Is it just me, or does the amount of woefully average games being released seem to be on the increase?
I started thinking about it after searching the web for reviews of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed a couple of days ago and discovering yet another middle of the road, worth-a-rent kind of game, and it seems that about 9 out of 10 games that I’m looking forward to turn out to be very average affairs. It’s not that these games are bad, but they’re just not that good either. Take a look at recent release Too Human. Too Human had been so hyped up that it was hard not to be at least slightly interested in it. When it was finally released last month, it turned out to be unrewarding and awkward to control. Not to mention the shoddy camera angles. For all its downsides it did have its moments, the gameplay was decent at times, but other than that it wasn’t anything special. Gamers and critics alike were unanimously unimpressed.
This isn’t the first time a promising game has turned out average, hell it’s been happening throughout gaming history. I can’t help but think that this generation is seeing more mediocre releases than ever before though. I can quickly name check a handful of current-gen titles I was looking forward to that could have been so much more – Assassins Creed, Blue Dragon, Timeshift, Kane and Lynch, Army of Two… I’m sure you get the idea.
Another example of what I’m talking about is Mercenaries 2, released earlier this month. The hype machine was working in overdrive and it actually looked like it was going to be a good game. When it finally hit shelves we found a game riddled with bugs and let down by poor AI.
I’ve spent so long waiting this generation, just wondering when all the great games are going to be released. Sure, we have seen some good releases, Gears of War, Halo 3, and Grand Theft Auto IV for example, but the good games are few and far between. When I look back to when I was younger I remember having a whole host of great games on my Playstation. Remember Die Hard Trilogy? You really got bang for your buck with that game. For those who don’t know or just can’t remember, Die Hard Trilogy featured three different games in one, one for each movie. You got a shoot-‘em-up, a light gun game, and a driving game. They weren’t a push over to beat either. Most of all they left you feeling like you had got your money’s worth, none of this beaten in 8 hours rubbish we see today.
Whatever happened to replay value? Most games that I play these days seem to be about 9 or 10 hours long at most. Games aren’t cheap. If you buy a game for £40, you expect to get more than a few hours of gameplay out of it. I bought Blue Dragon solely because it was 3 discs and I knew I’d get a lot of playing time for my money.
Maybe I should just accept that the industry isn’t what it once was.
So what’s your opinion? Do you agree? Or maybe it’s just me finally growing up (lord, no!).
Let me hear your thoughts.
