Generation Defining Games and Pains (Part 2)
With the new of consoles now in everyone’s hands, I thought it would be good to look back at the last console generation. Like anything else, the gaming industry evolves and changes, mostly for the better. The last generation of consoles has been the longest we’ve had, lasting 8 years. The Xbox 360 released in 2005, heralding the age of high definition (HD) gaming. A year later the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii followed. While the Wii was arguably in a different arena than the PS3 and X360, all three consoles still influenced each other. As the generation continued, many different trends emerged, influencing the current state of gaming. As with any iterative process, there were some growing pains.
I’ve compiled a list (broken into three parts) of what I think best exemplifies the last generation, for better or worse. I’m not saying these are the best games of the generation or console, just ones that are the best examples for the changes and fades we’ve seen over the last round of consoles.
Links for parts one and three.
Story – Mass Effect (X360/PS3)
Stories have been integral to gameplay experience for decades. Never have stories been more important to a game than this generation. Two of the best examples come from Bioshock and The Last of Us. Characters were shown in compromising situations that resonated with players for months, or even years. No game better showed this than Mass Effect. Granted, I am talking about fundamentally two different story types; a linear experience vs. a personalized open ended one. They both result in the same; an experience that gamers took ownership over.
Japan Lagging – Final Fantasy XIII (X360/PS3)
The HD generation was a detriment to Japanese developers. None showed this better than Square-Enix. The once star developer has fallen from favor for many gamers (hey, I’m a poet and didn’t realize). Many games from the developer/publisher were delayed to ridiculous lengths. Those that managed to release, missed the mark. FFXIV, Infinite Undiscovery, and The Last Remnant are just a few examples from Square, not to mention the rest of Japan. The less said about The Last Guardian the better. It was the release of FFXIII when gamers released something was amiss in the east.
Downloadable Games – Journey (PS3)
“It’s good, for a downloadable game.” The 360 launched with the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), a place for downloadable titles. Originally, there were many restrictions with game size, limiting the experience. Eventually, the marketplace evolved for both Xbox and Playstation. Now, there’s no difference between a downloadable title, or a store release. A game is a game. Maybe it was when Shadow Complex released on Xbox, but for a certain when Journey came to the PS3 the the concept of downloadable games being inferior finally died. Along with this change in conception, the downloadable games also changed the consumption rate. Gamers are happy to pay $10-15 for a 2-6 hour experience.
Rise of Indie Developers – Minecraft (Everything)
With the ever increasing quality of downloadable games, the door is being opened wider everyday for independent developers. Fez, Braid, Limbo, and Castle Crashers are just a few examples of titles from small teams finding huge success. Now, both Sony and Microsoft realize the value in these developers, and actively court them for exclusives on their new consoles. With little parity between the systems, this may end up being the biggest difference. There is no bigger indie success story than Minecraft. This has become a symbol of inspiration for aspiring developers, that there is a place for them in today’s market, and that gameplay is king.
Downloadable Content – CoD: Modern Warfare / Prince of Persia / Red Dead Redemption (X360/PS3)
One of the biggest growing pains for gaming was DLC. There was a range of quality, and prices, before developers finally found a sweet spot (I still think they have a little bit to go). Everyone has heard about the infamous horse armor (Oblivion), but I think the worst offender was sections removed from games to be sold later. Levels gone from Assassin’s Creed II, the ending removed from Prince of Persia. Then there’s the pricing model. New CoD map pack? $15 for 3 maps. That’s $5 a map. Seriously? And gamers pay it to not be left behind. Or content being locked on the disc only to be released with a $15 key like additional Street Fighter characters. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Developers like Rock Star have mastered additional content with downloads like “The Ballad of Gay Tony” (GTAIV) or “Undead Nightmare” in Red Dead. Not to mention “Dragonborn” for Skyrim. At least some good came of the horse armor.
Links for parts one and three.
What do you think so far? Comment below!
Tony writes for his own site, thecredhulk.com, about comics, video games, movies, TV and more, six days a week. You can follow his updates on Facebook or Twitter. Drop by and tell’em hi.
I may or may not have purchased the horse armor.
I think as far as a Japanese game goes I would have chosen Dark Souls.
I think Dark Souls is the antithesis of what I am trying to highlight here. Dark Souls is a great game, where as most of Square’s output this last generation, like FFXIII, showed how much difficulty they were having with the HD generation. Very few Japanese games did critically well last gen, Dark Souls was one of them.
I think Dark Souls owns Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy is stuck in the past. It’s the same crap every game and now they’re finally trying to change but the new Final Fantasy game looks horrible. Final Fantasy 15 looks like Kingdoms Hearts meets Final Fantasy so i’m passing on that too.
That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m not highlighting the best of the best here, I’m talking about trends from last generation, good and bad. This is a bad trend. Japan making poor games. FFXIII is not a good game, that’s why it’s mentioned here. If I was picking the best Japanese games, then yes, Dark Souls. I think every FF game since X has steadily declined.
and that’s sad to see in my opinion. I’ve never been a big FF fan but I did like parts 10,9, and 7. I didn’t love them but I liked them. I think Square should give Final Fantasy a break and work on something else. Take 4 or 5 years off of Final Fantasy and make some other titles. Make a new IP and focus on that for a while then go back to FF when you’ve got some new ideas. Great article. It was a great read :].
I completely agree. Too many developers lately have become lacking. Square, Ninja Theory, Rare. I remember when they were the best. Thanks for reading my article!
No problem :]. I love reading articles like this. You gave your honest opinion and I like that. I’ll be reading more from you in the future :]
DLC has proven to be one of the worst things to come from the last generation. People are happy to pay extra money for content that should have been on the game disc.
I don’t think DLC is on the worst things. If the DLC is good then i’ll gladly throw my money at it. Now if it’s some BS like Tomb Raider DLC only offering new skins or weapons for multiplayer then i’ll pass. DLC works both ways.
Oh I didn’t, I mentioned a few of the good ones in my post. I think everything Bethesda’s done since the infamous Horse Armor has been solid.
It’s been very solid. Dragonborn, and The Shivering Isles being the best among them :].
Most DLC, yes, I agree. Some developers have gotten it though. Left 4 Dead 2 campaigns, Borderlands 2 expansions, Batman Arkham City DLC, it’s not all bad. Though yes, the majority of it was poorly conceived.
Don’t forget about Skyrim’s DLC like Dragonborn, and Dawnguard. DLC’s that actually add something to the finished game is great in my opinion. DLC like Tomb Raider’s new skin is a waste of money. I’m very picky about what I content I purchase for a game. I think the way Mass Effect 3’s DLC was priced was great. All of the multiplayer stuff was free while all of the single player stuff you had to pay for.
I pretty much stick to single player DLC, or wait for a repackaged game, collecting them all.