Poll Question 049 - Which do you prefer: Old Classics or Latest Releases?
About
Before you go rushing off voting for the Latest Releases, take some time to think about it.
Read the rest of the post and allow me to present both sides of the argument.
Which do you prefer: Old Classics or Latest Releases?
Even Playing Field
To begin with we need to try and make things a little fairer. We should discount features like improved graphical appearance and the inclusion of Physics engines.
Latest Releases
Let’s start with the Latest Releases. Games like Half-Life 2, Bioshock and FarCry have really brought the genre of Sci-Fi games into a new era. Gone are the simple plot lines and almost insulting objectives. The game world we play in is now much more complicated and choices are never as simple as we hoped.
The ability to free roam is another important aspect, perhaps the most important. The Old Classics always felt that you were in a corridor and shot whatever was in front of you. In comparison Old Classics hardly seem a step up from paddle tennis.
Let’s face facts. The Old Classics were simply exciting at the time because they were better than anything else available at the time. Not because they are inherently “Classic”!
Old Classics
Well, if you have just read the above then maybe it’s easy to believe that the Old Classics were not that special but there’s more to it than that. These games, and their makers, created a genre from nothing. Of course the graphics have improved but has anything else? Are the Latest Releases any more immersive than Unreal or Half-Life? I don’t believe so. Having more features doesn’t make a game better, just more complicated. Perhaps the current makers of games feel they simply have to add more to get attention.
We need to look at the essence of first person shooter gaming and that is feeling the tension and motivation of moving around in a world and shooting your way out. I’ve mentioned Unreal already and a good comparison would be Unreal 2, which in my humble opinion was a completely wasted opportunity. At no point did I feel the emotions I felt in the first game. Yes, it was beautiful but that’s not enough.
The Old Classics, had, and still have, a simplicity that beauty cannot replace. Graphics can’t replace fun.
Think carefully before you vote!
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