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[Zen_Arcade]

People are going to shit on you OP, but except for 2007 I generally agree that last generation was pretty mediocre.

2004 is too early though, you're in the back end of the PS2/GC/OGXbox era there, and that was one of the best eras of gaming.

 

[jroc74]

Xbox 360 Launch? BioShock? Lost Planet? Gears of War? Dead Rising? Team Fortress 2? Super Mario Galaxy? Portal, Peggle, Mass Effect, ROCK BAND...

Heard of any of those?

2004 - 2007 had Super Mario Galaxy, Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Persona 3, World of Warcraft, San Andreas, God of War 1 and 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Katamari Damacy, Mario Kart DS, Devil May Cry 3, Final Fantasy XII, Valkyrie Profile 2, Okami, Odin Sphere, Metroid Prime 2 and 3, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and numerous more I can't even think of right now.

You call that dull??

Wrap this thread up right now folks.

The rise of FPS meant another genre to choose from on consoles. It was on the verge of tanking on consoles.

Look at this gen, where are the arcade racers?

 

[13ruce]

Nah had the best time of my life playing Zelda Twilight Princess with my best firends at the age of 12.

+ Assassins Creed 2, Red Dead, GoW 3, San Andreas, Smash Brawl., modern warfare 1 and 2 metroid prime trilogy and more.

It's one of the best times imo.
Gaming nowadays was meh to me until gta 5, Bloodborne, Witcher 3 pokemon sun moon, hyrule warriors and 2017 quarter 1 happened (rest of 2017 seems stellar too best uear in gaming ever for me yet).

Also during that time i had a gaming room in my parents garden where friends and i would play games together daily that lasted from 2007 to 2012 but still a few year into your timeline best time of my life honestly.

I do agree with the piss/bloom filter that was meh but the games were awesome man.

 

[ShirAhava]

The games people are listing are proving the OPs point

It was a serious step down from 1998-2002

Plus arcades dead...SEGA dead? a few classics but it wasn't a great time

 

[Chezzymann]

N64/PS1 was the worst because while there was a lot of good games then the awful performance and rough transition to 3D makes that era very hard to go back to imo

 

[Krappadizzle]

Just you.

 

[SicSemperTyrannis]

Ehhhhh.

2004 had one of the craziest three months (oct-dec) in gaming:

GTA: San Andreas
Halo 2
Metroid Prime 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
Half Life 2
World of Warcraft
KOTOR 2
Paper Mario: TTYD
Ratchet & Clank 3

And, ehhh... the DS launch. And the PSP launch (in Japan).

I didn't see Halo 2 mentioned until this post. I'm on mobile, so I might have missed it. If it did take this long...I don't know whether to feel old or sad for the forum, or both. Halo 2 on Xbox Live was a religion experience at the time.

Edit: Geometry Wars Evolved came out in November of 2005 also. OP is certified crazy pants.

 

[facetheslayer92]

OP please, those are like the golden years of gaming. PS2, PS3, X360, Xbox, PSP, GBA, DS, Wii + a million really fun games at the time.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

The games people are listing are proving the OPs point

It was a serious step down from 1998-2002

Plus arcades dead...SEGA dead? a few classics but it wasn't a great time

Unless you have an extremely limited taste in games it was a great time, but pretty much every gen is. Every gen produces stone cold classics and the rise of indies that began last gen is truly wonderful.

 

[Barry Burton]

Not that entire stretch, but 2008-2009 was a minefield of massive disappointments that led to me losing interest in gaming for a few years.

 

[Madness]

Halo 3? Gears of War? Dead Rising? Lost Planet? Mass Effect? Bioshock? Assassins Creed? Portal? So many freaking amazing games that came out.

 

[facetheslayer92]

2010 wasn't too bad, I mean it had:

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Alan Wake
God of War 3
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Heavy Rain
Mass Effect 2
Fallout New Vegas
Just Cause 2
Halo Reach
Metro 2033
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Red Dead Redemption
Bayonetta

Aw, you left out the best one of them all- Super Meat Boy :|

 

[Van Bur3n]

I honestly don't see how you came to that conclusion. Or how anyone can say that about the last generation in general. You had to have lived under a rock.

