The End of Generation Obituary

johnny_ultimate

On 23rd of March, 2007 at 12am, the next generation of consoles officially became the current generation. With the XBox and GC dead and buried, the Dreamcast long since cremated and the PS2 only having a few exclusives (e.g. GoW2) and multi-formate titles left, it is time to reflect upon the sixth generation of consoles.
So for you, what was the pinnacle of this generations achievements? What games defined it for you? Which games excelled creatively and technically? Any games never get the respect they deserved? Which console ended up top of the pile? And most importantly - how did the generation compare to those past?

monument

With the install base the PS2 has, Sony would be silly to kill it off fast.

Dont be at yourself

So for you, what was the pinnacle of this generations achievements?

The success of XBox Live is an obvious one, but for me it was Sony's attempts at growing the audience - with stuff like EyeToy, Singstar as well as 3rd party titles like Guitar Hero.

What games defined it for you? Which games excelled creatively and technically?

Grand Theft Auto III was a landmark moment in gaming - sitting down and playing that for the first time was an unbelievable experience. Resident Evil 4 was a blockbuster game if ever there was one. Rez was perhaps the most beautiful game of the generation.

Any games never get the respect they deserved?

Two spring to mind: Rogue Trooper and Shadow of Rome. Both were very creative and very solid to play.

Which console ended up top of the pile? And most importantly - how did the generation compare to those past?

If I could only have one, I'd pick the PS2. However, with the proliferation of multi-format titles, there was very little to choose between the consoles.

Belle Ende

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Two spring to mind: Rogue Trooper and Shadow of Rome. Both were very creative and very solid to play.

I love both these overlooked titles.

.
SHADOW OF ROME is my favourite PS2 game. The environments are outstanding, the difficultly is perfectly balanced, the gameplay is quite deep considering the easy-to-use controls, and the action/combos (aka. salvos) are exceptionally satisfying (not to mention bloody). The cutscenes are great too - a fictionalised early Roman empire with well-acted characters. The only downside is the stealth sections, and even then its more than competent - just less fun when compared to the excellent action levels with Agrippa.

A pity that Sony haven't perfected its emulation on the PS3.

.
.
Furthermore, I'd love to see Capcom produce a sequel to Shadow Of Rome. Keep the gladatorial battles, add more brutal ways to off your enemies, et voila.

Retr0gamer

The defining game of this generation has to be GTA 3. It was the first game out on the next gen machines that could not be done on a last gen machine. It introduced use to sandbox gaming that working and the idea of games were you make your own fun. The world it created has only been bettered by it's direct sequels. A special mention goes to psi-ops for which is still the best use of physics in any game. The extensive use of physics was introduced in this generation.

As for technical achievements I'd have to take the best from each system.

Xbox: Panzer Dragoon Orta. Just an absolutely stunning game. It is used every graphical trick that the xbox had and really showed what it could do if developers bothered. Fantastic art direction as well. It looks so good that if it came out on hte xbox 360 people would still be praising it's graphics.

PS2: Shadow of the Colossus. Although the framerate struggles at times this wins it for me for pushing the PS2 to it's very limits and creating such a beautiful world.

Gamecube: Resident Evil 4. Everything just looks stunning, from the animation, atmospheric effects, lighting to the beautifully modelled enviroments and models. Stunning.

Dreamcast: Shenmue (special mention for Under Defeat). Beautifully crafted game world with a ridiculous amount of attention to detail. Looked better than anything on the PS2 for quite a while.

Best Console?

Definitely the PS2. The number of classics in it's library dwarfs the combined libraries of the other consoles. It was a badly made console with a dreadful controller but it had the games and thats all that matters.

Gamecube next. Although it didn't have many games it had a hell of a lot of must have classic exclusives.

Dreamcast next. Only really getting into the DC but it really has a hell of a lot of brilliant games as well as some really innovative stuff. Pity it ended because it has the highest ratio of great games to crude.

