360 Diversity

[Glockstar]

The 360 has it. The PS3 does not. Microsoft is delivering it. Sony isn't.

Ehh, it's not what the milk-drinkers want anyhow. The only thing they seem to care about is graphics. And pre-rendered videos. The Xbots on the other hand, they're all about diversity.


What the Xboyz want; what the Xboyz need... what the Xboyz buy
After 12 months on the market, the 360 has had 26 different games place in the Top 20 of the monthly NPD sales charts.(!) 17 of those have placed in the Top 10; and 11 in the Top 5!

Think about that for a minute. Now remember that we're talking about a system that has (had - up to this point) less than 3-million users. That's pretty frickin good. Especially when you compare it to a system like, say, oh, the NDS - a system that has over twice the userbase! (Well over!) Yet the NDS has only managed to secure 12 Top 20 games; 7 Top 10; and 4 Top 5 - over the same period.

So, okay, it's clear that the Xbots buy a lot of games. But what kinds of games are they buying? That's the question you want answered, right? We know what the haters and naysayers are thinking: 'It's probably just all shooters and racers'. Enh; wrong!


Summary Top 20's (listed chronologically): ..................................... NDS Top 20's (.* = Top 10's; ** = Top 5's)
------------------------------------------------------------- ..................................... --------------------------------------------
01. Call of Duty 2 - FPS .................................................. ............. **01. Mario Kart DS
02. Madden 06 - Sports .................................................. ............. ..02. Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
03. Dead Or Alive 4 - Fighting .................................................. ..... .*03. Animal Crossing: Wild World
04. Fight Night Round 3 - Fighting ................................................. ..04. Nintendogs: Dachsund & Friends
05. Full Auto - Racing .................................................. ................ ..05. Metroid Prime Hunters
06. GRAW - TPS .................................................. ...................... ..06. Super Princess Peach
07. Oblivion - RPG .................................................. ..................... **07. New Super Mario Bros.
08. Burnout Revenge - Racing .................................................. ..... **08. Brain Age
09. MLB 2K6 - Sports .................................................. ................ .*09. Big Brain Academy
10. Battlefield 2 - FPS .................................................. ................ **10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue
11. Tomb Raider Legend - Action-Adventure ................................... .*11. Star Fox Command
12. Hitman Blood Money - Action .................................................. ..12. Mario Hoops 3 on 3
13. NCAA Football 07 - Sports
14. Chromehounds - TPS
15. Prey - FPS
16. LOTR: BFMII - Strategy
17. Madden 07 - SPorts
18. Dead Rising - Action
19. N3 - Action
20. Saints Row - Action
21. Lego Star Wars II - Action-Adventure
22. Test Drive Unlimited - Racing
23. Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Action
24. Tiger Woods 07 - Sports
25. Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Action-RPG
26. NBA 2K7 - Sports

Sports = 6
Action = 5
Racing = 3
FPS = 3
TPS = 2
Fighting = 2
Action-Adventure = 2
RPG = 1
Strategy = 1
Action-RPG = 1



Top 10's:
---------
01. Call of Duty 2 - FPS
02. Madden 06 - Sports
03. Dead Or Alive 4 - Fighting
04. Fight Night Round 3 - Fighting
05. GRAW - TPS
06. Oblivion - RPG
07. MLB 2K6 - Sports
08. Hitman: Blood Money - Action
09. NCAA Football 07 - SPorts
10. Chromehounds - TPS
11. Madden 07 - Sports
12. Dead Rising - Action
13. N3 - Action
14. Saints Row - Action
15. Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Action
16. Tiger Woods 07 - Sports
17. Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Action-RPG

Sports = 5
Action = 5
Fighting = 2
TPS = 2
FPS = 1
RPG = 1
Action-RPG = 1



Top 5's:
--------
01. Call of Duty 2
02. Fight Night Round 3
03. GRAW
04. Oblivion
05. Hitman: Blood Money
06. NCAA Football 07
07. Madden 07
08. Dead Rising
09. Saints Row
10. Splinter Cell: Double Agent
11. Tiger Woods 07

Action = 4
Sports = 3
FPS = 1
TPS = 1
Fighting = 1
RPG = 1


Take a look at the Top 10's: There are just as many - if not more - games with a Japanese flava' as there are shooters and racers combined. How do ya like them apples?

