Question in topic.

Also talk about game your disapointed with for not improving. What was your first next gen game?

I' ll say Forza 2, for the sheer number of physics calculations going on, and the limitless customizability of the livery editor.

However, generally speaking, I don' t feel like this generation is much of a leap over the previous one. Yeah, there' s better graphics... but it' s just not a mindblowing difference.

Unreal Tournament 3. I can' t vouch for PS3 since I don' t have it, but on PC this is truly a " next gen" game. The graphics are extremly detailed and the game runs very, very smooth for how detailed they are. What really sells the " next gen" in UT3 is the special effects in the graphics. The glowing and coloring of players depending on how they are in your view, the cool looking effects on your vision when you die, the lighting and shadows, there are just tons of little special effects all over the game that really set it apart from everything else.

Crysis

Seriously, this game is in it' s own league. The graphics are incredible, and you' re not in some cramped room either. You' re outside where you can pretty much go anywhere you see. The quality is and draw distance are both unbeatable, two traits I thought I' d never see together.

The screenshots do not do this game justice.

I generally think that games having taken baby steps, the so called Next Gen leap hasnt happened, nor do i think it ever will.

If next gen had been kicked off with games like Gears of War or Uncharted it would have been different, but we were eased into next gen, by semi next gen titles like Perfect Dark, which more or les sonly improved resolution.

My first Next Gene expirience would have to be playing Ghost Recon: Advanced War fighter when i just got my HD' tv, the difference from SD to HD was awe inspirering.

for me shinier graphics do not make it next-gen. I am looking for more complex AI, more-interactive NPCs, a more believable and immersive experience. Mass Effect has pushed the boundaries but is still not there. Here' s hoping GTA4 pushes some of that further.

Games that have come out so far this gen have been all about looking pretty, so I wouldn' t say that any game so far has been really " next gen" . The only game I can think of that comes close is Uncharted, and that is just for the simple fact that when you are running through small bushes and tall grass, the bushes and grass actually move and react to you running through them. Not to mention the simple fact that Drake' s clothes are actually wet when he comes out of the water. Little improvements like that to me are next gen.

To me next gen means something that could not be done on the last gen of consoles (not talking graphics here because better looking games does not make a next gen experience). This is why IMHO I believe Star Wars Force Unleashed will be the first true next gen experience. NaturalMotion' s Euphoria engine combined with Pixelux' s Digital Molecular Matter are going to give us a realistic gaming experience with TFU. No more pre-canned death animations, NPC' s that will actually grab onto something to try and save themselves even each other, and finally the fact that when you use The Force on say a metal door it will bend like a real metal door should. Now to me that is truly next gen.

I thin you guys are too picky...

I' d definitely say Crysis is true next gen. I' m sick of hearing these consoles being called next gen though since they' ve all been out for more than a year...

I' d definitely say Crysis is true next gen

Why, because it looks nice? What story and gameplay elements does it have that separate it from every other FPS or TPS put out this gen or last? Besides looking pretty, what else does it offer that make it a true next gen game? You can' t just say Crysis and not give a valid reason.

Dead Rising.

It couldn' t have been accomplished on a last-gen console. No ifs, ands or buts.

Crysis

The quality of the game doesn' t assure next gen status. Better graphics, better physics, but what component of Crysis' gameplay could not have been achieved on a PC three years ago? I had doubts before I played the game, and while it' s fantastic, it ain' t revolutionary.

Edit: Before we really get going on this, we should probably establish what we define as " next gen" .

Do better graphics make a game next gen? Better physics? Is it the core gameplay mechanics (my personal beleif)?

Also talk about game your disapointed with for not improving. What was your first next gen game?

Far Cry Predator/Instincts - Talk about a downhill slope...

My first next gen game was Call of Duty 2.

Crackdown was pretty next gen in my opinion

I believe the sense of freedom offered by the game, coupled with the high drawing distance as well as the seamless Coop interaction makes this game truly next gen. Under some of those criteria Assassin' s Creed could also be called true next gen but Crackdown was first.

@Eddie

For me next-gen is definied by pushing the boundaries of what was possible before (i.e. last gen)...but not by a small push, but more like a major haul. (I.e. there were game physics before...but Half Life 2' s PE was simply way more ahead) That' s also the reason why I dont think Crysis can be considered next-gen because, while it' s graphics are damn good and it' s the best looking game so far, there are games that offer almost as good graphics and so Crysis hasn' t pushed the boundaries a lot, but only by a little bit. If Crysis, on the other hand, would' ve been released back in 2005/2006, when the next gen was still new, it would' ve been different.

