That 'epic' quality

Nowadays I don't have the same amount of time to waste on video games that I did as a kid. Now, I take all the wasted time I can get to play them! It's a shame that I cannot muster up the excitement I once had for games that I owned when I was a child. Though, I do not think that this is a result of the amount of time that I have to play games. For me, I think it's because of the cynical adult life that I have grown up to live (and inevitably everyone does); and this is a huge shame.

We can all recall the excitement we had for Christmas when we were young, our minds were filled with joy and we didn't really have any concept of the big wild world beyond our bedroom. I realized that during this time I found games that would inspire me and I would fondly return to them many times, whatever my age. Games such as Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy and Goldeneye to name but a few. However, these games are regarded by many, to be some of the best games of all-time. Which makes me wonder: Is it me, or are games getting stale?

For some reason, I'm inclined to think it's me. Since the wealth and ability of technology has vastly been upgraded from the good ole' 90's surely this has enabled some game to create the universe that I can be completely and utterly absorbed within? Sadly, there hasn't. Now at this point I'd just like to point out that many of the post 90's games, leading up to the current generation have produced many great titles that I've thoroughly enjoyed. But despite my effort's to emulate the excitement that I had from my childhood games I've never quite managed to find one that has done so. They never quite reach the same 'epic' quality as the games from my childhood.

I understand that many bloggers talk about the subject of games with a strong sense of nostalgia. Furthermore, gamer's as a collective have fond memories and experiences of their treasured games in the past. Though my lack of excitement may well be a product of both stale games and aging, it's hard to come to terms with why nothing has provided that 'epic' quality I've been longing for.

Is it true that I've become someone who can no longer appreciate the grand designs of modern games or have video games just lost their spark? It's interesting to see how highly my childhood games are continuing to be praised at present. Games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time are still huge and it is still widely considered to be the best-game-ever by many. So are the games also to blame? Has nothing been able to top the epic quest of Link? Or am I just missing the wave of optimism and excitement in the game industry. I'm aware there is a lot of hype, that I buy into from time to time. Though, sadly, the excitement never lives up to it. It's alarming that I can't relive the same excitement I did as a child, though I guess that's just a part of growing up...