I'll admit it - I like newer games

[Schwaltzvald]

holy fuck I have GOT to try this level

Here it is!

[The Coop]

I'm right there with you, except I can't even look at a PS2/XBOX game without going "bleh, this is ugly." Playing these newer games has spoiled me. What can I say? I'm a graphics whore. The only time I'd play an older game is maybe at work on my PSP. Even then, I'd usually rather watch a movie.

You look at games like Final Fantasy XII, Okami, Otagi 2 and Ninja Gaiden Black, and think they're ugly?

...

YOU MAKE-A ME SMACK YOU!

But in all seriousness, I don't have a problem with the newer games. Never have. But when I sit down to play, I don't find myself jumping to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, as much as I do Beyond Oasis, Metal Slug, or Ultimate Doom. I've yet to get to play (aka buy) games like Gears of War, Fallout 3 or even Bioshock for my PC, though I will at some point (I hope). But I think part of what pulls me back to the older titles is simply this... some genres have been all but forgotten.

We've puzzle games, fighting games, and FPSs coming out of our collective asses, but where are the platformers? The Run 'N Guns? The good ol' side scrolling beat'em ups? And for the love of God, where the hell are all the shmups? Sure, the latter is doing reasonably well(ish) in Japan, but look how few have come to The States. And really, even fewer are actually able to be purchased as a product you can hold in your hand.

I'll be honest here. This whole downloadable games and downloadable content stuff just doesn't sit well with me. If I spend money on a game, I expect to be able to hold that product in my hand. The idea of loosing it because my hard drive committed suicide isn't very unappealing, and neither is the idea of redownloading it when it's something measured in GB. Couple that with how everything seems to have some kind of downloadable content, and it just makes the games feel like you're getting less for your money (until you fork out more of course for that DLC... which usually pops up a week later, if not sooner).

I'd love to finally get to play Halo 3, Raiden Fighters Aces and RPGs like Blue Dragon when I have the money to get a 360. But I'm not very enamored with the direction gaming's headed with all this DLC and such. The games themselves don't turn me off, but the way they're being distributed and taken apart so more can be "offered" later, does.

[Schwaltzvald]

I'm not very enamored with the direction gaming's headed with all this DLC and such. The games themselves don't turn me off, but the way they're being distributed and taken apart so more can be "offered" later, does.

Get the PS3 then.

[BooDidley7]

But I'm not very enamored with the direction gaming's headed with all this DLC and such. The games themselves don't turn me off, but the way they're being distributed and taken apart so more can be "offered" later, does.

May these words echo through the Ages. I hate how people seem increasingly conditioned to clamor for the opportunity to be ripped on DLC. Namco leaves your character grid in SC4 incomplete unless buy the unlock key for the character that shipped on the disk. It gets so much worse I'll never stop, so I'll stop here.

On topic, I think there some great games this current generation, but at the same time, there are just so many titles that get lauded and are entirely mediocre (almost everything by Ubisoft for example) and it feels like there's just so much more soulless crap out there.

There is something about a lot of "me too" 3-D games that just feels so blank and impersonal, whereas in 2D games I feel more connected to what's going on. Not that games like Fallout 3 and Mario Galaxy aren't drawing me into their worlds, but so many others just can't.

I think in general the music of the old 8-bit and 16-bit and even some of the 32-bit stuff was better, because the tunes themselves had to be so much more memorable because they had less to work with and still found ways to be great. Part of the reason why they're so ripe for awesome remixing is because they're so simple yet so deep. Although, Daisuke Ishiwatari, Martin O'Donnell, and others have certainly given us some great stuff in recent years.

[Penfold]

I know what Sixto is saying. I started playing Shadow of the Colossus a while ago, and it was hard for me to get past how terrible it looks - jaggies everywhere. It's not a sleight on the art design, it's a comment on how lacking the hardware is. In the case of Shadow of the Colossus, it's still a solid and fun game despite those technical flaws (and ineffective camera).

I'm not sure if I'm following what the point of this thread is - that some people can get into newer games more than older games? Ok, that's great.

[EdgeCrusher]

For me, I think I enjoy the intial run through of current gen gaming. Its amazing seeing new stuff, playing new levels, exploring. But once I beat it, it really has no replay value.

Old games, NES/SNES/Genesis are the opposite to me. The replayability of the games I've beat many times over the course of my life are still enjoyable. But if I were to try to play a game that I didn't play before from the NES era, it takes a lot for me to like it. So its essentially a reversal of roles. But I enjoy both at some point.

[prophetik music]

I know what Sixto is saying. I started playing Shadow of the Colossus a while ago, and it was hard for me to get past how terrible it looks - jaggies everywhere. It's not a sleight on the art design, it's a comment on how lacking the hardware is. In the case of Shadow of the Colossus, it's still a solid and fun game despite those technical flaws (and ineffective camera).

