Oh, and excuse the mixed metaphors in the above post

These days an A title requires years of effort and millions of dollars - of course there’s going to be less originality. Investors want to toss cash at a safe return, not some new idea that could flounder and sink with nary a wripple marring the industry’s surface.

We luck few who can recall with fondness the hyperventilating to get a Nintendo rental to work or who gladly show scars from the controller’s edges digging into our hands lived through amazing times in gaming. We saw the birth of a medium and we carried through its revolution. Now we sit as sentinals over a steady evolution that brings welcome but foresable changes to our beloved medium.

To answer your question, though, the heart and soul of games still exist but you need to look in the right places. We’re not looking at a steady diet of interactive filet mignon anymore - these days we have to be intelligent consumers. Which sold better, Darwinia or the latest C&C game? Which was a more unique and interesting experience?

The 360 and the PS3 are basically more of the same, in HD. Everything just looks prettier and costs more.