The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
I don’t feel I belong here anymore. I haven’t been here for a while and there is a reason for this. I’ve sold my Dreamcast and all its games and have not replaced it with anything – I am completely console-less.
I sold my Dreamcast because I had finished Skies of Arcadia and, despite it being worthy of entry into gaming legend for its sheer greatness on several levels, I had no desire to play through it again. This also, to some extent, applied to several of my other games. Therefore I felt the machine had to go and the money was used as part payment for the laptop I’m using as I write this – something which has been granted much more of my attention than my Dreamcast would have done.
Why have I not bought a PS2? Will I choose to buy an XBox? Or perhaps a GameCube? These are some of the things I’m sure some of you are thinking. The rest have probably stopped reading already because you think this is another infamous ‘console wars’ topic.
Far from it. In fact, if anything, the war is over for me and all three sides seem fatally wounded. Forget exclusive titles, power of hardware, joypad design or whatever else you use to compare them. The fact of the matter is that I just don’t enjoy games like I used to. Correction – I don’t enjoy games in the way I used to. Gone are the days of Mario Kart where myself and a friend could while away hour after hour, week after week on the game and still enjoy each new lap as much as the first. Street Fighter, in all its recent incarnations and crossovers, just doesn’t have the same effect as the first SNES version did on me. Marvel vs Capcom 2, for example, is a truly outstanding game and one which I expected to last beyond the natural life of the system running it, but by the time I’d unlocked all of the 30-odd extra characters I had little interest in using any of them.
Take Zelda: A Link to the Past. Between the SNES version (bought the day of release, no less) and my perfectly emulated one I must have played through it over a dozen times. The same goes for The Secret of Mana. So why was I so reluctant to give Skies of Arcadia a second full play? To tell you the truth I don’t really know.
Go back even further to my C64 days when Clyde Radcliffe and friends in ‘Creatures’ used to be forever found in my tape deck. CD loading times? Pah! You could eat you tea between levels on those days! I’ve played through it dozens of times (cheers to emulators again for adding to that total) and I could happily do so again right now. Caverns of Eriban? Bliss! Anyone remember Maze Craze on the old Atari 2600? That must have wasted as much of my life as Mario Kart has done and I’m not complaining one bit. Tears of laughter have been known to pour down my face as one of us got ‘squelched’ just before watching our opponent race past our paralysed bug to victory. It’s nothing to do with simplicity. Street Fighter 2 is relatively very complex but no worse off for it.
If I’m honest I can see myself eventually buying a GameCube. Not for Mario Sunshine (‘short but sweet’ – that frightens me, and makes me think of ‘have-a-quick-go’ style puzzle games). Not for Zelda (to me, the look of an RPG has a great bearing on how immersed you can become in it and I don’t see how I could immerse myself in a world that looks like a pre-school cartoon, even if it is a superbly animated one). No, the game that looks to be drawing me in is Star Fox Adventures and the prospect of a supposed 100 hours of varied gameplay (most likely exaggerated, but aren’t most estimates like this the same). To me this says ‘non-linear’. To me this says ‘there are loads of bits to miss and find’. To me this says ‘play me again…and again…and several times more’.
But I could be wrong – and one game is no reason to spend £150+ on a new console. I’m confident that there would, in time, be enough superb games on each system to warrant buying any of them. However I’m going to need a lot of convincing. Until that time I’m going to be living in the past and, in doing so, will probably make it even more difficult for me to give the present the appreciation it deserves.
Perhaps the only real casualty in these so called ‘console wars’ is me. Maybe games have changed. Maybe I have changed. Either way, something is not what it was and, largely thanks to emulation, I have been made aware of this all too clearly. I guess there is a lesson to be learned here. Taking a brief nostalgic walk can be great fun for a while, but if you get too involved with how good things used to be, you’ll start to forget how good things are now.
I think I already have.
