Are Next-Gen Games Underwhelming??

As someone who has been a gamer my entire life I can honestly say I wasn't all that impressed or excited about the ps4 or even worse the Xbox One. The titles they were showing and releasing just didn't scream "must have" to me. I was content with my ps3 for awhile. Then the inevitable announcement of Mass Effect 4 and Batman Arkham Knight being next-gen exclusives came and I had no choice but to upgrade. I got a ps4 last November, wouldn't even consider X1. But since then all of these next-gen games are extremely underwhelming. Not in technical terms though, they all look amazing and play great. But nothing stands out as being "mind blowing." I remember when ps3 came out I was blown away by the exclusives. I know it's still pretty early but so far next-gen feels like an epic fail to me. Every new title that comes along brings promise but ultimately falls flat...I'm looking at you The Order!! Anyone else feel disappointed?

I haven't owned a console since the Atari 2600 so I am not an expert, but I do game on my PC and other than better graphics the games of today aren't really as good as the games from 20 years ago. The problem is that it is the story that matters and too many of these game designers forget what is important to the consumer.

a reply to: cj6

I think this has always been a trend in console gaming. Games within the first year of a console's release are almost always underwhelming. I think it is mostly due to the developers having to adapt their game to the standards of the consoles while also trying to figure out how to properly utilise its systems. We will start to see better next-gen games this year and next.

originally posted by: Metallicus
I haven't owned a console since the Atari 2600 so I am not an expert, but I do game on my PC and other than better graphics the games of today aren't really as good as the games from 20 years ago. The problem is that it is the story that matters and too many of these game designers forget what is important to the consumer.

True except for games like Mass Effect or the Last of Us that have absolutely amazing stories.

There is only so much you can do in the genre.

You get to a point where it has all been done before, where the graphics are as good as they are going to get. They may technically get better, but not to the human brain.

There are only so many story lines and after a while .........

Then you have the designers making $$$ from each new release no matter what crap they put out.

It is the same with movies. More and more special effects and no real engrossing story.

I think games have gone as far as they can with the tech we have available especially when designers don't care as long as the money is there.

P

originally posted by: pheonix358
I think games have gone as far as they can with the tech we have available especially when designers don't care as long as the money is there.

This is true especially since integrating with the internet and dlc becoming very popular. Most developers these days don't even have to filter out bugs and glitches because they can just release a patch when they get around to it. But there's no excuse for poor story development or lack of content. We should rise up and make game developers give a s**t again!

I feel that games in general have just become too linear. Most of the recent games I've purchased feel like I'm playing a character in a movie more than making my own decisions. Multi-player offers much more freedom to do what you want & think outside the box.

But the campaign modes are identical every-time you play through, the developers claim they are designed like this to give the player a particular experience, which is the polar opposite of gaming. Making your own decisions, strategy, tactics & choices is fundamentally what gaming is about.

If I can shoot that helicopter down now, I wont have to flee the area in a stolen SUV, be pursued for a five agonizing minutes only to crash into a lake & watch a cinematic of a trapped teammate drowning in the wreckage.
I'm talking to you Battlefield 4.

PS4 will def have some great games but gotta wait a bit. In the mean time maybe pick up a 3DS? 4 games i can recommend are super smash bros 3D pokemon omega ruby/Alpha sapphire. Monster hunter 4 Ultimate ( coming soon)
Zelda: Ocarina of Time Zelda: Majoras mask
3DS games are where it's at for nostalgia hahaha at least i think so.
expect another pokemon game. Maybe a whole new continent? The continuation of Gen 6 or maybe gen 7 is coming soon.


Majoras mask remake anyone?

oops misread OP.

will re-write soon

if the argument is consoles, no matter what you pick, then you will always be a bit let down.
consoles have a very obvious limitation: you can't get real "next gen" graphics with a 400 dollar gaming machine, that's just the reality of it, unless you want to go the way of the order 1886 and give the player a what, 6 hour experience? that game does look next gen but it's a 6 hour interactive movie for the most part.
And because of consoles, pc games are also not living up to the current hardware.
i have, by today's standard an average laptop, i7 and a gt540m and i am still maxing out pretty much everything aside from the obvious games like far cry 4 and the likes.
In my opinion, it's a matter of time before console gaming will be entirely moved to the cloud, the hardware actually rendering the game will be somewhere else, and you will have pretty much a tv and controller and connect via internet.
unless of course the console developers find some miracle solution to give a 400 dollar console the same performance of a 1000+ dollar gaming pc.

