Where have all the good games gone? (Sung to Bonnie Tylers I need a Hero)

"Graphics and flash mean nothing to me, game play, unique gaming, and more has really been lost." Start PC gaming again.

To get the WOW factor anymore, I think we have to be caught off guard.....Last movie that wowed me was the 6th sense because I knew nothing of this movie, Last game that wowed me was Homeworld, again I knew nothing of this game a friend handed me a disk and said check it out...WOW

"for what? MMOs and RTS? I still PC game, and really nothing good has come on PCs for years IMO" You know well they will never make another game like Wing Comander because the game budget itself is high enough without a movie to go with it. You'd have access to alot of exclusive games. Yes, alot of MMO and RTS. For instance, Company of Heroes is the best RTS in a long time and many have said so. Even multiplats have mods that extend the life. Its not really about the ULTIMATE game. Just gives you more to do. And more unique experiances.

Give it time. It seems the companies need to catch up with the new consoles. Your impatience still belies a little boy in you!

Wing Commander IV was great. I played it several times on my PC growing up. Another live action game I liked was Phantasmagoria. I also really enjoyed Descent: Freespace (not live action but great space sim, need more of those).

Well, I don't agree that it's a matter of developers learning to make full use of the hardware. While it would make for better graphics, frame rate, etc., that's not really what I feel Falelorn is getting at. And I agree with him 100%. Much like movies have in the last 15 years, video games have become more about presentation and "wow" factor than substance. Bigger explosions, a cooler BFG, better graphics. But at what point do better graphics cease to improve the gamer's experience? This generation, in its current state, is as good as I need them to be. Even last gen was fine by me in terms of graphics and processing power. And yes, better graphics do help, but they don't make a good game. Butthey certain can hurt in the form of absorbing budget otherwise destined for additional development, more original artwork, and a decent script. I recently picked up a Gamecube as I skipped the platform in favor of a PS2 (my first non-Nintendo console since the N64, unless you count a brief fling with a TurboGrafx). I wanted to get one so that I could play three Zelda games that I missed; Majora's mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. So far I have only obtained and begun to play Majora's mask. The graphics are hazy and the sound could be better. But it doesn't detract from the fact that the game is fun. Not just to play, but to be a part of. It makes me jumpy when in a dark dungeon, tense when I walk a thin, icy bridge, and laugh and smile at some of the characters. The story is engaging and the world is imaginative. I think that there are a few elements at play as to why we don;t get the giddy little boy feeling anymore. One is scarcity. Recall that cartridges were much harder to make and production much slower. As a result, games were often scarce. Yes, there was a time when you actually [i]needed[/i] to preorder a game to have any hope of getting it. That scarcity made things a little more exciting. Just like the 360 and the Wii. If it's harder to get, you want it more. Now that a DVD can be pressed in lots of ten-thousand every hour, scarcity is gone. So is some of the excitement. Another factor is that we are, indeed, aging. It's a sad fact, but we're just not as prone to giddyness as we once were. My inner child is alive and well. In fact, I usually wear mine on the outside. But it's just not the same. We have too many other concerns and worries. Next, we tend to buy things when we want them, within reason. We do not have to save our pennies, rake the neighbor's leaves, wash cars, take a paper route just to afford that new game. When I knew a game was coming out in a few months that I wanted, I had to start working right away to have the cash. That builds an awful lot of anticipation. Not so much when you can walk into any best buy, pluck a copy off the shelf and be done with it. Lastly, games are simply not as good as they used to be (thought there are exceptions). When all you had were 8-bits to work with, you had to have a lot more to compensate. For one, games were a lot more difficult and finishing a game wasn't just a matter of putting in the requisite 8 hours until you reached the end. You had to work for it. The story lines were much more compelling as well. Hell, they even used to go so far as to build on the story in the game manual. I used to read game manuals in bed just to get more details on my favorite character. In contrast, look how Gears just sort of shit out the bare bones of a story and never bothered to elaborate. Did you actually give a shit about Marcus Fenix? I know I didn't. What was Gears? Terrific graphics and good gun play. Otherwise, just another FPS retread. But all of the hype and effort obviously went into cool graphics. Well, I guess when a comment is longer than the post it probably time to end it. Thought-provoking post, Fal. -Doc