Xbox. Well it has Halo, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Ninja Gaiden and xbox live if you don't have a PC. Other than that it doesn't offer anything you couldn't play on the PS2. It was extremely powerful but developers rarely pushed it (just look at Orta and Riddick to see how far it could be pushed). Probably the worst console I've bought.

Now a list of games that you should all play. If I missed any it's because either they are crap and you're wrong or I haven't played them . Feel free to tell me how wrong I am put especially to tell me what I've missed (Dreamcast especially).

PS2:

Gradius V: Best game on the PS2 by far. Sure it's only a 2D shmup but it takes the genre and perfects it. The best shmup ever created.

Gitaroo Man: The best rhythm and action game available until Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan came along (unsurprisingly from the same team). Fantastic soundtrack and great use of the dual shock controller.

Silent Hill 2: Final nail in the coffin for the argument that videogames aren't art. You will be hard pressed to find a better or cleverer narrative in any other form of media. Psychologically terrifying rather than resorting to cheap scares, SH2 is the scariest game ever imo. Also contains the best use of the rumble feature since MGS

putting your hand in the hole in the wall

Devil May Cry 3: Get past the incredibly difficult Cerberus and this game starts becoming fun again. Rock hard but still a riot to play, a great game for showing off in. Combat system is superb.

Zone of Enders 2: The first game was incredibly dull but don't let it put you off this classic. Jehuty is an absolute joy to control against all variety of enemies and bosses. It's a game that constantly outdoes it's self each time graphically and in terms of spectacle. Some really enjoyable bosses here that only Konami could come up with. It's like being in an anime right down to the laughable translation.

God of War: This game was a huge surprise. The developer of Twisted Metal makes a hack and slash that out does both DMC and Ninja Gaiden. Gorgeous to behold and plays just as well. A real labour of love and it shows.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: Best of the series due due to it's excellent parodying of the 80's and the soundtrack. I also found it more fun than either GTA 3 or San Andreas.

Final Fantasy X: The best RPG of this generation. A superb battle system, gorgeous looks, great characters (except tidus) and brilliant story that doesn't head off into silliness like some FF's do. Not to be missed.

Contra: Shattered Soldier: Unashamedly old school. Unbelievable tough but then again it wouldn't be Contra if it wasn't. It's sad that this is probably the last of it's kind. At least the genre went out with a bang.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time: Stupidly good platformer. Looks amazing with a very unique look and arabian style. However it's the free-running inspired platforming that sets this game apart. It's easy and natural to use and looks spectacular. The Combat lets the game down a little. Warrior Within is worth playing but is slightly ruined by silly decisions to make the game darker. Two Thrones is a brilliant return to form and gets the balance just right. SoT is still the best.

Psi-Ops: A half decent game turned into something very special by the clever use of physics. It's great fun forgoing the use of guns so you can be the cruelest bastard ever with your psychic powers.

Suikoden 3: I expected a lot from this game since Suikoden 2 blew me away. I was slightly disappointed but it's still an excellent RPG. It just didn't have the epic fell of the others in the series.

Suikoden V: This is the closest the series has gotten to reaching the high point that Suikoden 2 was. Excellent storyline, great suikoden gameplay and and truly interesting cast. It just doesn't have the nastiness and grittiness that seperated Suikoden 2 from everything else.

Guitar Hero: It let you pretend you were a rock star, what more could you want?

Shadow of the Colossus: Gorgeous looking, truly original, best soundtrack ever and an excellent story. Don't miss out on this one.

Metal Gear Solid 2: The story was pure crap and interferred with the gameplay with codex conversations that lasted whole lifetimes every 10 steps. But when the game let you play it was brilliant. Lots of options on how to beat the game or act the arse with the gaurds.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Now this is much better. After a bararge of codexs in the first hour you are basically left to your own devises to play the game. Rather than be a rehash the games jungle environment offers plenty of new options to the player. Great fun and with less MGS 2 silliness. Some wonderful boss fights as well.

Kingdom Hearts: Don't be fooled by the Disney license. This is a tough hack and slash game up there with Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden. Really brilliant game that actually manages to have a superb story from the combination of the Disney and FF universes.

