Most Anticipated Games of 2012

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Not to mention, as long as developers have creative idea's there is still a ton of potential left for fantastic games with our aging hardware. We're all aware of that though.

That's only true to an ever decreasing point. The prohibitive cost and time of developing for this generation, especially where a new engine is concerned (3-5 years) simply isn't allowing creative teams to flourish this late in the generation, due in large part to the inevitable generational leap. No one is taking the time to come up with something fresh and original for this hardware anymore, they're pushing out sequels after iterative sequel to capitalize on existing framework. That's why we're seeing Assassin's Creed 5 and Call of Duty 9, along with the fact that milking a franchise dry on an annual basis is a popular and no doubt lucrative business practice in the last 5 years.

We're getting neat and innovative downloadable games and little indie gems for certain, but when's the last time anyone really stepped back and said "Wow!" while playing a game on the current hardware? I knew in my heart of hearts that this generation was done when Uncharted 3 failed to illicit little to no response from me, despite being an absolutely gorgeous and well-made game. The entire time I just felt like I'd played the game. A million times I'd played it.

It's kinda like Louis CK said "Everything is amazing and nobody's happy." which is kinda how I feel about games right now. Everything is so well made and polished, mostly because we're into the 3's and 4's of most franchises, but none of it is making an impact.