Are older games better? Or is that just the Nostalgia talking?
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It would mainly be nostalgia, but I also prefer playing older games for other reasons.
The ones I remember playing and have been playing through recently had nice stories and gameplay, and instead of alot of them being very similar to mainstream games (CoD clones and the like)
Also some games are classic, that everyone loves and remembers that haven't had anything similar in recent times (Hogs of War springs to mind)
It seems that older games also don't try to copy other games to make a profit as much.
The ones I remember playing and have been playing through recently had nice stories and gameplay, and instead of alot of them being very similar to mainstream games (CoD clones and the like)
Also some games are classic, that everyone loves and remembers that haven't had anything similar in recent times (Hogs of War springs to mind)
It seems that older games also don't try to copy other games to make a profit as much.
Depends on what you look for in a game.
If lo-res graphics and audio aren't a problem (or if, like me, you're currently restricted to such by technological limitations), then there's a world of immersive story and challenging (read, Nintendo Hard) gameplay experiences in the retro bins.
If lo-res graphics and audio aren't a problem (or if, like me, you're currently restricted to such by technological limitations), then there's a world of immersive story and challenging (read, Nintendo Hard) gameplay experiences in the retro bins.
This tbh.zpucek said:
There seems to be more "Bad" games around because It's a bigger market. The more games the higher percentage of crap there will be.
Most older games are absolute shit. I have a lot of love for my old favourites on the earlier consoles, all the way back to the Sega Master System, but with only a couple of exceptions, most of the time when I try to play a game for an older console that I didn't grow up playing, I can only stand it for a couple of minutes before I drop the controller in boredom. The further back in time, the harder the games are to play. Download an old NES game at random that you haven't played before and tell me if it's any fun.
I think it's equal parts nostalgia and having much higher standards now than I did when I was younger. So for an old favourite, I'm already completely familiar with how it works and how to play it well, but picking up an old game I haven't played before, I can't stand the clunky, slow gameplay and there's really no point in continuing.
I think it's equal parts nostalgia and having much higher standards now than I did when I was younger. So for an old favourite, I'm already completely familiar with how it works and how to play it well, but picking up an old game I haven't played before, I can't stand the clunky, slow gameplay and there's really no point in continuing.
Best story ever told in a video game: Planescape Torment (it was only decent really, but still).
Best 4X game in space ever made: Master of Orion 2 (ignoring gfx, which are still adequate btw)
Best squad based tactics: Jagged Alliance 2
Best storyfag/tactical RPG: Baldur's Gate 2 (often mediocre, but not bad, including the combat, which is rare for an RPG)
The good old phenomenon only applies for the somewhat more cerebral game genres really. I prefer my stupid action games to be recent.
Best 4X game in space ever made: Master of Orion 2 (ignoring gfx, which are still adequate btw)
Best squad based tactics: Jagged Alliance 2
Best storyfag/tactical RPG: Baldur's Gate 2 (often mediocre, but not bad, including the combat, which is rare for an RPG)
The good old phenomenon only applies for the somewhat more cerebral game genres really. I prefer my stupid action games to be recent.
Some old games are genuinely good.
I only really started playing games in late 2009 so I have absolutely no nostalgia. But I have still found some games that are both old and good.
Random examples:
- System Shock 2
- Planescape: Tormet
- Fallout 1
So yeah.
However, I still maintain that games in general are getting better.
Slowly.
...
Very slowly.
I only really started playing games in late 2009 so I have absolutely no nostalgia. But I have still found some games that are both old and good.
Random examples:
- System Shock 2
- Planescape: Tormet
- Fallout 1
So yeah.
However, I still maintain that games in general are getting better.
Slowly.
...
Very slowly.
I enjoy playing older games - probably the oldest I'd go is the NES / SMS age - anything older than that just doesn't have the same magic (with a few exceptions).
My favourite period in gaming is from about 1991 to about 1997. There's a number of things I like. I 1991 I was 9 years old and in 1997 I was 15. I like the fact that an old game is still objectively the same thing as it always was. The nostalgia of remembering when it was new and cutting edge. The fact that a lot of 16 bit games (and 32 bit 2D games) look better (to me) than a lot of new games - the bright colours and charm of stylised sprites make you feel like you are directing a live action cartoon. The fun of the timing / pacing of a lot of old games, and the challenge in an old 2d platformer, are much more fun to me that the trudge and shoot nature of many modern sand-box games.
If you're talking less old but still quite old, like the last gen - there's a lot of fun to be had examining the old catalogue of games for the PS2, Dreamcast, NGC and original Xbox when you can get most of them really cheap (especially PS2 games).
