In lieu of the next generation of consoles being released later this year, I've been thinking about the best gaming experiences this generation. Which games defined the Wii/360/PS3? I haven't rounded my list out yet but it goes a little like this, but in no particular order: 1. Skyrim 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 3. Mass Effect Trilogy 4. Uncharted 2 5. Red Dead Redemption 6. Batman: Arkham City 7. Grand Theft Auto IV 8. ??? What are your top 10 games this generation? What am I leaving out? Am I crazy?
I guess I should reconsider the Assassin's Creed franchise. I have 2 & 3 on my shelf and haven't finished them. What are your favorite games?
The Witcher Trilogy. Old game a partically generation would have been stuff like wing commander or king's quest. Dragon age series for modern day generation.
The Portal series. Both really fun and innovative games. Little Big Planet (though I never played it much). Gears of War (barely played it).
Downloadable indie games broke out during this generation. Castle Crashers is one I spent the most time on. Bastion could be on that top 10 list easily, though.
I'm sure Alphaman's list were all great games, but nothing really strikes me as being new or groundbreaking in any way. And plus, I've played only about 3 of them. For me, "Games of the Generation" are games that will define a generation, and if I were to give any game that title, I'd give it to Angry Birds, Minecraft, and COD. Angry Birds will define a generation of kids, the first kids who grew up with games primarily on their iPhones and tablets. It also ushered in the idea that games could make a hell of a lot of money as an app. Minecraft because it was such a simple game that anyone could play, and became hugely popular. And COD because I know a few pretty hot chicks who, to my surprise, are hard core gamers who play this. Not really objective, I know, but these are girls who like to go out clubbing and buy LV handbags - hardly people I'd ever associate with playing COD. I'd also add Candy Crush Saga, Farmville, and Cafe World to that list. More than half my friends play a combination of those three, and those are always good conversation starters when I meet them IRL. The games I listed are not the best or most groundbreaking games, but I think when people look back in 20 years on this era of gaming, they'll remember the ones I listed, while they'll be trying to remember which GTA had the Russian in it and what exactly the story was about. I'll also add League of Legends and Diablo III to the list.
Baldurs Gate 1+2 Elder Scrolls Series (all of them!) Gran Turismo Series Planescape: Torment Deus Ex 1 Witcher Series Civilisation 1 Master of Orion 1+2 Star Control 2 Monkey Island 1+2 Lands of Lore Privateer etcetc...
NWN1. kotor1. X-wing to x-wing alliance. Doom Commander keen games Not a game but steam for starting reasonable drm and a way of selling games.
Great post, $corp. I see a helluva lot more people walking around with Angry Birds (and particularly Angry Birds Star Wars) shirts than I do Skyrim or other such stuff. I think Alpha completely overlooked mobile gaming, which is likely more indicative of the future of gaming than shitty consoles.
I am a pc with a nvidia 660 3 gigs of ram so consoles are overrated, We are borg. What is your system?
I didn't. I don't particularly care for mobile games and my list reflects that. The thing is that this thread isn't about me and my preferences, but everyone's preference. Basically, it's highly likely that by Holiday 2014, I'll have a next generation console and I more than likely wont look back. I want to know what games I missed on current gen consoles that I should consider. And what the hell... I'll consider some mobile games.
Generational games of the early 80's: Pac Man Ms. Pac Man Donkey Kong Asteroids Star Wars (Sit down cab) Defender Galaga Space Invaders Missle Command River Raid (Atari 2600) Pitfall (Atari 2600) Generational games of the late 80's Rampage Wolfenstein Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Gauntlet Star Control Golden Axe Super Mario Bros. Final Fantasy Sim City Tetris Contra Generational games of the early 90's Wing Commander Street Fighter II Command and Conquer Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares NHL '94 Civilization Warcraft Doom Super Mario Cart Mortal Kombat Generational Games of the late 90's Starcraft Goldeneye Super Mario 64 Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time Half Life Tomb Raider Final Fantasy 7 Pokemon Red & Blue Dance Dance Revolution Generational Games of the early 2000's Diablo II The Sims The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Counterstrike Knights of the Old Republic God of War Halo Generation Games of the late 2000's Rock Band Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare World of Warcraft Wii Sports Angry Birds Cafe World Farmville Minecraft League of Legends Candy Crush Saga There are a few games I really wanted to put on the list, like Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid, and Chrono Trigger and other games I grudgingly put on there, like Halo, Farmville, Wii Sports, League of Legends and Mortal Kombat, but to me, generational games are the games that a lot of people will remember. There are some highly rated games like Gears of War, Silent Hill, Uncharted, and Final Fantasy X, but if not enough people have played them, and they haven't reached mainstream consciousness, (i.e. your mom, girlfriend, or boss hasn't heard of them) then to me, I'd leave them off the list. The list is by no means complete or thorough, they are just games I remember from off the top of my head. Feel free to add your own.
