what are somethings you like or dislike about modern games

[snowkatt]

this is something of a catch all topic which may or may not sink faster then a lead brick
but what are some of the things you like in current games ?
these things could be small or they could be quite large

personally what i like about most games that are free roaming is that you can point at any given building in the distance and actually go there instead of it being a flat image you never get to see up close

and on the dislike part of things

other then publishers selling us broken games that need patches ( fallout new vegas)
yearly updates that add nothing other then a price tag ( ea's sportsline )
or selling half a game at full price and the dripfeeding us dlc's and mini expansion packs ( that would be bethesda's schtick )

other then that in game what i dislike the most are unskippable tutorials
especially when replaying the game if there is already a save game on your hd \memory card cant the game at least give you the option to skip the damn tutorial ?

and those awfull awfull qte's least said about that the better

[sebadude]

That's one of the first things that amazed me about GTAIII. You could see the skyscrapers in the distance but knew they weren't just part of an unreachable background - you could actually travel right up to them!

[RetroAerosmith]

I dont usually like racing games but as its happened in free roaming games like saboteur ill add this ....

being able to look left,right or behind you while driving and seeing the city and scenery whizz passed you exactly as you were approaching it.

[pratty]

I like that you have a lot more control options these days, you can often customise controls to suit yourself, and in some cases choose which controller you use.

Also, while nothing really beats local multiplayer, and although it's not without it's niggles, being able to play with people online is a pretty nice development.

[HalcyonDaze00]

Online play.

Being able to play against anybody anywhere in the world is ace. And for the single player games you have worldwide leaderboards so you can measure how good (or bad) you are doing.

[Rayne]

Graphics. There's been so many games in recent years that have made my jaw drop.

I don't necessarily mean hyper-real engines either, Mirror's Edge was a game that blew me away and it's relatively simple compared to things like Killzone 2

[snowkatt]

That's one of the first things that amazed me about GTAIII. You could see the skyscrapers in the distance but knew they weren't just part of an unreachable background - you could actually travel right up to them!

the spiderman 2 game did one better in that regard you cant just get up close to the building you can actually climb it
next step is to be able to enter them

[bsg]

Online play.

Being able to play against anybody anywhere in the world is ace. And for the single player games you have worldwide leaderboards so you can measure how good (or bad) you are doing.

^^^ THIS majorly... Next big purchase for the ps3 is DC Universe Online methinks...

But also the growing trend to make games more of an interactive experience - a la Heavy Rain, which after okaying the demo, I felt would be a game I could not get away with - but after having it bought for me as a present, i'm hooked...

[gman72]

i like the little revolving icons that appear during an auto save...

[SirClive]

I really like story driven games. A good story can drag a pretty average game up and make me want to complete it (Enslaved is a good example of this). I am not a fan of too much free roaming (Fallout 3 is way too much for me), so a good story to keep me engrossed is vital. RDR and Mafia II are great examples of really good story driven games that we could never have had back in the day.

[Liamh1982]

No hassle with HDTVs!

[speedlolita]

Nothing.

[Morkin]

Save anywhere. Failing that, save nearly everywhere.

[Negative Creep]

Advancements in AI means you can have proper computer controlled allies
Properly adult games
In racing games, real cars and damage models
Lifelike physics
Acting that doesn't make you hide behind the sofa in embarrassment (well, most of the time)
The fact game prices are actually cheaper than 15 years ago, even with inflation


All of the above you could only have dreamed of in the 16 bit era

[Crunchy]

I could list thngs I like about modern games all day but what it really boils down to is that they're very definitely designed to put the focus squarely on player enjoyment.

Whenever I crank up an old game these days I just see terrible game design. None of it was intentional but the starkest difference between old and modern games is that newer games are just nicer to play.