Your genre defining games this generation.

[PVarck31]

If you had to pick a genre defining game for this console generation up to this point.

Action/Adventure: Uncharted Drakes Fortune

Fighting: Mortal Kombat

Sports: MLB 11 The Show

Shooter: Battlefield Bad Company 2

Racing: Forza 2

RPG: Mass Effect 2

Feel free to add any genre you want. These are the main genre's I play.

I'm just curious to see how diverse the opinions will be.

[loloben]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Action/Adventure Batman: Arkham Asylum

Sports NFL Head Coach 09

Shooter Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

Music Rock Band

[areobee401]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Action/Adventure - Uncharted 2

Sports - MLB The Show Series

Shooter - Gears Of War Series

RPG - Mass Effect Series

[BlueNGold]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Good thread idea here.

Action/adventure is almost unquestionably Uncharted if you've been lucky enough to play either of the first 2 games. The platforming, shooting, graphics, story, etc. are all top of the line.

Sports is a tough one between The Show and NBA 2K IMO. 2K really pushed things forward that sports gamers pretty much demand for every sports game now with signature style and tendencies among other things. But at the same time The Show is probably the closest representation of any sport in video game form ever, so I guess I have to give the slight edge to The Show.

Shooter I'll say Gears of War. Their cover system is now used by most shooting games nowadays and at the time it had some of the best graphics ever seen on a console.

RPG is hands down Mass Effect. Some of the best story-telling in a video game, great characters, great graphics, great gameplay. Also, the conversation system is amazing and the fact that all of the decisions you make have a big effect on what happens later on in the game (and future games as well) is something you don't see often.

Also, Heavy Rain and Batman: Arkham Asylum are two other games I feel have been genre-defining.

Heavy Rain -- as far as I know -- is one of the first games of it's kind. It's basically an interactive movie and the experience was one of the best video game experiences I've ever had.

Batman: Arkham Asylum finally showed superhero/comic book games can actually be done right and be one of the best games around. Before that most superhero/comic book games were mediocre at best and not always the best representation of whatever character the game was about.

[bcruise]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

I'll limit this to current-gen and PC games - I could easily find some better ones for some genres if I went back far enough. I'm also going to distinguish between the RPG genres - there are too many different kinds to just name one and have it represent the whole thing.

Action/Adventure: Another vote for Uncharted (either one)

Sports: MLB The Show

Shooter: MW2 I guess

Real-Time Strategy: Starcraft II

Action/Western (geographically) RPG: Mass Effect. I would put Fallout and Oblivion in this category too, FWIW.

Japanese/Traditional RPG: Going with Star Ocean: Last Hope on this one. Otherwise it'd probably be Eternal Sonata - just not many choices on this gen.

Also want to give a shout-out to Valkyria Chronicles and its PSP sequel - While it is really a Strategy JRPG at its core, the third person movement makes it feel like an action RPG as well. It's a game that's extremely tough to fit into one genre, and I guess that's what "genre defining" means, after all - you almost have to create a new one to describe it.

You could say the same thing about Portal as well. (IGN defines it as a first-person shooter, but that's really doing a disservice to its puzzle-solving elements)

[areobee401]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Can't believe I forgot about Heavy Rain.

[Husker_OS]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

If we got sport specific, I would add NCAA Football 2002 for the PS2. That game was outstanding.

[KSUowls]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Action/Adventure: Bayonetta

Fighting: Dead or Alive 4

Sports: MLB 11 The Show

Shooter: Unreal Tournament 4

Racing: Need for Speed Most Wanted

RPG: Mass Effect 2

RTS: Starcraft 2

TBS: Total War Shogun 2

TBS = Turn based Strategy

[BlueNGold]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

If we got sport specific, I would add NCAA Football 2002 for the PS2. That game was outstanding.

It's for games this generation.

I never knew NCAA 2002 was that good.

[Hooe]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Just going with the genres I've played:

Fighting: Mortal Kombat
Sports: NBA 2K11
Shooter: Portal 2
Racing: Forza Motorsport 3
Music: Rock Band

[cubsfan203]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

For shooter I would have to go with Call of Duty 4. It could have been Modern Warfare 2, but that game was such a mess that it doesn't deserve any great title.

[Blzer]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Action/Adventure: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (the cinematic sequences and character development has really upped the ante for all games of this caliber, if they exist that is)

Sports: Backbreaker (we'll see what comes of this play, but I think NM showed what innovation can do for a sports game in the long run)

Shooter: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (technically, it has defined the genre for what most shooters want to be now)

[slickdtc]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

I really only play sports games so I feel I'm only justified to say that. I was going to say NFL 2k5, because it caused EA to enter into the exclusive deal with the NFL, but that was last generation. Still, I can't recall a sports game that really pushed the envelope like that did. But for this generation, it's gotta be MLB The Show. People, such as myself, literally bought the PS3 over the XBOX 360 for The Show series.

Their focus of on the field gameplay is phenomenal. Even when it was just metered pitching and single button hitting, the pitcher-batter duel was so immersive. But the way they complimented the gameplay with all the little things really brought it over the top. Not to mention their incredible interaction here at OS. In the midst of the evil EA empire and 2K Sports, SCEA has really been a feel good, good guy story. At least that's how I feel about it.

[Marino]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Action/Adventure: Metal Gear Solid

Fighting: Mortal Kombat

Sports: MLB 11 The Show

Shooter: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

Racing: Forza 2

RPG: Final Fantasy VIII

[Beantown]

Re: Your genre defining games this generation.

Action/Adventure: Add another vote for Uncharted (and the 2nd). However, I feel since there really is no category for Heavy Rain, it really deserves a lot of mention. It was a ****ing interactive movie. Just a completely different experience.