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Which games this gen have really resonated with you? WITH YOUR SOUL? [roundtable]
 
Feel free to also discuss games that have made a big impact on you throughout your game-playing history (the original topic of this thread). You know, the games that defined you and really stayed with you. Has this gen produced any titles that totally blew you away? That you will always fondly remember your experiences with?

I feel like, for all the piles and piles of solid, capable games that we've been getting, there have been far fewer that really, really connect with me. It's why I prefer the GBA library to the DSeseses. And why this generation has kind of underwhelmed me. The main exception that I can think of is Monster Hunter Tri. Even that might be kind of cheating, since the series began last gen, but, nevertheless, that is one of the only games that kept calling me back, impelling me to keep playing, similar to Animal Crossing and Wario Ware last gen, Metroid and Mario and Bionic Commando (and so many more) in the NES era, Super Mario Kart in the SNES era, Perfect Dark and Mario Kart 64 on the N64, WipeOut on the PS1, Alpha Centauri and DOOM on PC, various C64 games that no one else will remember, tons of Arcade games, etc.

I guess I can also include Yoshi's Touch and Go on DS. Super-brilliant and innovative, super-addictive. Good things come in small, perfectly polished packages. I might even toss in Mr. Driller, since I got totally addicted to the DS game, but that core design has existed in pretty much unedited form for quite a while, and I already had the Gamecube game. But maybe I'll throw in Crackdown for the 360. Vertiginously platforming from skyscraper to skyscraper felt like something new. And something awesome. Flawed, but great. It was a key in my choice of the 360 over the PS3. That's it for this gen, though, barring any other missing memory cells. (EDIT: Holy shit, WII SPORTS! I can't believe I forgot that one. Wii Sports was a revelation to me. The first time I swung my arm and heard and felt the thwack of a tennis ball against a racquet, I was sold on motion control. Later games failed to fully capitalize on that promise, which perhaps makes Wii Sports an even more amazing accomplishment. The other incredible thing about the title is the way it facilitated fun multiplayer experiences among hugely disparate groups. Inclusion, rather than exclusion. That was a sea change.)

I won't dismiss the possibility that I'm just getting more and more jaded, playing increasing amounts of games on more systems, but appreciating each less, but I feel like the peaks in gaming just aren't as high anymore, and most developers are headed full-steam in a direction that I'm not particularly interested in. If Red Dead Redemption is supposed to be the future of gaming, count me the fuck out.

(I know, I know, downloadable games. I like them a lot, often better than retail games, but they still aren't completely doing it for me.)


EDIT: You know, after all of my edits and additions, this gen doesn't seem so bad. But it did have a pretty long, protracted stretch of meh for me, from Wii launch-ish to Monster Hunter Tri. And I have been quite disappointed in HD retail games, for the most part. Perhaps that's why I had such a poor impression of it.

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08/30/10, 19:47    Edited: 08/30/10, 20:29
 
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Past Generations:

Adventure Island II (NES) - one of the two games that fight for "first game I ever played". Played it every sunday with my sister
Giana Sisters (C64) - the second one in that fight. Also gaming with my sister :)
Super Mario World1&2 - ignited my burning love for platformers which still burns bright today :) Sister's apprentice again^^
Goldeneye (N64) - being forbidden in Germany it was very attractive to me being a youngster and I spent countless hours with my friends playing in the basement (hurray for chilchés). Also probably the only first person shooter I enjoyed ever.

Current Gen:

Heavy Rain - god I hate this game. The story was full of holes. Especially that chick whos name I can't recall was horrible. I expected much more from a game with such praise for the story. Adding the gameplay consisted of my arch nemesis QTEs
No More Heroes 1 - played it to completition with my girlfriend in my first own apartement. Besides that it's just the funniest game in a long time because it's so selfaware of being a game
Muramasa - I don't know why but this game just hooked me. I spent almost 40 hours with this game and it's destined to be more (I'm still playing it)
12/15/10, 00:03   
Edited: 12/15/10, 00:05
How does Heavy Rain fit in with those other games at all? Is it notable for upsetting you so much?
12/15/10, 11:22   
Yap notable for upsetting me.
It's kind of the Muramasa (my favourite game this gen along with NMH1) from an alternate evil mustache dimension. It has everything I dislike about games. Uber realism, storys that take itself too serious (including a plot contradicting ending), Quick Time Events and (in my opinion) broken controls for the spare moments outside of QTEs (press R2 and the analog stick to walk? Really? Chars taking 2 seconds to turn around? WTF).
It didn't help either that I was playing this game with 2 friends and my girlfriend who thought the story was super amazing and the gameplay (read QTE) was so innovative... it's not like there is this Dragon's Lair compilation from the 80s that has the exact same gameplay but who cares...

I included it because is resonated with me...just not in a very good way.
12/15/10, 12:54   
Edited: 12/15/10, 12:58
The thing is, he tries to treat a videogame like a movie, which is a clear step in the wrong direction if videogames want to be recognized as an independent medium.

But hey the French tend to be arrogant idiots with their stupid lady soothing language!
12/16/10, 15:39   
Bah, come on now, Heavy Rain had redeeming qualities. Okay, so that redeeming quality wasn't its plot... or the writing... it wasn't the controls either, couldn't have been the acting...

But the QTEs were very well thought out, IMO, and truly engaged you in a way that's different from playing a game or watching a movie. The whole system of a movie/game hybrid that keeps going no matter how much you fail or succeed, and in which your decisions have an impact... pretty cool stuff.

Also, I chose not to sleep with Paige, because it made no sense for Ethan's character.
12/16/10, 16:31   
I fell asleep playing Heavy Rain yesterday and when I woke up 3 chapters had gone by. Talk about a game playing itself.
12/16/10, 16:42   
@warerare

I'm gonna go ahead and call you a liar.
12/16/10, 17:21   
Pandareus said:
@warerare

I'm gonna go ahead and call you a liar.

Seriously I fell asleep during the burn scene and woke up at the golf course. I was wondering how the hell I got there lol.
12/16/10, 17:24   
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