Are video games as good as they used to be?

[dirtyoldman]

First off, I dont want to sound like an old grandad who says the old ones are the best and you young uns missed out etc etc, but I know im going to.

Graphically, yes. There's no question about it. But what of actual game play? For a start, I miss the old days of NES and SNES were you could just stick in a brand new game in the slot and you could begin. NO waiting 20 minutes to install.
And I liked the way when the game started, you didnt need a first level tutorial showing you everything. Mario world, Zelda, castlevaia, contra/probotector, Doom didnt need any of that or 15 minute cut scenes.

Maybe an example or two. I love the final fantasy games.. 6 and 7 are fantasic, and then there's stuff like chronotrigger and secret of mana. Grear games.
I played 13 and despite looking the best it was the worst in the series. Worse than 2.

Recently I completed 15, and it was better than 13 but when I thought about it, was it really that good? Yes, graphically the best but combat was a bit meh. Storyline wise, I lost it a bit, but I thought that was because I spent so much time doing side quests (which wete more `go to this point on the map which we've marked for you) that I just lost concentration. When I read up about the plot to catch up, I saw mentioned that you need to watch a one hour movie to fully get the plot. What?!!

Anyway, don't want to go on and on (which I probably could) and be very negative, and just say I did love RE 7. Although I find there's not quite as much to get as excited about as I did in the 8 and 16 bit days..


Old fart rant over now lol

[Spiderf 4]

Is it safe to say they're less colorful? I feel like the realness of modern games make them less colorful like NES/SNES/Genesis games.

Also, too many shooters.

That's my 2 cents.

[Nickybojelais]

I definitely agree with you. For me, many games today come under the "mile wide, inch deep" category. I much prefer the linear but non-stop action of the NES & Megadrive games.

[Dub H]

Yes they are.

Chronoblade Chronicles

Persona 5

Two great RPGs ,as good as old schools ones.

Even great plataformers like Super Meat Boy and Ori .

I find the big companies got too big for this days and age, and naturally suits that doesn't understand much about game try to get involved that always mucks things up.

[Red Impact]

It's mostly just going to come down to preference, but I'm going to say that yes, they are as good as they used to be. Or, at the very least, the good is as good as anything that had existed before. I think the bigger difference is that we grow to tolerate less as we get older than we did when we were younger and had fewer ways to spend our time. And that's not ragging on old generations. I love the NES era when I grew up, my favorite games are FF Tactics and Metal Gear Solid 3, the former of which I still feel has the most complex characterization ever in a videogame. My top 10 list wouldn't even include a game from this generation, but that doesn't mean I think today's games are objectively worse by any means.

Old games got away with a lot of bad things that we chalk up to graphical or hardware limitations that, nowadays, we don't tolerate. They added cheapness as a game feature in a way that games today have a much harder time getting away with because we know they can do more, and those games were so short in a way that we would rage about being charged $60 dollars for in today's market (when they might have even been more expensive back then). And the game scene right now is so diverse that there is a place for literally anything, in ways that previous generations just couldn't touch. The indie game scene has boomed and fills in the gaps in genres that the major studios have more or less abandoned. Games can do more and strive for more, and it's only because of that that it stands out so much when they miss what they're going for in some way.

[Jiren]

Yes

A lot of People look back on 8/16 bit like the attitude era, sure we had some great games back then but we also had a lot of shit.

[wakko]

I play video games for 2 reasons.

1. To escape reality.
2. They can be great interactive movies.

While storytelling has gotten better since the NES/SNES days, other things have not. A game comes out and becomes popular, then every other studio tries to copy it.
On the plus side, there are great indie games out there that will give you that feeling of playing an old NES game.

So my answer is yes and no. Yes in that indie games keep that vibe alive, or some of them. No in that big AAA games can try to go too realistic and that can take away from a game.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

Yes

There are so much more gameplay mechanics now that can be used to make games more varied. Choices, alternate endings, the Nemesis System, more realistic controls, more fluid Plus games are more value for money now in terms of length.

