I hadn’t noticed the similarity before, actually. Took about 14 years to go from loads of platformers to loads of FPS games.
The only games I’m looking forward to that some people will at least have heard of is Dante’s Inferno (360/PS3, I believe, basically a God of War clone based around the Divine Comedy) and Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object (PC, bullet hell vertical-shooter). I still need to buy Prince of Persia and finish Halo 3, so I’m a bit behind the times at the moment.
I’m actually thoroughly excited for upcoming titles this year and in the next. It looks like we are finally going to be seeing some quality, fantastical titles where technology serves to further a game’s artistic endeavours instead of just trying to produce photo-realistic content.
The top games I’m looking forward to:
–Team ICO’s Third Project: Like I said in the other thread, the video alone made us cry. If this game doesn’t completely cement the medium as a viable art form in the eyes of the ignorant non-gaming public, absolutely nothing will.
–Darksiders: With absolutely some of the best art design I’ve ever seen in a game, I could not be more excited for this compelling fusion of God of War and The Legend of Zelda. This looks like one of the first truly great action/adventure titles that will be released this generation. The storyline sounds awesome, the characters, art design, and setting are astounding, and the music is just fantastic. I love how even though the setting is dark and demonic, it is NOT lacking in colour or creativity, and it is not portrayed in a “gritty”, grimey, “visceral” way. It’s pure fantasy, and I could not be happier with how the project is turning out.
–God of War III: I don’t really know what else to say, besides that it’s the end of the greatest action game series of all time (in my opinion). This is one of those games that will finally show what the current technology is truly capable of, and it looks to be exactly what you’d want from a next-gen God of War. It’s maintaining everything I love about the series’ formula, while adding enough genuinely meaningful tweaks and improvements to the core moment-to-moment experience.
–Brutal Legend: It’s DoubleFine. The art design, setting, characters, writing, and overall experience look to be about as creative, clever, and truly compelling as gaming can hope to be. There’s never been a game like this, and there never will be again, just like Psychonauts.
–Uncharted 2: Among Thieves: The sequel to my favourite game of the generation thus far, Uncharted 2 looks to be quite simply outstanding. The original game made no pretentions and was drowned out by the mountain of hype that a very ill-guided Sony lavished upon terrible titles like Heavenly Sword and Lair. The original game, from a perspective of visuals and technology, still has yet to be equalled. There’s not a game yet released that comes close, and Uncharted 2 looks to raise the bar higher still. In short, the original is still one of the best-looking, best-playing, most incredibly spirited and fun games of this entire wave of consoles, and its sequel is improving its every aspect. What’s not to be excited about?
Games that I’m hesitant-but-hopeful about:
–Batman: Arkham Asylum: It truly does look like this could be the first great Batman game. It sounds like it’s doing everything right, but I don’t want to get too hopeful. I love the idea of the persistent, massive space of Arkham, and that the game is an equal mix of action, adventure, and stealth. I had a chance to try out one of the combat-heavy challenge rooms the other night, and I’ve got to say: I’ve wanted a melee combat system to play like this for years. Even in its somewhat unpolished state it felt so fluid and fun. Chaining together dodges, strikes, and context-sensitive counters was a dream. If the rest of the game is executed at this level, and the game can get some extra polishing and tweaking before its September release, I think we’ll have a hit on our hands!
–Borderlands: A compelling blend of shooting with all-out RPG elements and a touch of Diablo. The new aesthetic the game is sporting ups the appeal drastically, but there’s still not much information. I’m hoping this game has a showing at E3 that sheds more light on the project.
–Final Fantasy XIII: The recent demo has coloured expectations in a very positive light. The game looks to be a spot-on combo of the best of Final Fantasy VIII, X, and XII with combat that factors influences ranging from Chrono Cross to our dear Panzer Dragoon Saga (the way it uses its filling meters is ridiculously similar to PDS). The characters so far seem well-drawn and have solid personalities, and the designs are actually a bit reigned in for Nomura. The whole style of the world looks incredible. I’m extremely hopeful!
–Beyond Good & Evil 2: This is at the bottom because we still don’t know how far along it is in development. A 2011 release date seems highly likely and even with as much confidence as I place in Ancel and his team, I’m still going to have to see something more substantial before getting too excited.
I just wanted to say that, looking at this list, I’m extremely hopeful for the state of gaming. I was beginning to become really disenfranchised with this generation. I’ve had a lot of disappointments so far, and I haven’t really felt like things have been properly pushed in a positive direction. I couldn’t be more pleased with all that there is to look forward to! 
I’m sorry legaia, but I have to completely disagree. I lost interest in the vast majority of Japanese RPGs a long time ago, but it’s likely because my tastes have changed, rather than the genre changing. Shooters have always been about violence.
Do you think that perhaps your gaming tastes have simply matured, rather than games going downhill?
Think about it - 15 years ago, we had Doom, Quake, etc. Compare those with, say, Portal. Team Fortress 2. Bioshock.
How about RPGs? JRPGs were prominent, but on PC, we also had stuff like Wasteland, Bard’s Tale, etc. Now we have Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc.
As for the Shenmue vs Yakuza comparison, that’s a misleading example. Created by completely different teams for very different purposes. And to be honest, Shenmue’s story was fairly remedial - it was simply that for its time, the presentation was astounding. The Yakuza story, however, is actually very well done. It rivals some of the best movies of its genre.
Yes, there was a certain innocence in the design of games from the 80s and 90s, but while we have lost that innocence, we have gained sophistication and it will continue to get better and better. I have no issues with where the games are going - in fact, some of the best games I have ever played have been within the last few years (Ico, SoTC, BG&E, Portal, Bioshock, KOTOR, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, etc).
Well, after seeing Trico, I can only see things getting better and have a more optimistic outlook so far, but I hope that doesn’t change… 