I sold my Dreamcast because I had finished Skies of Arcadia and, despite it being worthy of entry into gaming legend for its sheer greatness on several levels, I had no desire to play through it again. This also, to some extent, applied to several of my other games. Therefore I felt the machine had to go and the money was used as part payment for the laptop I’m using as I write this – something which has been granted much more of my attention than my Dreamcast would have done.
Why have I not bought a PS2? Will I choose to buy an XBox? Or perhaps a GameCube? These are some of the things I’m sure some of you are thinking. The rest have probably stopped reading already because you think this is another infamous ‘console wars’ topic.
Far from it. In fact, if anything, the war is over for me and all three sides seem fatally wounded. Forget exclusive titles, power of hardware, joypad design or whatever else you use to compare them. The fact of the matter is that I just don’t enjoy games like I used to. Correction – I don’t enjoy games in the way I used to. Gone are the days of Mario Kart where myself and a friend could while away hour after hour, week after week on the game and still enjoy each new lap as much as the first. Street Fighter, in all its recent incarnations and crossovers, just doesn’t have the same effect as the first SNES version did on me. Marvel vs Capcom 2, for example, is a truly outstanding game and one which I expected to last beyond the natural life of the system running it, but by the time I’d unlocked all of the 30-odd extra characters I had little interest in using any of them.
Take Zelda: A Link to the Past. Between the SNES version (bought the day of release, no less) and my perfectly emulated one I must have played through it over a dozen times. The same goes for The Secret of Mana. So why was I so reluctant to give Skies of Arcadia a second full play? To tell you the truth I don’t really know.
Go back even further to my C64 days when Clyde Radcliffe and friends in ‘Creatures’ used to be forever found in my tape deck. CD loading times? Pah! You could eat you tea between levels on those days! I’ve played through it dozens of times (cheers to emulators again for adding to that total) and I could happily do so again right now. Caverns of Eriban? Bliss! Anyone remember Maze Craze on the old Atari 2600? That must have wasted as much of my life as Mario Kart has done and I’m not complaining one bit. Tears of laughter have been known to pour down my face as one of us got ‘squelched’ just before watching our opponent race past our paralysed bug to victory. It’s nothing to do with simplicity. Street Fighter 2 is relatively very complex but no worse off for it.
If I’m honest I can see myself eventually buying a GameCube. Not for Mario Sunshine (‘short but sweet’ – that frightens me, and makes me think of ‘have-a-quick-go’ style puzzle games). Not for Zelda (to me, the look of an RPG has a great bearing on how immersed you can become in it and I don’t see how I could immerse myself in a world that looks like a pre-school cartoon, even if it is a superbly animated one). No, the game that looks to be drawing me in is Star Fox Adventures and the prospect of a supposed 100 hours of varied gameplay (most likely exaggerated, but aren’t most estimates like this the same). To me this says ‘non-linear’. To me this says ‘there are loads of bits to miss and find’. To me this says ‘play me again…and again…and several times more’.
But I could be wrong – and one game is no reason to spend £150+ on a new console. I’m confident that there would, in time, be enough superb games on each system to warrant buying any of them. However I’m going to need a lot of convincing. Until that time I’m going to be living in the past and, in doing so, will probably make it even more difficult for me to give the present the appreciation it deserves.
Perhaps the only real casualty in these so called ‘console wars’ is me. Maybe games have changed. Maybe I have changed. Either way, something is not what it was and, largely thanks to emulation, I have been made aware of this all too clearly. I guess there is a lesson to be learned here. Taking a brief nostalgic walk can be great fun for a while, but if you get too involved with how good things used to be, you’ll start to forget how good things are now.
I think I already have.
Page:
If your after some games that aren't serious then Nintendo is quite popular. As far as the PC is concerned though there's quite a few, infact I don't know what all this about lack of choice on the PC is based on. Anyway, here are just a few suggestions:
Startopia (space station management sim), it's fun on a stick you'll laugh and you'll laugh and you'll be so distracted trying to keep up as your station gets too big for you to handle that you wont realise just how much fun this game is. If you like that sort of thing (and you should).
