Dumbed down gameplay? When were game controls ever complicated?
And I've seen even more complete controls than that.
Not that I don't appreciate simpler controls when it fits the game. For example, the controls required for TF2 are perfect. What I don't like is when games on the pc are forced to fit into a controller scheme. We like the keyboard & mouse for a reason. As for a more general example, look into hardnova, daggerfall, system shock, realms of arkania, darklands, stronghold, ironseed, twilight 2000. Even Stars! has more fiber than Spore's space age.
And it's not nostalgia goggles, Cthulhu, these examples are games I choose to play over their modern counterparts. I like them -a lot- better. This year I did:
Half way of system shock
Up to the last dungeon of startrail but it got me dizzy and frustrated like always. Plus I know there's a game breaking bug there. >.<
Botched twilight 2000 because I forgot to pick a language for one of the final missions.
explored random dungeons in daggerfall with a character from 1998 or so.
tried hard to find a working copy of Stars! that would hopefully run on vista
Played xcom2 to the end, again. It's almost like a yearly tradition
Played some xcom3, but got pwn3d by aliens
Played flight of the amazon queen and almost peed myself from laughing at old silly jokes
Tried playing darksun, but I must admit, those (1 & 2) are full of nostalgia goggles, I have no patience for that anymore
Not to say I didn't play modern games, I know I played a lot and perhaps should have spent more time doing something else with my free time. >.> ... But I have no doubt that unless I'm really surprised by one of the upcoming games, I will still be focusing on the good oldies for a looong while.