- I thought FEAR was pretty good. I could probably count the good FPS's on my fingers, though.

[Gokuma]

More stupid trends:

Product placement.
Controllers that work like shit for classic games.
Poor hardware quality as in more defectives and shit that just lasts long enough for its warranty to be of no use.
Too much FMV and using FMV only with no gameplay footage for previews/advertising.
Censorship to obtain a teen rating instead of mature in order to market to a large audience.
Buying up small companies and liscenses to churn out shit in its name.
RPG's being too linear and not having custom character creation.
Innovators in the industry being tossed by the wayside, even discriminated against

[Sharessa]

Gokuma said:

Innovators in the industry being tossed by the wayside, even discriminated against

RIP Bullfrog, Cavedog, and Black Isle :(

[Aleaver]

Danarchy said:

RIP Bullfrog, Cavedog, and Black Isle :(

I would add Melbourne House to that list..for KKnD

[Lamneth]

#1 is so. Freaking. True. Few WWII themed games were even good to begin with in my opinion, and have almost taken over along with generic military fighting in general as the generic FPS theme as opposed to things like floating crosses for health and Quake with different graphics.

[Gokuma]

I saw mention of a site surviving an abandonware holocaust reading something on one. Apparently I missed something that happened. I would really like to track down that article.

[Mindless Rambler]

DJ_Haruko said:For once, I'd like to see a game that focuses on the trench warfare of WWI rather than anything from WWII. [/B]

Wait in trench.
Hear yelling from enemy trench.
Get up and shoot people running at you.

*Hours elapse*

Hear yelling from your trench.
Get up and start running towards enemy trench.
Get shot.

[Gokuma]

Probably a custom level (in fact I think I might have seen a Duke Nukem 3D custom level) focusing on that would be a better idea than making a whole game. But hey, sooner or later we'll probably see All Quiet on the Western Front the Game.

[Naked Snake]

They forgot :

-Slowing the action down and giving a nickname like Hell Time or Zoning or someting.

-The influx of "physics manipulators" AKA : a fucking gravity gun.

[Gokuma]

Shit, I spoke too soon. http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/luding/Skripte/GameData.py/ENgameid/9333

[deathbringer]

For once, I'd like to see a game that focuses on the trench warfare of WWI rather than anything from WWII.

Welcome to the world of writing for british war comics, circa 1980. The action of WW1 is a bit too "static" to be "exciting". But then again a game of one of the best comics of all time, Charley's War, might work... where your own side is as much danger as the enemy, and the focus is just on survival rather than beating the enemy single-handedly. Plus there could be the inevitable ironic cutscenes: "Cor! imagine if there was a second world war, that would mean all us tommies is dying in the trenches for nothing" "There won't be a second world war lads, cause when i'm finished there won't be any huns left to fight it!"

[Maes]

Mindless Rambler said:

Wait in trench.
Hear yelling from enemy trench.
Get up and shoot people running at you.

*Hours elapse*

Hear yelling from your trench.
Get up and start running towards enemy trench.
Get shot.

How a about a WWI plane or tank simulator then? Infantry action would be too boring, indeed :-)

[NiGHTMARE]

They missed my top two pet peeves:

- Almost all modern FPS being completely linear
- Many games (particularly FPS') being too damned short. I don't want to pay £25-£30 for a game and then complete it the next day.

Danarchy said:

RIP Bullfrog, Cavedog, and Black Isle :(

Don't forget Origin and Looking Glass.

[Captain Red]

Danarchy said:
First off, no more first person shooters. Dead genre.

With Far cry, Half-life 2, FEAR and STALKER on the shelves and Half-life 2: Episode 2, Bioshock, Crysis and Quake Wars about to come out, I can't say I agree with you.

But it looks like I'm part of the problem since I own many of the games they singled out. :D

Oh well.

Oh and:

6. Licensed soundtracks.

HEY! Flying over vice city in a chopper listening to 80's new wave rates as one of my favorite gaming experiences ever, And I wouldn't have given Guitar Hero a second look if I wasn't able to play things like War Pigs.

[Fredrik]

NiGHTMARE said:

- Almost all modern FPS being completely linear
- Many games (particularly FPS') being too damned short.

These two are correlated.

[Ultraviolet]

Gokuma said:

But hey, sooner or later we'll probably see All Quiet on the Western Front the Game.

Rat-eating simulator?

[Epyo]

NiGHTMARE said:

They missed my top two pet peeves:

- Almost all modern FPS being completely linear

That's the one I immediately thought of after reading the article, that would definitely be my number 1. RPGS took the right path though, compare FF7's linearity to FF12's or Oblivion, etc.