I remember getting all excited when Alpha Centauri and Baldur's Gate 2 were released, thinking games were all now of such amazing quality...

I think there certainly is some truth in the idea that multiplayer has had a bad effect on singleplayer experiences. I've always been more into PC games than console because, well, I'm a complete hopeless case of nerd and consoles games are just too accessible or simple -so yes I've not been too impressed with console porting (with the notable exception of the exellent GTA series).

There are also very few "new" games. Most releases these days seem to be XXXXXX 2, 5 or 17. That said, there was a frogger 2 and prince of persia 3 (if not more) just on the PC...

Being on the stardock Elemental beta, I've been enjoying the accessible and consultative approach the developers have to their game -which is refreshing and engaging -as it was with M&B. Stardock have been speaking about the dearth of innovation and focus on evolution too, I'm not going to get too excited about Elemental yet though...