Unpopular Opinions On Gaming

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

You know, I've been pretty hard on the previous generation for a while, but what I think I'm starting to realize, especially now that so many games have come down in price and I can easily go back and afford many that I didn't try, is that this generation has plenty of gems. It's just that it took me a while to realize not to trust reviewers and to steer clear of most of the AAA titles. Those games are mostly there to please corporate people, and journalists are biased and give many of those higher marks than they deserve, and many gamers who probably never even picked up and SNES in their life don't have the standards to properly judge some of those games. That said, I've been finding that the more niche games like the stuff from Platinum, as well as games like NG2, F.E.A.R., and so on were loaded with quality. They may not have had outstanding production values, but they had developers who were passionate about them and that's all you need to make a truly great game. Like, MGRR is only about 4 hours long, but I've found so much replay value in it that it absolutely dwarfs a game like Arkham City, which is loaded with content, yet hardly has anything worth actually doing in it unless you just want to experience fan service for the sake of fan service.

I will stand by this opinion, personally:

AAA games from the XBOX, PS2, GC, and Dreamcast generation >>>>>>>>> AAA games from the X360 and PS3

However, for the more niche games targeted towards niche gamers (basically the projects done out of passion rather than greed), I think that last gen holds its own just fine, and personally I'm now excited to experience more games that I never got around to before, now that they are all cheap and easy to find. It's more interesting than anything on the current-gen consoles, at the moment, IMO.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I probably agree with you, but Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, are going to go down as all-time greats from that generation. Unfortunately, I don't see too many shooters making the cut from being sub-MW and GoW clones with little else to offer.

[Foggle]

You know, I've been pretty hard on the previous generation for a while, but what I think I'm starting to realize, especially now that so many games have come down in price and I can easily go back and afford many that I didn't try, is that this generation has plenty of gems.

Yes, this is what I've been saying! Most of the AAA games last gen were either bad or disappointing (with some exceptions, of course), but the lower profile, more niche games were just as good as ever.

I will stand by this opinion, personally:

AAA games from the XBOX, PS2, GC, and Dreamcast generation >>>>>>>>> AAA games from the X360 and PS3

Yeah, absolutely. But I think even as late as the PS2 gen, "AAA" games as we know them today weren't really all that different from the "normal" titles. Like, you can easily pick out which games had lower budgets from that era, but the big budget ones only really differed from the more normal releases in terms of length and graphics.

However, for the more niche games targeted towards niche gamers (basically the projects done out of passion rather than greed), I think that last gen holds its own just find, and personally I'm now excited to experience more games that I never got around to before, now that they are all cheap and easy to find. It's more interesting than anything on the current-gen consoles, at the moment, IMO.

Pretty much, yeah. It wasn't a particularly fantastic gaming generation, but I think it'll hold up about as well as any other sans the SNES and PS2 gens, which were magnificent IMO.

I probably agree with you, but Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, are going to go down as all-time greats from that generation. Unfortunately, I don't see too many shooters making the cut from being sub-MW and GoW clones with little else to offer.

Yeah, I can't see too many shooters from last gen remaining relevant. F.E.A.R. and Vanquish will continue to retain their well-deserved cult followings, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well yeah, in the PS2 gen and even before that, high-profile, big budget games were still being made to be actual games. This was at a time when gamers were still the main demographic. Last gen, though, something changed and games became more about presentation, while playing it safe and lacking innovation. Of course, there are exceptions: BioShock was excellent, as were Alan Wake and Halo: Reach. And I'm sure that there were others thst you really enjoyed, like MGS4 and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. However, too many games were lacking in the actual gameplay quality of those games, and were all flash. That said, last gen had plenty of stand outs with the passion projects for more niche crowds, like NG2, DMC4, Bayonetta, Vanquish, Yakuza 3 & 4, Various Grasshopper games, and so on.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's why I liked the Wii so much. It was practically swimming in unique niche games. I hope people eventually come around to it, because it's a pretty good system.

[Foggle]

The Wii has a lot of good games, yeah. I don't really like any of the controllers for it, though, so I tend to neglect it. I think the Wii-U was a big step up in that regard; both the main gamepad and pro controller just feel right.

