Am I getting too f old or are the present PC games mediocre / bad / half assed ?

[Xaelai]

I kinda realized that MMOs are just bad games. I was stupidly focused on MMOs for many years, and I deeply regret it. Doing boring stuff daily to see some number go up by a tiny bit. They play trick on our brain to make that number appear important, so we get some sense of accomplishment out of it. Once the illusion is broken, it's impossible to go back to MMOs.

I'm not sure I'd take it THAT far, I mean there are some good things that MMOs do. Ever since I got bored with WoW, it is true I play them a lot less these days. However, one thing I miss, is the grouping. I never thought I'd say that, but I miss doing some dungeons in FFXIV:ARR. Some of the boss fights were kinda fun, and it was awesome to go in there, and come out with 3/3 commendations. That is like a huge high-five when everybody in the group thinks you were awesome.

[klogaroth]

As with anything, one should do their own research before diving head-first into a purchase.

True, though research was a bit easier in the past.

In the past 90 days there have been 785 games released on PC that made it onto metacritic. I'm sure there are plenty more that haven't. That's a lot of games to research. On just a single platform.

[Xaelai]

True, though research was a bit easier in the past.

In the past 90 days there have been 785 games released on PC that made it onto metacritic. I'm sure there are plenty more that haven't. That's a lot of games to research. On just a single platform.

Who says you have to hit up every single game?

And who says you need the game as soon as it comes out?

The best games will churn up a LOT of reviews. Having a platform like Steam helps; famous games make front page more often. Check the game, every game has user-rated reviews. For example... again, Terraria has 97% of the 73,269 reviews as being positive.

I don't know about you, but when 97% of 73,000 people think it is a good game... it probably is.

Compare that to, say, Evolve: 66% of 11,181 reviews are positive. That's when I stop and go "hmmm. Okay, I should start reading some reviews as to why people don't like the game." and scroll down to the Reviews section.

It is all about shopping for games that are similar to other games you like. Then you see how many people think it is good and if you're in doubt, read some of the negative reviews to see what gripes people had against the game.

Of course, not every platform is like Steam, but again... Steam is pretty much THE go-to place for PC. If you're not on PC, uh... you can still look some games up on Steam, but sometimes bad ports can generate bad reviews on games that would be otherwise OK.

And it all goes back to what I said in the beginning of this post: Wait a little while, don't pre-order, and get the game after it has been out for a little while. It'll get bugfix patches, content patches, it might come at a discount, or it might have a GOTY edition that saves you a load of money. Skyrim for example, if you bought everything when it first came out, it was almost $100 for the whole deal. I saw it a few weeks ago, GOTY edition, for like $20.

The only time one should really be buying a game is when they really really really want the game right now. If you're buying because you're bored and you need something new to play... go for something that's been out for awhile that has high reviews that is of a type you're hankering for.

[namelessone]

I'm not sure I'd take it THAT far, I mean there are some good things that MMOs do. Ever since I got bored with WoW, it is true I play them a lot less these days. However, one thing I miss, is the grouping. I never thought I'd say that, but I miss doing some dungeons in FFXIV:ARR. Some of the boss fights were kinda fun, and it was awesome to go in there, and come out with 3/3 commendations. That is like a huge high-five when everybody in the group thinks you were awesome.

Perhaps some of the best time I spent in WoW was guild raiding. Unfortunately my schedule doesn't allow for it anymore. Rotating shifts suck ass.

[Deleted]

What non-multiplayer games did you try out ?
What kind of game would you like to play ?
There's a lot of multiplayer online games that are not MMORPG's.

That aside : get steam if you don't have it, wait for the summer sales, buy 100 games for $100, have enough games to keep you entertained for 3 years !
If you like smaller indie games : humblebundle and other similar bundle sites can sometimes sell gems for very very cheap.
If you like older games, lot's of them have been remastered/enhanced/re-edited/etc. or you can just get the original versions and they can be so much fun to play again/try out for the first time.

[endersblade]

Yes and Yes, and I'm in the same boat you are.

[Xaelai]

Perhaps some of the best time I spent in WoW was guild raiding. Unfortunately my schedule doesn't allow for it anymore. Rotating shifts suck ass.

Same here. I wanted to dip my toes into raiding and I actually did at the very tail end of TBC.. but the raiding guild I was in kinda broke up, and my job picked up and so... no moar raiding for me. Cataclysm LFR came out, barely got in a Deathwing kill on LFR before MoP... and I stuck to LFR ever since, esp with all the PUGs requiring achievements and now "AOTC", lol.

Screw that. I wound up quitting WoW partly because of how worthless they made LFR. No challenge, no reward. MoP LFR had rewards and at least a semblance of challenge. WoD LFR can be tanked naked, lol. That's just pathetic.

[Voidism]

I think it's an age thing.

We're so used to playing all sorts of games, and we've been doing it for a long time. Now, a kid don't have anyway near as much experience and that's why games are easier, and more boring, to us. If they'd been released when we were kids, they'd probably have felt as hard, and fun, as they do for kids today.

That said, I wonder why more gaming companies aren't catering to the more experienced audience. There're a lot of us.