Gotta be one of those GAF opinions.

 

[Saucestin_Roast]

2004 was crazy with KOTOR and Halo 2 on Xbox. GTA San Andreas was huge. Paper Mario TTYD is still the best Paper Mario game. Idk man. 2008-2009 weren't my favorite but at least off the top of my head 2004 was crazy. And obviously 2007 was packed. Games were going through a metamorphosis as we entered the HD era so some definitely looked better than others though. Definitely happy that graphical era is behind us, I'll say that much.

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

It says a lot about how insane that period of games was that I forgot Resident Evil Fucking 4 and that list is STILL mind-bogglingly nuts to take in.

The games people are listing are proving the OPs point

It was a serious step down from 1998-2002

Plus arcades dead...SEGA dead? a few classics but it wasn't a great time

I think it's generally accepted that for various reasons, 1996 - 2002 is a period that will never, ever be matched in the foreseeable future.

But there are absolutely periods for games that in terms of sheer quality and quantity can easily compete with them.

 

[TheDinoman]

You know, 2008 was such a strange year for gaming. It seems like almost every major game that was heavily anticipated that year ended up being a major disappointment to many in some way. Spore, Metal Gear Solid 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Grand Theft Auto 4, Little Big Planet (I actually like this game but I know a lot of people don't lol), etc.

Spoiler

My greatest disappointment that year was Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Ugh.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Not that entire stretch, but 2008-2009 was a minefield of massive disappointments that led to me losing interest in gaming for a few years.

It's really only the weird inclusion of 2004 and a couple of years further that drags the argument down. The start of the HD era was pretty bad, almost none of my PS3 games have the red label for a reason. There was still alternatives for PS360 for quite some time (late PS2, handhelds), but when people list Assassin's Creed and Modern Warfare as "positive" examples of late 2000s gaming, there's certainly been a problem.

 

[facetheslayer92]

You know, 2008 was such a strange year for gaming. It seems like almost every major game that was heavily anticipated that year ended up being a major disappointment to many in some way. Spore, Metal Gear Solid 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Grand Theft Auto 4, Little Big Planet (I actually like this game but I know a lot of people don't lol), etc.

Spoiler

My greatest disappointment that year was Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Ugh.

It was truly the year of sequels minus Dead Space and LBP. A sign of things to come.

 

[Timu]

Aw, you left out the best one of them all- Super Meat Boy :|

Forgot about that one, plus I never played it.

 

[jroc74]

Unless you have an extremely limited taste in games it was a great time, but pretty much every gen is. Every gen produces stone cold classics and the rise of indies that began last gen is truly wonderful.

Exactly.

I've seen ppl post 2008, 2009. Thats a more believable statement than 2004-2009.

It's really only the weird inclusion of 2004 and a couple of years further that drags the argument down. The start of the HD era was pretty bad, almost none of my PS3 games have the red label for a reason. There was still alternatives for PS360 for quite some time, but when people list Assassin's Creed and Modern Warfare as "positive" examples of late 2000s gaming, there's certainly been a problem.

Yup.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

It is probably silly to label any significant stretch of time as a low point in gaming (post-crash), but the mid '00s were *definitely* a fallow period for genre diversity, especially on PC. Console/PC came as close to parity as it ever was for a while and that meant if the genre didn't work on console you didn't see it on PC.

 

[Timu]

The games people are listing are proving the OPs point

It was a serious step down from 1998-2002

Plus arcades dead...SEGA dead? a few classics but it wasn't a great time

Seriously? There are many great games posted in this thread!

 

[sphinx]

2004 - 2007 had Super Mario Galaxy, Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Persona 3, World of Warcraft, San Andreas, God of War 1 and 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Katamari Damacy, Mario Kart DS, Devil May Cry 3, Final Fantasy XII, Valkyrie Profile 2, Okami, Odin Sphere, Metroid Prime 2 and 3, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and numerous more I can't even think of right now.

You call that dull??

this post didn't mention Resident Evil freaking 4,

let that sink in people.

 

[gate stormer]

Highlights of that era were mostly Valve games.

