Until 2012 ¬_¬

Im glad you posted that, and I do agree that there are very few developers that actually do innovate, rather they refine.  I clearly see this is a problem for you and one I can respect, I guess others are better equipped to deal with the shortcomings of the industry as of late as far as innovation is concerned.  Dont get me wrong, I dont go into video game purchases with a fanboy veil over my eyes just because it says halo on the cover, but im also not quite as disturbed by the industries lack of innovative intellectual properties.  There is one thing I will say about the true lack of evolution as far as gameplay mechanics are concerned and something that games such as call of duty and gears of war may be solely responsible for which is publishers wanting developers to create games the way they want them made.  I know I dont have to preach to you about the costs of development but this is the main reason many games end up being as similar as they are within each genre, publishers fear that if its too unique then it wont sell.  Games such as heavy rain, lbp, flower, limbo, all of these incredibly unique experiences are so critical to the industry at this point because its forcing publishers to pull their collective heads out of their asses and actually take a few more risks.  As youve pointed out its not as if the industry is void of any innovation, its just that there isnt enough.  The good thing is more developers are gaining enough prestige and recognition that when they present ideas, such as thatgamecompany, that they dont automatically get shot down for being too different which is an awesome step in the right direction.

Youre right bong lover, why dont we toss nathan drake a magic staff sitting on top of a chocobo while hes busy browsing through his menus trying to figure out if he should upgrade his spellpower or that ifrit summon hes been eyeing for the past 4 experience levels... im not quite sure how much different you would like each iteration in any series to be but apparently you only play one game in a franchise and forget about it.  If every game was like crackdown, then maybe your posts would be justified but if you believe that every franchise that spawns a sequel is nearly identical to its predecessor then I feel sorry for you for being so cynical and not allowing yourself the opportunity to enjoy these games and experience the myriad of gameplay changes/additions and improvements overall that most sequels tend to receive.  Ive said this before and ill say it again, I dont think Ive ever seen a straight guy complain about women only having three entrances with which to penetrate, sure there are different positions and  techniques but at the end of the day men just want to have sex.  Despite a few exceptions, most video game series fall within these parameters in order not to alienate their fanbase but are still able to create a varied enough experience that it all feels fresh and familiar at the same time.  There is absolutely no reason to scrap the core mechanics and premise if it worked so well to begin with, its actually incredible to see these games transform from iteration to iteration while keeping their identity intact.  Welcome to gaming my friend, you seem to be lost.