Dead Rising definitely took a bat to the beat'em up genre, a sexy new bat with glitter and D-cup tits.

Because people don't understand the importance of great physics engines. HL2 delivered next gen gameplay 4 years ago.

Speaking of Lucasarts I believe a huge change in gameplay is coming with The Force Unleashed. I really have high hopes for it

Spot on with halo 3 in the pic. that game was halo 2 in HD plain and simple, it didn't even include support for more players online, also just Dead rising and Oblivion?? Portal wants a word with you.....

I do agree with this so far.

because mindless gamers won't buy something that isn't a carbon copy of something that has come before?

There are plenty of PS2 games that have better, more creative gameplay than any 360 or PS3 game released thus far.

@excel_excel: Portal wasn't next-gen gameplay in any way, shape, or form... sorry.

Dead Rising! Yay! Bring it to the Ps3.
Before anybody says Wii games-NO. All current Wii games were possible Last-Gen with the use of accessories.

GOT IT! EOJ's online card-playing game was not possible last-gen.

@MrBionic: I dunno now, the ability to shoot a portable moveable portal for doors was fairly unique.

Dead Rising didn't really give us new gameplay, it pretty much gave us a whole bunch of zombies and weapons (and some pretty bad aiming controls). And Oblivion? It gave us multiple ways to play, letting us choose our own adventure, but that's hardly anything new. I love these game and think they're great, but they're really not all that innovative gameplay wise, yet they're still some of the most creative games out there. What does that say about the industry in general?

@excel_excel: Portal was possible on the Ps2. Narbacular Drop, the basis for Portal, will run on even a low-end PC.

Once upon a time, there was Valve.

@MrBionic: hmm.....damn your right I guess it was just an awesome game ok...JUST A REALLY AWESOME GAME

nobi nobi boy?

@excel_excel: Opinion of course, it bored the hell out of me.

wtf? Dead Rising?

Portal, COD4 (revolutionary and impressively stable MP), Mario Galaxy, and Skate come to mind.

Well, from a purely technical perspective since Morrowind was on the original Xbox I'm thinking that Oblivion technically could have been on last generation consoles. Still contemplating if any other games that have actually released couldn't have been done last gen (aside from player count/slight physics upgrades/graphics upgrades that aren't entirely necessary to the gameplay). This is surprisingly tough.

The Wii promised new gameplay opportunities with the new controller, yet it's still to hit it's stride.

What really is the point of releasing half baked ps2 games with some tacked on wiimote play, apart from profiteering? *cricket noises* ...exactly.

With all the new systems, I'm sure once developers start to get over their graphic capabilities and really become accustomed to making games on them, then some amazing games will be released, or at least we can hope...

Many old systems had amazing games mid way through and near the end of their lifespans. So with the new systems supposedly having longer lifespans, then hopefully that means a longer period of time for truly amazing titles to be released.

@MrBionic: BLASPHEMY!!! but I accept that, but c'mon it was innovative at the very least

@SkutSkut: unique? Maybe.. Un-doable on game systems before current gen? Hardly. That's the point.

Anyway.. heh.. other people have made the point better than I.

Repeating the same game over and over again? It's a serious condition called Nintendinitis.

next-gen consoles need next-gen programming in the games to prove who has the best. I haven't seen anything that blows away last-gen gaming yet. I wonder who is up to the challenge.

Oblivion doesn't give us new gameplay, it gives us Morrowind's gameplay, only with level scaling.

And this coming from Lucasarts, which abandoned its adventure game awesomeness to milk Star Wars with Battlefield clones and The Force Unleashed, a game which prides itself on its tech and seeing models grab stuff as they fly around. NEW GAMEPLAY OMG. And I STILL haven't seen a fucking successor to TIE Fighter and/or X-Wing Alliance.

The PC, however, is rife with new concepts, especially if you consider eastern Europe as a valid place (it is). The voyeuristic gameplay of The Experiment, the real-time 4X of Sins of a Solar Empire, Defcon, Uplink, Portal (though it got reluctant console ports), Darwinia, and those are all, technically "last-gen".