I agree with the OP 100%. I sold my PS3 to "justify" getting a PS4 on release day. I regretted that when 1) there were no decent games for months, 2) South Park came out and it wasn't available on PS4. The PS4 went on eBay about 8 months after I got it.

I bought a PC as a games console for under my TV (Dell X51) and I honestly haven't looked back since. I upgraded it a bit with an i7, GTX970 and SSD, and I've found some great games on Steam.

originally posted by: cj6
As someone who has been a gamer my entire life I can honestly say I wasn't all that impressed or excited about the ps4 or even worse the Xbox One. The titles they were showing and releasing just didn't scream "must have" to me. I was content with my ps3 for awhile. Then the inevitable announcement of Mass Effect 4 and Batman Arkham Knight being next-gen exclusives came and I had no choice but to upgrade. I got a ps4 last November, wouldn't even consider X1. But since then all of these next-gen games are extremely underwhelming. Not in technical terms though, they all look amazing and play great. But nothing stands out as being "mind blowing." I remember when ps3 came out I was blown away by the exclusives. I know it's still pretty early but so far next-gen feels like an epic fail to me. Every new title that comes along brings promise but ultimately falls flat...I'm looking at you The Order!! Anyone else feel disappointed?

Totally underwhelmed myself with the next gen so far. Don't get me wrong there has been some good titles out and I am currently playing Dying Light on PS4 and it is fun. I think it all stems from the unreal expectations that everyone had. The PS4 and Xbone were billed as these all powerful saviours of gaming and it just wasn't the case. Hell my laptop is more powerful than them. Another factor is the lack of titles exclusively out for next gen, we are currently in the transition period where everything is still being released for last gen too and I can see why that is gimping the potential for the next gen consoles. Will probably be another year or two before we start seeing some great PS4 and Xbone only titles.

Conspiracy theory:
Development studios are making mediocre games because you'll get sick of it and want something new and better for another load of cash not all too soon.

Like built in obsolescence for vehicles but in the world of gaming?

Take a pinch of salt

I think it has to do with lack of competition all we got is xbox, playstation, and Nintendo if u want to count them. Before we had a whole array turbo graphics 16, NeoGeo, sega, Nintendo, etcetera the gaming idustry needs more competition to keep each other on their toes and be forced to develop better games or go under. Gamers are getting pissed and I hope that we end up getting teams to break away and turn I to teams like "treasure" and make games that are outstanding who remembers fun star heroes

a reply to: cj6

PC gaming master race Sir.

Sorry to tell ya, but the games on console are always gonna look 'lackluster' because they are mostly ports of PC games.

That and the hardware is 2 generations behind. The input is lacking as well, as games are becoming more complex, the limitations of a controller are becoming obvious.

ETA: As for the games themselves? They've been pretty good, but slow to come out. That's because the development time on a game used to be 18 months and now it's closer to 4 years. It takes much, much longer to create 50GB of content then it did to create a few GB on older systems.

~Tenth

The thing about consoles is: You're stuck with whatever is in the box, as far as hardware goes and you're also stuck most times with the vanilla version of a game.

With my PC, I have tons of games that I've modded over the years which really extends the life of the game and makes me get my money out of it a lot more.

I've lost count of the hours I've spent in Skyrim because of free mods I'm able to add to the game. Same goes for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. All the mods for Diablo 2 kept me chain to my computer for hours (and I just now finally got around to getting Diablo 3 and the DLC, which again, has me sitting here at my computer with my wife wondering when I'm coming up for air....).

Actually....she plays Diablo 3 on her computer too.

Then there are all the FREE indie games I can download a try. Something that you're not going to be able to do on a console.

So for me: Consoles are out. You're locked into whatever games are sold and have to spend $$$ on to get, and completely at the mercy of the game makers. Where as I can download a fan made patch to fix bugs in my PC game, install mods that add things to the game (or even whole new story lines), or even total conversion mods to play what seems like a completely different game....for FREE.