So basically The Orange 📦

 

[Platinumstorm]

Yes. With the exception of WoW that entire time period was pretty dull for gaming. I mention WoW because I think WoW was a significant factor in affecting the games put out at that time.

 

[Indelible]

Some of my favorite games were released in that period, especially JRPGs like Dragon Quest VIII, Persona 3/4 and countless others on DS and PSP.

 

[Figboy79]

I really can't agree, OP. Looking at just the PS3 alone, I can't agree. Then when I factor in PC, Xbox 360, Nintendo, and the deluge of indie titles that graced us during that time period, I REALLY can't agree.

You're stating your subjective opinion as objective fact, and that's not going to harbor a real discussion. For you, there weren't a lot of games in a genre you love. For me, I got so many games in genres I love (action/adventure, rpgs, open world titles, etc, etc), and I was also introduced to genres I never thought I'd give a shit about (ie, visual novels). I was never a big multi-player gamer, so all of the fantastic single player titles like Half Life 2, Portal, GTA, inFAMOUS, Fallout, Bioshock, Demon's Souls, etc, etc, had me in bliss. I was a huge PlayStation fanboy back then, but there was also no denying how excellent Xbox LIVE was for opening up online gaming and indie developers to a wider audience. Sure, there was a lot of crap, but there was also a ton of quality titles that weren't just mega blockbusters or sequels. And we can't pretend that the sequels to some of the previous gens best games were weak either.

Subjectively, I can't argue with your perspective, because for you, those years were lacking. Objectively, though, there's a mountain of gaming that says 2004-2009 was a banner period for gaming. Developers were really coming into their own in regards to designing games in 3D, and establishing a language that has carried us forward to where we are now. There are good and bad things that come from that, but overall, the industry is moving forward, and developers are continuing to produce quality content. I highly recommend looking to indie developers for titles in genres that may now be niche. I also suggest playing more games that may not be in genres you adore. You never know when that one game will crop up that makes you a fan.

I remember I hated JRPGs back in the day, and it took Chrono Trigger to release in 1995 before I gave JRPGs a shot and became obsessed with the genre. From there, it was a hop, skip, and a jump to titles like Phoenix Wright and Dangan Ronpa, and Persona, etc, etc. Expanding your gaming palate is one of the key elements of continuing to enjoy gaming.

 

[Bgamer90]

N64/PS1 was the worst because while there was a lot of good games then the awful performance and rough transition to 3D makes that era very hard to go back to imo

Far easier to go back to 16 bit games than PS1/N64 games; Definitely agree with you.

 

[Zackat]

World of Warcraft though

 

[Ahasverus]

what. the. hell. It literally encompasses end of last last gen and last gen IP peak. Terrible period to single out OP.

 

[facetheslayer92]

I almost wonder the sheer volume of Metacritic 85+ titles during this period.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

demon's souls (the GOAT) was 2009

 

[maxcriden]

Just my own taste, but here are the games I loved or at least enjoyed in these years, ranked from most loved to at least enjoyed:

2004:

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Mario Party 6
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Pikmin 2 (well, have not played yet, but if it is anything like 1 or 3 I am confident in its quality)

2005:

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Lumines

2006:

Twilight Princess
NSMB
Kirby: Squeak Squad
Yoshi's Island DS
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Wii Sports

2007:

Super Mario Galaxy
Zack & Wiki
Super Paper Mario
Phantom Hourglass
Diddy Kong Racing DS
DK Jungle Climber

2008:

Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Wii Fit
Soul Bubbles
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Rhythm Heaven

2009:

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Pikmin NPC
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Spirit Tracks
Klonoa Wii
Wii Fit Plus
A Boy and His Blob
Metroid Prime Trilogy
I probably missed some in skimming the lists. The lists of game releases are here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_in_video_gaming (then replace the date in the URL)

 

[labx]

Jesus. Have we even left that period? Seems like almost every game today is a sequel to or directly inspired by one of those games

Good question. And no, we haven't left it. And I forgot to mention Demon's Souls.

 

[mdzapeer]

Demon Soul's was the best games I played during that time period, I also dont remember the exact years so + or - a year. I just remember turning to older games which I missed in the 90s or playing wow mostly during that period.

