My favourite IP of this generation is ...

Josey Wales

Lets try and avoid a thread of simply listing titles but rather have some reasons to back up choices.

I hope this thread isn't a bit early but we are nearly at then end of this console cycle. I don't see too many more new IPs being introduced without a version on the next generation machines. So lets discuss what was the best new IP since the start of the generation. There has been a lot of great properties introduced over the past few years. The ones I can think are Gears Of War (GOW), Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, Little Big Planet (LBP) and Uncharted. There are probably more like Dead Space perhaps but I've not played any of those.

I really like the LBP games on the PS3. Platform games are possibly my favourite genre and good platform games have been rare this generation. Particularly good 2D platfomers. I like the art direction of the games and Sackboy is an instantly likeable character. The fact that it also offers near infinite replayability with the creation side of the game is another boon. What let it down for me was a few small issues. One is the physics. I don't necessarily want all platformers to control like Mario but a little more precision with controlling Sackboy would have been welcome. It would certainly have cut down on some frustrating moments. Secondly I feel the 4-player co-op is a missed opportunity. The netcode must be pretty poor because I've never really managed a proper online co-op game without significant lag. Perhaps they fixed it with patches long after the game shipped but by then it is too late. Finally, and perhaps most unfairly is how I felt cheated with the amount of effort I put into creating a level and then for it to get lost in the shuffle. Media Molecule really needed to create a better way of aggregating the huge amount of user generated content. Having said all that I'm still looking forward to a LBP on the PS4.

The Uncharted series is another great example of new IP. Drake is surely one of the best characters we had the pleasure to play as in any generation. The story-telling by and large was also excellent. And if you were to pinpoint just one game this generation as the best, then Uncharted 2 would be on many people's lists I'd assume. That game is pretty much perfect. The problem I had and it was in the first and second was the supernatural twists that they took towards the end. It felt particularly jarring in the first game. Then Uncharted 3 had its own issues with narrative plotholes and overall feeling a little less polished than the second game.

Over on the 360 I really enjoyed the Gears series, in particular the first one. It was the very first game I played in this generation and it was an amazing experience. The only games I'd played in probably the previous three years was PES games on the PS2 so Gears was a serious change of pace. I spent hours and hours online in the first game. I only got around to playing the second and third game last year and they were still enjoyable. They are probably the best playing third-person shooters out there but the story and characters just aren't as appealing to me as other games here. And overall the three games feel a bit too similar. I've not played GOW: Judgement but I'm sure I will because shooting things in Gears is always fun.

That really leaves it as a toss up between Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed. Honestly, as I type this now I'm not sure which one I'm going to choose. I played ME1 on the 360 and thought it was amazing. Before I played it, I wasn't a huge RPG fan but since that game I've played quite a few. I had to wait a number of years to play ME2 when it was finally released on the PS3 and as everyone knows it was brilliant. I also had no problems with ME3 other than finding the ending slightly underwhelming but nothing to detract from the entertainment it had given me for the previous 40 hours. There is also something else that ME does better than any other series and that is giving us a cast of amazing characters. While other games are content to give us one maybe two great characters in a game such as Ezio in AC or Drake in Uncharted, ME gives us a whole crew. Mordin, Liara, Wrex, Garrus or the Illusive Man all great characters, all good enough to anchor their own game and they all appear in the same game. Incredible. All three games are among my favourites but what keeps it from top spot for me is that it failed to live up to the promise of player choice defining the story through the trilogy. In the end it turned out to be merely an illusion of choice but it was still highly entertaining nonetheless.