Dragon Quest VIII: Brilliant RPG that relies of good old fashioned gameplay rather than a silly story. Looks amazing as well.

Gamecube

Metroid Prime 1 and 2: Both astonishingly good but MP1 more so. An incredibly detailed world to explore and both games translate flawlessly the excellent exploration gameplay from Super Metroid. Stop moaning about the controls, they're perfect, it's zelda from the first person not Counter-bloody-strike.

Super Mario Sunshine: It just be more Mario 64 but I'm not complaining when it's this much fun. People moan about the difficulty, I welcomed the challenge, although those blue coins were a pain.

Skies of Arcadia: Just that little bit better on the cube. Brillaint RPG thats more about having fun than engaging in a silly storyline.

Pikmin 1 + 2: There's really nothing quite like these games. Running around with an army of little creatures collecting thrash in Shigero Miyamotos garden was one of the defining moments of this gen.

Resident Evil Remake: Essentially the same game but made different enough to make it worth playing through again. Scarier than the original with some new surprises. Looks excellent. RE0 is also worth a look.

Super Smash Bros. Melee: There's no better game to play with mates and a few beers. After a few hours of playing you start to see through the madness and realise there is a really tactical beat'em up behind it all.

Tales of Symphonia: Not many RPGs on the GC but this is the best of them. Decent storyline and great characters. However the battle system is what makes this special. It's more streets of rage than final fantasy.

Resident Evil 4: Absolutely flawless. It looks stunning, uses sound brilliantly and is a joy to play. An astonishing game that never lets up from start to finish and constantly surprises. Probably the standout game of this generation.

Viewtiful Joe 1 + 2: Two excellent old school beat'em ups. Rock hard but tons of fun to play. The fighting system is pure genius.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker: Disappointingly short but while it lasts it's brilliant. Probably the best use of cel shading ever. I hope we see it in another zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: Superb. It might just be Ocarina of Time wrapped in nicer graphics but when was that ever a bad thing.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword: Great in single-player but it really has to be played in multiplayer. The co-op elements are great but there is always competition for rupees and it's great fun setting your mates ass of fire.

Mario Kart: Double Dash: Took a while to grow on me but I ended up loving it. Gets the most play during multiplayer sessions than any other game before Wii sports.

F-zero: Best single player racing game ever. Brutally tough but it's a real adrenaline rush when you start playing it properly. I don't think there is a faster game.

Soul Calibur 2: Almost as good as VF4 and miles better than Tekken. Very accessible to newbies but with enough depth to keep hardcore beat'em up fans happy.

Harvest Moon: It's a wonderful life: Like animal crossing but with farming. And it's better imo.

Paper Mario 2: Great RPG with a fantastic sense of humour that will have you smiling all the way through.

Xbox

Halo: We all know that it feels awfully rushed in places and that the flood very nearly ruin the game but when Halo is at it's best it's fantastic. Forget the dull sequel and stick with the original and best.

Ninja Gaiden: Not as tough as many will lead you to believe. Looks amazing and controls excellently. I wish Tecmo would make a sequel instead of those volleyball/masturbation games.

Panzer Dragoon Orta: The best thing on the xbox. Simply spectacular to look at and plays brilliantly as well. Superb soundtrack needs a mention. So what if it's an on the rails shooter? It's the finest example of one since Lylat Wars.

Outrun 2006: Realism is sacrificed for arcade handling and sheer out and out fun. Screw Gran Turismo, this is 100 times more fun.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood: Huge inprovement on the last game. Very atmospheric and the use of actual military tactics makes this standout from the WWII FPS crowd.

Dreamcast

Ikaruga: As hardcore as Backdoor Squirting Sluts: Volume 7. Quite possibly the best designed game ever. How I ever finished this I don't know. It feels like a puzzle game and shmup combined. The rigid nature of the gameplay means it just isn't as much fun as Gradius V but it's still one of the finest examples of the genre.

