They don't make them like they use to...

[Islander]

That often true in most domains but I find it especially true in video games. As good as some games now are, I can't recall one in the last 10 years that I can clearly say will make my all time tops. None that was so much distinctively fun and none that I would recurently go back to.

Does anybody think otherwise? Do you have any game made in the last 10 years that you think would indeed make it to such a list and, please, I'm talking of gameplay over anything so games that are good because of there multi-players capabilities specifically (or games that are only multi-players) don't count.

Of course if you're in your early 20s, I don't expect you to have enjoyed games in 256 or even just 16 colors (or even in plain text for the elders), but back then the effort was put on the gameplay and could keep you hook up for hours at a time and would last for several weeks, if not months. I'm sorry but when I watch game reviews now and they say that a game last long because it has over 10 hours of gameplay (which can be done in a single day), well that just suck.

What are your thoughts on this, anybody has a suggestions for me or should I stick with searching abandonware for the few jewels I haven't tried yet?

 

[Lindley]

Well, Deus Ex still qualifies as "last 10 years." Barely.

But otherwise, nothing really comes to mind.

 

[firehawk12]

The thing with games is that they are constantly evolving. I can think of a lot of games that are important - KQ6 being the first "multimedia" CD game - but I probably wouldn't consider it a "top 10".

Same with Trade Wars or Legend of the Red Dragon, the first synchronous multiplayer games played remotely. Can't imagine any one seriously playing them now, even though the servers still exist.

Of course, there's also the issue of nostalgia... which colours any list that looks back.

There are games that do fit in - FF6 and Chrono Trigger are still playable to this day... But those seem to be fairly rare.

 

[crouteru]

Nintendo still has that spark of creativity when it comes to making games. Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess are just as strong as earlier entries in their respective franchises for example.

However, I do agree that the 3D era of video games probably won't stand the test of time as much as the 2D era. The 16bit SNES still has my favourite games catalogue.

I think ever since Sony popularized video games with the Playstation that developers have gotten lazy and consumers tend not to care what they buy so long as it looks good.

 

[Emher]

There have been fantastic games in the last ten years, but the last time I was truly drawn into a game, spent all my time playing it and just enjoying the world in it, was "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time". Nothing has captivated me in the same way since. I could just roam around in that game and take it all in. Nowadays it seems rather primitive but then it was awesome!

I admit that "Twilight Princess" is a fuller game, and better made, and bounds and leaps prettier. But nothing will beat that feeling of seeing the sun rise over Hyrule field after having been caught outside the city walls for the first time at night and having to fight Zombies and bats all night long. Nothing can beat that sense of relief and awe at the rising sun.

 

[Canadave]

Over the last ten years, the only truly new game I'd say is in my top ten is Portal. All of the others that I really enjoyed were generally sequels (namely, Half-Life 2, SimCity 4 and Civilization 4). That's big studio games, at least... some of the indie games floating around right now are quite good and have a lot of charm (World of Goo, for instance), but a lot of those developers are still developing their skills.

Oh, and I'm 22 and I'm rather disillusioned with modern games. They all seem to be far to slick, and I can't connect with them to the degree I could (and still can) to older games.

 

[Islander]

Well, Deus Ex still qualifies as "last 10 years." Barely.

That was a nice concept but it didn't extend on the RPG part enough for me. I was a good game but doesn't make my top10.

The thing with games is that they are constantly evolving. I can think of a lot of games that are important - KQ6 being the first "multimedia" CD game - but I probably wouldn't consider it a "top 10".

Same with Trade Wars or Legend of the Red Dragon, the first synchronous multiplayer games played remotely. Can't imagine any one seriously playing them now, even though the servers still exist.

Of course, there's also the issue of nostalgia... which colours any list that looks back.

There are games that do fit in - FF6 and Chrono Trigger are still playable to this day... But those seem to be fairly rare.

Wow, TW and LORD, that sure is a trip through memory lane! They were great, but part of the fun was their multiplayer concept. I tried running a server just for myself, not that interesting...

But you've just confirm my point. Chrono Trigger is on my top10 and I have gone back to it almost at least once every year.

Nintendo still has that spark of creativity when it comes to making games. Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess are just as strong as earlier entries in their respective franchises for example.

However, I do agree that the 3D era of video games probably won't stand the test of time as much as the 2D era. The 16bit SNES still has my favourite games catalogue.

I think ever since Sony popularized video games with the Playstation that developers have gotten lazy and consumers tend not to care what they buy so long as it looks good.

