@ Aver: I wasn't talking about forums, but truth be told I don't know anyone who is nerdy about games. It's true that not everyone scrutinizes games as much as so-called hardcore gamers, but everyone expects a video game to be entertaining, and having a formulaic game play structure is not entertaining for anyone. So it is frustrating when a game, e.g. ACI, presents a repetitive game play structure; nobody likes to do the same thing over and over.
It's not fair to say that modern games are wholly bad, or that much different in some aspects from games of the so-called golden era, but we have observed that their game play has a tendency to fall into a routine. I just don't believe that this tendency is as recent as we like to think. There were lazy developers back then, and there are lazy ones now.
It might feel like every form of entertainment is undergoing a creative slump, and this or that is to blame, but we only feel that way because we're living through this time; only the remarkable or outstanding is ever remembered, and perhaps our gaming era will become the golden era for another time. Besides, computer games are not in the position to have an extensive history, and describing something as the golden era at the moment is premature.
On topic though, everyone expects video games to be fun and entertaining, and game play which is repetitive or has a routine is not fun or new in games. And really, consumers are reasonably malleable, and with the right sort of presentation and persuasion they can be made willing to buy something we would not expect. So I don't believe it when people say it's the gamers' fault that games are crap nowadays, or that they are crap.