Giants (First/Third person shooter, magicer and stomper with the occasional bout of pick up and throw/eat), more like a comedy program than a game the cutscenes are great the game itself is too short and one or two levels may seem a bit tedious but if you play it for fun then that's what you'll get. Good gameplay and three totally different characters make this a very interesting experience. Trust me, if this game can't make you laugh out loud then you have no sense of humour, or just one that doesn't like it's kind of humour.
Any Lucas Arts Adventure Game (Adventure games, didn't I just say that?), yes be it Monkey Island 1-4, Grim Fandango or the reasonably new Sam & Max + Day Of the Tentacle double pack they are all great fun to play and a good laugh, ask anyone who's played them and I doubt they'll deny it (unless they're lying).
Those are the ones that are pure comedy, then there's a few for gameplay:
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 with both expansions (Role Playing Games), these could be said to be more serious (the story certainly is) but then there are plenty of laughs to be had on the way (I strongly suggest picking up Jan Jansen as a party member in Baldur's Gate 2 for the comedy side of things). The gameplay is all good and will last you hundreds of hours, unless you have a short attention span it should be a fairly consistent gaming experience too.
Planescape: Torment (Role Playing Game), it's hard to tell with this one, it could be said to have a very serious story indeed and it has a kind of dark atmosphere but then it's also entertaining in the sense of being amusing quite often. It does depend on the choices you make which you will see more of but in the end this is a game that is worth a try for anyone.
Freespace 2 (Space Combat Sim), okay this one is serious, but then it's serious fun and is there really such a thing as fun that's serious? This game must be played by everyone, it may not be to some people's tastes (there is a lot of quick action but then there's also some tension and things) but if you haven't at least tried it you are missing out on something big (love? this game is love... Possibly).
Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 (Real Time Strategy), this game manages to balance humour with gameplay and even throws in plenty of choice. You can attack hard and fast or you can consolidate for a later bigger attack, or maybe you just have to defend something (but then offence is the best defence). A worthwhile strategy title, one of the best though there are several coming out around now that may be better.
Black & White (Umm, Strategy, maybe? What was the sims then? a bit like that, possibly a management sim of some sort), This one is worth a try for everyone because there is so much freedom. It's like grand theft auto in the playing for fun scales and has plenty to offer. You're a god, you can do an awful lot of awful things with that right hand of yours (or left if you prefer, there is an option) or you can do some nice pleasant things or you can do whatever you want to, after all, who would argue with a god? There's plenty of freedom in this random fun fest and there are plenty of people to target your antics at, you have a creature who serves you and can be trained to help you in your nefarious or nice deeds, there are the villagers who are the source of your power and the main object of your intentions and there are opposing gods with their own followers and creatures who will try to get in your way at times and who will eventually suffer your wrath or feel your happy stare (before losing all their villages and hence, power). It has been said to have it's faults but overall it should appeal to most, buy this one and enjoy. Did I mention you can throw villagers?
The Sims (Sims management sim), the idea sounds so boring but it works remarkably well (he remarked). Other than Championship Manager it's probably the most popular game ever (and there's only been one, unlike Championship Manager). You take control of little people and manipulate them in any way you want. You can create a band of misfits desperately seeking love but always taking a beating, you can create the perfect family, you can even create a rag tag bunch of unlikely combinations like God and the Devil getting married or the crew of the enterprise after retirement. With all the upgrades and modifications available and that are likely to come it's possible that The Sims could last forever, so why not own it?
Return To Castle Wolfenstein (Best First Person Shooter ever), Don't believe them when they say Medal Of Honour: Allied Assault is better, RTCW is the chocolatey goodness (or whatever your favorite food is). Its got everything a good FPS should have, stealth, guns, evil enemies and the occasional big boss who is there for more than just show. Unless you don't like FPSs at all (and plenty of people feel that way) then it's well worth getting for the single player alone and the multiplayer is a whole different and superb game, though some say it's limited because it tends towards the team side of things, which is good if you like team play.