My favourite period in gaming is from about 1991 to about 1997. There's a number of things I like. I 1991 I was 9 years old and in 1997 I was 15. I like the fact that an old game is still objectively the same thing as it always was. The nostalgia of remembering when it was new and cutting edge. The fact that a lot of 16 bit games (and 32 bit 2D games) look better (to me) than a lot of new games - the bright colours and charm of stylised sprites make you feel like you are directing a live action cartoon. The fun of the timing / pacing of a lot of old games, and the challenge in an old 2d platformer, are much more fun to me that the trudge and shoot nature of many modern sand-box games.
If you're talking less old but still quite old, like the last gen - there's a lot of fun to be had examining the old catalogue of games for the PS2, Dreamcast, NGC and original Xbox when you can get most of them really cheap (especially PS2 games).
You sir, are a genius!zpucek said:
I really like System Shock 2, XCOM: UFO Defense and Earthbound too, but there are modern games I enjoy all the same. I think people who say "Good games aren't made anymore" are being blinded by nostalgia, and those who say that this generation of games is the best are... worryingly stupid.
Im thinking games along the lines of baldurs gate, dungeon keeper, majesty. (another thread is what got me thinking)
You're on to something when you talk about charm.
Games go for more realism these days, and its great when they pull it off. But when they don't, i think its to obvious for me and i just don't get a good feel for the game. If you get what i mean.
You're on to something when you talk about charm.
Games go for more realism these days, and its great when they pull it off. But when they don't, i think its to obvious for me and i just don't get a good feel for the game. If you get what i mean.
Older games aren't really better, it is largely just nostalgia. Even I can admit to that.
The potential of games has grown massively- however it is important to note that the word 'potential' was in there, that doesn't always mean they will be.
For example, compare FFVII to FFXIII. Despite being decades older, the combat system is better, the musical score is somehow more impressive, and even a lot of the scenery looks better! Comparing the Ancient Woods to anything in FXIII is rather clear evidence of this.
There is one advantage older games do have in this regard; they aren't as highly rendered, and so they can be of a larger scale. Can you imagine a modern remake of Legacy of Dragoon? It would be a quarter of the original games length, at least.
So it really does come down to finding a decent middle ground between 'ohhh this looks nice' and 'wow, this is deep'.
The potential of games has grown massively- however it is important to note that the word 'potential' was in there, that doesn't always mean they will be.
For example, compare FFVII to FFXIII. Despite being decades older, the combat system is better, the musical score is somehow more impressive, and even a lot of the scenery looks better! Comparing the Ancient Woods to anything in FXIII is rather clear evidence of this.
There is one advantage older games do have in this regard; they aren't as highly rendered, and so they can be of a larger scale. Can you imagine a modern remake of Legacy of Dragoon? It would be a quarter of the original games length, at least.
So it really does come down to finding a decent middle ground between 'ohhh this looks nice' and 'wow, this is deep'.
I'm not sure I agree with that. Here's a question: Who remembers bad old games? ... ok, not the so bad they're horrible bad (ET for the 2600, Superman 64, Big Rigs etc.) but the truly mediocre old games? The games that really struck a chord or were enjoyable to play were remembered, while the rest (again barring the truly horrible) were forgotten.CaptQuakers said:
No. I recently replayed KOTOR, an even though it's still a really good game, the story and characters aren't as impressive when held up to the standards now set by games like Red Dead: Redemption, Mass Effect and Dragon Age or Heavy Rain. The character interaction is also a bit... cryptic. It's very possible to miss out entirely on certain character interactions, if they're not with you at the exactly correct place and time(This is even more true in Sith Lords, though I think it's the superior of the two, upon revisiting(It's depressing as all fuck and doesn't resolve a damn thing though)).
That, coupled with the constant Fuck-around-until-the-plot-shows-back-up segments that are often still present in RPG's, repetitive environments and enemies dragged through lengthy fucking dungeon crawls make me thankful for Mass Effect 2's "Wham, Bam, thank you ma'em" approach to quests.
There are also numerous smaller design and balancing issues that seem obvious and silly in this day and age.
KOTOR II holds up a bit better, but it makes up for it's depth with it's god awful habit of never fucking resolving things. Most of the relationships in the game feel both played out and unfinished. I was only half way through the game and I felt like I had gotten everything I could out of my companions, and yet I still feel like there were things left unsaid.
I think that games(The good ones) have gotten better in relation to the expectations of players, it's just that, thanks to games like KOTOR, we expect things like intriguingly design and emotional depth in our RPG's. We forget how rare those things are, not just among games but in films and books as well.