Grandia 2: Excellent RPG with the best battle system ever. Nice story ans great characters but it's the battle systme that make this game.

Rez: A simple game with incredible depth. It's hard to explain in so fun words. You just really have to experience it.

Under defeat: stunning looking shmup from G-rev which just happens to be a blast to play. Has the best explosion effects ever.

Street Fighter 3: Probably the best fighting game since SF2.

johnny_ultimate

Wow. One word: comprehensive. Well you hit most points there but there are a few you missed out on.

XBox:
Oddworld: Strangers Wrath - without a doubt my favourite Xbox game. After the simplicity of Abes Oddyssey and Exodus, I had somewhat given up on the series. But SW was an epic game. It had most entertaining stealth sections (picking off the grunts one by one was spectacularly good fun), bizarre and original weapons (the squirrel and skunk weapons helped me out in many a jam), extremely challenging and varied bosses (trying to catch them alive was always a worthwhile challenge) and was occasionally laugh out loud funny. But the beauty of it was

the mid-game twist in which it turned intense shoot-em up. Just as the game was getting somewhat tired in formula, this trump card turned it around, gave it a whole new lease of life. For me, the second half of this game did what Halo failed to do - an intense, repetitive shoot em experience which didnt get old or dull

. IMO, the most under-rated game of the generation.

Pyschonauts - and so we move on to another under-played but acclaimed gem. I have never laughed so hard playing a game, and the imagination displayed was nothing short of spectacular. Each level played entirely differently - one minute you're a giant city-crusher, the next part of a living neon-painting, fighting bulls. It wasnt a perfect game by any means (too much emphasis on collecting, and a few dull periods admittedly) - but for pure entertainment value and originality, few beat this.

PS2
Ico - while I enjoyed Shadow of the Collossus (technically it was magnificent, and some of the boss battles blew my mind) I still feel that Ico was amongst the most important gaming experiences of the gen. No other game has achieved such a sense of scale (vertigo inducing, it is) and pure unadulterated adventure.

Katamari - utterly brilliant Japanese insanity. One of my all-time favourites.

Honourable mentions also to Okami and Bully

Multi-format
Beyond Good & Evil - if i had to choose my single defining game, this would be it. For me, it was just (an admittedly short) thrill ride, every new level / mini-game / task surpassing the last. From the exhilirating, slow-mo opening battle, to the epic climatic space battle, this was gaming perfection from start to finish.

Tony Hawks 3 - gave us the defining skateboarding experience before the series went balls up.

Retr0gamer

Okami, BG&E, Bully and Psychonauts are in my to play pile.

Forgot Ico, Katamari and Strangers Wrath, for shame

Never played TH3 but was addicted to TH2 for months when I first played it.

I've also got a load of RPG's that I've yet to play that are supposedly excellent including, Shadow Hearts, Stella Deus, all the Nippon Ichi SRPGs, Star Ocean 3, Kingdom Hearts 2 etc. There's lot on the PS2 and Dreamcast that I'm afraid I haven't managed to get around to.

PHB

Does nobody else love the PS2 controller?

I think it is the perfect controller.

TheAlmightyArse

Indeed! The left analog is in the perfect position to compromise both comfort and precision, and what a small price to pay for the prime positioning of a d-pad that hates diagonals even more than I hate it. Excellent!

Retr0gamer

Two analogue sticks bolted haphazardly on to a joypad that was already a disgrace compared to the Saturn and N64 pads. D-pad is next to useless and the analogue sticks are poorly positioned. The only reason that it's usable is that it has deformed by hands into a slightly more comfortable position over 10 years of gaming.

johnny_ultimate

The Gamecube for me was the ultimate controller (until the Xbox 360 came along).
It looked horrible, was too plastic and all that... but...
There was just something about it. It seemed so right.

Ri_Nollaig

johnny_ultimate wrote:

The Gamecube for me was the ultimate controller (until the Xbox 360 came along).
It looked horrible, was too plastic and all that... but...
There was just something about it. It seemed so right.

nah the best was the orginal xbox controller

Makaveli

PHB wrote:

Does nobody else love the PS2 controller?

