Have old games aged well?

[Alhazred]

Graphics never bothered me. If a game looks particularly dated then I can just laugh at the silly looking character models and environments. And besides, the less spent on graphics, the more time can be spent on gameplay.

 

[Luca72]

To me it has more to do with controls than graphics. I couldn't imagine a game better than Goldeneye when I was 7 or 8, but it's unplayable now. I can deal with the dated graphics, but the controls are a mess.

In a similar way Ocarina of Time is hard for me to go back to. I have fond memories of exploring every inch of that world, so I'm not saying it's a bad game. But now that I'm older I'm more concerned with beating the game - going through it's "obstacle course". And OoT is a lot more bland than I thought.

On the other hand, I love Majora's Mask as much if not more than when I was a kid. It's gameplay was a lot more varied and the design was so out there that it doesn't seem aged.

I tried Deus Ex for the first time in 2011 and it's now one of my favorite video games ever. Terrible, terrible graphics, but tight gameplay with variety unlike anything I've ever seen. And obviously there's Half Life (any of the games really) where I find it impossible to be bored because almost every room has a unique style of gameplay.

Jet Force Gemini on N64 is another one that's never gotten old - excellent visuals and music, and mindlessly fun shooting combined with exploration.

 

[Conn1496]

Most consoles aged well, actually. Especially Nintendo consoles. It's mainly down to the "cartoony" graphics of most Nintendo console games having no real boundries to what they have to look like, so most games look fine.

 

[Nazulu]

I've only had difficulty enjoying some classics on the N64, like Golden Eye 64. Other than the blocky designs, yeah, no problem. As long as I can tell whats going on I don't have a problem that is.

 

[DioWallachia]

I've just booted up my old PS2 and played some old games and I have a few words to say. ARRRGGGHHHH MY EYES! I am of course referring the games graphics being like looking very pix elated while I still have memories if them being some of the best I've seen.

So escapist's what do you think? Do you know any old games that make you want want to tear out your eye-balls? Or maybe some games which you think have aged well and still look good?

Load up Soul Reaver 2, God Hand, Shadow of The Colossus and Strecht Panic and graphics problem be-gone.

 

[OpticalJunction]

There's a game called everyday shooter which looks like it's from the 90's and still is a lot of fun. It's a very simple click shoot kill flash type game, but I enjoyed it more than some of the more recent games like dead space. Sonic the hedgehog is still fun to play even now, and that's been out for like 15 years, if not more.

 

[Dryk]

I can play any game as long it still plays alright and I can't deal with the controls. Graphics aging doesn't bother me unless they don't convey things to me properly.

I also find that games that realise the limitations of their system and work with them instead of trying to push them age much faster than games that don't.

To me it has more to do with controls than graphics. I couldn't imagine a game better than Goldeneye when I was 7 or 8, but it's unplayable now. I can deal with the dated graphics, but the controls are a mess.

Yeah I can't play it anymore either, the tank controls are just weird and I can't get my head around them. Same with classic Doom controls I need to use a mouse for turning left and right.

 

[Humble Grapefruit]

I feel like a lot of old games get way more hype than they should. I definitely have no problem playing older games, if I like them, but I feel like more people like them...just to like them.

 

[Im_not_Akira]

I think it depends on a lot more than just the graphics seen as Goldeneye is still one of my favourite games of all time, but older 3D games do typically age a lot worse than 2D games ever really did.

 

[tsb247]

FarCry, Doom 3, and F.E.A.R. still look pretty good to me! I would argue that they have aged VERY well.

Sadly, Deus Ex, while awesome, still makes me want to tear out my eyes.

EDIT: I almost forgot! The original Carrier Command still looks great as well for a game that came out in the 80s. Seriously, it was WAY ahead of its time, and despite looking dated now, it is still fun to play!

 

[Keneth]

I fired up my old PS1 copy of Final Fantasy Tactics a while back. It is such a fantastic game. Localization is terrible and the storyline is a convoluted mess, but I can still sit and play it for hours on end.

Another game I'm still playing on a regular basis is Alpha Centauri. It's basically "Civilization II: In Space" but it's just an all around amazing game in my opinion.

There are quite a few old games that I drag out of my collection and still enjoy:

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Vagrant Story
Metal Gear Solid 1
Hellgate: London
Starcraft 1
Spyro the Dragon
Legend of Dragoon
Disgaea
Beyond Good and Evil
Worms: Armageddon
Twisted Metal II
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Final Fantasy (all of them)
Shining Force
Shogun: Total War

The list goes on and on and on. I'm most certainly in the Gameplay >>>> Graphics crowd.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

Old graphics don't bother me as long as the game and story hold up. Games like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex are good examples.

 

[ComradeJim270]

As far as graphics are concerned, games in general age like milk. Nearly all games look outdated in five years... most in less and a select few somehow manage to still look pretty good a little longer than that. Gameplay, on the other hand, is a lot less predictable. Some gameplay feels dated a year later, some never does. It varies to much to make a general statement on whether games age well. Some do, some don't. I don't think you can even make a general statement on a genre. To me, Doom feels like it's aged better than... oh, let's say Halo CE. Same genre, but I can play Doom without ever thinking that it feels old. It just feels like Doom, and that's it.

There are other things that make a game feel old, though. A personal example that comes to mind for me is Command & Conquer. The very first one. It's very hard for me to play it now because I become frustrated at my inability to do certain things (e.g. assign a group of units to a number key). It does indeed feel like it's aged poorly. It's a problem with the interface. C&C Red Alert doesn't have better graphics, has only slightly different gameplay, and is only a year newer, yet it doesn't put me off simply because it has these interface features that are now expected of every single RTS.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I think if they are animated or artwork they have a lot more of a lifespan than pixelated (early 80's Atari games look horrid) or 3D games. 16 bit games are good too.

ASCII games are a different matter I guess.

 

[Wintermoot]

some games age well like HL1 or Metal Slug

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

It's been said before, but it bears repeating: graphics get out of date quickly, but good writing and gameplay last.

I'm still more than happy to play my old games. And since I've never got rid of any of my gaming devices (aside from PC upgrades ofc), I can play anything whenever I want. The other day, it was Gods on the Amiga. Yeah, it's all 2D platforming and plinky plonky midi music. Doesn't stop it from being really bloody good. FFVII's character models are definitely showing their age, but I still get a buzz from playing through.

All you really need is a slightly smaller TV for some of this stuff. Personally, I don't care about sprites r top down views or isometric layouts or 2D. But then, I remember Chuckie Egg, so from that perspective, anything s an improvement.