Okay, so the PS4 release date was announced earlier(Nov. 15 in NA, Nov. 29 in EU) and the Xbox One announcement can't be too far off. As such, this gen is coming to a close, and all that is left is to write the eulogies. Obviously there will continue to be cross-gen games in the pipeline for the next little while, but, with the exception of a few notables(Puppeteer, Beyond: Two Souls), the major exclusives have been released.
I'm interested to know about your experience with the last generation of consoles. What were your hopes, your fears, and were they realized? What were your favourite experiences, your least favourite? What surprised you the most about last gen? Is there anything about last gen that you hope carries over/improves for next gen? Anything you hope doesn't?
For me, co-op gaming is my holy grail. I bought Halo 3 and Gears of War simply because they allowed me to play through the campaign with a friend. I think the fact that some devs tried to shoehorn a co-op mode into their games is at least a sign that they acknowledge the market for that kind of experience and hopefully they keep it in mind for the future.
I think the biggest surprise to me was the success of the Demon's Souls/Dark Souls games. I think a lot of gamers prior lamented the general lack of difficulty in games. I don't know if anybody could have seen a game that was so blatantly hardcore coming out and grabbing so much mindshare among the mainstream. I think a part of the success of the series is due to the fact that the rules for the game are so starkly presented, and the games were fastidious in adhering to them. This is how the game is, take it or leave it! Failure was always a consequence of a misstep, or a poorly timed attack when you got too greedy, but it was always the player's fault, but punishment never seemed random or unfair.
This gen has lasted so long, that I'm having a hard time sifting through the huge library of games that have released in the last 7+ years. Some of my favourites were Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Skyward Sword, the Mass Effect series, and the Uncharted series. I remember the first time I played Mass Effect... wow. I wasn't sold on the game from the preliminary announcements; I just don't feel like BioWare did a good enough job describing the game. But when I saw what it was, and what it could be, I was sold. I still go back and play bits from all 3 quite frequently. The story, the atmosphere, the characters, and later in the series, the gameplay itself were all top-notch. Even the lacklustre original ending hasn't soured me to the series, and I feel the DLC went a long way toward erasing any negative feelings I may have had.
It's strange, the last year has been kind of dead for my 360. My PS3 last saw action on a new game for The Last of Us, which I think is a perfect way for Sony to say goodbye to the PS3(yes yes, Puppeteer, etc...). I just feel like the notes that The Last of Us hit for me represent the pinnacle of the PS3 experience and I have a feeling that it's the game that I will most remember as closing out the PS3's lifespan. I really can't think of anything like that for the 360(probably should have been Halo 4, but that seems to be one of the least popular in the series).
Topic: Looking back (Read 1248 times)