These games will always hold an untouchable place in our hearts, they're remnants of Christmastime mornings awoken in anticipation culminating in surprise of the new Star Wars game that "Santa" left you. A time when the world held more mystery and magic, when the prospect of the 10 years you had before you were shipped off to college to become another cog in the machine was a distant thought at the edge of your mind, you were elsewhere, finding the last of the Jedi!, what awaits Frodo at Mt. Doom?, how will Harry survive the Chamber of Secrets?. These thoughts still echo, remind us of the mysteries long since answered, and how much more fulfilling they were when we didn't know the answers.
Nothing will ever be able walk on the grounds those things did, for what we remember isn't the games, but the waking moments at the dawn of life, when the world had so much to offer, and we so much time to explore it.
But now we see the bigger picture, KOTOR is a collection of 1's and 0's, Santa Clause is a fairytale and Spider-Man is a comic book, and you have to get up for work tomorrow but you've spent your night replaying a game you finished seven years ago!.
The nostalgia shades will never come off, we need those moments to remind us who we are,and if we can imagine that the world really was brighter back then, that quality control was consistent and that Santa was real, all the better!
That, coupled with the constant Fuck-around-until-the-plot-shows-back-up segments that are often still present in RPG's, repetitive environments and enemies dragged through lengthy fucking dungeon crawls make me thankful for Mass Effect 2's "Wham, Bam, thank you ma'em" approach to quests.
There are also numerous smaller design and balancing issues that seem obvious and silly in this day and age.
KOTOR II holds up a bit better, but it makes up for it's depth with it's god awful habit of never fucking resolving things. Most of the relationships in the game feel both played out and unfinished. I was only half way through the game and I felt like I had gotten everything I could out of my companions, and yet I still feel like there were things left unsaid.
I think that games(The good ones) have gotten better in relation to the expectations of players, it's just that, thanks to games like KOTOR, we expect things like intriguingly design and emotional depth in our RPG's. We forget how rare those things are, not just among games but in films and books as well.
These games will always hold an untouchable place in our hearts, they're remnants of Christmastime mornings awoken in anticipation culminating in surprise of the new Star Wars game that "Santa" left you. A time when the world held more mystery and magic, when the prospect of the 10 years you had before you were shipped off to college to become another cog in the machine was a distant thought at the edge of your mind, you were elsewhere, finding the last of the Jedi!, what awaits Frodo at Mt. Doom?, how will Harry survive the Chamber of Secrets?. These thoughts still echo, remind us of the mysteries long since answered, and how much more fulfilling they were when we didn't know the answers.
Nothing will ever be able walk on the grounds those things did, for what we remember isn't the games, but the waking moments at the dawn of life, when the world had so much to offer, and we so much time to explore it.
But now we see the bigger picture, KOTOR is a collection of 1's and 0's, Santa Clause is a fairytale and Spider-Man is a comic book, and you have to get up for work tomorrow but you've spent your night replaying a game you finished seven years ago!.
The nostalgia shades will never come off, we need those moments to remind us who we are,and if we can imagine that the world really was brighter back then, that quality control was consistent and that Santa was real, all the better!
depends largely on the genre, for example some my favorite genres arent represented in a proper way anymore (these include Turnbased Tactics, Tactical RPG, Simulations, Business Games)
These are Genres that suffer greatly from the change of emphasis in games; Style over Substance and the compulsion that the Industry tries to make every bigger game accessible for even the greatest moron which leads to a lower overall quality gamemechanic wise...
In other Genres i don't mind this change that much because i can enjoy a simple and shiny Fun FPS shooter in contrast to a simple and shiny Strategy game.
These are Genres that suffer greatly from the change of emphasis in games; Style over Substance and the compulsion that the Industry tries to make every bigger game accessible for even the greatest moron which leads to a lower overall quality gamemechanic wise...
In other Genres i don't mind this change that much because i can enjoy a simple and shiny Fun FPS shooter in contrast to a simple and shiny Strategy game.
I think video games and music are very similar. Currently in the music world people view all modern music as crap by default and will rant about how great all old music from the 70s was. The only reason this is true is because the best music of that time period has had time to be recognized as such. There was plenty of crap from the era of classic rock too. Video games are exactly like this. Older games have had time to be recognized as garbage or not, while the newer ones really have not. There are modern games that will be recognized as the "Goldeneye 007 of this time period", but they just have not had time to sit and be recognized as true gems. Examples are Call of Duty 4, Portal, and a bunch of others. Just wait 10 years, and all of these games will be recognized as being as good or better than all of the classics that are staples in the industry.