Fair warning: this is a very long post. If you want the sort version, skip to the last paragraph.
You know, I’m not really sure how to answer this. There are some really impressive achievements that these generations of consoles have managed to pull off. One example would be the scale to which games have been made. Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3 and the Mass Effect series are great examples of the sheer amount of content that this generation has provided. Another example of scale in a different sense would be God of War 3 and its huge titans, and the Uncharted games for providing epic cinematic worlds in which the player gets to experience its story.
User-generated content is another staple this generation has provided. Games such as Halo: Reach with its ability to create custom-made arenas, LittleBigPlanet’s massive index of user-created levels, and Mod-Nation Racer’s ease of creating custom tracks are all staples this generation has provided, and to a somewhat related extent, the tools Indie developers have been given by Microsoft and Sony.
Now, on we go to the point of the all-important subject of graphics and their implications. This generation of consoles has provided the ability to generate an un-surpassed level of fantasy and realism that has never before been possible with the previous generation of consoles. Characters now have the ability to express and show emotion in ways that now carry an emotional impact that was not very well expressed on the previous generation of consoles. Mass Effect 2, Uncharted, and Enslaved all show realistic expression in the character’s faces. The ability to read a character face during the conversation in Mass Effect 2, the sneer on Nathan Drake’s face as he says one of his one-liners, and the convincing expressions displayed on Monkey and Trip’s face during the course of their travels all help bring you further into the game’s universe. Final Fantasy XIII in particular has shown what can be accomplished in the fantasy genre. Worlds are brought to life in stunning and beautiful detail thanks to the power of the PS3 and Xbox 360 , and the dedication of the Square-Enix team (though the game actually being fun is another topic entirely). Artistry is also much better expressed thanks to the power this generation of consoles provides, and the above examples are clearly evidence to this.
Yet, for all that has been accomplished this generation, I can’t help but feel that there are some things that received hardly any improvement from the past generation. AI is one example. For all of the graphical feats displayed in today’s games, AI has to be one aspect that continually goes largely unnoticed. I’ve personally never felt, in any game, AI that functioned believably. Enemies in Final Fantasy XIII behave like they are from a Genesis game, the people in Fallout 3 (despite its’ “dynamic” AI) behave like brain-dead monkeys, and pretty much any first-person shooter has the same “Go after ‘til it’s dead!” AI routine. Granted, there are definitely games out there with better AI than others, but my point is that AI hasn’t received nearly the same amount of technological advancements that graphics have. When are we going to start seeing AI that actually “thinks”, instead of relying on present and rudimentary seek and destroy AI paths?
Another point is interactivity in the game’s worlds. While some games have destructible environments, and physics-based objects, I’ve never truly felt like I was interacting in a game’s world. Sure, being able to pick up and fling a car 400 feet is great, but what about the little details like bumping into someone and seeing their body react realistically, or walking past a curtain and it gently sways from the wind you created by walking past? There are too many small details that aren’t present in today’s games that make me actually feel like I’m part of a game’s world. Instead, I usually feel like I’m a 300 pound fat man trying to navigate the isles of Wal-Mart.
And finally, my last point. I just don’t feel like it’s the same huge generational leap like it was from the N64 to the Gamecube. It went from basic 3D gaming, to fully-realized worlds. It doesn’t feel the same way this time. Yes, there are absolutely things in today’s games that were not possible on the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube. But, it went from having the basics in place (N64 and PS1), to drastically expanding upon those basics to the point where it was almost like a reinvention of gaming. We already had well-developed fundamentals last generation, but they seem like they are only just expanded upon and not really added anything drastically new this generation. Toy Story was first released in movie theaters back in 1995. Looking back at that movie, it was a very impressive technical achievement. Fifteen years later, wouldn’t you think that we would have the same level of graphics and animation that movie did? Nope, characters still move as if they have the onset of rigor mortis . I’m really hoping that the next generation of consoles will reinvent gaming as the N64 did to the SNES, and as the Gamecube did to the N64.
So, am I satisfied with the technical achievements that this generation of consoles produced? Yes, because there have been some great examples of artistry and innovation within a good number of video games, and no, because it doesn’t feel like it’s the great generation leap like it was last-gen.
I don't know why people tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer, I have lots of lives!