I think it is the perfect controller.

Only for Pro Ev (using d-pad). I think it's awful for almost everything else.

ciano1

Ri_Nollaig wrote:

nah the best was the orginal xbox controller

Nice to hold but i hated the black and white buttons....ur left thumb had 6 buttons to deal with...the 360 controller is perfect

Ri_Nollaig

ciano1 wrote:

Nice to hold but i hated the black and white buttons....ur left thumb had 6 buttons to deal with...the 360 controller is perfect

well yeah, but i was joking

Retr0gamer

Every controller should have six face buttons for the inevitable Capcom fighting games. The buttons on the xbox were just badly placed. The Saturn and MD 6 button controllers did it perfectly.

CiDeRmAn

The defining games of the gen for me must be Metropolis Street Racer on the DC, awesome, made me put down Gran Turismo and never look at it kindly again. Gave rise to the PGR phenomenon and changed how racing games are done.
Also Midtown Madness on the PC, that is the game that gave us free roaming racing, go anywhere driving, not GTA3 as previously reported, the team, Angel Studios did go on to produce a couple of sequels and then to Midnoght Club gams, being absorbed into the Rockstar family along the way.
Also can't be without the usual suspects, SOTC, Ico, Okami, God Of War, Halo, JSRF, Transformers, Metroid on GC, Eternal Darkness, Silent Hill series.
There have been so many great hours spent playing the previous gen consoles.
Best controller has to be the Xbox S, perfectly formed, size, weight, triggers analogue sticks, all well thought out.
Biggest disappointment had to be the GC, despite everything it could do, it never did them, and when it did sparkle who got to see?
PS2 provided more long nights of gaming goodness, just strip away the ropey analogue sticks and the countless bad licenses and you have a wealth of great games.

0ubliette

Id agree with 90% of the games listed here, but some of them i just didnt get on with, namely:
Psychonauts. had it on the ps2, it looked like ass and was boring as hell, i didnt even find it funny, and im a big fan of grim fandango/monkey island, the other games by Tim Schafer).

Panzer dragoon orta: I bought this based on how good people made the saturn games otu to be, and was bitterly disappointed. It looked nice, but i just found it dull to play. As a technichal acheivement, i think ninja gaiden pushed the xbox alot harder than pdo.

Stangers wrath: I just didnt like it. I dont think i got to the 'big revelation' or whatever that happens midway through the game, but the part i did play i just found boring. Admittedly at the time i was more into my pc gaming, so was probably spoilt by the likes of half life 2, and thought SW was just boring by comparison.

A few that have been missed out on too:

Project Zero 1 & 2. The ABSOLUTE scariest games of the last gen. Even silent hill couldnt top these games for genuine "oh god i dont think i can play any more" moments.

Shenmue: Sure it might have been jsut a TAD boring when you really look into it (wandering around bars telling people youre looking for sailors..ummm..oookay), but the city felt so full of life, and just hanging out in the arcade playing hang on and space harrier was great.

skywalker

Gamecube:
Cant believe Im the first to mention monkey ball. What a great, fun innovative little game. I still remember laughing at a mate when he told me he bought a gamecube just for that game. About a month later after a few drink/gaming sessions I did the same thing.

Xbox:
Personally I loved black on the xbox, it just had a great feeling of destruction, and got the most out of the console graphically for my money. Was dissapointed with doom3 & half life 2 after having to wait so long for them, and this turned out to be much better.

Also the best version of pro evo (4) was on the xbox, the series seems to be getting slightly progressively worse with every iteration since.

Lego star wars: another title you might initially scoff at, but half an hour of play will convert anyone. Great little fluffy cute type game.

I loved the xbox, its potential when modded just blows everything else away. I still use it everyday as a media player.

Retr0gamer

0ubliette wrote:

Panzer dragoon orta: I bought this based on how good people made the saturn games otu to be, and was bitterly disappointed. It looked nice, but i just found it dull to play. As a technichal acheivement, i think ninja gaiden pushed the xbox alot harder than pdo.