The Xbots are doing their part - they're buying a lot of games, and they're buying a wide variety of games.

[Glockstar]

But what's Microsoft doing? Well, let's look... here's the complete list of Year-One games published by Microsoft Game Studios:

Perfect Dark Zero
Project Gotham Racing 3
Kameo
Ninety-Nine Nights
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1 *
Gears of War
Viva Pinata

(* = Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved; Wik: Fable of Souls; Bejeweled 2; Outpost Kaloki X; Hardwood Backgammon; Texas Hold 'Em)

Right away we see the First-Person Shooter and the Racer, but then after that: they did an Action-Adventure; an Action game; a collection of Xbox Live Arcade games; a Third-Person Shooter; and an Animal Crossing/The sims-hard-to-describe-strategy-type-game. One of each.

Now they had the diversity thing going last time with the Xbox launch as well - only this time they remembered that it isn't just about variety, it's also about quality: All but one have a GR-average ratio over 80%.

They've got the variety, and quality... the only knock here is that they don't have the quantity: 6 (full) games isn't very much. Heck, I think even Nintendo is going to beat that number. But what's upcoming? A lot. They've got over 12 games planned for release in 2007:

In alphabetical order:
----------------------
Banjo-Kazooie 3 - Platformer
Blue Dragon - JRPG
Crackdown - Action
Fable 2 - RPG
Forza Motorsport 2 - Racing
Fuzion Frenzy - Party
Halo 3 - FPS
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom - Action
Lost Odyssey - JRPG
Marvel Universe Online - MMORPG
Mass Effect - RPG
Shadowrun - FPS
Too Human - Action


Summary of What MS has done, and what's upcoming:
-------------------------------------------------
FPS = 3
Racing = 2
JRPG = 2
Action = 2
Action-Adventure = 1
TPS = 1
Strategy? = 1
Party = 1
Platformer = 1
RPG = 1
MMORPG = 1



Now, what about Sony? Well, they launched with a FPS; a sports game; an Action-RPG; and an Action game. Variety? Check. Quantity? Check. Quality? Enh.

Coming down the pike are: a couple of racing games (Formula One Championship Edition and Motorstorm); a couple of flight games (Warhawk and Lair); some more attempts at sports games (MLB 07 and Hot Shots Golf 5); and then a whole bunch of Action and Action-Adventure games (Heavenly Sword, Getaway, Eight Days, Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Daxter). Oh, and Killzone (FPS) and Gran Turismo HD (racing) - for those who like to hold their breath and can hold it a long time.

Now Sony does have a couple of other genre-busting games that are supposed to come out in 2007 too (tho' I don't think one of them can really be called a game): one is that card-battle demo... er, I mean, game... Eye of Judgment; the other is the karaoke music-download thingie SingStar. There's some neatness there, boy.

With Sony you're always going to see a large quantity of games. (Sony's friggin' huge.) Of course, because it is Sony you just never really know when they're going to come out. And of course, the quality remains to be seen. (Unless you're VGVV, then all you have to do is look at their videos.) And while at first glance the variety looks to be there... there are some genres that aren't covered. Most notably the JRPG.

Where are the JRPGs? That genre that so many of you ass-umed would be covered - well, well covered; covered in spades, I believe was the sentiment - on the PS3. Well I'm looking at the complete newly updated release list and the only game I see that even comes close to a JRPG is FF XIII.(!)

Which also happens to be the only Square-Enix game announced for the system at this time! :eek:

Shoot, why Squenix has one 360 game planned even.

The Xbox 360 already has one JRPG in it's library, and is due to get a few more in the upcoming months - in addition to the two published by MGS: The Embrace of Time; Trusty Bell: Chopins Dream; Magna Carta 2 and Spectral Force 3... just to name a few.

