Well hell, i'm bored and meant to be studying for exams, so it wouldn't be right if i didn't procrastinate and add in my two cents on the old/new thing here.
I have to say i had the same reaction as StatikShock to everyone posting bioshock. Or at the very least "Bioshock, hands down". It's not that it didn't have great atmosphere, it's damned good! Really damned good! But it's certainly got a lot of competitors. And if you've played the earlier games in the series, you've *seen it before*
I do think games have more atmosphere these days. Not as a general rule, most games coming out are still rubbish. But there's certainly a growing recognition of the potential of games to tell wonderful stories, and I think more developers are interested in taking advantage of that. This is, of course, on the back of a lot of old games that really did set the world on fire - fallout, starcraft, system shock. Some would seem a little dated now (because they've inspired so many titles after them that have the advantage of graphics). Some were so well made and original that they're as good as anything today. *Everyone* who games should eventually give fallout and starcraft a go, for example.
So it's not all blind nostalgia. And I think older gamers will be less excited about new stuff that is the same as old stuff but with a facelinf. But there's no denying that there's some amazing games coming out - GTAIV for example. And there's no denying that , even if I've seen it before, people who play bioshock or halo are definately feeling 'immersion' - possibly more than i did back when i played system shock because of advances in the industry. Just harder to get exited about stuff that seems less original to me than to people with a shorter history.
PS, i'm not *that* old, i've been gaming just less than 2 decades. Any really old farts like to comment?