So that leaves AC in the top spot. One of the reasons I'm choosing AC is because they keep giving us new and unique environments to play in. The series has allowed us to play during the time of the Crusades, the Renaissance and Colonial times. The game mechanics too are so much fun. Climbing around cities never gets old and the feeling of looking out over the horizon while synching the map before leaping into a haystack is hard to beat in games. The Ezio trilogy is simply amazing, even Revelations, a game many people seem to view as a cynical cash grab. But Revelations allowed us to play in Constantinople which might be the most beautiful of all the settings. It also had the most refined controls and gameplay at that point in the series and you could ignore the bomb-making and tower defense mini-game completely if you wished (bar the initial introduction of each system). ACIII was another amazing game and I'm already hyped for ACIV. Pirates, Assassin's, open-world sailing all in one game? Can't wait. That Ubisoft managed to deliver ACII, Brotherhood (the best in the series), Revelations and ACIII in consecutive years is phenomenal. I'm very tempted to get a PSVita at the moment and one of the reasons is to play AC: Liberation.

So Assassin's Creed is my choice as best new property this generation. Agree? Disagree? Think I'm totally crazy? Or have I left out a totally obvious candidate for the prize?

kaimera

I think ac2 is one of the finest games of this gen.

everything wrong with the first was fixed and improved upon.

but

the me trilogy...despite the faults and dodgy ending...I think pips it.

Retr0gamer

The 'Souls' games. Both Demon's and Dark Souls are far and away for me the best games of this generation. No over handholdin, a decent challenge, a beautiful combat system and some of the best world building seen in a game. The best part though is the excellent integration of online elements that enhance the single player experience rather than being separate or intrusive.

Etrian Odyssey was another new franchise I loved. I took old school first person dungeon crawlers from the 80's, brought them up to date and added some fantastic new features like the FOE enemies that totally change the way you approach each floor.

Phoenix Wright I absolutely adore and it's great how it managed to finally make the text adventure games so popular in Japan relevant over here. I just love the writing and humour in it. 999/Virtues Last Reward is another great new franchise that was released this gen due to this game.

Devil Survivor is about to take off in a massive way just like Persona with the release of an anime series based off of it soon. We've already had 2 iterations of it and an enhanced 3DS port. Shin Megami Tensei mixed with Tactics Ogre, what's not to love?

There's plenty more that I hope will become franchises like Xenoblade and Crimson Shroud.

richymcdermott

Dark/demon souls series: Its Difficulty is not what captures me but its atmosphere, the story about the souls world you are apart and he way it makes you feel like you are vulnerable because you know something is out there , trying to kill you and take away what makes you strong.

Its Online is the best online integration you will ever experience, hidden messages can lead you to safety but also to your doom. the person who invades your world will not vanish unless you take him out or you die. annoying for some but once you see that title come up with the persons name and you dunno where he is gone and he/she ran head you will quiver in your lackluster armour you took off a guy.

Skyrim may sell millions and be the most talked about game and hold its GOTY trophy but the people who spent time with the soul series knows Fus Ro Dah aint gonna save you from ornstein and smough ripping you a new one.


Journey: Best two hours you will ever spend in a game , ever.

Catherine: I would of being perfectly fine paying 50 quid for this even if they took out the puzzles. the story is awesome , i wish people would buy this game.

Agricola

Havent played any of Assassin's Creed games after Brotherhood, but I can appreciate what they do and despite their limitations the ability to explore a historical setting in this way is very appealing. Also Uncharted, have yet to play 3 but they really have nailed down the cinematic action adventure thing.

Personal fave of this gen would be Mass Effect. Love the guns n' conversation gameplay!

Logical_Bear

Demon/dark souls without a doubt.You finish either of those games you'll be well chuffed with yerself!

Imho the online aspect of it was sh1te.The messages more often than not were inane cr@p(you'll only walk off a cliff once),watching replays of other people dying pretty much pointless and having your world invaded and then putting up with messages from fuktards ruined what for me is essentialy a single player game.Played both off line.If I want online PvP I'd sign up for WoW .

/end rant :pac:

Azza

S.T.A.L.K.E.R Opening ending FPS with survival horror and scavenging elements.
Excellent A.I, interesting and unique setting. Great atmosphere. A good plot too if a bit weird.

The Witcher. 2 Great RPG's. The second one is amazing though a massive improvement. Great setting and interesting dark story where you make decisions based on which is the less of 2 serious evils rather than some disney version of good and evil.