[BaneNWN]

Whats this all mean??Stick with PC the 360 sucks.Seriously come back in 6 months to a year with this arguement.By then the ps 3 will be kicking the 360's ass all over town.Im still trying to figureout why someone like you glock with a PC wasted there money on a 360.totally baffles my mind to no end.any other console is understandable but christ half the games on your list also are available for PC.I mean you got a decent PC right what do you do use it to just web browse??You want to talk about a waste of money

[Microsoft Babyeater]

You have done well today, Agent 640551764201. I must say your propaganda campaign has certainly been...hmmm...inspired as of late.

Keep this up and you might yet earn a place among us...and avoid the train to "summer camp"....if you catch my drift. :mad:

DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS! :salute:

[Mochan]

Well duh, the 360 was the only next gen console out the entire this year, it would be embarassing for it to be outdone otherwise.

Also, what's about diversity? Take a look at what's selling and you can see, it's all sports and run and gun games. With the odd fighting game and one RPG thrown in.

Call of Duty 2, GRAW, Battlefield 2, Full Auto, Burnout, Hitman, Prey, Chrome Hounds, Saint's Row, Splinter cell, NBA, MLB, Fight Night, Madden, Tiger Woods, blah blah. Diversity my ass.

[ilnadmy]

Correction:

01. Call of Duty 2 - Shooter
02. Madden 06 - Sports
03. Dead Or Alive 4 - Fighter
04. Fight Night Round 3 - Fighter (although this could just as easily be classified sports)
05. GRAW - Shooter
06. Oblivion - RPG
07. MLB 2K6 - Sports
08. Hitman: Blood Money - Action
09. NCAA Football 07 - Sports
10. Chromehounds - Shooter
11. Madden 07 - Sports
12. Dead Rising - Action
13. N3 - Action
14. Saints Row - Shooter
15. Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Action
16. Tiger Woods 07 - Sports
17. Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Action-RPG

So, final tally:
Shooters - 4
Fighters - 2
Sports - 5
Action - 5
RPG - 2 (more like 1, but whatever)

And really, all your "Action" games could just as easily be classified shooters, they're just third person. I mean Splinter Cell? Hitman? Saint's Row? These are all just glorified shooters. So I could actually condense it to:

Shooters/Action: 9
Fighters: 2
Sports: 5
RPG: 2

Now...look at that and tell me where the bulk of the games fall. Can you do that?

[BaneNWN]

Well duh, the 360 was the only next gen console out the entire this year, it would be embarassing for it to be outdone otherwise.

Also, what's about diversity? Take a look at what's selling and you can see, it's all sports and run and gun games. With the odd fighting game and one RPG thrown in.

Call of Duty 2, GRAW, Battlefield 2, Full Auto, Burnout, Hitman, Prey, Chrome Hounds, Saint's Row, Splinter cell, NBA, MLB, Fight Night, Madden, Tiger Woods, blah blah. Diversity my ass.Ya but mochan this is the only time that xbots can get there smack talk in.Dumb tards are claiming victory already when the PS 3 has been out for what like a whopping whole week??let them talk there smack then in 6 months im coming back here to lmao.

[Mochan]

Yeah, ilnadmy, that's what I was thinking, thanks for breaking it down better.

And whoa you're showing more skin now, yowza!

[shogun]

OK... the whole "diversity" angle really isn't about whether a console has *any entries in a specific genre. It about whether the system is a good buy for people who really like that genre.


RPG-wise, 360 has Oblivion. Certainly not the worst RPG to have, but not much there for RPG-fans once you get bored. Adventure games are poorly represented and puzzle games are almost nonexistent. You do have a lot of racer, shooter and sports games though....which actually sounds a lot like another X-Box I remember....

[ilnadmy]

Yeah I felt like changing it up, so I put up a new avatar. Much improved methinks!

[Gadfly2317]

The 360 has it. The PS3 does not. Microsoft is delivering it. Sony isn't. Uhm. . .the Ps3 has been out. . . for a whole week. I'd hope 360's library is more diverse. This is like cheering how your 1 year old Poodle ate a newborn Rottweiler that hadn't even opened its eyes yet. . . proving once and for all poodles can totally kick Rottweiler's asses!!!!!

