Any Forthcoming Next Generation AAA PC Titles?

AndyT

AndyT

AndyT

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Hi,

I think I know the answer to this (no), but I was just wondering if there are any "next-gen" high-quality PC titles around the corner? I'm thinking of the kind of game that generates the scale of hype that surrounded the release of Doom 3, HL2, Crysis, Skyrim and BF3 when they were released.

Basically, the type of game that spawns a million, "spec me a PC that will be able to run XXX" or "Will my PC run XXXX" threads.

I feel like there isn't much to look forward to at the moment in terms of ground breaking titles. I always enjoy the anticipation of considering an upgrade in time for a next-gen game. In all honesty that's probably as much fun as playing the game itself.

Anyone else feel like this?

COD/MOH does not apply. I don;t hold out much hope for Far Cry 3 or Crysis 3 either I'm afraid.
 
Space Citizen and Squadron 42 is the only "big" game on my horizon to be honest.
 
Grand Theft Auto V
Crysis 3
BioShock Infinite
Far Cry 3
Metro: Last Light
Prey 2

There seems to be quite a few upcoming PC games
 
Interestingly all of those titles are sequels.

Sadly GTA 5 is not confirmed for PC, Bioshock was terrible and FC3 and Crysis 3 look a bit questionable at the moment. There's nothing much there which is particularly ground breaking or original, if at all. Maybe I'm just becoming a bit jaded with gaming in general,
 
Yeah weird that the anticipated games are often sequels isn't it....it's almost like playing the previous game in the series might make you look forward to a follow up ;)
 
I hate terms like "next generation" and "AAA titles", because what it usually implies is a console port and big marketing budget (with quality usually falling behind).

Rome Total War 2 is where it's at!
 
Mr Krugga said:
I hate terms like "next generation" and "AAA titles", because what it usually implies is a console port and big marketing budget (with quality usually falling behind).

Rome Total War 2 is where it's at!
Click to expand...

I'm talking about a decent original game that pushes the boundaries of graphics or what you can do in a game. For example HL2 was a step change in quality of graphics and story-driven FPS. COD4 was a step up in terms of cinematic set-pieces and Crysis was a leap in graphics again and introduced much more freedom in a FPS.

Like I said, I'm not talking about a load more of the same tripe they try to sell us every year (e.g COD9/MOH6 or Borderlands 5). It's all a bit samey these days.

I suppose the consoles are holding back the technology somewhat. I still haven't bought a current generation console yet after 5 (+?) years, but I'm actually considering it now, just so I can sit and play Fight Night or something for half an hour at a time.
 
AndyT said:
I'm talking about a decent original game that pushes the boundaries of graphics or what you can do in a game. For example HL2 was a step change in quality of graphics and story-driven FPS. COD4 was a step up in terms of cinematic set-pieces and Crysis was a leap in graphics again and introduced much more freedom in a FPS.

Like I said, I'm not talking about a load more of the same tripe they try to sell us every year (e.g COD9/MOH6 or Borderlands 5). It's all a bit samey these days.

I suppose the consoles are holding back the technology somewhat. I still haven't bought a current generation console yet after 5 (+?) years, but I'm actually considering it now, just so I can sit and play Fight Night or something for half an hour at a time.
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Including Borderlands in that list seems a little harsh as they have JUST released their first sequel after supporting the original game pretty well with a load of DLC (of variable quality, but there you go).

That said, I think I agree with your general point. There are 'big' games coming out, but none of them look to be the 'next big thing', they are just another iteration of the 'last big thing'.

It's hard to imagine what the next major step's going to be. Graphically, I very much doubt it'll be anything that sees the light of day before the next generation of consoles is out, as you say. In terms of gameplay/story (as for HL2 in your example) I really don't see anything on the horizon. There have been a few games lately that were very 'story focused' but in most cases on closer examination they generally felt as though the gameplay elements were removed, leaving the story, rather than someone finding a really good way to include the story in the game.

Weirdly, I'm wondering if the next big thing might actually end up being Half Life 3.
 
AndyT said:
Interestingly all of those titles are sequels.
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For a title to be AAA rated it will almost inevitably be a sequel, or at the very least made by very successful developer (often similar in style - think Quake instead of Doom, Crysis instead of Far Cry etc). In order to get the necessary budget to be AAA rated, there needs to a proven background to convince publishers to stump up the cash.

I think it could be interesting to see what people's definition of "AAA" are, my understanding is that it primarily down to factors such as a huge budget (including a sizeable marketing budget), high production values (slick interfaces, FMV sequences etc) and significant hype (previews, booths at events etc). How well the game will be received both commercially and critically isn't known during the development phase, so there isn't a direct correlation between quality and AAA rating (for example, Daikatana could arguably have been viewed as a AAA title, but few would call it a success).

Personally, I wouldn't regard some of the games mentioned in this thread as AAA, in terms of PC (ignoring COD as requested) I'd say the following would fit the bill:

-Halflife 3
-AC3
-Anything that id software, Blizzard or DICE come out with (although I think there is a real danger of id software dropping off that list if their next title isn't outstanding - their historical reputation probably doesn't mean a great deal to the majority of younger gamers. Once upon a time, their games were absolutely what the OP was talking bout in terms of "spec me a PC to run xyz")
 
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I suppose by AAA I mean something that was hyped for ages, got everyone excited, then we all asked "can my rig run it?", and finally it actually delivered - like HL2 or Crysis (to an extent).

I think you may be right in that HL3 could be the next big one.

Watchdog does look very good though.
 
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