You make a series of good points, points I see, and agree on most of them.
But your remark about all the good games being Indie games? I kind of disagree with that, so here's a few elaborate examples of good games in this, and the previous generation of consoles.
1. Heavy Rain (2010, PS3)
If there ever was a game with choices that matter, this is it. There's a very solid story, with an engaging plot, and a mystery to solve. One could argue that the whole game is a series of QTE, and, to be fair, it sort of is. Most of what you're doing, when you're actually doing something, is a series of QTE, but then again, these all matter. For instance, you're faced with a question, to which you can reply 4 things. None of the choices are wrong, but one or two of them will give you the answer you're hoping for, one could just be brushed off as nonsens, and the fourth might actually get you killed. There's a plethora of interesting characters, and you can kill off most of them, resulting in a game with 23 different endings. The mystery may never be solved, and your first playthrough might actually downright suck, as you've not solved anything, and all the characters are dead. But solving it is a fucking grade A pleasure.
2. Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014, multi-platform)
A vast, epic and diverse RPG. Dragon age is played like a traditional RPG, with lots of choices, a rich world with genuinely interesting characters, a great plot and fun gameplay. It's a sequel to "Dragon Age: Origins" and "Dragon Age 2", but you don't have to play either of them to enjoy it. I certainly didn't, and I wound up clocking in over a 100 hours in about 2 weeks. Which doesn't come along often. There aren't any QTE, as far as I recall, but the choices you're presented with can make or break characters, kill them, or have them join your ranks. There's drama, war and love, and of course, great and fun combat. And, obviously; dragons.
3. The Last of Us/The Last Of Us Remastered (2013, PS3/PS4)
Naughty Dog has a pretty perfect rep when it comes to making games. From "Crash Bandicoot", to "Jak & Daxter" and "Uncharted", "The Last of Us" puts you in a world filled with good gameplay, and a VERY good story. It's hard to describe this game without spoiling anything, but the characters are where it's all at. Some might say it's a zombie game, one could argue for hours how it's not, and how they're not zombies, but fungus-infected humans, but in the end, they play out as zombies anyway, so it's not important. If you own a PS3/PS4, this is definitely one of the must-play titles.
4. Final Fantasy X/Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (2002/2014, PS2/PS3)
In the history of JRPG games, this one is definitely something worth playing. It's an interesting world, with parallels to our own, but has great characters too. As you'd expect from a JRPG, there are sidequests, weapons, armour and items to collect(perfect if you've OCD), and hidden bosses to kill. The gameplay is pretty straightforward, in which it's usually pretty obvious where you need to go next, sure, but that aside, it's a fun game, with a very good combat system, one you can't win by just spamming powerful attacks. If you've never played a Final Fantasy game before, this is the one you should play, if you're looking for a game that wasn't made in the 90s. Of course, VII and VI are better titles, but X is a pretty solid title.
So, there's a few good examples. I could go on, but those may be the best of them anyway, and I'd have to do some digging to find great games the last 10-15 years. Which further proves your point, but I've played some REALLY good games this last decade and a half, dude.
*Also, I've never owned an Xbox, and I hear the main reason to get one; Halo, is pretty much a series of FPS games with vehicles. Which I loathe.*
Last edited by Tomahawk (2015-06-18 07:55:49)