no. i have tried going back to games that i loved when i was younger and i have found them to be lame now. Tomb Raider, Small Soldiers, Hogs of War, all crap but back in the day i was constantly playing them. games are definitely getting better
Question of the Day, April 28, 2010
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
I find that it is the style of game that is different. I do not believe they are "better" and do not believe they are worse. Just the games have changed. Now with better processing power the games tend to tend to be more about atmosphere, action and immersion. Older games lacking for the most part voice, musical intensity (though a few old games do have rocking soundtracks) and complex animations they had to rely more on complex stories and how do I put it... better mechanics (not really the word I'm looking for but it will do). They had to focus more on entertaining platforming and fighting etc... can't quite get my exact thought down but I hope you get what I mean.
I'm reluctant to vote either way. I do agree that, games are getting progressively...different, and not in a way I'm entirely comfortable with, there has not been in recent memory say, a game to rival Planescape: Torment or Deus Ex. However, This is not to say these games don't, or won't ever exist, just that I've found these 'genre defining' epics to be few and far between.
That golden age of experimentation is long gone and we now sit in that odd little period where incessant refinement and recombination rules.
That golden age of experimentation is long gone and we now sit in that odd little period where incessant refinement and recombination rules.
Gaming, as a whole, is great and getting better. With each step in technology the designers have the ability to create better and better games. Now, that's not to say they don't create some monumental garbage as well, but the tools are there to make better games.
Some of the best games ever made are behind us, but there are even more ahead of us, or being played now. Thief 2, System Shock 2, and Chrono Trigger were sublime, but then I also recently finished Dead Space and loved it, and am eagerly awaiting Red Dead Redemption and Alan Wake.
I'd have to say there are a lot of good games, both now and then. Same with bad games. You can't say that there weren't any games back then that weren't absolutely terrible, and the same goes for today. For the most part, it's all a matter of taste/opinion. For both then and now, there are many games which have changed the course of gaming, that have set a new standard. Some games from then will never die, and some games from now will never die.
Although I voted "Yes, games were much better back in the day." I don't know if I can honestly say that. I don't know if they were really better back in the day, but I do know that they sure don't make them like they used to (to coin a phrase). I don't know if I can really put my finger on it, but something has changed, and I'm not talking about the advancement in graphics technology. It's like something is missing I guess. I don't know, as I said I can't quite put my finger on it.
I believe right now gaming as a whole is rising even thanks to all the casual style games coming up. It's bringing a variety of people into gaming easing them into our culture.
I consider it less a question of which would you rather play than which wuld your rather re-play. Games might look better and have the bells and whistles and everything, but I've heard numerous people say they just play a game to the finish and sell it at gamestop, whereas, most of us still go back to Super Metroid, or one of the early Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest games. I'd rather have Mario 3 than Mario Galaxy, Super Metroid over Prime, and Link to the past over Twilight Princess.
Games today don't qite feel as fresh, probably because so many games just clone each other. I love God of war 3, but it realy did nothing new.
Games today don't qite feel as fresh, probably because so many games just clone each other. I love God of war 3, but it realy did nothing new.
Gaming WILL be better when Gary rises again to.... er... serve his... um--nerds.
Dammit, I had something for this, and it sounded so GOOD in my head.
Dammit, I had something for this, and it sounded so GOOD in my head.
While you can certainly hold nostalgia for how games were in the past, overall, I'd say that overall games have only improved.
There's no question that the games of the past were great. Amazing. Stuff of the gods. But the main reason why some think that current games aren't nearly as good as their 2D predecessors might not be that they're just not as fun.
Well, technically fun IS the key factor.
Let's face it, when the original games came out, they blew everybody away. No one could comprehend the shear awesomeness of a video game. People were ecstatic. People waited in lines for hours on end for the new Super Mario to be released, with it's tiny cubes of color, lasting even more hours than those spent waiting. The hype was incredible.
The generation who loved those games might not like todays games because they don't bring the same excitement. Not to say that these new games aren't exciting. I personally waited in line for a good few hours to get my copy of Halo 3: ODST and loved every minute of it. The somewhat older group of gamers have been around since the first "Glory Days" of gaming, so now it may seem like they've seen it all. Newer games just don't bring them the fun that Zelda, Super Mario, or, hell, even Pacman, brought.
I myself think games can only get better. I grew up with the Sega GENESIS and N64 and they were the coolest things I ever say at the time. Since then, my experience with games and gaming as a whole has only improved.
The fun and excitement is still there. I for one, haven't lost it. Gaming will keep getting better and better from here. Hopefully everyone who thinks that the quality of games has been lost will be able to pick up a controller and find that quality once again.
Well, technically fun IS the key factor.
Let's face it, when the original games came out, they blew everybody away. No one could comprehend the shear awesomeness of a video game. People were ecstatic. People waited in lines for hours on end for the new Super Mario to be released, with it's tiny cubes of color, lasting even more hours than those spent waiting. The hype was incredible.
The generation who loved those games might not like todays games because they don't bring the same excitement. Not to say that these new games aren't exciting. I personally waited in line for a good few hours to get my copy of Halo 3: ODST and loved every minute of it. The somewhat older group of gamers have been around since the first "Glory Days" of gaming, so now it may seem like they've seen it all. Newer games just don't bring them the fun that Zelda, Super Mario, or, hell, even Pacman, brought.
I myself think games can only get better. I grew up with the Sega GENESIS and N64 and they were the coolest things I ever say at the time. Since then, my experience with games and gaming as a whole has only improved.
The fun and excitement is still there. I for one, haven't lost it. Gaming will keep getting better and better from here. Hopefully everyone who thinks that the quality of games has been lost will be able to pick up a controller and find that quality once again.
I think that there is still great games coming out, but I wouldn't see a difference between the great games of today compared to the great games of yesterday. The industry has still a long to go yet.
Sortof. I believe gaming is getting better, and besides, it's not like you CAN'T play the classics with your friends. N64's still work, you can still get alot of old games to work on PC. Nowadays you have alot more options. Games these days are still very fun.
On a slightly different note, I think perhaps MY days of gaming have gone past their prime. Lifes getting more busy and more serious, and gaming isn't going to play as major of a part. I'll still keep it up, it's something I enjoy, and hopefully will be able to find some good mates to share that passtime with.
On a slightly different note, I think perhaps MY days of gaming have gone past their prime. Lifes getting more busy and more serious, and gaming isn't going to play as major of a part. I'll still keep it up, it's something I enjoy, and hopefully will be able to find some good mates to share that passtime with.
The games?
The games do keep getting better.
Some great franchises seem to have peaked last gen (GTA, Burnout) but overall, games keep getting better.
The consoles on the other hand, those keep getting worse.
Last time I went shopping for one I had to decide between a machine with great support that breaks half the time and a well built console that gets horrible (like the opposite of) support. Maybe they're just trying to do too much with them: because features included at launch have become broken or removed altogether.
The games do keep getting better.
Some great franchises seem to have peaked last gen (GTA, Burnout) but overall, games keep getting better.
The consoles on the other hand, those keep getting worse.
Last time I went shopping for one I had to decide between a machine with great support that breaks half the time and a well built console that gets horrible (like the opposite of) support. Maybe they're just trying to do too much with them: because features included at launch have become broken or removed altogether.