marsattakx: Back in 2000 videogames were just starting to hit their stride graphically.
Video games have always "hit their stride" graphically. For me the main big transitions were:
- old GDR computers like the Robotron KC87 which had only text and charsets to the Commodore 16, then 64 - huge step
- then to the Commodore Amiga - another huge step. A friend of mine had a PC with CGA graphics - I was laughing my ass off...
- then to PC with VGA, at first not a huge step, but then came Doom (which some claimed was "photorealistic", no really).
- SVGA essentially doubled the resolution, 3D took off (with a short intermezzo of pre-rendered FMV games, that always looked horrible), but games like The Need for Speed or Quake in SVGA looked incredible at the time.
- in 1996 Voodoo happened, and 3D acceleration hit consumer shelves. Remember games like NfS 3 (1998), what a wow!-effect that was, still looking good today (IMO).
From then on I think the improvements were more gradual, but of course we've come a long way, with some defining wow!-inducing games, like FarCry/Crysis.
marsattakx: Today we have a huge back catalog of games that if you stopped playing games for a year or more here or there, you may have missed out on some experiences you like.
I just don't much attention to that any more. There are so many games I
might like, I can't play them all either way. I guess that's also the reason hype has a hard time with me. I'm missing out anyway, since GOG still fails to complete the "more hours per day" entry on the wishlist:
https://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/more_time_a_few_hours_per_day_would_be_nice ;-)