Deus Ex (Some say RPG but it's more an FPS to me, in which case it may be the best but I think it's in a class of it's own), Techno guy develops various skills and unique abilities in an RPG way and then uses them to pass the different parts of the game in completely different ways from someone who chose different skills. There's lots of freedom in this one since there are so many ways to do things, do you hack the computer to open the door and deactivate the alarm? Do you sneak between the laser tripwires and bludgeon the guards? Do you snipe everyone and everything? Do you go in with a ridiculously large gun and say goodbye to anything you point it at? The choices are many. It does have a few restrictions but then it is an older game and they aren't the sort you'd notice. Then the advantage of it being older is that it needs less up to date technology to run. It also has a reasonable choice of scaleable graphics options to give you that little extra help. Everyone should play it, but then I say that all the time don't I? Because it's true.
I think that will do as a sample of PC gaming glory. Now I'm beginning to wonder why everyone doesn't own a PC. I'm just glad I do. Of course you can get one for about £500 right here that will easily run all of the above games (barring any compatibility problems, though there shouldn't be any) and indeed last for quite some time yet I expect. If it's fighting games you're looking for though, you'll just have to get a console and multiplayer on one PC just doesn't work too well. Of course the PC does have good online capabilities and there's just so much choice of what you can do with it, everyone should own a PC.
Startopia (space station management sim), it's fun on a stick you'll laugh and you'll laugh and you'll be so distracted trying to keep up as your station gets too big for you to handle that you wont realise just how much fun this game is. If you like that sort of thing (and you should).
Giants (First/Third person shooter, magicer and stomper with the occasional bout of pick up and throw/eat), more like a comedy program than a game the cutscenes are great the game itself is too short and one or two levels may seem a bit tedious but if you play it for fun then that's what you'll get. Good gameplay and three totally different characters make this a very interesting experience. Trust me, if this game can't make you laugh out loud then you have no sense of humour, or just one that doesn't like it's kind of humour.
Any Lucas Arts Adventure Game (Adventure games, didn't I just say that?), yes be it Monkey Island 1-4, Grim Fandango or the reasonably new Sam & Max + Day Of the Tentacle double pack they are all great fun to play and a good laugh, ask anyone who's played them and I doubt they'll deny it (unless they're lying).
Those are the ones that are pure comedy, then there's a few for gameplay:
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 with both expansions (Role Playing Games), these could be said to be more serious (the story certainly is) but then there are plenty of laughs to be had on the way (I strongly suggest picking up Jan Jansen as a party member in Baldur's Gate 2 for the comedy side of things). The gameplay is all good and will last you hundreds of hours, unless you have a short attention span it should be a fairly consistent gaming experience too.
Planescape: Torment (Role Playing Game), it's hard to tell with this one, it could be said to have a very serious story indeed and it has a kind of dark atmosphere but then it's also entertaining in the sense of being amusing quite often. It does depend on the choices you make which you will see more of but in the end this is a game that is worth a try for anyone.
Freespace 2 (Space Combat Sim), okay this one is serious, but then it's serious fun and is there really such a thing as fun that's serious? This game must be played by everyone, it may not be to some people's tastes (there is a lot of quick action but then there's also some tension and things) but if you haven't at least tried it you are missing out on something big (love? this game is love... Possibly).
Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 (Real Time Strategy), this game manages to balance humour with gameplay and even throws in plenty of choice. You can attack hard and fast or you can consolidate for a later bigger attack, or maybe you just have to defend something (but then offence is the best defence). A worthwhile strategy title, one of the best though there are several coming out around now that may be better.
Black & White (Umm, Strategy, maybe? What was the sims then? a bit like that, possibly a management sim of some sort), This one is worth a try for everyone because there is so much freedom. It's like grand theft auto in the playing for fun scales and has plenty to offer. You're a god, you can do an awful lot of awful things with that right hand of yours (or left if you prefer, there is an option) or you can do some nice pleasant things or you can do whatever you want to, after all, who would argue with a god? There's plenty of freedom in this random fun fest and there are plenty of people to target your antics at, you have a creature who serves you and can be trained to help you in your nefarious or nice deeds, there are the villagers who are the source of your power and the main object of your intentions and there are opposing gods with their own followers and creatures who will try to get in your way at times and who will eventually suffer your wrath or feel your happy stare (before losing all their villages and hence, power). It has been said to have it's faults but overall it should appeal to most, buy this one and enjoy. Did I mention you can throw villagers?