PC gaming dead? FUCK THAT NOISE.

Portal is not next gen gameplay.

Deal with it.

@Polywhirl: Dead Rising was possible on the Dreamcast: [en.wikipedia.org]
The previous Elder Scrolls games are a debatable comparison.

Like most things it comes down to the money. And unfortunately what sells most these days are rehashes of what we played before. Look at all the sequels that were the biggest hits this past year, on all systems. Besides minor improvements here and there, most of them were the same game with 'money saving' development behind them.

What really sucks is that most of the games that truely offer something unique get overshadowed by these sellers and it discourages the developers from taking the risks we want to see. This is what happens when a new entertainment industry (by comparison) gets mainstream.

All this 'hardcore gamer' labeling aside, I think this is something that will not change right away. Hopefully in the near future we will see an influx of user-created, downloadable content like in the PC side of things that will bring more originality to console gaming. And if such things get popular and the attention of those with the bankroll to support it, we'll have more 'originality' in gaming.

JMHO.

Because everyone is quite happy with last-gen gameplay in their current-gen systems that is now described as next gen-gameplay even though it isn't? I suppose when people REALLY start not buying sequels to games is when we get more unique ways of playing a traditional genre.

Innovation in gameplay and gameplay that simply would not be physically possible on previous consoles are two very different things. Try and bear that in mind. You couldn't physically do Dead Rising or oblivion on an Xbox or PS2. You could probably do Portal, and CoD4, and DEFINITELY Mario Galaxy though, they just wouldn't look/sound quite so nice.

Afrika will be the first true game to have "next-gen" gameplay.

...I'm kidding.

Hmm, if anything I'm afraid that a truly revolutionary title will come out, but will be completely overlooked. Perhaps thats why most developers don't try to go too far into new realms of gameplay.

@SkutSkut: wow just like blowing a hole in the wall with explosives? idk kinda iffy huh......?

Earth Defense Force, while technically possible last gen, was playable this gen (seeing as how the PS2 one had severe lag and slowdown making near unplayable.)

And this gen we saw Mario and Sonic on the same console, while being a historical landmark, I guess it doesn't count, since Brawl's pretty much Melee with a bigger story mode.

on the other end of the fence- I was deeply disappointed with Turok, while it's a good game it suffers from clone-itis.

Assassin's Creed? Oh, btw, whoever said that portal wasn't next-gen is wrong. Whether or not you like the game is irrelevant, the portal shifting neccessities couldn't have been done on a PS2 or Xbox (at least not at a smooth clip without tons of glitches). Anyway, my point with assassins creed is that it was a game that did something really new and innovative but then the game itself suffered. I'd rather games slowly ease into being really innovative while retaining the qualities of... ya know... a good game. Btw mr. Plunkett, do you design games? Do you? Because you say that nothing has been done on this new generation of consoles that couldn't be done on the last one, but by that standard anything that has been created in the last two years could've been done on the N64. More games are developed that have tons of enemies on screen, graphics are being used to deliver (what is in my oppinion) the next generation combining of gameplay and cinema, and controls and smoothness are being refined to this day. We all knew going in to this generation that the big innovation would be in the graphics, sound, HD, online, and processing power. Other than that, anything that's done today could've been done on the N64. You're really confusing me as to what you want, do you want games that couldn't be done on the past consoles, or new/original ideas... I'd prefer the latter (since there are very few things that COULDN'T be done on past consoles.

Luke, I think your being overly critical and missing the forest for the tree here. I due agree with you that people are using graphics as a crutch but it would be unforgivable (by many fans) if a game for a next gen system was released without the expected amount graphics polish. Late PS2 and Xbox graphics were amazing but are definately not comparable to the graphics of the typical graphics of a next-gen game... regardless of how good God of War 2 looked (let's not bring Tenchu Z into this argument... that was just ass).

That said, we are looking at things like Dead Rising that is using next gen power to through tones of Zombies at you. This is possible because of not only processing power, but more DSPs, more RAM, more graphics, and better architecture. Games just divvy it up differently and some show (like dead rising) it in more obvious ways. Less obvious ways are things like Crackdown in the way you can see across your entire persistent game world or Heavenly Sword with the animation detail of everything happening in the scene while doing amazing sound and graphics.