When it comes to console games, I have to say this: Gran Turismo 3 was originally going to be a PS1 game that was bigger and better with more cars than GT2... But then to PS2 came out, so they scrapped it and started over, and released "Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec" which was extremely underwhelming. Same probably goes for GT5: Prologue. I don't know because I literally JUST bought a used PS3, this is the first console I've had in years. I'm still waiting for my buttload of games I ordered on Amazon. 4 games for less than the price of 1 new one since they're "outdated" now.

Otherwise, I've been a PC gamer for a while. I noticed one thing; when consoles became internet-capable with hard drives, things started going downhill. As another poster mentioned, they started releasing very buggy games because they now have the ability to patch them. The other thing is micro transactions started infesting many titles. One game series I like is (go ahead and laugh ) The Sims. From the original game (late ninety's?) To The Sims 2, (early-mid 2000's) there was a huge jump in gameplay, from customizing your Sims appearance and coloring items from pre-made color sets, to the game-changing aging and genetics system, that was a mind blowing experience. The Sims 3 (2008) was another great leap forward, at least initially, introducing open and explorable neighborhoods, fully customizable textures and colors on objects (solid gold toilet? Why not) , and "Story Progression" which allowed the NPC Sims and other families to change, age, marry, divorce, get promoted, etc; generally lead their own lives and keep up with the aging without you having to go around playing every household so they wouldn't be immortal.

Then, it started invading... The micro-transactions were appearing as the first selections everywhere. Luckily there was an option to turn them off. Another thing that started appearing was "stuff" packs. I'll buy expansion packs if they look like they're going to add a lot of content and extra gameplay options... But just stuff? Clothing, furniture... There's practically too much stuff as it is, why would I pay an expansion pack price for "stuff"?

Now The Sims 4 is out and I have no interest in buying it. Why? It's not revolutionary in comparison to The Sims 3. in fact, it looks to me like all the new features of 4 could be modded into 3, so why would I buy the exact same game over again?

I have to agree... Games are starting to suck.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
The thing about consoles is: You're stuck with whatever is in the box, as far as hardware goes and you're also stuck most times with the vanilla version of a game.

With my PC, I have tons of games that I've modded over the years which really extends the life of the game and makes me get my money out of it a lot more.

I've lost count of the hours I've spent in Skyrim because of free mods I'm able to add to the game. Same goes for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. All the mods for Diablo 2 kept me chain to my computer for hours (and I just now finally got around to getting Diablo 3 and the DLC, which again, has me sitting here at my computer with my wife wondering when I'm coming up for air....).

Actually....she plays Diablo 3 on her computer too.

Then there are all the FREE indie games I can download a try. Something that you're not going to be able to do on a console.

So for me: Consoles are out. You're locked into whatever games are sold and have to spend $$$ on to get, and completely at the mercy of the game makers. Where as I can download a fan made patch to fix bugs in my PC game, install mods that add things to the game (or even whole new story lines), or even total conversion mods to play what seems like a completely different game....for FREE.

Yes! I didn't mention mods... They are awesome too. Especially when the players fix what the developers don't. I'm looking at you, EA, over the buggy mess The Sims 3 became :mad;(probably why they made 4, come to think of it... )

But, thanks to a handful of mods, I can actually play and enjoy it again.

I had an xbox 360 and I never played it.
I also am a PC gamer, the games are better and you can't have games like RTS or decent sims on consoles.

Upcoming games like Star citizen already blows consoles out of the water in design, graphics and concept of what the game is.
I doubt there will be another generation of consoles because the way it is moving you will just stream games through your TV.

originally posted by: boymonkey74
I had an xbox 360 and I never played it.
I also am a PC gamer, the games are better and you can't have games like RTS or decent sims on consoles.

Upcoming games like Star citizen already blows consoles out of the water in design, graphics and concept of what the game is.
I doubt there will be another generation of consoles because the way it is moving you will just stream games through your TV.

Nah they'll still be 'consoles' but it will be more 'a la steambox' type designs. Low to mid scale CPU with mid to high end GPU's that can be updated. Same with RAM. Right now it's just a form factor issue. Trying to make it so that buying parts isn't more expensive, or complicated to replace, then buying a new machine.

The closed box concept though is certainly done with, I agree.

~Tenth