The Sims (Sims management sim), the idea sounds so boring but it works remarkably well (he remarked). Other than Championship Manager it's probably the most popular game ever (and there's only been one, unlike Championship Manager). You take control of little people and manipulate them in any way you want. You can create a band of misfits desperately seeking love but always taking a beating, you can create the perfect family, you can even create a rag tag bunch of unlikely combinations like God and the Devil getting married or the crew of the enterprise after retirement. With all the upgrades and modifications available and that are likely to come it's possible that The Sims could last forever, so why not own it?
Return To Castle Wolfenstein (Best First Person Shooter ever), Don't believe them when they say Medal Of Honour: Allied Assault is better, RTCW is the chocolatey goodness (or whatever your favorite food is). Its got everything a good FPS should have, stealth, guns, evil enemies and the occasional big boss who is there for more than just show. Unless you don't like FPSs at all (and plenty of people feel that way) then it's well worth getting for the single player alone and the multiplayer is a whole different and superb game, though some say it's limited because it tends towards the team side of things, which is good if you like team play.
Deus Ex (Some say RPG but it's more an FPS to me, in which case it may be the best but I think it's in a class of it's own), Techno guy develops various skills and unique abilities in an RPG way and then uses them to pass the different parts of the game in completely different ways from someone who chose different skills. There's lots of freedom in this one since there are so many ways to do things, do you hack the computer to open the door and deactivate the alarm? Do you sneak between the laser tripwires and bludgeon the guards? Do you snipe everyone and everything? Do you go in with a ridiculously large gun and say goodbye to anything you point it at? The choices are many. It does have a few restrictions but then it is an older game and they aren't the sort you'd notice. Then the advantage of it being older is that it needs less up to date technology to run. It also has a reasonable choice of scaleable graphics options to give you that little extra help. Everyone should play it, but then I say that all the time don't I? Because it's true.
I think that will do as a sample of PC gaming glory. Now I'm beginning to wonder why everyone doesn't own a PC. I'm just glad I do. Of course you can get one for about £500 right here that will easily run all of the above games (barring any compatibility problems, though there shouldn't be any) and indeed last for quite some time yet I expect. If it's fighting games you're looking for though, you'll just have to get a console and multiplayer on one PC just doesn't work too well. Of course the PC does have good online capabilities and there's just so much choice of what you can do with it, everyone should own a PC.
Kipper, I completely agree. Gone are the days of the perfectly balanced gameplay of Mario Kart (SNES) or Street Fighter 2, and here we are in a world where power is everything. For a game to sell it has to have good graphics... usually at the loss of gameplay.
Sad really.
Sad really.
Armatige Shanks wrote:
> The Exterminator wrote:
> If you dont feel then dont come here.
??? ...
> If you dont feel, then I would strongly urge you to visit your GP, you may have
> a very serious problem with your central nervous system!
LOL! Yeah, at least your fingers wouldn't ache from the typing! :D
> The Exterminator wrote:
> If you dont feel then dont come here.
??? ...
> If you dont feel, then I would strongly urge you to visit your GP, you may have
> a very serious problem with your central nervous system!
LOL! Yeah, at least your fingers wouldn't ache from the typing! :D
The Exterminator wrote:
> If you dont feel then dont come here.
??? ... If you dont feel, then I would strongly urge you to visit your GP, you may have a very serious problem with your central nervous system!
> If you dont feel then dont come here.
??? ... If you dont feel, then I would strongly urge you to visit your GP, you may have a very serious problem with your central nervous system!
The Exterminator wrote:
> If you dont feel then dont come here.
*punch*
> If you dont feel then dont come here.
