PopcornTreeCt

Not just the gameplay but everything else. I just played the level in Call of Duty 4 where you gun with AC-130 airship. Holy awesomeness. Assassin's Creed may be repetitive and have a so-so storyline but the cities in those games are incredibly authentic and beautiful.

Perhaps, we are a bit spoiled because so many games allow you to explore amazing worlds. Maybe it's because we have to be choosy on what games we play because we work all the time.

Games are freakin' amazing these days. I wish non-gamers could see how incredible they are. I like to think us gamers can truly appreciate how awesome it is to be a gamer.

darkside

I try to. I loved the cities in Assassin's Creed even though I dislike the actual game. Hell, I am still amazed at the look of Super Mario Galaxy and that is on a console criticized for its graphics.

The one that really floored me was Bioshock. I really got pulled into that world and loved every minute exploring it.

The Bus

Everytime I have a moment of weakness (I think I'm too "old" to play games, etc), I have an experience a few days or weeks later which reaffirms my love for the medium.

Giantrobo

I do. Especially the games that have a cinematic quality both in story and in how the graphics are presented.

The Cow

Games were cool when you could shoot a single bullet at Invaders from Space.
Games were cool when you could run from other crazy things in a simple maze.
Games were cool when you just bounced a square ball off your "paddle"

Giantrobo

Oh here we go.

The Cow

I gave it a shot,

I'm old.

Giantrobo

Mind you, i'm not disagreeing with what you said. I just figured it would take a few more posts before things went in that direction.

dvdsteve2000

I don't play too many games, but when I find one I really enjoy, I play the Hell out of it. Those are the games I appreciate. Halo 1-3, Bioshock, GH2 & Rock Band, Tomb Raider 1-3, Age of Empires 1-3, Intelligent Qube, Gran Turismo 1, NFL 2K5, Pac-Man, etc... These are some games that I have appreciated. These are the types of games (for me) that you couldn't wait to get home so you could finish playing.

drmoze

I too am a relic from the Pong and Galaxian days. (OK, I go back to mechanical pinball machines!) And I get the OP, and really am still amazed at games these days. Older games used to be more about raw skill and reflexes (like Tempest, Robotron, etc.) and could really suck you in and eat your quarters.

Right now, I'm playing Medal of Honor Heroes 2 and Resident Evil 4 on the Wii (my only new-gen console, so I realize I am not getting the "best" graphics, but I like the control experience. What can I say? I'm not a graphics whore. ) The amount of depth, detail, and variety in characters and environments to explore is amazing. Light years beyond Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, which were the killer fps games in their day. (Which doesn't seem all that long ago to me.)

SO yeah, I am amazed at the new games and still appreciate them, at least when I nhave some spare time to do so.

slop101

I almost always appreciate the top tier, higher caliber games, at least initially. But in a lot of cases, that can wear off. Sometimes there's just too many things wrong with the gameplay (see Mass Effect) to sustain my initial appreciation. Then there's games I appreciate well after my initial impressions (Pac-Man: C.E.). But some games can be so refined and well-executed that draw me in so well, that they may as well be lines and dots (in some cases like Geometry Wars, they are), and it's the actual gameplay that draws my appreciation instead of the initial bells and whistles.

Ocelot

yes, i really do... games come a long way from pings and pongs. I love classic Mario games (but too damn hard now) and simple games like Pac-man, Asteroids, etc... But the next gen games never cease to amaze me either. God of War, the background is just too mesmerizing (just like Heavenly Sword). Gears of War, BioShock...

While Wii games are fun, but graphic-wise, it's not all that showy... Not a biggie, since i appreciate the Wii's innovation and creativeness, also a chance to relate to the younger self from the past through new controller (the damn squared NES controller, countless blisters, if that's still used today, i smell lawsuits).

uncle-frank

i really do, i still remember when i got my x360 at launch coming home to set it up, popping kameo in and was really amazed. walking around the castle with the realistic grass, water, ect. i was blown away

fujishig

I'm thinking about limiting my spending on new games and just concentrating for a while on the games I do have, because I do feel like I don't appreciate games as much as I should, with new AAA releases seemingly coming out every week or so. Even games that aren't AAA but are still enjoyable, I could probably spend weeks on, instead of moving on to the next thing.

for instance, I recently went back and finished Dead Rising. I had initially been frustrated by the relative weakness of the character in the beginning, but then I discovered the books and the small chainsaws and flew threw it. While not a perfect game by any means, it was enjoyable enough that I'll go through it again later to get some more achievements. Similarly, I think I played through a single level of Lost Planet before I moved on, and I'm itching to go back to it... it's just that COD4 (which I wouldn't have gotten at all if not for the killer sales and incredible reviews, including the thread here), Mass Effect (now finished), Halo 3, and others have been taking up all my time. I'm probably only 25% through Bioshock, and I still have Assassin's Creed, Phantom Hourglass and Mario Galaxy unopened. Not to mention that NBA 2K, Madden, and NCAA individually could take up all my gaming time if I let them. Poor Wii Zelda is also sitting half finished. Heck, Final Fantasy XII is sitting there with a sad look on it's face, waiting for me to invest the couple of hours I need to finish it...

Ocelot

Fujishiq, if i enjoy Gears and BioShock, will i like Lost Planet? i was thinking about picking this one up for $25 used the other day...

uncle-frank

im not Fujishiq but i would definatley recomend lost planet. i got mine about a week ago for 19.99. it has some ratchet & clank style mixed with shooting

fujishig

I really with the underling didn't make the 'g' in 'fujishig' look llike a 'q'...

anyway, yeah, I'd recommend Lost Planet, even though I haven't gone through it very much... seems fun, and at a discount, it's worth it IF you have the time to play it.

sniper308

Another recommendation for Lost Planet. Its more arcadey than many other shooters (i.e. look for the boss pattern and exploit it, with weak points that light up, etc.) I got mildly frustrated with one level, but really liked the game and finished it (which is saying something for me).

SteelgearX

I totally appreciate games. As far as I'm concerned it's the best medium out there. I love a good book or movie, but BEING the hero and experiencing things that otherwise couldn't be done beats the shit out of reading or watching it.

I'll never be in the NBA or NFL. I'll never be a race car driver, or be a badass martial artist super ninja. I'll never go to space either, but I've done all that and more through videogames and it's as close as it's going to get for now.

PopcornTreeCt

I feel the same way. My favorite medium of entertainment is still movies but I find myself enjoying more and more new video games than I do movies.

Rival11

FWIW (since I rarely ever post in VGT) I fell out of gaming for years. A friend of mine who has a 360 told me to sit down and play Bioshock for a little while.

Long story short...............Best game I ever played, I've always hated first person shooters, & it will more than likely be the game that pulls me back in (what a freakin' awesome game)...................but I've also had a chance to play the wii as well and it was damn fun (what an unexpected good time) so for now, I'm torn between the 360 and wii but I WILL be buying one soon.

Lastblade

I appreciate a well-made game, even if I don't enjoy it. An example would be Shadow of the Colossus. I played through it and didn't love it like most people, but I admire the art, the gameplay and especially the ending. I don't care much for Zeldas but I will admit that they are really well crafted adventures, just not my cup of tea.

And then there are some games just hit me and never let go. I am playing through Mass Effect now and that's all I want to play. Before that, it was COD4 (which I still play multiplayer).