Current gen of gaming.

[StartOurwar]

Got to reiterate what others have said: Metal Gear, Shadow of The Colossus, and Xenogears all struck chords with me that made it beyond a video game experience. I wonder if it was a perfect storm for growing up and games being created for the right reasons. I was 13 when Final Fantasy VII captured my imagination. A couple years later Metal Gear Solid and Xenogears did the same. The last game to truly kick my face off was Shadow of the Colossus. I hope its successor does the same.

I've missed out on xenogears =( I know I can get it on the PSN, but I love hunting for games and building a physical collection. One day, I'll run into xenogears at a price I'm willing to pay.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

I'm kind of hit or miss with games lately. I want that feeling I had long ago when I popped in FF 7, or MGS. But it just doesn't happen at all...ever. I will say the Mass Effect series has done an excellent job at making a great game that appeals to all players. I think my favorite games/series of this generation goes:
Mass Effect
Gears of War (despite me hating 2)
God of War 3
Bioshock (I think I"m one of the rare people that like 2 as much as part 1)

~~I would LOVE a remake/sequel of Xenogears. And Kojima's forgotten games like Snatcher and Policenuats.

 

[Chargersfan57]

Heavy Rain? I like what it tried to do, but it failed miserably.

I agree with everything you said Brian except for the sentence above. Heavy Rain is one of the standouts in my collection, and it's a reminder to me of what a video game can achieve in storytelling.

Just how far would a father go to find his lost son. I felt the despairation. The struggle. The powerful story drew me in like most games can't and I found the gameplay a unique extension of that.

Like you said, I get tired of shooting things.

 

[StartOurwar]

I agree with everything you said Brian except for the sentence above. Heavy Rain is one of the standouts in my collection, and it's a reminder to me of what a video game can achieve in storytelling.

Just how far would a father go to find his lost son. I felt the despairation. The struggle. The powerful story drew me in like most games can't and I found the gameplay a unique extension of that.

Like you said, I get tired of shooting things.

I think Heavy Rain was an amazing experiment for gaming. It really tried to do something different and interesting and I love it for that. But, I thought the games writing was pretty subpar. I get the feeling if this game was presented as an actual movie, it would have been laughed out of the theater. But, any criticism I throw at that game is out of love, because I want games like that, I want them to improve and get better.
Now for a little praise towards Heavy Rain.

The scene in your home, alone with your son. He is just watching TV, ignoring your presence all together. It starts getting dark out. You walk around the house just turning on lights. That scene created a heavy air of depression and hopelessness, all with nothing more than lighting, mood, and silence.

 

[Chargersfan57]

I don't remember the writing being subpar but it has been awhile since I have played it. I remember the great story and the fantastic characters that I connected with.

 

[lerath666]

funny you should mention writing

https://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/te...ams-writing-gears-war-admits-his-games-730359

 

[Drakul]

I kinda feel the same way and I blame the freaking Unreal Engine for a generation of grey and brown.

But rather than add to the - I'll say which games marked me in recent years.

Shadow of the Colossus. Amazing design and gameplay, great atmosphere and soundtrack and the story was very novel as well.

BioShock. While the gameplay was nothing special the atmosphere was amazing and that one scene was one of the most OMG!!! moment I've felt in my whole life as a gamer. So if you haven't, would you kindly go and play it.

Braid. I loved the design of the game and the way the music ties into the gameplay. And that last stage is the most brilliant piece of gaming in the past 10 years in my book.

Mass Effect 2. The first one was cool but the second one just pushed it into a whole new league. Again the gameplay is nothing special and even the story is pretty basic, but the characters, the way they make you feel about them is unmatched. At the end of ME2 I've never been this scared of what might happen to my characters, who i might lose and live with my consequences.

Muramasa. The game got knocked for it's repetitive gameplay to which I say BS! how is it more repetitive than shooting guys every 5 seconds for months? The soundtrack in this game is amazing and the whole atmosphere oozes Japan. While I was playing this game I ate Japanese food everyday for a week.

Portal. Just brilliant. The gameplay mechanics, the way it teaches and eases you into more complex puzzles with such simplicity, and the brilliant, brilliant writing.

And these are the ones that stuck with me but there are others that were great too. The Uncharteds, Shadow Complex, Dead Space, Darksiders.... and that's just from what I've been able to play.

 

[Drakul]

I think Psychonauts was the last game where I truly felt something. It's kind of that same feeling when watching "Edward Scissorhands" for the first time when I was like 8 years old.