*punch*
Thanks for the info, Kipper. My e-mail address is [email protected]
RìÇkø§$ wrote:
Kipper, do yo know
> where i could find a Link to the Past ROM? Also what kind of a graphics card
> would you need? I've got an emulator, SNESZX or something, not sure.
I think you'll be referring to ZSNES as an emulator. I had a Pentium DX4-100 MHz PC years ago and that ran Zelda as well as the then current version of emulator could (which was pretty much perfect apart from some transparency effects). My P233 MMX and a newer version of the emulator ran everything I had apart from Stunt Race FX and Pilotwings pretty much perfectly. Basically, if your PC is good enough to load Windows, you'll be able to play it fine.
My 800MHz Duron laptop runs everything I throw at it like a dream.
I have no problem with emulation of games from previous console generations. The commercial markets for them are long gone so there is no real loss in profits. You could argue that they act as a continuing form of advertising. As I mentioned I have being playing on my SNES emulator quite a bit and that it pushing me slightly towards getting a GameCube.
Would I do so without my Nintendo nostalgia trips? I very much doubt it.
As for where to get ROMS from, I'd rather not say here as it's probably a controversial subject (although, for reason I have already said, I don't see why). There is no site I know of which will have every game you could possibly want so there will be some effort necessary on your part. However I'm sure I could put together a select bundle of files for you, if you let me know where to send them...
Kipper, do yo know
> where i could find a Link to the Past ROM? Also what kind of a graphics card
> would you need? I've got an emulator, SNESZX or something, not sure.
I think you'll be referring to ZSNES as an emulator. I had a Pentium DX4-100 MHz PC years ago and that ran Zelda as well as the then current version of emulator could (which was pretty much perfect apart from some transparency effects). My P233 MMX and a newer version of the emulator ran everything I had apart from Stunt Race FX and Pilotwings pretty much perfectly. Basically, if your PC is good enough to load Windows, you'll be able to play it fine.
My 800MHz Duron laptop runs everything I throw at it like a dream.
I have no problem with emulation of games from previous console generations. The commercial markets for them are long gone so there is no real loss in profits. You could argue that they act as a continuing form of advertising. As I mentioned I have being playing on my SNES emulator quite a bit and that it pushing me slightly towards getting a GameCube.
Would I do so without my Nintendo nostalgia trips? I very much doubt it.
As for where to get ROMS from, I'd rather not say here as it's probably a controversial subject (although, for reason I have already said, I don't see why). There is no site I know of which will have every game you could possibly want so there will be some effort necessary on your part. However I'm sure I could put together a select bundle of files for you, if you let me know where to send them...
Ah, the good old days...
*eyes glaze over as Sibs looks into the middle distance, and a warm fuzzy look creeps onto his face*
*eyes glaze over as Sibs looks into the middle distance, and a warm fuzzy look creeps onto his face*
My (second) copy of A Link To The Past arrived today. I've almost completely rebuilt my former collection of games. I sold my SNES 4 years back for 80 quid and bought another one during May. Since then I've been reagaining all the old classics...
*Puts on Pegesuss Shoes and charges off*
*Puts on Pegesuss Shoes and charges off*
Ah, i remember the days. Link to the Past was an amazing game and i would do anything (Okay not ANYTHING) to get a copy of it. I was stupid enough to sell my SNES with 13 games and a Japanese adaptor for £60.
Kipper, do yo know where i could find a Link to the Past ROM? Also what kind of a graphics card would you need? I've got an emulator, SNESZX or something, not sure.
I had also had a Japanese version of Street Fighter for the SNES, i couldn't understand it, but it felt like a unique game to have for an English SNES. Oh god, when i look back at what i did, i was a fool.
Kipper, do yo know where i could find a Link to the Past ROM? Also what kind of a graphics card would you need? I've got an emulator, SNESZX or something, not sure.
I had also had a Japanese version of Street Fighter for the SNES, i couldn't understand it, but it felt like a unique game to have for an English SNES. Oh god, when i look back at what i did, i was a fool.
Page: