[Classic] Old games are great, don't forget

The thing is, while game graphics keep getting more detailed and complex (I won't say better), the gameplay has hardly evolved to meet up. The EA guy who said we're still not playing next-gen games (and got a lot of flak for it) was exactly right. It's not necessarily a bad thing per se, lord knows we need "gamey" games like Super Mario Galaxy, but it is counterproductive to constantly destroy the atmospheres and settings in stunningly designed or realized worlds with desperately drab gameplay design and choices, like the timed flag collecting in Assassin's Creed (a notably schizophrenic experience) or the surreally limited environmental interaction of games like Bioshock or even Half-Life 2 (though Valve's effort is well on the way of touching that elusive next-gen).

If so many publishers and designers are so keen on abolishing old school values and visuals, why insist keeping so many admittedly outdated features and design choices? I would much rather have "gamey" visuals (sprites, healthbars, etc) than the bloom-filled cutscenes followed by the same drab lock-and-key puzzles, only now with an exciting lightning ability instead of a keycard.

At least old games can get away with such silliness much easier. You don't mind the silly inconsistencies and odd choices if the game is presented in a way to make it feel more plausible, even if Noah Antwiler is quick to point them out anyway (much to my amusement).

Not that I mind new games, no. I don't remember when was the last time I'd had as much fun and intrigue with games as I did with Portal, FFXII or say, Penumbra Overture. But it doesn't mean I shouldn't love and adore Super Mario World, Secret of Mana, FFVII, Metal Gear Solid or Radiant Silvergun, much less the likes of Contra 4.

I have a colleague who'd never played Silent Hill 1 before and couldn't play my copy because he felt the graphics were so bad (I can imagine they look even worse on an HDTV, throught his PS3). His loss

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Originally Posted by Monkey King

Something else that I think is hurting modern games is the overemphasis on cutscenes. In the FF12 thread, Denicalis mentioned something about the game's poor pacing, and it occurred to me that it's become a problem in a lot of modern games, even the ones that shouldn't be focusing heavily on story bits. In going out of their way to cram in pretty FMV scenes, fully voice acted dialogue, and whatnot, they break up the actual game portion.

Let's go way back and look at Ninja Gaiden, the game that invented the concept. How long does it spend on the cutscenes? Maybe a couple minutes tops? Then you're right back to flipping out and chopping people's heads off. Zelda 3 had terse bits of dialogue even at critical plot points, and then shut up so you could navigate the dungeon. Final Fantasy 4 doesn't feel the need to linger excessively on any one plot point, since it's not trying to sell you on visual flash. You can blip through the dialogue boxes as fast or as slow as you care to.

Compare to a lot of modern games where they seem to think they need to stretch everything out to a tedious degree. It's even infected Zelda - look at how often you sit down and do nothing while the game hits you with story stuff. The really good games integrate the story seamlessly with gameplay, ala Half Life. The not so good games segregate the two elements, and even favor the story over the game itself.

I agree somewhat, even though I don't so much have a problem with cutscenes per se. I kept playing games like FF7 and Vagrant Story just to get to the next story bit.

Many people feel they are detrimental to the game experience since they remove control from the player and thus take away from the very playing of the game. I don't mind them, they are a story device as much as anything else, and can be used both well or badly. I think it's most hurting when cutscenes genuinely are at odds with the rest of the game. Seeing your character do all those backflips and flamboyant shooting and flying in something like Dirge of Cerberus, only for him to be depressingly stiff and cumbersome to move around in the actual gameplay was a particular eyeopener. Then again, I found the completely over the top cutscenes in MGS: Twin Snakes a large part of the game's charm (though I still like MGS1 better).

There's nowhere I can't reach.