Ehh, it's not what the milk-drinkers want anyhow. The only thing they seem to care about is graphics. And pre-rendered videos. The Xbots on the other hand, they're all about diversity. Oh!!! Now I get it. You are being sarcastic. After years and years of hearing about "bigger processor" and "standard hard drive" making all multiplats better on Xbox, you MUST be being sarcastic here. If not, I've rarely seen anyone make a bigger fool of themselves.

As far as charts. . . 360 is no different than Xbox; the core game-buying fanatic in the xbox base is an online gamer, and you guys buy in herds so you can play together, and then the title dissappears off the face of the earth.. That is all fine and well--playing together is good, but don't try to make more of the charts than what is really reflected there.

[DrunkenThumbmaster]

Give it time let's wait for a year. You milkdrinkers gave the PS3 the Crown at E3 2005 more than a year before the Console came out. Now you want to wait. Full of Crap.

Why play games on a PC when you can get ease of use console? A wireless gamepad and everything in the box. PC gamers look at the console charts it's not even close the consoles dominate. Why buy and Xbox because like you Numbskulls refuse to realize people just prefer gaming on a console.

Plus every single major release for the PC ends up on the Consoles anyway may not run the game at 100,000,000 Frames per Second but the ease of use is there. Just be happy and play your RTS which are even now starting to migrate and with the wii and PS3's motion system they actually are in a better position to have superior control method's and if any developer wisen up and using the motion system in the Vision Camera well the PC will lose promince in that area as well. But I digress damn how many RTS games coming out this year alone.

I mean this is the Holiday season and what big games the PC have Crysis? Oh next year, Warcraft Burning Crusade? oh next year, oh I remember Desperate Houswives, and Company of Heros Love that PC gaming.

[PapaSmurf]

The reason you don't hear much about PC killer apps is because it takes more than mediocre games like Halo to get us off. Glad you mentioned Company of Heros though. Probably up there for the best game I've played this year. BF2142 has been real good too, despite the fact that I don't feel the need to hype the hell out of it.

[Mochan]

Every major release ends up on consoles? Don't make me laugh. Your major XBox releases also tend to end up on the PC. Did you get Civ 4? Company of Heroes? Neverwinter Nights 2? Warcraft 3/DOTA? Medieval 2? Let's not even talk about the MMORPGs like WOW or Guildwars.

Not sure what you mean by "Big Games" though. For me Gothic 3 was pretty big, and Stalker is coming up next year and that is one hell of a big game I'm waiting for. Hellgate London is also going to be one of those run-away games.

[NEO-360]

Ya but mochan this is the only time that xbots can get there smack talk in.Dumb tards are claiming victory already when the PS 3 has been out for what like a whopping whole week??let them talk there smack then in 6 months im coming back here to lmao.


Victory? Not really. The 360's launch wasnt nothing special. And apparently neither is the PS3's. Yes Resistance is without question a console seller for the PS3. However, everything else thats available has already either been on the 360 or currently on the Xbox or the PS2. Plus in 6 months whats coming out for the PS3 thats going to truly make any noise? :confused:

Most of the so-called AAA titles thats going to grace the PS3 threshhold will also be available for other consoles as well. Xbox 360 is doing well because its software is selling well. How is the PS3's software doing right now? Does anyone know? All I hear about is all the great things this overpriced console can do but I dont hear much about how great the games are on it though.

So until the PS3 does produce something that lives up to the hype nobody going to be crying more than PS3 owners still playing the PS2 games on their PS3's. Then again God Of War 2 will be coming out on the PS2 in 3 months so why even care about whats coming out on the PS3 anytime soon? :idea:

[Glockstar]

Whats this all mean??Stick with PC the 360 sucks.Seriously come back in 6 months to a year with this arguement.By then the ps 3 will be kicking the 360's ass all over town.

How do you figure? First of all, I'd be happy to come back to this is 6 months and again in a year. I've looked at the PS3's upcoming release schedule - have you? I'm not going to argue about how good, or bad, games are that aren't even out yet - that'd be stupid (if you want to do that you're going to have to find VGVV, Ocelot, and theLastWord) - but what is clear is that in the near future the PS3 library won't be any more diverse than the 360's. Neither total overall, nor over the same time period. And the quantity won't be there either. Which is a far cry from what many here have ass-umed.


