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mrstickball on 21 February 2009
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pap64 said:

NOTE: I don't want to start a console war thread. I aim to gain opinions in order to see if my thoughts are justified. I want people to answer this honestly, calmly and respectfully.

Anyways, I am a big Wii fan. I enjoy a lot of games and without a shadow of a doubt  it is my main console this generation. But one thing that really bugs me a bit is how third parties seem to try and outdo Nintendo at their own games and try to make Wii Sports clones and Party games, because these saw success on the system.

I also own a 360 and I really like it, despite technical issues. I love the features, the XBL Marketplace and many of its games. But my pet peeve is that just as the Wii is flooded by would be Wii Sports follow ups the 360 library has mainly HD titles that try to market to the same fans that loved Halo and Gears of Wars, labeling the console as the "FPS HD Machine".

My question to you is; Does ANYONE feel annoyed by this?

The 360, as well as the PS3, are technological behemoths. Developers could easily create worlds, ideas and concepts that could only be made on these machines. Yet, they seem to be stuck trying to be the next Halo, and follow the same old archetypes, creating drab worlds, ideas and concepts.

I would love to see more variety on these consoles. I am well aware that MS is trying to widen the selection with games like Viva Pinata, Scene It, Banjo and many arcade games. But third parties have yet to tear away from this.

So does anyone feel the same way? Does anyone wish that game concepts would be more varied?

Again, don't want to start flame wars/

The game concepts are more varied. What system have you been playing? Did you even bother with an Xbox?

What exactly do you want before you decide it's a 'next-gen' game? What did the PS2/Xbox generation do that the PS1 couldn't, other than prettier textures?

I think there've been a good bit of innovative, gorgeous games on the 360 that have been 'next-gen' to me:

  • Condemned: Gorgeous 1st-gen X360 IP. Lighting effects were stellar, and is one of the scariest games I've ever played. Haven't tried it on my 50" Plasma w/ Surround Sound because I've heard it's just too scary.
  • Oblivion: Some say it's a step down from Morrowind due to certain design choices. Whatever. It's still one of the most gorgeous games out there.
  • Dead Rising: hundreds of zombies onscreen at once. Fun, open-world gameplay. Definately can't complain about what the game had. Again, 1st-gen game.
  • Blue Dragon: Although some malign the game, the fact is, you cannot find a more gorgeous JRPG on the market. The graphics are indeed 'cute', but they stand as some of the best on the 360. It's also a pretty fun JRPG, and has that 16-bit feel with the updated graphics.
  • Gears of War: Yes, it's a TPS, but a great one. Contains a lot of elements that can only be described as 'fun' - chainsaw guns, roadie run (great from a paintball player's perspective), and incredible graphics. 
  • Mass Effect: Ever walk in the Presidium in HD? It's an awe-inspiring experience. The cutscenes are gorgeous, and makes you feel like your in a hyper-interactive movie.
  • Tales of Vesperia: Like Blue Dragon, it's incredibly gorgeous. Some times, I forget the in-game cutscenes aren't from someone's anime collection. Solid game too.
  • Fallout 3: Very awesome, as was Oblivion. Incredible dialogue, great VATS combat, very huge gameworld too.

I guess the real question is: What is next-gen? What makes a game revoutionary? I think that some of the things in Left 4 Dead (AI director), Fallout 3 (VATS), Tales of Vesperia (cell-shading) and other games seem pretty good. And we're only half way through this gen, so there's still plenty of time to find out what's still possible on the 360 and PS3, in terms of what you can do from a performance standpoint.

And on the 'same genre' bit - Have you ever bothered with an XBLA game? Braid, Castle Crashers, Arkadian Warriors, and many others beg to say that the 360 has a wide treasure trove of genres. Of course FPSes are going to do well, but the 360 has a ton of every genre possible other than platformers...And even then, you got 4-5 good ones to choose from that are semi-exclusive. Outside of platformers, the 360 still has the best lineup of FPS/TPS, Racers, RPGs, Sports, RTS, and such. What more do you want?

 



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.