Blasphemy! It was great as long as you didn't wuss out with easy mode. Thought it pushed the xbox a lot harder than Ninja Gaiden. Ninja Gaiden threw around an impressive amount of polygons but Panzer Dragon Orta pushed almost as many but added vertex and pixel shaders and some lovely distortion effects. It also ran at a much better framerate than Ninja Gaiden which was a little choppy although consistent.

0ubliette

Retr0gamer wrote:

Blasphemy! I was great as long as you didn't wuss out with easy mode. Thought it pushed the xbox a lot harder than Ninja Gaiden. Ninja Gaiden threw around an impressive amount of polygons but Panzer Dragon Orta pushed almost as many but added vertex and pixel shaders and some lovely distortion effects. It also ran at a much better framerate than Ninja Gaiden which was a little choppy although consistent.

Yeah it was a nice looking game alright, but i guess on rails shooters just dont do it for me. Having said that, i did enjoy rez on the ps2, even though its on rails it was just so damn bizarre

Kiith

Shenmue 1/2: This was one of the first times that i was truly blown away by a game. The size, and amount of things in the game was amazing. The first big scripted fight made me feel like a bad ass, kicking the crap out of everyone

Zelda OOT: This is, imo, the best game ever made. Nothing has come close to how i felt the first time i walked into Hyrule Field, or getting Epona to jump over the fence, or getting the Master Sword, or completing the water dungeon without the water breating shirt (yes, it is possible, and bloody hard...ooh the memories.

Psychonauts: I only started playing this at the weekend, and it is a brilliantly funny game. Its been a long time since a game has made me laugh as much. Some great levels in it.

Shadow of the Collossus: Again, an amazing experience to play. The design, artwork, and music were (and still are) 2nd to none. Bringing that first colossus down was an amazing, and painful experience.

FFX: This was a great RPG. Not as good as FFVII (obviously) but was still one of the better games of the series. I just wish it had been a bit darker. I prefer the darker RPG's.

Goldeneye: This had, what i still consider, the best 4 player gaming experience ever. License to kill in the Stack level, with any guns (or proxo mines ). An amazingly designed game.

sprinkles

Retr0gamer wrote:

Two analogue sticks bolted haphazardly on to a joypad that was already a disgrace compared to the Saturn and N64 pads. D-pad is next to useless and the analogue sticks are poorly positioned. The only reason that it's usable is that it has deformed by hands into a slightly more comfortable position over 10 years of gaming.

QFT

The best controller imo up to the current gen is the gamecube contoller. Everthing fitted so well in your hands.

misiu

Morrowind for its sheer scope!!!!
not many FFs above?
halo2 for its online play,
K.o.t.o.r 1+2!

Kiith

misiu wrote:

K.o.t.o.r 1+2!

Kotor 1 maybe, but Kotor 2 was an absolute disgrace. The story made no sense, and while it was fun to kill the 'Uber powerful guy who can kill you just by thinking it if he wants to, but doesnt for no apparent reason', the ease of the game was stupid.

But ya, i'll agree with you on Morrowind, and to a lesses extent Oblivion.

Retr0gamer

Halo 2 was a dull experience in single player and the online multiplayer was ruined by absolute cabbages.

OoT and Goldeneye are last gen games.

rainbow kirby

sprinkles wrote:

The best controller imo up to the current gen is the gamecube contoller. Everthing fitted so well in your hands.

100% agreed, my GC controllers

CiDeRmAn

Just a pity we didn't have more things to play on the GC controller then, isn't it?
And there is no way Goldeneye and Zelda OoT could be seen as last gen titles, they were out with the N64, same time as the PS and the Saturn, thats the generation before last, now now, lets not get confused here people, imagine the lists we'll be cursed with if that gen gets included, and yes I know you could play ZeldaOoT on the GC, but it still doesn't count, they were on retrospective bonus disks only.