Company of Heroes. Its weakest element is its single campaign which is merely good but not amazing. Absolutely everything else is. Amazing depth to the multiplayer gameplay as well as audio and visual fidelity. It remains the highest rated RTS game of all time according to games ranking and metacritic. Sequel is out June.

Supreme Commander. A game that really tried to push the RTS genre into the future by offering unprecedented scale. Also its use of a flux economy was different from the norm. As PC gamer recently said, it still looks like the future of RTS games.

Left 4 Dead
Great fun. Just a blast in co-op and versus mode.

Bioshock. Decent gameplay if a little on the easy side, backed up by a wonderful setting and a good story. Borrowed heavily from System Shock 2.

Crysis
Still one of the benchmark titles for graphics. The original 2 Crysis games have great gameplay for the most part. Excellent freedom to bully North Koreans with your predator...I mean nano suit.

Batman: Arkham Series.
Good story, good gameplay, good graphics, good voice acting. Not so great boss fights. Overall an excellent series so far, but I think the formula will need to be rejigged to key the game next game fresh. Otherwise to me at least it will go the way of Assassins Creed and start to bore me....and I'm not easily bored.

Dishonored.
Great setting and a decent story, but its more that the setting tells it own story, fantastic art direction. Gameplay is fun if a little on the easy side. But its quite open ending.

Borderlands
Gearbox hit the big time with sequel. A 4 player mmo shooter. Very addictive. Great crack in co-op. Humor is good in two as well.

richymcdermott

Logical_Bear wrote: »

Demon/dark souls without a doubt.You finish either of those games you'll be well chuffed with yerself!

Imho the online aspect of it was sh1te.The messages more often than not were inane cr@p(you'll only walk off a cliff once),watching replays of other people dying pretty much pointless and having your world invaded and then putting up with messages from fuktards ruined what for me is essentialy a single player game.Played both off line.If I want online PvP I'd sign up for WoW .

/end rant :pac:

from software online has actually had a huge influence over on the sony and nintendo with the ps4 and wii u. leaving tips and hints . the only problem with that is from software got right , other publishers are going to **** up :pac:

CastorTroy

For me Infamous is probably my favourite new series, as I've said before. It's open world, fun, getting from one end of the city to another isn't as much of a chore as it can be in other open world games. I just really enjoyed playing them.

And I also agree on the Arkham games. I'm sure being a Batman fan helps the enjoyment but just so much of the games feels right. Don't know how else to describe it.

Grimebox

127.0.0.1 is up there....

I'll get my coat

Big Knox

The souls series. Nothing else even comes close imho.

The combat, atmosphere, challenge, online integration and the world design are all top of their class by a large margin!

Retr0gamer

I forgot Bioshock. First game was fantastic, second game not so much but Minerva's Den was DLC done right. Even though the first game was a pale imitation of System Shock 2, I'd take that over any other boring FPS and the setting was wonderful and unique. Infinite looks to be shaping up to be something special.

Logical_Bear

have infinite on pre-order,first time ever doing it with a game!

Bioshock 2 was good too,fixed some gameplay issues that the first had but just didnt have the same impact as the first one.

richymcdermott

valkyria chronicles is another one for me, i love those games to death

degrassinoel

Favorite of this generation,

I have a lot of favorites in steam and origin as a pc gamer. It's incredibly hard to nail down one particular game as a favorite. I'm afraid i'll have to catagorise my favourites as i have so many.

FPS: This is by far the easiest one for me, as i generally dislike first-person shooters. Left4Dead the original had for me the perfect mix of co-operative gameplay and likeable characters with a thin but brilliant story. It's brilliance only ever shines in the opening FMV and in it's gameplay where you properly assume the role of Francis, Bill, Louis or Zoey, the quips and banter especially from Francis make this game. I cared when someone was incapacitated because of the characters personality rather than it being some random internet person playing the character. The action is fast, the director can be downright mean, the enemies are zombies, what's not to love? It's a little dated now at this stage, but thankfully L4D2 has all of the original campaigns and characters with the new melee mechanics and so on.