I'm not sure if I'm following what the point of this thread is - that some people can get into newer games more than older games? Ok, that's great.

i was going to mention this, too. SotC is such a unique game, but i can't get past how...squared off everything looks.

and yes, coop, i'm saying that XII looked bad. did you even look at Vaan's face during a non-rendered cutscene? he looks like his face fell off and was glued back on or something.

[theshaggyfreak]

I don't really have an affinity towards newer or older games but I do feel that there are too many current games that lack substance. It has been getting better as of late, though. I just can't get into most of the FPS or MMORPGs. Stuff like Shadow Complex has really grabbed my attention and I'm hoping to see more like it.

[Dhsu]

i was going to mention this, too. SotC is such a unique game, but i can't get past how...squared off everything looks.

and yes, coop, i'm saying that XII looked bad. did you even look at Vaan's face during a non-rendered cutscene? he looks like his face fell off and was glued back on or something.

If you're playing these games on a PS2, that might have something to do with it, since HDTVs are not kind to lower-resolution graphics. My suggestion is to play them on a backwards-compatible PS3 or just use an SDTV. Using component cables and enabling progressive scan on games that support it (such as SotC) would probably help too.

[Gollgagh]

Here it is!

yeah I've done Go2it on nightmare a few times, nowhere near that fast though

I love the hell out of levels with forty metric fucktons of enemies

[Schwaltzvald]

Gonna post more pwads to check out then.

IMO they are overlooked over here and that needs to be changed >:L.

If only to show old school gaming is still awesome.

[Flare4War]

my first console i bought for myself was my 360. i just don't want to go back, now.

Check out XBox Live Arcade. They are remaking a lot of the classics with improved graphics, sound, and even game play and I must say I've been having a blast with them the past month.

SF II HDRemix

Ninja Turtles IV Re-Shelled (tons of fun if you have someone to play it with you)

1942 Joint Strike (An absolute blast if you have someone to win it with you)

R-Type

Geometry Wars HD

Puzzle Games (tons of them)

and many more.

You should really go browse through them. That said, I'm with you on the newer game thing. Ninja Gaiden II and Mass Effect.. Ahhhhh, yeah buddy. Good memories tied to those.

[Devyn]

This is fine as there's something about getting upclose to ur prey rather than being a safe distance away free from fear and danger.

Nonetheless I missed out on the xbox ninja gaidens due to my loathing on the Xbox. :L

The Xbox ninja gaidens are really good, but they have few similarities to the original trilogy. Though if Team Ninja were to take the series to its roots, I would shit my pants in glee.

Anyway, I have nothing against space marines, just the smug-looking ones and the fact that they're in every other game now. Like this guy in Starcraft 2.

http://www.starcraft2.com/art.xml?s=96

[Gollgagh]

olol I thought he had his faceplate down so I was wondering how the hell he was smoking that cigar

[The Coop]

and yes, coop, i'm saying that XII looked bad. did you even look at Vaan's face during a non-rendered cutscene? he looks like his face fell off and was glued back on or something.

Are you sure we played the same game?

Anyway, it's your choice. I won't bash you over the head for it or anything. But I can say that you're going to be missing out on a hell of a lot of good gaming if you can't get past the graphics. From the Master System/NES on up, there are many, many great games to be enjoyed. But if pixels and jaggies bother you to point of staying away from a game because of them, it really is your loss... whether you believe it to be or not.

[Flare4War]

The Xbox ninja gaidens are really good, but they have few similarities to the original trilogy. Though if Team Ninja were to take the series to its roots, I would shit my pants in glee.

You gotta admit though, Tecmo did the right thing going the route they did on the second and third gen consoles. Anyone who considers themselves a hardcore gamer and hasn't won Ninja Gaiden Black on at least the Normal setting should denounce their title.

I'm just kidding but I'm serious.

[Devyn]

You gotta admit though, Tecmo did the right thing going the route they did on the second and third gen consoles. Anyone who considers themselves a hardcore gamer and hasn't won Ninja Gaiden Black on at least the Normal setting should denounce their title.

I'm just kidding but I'm serious.

I think they did a great job on all of the Ninja Gaidens. Even the gameboy game is pretty good. I'm just saying that a 2.5 dimensioned oldschool-style Ninja Gaiden would be super awesome.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Too bad they'll never have Itagaki on Ninja Gaiden III.

I also agree with Flare. I think Team Ninja(and thus Tecmo) made the right choice by taking Ninja Gaiden in the direction they did.

[8BitBliss]

see, my first console was an n64 - and i had very few games for it, and sold it for pc games pretty quickly. i had an xbox for KOTOR, fable, madden, and halo, but my first console i bought for myself was my 360. i just don't want to go back, now.

i've played games like chrono trigger, and i really enjoyed the visuals for that game too - they didn't do more than what the system was capable of, i thought, which made it more fun.