Im still trying to figureout why someone like you glock with a PC wasted there money on a 360.totally baffles my mind to no end.any other console is understandable but christ half the games on your list also are available for PC.I mean you got a decent PC right what do you do use it to just web browse??You want to talk about a waste of money

Here, I'll explain it to you; it's real easy: Minimum System Requirements are ghey. Upgrading memory, and graphics cards, and soundcards, etc, etc, is ghey. Downloading drivers is ghey. Fooling around with and tweaking game settings just to get a game to even run is ghey. But most of all, most of all... using a keyboard and mouse for video game character control is really ghey!

I guess I could plug my 360 controller into my PC... but then I'd still have to worry about that other crap.

You're right tho', pretty much all I do with my PC is surf the net. But I'd hardly call it a waste of money. You have to have a PC - everybody has to have a PC. We had a big family get together for Thanksgiving... there was veritable lineup to get on my aunts PC (to check email and crap)! Maybe I didn't have to buy this PC; maybe I did overbuy for my needs... But you have to stop the wheel/take a stab at the donkey sometime - these things are always changing; always improving - and the prices are always coming down - if you waited for things to completely settle down, you'd never get a PC! I bought this PC so that I'd have the capabilities and options to play a few a older PC games (Myst, Homeworld, Icewind Dale) - without worry. I was also hoping that it would also be futureproof - for a little while at least - but I didn't know what a headache all that other crap would be.

PC gaming is for people who like to play mini-games with their hardware and software settings before they play the actual game. I just want to play the games, man.

Also, know that there are very few PC exclusive games - like Myst, Homeworld, Icewind Dale, etc - that I think look interesting. Games like DOA4, Dead Rising, and N3 interest me a lot, lot more.

Now can we get back on topic?

[Glockstar]

OK... the whole "diversity" angle really isn't about whether a console has *any entries in a specific genre. It about whether the system is a good buy for people who really like that genre.

RPG-wise, 360 has Oblivion. Certainly not the worst RPG to have, but not much there for RPG-fans once you get bored. Adventure games are poorly represented and puzzle games are almost nonexistent.

Hey, I'm not saying that there's variety within the variety, I'm just saying that the 360 is doing a damned good job of covering all the major genres. And covering them with good, worthwhile games too.

And, again, it's not like things are going to be any better for the PS3. Beyond Oblivion, what's the PS3 going to have for RPGs for it's first year? Nada. Not even a JRPG!

Are Adventure games or Puzzle games better represented on the PS3? I'm looking at the PS3 release schedule, and I see... poor representation and nonexistence there as well. Hrmph.


You do have a lot of racer, shooter and sports games though....which actually sounds a lot like another X-Box I remember.

I only see two racers that weren't multiplats. MS did one of those. So yeah, while there may be a lot of racers, you have to realize that there a lot of racers for all the systems. Even the NDS gets a ton.

Shooters... same thing; I just don't see an inordinate amount. (Of course, I'm daffy in that I don't count Splinter Cell, Hitman or Saints Row as shooters. :rolleyes: )

There are a lot of sports games tho'. But there always are. It's been like that since the Sega Genesis days. And they are always all huge sellers. The biggest sellers the PS2 had, in fact (outside of the GTA's). Why, there are more sports games for the PS3 than there are for the 360. Because of the "989" games. I'm curious then, what does that mean for the PS3? I mean, if too many sports games is a knock against a system?

Actually... when I look at where each of the system's libraries will be in a years time I see just as many racers and shooters, as well as sports games, for the PS3 as I do for the 360. And a whole lot of holes in other other genres. You want to talk about a system that 'sounds a lot like the original Xbox'... look at the PS3!

[Mochan]

Maybe I didn't have to buy this PC; maybe I did overbuy for my needs... But you have to stop the wheel/take a stab at the donkey sometime - these things are always changing; always improving - and the prices are always coming down - if you waited for things to completely settle down, you'd never get a PC!

Well for people who don't know how to handle PCs, you will definitely make a bad buying decision and buy a PC that's too powerful for your needs. And therein alone I have to laugh at you, no wonder you have to pinch pennies to buy an Xbox 360 instead of the superior but more expensive PS3, you wasted so much cash on your Uber Net Surfing PC! Well what can I say, you probably bought your PC from Dell or something for $500-$1000 (maybe more), when I could have put together a perfectly good internet PC for just $200. Maybe less since prices have come down even more.

I find that it is totally ghey to waste so much cash on a PC that's too much for your needs, then go about saying the Xbox 360's price point is a major advantage over the PS3. If you were smarter, if you were into learning the ins and outs of min sys reqs and all that jazz that you find so ghey, you wouldn't have been so ghey to blow so much cash on a glorified web browser.

You have the time to learn and talk about console gaming niceties to the point that you can say the 360 is a better buy than the PS3, yet you can't even learn the basics of getting the right PC for you when having a PC is "a necessity" as you so succinctly put it. Now *that* is ghey.

Okay, now we can get back on topic... for a while.

[Glockstar]

crap

Not even worth wasting red ink on; I just threw your post away. Try again! But try sobering up first.

[Mochan]

You want to talk about a system that 'sounds a lot like the original Xbox'... look at the PS3!

And the irony of that almost escapes me that you Xbots who worshipped the Xbox are giving the PS3 the snub!

If the PS3 is so XBoxish as you say, why aren't you XBots buying it?

[NEO-360]

And the irony of that almost escapes me that you Xbots who worshipped the Xbox are giving the PS3 the snub!

If the PS3 is so XBoxish as you say, why aren't you XBots buying it?

I'm not. Imitation is always the biggest form of flattery. The PS3 indeed is more powerful than the original Xbox. Granted. But that doesnt mean that its actually a better console. Software is what gives a console greatness not just whats under the hood. Food for thought .:aureola:

[NEO-360]

Every major release ends up on consoles? Don't make me laugh. Your major XBox releases also tend to end up on the PC. Did you get Civ 4? Company of Heroes? Neverwinter Nights 2? Warcraft 3/DOTA? Medieval 2? Let's not even talk about the MMORPGs like WOW or Guildwars.

Not sure what you mean by "Big Games" though. For me Gothic 3 was pretty big, and Stalker is coming up next year and that is one hell of a big game I'm waiting for. Hellgate London is also going to be one of those run-away games.

This would be great in the PC General Discussion Forum.:smilewinkgrin:

[T.Tashi]

This is like bragging that you came in first, the first mile of a marathon. Imagine your football team scoring the first touchdown in the first quarter, getting on the bus and going home. That's essentially what's happening here. Basically MS joined the last race, gave up and jumped in another one hoping a 12 month lead will carry them through 5 years...or more. Good luck.

And let's not forget the Burger King games you can get with your value meal. Let's throw those in for diversity. Well, let's not since those are essentially racers too.

[PapaSmurf]

This would be great in the PC General Discussion Forum.:smilewinkgrin:
Bro his post directly dealt with a reply to Xbox. I could understand you little kiddy whinning if all we did was talk about PC games in here, but we directly correlate are arguements with going against the Xbox. You have never directly replied to any posts regarding the fact that PC gamers are likely to buy the PS3 over the 360 as we did the PS2 over the xbox. Tell me that doesn't directly equate to system wars. Take out the PC from the equation I'd have to own a Sony and an MS console to get the best there is to offer and then there would really be no point to this would there.

Stop hiding behind your "console wars only" crap. It's just an excuse. Put up or just straight up shut the **** up

[Mochan]

I'm not. Imitation is always the biggest form of flattery. The PS3 indeed is more powerful than the original Xbox. Granted. But that doesnt mean that its actually a better console. Software is what gives a console greatness not just whats under the hood. Food for thought .:aureola:

Oh, the irony, the irony!

[theWacoKid]

These kinds of charts give me a headache. Numbers can be spun any which way. The best way to judge diversity in a console lineup is to go down to your local video store and see what's on the shelf. One of the main aims of Xbox Live Arcade was to provide a games lineup that would cater more to nostagia fans, casual gamers and indie game supporters.

Much as the media might hate DOAX2, people who have bought the game are actually enjoying it and putting a lot of hours into the game, which is the whole point of a game purchase. Sites like IGN seem embaressed that they rated the first game so highly, so they downrated the second version. Games like DOAX2 are necessary. The japanese seem to love these games. Famitsu rated the game 35/40.

Viva Pinata is becoming a cult hit. I expect the initial sales to be modest, but positive word of mouth will help. The reviws are solid and gamers are talking up the game.

Culdecept Saga should make it over here as should Blue Dragon. Trusty Bell as well. Lost Odyssey. You don't build diversity overnight. Its a long painful process.

[Cuddly Knife]

Not sure what you mean by "Big Games" though. For me Gothic 3 was pretty big, and Stalker is coming up next year and that is one hell of a big game I'm waiting for. Hellgate London is also going to be one of those run-away games.

This game?
Closing Comments
With the promise of a gigantic game world within which you're free to do whatever you want, Gothic III is certainly a tantalizing title. It's got the graphical backbone to support the immersive gameplay it aims to deliver, a strong character development system, and a great soundtrack. Unfortunately, there are far too many problems with Gothic III to maintain the immersion. In a game where the illusion of a dynamic, realistic world is so crucial to the experience, technical bugs and awkward design decisions do a marvelous job at hamstringing Gothic III's gameplay. It's still possible to wander aimlessly through forests and deserts engaging whatever challenges you happen upon, which can be entertaining, but you'll never be free from the terrifically awkward combat. It doesn't help that some quests flat out don't work, the game frequently crashes, and little besides the soundtrack is worth listening to. Gothic III gives you a giant world and plenty of choice, but is ultimately engulfed by its own aspirations of complexity.
IGN Ratings for Gothic III (PC)
Rating Description See Our Glorious Home Theater Setup!
out of 10 click here for ratings guideGet Ratings Information
4.0 Presentation
Frustrating quest log, but other menus work fine. Lots of bugs that ruin immersion along with fairly frequent crashes.
8.5 Graphics
Goofy character models and awkward animations are overshadowed by gorgeously detailed environments and beast models.
8.0 Sound
An exceptional soundtrack is offset by poor voice acting and abrasive, repetitive battle sounds.
4.5 Gameplay
A good character development system and a plethora of content is mired in broken gameplay and a greatly flawed combat system.
6.0 Lasting Appeal
There's so much to do, but much of it just doesn't work properly.
4.9 Overall

[Mochan]

Yeah, that game. Well what can I say, you know how I feel about online reviews, IGN in particular. Don't be fooled, the game is awesome.

I also don't see the Crash angle, I haven't experienced a single crash yet. I can somewhat accept that combat is bad, combat has always been my gripe with Gothic, but hey that was my gripe with Morrowind and Oblivion, too. The combat here is fun, at least as fun as Oblivion's as far as I'm concerned, even if you do get killed way too often. And here you get BIG battles. Like you against the world. That almost never happened in Oblivion. This Gothic's combat system is pretty simple and the best one so far in the Gothic series (not saying much) but it's not half bad.

I am assuming that his game hasn't been patched up yet; I'm at v1.07 and I am not experiencing a lot of the bugs mentioned. The most annoying bug so far is the lens flare effect in the dead of the night. There is something to be said about a game that is released with way too many bugs, that is always annoying but at least now I can play the game fairly well.

This game is bigger than Oblivion, with a more detailed gameworld. I love it.

[Gadfly2317]

Not even worth wasting red ink on; I just threw your post away. Try again! But try sobering up first.

it was early AM!!! I WAS sober! But I'm better now. I'll try again if you want. But, if you can't dispense my sober morning analysis with a few, concise biting lines, I doubt you'll do any better with me in full form. So yes, you're best off going "snip" and then ignoring all content of my statements. We find no joy in humiliating our pet Glockstar; no need to rub your nose in it and swat you with the rolled up paper, you do seem to understand--insolent bristling fur aside.