[Spark Of Spirit]

According to EDGE, this are the best games of last gen:

10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
9. LittleBigPlanet
8. Bayonetta
7. Super Street Fighter IV
6. Red Dead Redemption
5. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Portal
3. The Last of Us
2. Super Mario Galaxy
1. Dark Souls

I can go deeper into the whole "not even close" opinion I hold, but I'm curious as to your thoughts.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Let's see, here are my thoughts:

10. Not my thing, but fair enough, it was really influential and innovative back when it was released

9. Haven't played it, so I can't comment

8. Absolutely, this definitely deserves to be here as the best game in its genre last gen; I'm actually pleased to see that they put this in over a God of War game

7. Once again, this one actually deserves to be here; it undeniably brought fighting games back into the mainstream at a time when it seemed like the genre was slowly starting to die out, and as someone who's played it quite a bit, it deserves all of its praise

6. No. Just....no. I love Westerns, but this was an incredibly overrated, boring game.

5. I haven't played it, but it seems kind of redundant to have two sandbox games on this list, although I suppose that at least one GTA game had to make it on here

4. Eh, I enjoyed it for a single playthrough, but the game barely lasts an hour long, and it has virtually no replay value; I just can't see any justification for it being in this list, personally, no less higher than games like Bayonetta and SF4 which have tons of content

3. Once again, I haven't played it, but if it's anything like the Uncharted games, then I doubt that I could agree with its placement in the list, though to be fair I have heard that it's far less scripted and much more strategic than those games are,most maybe there is more to it

2. A game that I really need to play more of, but from the little that I've tried, and all of the praise that I've heard about it, I think it's a respectable choice for sure, although it's sequel is probably the better game

1. I've actually been meaning to try this game ever since TS17 has been raving about it, but I doubt that it'd be a personal favorite for me; I'm all for challenge, but I'm just not a fan of slow-paced RPGs, and I doubt that this would really do much to convert me

Honestly, it's not really a bad list, and it's all just opinion anyways, but it's clear that the people who made it have very different interests in gaming than I do.

[Foggle]

Instead of complaining about how their subjective list is incorrect, why don't we all just post our own top 10s instead? For me:

10. Siren: Blood Curse
9. Dishonored
8. No More Heroes
7. Bayonetta
6. Valkyria Chronicles
5. Vanquish
4. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Demon's Souls
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time
1. Nier

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While we're at it, here are my 10 favorite games from last gen:

10. BioShock
9. Devil May Cry 4
8. Super Street Fighter IV
7. Ninja Gaiden II
6. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
5. Halo: Reach
4. Alan Wake
3. Vanquish
2. Shadow Complex
1. Bayonetta

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Also, good list, Foggle. It really just goes to show how many games I've missed out on from last gen.

Instead of complaining about how their subjective list is incorrect, why don't we all just post our own top 10s instead? For me:

Nobody actually complained about that list. Desensitized just reacted "meh, don't agree," and I said it wasn't bad for what if was.

[Foggle]

Nobody actually complained about that list. Desensitized just reacted "meh, don't agree," and I said it wasn't bad for what if was.

Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come across as rude. I wasn't saying you or Spark were complaining, I've just seen other people argue/rage about it on other boards, and I thought it'd be more fun to positively discuss our own favorites.

Also, good list, Foggle. It really just goes to show how many games I've missed out on from last gen.

Your picks are great too! I still need to play Reach's campaign past the first level. I really liked it from what I played, though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I don't agree with their opinion, but I didn't say it was awful. There are some good games there.

Off the top of my head, mine would be:

10. Valkyria Chronicles
9. GoldenEye 007
8. Halo: Reach
7. Deadly Premonition
6. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
5. Super Mario Galaxy
4. Contra 4
3. Kirby: Return to Dreamland
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come across as rude. I wasn't saying you or Spark were complaining, I've just seen other people argue/rage about it on other boards, and I thought it'd be more fun to positively discuss our own favorites.

Oh, OK, my bad then. I misunderstood you.

Your picks are great too! I still need to play Reach's campaign past the first level. I really liked it from what I played, though.

Thanks!

As for Reach, it's best to play on Heroic or Legendary, IMO, but since you're not that a adept with console FPS controls, it'd probably be best if you could play it on co-op with someone, if possible (the difficulty scales with more players, so it should not become too easy even with the help, but it'll be more manageable). The game is fine on Normal as well, but the AI are only at their best on the higher difficulties, and for me, that's where most of the campaign mode's fun comes from.

But yeah, this is the best campaign mode since the first a Halo, and arguably even better due to the lack of Flood (although, I didn't mind The Flood that much in the first game, The Library aside). Believe it or not, I didn't like this game's multiplayer, and I vastly preferred the multiplayer from the main trilogy, but since I care way more about single player than multiplayer, that didn't really bother me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

8. Halo: Reach

And I also need to play all of the other games on your list. I have a ton of catching up to do.