That is why I prefer old games. They just get the job done. With the benefit of faster frame rates (my fave) and shorter load times. Just as 2D games are more precise than 3D in terms of controls, the reasons why they added the "homing spin" attack on 3D Sonic games.
If by "old" games you mean "old Nintendo games," then you are absolutely right. The truth is that PC games used to have
enormous load times on anything short of godly machines, and as soon as consoles started implementing disks they had the same issue, i.e. the Playstation, if you want a good example. Makes it near impossible for me to go back and play PS1 games on an actual PS1, as opposed to simply emulating it on my PSP and eliminating said load times.
raggedjimmi said:
Technically The New Mario Bros (DS) is better than Mario 3 or Mario World. But it isn't. Technically a more modern game that is absolute crap in the gameplay is better than something genius like, OoT or FF7.
Ocarina of Time holds up
fairly well today, but again that is by and large a Nintendo trait, and even then only in regards to a few titles. Certain games simply hold up better than others, while some - take classics like Goldeneye and Mario Kart for example - play like absolute crap today in light of more modern titles, as far as I am concerned.
And to be honest, Final Fantasy VII seems to me scarcely short of pathetic when played today. The vomit-inducing graphics notwithstanding, the gameplay is dated to the point of irrelevance, and the synthesized epic musical score sounds like garbage now - and yes, I do consider voice acting to be something of a necessity these days, as the level of immersiveness it lends to a story-driven title is incalculable. If you ask me, Final Fantasy VI holds up much better to this day, given its gameplay superiority over VII and the fact that its graphics represented a lasting highmark of 2D (which still remains visually appealing).
raggedjimmi said:
You're getting "superior games" mixed up with "better technology games" I'm afraid to say.
Often games are capable of being superior
because of their technology. Honestly, that is what has always driven the Half-Life line to its pinnacle of success. It does what simply could not be
done before, and not just in graphical terms, but as extended to gameplay advantages, AI, scripted possibilities, and so forth.
This is most noticeable in the FPS genre, which happens to be my favorite, as you may have noticed. As well as many older 2D titles might hold up today, the same can
not be said for shooters. Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem- even later "real" 3D shooters such as Quake, Goldeneye, and Perfect Dark - they all play, look, sound, and feel like unmitigated
crap in comparison with their modern counterparts. Halo 3 does things that simply
could not be done before, whether it is in relation to phenomenally superior gameplay or audiovisual immersiveness. And I should not have to even
begin to discuss Gears of War. Bioshock obviously goes without saying.
This is not limited to the shooter genre. Having experienced RPG titles to the effect of Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasy XII, Jade Empire, and Oblivion, I find it nigh impossible to return to the classics of the PS1 era, let alone the SNES and PC days of yore. Eye of the Beholder may have been the greatest thing in the universe back then, but at this point I find it virtually unplayable, to say nothing of even - dare I say it - Chrono Trigger. Yes, they were titles of unmeasurable glory at the time, but technology has simply afforded us means of story-telling and gameplay far beyond the scope of what could be achieved at that time. Try finding anything on the SNES that can parallel the experience of Shadow of the Colossus, for example. Good luck.
RTS? I have yet to meet anyone that prefers Dune or the original Command and Conquer to Warcraft 3 or Company of Heroes. MMORPG? Ultima Online to World of Warcraft seems like something of a stretch, I would say. Racing? Show me anything on the Genesis or PS1 that could be comparable to the most recent Grand Turismoes, or Burnout for that matter. Survival horror? The original Resident Evil and Silent Hill do not even seem remotely
frightening any more, due almost entirely to technical advances in the time since. Stealth action? Find me someone who prefers the original Metal Gear to a newer entry like Snake Eater (I'm sure such a person exists
somewhere, but it is certainly not I).
Again, while this is all nothing more than opinion, in my eyes I simply cannot pretend some sort of inherent superiority lies within the titles of days long past. A choice between, say, an NES and an Xbox 360 is to me no choice at all. If offered a DOS-based monster of the early nineties or a modern Alienware beast, my decision would be of little difficulty, to be sure.
Technology does not equate to gameplay, but it is absolutely necessary for true gameplay evolution to occur.
[/rant]