Honestly, I think we're spoiled. I remember when I saw GT5, I went "meh" but then again, that could have been the negative perverted trolling Microsoft PR whoring fanboy in me as others have pointed out.

Hopefully MGS4 and it's take on SixAxis will join the list, who knows. I also think GTA IV will be a huge improvement in what's capable in a sandbox-type game. Maybe Fable 2.. But I'll wait until I play through, critically analysis it, and read several other's opinions.

@Erwin: In no way was Zombie Revenge anywhere close to Dead Rising. Only thing in common was beating up zombies.

This is part of the reason that the Wii has performed well with some of the hardcore crowd - it provides new gameplay opportunities. Also a reason why independent games (or games based off of previously independent or student games) have performed well - look at Portal and Audiosurf.

I don't have anything to say to LucasArts until they give me Monkey Island goddamn Five.

what IS next gen gameplay? i think a clear definition needs to be made because right now it is based on opinion and that can vary from person to person.

I thought HL2's physics was next gen and that was a ways back. I thought Portal was a new way of doing things but not everyone considers that next gen. Also, some people don't think Wii is next gen either. However, no one has said what they felt IS next gen or what they would like to SEE that would be next gen.

This fact combined with the fact that there is no clear next gen gameplay definition is the reason that we don't have any further innovation. When people try to do something a tincy bit different, there's nothing to say that they'll be rewarded for their efforts. Halo's and Gears keeps selling though. So does GT5 and Ratchet and Clank. So why should they if they can ensure that they have money during a recession by doing the same ol, same ol.

An interesting argument. I really expected new things from the Wii, but that kind of tapered off... I suppose Metroid Prime: Corruption did something new for the console FPS genre.

@FlyingWombat: i agree on all points and concur

@SkutSkut: I think they are talking about most examples of games nowdays.

Since if we sit back and think about it, its pretty true.

Most games have just been a polished up pretty wise rather than trying to push the limits of the current hardware in terms of gameplay mechanics and other things.

Graphics is nice, but I think we are at the breaking point of wanting something new.

@FlyingWombat: I already said this, but this IS Portal: [www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com]
Check out those screen-shots, download the demo, and then tell me Portal is impossible on Ps2 Tech.

@Jopan: well if you want to be technical, Red Faction's still the most advanced game to date. Geomod? not done today at all.

Assasians Creed, new gameplay elements

Army of Two(barely), new gameplay elements

thats off the top of my head. I'd have to agree that the selection is fickle..but it's there. It's there.

The entire idea of "next-gen gameplay" is just yet another buzzword for hardcore gamers to buy into to get them to argue even more and more fervently justify their purchasing habits.

I buy things to have fun with them. Not to say whether or not they follow some magical precept for the "new generation" of consoles which, for some reason, means that all games made last generation are now obsolete. The day I follow that way of thinking is the day I die.

I love the Wii and I love my 360. I'll take whatever they make that's fun on either one, "next-gen" or not.

@Luke Plunkett: looks like you confirmed what I just posted, you prefer pumping the machines to original ideas that just optimize the machines a little bit better... I strongly disagree with you. Also, I'm pretty sure both Oblivion and Dead Rising could be done on past consoles (just with less draw distance). All that would need to happen is you couldn't see as far, and the game would be a little more laggy. Considering it was DVD9 on 360, it could fit on PS2. Dead rising doesn't have complex situational AI, they're basically a giant horde of complex partical effects that walk toward the player... I think that could be done on Xbox at least. Warhawk is an example of something that imo couldn't be done last gen. All the controls and gameplay could, but the draw distance plays such an important role in that games multiplayer that it would be pointless to have it on a past console. What about physics, and stuff like that that's being optimized today... could that be done before? Compare Halo 3's physics to Halo 2's... 3's are much better, aren't they... could that be done on past consoles? Your definition of what could be done on past consoles is incorrect, I'm pretty sure.