I just have a general question, Im not a huge gamer but I own a 360 elite and PS3, last games I played were bioshock and COD.

With GTA 4, and Metal Gear solid coming out I am getting back into the gaming world.

However I was just curious if there are still alot of games on the market that dont let you alter brightness. I just calibrated my set and have the perfect black level for movie viewing, and I dont want to touch it. Typically in games like bioshock and COD 4 I could adjust brightness. I was just wondering as I get more into gaming again, do most games offer a brightness control, I was hoping it would be standard now.

I just remember condemed I dont think had a brightness control that I recall and I had a terrible time messing with the settings and it turned me off to game as I didnt want to tweak my set.

Condemned - Criminal Origins has a brightness control. I finally got around to playing it this last week. Beat it last night even! Well worth it. :)

As for brightness being controllable in every game? Nope. That is likely to always be a rather inconsistent thing to find in games. You could always just google up the manual for the game before you buy it, and see what it says about the Options menu.

^^^ Yup. Not every game, but many. But if it's important to the gameplay (as in Bioshock) or if the developer is kind (as in CoD4), there will be an in-game brightness control.

I just remember condemed I dont think had a brightness control that I recall and I had a terrible time messing with the settings and it turned me off to game as I didnt want to tweak my set.There is definitely a brightness control for both Condemned games. Getting the brightness just right is a huge part of the game. You regularly have to change the in-game brightness control to account for the time of day and/or indoor lighting. Crucial.

If that's all that kept you from playing Condemned, you should absolutely give it another shot. The brightness control is very easy to set since it uses a series of black bars to help you calibrate. Condemned 2 is a bit stupider in its calibration controls because you're supposed to make a set of eyes "just visible" in the background. Still works fine, though. Just not as precisely.

I also want it to be standard. Why should I mess with my tv settings?

In COD 4, I actually had to turn up the brightness from the reccommended settings (used reference image) because on alot of maps, I cant see without night vision.

Doesn't your TV have different presets for each input?

Doesn't your TV have different presets for each input?Not all games are created equal. Some need brightness adjustments; some don't.

Bigger issue, though, is that if you run stuff through an AVR, having different input presets doesn't help. Everything going through the AVR has one preset; for me that's all five of my consoles (and my PS3's DVD/BR player). Then you have to rely on your TV having a wide array of custom presets independent of the inputs (mine doesn't).

Yep Everything going to monoprice hdmi matrix switch, to my RX-V661 HDMI AVR, one hdmi cable out for all my viewing.

I am hoping also when the realta scaler comes out soon, that it will also convert my wii component connection to HDMI as well.

One hdmi cable to my 65PZ750U panasonic is how Im setting it up anyway. It will handle all my equipment. Xa2, PS3, 360, HD PVR, HTPC.

I was actually reading endgadget said that all games should have a calibration menu before you begin.

I like a good black level which is not always as good for videogames. Especially multiplayer maps that are dark.

I assumed most games come with a brightness setting however, do you guys know of any games recently youd have liked one, that didnt come with a brightness setting?

Devil May Cry 4 has no brightness setting, just a screen with reference bars to use to adjust your set's brightness. Kind of annoying, because DMC4 seems way brighter than normal.

From what I understand...It is fairly common to have brightness controls but it is not mandatory. I also wish every game had sound controls where I can turn down or off music in games for a more realistic feel. Oh god I would have killed a way to mute the beggars in Assassins Creed. LOL