Any "AAA" games that are NOT being dumbed down?

[deuxhero]

There wasn't any dumbing down in the last release of Pokemon as far as I could tell. High end play is still as crazy as ever.

 

[piydek]

Red orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

 

[Hobo Elf]

Assassins Creed has so far added more gameplay elements between each game. They tend to be quite shallow but they do increase in number.

True, it's in no way become more dumbed down. But it did start out as an already dumbed-down console title. And it still carries all of those features with it.

I thought AAA was just the gaming equivalent for Hollywood blockbuster. If a low budget movie can be a blockbuster (referred to as sleeper or sleeper hit) then I don't see why a low budget game can't be AAA.
AAA refers to something of high quality. Are you negroids saying that DA2 is high quality? Quality doesn't necessarily come with a big budget, but it certainly helps if you know how to use that budget wisely.

Well, to you it refers to something of high quality. To me, at least, it simply refers to a huge budget and marketing campaign, since I've seen plenty of games referred to as AAA without them having much or any 'quality'.

No, I'm saying that that's the actual definition of AAA. High quality. It's in the dictionary.

 

[Raapys]

No, I'm saying that that's the actual definition of AAA. High quality. It's in the dictionary.

Which dictionary?

 

[Peter]

Hype + Multi-million dollar budget and marketing campaign + Front page on IGN and a score of > 8.0 = AAA title

 

[Hobo Elf]

Dictionary.com defines it as such. I've seen some places also define it as "Triple-A rating for a company shows that it is one of the safest to lend money to".

 

[Raapys]

Have a link for the AAA-title definition? Can't seem to find it at dictionary.com.

 

[J1M]

Diablo 3. Not dumbed down compared to 2. Whether or not it is your thing is another matter.

 

[J_J_M]

Are games with cheat codes dumbed down?

Games that offer you cheat codes because you fail a part in the game a few of times are indeed dumbed down. Players that skip half of the gameplay to "watch a game" shouldn't be playing video games in the first place. It's what movies are for.

It's like that Bioware hambeast who said she hates gameplay in video games and only plays them for the story. Jennifer Hepler was it?

Yep, I can already see where the future of video games is going: MOVIES FOR 60 BUCKS! BUY IT SUCKERS!

If anything it allows them to make harder sequences, even if it's not aguarantee they will.

You wish. Games are getting easier to cater to the lowest common retarnominator.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Are games with cheat codes dumbed down?

Games that offer you cheat codes because you fail a part in the game a few of times are indeed dumbed down. Players that skip half of the gameplay to "watch a game" shouldn't be playing video games in the first place. It's what movies are for.

Seems to me that your quip is more with the public that would use such a feature than with the feature itself. I particularly don't see much of a difference between a game that will give you a prompt saying you can skip a part and a game that will let you skip a part if you look up the password - both will let a player not interested in dealing with the gameplay to just see the parts he wants to.

You wish. Games are getting easier to cater to the lowest common retarnominator.

I dunno. If they don't have to be worried about making sure every mouthbreather out there can finish the entire game, isn't that pretty much a licence to make harder games?

 

[Heechee]

Diablo 3. Not dumbed down compared to 2. Whether or not it is your thing is another matter.

That is yet to be seen. I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[MetalCraze]

Define "AAA"

 

[J_J_M]

Seems to me that your quip is more with the public that would use such a feature than with the feature itself. I particularly don't see much of a difference between a game that will give you a prompt saying you can skip a part and a game that will let you skip a part if you look up the password - both will let a player not interested in dealing with the gameplay to just see the parts he wants to.

Well, in case you haven't noticed, the current direction of the video game industry is

This will be a household feature in every AAA title soon enough. Players get treated like stupid, they begin acting stupid, the downward spiral is ready to commence, and the publishing Jews couldn't be happier with their better cost/effort/profit ratio.

Just what do you think action scenes that are skippable mean to the quality of them? That's right -- probably filler trash, which is why they are skippable in the first place.

Sorry I'm not very positive.

 

[Castanova]

No, I'm saying that that's the actual definition of AAA. High quality. It's in the dictionary.

AAA in the entertainment industry means major, mainstream projects backed by major industry players. These projects are high quality in the sense that they have big budgets and all the things that big budgets can buy. The word quality here does not refer to whether the end result is good or not.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

AAA in the entertainment industry means major, mainstream projects backed by major industry players.

This.

Two latest examples, one was a given though...

The new Elder Scrolls game http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=58652

Not really a surprise at all, but the further stripping of gameplay elements, over an already dumbed down game, is hilarious.