The first portal game was great too. haven't started the 2nd one yet so can't comment on it just yet..

If you don't mind indie point and click adventures, 'The Whispered World' and 'Machinarium' are truly beautiful games. The ending to Whispered World is one of those really memorable moments that will stick with you. You might find these types of games slow and boring at first, but it's good to mix things up a bit, play some slow "artsy" games if you want to be inspired, then some generic shooter when you want some more action, etc..

an older game that was extremely memorable to me was the beginning 20 minutes of 'Prey'. The rest of the game is just mediocre mindless shooter so I don't really recommend it for the gameplay alone, but I'd pay 10 bucks for the game just to experience the first 20 min, it's totally worth it. I got into the game not knowing what's gonna happen and it totally blew my mind out.


For games with current gen graphics, the closest one to inspiring me is probably the Mass Effect series, so far I think it is the best representation of living in a world among other alien species in a video game. All the background story and politics that go with it makes you feel and understand the world enough to care about what's going on.

some other older games that stuck with me: Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver(story), Hitman(gameplay), No One Lives forever(humor), Abe's Oddyssey /Exoddus(characters), Day of the Tentacle(humor), etc..


-

You and I seem to share a lot of tastes.
The fact that you mention Edward Scissorhands, Lok, NOLF, DotT and Abe in the same post make me smile.

I have Psychonauts, Whispered World, Machinarium, Vampyre Story but haven't had a chance to play them yet. Hitman 2 I started and loved but I have to get back into it.

I'm going to check the beginning of Prey just because you mentioned it.

Xenogears. I think I'm gonna go find my copy.

You sir, are awesome.
Xenogears is to me the best JRPG ever made. The fighting is great, the music is gorgeous and the world/story is just....wow.

 

[StartOurwar]

I kinda feel the same way and I blame the freaking Unreal Engine for a generation of grey and brown.

But rather than add to the - I'll say which games marked me in recent years.

Shadow of the Colossus. Amazing design and gameplay, great atmosphere and soundtrack and the story was very novel as well.

BioShock. While the gameplay was nothing special the atmosphere was amazing and that one scene was one of the most OMG!!! moment I've felt in my whole life as a gamer. So if you haven't, would you kindly go and play it.

Braid. I loved the design of the game and the way the music ties into the gameplay. And that last stage is the most brilliant piece of gaming in the past 10 years in my book.

Mass Effect 2. The first one was cool but the second one just pushed it into a whole new league. Again the gameplay is nothing special and even the story is pretty basic, but the characters, the way they make you feel about them is unmatched. At the end of ME2 I've never been this scared of what might happen to my characters, who i might lose and live with my consequences.

Muramasa. The game got knocked for it's repetitive gameplay to which I say BS! how is it more repetitive than shooting guys every 5 seconds for months? The soundtrack in this game is amazing and the whole atmosphere oozes Japan. While I was playing this game I ate Japanese food everyday for a week.

Portal. Just brilliant. The gameplay mechanics, the way it teaches and eases you into more complex puzzles with such simplicity, and the brilliant, brilliant writing.

And these are the ones that stuck with me but there are others that were great too. The Uncharteds, Shadow Complex, Dead Space, Darksiders.... and that's just from what I've been able to play.

Awesome list. All solid games. I know I knock Bioshock a lot but the art design in that game is truly something to behold. Plus, the music!!!! God, I love the music in that game.
The multiplayer in Portal 2 was extremely awesome too. Plus, the way you had to solve the final puzzle....was....perfect!

I just played the first episode of "The Walking Dead" the other night and it was great. In that short 2-3 hours, that game made me care about the main character and the little girl he finds. The scene where she cut her finger, I actually winced in pain. The game managed to feel more like the walking dead than two seasons of the TV show. Really curious to see if the rest of the game lives up to the first episode.

 

[Theokan]

You and I seem to share a lot of tastes.
The fact that you mention Edward Scissorhands, Lok, NOLF, DotT and Abe in the same post make me smile.

I have Psychonauts, Whispered World, Machinarium, Vampyre Story but haven't had a chance to play them yet. Hitman 2 I started and loved but I have to get back into it.

I'm going to check the beginning of Prey just because you mentioned it.

BioShock. While the gameplay was nothing special the atmosphere was amazing and that one scene was one of the most OMG!!! moment I've felt in my whole life as a gamer. So if you haven't, would you kindly go and play it.

