Classic Gaming: A Rant
Most people today play games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3. But a lot of you people will read this and say something along the lines of “Ome-ga, no dude!? I play games that are different and a lot of people don’t really play like Fallout 3 and Oblivion.” Oh really now? That’s cool, and different, seeing as they were being hyped up and discussed about all over the internet and video game magazines starting when their development was first announced, even now that they are both released talked about all over the place. They are definitely not unheard of. On top of that, they are both sequels to superior games. Morrowind is better than Oblivion. Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 are both better than Fallout 3. Don’t get me wrong though, people. These newer games are great games and very well made, and people who like them aren’t wrong. It’s just a matter of personal of preference. My only point is that nowadays it seems that developers sacrifice content and/or creativity so that they can focus on stunning HD visuals and/or great online multiplayer.
In general the newer games are, it seems the less hours of single-player game play it has. Even games that don’t have multiplayer seem to have less game play hours compared to older games. Sure, there are DLC’s for newer games, but this seems to just give developers an excuse to make a the initial game at release not that long and also the DLC’s are just more money for the gamer to have to spend.
Call it old fashioned, but the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis era was the best era in the history of video games. Chrono Trigger, Super Mario World, Phantasy Star IV, The Lost Vikings, Earthbound, Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past, and Super Metroid. All these games had either deep immersing plots or fun quirky ones, and sometimes both. The characters on these games were memorable and unique, not cliché like so many of the characters from today’s games. The villains on these past games too are great. They were evil, cunning, and sometimes hilarious and goofy. Other than the SNES and Genesis era, we have the NES era and the PSX and N64 era (no, my order of discussion here is not chronological). The NES games were all games that you could just pick up and play. Mario, Final Fantasy, Metroid, and Zelda all have their roots in this system. The PSX and N64 have some of the most highly praised games to this day. If you were Final Fantasy VII and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are both receive praise from countless games as perfect.
I can go on about this for days, but at this point all you readers are probably feeling like my ranting is some kind of cruel punishment for that piece of bubble gum you stole from the grocery when you were five. If I were to go on with this, you will probably feel like you are in Hell with Satan telling you about his tastes in video games while you are there waiting hours to relieve yourself by unleashing the most voracious piss in your life. My rambling is done!
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There are a number of faulty assumptions in this rant. First, I’ve never heard anyone say that they play non-mainstream games, and then mention Oblivion or Fallout 3 as examples.
Second, your entire sample size of current gen titles consist of two first person shooters and two first person RPG’s. Generic shooters existed on the PSX and the N64 as well.
Third, you give no explanation as to why Morrowind is superior to Oblivion or as to why Fallout 1 & 2 are superior to Fallout 3. We are simply asked to take you on faith. Fallout 3 is particularly hard to compare to previous games in the series because there was a complete generation, genre, and developer swap between the installments.
Fourth, if you are going to talk about current games that don’t deliver a lengthy single player experience, you shouldn’t bring up Fallout 3 or Oblivion. These games have extensive single player modes and have huge possibilities for re-playability. I’ve personally sunk over 100 hours of gameplay into Oblivion itself.
Fifth, fun, quirky plots are available in current-gen gaming as well, you just have to know where to look. Games like No More Heroes, Odin Sphere, Braid, Portal, Bayonetta, and Brutal Legend all present interesting characters and new types of gameplay.
Sixth, it is impossible to rate older games now without factoring in nostalgia. LOZ: Ocarina of Time is certainly a classic, but it has a number of gameplay flaws that would be unacceptable today. The camera system is borderline unusable, there is an exorbitant amount of time spent wandering around the grassy plains, and the Underwater Temple is considered one of the most frustrating sections of any LOZ game.
Finally, it is easy to pick the best game of previous generations because the ones that are excellent are remembered, and the ones that were terrible fade away. I owned both a SNES and a Genesis, and played terrible games for both. Remember that with each new console generation, there will be somebody telling you that the previous one was better. It happened when N64 and PSX came out, it happened with the Gamecube, Xbox, and PS2, and it is happening again. Remember, the best games ever were on the Atari 2600! Frogger for life!
Comment by Patrick — April 23, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
Atari 2600?
Psh! The original arcade version was so much better!
Comment by Will — April 25, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
I was merely ranting. I had a lot of assumptions there lacking fact behind it. But I enjoy ranting and I hope you enjoyed finding my inaccuracies, Patrick. I’ve known people who have put 400 hours into Morrowind. Just saying. Oblivion is fun too though.
Comment by Tyler — April 29, 2010 @ 6:14 pm