twisty on 17/11/2016 at 13:41
Quote Posted by Vicarious
I've been playing games since the early 90s, I've seen them change and evolve. And unlike many folks my age, I've never hit a low point of "all games suck, oh where are the good old days when I was a teenager?" I've been playing consistently for all those years maintaining an opinion that there are always gems to find and good stuff to enjoy.
Great idea for a topic and one that sums up the essence of my attitude to gaming over the years. While I'm also one of the old gamers now (although I don't really think of myself that way), having played electronic games in one shape or another since the early 80s, I continue to be thrilled by the increasing diversity, innovation and refinement that this medium has to offer. On the contrary, the biggest problem for me these days is that there are too many games that I want to play and increasingly less time to play them.
Quote Posted by Malf
I'd also like to add that I've become smitten with Steam Workshop; it adds so much to games, and genuinely affects my decision-making process when looking to buy games.
That's another thing that often gets overlooked, is how much better the distribution model is these days (although I do miss the manuals and game boxes of yesteryear, it was hard to find space for them after a while) -- games are generally cheaper, easier to update and simpler to maintain (e.g. don't have to worry about scratched disks, lost savegames etc.)
zajazd on 22/11/2016 at 12:24
I disagree. The second half of 90s and the beginning of 2000s showed that technical limitations promote creativity. Why is that people who like the modern Deus Exes (I personally despise them but won't get into that) still admit that the original from the year 2000 is a better game? When I enter a store in a modern game all I see is a waste of resources as the 'attention to detail' does not make the game better, most importantly does not make it more fun.
henke on 22/11/2016 at 13:04
It worked! We managed to lure zajazd in here! QUICKLY, SPRING THE TRAP!
demagogue on 22/11/2016 at 13:41
If games had the design of the 1998-2004 period with the detailed assets of today, that'd be good though, right? I loved the original Deus Ex to bits, but I remember thinking it looked like ass even for the period in which it was released.
henke on 22/11/2016 at 14:12
Yeah. Not that DX being better than the new games says anything about games in general. And it's very likely it's only better to those of us who have fond, nostalgic memories of the original. If you introduced someone who's never played any of the DXs to both the original and Mankind Divided, I have a feeling they'd prefer the newer one.
Just like when I played Fallout for the first time mere months before Fallout 3 came out, and y'know what? From the completely objective perspective of someone without nostalgia shades on: FO3 > FO1. Indisputable evidence that video games are only getting better. Nobody argue with me on this!
Aja on 22/11/2016 at 14:43
I started playing DX for the first time a few years ago and didn't find it to be that great. Yeah, there are tons of ways to do stuff, but the AI seemed so incompetent that it wasn't satisfying, especially compared to Thief, which came out two years prior.
Nameless Voice on 22/11/2016 at 15:02
I only played Fallouts 1 & 2 not-too-long before Fallout 3, and I still think that they are better in a lot of ways.
Actually having a realistic setting, for a start.
Thirith on 22/11/2016 at 15:18
None of the Fallout games are realistic, nor is realism necessarily something to strive for. Perhaps the settings of the first two Fallout games are more *coherent* or *credible*, but that's something pretty different. And the first two games are pretty different in terms of setting and tone, from the more moderate Fallout to the pop culture extravaganza of Fallout 2.
Nameless Voice on 22/11/2016 at 15:35
Credible is the better term, you're right.
For me, Fallout 3 broke my willing suspension of disbelief, where the others mostly didn't (apart from some of the silly special encounters.)
TannisRoot on 22/11/2016 at 18:54
Quote Posted by Aja
I started playing DX for the first time a few years ago and didn't find it to be that great. Yeah, there are tons of ways to do stuff, but the AI seemed so incompetent that it wasn't satisfying, especially compared to Thief, which came out two years prior.
I similarity struggled with Deus Ex. Compared to Thief the stealth felt like a step back. Further, the game is also front-loaded with exposition, which will try the patience of someone who only wants to peek and see what the game has to offer.
That said, this year I beat it for the first time and was totally sucked in. Technical flaws aside, the game has a ton of
soul. Yes, modern games play better mechanically, but Deus Ex remains compelling, relevant, and more than the sum of its parts. It has a certain je ne sais quoi and energy you don't often find in (modern AAA) video games even if it takes a few levels to get rolling.