RPG: This one is tricky, and it boils down to Diablo3, Torchlight/2 and Mass effect. I've played roughly equal amounts of hours in each of these. If i had to give the favorite title to the one who's story i enjoyed most it would be Mass Effect. If i gave it based on fun, Torchlight would, and if i gave it on a well constructed, massive and ultimately pointless grind, D3.
Diablo3 is a decent game, but once you've gone through it and started building paragon levels it becomes dull, 4 acts over and over and over ad infinitum. Torchlight is similar, but more cartoony in it's appearance. Infact TL and TL2 is effectively diablo in a different engine, slightly more fun and easier to pick back up as it doesnt require an active internet connection to run a singleplayer game. But, it doesnt have half the story that Diablo3 has, and that's not much either.
Mass Effect. For me it has everything. A well told and involving storyline, excellent combat from a third person pov, simple maybe for most but i really enjoy it. Mass effect's characters, good, bad, ugly, awesome! When, and it will inevitably happen a crewmate dies based on your decision, You feel it, the crew feels it, there are consequences and this is to me what a true role playing game is supposed to emulate. Throughout the series i became attached to some of the old faces and was utterly devastated when a decision had to made to choose between two of my favorites, again, what otehr game can provoke such a reaction? Diablo and Torchlight most certainly cant. Not for me anyway.
Mass Effect is my Favorite RPG.

Strategy: So tempted to say command and conquer generals and leave it at that, but well, it's not, not this generation anyway. I dislike playing online strategy games because i'm crap! I can never turtle up in time. So i'm ruling out starcraft2 as it's all about online play. I'm not saying its crap, i'm just saying i'm crap at it. I think as far as strategy games i'm actually good at and have patience enough to sit through for a few hours, XCOM:EU takes it. Similar to Left4Dead's lightweight backstory, XCOM has a little more depth in that respect. The basebuilding is almost non-existent, instead building specific modules within a predefined base, in black and white this sounds really dull but it's done really very well. Losing a soldier you've been trying to promote because he/she's Irish and psionic is heartbreaking but incredibly satisfying when they live to fight another day, especially if they're a sniper. Tactically, there's a decent amount of things you can do in the game, luck is a defining factor too, and that's not always a bad thing, it just feels like it sometimes!
XCOM for all of those reasons and more is my favorite.

Indies: I've a bunch of indie games on steam, they're so cheap and sometimes even worth it!
I've already made a wall of text showing my fanboyism for ME and XCOM, so i'll just say, Terraria. Brilliant little title. Weighs in at like 30meg and gives so much for that. It's basically Minecraft in 2d. Well worth picking up in a sale or even fullprice if you're bored, plenty to do in it's open world, dig, build, craft, dungeons, hell, a hard mode.. loads of fun, dirt cheap too

Retr0gamer

X-Com is hardly new though, I just finished the original from 1994

I forgot Valkyria Chronicles as well. First game was an excellent strategy game mixing jagged alliance style gameplay with anime zaniness. Managed to be a moving account of the horrors of war as well despite the saturday morning cartoon tone.

The second game is excellent as well despite the storyline being absolute poo. There's tonnes of content in it and I think I sunk 120 hours into it.

As for the third game I heard it's back to the awesomeness of the first in the series. I'll never forgive Sega for not releasing it in the West. The series now seems to be dead.

Whatever you do don't watch the anime based on the first game, it's fairly crap and the game does everything better. It also turns all the female characters into morons whereas they were well written and strong in the game. It also gave them 'mega diddies' because... japan.

degrassinoel

it's a reimagining of the original, same difference to me

SB2013

Mass Effect or Arkham for me

Viper_JB

Lots of great games listed already pretty much everything in my top 10, but what I really enjoyed lately (still play it often) was FTL, every time I pick the game up for even just a short stint it's always a unique experience, always a challenge, and nearly always puts a smile on my face. A truly brilliant game and absolutely worth picking up through steam sale or no.