Now there' s an interesting idea. If we' re going by technical achievements, Resistance: Fall of Man' s mulitplayer was unachievable last gen (excluding PCs).

I can say Crysis all I want thank you very much. Saying that there has to be a massive leap in gameplay and story for it to be next gen if foolish. ' Next gen' is basically about progression of technology and what your eyes see. Going by the logic in this thread we haven' t seen a true generational leap since the 2d consoles to the 3d consoles.

You want a step forward in gameplay and story? Pretty sure original PS1 games had stories just as good as any story today. Gameplay wise, shooters, rpgs, puzzle games, sports games, racing games... they are still all the same at the core as what we played back on the N64 and PS1.

Calling Uncharted next gen because the main characters shirt looking wet or grass or shrubs or whatever else you brush into was all done on the last generations of consoles as well. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory did it. The grass thing has been done hundreds of times over. Crysis also does the grass interaction and vegetation interaction but brings it to a whole new level. Having trees splintering and breaking apart EXACTLY where you inflict the damage still boggles my mind. That all used to only happen based on predetermined polygon cuts.

My definition of ' next gen' ... anything that couldn' t be done on the last generation of consoles. Whether that be pushing more poly counts, using more complex physics, adding a new gameplay element (Portal and even Prey for its portals). Game changes are evolutionary, not revolutionary. until we are able to touch, smell and taste games we aren' t going to see another huge leap like we did from 2d to 3d. Trying to pick apart games saying they aren' t next gen is dumb.

The word Next Gen is the fuel that drives hype.

Its just a word used to signify a big leap in tech when new consoles are launched, it just doesnt happen since things are more gradual..


I hate the word next gen

Portal was definitely a big step forward in the use of a physics based puzzle scenario. I don' t think it could have been done in a polished way a few years ago. At the same time, though, it' s so unique and fully realized that I don' t know that it can really have a whole lot further to go.

Trying to pick apart games saying they aren' t next gen is dumb.

I have to agree with you there Rampage.

That is exactly why I kept saying " IMHO" regarding Star Wars The Force Unleashed. What makes a next gen game truly next gen is all relative to each gamer. You think Crysis is next gen, I said SWTFU, Eddie said Dead Rising, and so forth. It is all a matter of opinion.

ORIGINAL: Zoy

Portal was definitely a big step forward in the use of a physics based puzzle scenario. I don' t think it could have been done in a polished way a few years ago. At the same time, though, it' s so unique and fully realized that I don' t know that it can really have a whole lot further to go.

They actually had everything laid out for Portal several years ago, they just didn' t get around to making it until recently. Technologically it is nothing special, they could have done it with the quake 1 engine.

I thought the animations in Assassins creed was Next gen, the way he could climb and realisticly move was way ahead anything achiveable on ps2 era.

Graphics arent everything, sure they are a part but some games just havent evolved at all, take for example jrpg' s, blue dragon had great graphics but still easily capable to run on ps1. I think western devs really are putting much more effort and have a better understanding of how to make new games than jap devs.

I' m waiting for the first wave of games utilizing Natrual Motion' s engine, starting with GTA4. Thats a next gen engine.

ORIGINAL: Silentbomber

I thought the animations in Assassins creed was Next gen, the way he could climb and realisticly move was way ahead anything achiveable on ps2 era.

Graphics arent everything, sure they are a part but some games just havent evolved at all, take for example jrpg' s, blue dragon had great graphics but still easily capable to run on ps1. I think western devs really are putting much more effort and have a better understanding of how to make new games than jap devs.

Umm... no. The animations in Assassin' s Creed were awesome but they could have been done on the last generation of game consoles. Prince of Persia is the perfect example. Both games (made by pretty much he same team) were all hand done. They aren' t rag doll based or anything. If the same amount of time and disc space were used back on the PS2 for the animations it would be very possible.

Graphics aren' t everything no, but they are pretty much what defines each generation of games. You say Blue Dragon could have been done on a PS1... wrong. It couldn' t have, because of the graphics. You take the graphics away and make it look like a PS1 game it' s no longer the same game, it' s a PS1 version of the game. That' s the point you are missing. You have to compare the game as a whole (not individual parts) to the last generation. If a current gen game, as it is without toning down graphics, physics or gameplay elements, could run on a last generation system then yes, it' s really not ' next gen' . If not though then it' s next gen.

I don' t know what' s difficult about that to grasp. A generation is based on the console cycle and how the hardware takes the software to the next level. Simple as that.