Plus there's a focus on strong, character driven games too now. I can't think of many games from the 90s where I've cared for the characters as much as I did for Chloe and Max, Joel and Ellie, John Marsden, Garrus and Tali, Clem, Lee and Kenny etc.

In the 90s most games could feasibly be completed in an afternoon or even a couple of hours. Nowadays 15 hours plus is the norm.

Where the 90s succeeds is replay value. I do find myself more likely to replay Sonic, Mario, Streets of Rage etc than I am a modern game. They're easier to pick up and play and the short length means I can get them finished in a rainy afternoon without it consuming too much of my time.

The Last of Us was great, but it's not a game Im going to replay much.

A negative about today's era in gaming is the culture of trying to squeeze every penny they can out of people with dlc and added content. I don't mind DLC if it expands on the game and doesn't feel like a rip off. I hate it when it's content which have been on the disk from the start or, even worse, is actually on the disc but you need to pay extra to unlock it.

[The Captain]

Thanks to platforms like Steam, PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and other methods of digital distribution, it's easier than ever for indie developers to sell and distribute their games to wider audiences. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have also revolutionized this process and it's a great way for indie developers to get capital for their ideas.

Video games being as good as they used to be is a matter of opinion and I'm sure nostalgia colors mine some when it comes to some of my all-time favorites like Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid. Yet there has never been more variety or types of games available for people to try out on all manner of platforms. You just gotta look past the typical AAA-type games and see just how diverse the selection is.

[Jiren]

Jun 18, 2017 10:28:42 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Thanks to platforms like Steam, PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and other methods of digital distribution, it's easier than ever for indie developers to sell and distribute their games to wider audiences. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have also revolutionized this process and it's a great way for indie developers to get capital for their ideas.

Video games being as good as they used to be is a matter of opinion and I'm sure nostalgia colors mine some when it comes to some of my all-time favorites like Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid. Yet there has never been more variety or types of games available for people to try out on all manner of platforms. You just gotta look past the typical AAA-type games and see just how diverse the selection is.

Speaking of, I HOPE "bloodstained ritual of the night" isn't a disaster like "Mighty #9"

[Chainsaw]

Video games today, despite their issues, work for the most part and actually have endings. A lot of old games couldn't pull that off, particularly ones that had licenses attached to them. That said, I definitely had more fun playing those games than I do now,but the difference in that is that, as an adult, that magic spark is kinda missing now (with exceptions like Fallout and Skyrim, which still get me).

The biggest issue I have with games today is that the ability to update games on the fly have allowed companies to release games with breaks in them in order to get them out, which spoils the fun for a lot of people. It' good that they can get fixed at all now, but I think it let the publishers off the hook. Also, hype for games is way out of control now. Look at No Man's Sky, a good game that became a victim of it's own hype.

[The Captain]

Jun 18, 2017 10:38:16 GMT -5 Jiren said:

Jun 18, 2017 10:28:42 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Thanks to platforms like Steam, PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and other methods of digital distribution, it's easier than ever for indie developers to sell and distribute their games to wider audiences. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have also revolutionized this process and it's a great way for indie developers to get capital for their ideas.

Video games being as good as they used to be is a matter of opinion and I'm sure nostalgia colors mine some when it comes to some of my all-time favorites like Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid. Yet there has never been more variety or types of games available for people to try out on all manner of platforms. You just gotta look past the typical AAA-type games and see just how diverse the selection is.

Speaking of, I HOPE "bloodstained ritual of the night" isn't a disaster like "Mighty #9"

I trust IGA to have his shit together more than Inafune does and the reception from the playable demo at E3 was pretty positive.

[trollrogue]

Specifically to the OP, I feel ya. I'm playing through Final Fantasy XV myself and I have similar critiques (my fave was FF6/FF3US OF ALL TIMES) it's certainly a different feel to Final Fantasy but the Dissidia In-Car game audio helps keep my nostalgia blinders on. For the most part I really like XV, it's certainly thanks to them trying to encapsulate what makes the Kingdom Hearts series so popular I'd bet.