FutureGuy

Mass Effect by quite a distance. They fact that they created a detailed universe that I care about as much as any good tv\movie franchise is incredible.

I wasn't a massive fan of ME1's gameplay but the universe it created set up the next two games.

Epic.

Kiith

I'd have to say Mass Effect as well. There have been other great ip's, listed above, but nothing comes close to Mass Effect for me. The universe and the characters set it apart from anything else, and i can't see anything even coming close to taking it's place as my favourite ip.

Angron

For me it's got to go to the Left 4 Dead series. I love those games, and without a shadow of a doubt if there was a L4D3 announced I'd have it pre-ordered like a shot. They've had most of my favourite moments gaming with friends, be it messing with public players in versus, playing a game of "who can dick who over first", or attempting an all melee run of The Parish.

ShaneU

Hilarious that no-one has mentioned Call of Duty :pac:

Modern Warfare 1 was a brilliant game, ground-breaking I would say.

FIFA is my most played series by a mile this gen and I was a Pro Evo fan entering it so have to give them some credit too.

ahnowbrowncow

ShaneU wrote: »

Hilarious that no-one has mentioned Call of Duty :pac:

Modern Warfare 1 was a brilliant game, ground-breaking I would say.

FIFA is my most played series by a mile this gen and I was a Pro Evo fan entering it so have to give them some credit too.

I think you're missing the point of the thread...

ShaneU

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

I think you're missing the point of the thread...

No I'm not, these are the most popular series this gen and no-one has mentioned them as their favourite.

cherryghost

Portal - For me has been a revelation in gaming terms. Sure P1 was rough around the edges but at the time the puzzles and ideas it put on the table were fantastic. P2 just improved on P1 in every way possible. I really hope they keep up the fantastic work with P3.

Company of Heroes - I love these set of games and I have no doubt in my mind the sequel will be just as good, if not better.

Dead Rising - I might get ridiculed for this but I found the DR games ridiculous good fun.

Left 4 Dead - Both 1 and 2 are great, although I'm not sure if 3 would be bring anything new.

Mirror's Edge - A fresh look at first person platforming, it was a real darkhorse on release, but everyone has come to love it, as have I

Borderlands - Can't really fault 2, 1 was a bit of a grindfest at time but both were immensely enjoyable.

Minecraft - Not much to say about this really

Catherine - I would play over and over. Love the story and the gameplay. The sole reason why I own a 360 tbh.

Hotel Dusk 215 (and Last Window, it's spiritual successor) - These games dragged me in and got me hooked for ages. Love the storyline and it always kept you wanting more.

cherryghost

ShaneU wrote: »

No I'm not, these are the most popular series this gen and no-one has mentioned them as their favourite.

But you missed the point:

So lets discuss what was the best new IP since the start of the generation.

ShaneU

Ah right. Thread title should have been more specific.

I'll go with another game which hasn't been mentioned, Saint's Row. Enjoyed the first two games but the third is the funniest game I've ever played.

Retr0gamer

I think I enjoyed the saint's row games far more than anything GTA has done this gen. GTA just tried to take itself seriously while Saint's Row just let you have fun in the open world which is where GTA used to be best.

sweetie

for me its darksiders followed by batman and bioshock in third place although if infinity is as good as I hope then it could jump up a place or two.

I loved the vastness of both darksiders games and the way they did combined some of my favourites like zelda, prince of persia, god of war and the second game was even better than the first imo.

I loved arkahm asylum and whilst I was slightly disappointed in city for some reason
it was a great game in its own right.

Josey Wales

sweetie wrote: »

for me its darksiders followed by batman and bioshock in third place although if infinity is as good as I hope then it could jump up a place or two.

I loved the vastness of both darksiders games and the way they did combined some of my favourites like zelda, prince of persia, god of war and the second game was even better than the first imo.

I loved arkahm asylum and whilst I was slightly disappointed in city for some reason
it was a great game in its own right.