Agreed, and still to this day both the PS and XB focuses only on visuals. You'll still find developers that will indeed put efforts in making a good game, but within todays standards only which means that as good as it may be, it ultimately is just too short and you end up not caring for it after just a few plays because you already know it all by heart.

There have been fantastic games in the last ten years, but the last time I was truly drawn into a game, spent all my time playing it and just enjoying the world in it, was "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time". Nothing has captivated me in the same way since. I could just roam around in that game and take it all in. Nowadays it seems rather primitive but then it was awesome!

I admit that "Twilight Princess" is a fuller game, and better made, and bounds and leaps prettier. But nothing will beat that feeling of seeing the sun rise over Hyrule field after having been caught outside the city walls for the first time at night and having to fight Zombies and bats all night long. Nothing can beat that sense of relief and awe at the rising sun.

That indeed sounds like good emotion relay, that's entertainement and goes along with a good movie. But if you, yourself, had to rank either of these games against the A Link to the past? That one is on my top10 also.

Over the last ten years, the only truly new game I'd say is in my top ten is Portal. All of the others that I really enjoyed were generally sequels (namely, Half-Life 2, SimCity 4 and Civilization 4). That's big studio games, at least... some of the indie games floating around right now are quite good and have a lot of charm (World of Goo, for instance), but a lot of those developers are still developing their skills.

Oh, and I'm 22 and I'm rather disillusioned with modern games. They all seem to be far to slick, and I can't connect with them to the degree I could (and still can) to older games.

So do you actually search old roms and abandonware like me and enjoys such games you've never heard of or did you only play what was generally reported as amazing games like Zelda and Chrono Trigger?

 

[TemporalFlux]

I think it has a parallel to television and film. The film classics did not have the technological advancements, so they were forced to stretch their creativity and imagination to create the illusion they wanted. By forcing that extra effort and extra thought, you ended up with a better final product. In the modern age, so many things can be done through computer graphics; it has made film production lazy in some respects. I believe games are simply following the same path as their technology has improved.

 

[Canadave]

Over the last ten years, the only truly new game I'd say is in my top ten is Portal. All of the others that I really enjoyed were generally sequels (namely, Half-Life 2, SimCity 4 and Civilization 4). That's big studio games, at least... some of the indie games floating around right now are quite good and have a lot of charm (World of Goo, for instance), but a lot of those developers are still developing their skills.

Oh, and I'm 22 and I'm rather disillusioned with modern games. They all seem to be far to slick, and I can't connect with them to the degree I could (and still can) to older games.

So do you actually search old roms and abandonware like me and enjoys such games you've never heard of or did you only play what was generally reported as amazing games like Zelda and Chrono Trigger?

I love the classics like OoT, Half-Life and Goldeneye, of course, but I'm definitely always looking for an older, obscure gem to check out. I find older games tend to have a much more interesting creative range, and developers made much more niche-based games. For example, one of my favourite older games is Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space, a turn-based simulation of the Space Race. It's unique, and a lot of fun, even if it does eventually get frustratingly hard.

I used to regularly troll through Home of the Underdogs, too, back before it died, looking for "new" stuff to play. (Though it it appears that someone is working on resurrecting it, sweet!)

 

[Jax]

I believe we give too much credit to older games despite the gems of Mario/Sonics etc and that gaming in general is harder to impress as you get older because unlike TV/Movie I feel gaming is limited in terms of what it can offer you mainly in the gameplay department though visually the last 10 years have been amazing. The likes of Goldeneye/Perfect Dark come to mind but going back and playing them now just doesn't give me the same buzz as when they first came out and these days the likes of Mass Effect gives me that buzz.

 

[Adagio]

I agree that there are fewer games nowadays that I would go back to. One of the few that I can think of is The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. I do keep going back to that one.

Perhaps the thing with games nowadays is that they are packed with so much, that once you get through it, even if you thought it was great, you don't feel like spending another 80-100 hours to do it again. The earlier games were fun and entertaining, which the games of today certainly are, but they were short(er). A game that took only, say, an afternoon to beat instead of a solid month could get played over and over again without it having to seem like work.

 

[TheBrew]

I would say Braid and Portal are pretty high up my list. As well as the recent Batman game (though that is biased because I'm a batfan). I would add Bioshock, but that is more because I really enjoyed the story and how it was presented as I actually 'got' the economic theory references they were making (esp. the Randian theories).