Just picked up Tekken 7. I'm having a blast, it's almost as fun as Tekken 3 was on the PSOne all those years ago, just better graphics better physics, better gameplay, and online matchmaking are you kidding me?? For the most part I've found all my favorite boyhood dream game franchise have simply upgraded their bells and whistles like Tekken 7 and FFXV to include the new age gamer and the online component (XV's online timed battles for instance just got me the best Greatsword in the game and I'm only on Chapter 4 still! Sidequest City...)

But for those who have major nostalgia blinders on, check out handhelds. Nintendo Switch in particular is all about gaming with the retro lovers in mind, using advanced versions of older tech to bring back classic gaming experiences with the newfangled control gimmicks of today's gaming industry. E3 has some great new killer apps for the Switch that are making me shed a tear as a former gaming nerd in grade school. How I wish I was able to sneak Switch on the school bus everyday!

[Jiren]

Jun 18, 2017 10:58:57 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 18, 2017 10:38:16 GMT -5 Jiren said:

Speaking of, I HOPE "bloodstained ritual of the night" isn't a disaster like "Mighty #9"

I trust IGA to have his shit together more than Inafune does and the reception from the playable demo at E3 was pretty positive.

Good to know

[CMPunkyBrewster]

From an objective standpoint, an honest person has to say yes. The graphics, the stories, the sheer number of things you can do...there's no denying that video games are in a much better state than ever before.

My issue is that they are becoming WAY too expensive a hobby to have.

Not that long ago, you would spend 60 bucks on a game, but you got the WHOLE GAME. Sure, there might be some online play or exclusives that might help the experience a little, but you could play the actual game itself from beginning to end just fine.

But now, you pretty much HAVE to have great internet speeds in your house (which is an extra bill for some people who can ill afford it), plus you have to pay the monthly or yearly subscription fee for Xbox live or PSN, pay for extra downloadable content to get the entire game, all on top of the 60 or 70 bucks you had to pay for the game itself.

So are the games and the play better than ever? Sure, no doubt. But for a lot of us, we're being run off by the fact that by the time you're ready to play the game, you're 300 bucks in the hole. It's just not affordable for a working class guy with a family like myself.

[Deleted]

The graphics are most certainly better, but when it comes to the simple fun of playing, I mostly prefer NES/SNES/Genesis games, or the N64 wrestling games or something like that. Even when it comes to modern stuff, I'd rather play something like Candy Crush more than Call Of Duty.

[dirtyoldman]

Lol, seem im un the minority a little here so may be I oughta expand a little. Loads of people have mentioned that the stories and characters are so much better and I totally agree with that. They are much better, almost movie like and may be that's a little of some of the problem for me. I want to play games not watch a movie (although granted I like a little plot and character, after all im a ff fan).
The wife played skyrim and gta5 which I ended up watching a lot. While it seemed like an entertaining story and cool chstacters, it did seem to lead you by the hand, telling you were to go and you following, almost like your doing a paint by numbers picture.
Ii experienced that myself during ff15 in which ever quest and hunt told you exactly were to go.
Perhaps im being a little unfair and there's loads of modern/mainstream titles that are not like this. Ill admit, being a grown up with a mortgage, job and kid on the way I dont have a fraction of the time to explore all the new games so maybe im ignorant.
I do have my 3ds and the gaming there does take me back a little to the good old days.

[The Legend of Groose]

I think there's more video games and with that, it's harder to find diamonds in the rough. The bar is higher than it once was.

[Hit Girl]

No

Because back in the day, when you bought a game, you got the full game. No one was asking you to buy additional parts of it.

[Kevin Hamilton]

They are better in many ways, but ultimately they aren't as fun.

At least that's how I see it. I can pop in a game now and get an immersive, cinematic experience and be entertained immensely. But it's not as fun as me and a buddy playin River City Ransom or whatever