I knew there's someone who understands, that's awesome You mentioned a scene from Bioshock, then you're gonna love that Prey scene I was talking about, because I recently found out that both games are done by some of the same people, and those guys are good at crafting those memorable scenes that make you feel like you're in the game. That's the beginning 20min of Prey I was talking about. You gotta check it out.

I actually didn't get to play Bioshock yet, and would love to try it now that you've mentioned it. I was wondering when does that scene happen? Is it also at the intro beginning of the game? or does it happen later?


-

 

[Shropt]

I knew there's someone who understands, that's awesome You mentioned a scene from Bioshock, then you're gonna love that Prey scene I was talking about, because I recently found out that both games are done by some of the same people, and those guys are good at crafting those memorable scenes that make you feel like you're in the game. That's the beginning 20min of Prey I was talking about. You gotta check it out.

I actually didn't get to play Bioshock yet, and would love to try it now that you've mentioned it. I was wondering when does that scene happen? Is it also at the intro beginning of the game? or does it happen later?


-

The scene he is talking about in Bioshock is towards the end. If you plan on playing the game then I'd say you should probably not go looking for more details on that particular scene.

A game I've played recently that really made me feel was LIMBO. I know it's talked about a lot but that game just throws you in to this world and NEVER tells you what to do. You just keep going right and slowly learn. That game makes you feel things like no other game out there and it never uses thought bubbles, text, or speech. A truly amazing and sometimes scary game.

 

[Kabukiman]

Little Big Planet 2. Makes this whole generation worth it.

 

[lerath666]

You sir, are awesome.
Xenogears is to me the best JRPG ever made. The fighting is great, the music is gorgeous and the world/story is just....wow.

it's such an awesome, and underrated game. so few people know about it.

the ONLY bad thing with it is what was done with disc 2.

Stupid budget cuts to make stupid Final fantasy 11 a MMO

 

[ProgMatinee]

Mix in a Little Big Planet and Lego game once in a while. If you're bouncing between shooters all the time, no wonder you're bored.

 

[Drakul]

I knew there's someone who understands, that's awesome You mentioned a scene from Bioshock, then you're gonna love that Prey scene I was talking about, because I recently found out that both games are done by some of the same people, and those guys are good at crafting those memorable scenes that make you feel like you're in the game. That's the beginning 20min of Prey I was talking about. You gotta check it out.

I actually didn't get to play Bioshock yet, and would love to try it now that you've mentioned it. I was wondering when does that scene happen? Is it also at the intro beginning of the game? or does it happen later?


-

That scene is towards the end and like Shropt said, please don't go looking for more details because spoiling this would be an awful shame.

it's such an awesome, and underrated game. so few people know about it.

the ONLY bad thing with it is what was done with disc 2.

Stupid budget cuts to make stupid Final fantasy 11 a MMO

....and FF XII a piece of crap.....
But you know everyone knocks disc 2 of Xeno and I never had an issue with it.
Yes it's a bit dry but I always like reading and it tells you so much about the story that it didn't bother me.


BTW if you guys are interested in seeing the games I have and have played here's my backloggery link. https://backloggery.com/NostalGeek

 

[karamazov80]

Many of the NES/SNES/Genesis classics still hold up. Like others have said, game developers now are too "sophisticated" and tend to forget what is that makes a game fun and enjoyable in the first place too often. And there is overload. Too much out there, and each game seems to have too much going on. Give me Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! or Double Dragon and I'm good.

 

[Chargersfan57]

This, I believe, is the spoiler that Drakul and Shropt are talking about so DO NOT CLICK ON THE SPOILER TAG!!!!!!!!

This goes to both Drakul and Shropt as I'm curious if this is the scene that is being talked about...

Spoiler

The scene where you find out that you were being controlled all along?

 

[BlitzOUT]

Last game that made me feel something other than a sense of power, was Halo Reach. To see the series come full circle like that was so beautiful. And that last mission. Just..............wow.

 

[StartOurwar]

it's such an awesome, and underrated game. so few people know about it.

the ONLY bad thing with it is what was done with disc 2.

Stupid budget cuts to make stupid Final fantasy 11 a MMO

Just saw Xenogears at the store yesterday for $40. I'm debating if I'm going to buy it. I know I won't have time in the next year or so to play it. but it might be good to just have it when I'm finally ready.

 

[Matt S]

For myself, I've loved this generation. Its the one in which I 'discovered' gaming, as it were.

Gears of War, RPGs like Demon Souls, Skyrim, Kingdom of Amalur, Dark Souls, and so on