At this point, a strong case can be made to add Sony's The Last Of Us to that list. I just played it last week and it is by far the most immersive video game experience I've ever had. Even with GTA V coming out this fall, I believe that this will be the Game of The Year for several media outlets.
The interesting thing about this generation is how long it has lasted and how diverse gaming has become in the last few years. I think it would be very hard to pick the defining games of this generation because there has been so much content released on so many different platforms... We've seen the rise of mobile games and indie games, music/dance/rhythm games, the resurgence of PC gaming, more online gaming, handheld games, motion control gaming with the Wii (and later with the Kinect), movie quality AAA titles from the big publishers, and even the return of retro games, fighting games and 2D platformers... And because this generation has been so long, we've not only had outstanding standalone games, but also some great new gaming franchises... And lots of innovation. This is the best time to be a gamer.
since everyone is listing the games from the big publishers, I'll toss out some games from the small developers, the other end of the spectrum: Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Super Hexagon, Plants Vs Zombies, Doodle Jump, Sword & Sorcery EP, Where's My Water, Peggle, Bejeweled, Jetpack Joyride, Temple Run, Cut The Rope, Infinity Blade, World Of Goo, Scribblenauts, Braid, The Walking Dead, LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, The Binding Of Isaac, Geometry Wars, Fez, Journey, Castle Crashers, N+, Puzzle Quest, Bastion, Trine, Spelunky, Cave Story, 'Splosion Man, Cthulhu Saves The World, Dust, flower, PixelJunk Shooter, Guacamelee, Super Stardust, Dyad, Skullgirls, Little King's Story, And Yet It Moves, LostWinds, La-Mulana, Art Of Balance, Fluidity, Bit.Trip, Pushmo, Crashmo, Mutant Mudds, escapeVektor, Art Style, MotoHeroz, NyxQuest, Minecraft, VVVVVV, Little Inferno, Botanicula, Machinarium, Alien Hominid, Osmos, Darwinia, RuneScape, Oasis, NightSky, Eufloria, Plague Inc, Terraria, de Blob, Zen Bound, flOw...
And the death of the mid-tier game. Not a happy thing, but with Midway and THQ closing, they're pretty much gone. Games have either gone way bigger or way smaller.
Tomb Raider was a great game. I'll add it to my list. The more I think about it, I'd have to say The Last Of Us is my favorite game this generation.
I think it'll be fine. Small game companies who do well have more resources to make their next game bigger and more ambitious. If they are successful at that, then they become mid-tier game studios. A lot of the game companies we've heard of nowadays, Blizzard, Bungie, etc. were pretty small studios back in the day.
I think it'll be fine as well, it's just different. Games have shifted to 10-15 bucks or 60 dollar AAA games. The middle of the road there just doesn't sell to anybody anymore.
I miss the days when great games could be bought for my C64 or IMB PC Jr for $19.95. I played the hell out of those SSI Gold Box AD&D Games, Red Storm Rising, Spyhunter, Mission Impossible, Mail Order Monsters, and a dozen others. Edit: Oh, how could I forget Sid Mier's Pirates?
The past few years have really shown that really quality, deep games can be made and sold for 15 bucks. I've played Rogue Legacy for 11 or so hours, and I'm not even halfway through it! It's not a blockbuster or anything, but it's really really enjoyable and only 15 dollars.