I guess from the last 10 years, the games I might put into my top 10 are:

Bioshock
Portal
Braid
Super Mario Galaxy (the best of the 3D Marios)
Metroid Prime
Half Life 2

 

[clint g]

Theres actually a few games from the last decade that I would consider top ten candidates. They are:

Metroid Prime
Persona 3
Persona 4
Tales of Vesparia
Resident Evil 4
Zelda Twilight Princess
Final Fantasy X
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Metal Gear Solid 4
Xenosaga I
Xenosaga III

Of the ones I mentioned, the two that are absolutely, definitely on my top 10 are Final Fantasy X and Twilight Princess

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

There's absolutely been fantastic games within the past ten years:

Metroid Prime
Resident Evil 4
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Final Fantasy X
Half-Life 2
Portal
Bioshock
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Super Mario Galaxy
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Fallout 3
The Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion

That's just off the top of my head

 

[Rii]

I think they stop making games like they used to somewhere between the ages of 18 and 25.

F-Zero GX would make my list. Amongst others.

 

[JonathonWally]

Top 10 over the past ten years:


KOTOR
Half Life 2
Bioshock
Zelda: Wind Waker
Fable 2
Rachet and Clank series
Devil May Cry series
God of War series
Batman: AA
Final Fantasy 12
ICO
Mass Effect

I'm 28, been gaming since 1985 when I get a Nintendo for Christmas.

There will always be a nostalgia factor, and I definately agree that of all the games made today, only a fraction of them are really "Fun" but that small percentage are incredible games.

 

[Emher]

There have been fantastic games in the last ten years, but the last time I was truly drawn into a game, spent all my time playing it and just enjoying the world in it, was "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time". Nothing has captivated me in the same way since. I could just roam around in that game and take it all in. Nowadays it seems rather primitive but then it was awesome!

I admit that "Twilight Princess" is a fuller game, and better made, and bounds and leaps prettier. But nothing will beat that feeling of seeing the sun rise over Hyrule field after having been caught outside the city walls for the first time at night and having to fight Zombies and bats all night long. Nothing can beat that sense of relief and awe at the rising sun.

That indeed sounds like good emotion relay, that's entertainement and goes along with a good movie. But if you, yourself, had to rank either of these games against the A Link to the past? That one is on my top10 also.

Problems with me is if I'd describe myself I wouldn't say that I'm a gamer, I'd say that I'm a movie guy. I play a lot of games yes, but it can never take films place in my heart.

And I've never played "A Link To The Past". Yes I know, gamer jail for me.

 

[gh4chiefs]

I think I disagree with the premise of the OP because I believe gaming has evolved and significantly improved over the years to make it MUCH more enjoyable for me. Had we not evolved past the old NES days, I wouldn't be a gamer today. Playing an old game like Mario Brothers where you couldn't save your progress pretty much turned me away from gaming until we evolved past that.

In the last 10 years, there are probably lots of games that I had WAY more fun with than anything back in the old days. GTA series is one that comes to mind, and it's twin brother, Saints Row. The first Modern Warfare game was one of my all time favorites. Fallout 3 has been a helluva ride for me. The original Medal of Honor on PS1 really reignited my gaming interest, but that may have been longer than 10 years ago.

On the one hand, while I generally really like the latest generation of games, I'm also discovering that my skills (what little there were to begin with) are rapidly degenerating as I become ancient (see my whining in the Modern Warfare thread) and I'm probably will be giving up on gaming in the not too distant future. At least I will give up on competive online gaming.

 

[Islander]

Well, I must admit it did start to come back a bit in the last 2-3 years with improved AIs but you must admist that it was especially true 10 years ago. Gaming was moving to multiplayer so much that the top games back then where Quake 3:Arena and and Unreal Tournament, games desgined to be exclusively multi-player. Then we moved in with MMORPGs.

You will find some game with very good stories. I personally likes the Tom Clancy games, but they ultimately still takes all of the value in coop mode, and still remains quite short.

I do agree not being able to save at all was a pain but some games today will allow you to save anywhere, litterally/ That turns me off just as well as it ultimately removes any thrill and the sensation of accomplishment when you do manage to hit a save point.

 

[Mistral]

OP-so multiplayer games don't count? 'Cause I quit playing "slog along alone against the A.I." games over a decade ago. Yet I still find compelling games to play. COD:WAW springs to mind. Halo 2. NBA 2K6. I get no satisfaction playing the computer-give me a live opponent anytime. And there have been some amazint multi-player games in the last ten years. I'm old enough to remember playing text games as cutting edge stuff and some games hold fond memories-but some of the newest stuff is just amazing. I guess I'm just opposed to this whole premise/thread.