And the next GTA game http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=58666

The GTA dumbening actually surprised me somewhat. They seemed to hit the right notes in Vice City, and then San Andreas. GTA IV was technically rotten, and the gameplay was not as good as the two previous iterations...still, from the raging fans, I thought RS would go back to what they do best....

 

[Metro]

AAA really refers to budget, both for the game and for marketing.

Exactly. So the real question is: How many intelligent/deep/complex games had a marketing budget measured in tens of millions? Once you realize the answer to that is "None" you will stop buying these so called "AAA" games and start playing the many good games that still DO come out.

Your statement of the obvious has been duly noted, thank you.

 

[Raapys]

AAA

=

 

[DragoFireheart]

Fallout: New Vegas?

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Fallout: New Vegas?

For all the praise F:NV deserves - and I did love it - "not dumbed down" isn't really part of it.

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO SERIOUSLYT DEBATING WHAT AAA MEANS HAVE YOU LOOKED UNDER PEDANTIC FUCK!!!!

AAA MEANS SMALLER THAN A C OR D AT LEAST IT DOES IT BATTERIES BUT COULD YOU GUESS THAT ISNT WHAT THE GUY WHO MADE THE TOPIC MEANT!!!!!

 

[commie]

Portal 2

Bullshit. I actually got past Postal 2 using my own brain and I'm usually shit at puzzle type games. The first Portal I actually needed a walkthrough for some levels that I lost patience with.

"Players Will Be Able To Skip LA Noire’s Action Sequences"

Meh, you could skip them in Heart of China and Rise of the Dragon, as well as in some Sierra games (SQ1 remake, Conquest of the Longbow). So that's hardly a new-gen thing.

You could also skip missions you failed enough times in Freespace and even the Janes' flight simulators often allowed you to skip a mission you were failing at, though you could only d that 3 times.

 

[I.C. Wiener]

The only example I can think of is Bayonetta. As far as that very specific DMC-style action game genre goes, the dumbed down ones are usually poorly received (or people like them for the cutscenes, e.g. God of War).

Yeah, Arkham Asylum was great and Arkham City doesn't seem like from that.

I loved Arkham Asylum but thinking back it seems like the definition of 'streamlined' to me, in a good way. I'm thinking of the grappling hook with absurd degree of auto-aim, even though it's smooth and convenient it seems like the type of thing a vehement anti-console fag would rage over. The pop-up icons for countering in combat (in NORMAL difficulty) were pretty dumb but not outright insulting. If Arkham City offers a more Metroid-like nonlinear experience I will make love to it.

Nintendo stuff like Mario and Zelda count too, right? I don't have a Wii, but it looks like the newest games from those series haven't changed the formula.

I don't think you can dumb Mario down, it's extremely simple but not in a retarded way. The main series of games has been pretty good all along, though they seem to have forgotten what made everyone enjoy Mario 64 so much (sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who notices how rigidly linear Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are).

Zelda however hasn't been good (just mediocre) since the Nintendo 64. I would definitely say the series has gotten dumber since then. Prime examples being 1) dungeons, which have become extremely linear, anytime you find a key you know you'll use it basically in the same room; and 2) combat, which is pathetically easy. Not that it has been hard at all since the series shifted to 3D, but it really requires no thought past button mashing. Compare that to Zelda 1 and 2 which are ball-crushing and almost unfair bloodbaths.

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO ZELDA ONE WASNT THAT BAD HAVENT PLAYED 2 IN RECENT MEMOREY THOUGH I THINK IT WAS HARDER

I TIRED TWILIGHJ PRINCESS PAYED FULL PRICE I THINK BUT COULDNT STAND IT LAST NINTENDO FRACHISE SHIT I WILL BY FOR A WHILE

GOOD CALL ON BAYONETTA THOUGH FDEFINTELY BROTASTIC I LIKED NIJA GAIDEN 2 AS WELL THOUGH THAT SHIT MURDERED ME ON HARD I COULD NOT DEAL AT ALL

 

[deuxhero]

Which again, FS penalized you permanantly if you did that. I'm sure Bayonetta does as a well being a DMC clone ("easy-automatic" prevents any NG+ing from what I've heard)

 

[villain of the story]

Fallout: New Vegas?

For all the praise F:NV deserves - and I did love it - "not dumbed down" isn't really part of it.

Still, for a dumbed down AAA title, it has good quest design like of which you can not expect from any AAA title. When you think about all the things you can do in the game, it's an amazing accomplishment.