[breadisfunny]

today's AAA games....made for shareholders by corporate executives with the developers being under their thumb. if you think the AAA gaming industry gives a damn about making interesting games you should look elsewhere. this is exactly why gaming companies should not be publicly traded on the stock market. it becomes solely about money and nothing else.

[n7stormreaver]

Most games have always been crap. Nothing has changed.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Your Game tastes may not be the same as someone else or like mine. Personally there are plenty of games I personally have fun.

[Bugg]

I think the best way to get out of it, and the way I got out of it was to try games completely out of your comfort zone that you never would've looked twice at.

That's a good point, I do this with books: after reading 3-4 of my favorite genre I read 1-2 of different genres (goodreads.com).

- - - Updated - - -

Well I am just crawling through Wasteland 2 right now and it is basically everything I wanted from a "fallout" style successor.

Great games are out there they are just not where you are used to looking, AAA games are sort of going down the toilet.

true that.

[MORGATH99]

most games we see these days the 2 or 3 part of a franchise which is not bad but theres not much new to choose from
some games really deserve a second or 3 part like witcher 3 thats comming out in days and metal gear 5 on 1 of september
but again they are part of franchises not new games or ips per se .
its just the way the market works now , orinality is rare these days .

[Bugg]

Nah most games coming out are definitely shit.

But that's to be expected to anything that garners mainstream attention. nohipsterpls
90s games were made and published by people who loved games, now they're directed, published, and made by huge corporations who will water a great game down to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

I feel the same way too.

[jakeic]

games aren't bad, they just have not become any better. there are some instances of backsliding in terms of gameplay, but there are almost no cases in which a game sets a new standard. games are not more interactive, what you do doesn't matter more, and games come with just a single story path. games have had almost no innovation in these areas, most of these areas peaked a generation ago and have since gone backward.

check out crusader kings 2 or any of paradox's simulation games, they have extreme learning curves, but they are a breath of fresh air into what has become a rather stale industry.

[Ferocity]

If the gaming industry doesn't crash I'm sure we'll have more "interactive movies" than games.

Didn't it already crash on PC? Lack of decent games, and what is considered as decent games is actually something dead gameplay-wise.

[Soulwind]

Suggesting that 90's games weren't just as full of shovelware and bullshit as games today...

C'mon people, the nostalgia-goggles in this place just seem so out of control all the time.

If anything, we now have more companies than ever, creating more games per year than ever. A bad year in the 90s meant one good game and fifty bad ones, a bad year now means 4-5 good games, about 10 decent ones and hundreds of crappy ones.

Let's see, 2015...

Dying Light - Decent parkour/melee zombie game.
Cities Skylines - Everything SimCity 2013 was meant to be, and more.
GTA5 - Yeah, it's two years old, but this is its true platform, and eventually Rockstar will give up fighting against mods, which are what those games are about.
Kerbal Space Program - It's been 'out' for a while, just launched though. A very moddable space simulator. One can sink lots of hours into this monster.
Wolfenstein the Old Blood - Fun standalone DLC for easily the best old school shooter of the last 10 years.
Witcher 3 - Not out yet, should be good.
Arkham Knight - Not out yet, should be amazing.

And I think I may be missing some.

[Xaelai]

Didn't it already crash on PC? Lack of decent games, and what is considered as decent games is actually something dead gameplay-wise.

Not at all, it is just people are looking in the wrong places for games. You won't find good games in Brick&Mortar stores where you'd buy console games.

No, you find them on Steam. There is also Origin, but that's all EA and EA hasn't put out anything worth buying in years, so... pretty much just Steam. Oh, and GOG if you older/harder to find games. Plenty of good stuff being released on Steam these days, and there's thousands of games already there already and with the quarterly sales that go on, you're bound to find something cheap that will keep you entertained for awhile. I'd rather pay $5 for something that gives me 5h of gameplay rather than spend $60 for something that's done in 10-15h, lol.

[Ferocity]

No, you find them on Steam. There is also Origin, but that's all EA and EA hasn't put out anything worth buying in years, so... pretty much just Steam. Oh, and GOG if you older/harder to find games.

I avoid Steam because of DRM, so pretty much use only GOG and read gaming sites for what new is coming. Also I like how you used word "older"

From 2005+ show me analogue of Disgaea on PC? Analogue of Etrian Odyssey (thanks for Elminage Gothic, Ghostlight, honestly)? Analogue of Final Fantasy XII? Show me modern spiritual continuation of Might and Magic series (no, X isn't one)?

I am not sure you can, and ports don't really count, because ported games were not initially made for PC.

Consoles have it better (mostly handhelds now, as it is harder than impossible to make games for things like PS4 unless you have many millions of $; even such series as Tales, Dragon Quest and others went to handhelds). PC gaming crashed and became full of mainstream poo and invasive DRM with only few rare gems once in few years.

[Rukh]

It's mostly age, as there are still amazing games being made in just about every genre. Even in the 'good old days' gaming was about sifting through the shit.

This is really the essence of nostalgia right here. We remember the few gems over a span of 10 years and forget the hundreds and hundreds of mediocre or poor games that existed and compare it to just what's new right now, and obviously right now isn't going to measure up.

The truth is though there's a ton of great games coming out right now.



Though I would love for a new suikoden or final fantasy tactics sort of game >.> SIU Japan. (Not you From, you're great).