Guys and gals, everybody stop the discussion right here.

His first console was N64 with limited games, even then he sold it for pc games. So his first real system that he got into was Xbox.

Sorry Mephistio, like it was stated by Sould Sprint. Nothing beats Nostalgia. So while most of us here were really into games way back in the ATARI/NES SNES/SEGA days.

You missed the train by about 10-12 years.

That is probably why you don't like older games.

/thread

[Flare4War]

Too bad they'll never have Itagaki on Ninja Gaiden III.

Yeah it really sucks he was the heart and sole of the difficulty and the bad assness of Ryu. I hope Team Ninja holds it together without him.

There is rumors Itagaki is developing something though. There may be hope yet.

[Bahamut]

Doesn't explain why I like newer games, and I've been gaming since the NES era.

[Flare4War]

Sorry Mephistio, like it was stated by Sould Sprint. Nothing beats Nostalgia. So while most of us here were really into games way back in the ATARI/NES SNES/SEGA days.

You missed the train by about 10-12 years.

That is probably why you don't like older games.

/thread

This is also why you should check out all of the HD remakes of the classics on XBox Live Arcade.

[8BitBliss]

Doesn't explain why I like newer games, and I've been gaming since the NES era.

This thread wasn't about you bahamut, it was about the OP mephisto

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

I like old games for their difficulty. Simple yet challenging games are just plain more replayable than easy games. To illustrate, I played Super Mario World a dozen times (maybe more), but I was finished with New Super Mario Bros, a comparatively much easier game, after the first couple run-throughs. On top of that, in the old days programmers put secrets in the most random places that you wouldn't think of looking for. You just had to happen about it by accident or by searching every corner of the level/map. I love the exploration factor, and it's not something I really need to do with new games anymore because things are so much more obvious than they used to be.

Speaking of things I love, story-driven games with dynamic worlds are awesome too. By "dynamic" I mean there is some gap in knowledge that you fill in as you play the game. Things happen in parts of the game world where your characters aren't, multiple parts of the plot happen concurrently, or characters are related in unexpected ways that tap into the game history's past. It adds a lot to the exploration/discovery factor of the world as well as the characters. For example, FF6 and Chrono Cross were very dynamic. FF6 had multiple stories going on at the same time since your characters split up at certain times. I replayed Chrono Cross 6-7 times over the years just to remind myself of the entire story, since it tied to Chrono Trigger in so many ways that made the story richer. I like seeing all the subtle little connections characters have to each other because it makes the world seem broader. Subtleties like this give me, as a player, a very "ooooh!" moment where I realize that the game world isn't as simple and clear as I initially thought because there are gaps in my knowledge of its happenings.

In my view, dynamic stories are the best, and I haven't played a new RPG I've liked in years. I'm not sure if they make games like that anymore. Then again, I haven't played more than 5-6 new games since starting college.

ETA: This was my first post in almost a year and half due to general disappointment in this forum. Please don't disappoint me in this thread.

[Reaif]

I suppose nostalgia is pretty big, but it isn't all powerful. I've been playing games since the good old NES days, but I like both old and new games. I think the reason that I don't play a lot of new games is the money factor. I have lots of old games, but buying new ones just costs money. I haven't bought a new console in 3 years, when I got my Wii after having camped out for it.

As far as the graphics thing goes, it flies both ways for me as well. I am OK with pixely graphics, but the graphical annoyance that keeps me from playing a game is unskippable pointless camera movements. A prime example of this would be Skies of Archadia for Dreamcast. I had heard such good things about this game, and the blockiness of it didn't drive me away. It was the fact that every battle scene took about 2 or 3 times too long just because the camera was busy running around trying to show things from every angle. I just couldn't handle it. That being said, I'll be happy to play FF7 or Mischief Makers.

As far as being unable to like old games because of graphics, it just has to do with the type of things that can immerse you. I had never really played Zelda 2 as a kid (had picked it up for 5 minutes at a time only to get frustrated and quit), but I picked it up again recently, and I loved it. I ended up staying up all night one night trying to traverse Death Mountain. There was a stretch where I was on my last life, and had about 1 hp left, trying to get past all these monsters without getting a single hit on me... That was rough, but totally immersively (is that even a word?) fun. The sense of accomplishment was huge as well when I finished the game. I kind of felt like I was more complete for having finished that game. Like how in life you have a list of achievements (not too unlike current video games) and you have finally done that one which has been nagging you for a while.

EDIT: btw, just picked up Oblivion for PC and it has been sucking my life away. I love treasure hunting, and there are so many dungeons to empty treasure and monsters out of.