I think this is the first time I've seen someone claim the second Darksiders game is better than the first. All I ever see is criticism of the game.

NotorietyH

Thinking back over this generation, the game series I played the most and got the most enjoyment out of was probably Rock Band when it comes down to it.

Mass Effect and the Arkham games probably the other series in contention.

Mal-Adjusted

I know there's only 2 games but I think Alan Wake is a fantastic I.P. From the weather and lighting effects to the narrative to the unconventional combat system.

I know they both had games years ago, but Batman and Transformers really came in to their own this gen.

I almost feel stupid for saying it but Mass Effect, obviously (horrible ending to three and all)

K.O.Kiki

richymcdermott wrote: »

valkyria chronicles is another one for me, i love those games to death

I would've agreed with you, but they put the sequels on PSP so I can only form an opinion from the first game :pac:

Demons/Dark Souls I've only just gotten into, but I'm pleasantly surprised at the positive praise for it.

Skullgirls deserves a special mention for its animation.

Bastion deserves a special mention for being on every platform and still being good.

Gears of War is junk. Bad, bad junk. Blergh.

Mal-Adjusted

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Gears of War is junk. Bad, bad junk. Blergh.

I wouldn't know because of the stupid rule of keeping it Xbox exclusive. crap like that will never make me get a console!

Azza

Gears 1 is on PC.

Pretty good game. Longest install time ever though.

eddhorse

I like Demon/Dark Souls, I am brutal at them but its a challenge to say the least.
Also the Resistance series I liked cos I can play CoOp with the girlfriend, she does like blasting aliens.
Uncharted are cinematic brilliance also.
And I agree there is no other place like 127.0.0.1

Overheal

Really has to be Skyrim. No other IP really has the same scope or depth that I've encountered, and in terms of a game it was in itself incredibly vast and Im still playing through it without DLC and finding a bunch of things I havent done yet. Aside from that, there are entire volumes of reference material in the quests about other parts of Tamriel, mentions of the events of past games, etc. that the level of immersion is just unparalleled in the current generation. Only a few MMOs can claim to be in the same league but in fairness they aren't current gen titles, and one in particular seems to be slowly on its way down from greatness.

Josey Wales

Overheal wrote: »

Really has to be Skyrim. No other IP really has the same scope or depth that I've encountered, and in terms of a game it was in itself incredibly vast and Im still playing through it without DLC and finding a bunch of things I havent done yet. Aside from that, there are entire volumes of reference material in the quests about other parts of Tamriel, mentions of the events of past games, etc. that the level of immersion is just unparalleled in the current generation. Only a few MMOs can claim to be in the same league but in fairness they aren't current gen titles, and one in particular seems to be slowly on its way down from greatness.

Is that really a new IP though? You could consider it the Elder Scrolls IP but that is just nitpicking really. I only put a few hours into, really need to get back to it.

ahnowbrowncow

Overheal wrote: »

Really has to be Skyrim. No other IP really has the same scope or depth that I've encountered, and in terms of a game it was in itself incredibly vast and Im still playing through it without DLC and finding a bunch of things I havent done yet. Aside from that, there are entire volumes of reference material in the quests about other parts of Tamriel, mentions of the events of past games, etc. that the level of immersion is just unparalleled in the current generation. Only a few MMOs can claim to be in the same league but in fairness they aren't current gen titles, and one in particular seems to be slowly on its way down from greatness.

I would not describe Skyrim as having depth. I enjoyed skyrim but not as much as morrowind or oblivion, maybe the novelty of the open world just wore off.
Less customisation options and weapons than morrowind, the combat is fairly poor especially when compared to Dark souls, the stories and quests are poor when compared to the witcher 2 (the guild quests weren't up to oblivion's standard either imo). I don't even like the loot and leveling system and I really disliked enemies leveling with you.
There's a lot of stuff in it, it's just none of that stuff is best in it's class.

Plus I wouldn't consider it a new IP, it's another elder scrolls game.