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Are games as good as they used to be?

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    Are games as good as they used to be?

    Well, are they?

    Okay so nowadays you have the three super-consoles that are several million times more powerful* than the consoles of the early 1990s, and can do things that we could only dream about, but are these next generation games really as good as games used to be? Sure they have fancy graphics, and complex aspects that we would never see in a game 10 years ago, but do they really play better?

    It seems to me that games arent as good as they used to be. Back when I was a lad, I would spend hours playing Sonic the Hedgehog (thats the Master System version) over and over again, no matter how many times I'd finished it, and I still wouldn't get bored. I was addicted to it. Nowadays I play through a game maybe two or three times if I'm lucky, and will never touch them again, unless I feel the sudden need to revisit them briefly just to remind myself of them.

    Games used to have proper replay value. Not just a load of pointless extras that you got after finishing a game a couple of hundred times*. You wanted to play through the games again. Not because of any hidden extras, but because you wanted to. You enjoyed the game so much that you felt that you had to play through it again, and again, and again.

    Maybe this was just me, I dunno. But I definitely do think that games were better way back when, in the days of old.

    * Please note that this may be a slight exaggeration.

    #2
    Definately, but for me its not a simple answer

    I'd been wondering the same thing of late

    Not sure if its got anything to do with me getting older, or whether games aren't what they used to be

    I too used to spent hours playing through a game again and again and again ( some examples being Super Contra, MERCS, Super Castlevania etc ) and never seemed to get bored of them, even to the point where I could play most of them through without even using a continue

    Some games today are lucky if they manage to hold my attention through the first time round, let alone qualify for a second run

    Thats why I hate multiple endings that require you to pretty much play the game through again. I'm too busy to do that, and there are usually three or four other games waiting in the wings to get my attention

    Maybe its overkill from buying too many games now, simply because I can. Back in the `good old days` I had to struggle hard save up the thirty or so quid needed, and games releases were much further apart.

    Maybe I used to play them more often cause I had no choice

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      #3
      They are equally good.

      Too many people look at 'old' games with rose tinted specs. There was a lot of **** around then, and there is now. There were and still are great games. In an attempt to prevent ostracizing a large proportion of the forum I'm going to say that they are equally good and should be appreciated equally!

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        #4
        Originally posted by nips
        They are equally good.

        Too many people look at 'old' games with rose tinted specs. There was a lot of **** around then, and there is now. There were and still are great games. In an attempt to prevent ostracizing a large proportion of the forum I'm going to say that they are equally good and should be appreciated equally!
        ditto /me hides rose tinted specs behind snes :P

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          #5
          Despite what I say I still have my Snes set up. And my Nes, but only Duck hunt and a Gun!

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            #6
            It's a question that has been raised a few times before and I dont think there is a definitive answer why we used to play games more longer ago. It isn't to do with age as I still revisit older games and play them through.
            I think it could be to do with the structure of the games. Most old games had to be played and completed in one sitting. For this reason you rarely got epic 20+ hour games like you do today. They were short, full of action to make you want to play, and concentrated on high scores to lure you back.
            Very few games now rely on highscore tables. Rez and SMB do and they offer great replayability. I think the fact that modern games can be saved with the memory cards also breaks up the experience. You can play for 10 minutes, leave and start from where you left off. This is all well and good but you become detached from the experience, and inevitably lose interest in the game.

            That is the reason(s) I think older games had greater replayability.

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              #7
              We all have our very own 'golden era' but it takes more to kindle my fire these days. Saying that playing through Halo must rank as one of my gaming highlights...

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                #8
                I think that games are better now than they have ever been, in terms of design, aesthetics, variety, challenge and so on each new generation of consoles brings some stunning new titles with it that continually raise the standard across so many genres.

                However, games for me are definitly not as enjoyable as they once were, whether its plain old gaming burn-out or what I dont know, but back then everything was so new and fresh and continually exciting. The golden era for me was the Amiga days, and its sad to say I doubt they will ever reach that level again for me. (We will have a Amiga feature online in the next few weeks, keep an eye on the homepage).

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by marcus
                  We will have a Amiga feature online in the next few weeks, keep an eye on the homepage
                  Any chance of doing a feature on a good console? Actually I don't mind an Amiga feature as long as it includes something about the great North and South.

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                    #10
                    i feel that there's a lot more generic rubbish around nowadays but the better games are better than the better games of yesteryear

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                      #11
                      For me these last few years have been up and down for gaming, I often lose interest for example I bought Biohazard 0 awhile back, and still have not finished it because I can't find the will. Its not a crap game by far, its just me, i'd rather chat to friends or go out. I remember when I was a wee little kid playing on my familys ZX spectrum and I have fond memories of that, but you know what, I know games these days are alot better in quality and user friendliness but my nostalgic mind yarns for my young times back thus playing modern games are hard to grab my interest. I guess alot of you feel this way

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                        #12
                        Personally, I'm having more fun now than I ever have. Granted, I've always been more of a PC gamer and a console or arcade gamer, but for me games just get better and better. Every generation sees new enhancements and gameplay styles introduced, and I never know what to expect next. Sure, there are a ton of **** games out there, but that is nothing new under the sun, and it only makes those that shine shine all the brighter. I'll take Halo and REmake over anything I had five or twn years ago. The depth of play, the visual brilliance and realism, the deep soundscapes and surround sound fields, all create something that has blown me away. The variety of controls has also helped.

                        I don't know, but if you think games today don't match up, then you need to take a break for a year or so, get some perspective.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Excelsior
                          i feel that there's a lot more generic rubbish around nowadays but the better games are better than the better games of yesteryear
                          That's my feeling. The innocence of gaming has gone now that is bug business, but with hindsight it was inevitable. I think the best games of today can easily hold a candle to the best games of yesteryear and in many ways surpass them.

                          The recent Edge issue discusses the point about many gamers feeling jaded, but what it fails to mention are the myriad of people who are joining our hobby or changing from being a mere passenger to a genuine enthusiast. These are the silent fans that replace the hardcore who are giving up gaming.

                          Last year was the best year for great games ever. Personally, I don't think we've ever had it so good.

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                            #14
                            Its because you are all older now that things dont seem as good as they were, you've seen and experiemnced so much that nothing seems as new or exciting.

                            Here's and experiment , show a kid an emulated spectrum game of your choice then show them Super Mario Sundhine and ask them which is best, you'll get an answer in under half a sceond I'll guarantee.

                            Games are MUCH better now.

                            *all IMHO of course*

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                              #15
                              They are equally good.
                              My sentiments exactly

                              Has technology got better? Of course it has. But this doesn?t mean games have got better.

                              Have you got older and wiser and more experienced in playing games? Of course you have.

                              But.

                              I think the real question is not have games got better but are you enjoying them as much as you used to?

                              When I was let?s say 10years old Games were fantastically enjoyable, as I had no real similar experiences to compare against them, as it was in itself a new experience.

                              I enjoy games now just as much as I did back then. Although now I appreciate games for their technical brilliance a whole lot more. But the excitement and thrill I get when immersed in a epic battle or nail biting race is still the same.

                              If you showed Super Mario World to a kid who had never seen or played a game before in his life he would be amazed. Similarly if you showed a kid Super Mario Sunshine who had never played/seen any games before he would be EQUALLY amazed.

                              Games have changed in the years as lordcookie said and have now become more complex and not as straightforward. But in enjoyment terms and would say that they are equal.

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