All those lists also highlight a large lack of RPGs, I think only Fallout 3 and Mass Effect were the highlights, Final Fantasy 12 too but it disappointed in the story department.

 

[Espada]

2004 to 2009 is far too broad. That's catching a lot of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube's best games. We're talking legendary, beloved games here.

I will say that last gen was my least favorite so far, and it blew that it lasted so goddamn long.

 

[low-G]

whoops my brain

 

[Iva Demilcol]

I can agree that I felt pretty disappointed when it came to games made by my favorite developers during the first years of the XB360 and PS3. I wasn't a fan of the "real is brown" (or grey) thing that the big games of those few years where very proud of. I remember Jim Sterling declaring that Viva Piñata was the best looking game of that era precisely because of how awful games like Gears of War looked. But I don't think that it was strictly between 2004 and 2009 as OP mentioned, maybe a narrower period would be more accurate.

By 2009 I started to get more games that appealed to me but until that point we got the rise of FPS on consoles, the almost disappearance of JRPGs on consoles as well, my favorite series started to get bad sequels: between 2004 and 2009 we went from the amazing Soul Calibur II to SCIII and SCIV; from Chaos Theory to Double Agent and Conviction; Silent Hill almost disappeared during that period of time as well, to name just a few examples. A lot of Japanese game series went to handheld systems too (in general the lack of appealing games on home consoles gave me amazing games on PSP and DS, so it wasn't that bad)

To me, games like GOW Killzone 2 or Mass effect looked dull and boring so I can totally understand how one person with tastes similar to mine would say those years were the dullest; we still got Bioshock, Tales of Vesperia and Lost Planet, though.

 

[Strike]

2004, 2007, and 2009 were some of the best years we've ever had in terms of releases.

 

[daTRUballin]

PS360 was easily the shittiest generation, but it did a lot in terms of building online infrastructure and opening things up to indies that would let the future become brighter.

Even worse than the NES generation? Besides a few games like SMB, Zelda, etc, there were A LOT of shitty games released during that era. Like, unbelievably shit quality.

 

[orochi91]

Okami
God of War 2
Persona 3
Persona 4
Final Fantasy 12
Shadow of the Colossus

Those are just a few of the brilliant games from that time period, 2004-2009 was amazing.

 

[StoneFox]

I kinda agree with OP on this. Outside of a few standout titles, most games were with trying to copy each other to oblivion or were trying to be technologically impressive but has no style of their own.

Okami, SotC, Red Dead Redemption, Persona 3, Assassin's Creed, and Portal are the only ones that immediately come to my mind that aren't an FPS or impressed me.

 

[Col.Asher]

There may have been dull years, but entire periods? nah.

 

[Red UFO]

WII SPORTS

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Ummmm....no.

I mean, Half-Life 2, Resident Evil 4, and Super Mario Galaxy released in this period.

 

[MrSaturn99]

2004 was incredible, although as a GameCube kid I remember it had a rocky start with Sonic Heroes/Pokemon Colloseum. That fall season, though...man. Man.

2005 was also pretty damn great in retrospect, despite being a shitty year personally.

Don't care too much for the rest, though. All have their highs (Mother 3, Jump Ultimate Stars, Mario Galaxy, Retro Game Challenge, Little King's Story, etc.) but the first half of the Wii era was pretty rough and I didn't have a PS3/Xbox until well after '09.

 

[Airola]

I'd say 2000-2006/2007.
Or maybe even 1999-2006/2007.

Around 1998 or 1999 I started to see gaming magazines slowly becoming very boring. By 2002 I was completely done with modern gaming.

The PS2/GC/XBOX/DC era is the dark ages of video games for me.

 

[Drexxciya]

Sounds like you should've had a DS back then, OP. You've elaborated a bit on your tastes regarding console gaming during that time, but 04-09 was a golden era for portable releases.

Spoiler

I'd also like to add that using VG Cats to make a point raises a red flag, trolling-wise.

 

[Kuraudo]

Haha, no. Sixth gen had some of its best years and seventh gen had a great start during that period.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Man oh man tastes differ I guess. The blow-up years of DS and Wii were huge.