The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only.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.
‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Pong’ are maybe the first names that pop into your mind when you mention ‘Classic Games’. These came around in the late 70’s in the style of a massive arcade machine. It wasn’t really until the 80’s that the Gaming Revolution took place. Companies like Nintendo and Sega started to make the first consoles with their infamous front men/hedgehog Mario and Sonic. Then moving into the 90’s you have the birth of Sony’s Playstation which helped produce a whole new variety of games and even the PC played a big role in games.
Anyway that’s the scene set, gaming has been around for a decade or two and has got bigger and better over time and it looks like this trend shall continue into the future. I’m going to look at if you can have classic games, can you play them again and again? Are they better than recent games? All the while comparing them to similar aspects in music, films and books.
Music has been around for years and years, even as back as cavemen making noises through horns or something. Anyway some classic albums in my opinion could be Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and Radiohead’s ‘Ok Computer’. Now these albums are from a few years apart yet in terms of quality they are both equal. They are both concept albums and are critically acclaimed as being the best of a musical era. They can be played over and over and many people will never get tired of them. They will still top the greatest album charts for years to come and will influence many more musicians. So games? You can never have two games as good as each other years apart, times change and games still keep getting better and better. The best of charts will always be topped by the brand new games. Games are always trying to be improved upon whilst music is always trying to be replicated by fans. You can’t really have a ‘classic game’ like a piece of music from years to come. Look at CLASSICAL music… decades old but still regarded by some as the best.
Films have been around for a fairly long time as well. Once again films from an age are still regarded as the best such as childhood films “ The Wizard of Oz” and “ The Sound of Music “. Over the years they have been made to portray everything really and different types of film as horror, humour etc. Every year there is said to be a classic film… the only thin different in them might be better special effects thanks to computers. The acting is the same and the level of script writing and films can really affect and change people. Yep you can have classic films.
So books… well it’s really the same again. The Bible could be called a classic, it’s been around forever and many people base their lives around it. Or books like ‘1984’ by George Orwell that make people admire it and is done in every English classroom in the country, decades after it was first written.
Now the three above have the same type of theme going through them… you can look back at the past and call a certain a classic… a landmark… genius. You can’t do this with games. After a few years most are completely forgotten about unless many more sequels are made for it. It’s a shame games won’t have this kind of nostalgia. Sure you can go back and play them to remind you of better days but never will you recapture the beauty of the game when it first came out. It will just look old and poor and then you’ll go out and buy a new game.
Anyway that’s the scene set, gaming has been around for a decade or two and has got bigger and better over time and it looks like this trend shall continue into the future. I’m going to look at if you can have classic games, can you play them again and again? Are they better than recent games? All the while comparing them to similar aspects in music, films and books.
Music has been around for years and years, even as back as cavemen making noises through horns or something. Anyway some classic albums in my opinion could be Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and Radiohead’s ‘Ok Computer’. Now these albums are from a few years apart yet in terms of quality they are both equal. They are both concept albums and are critically acclaimed as being the best of a musical era. They can be played over and over and many people will never get tired of them. They will still top the greatest album charts for years to come and will influence many more musicians. So games? You can never have two games as good as each other years apart, times change and games still keep getting better and better. The best of charts will always be topped by the brand new games. Games are always trying to be improved upon whilst music is always trying to be replicated by fans. You can’t really have a ‘classic game’ like a piece of music from years to come. Look at CLASSICAL music… decades old but still regarded by some as the best.
Films have been around for a fairly long time as well. Once again films from an age are still regarded as the best such as childhood films “ The Wizard of Oz” and “ The Sound of Music “. Over the years they have been made to portray everything really and different types of film as horror, humour etc. Every year there is said to be a classic film… the only thin different in them might be better special effects thanks to computers. The acting is the same and the level of script writing and films can really affect and change people. Yep you can have classic films.
So books… well it’s really the same again. The Bible could be called a classic, it’s been around forever and many people base their lives around it. Or books like ‘1984’ by George Orwell that make people admire it and is done in every English classroom in the country, decades after it was first written.
Now the three above have the same type of theme going through them… you can look back at the past and call a certain a classic… a landmark… genius. You can’t do this with games. After a few years most are completely forgotten about unless many more sequels are made for it. It’s a shame games won’t have this kind of nostalgia. Sure you can go back and play them to remind you of better days but never will you recapture the beauty of the game when it first came out. It will just look old and poor and then you’ll go out and buy a new game.
Yeah you can still play a lot of old games and still have fun
Yep
Yep
I'd say that Mario 1, 3 and World are all classics.
I'd also give that title to Donkey Kong Country and Super Metroid.
And I'm sure that there are others that deserve the title that I've not thought of.
These games are roughly 10+ years old (Metroid and Donkey Kong probably only being 9).
They're not as complex as modern 3D games, but their relatively simple 2D gameplay is pretty much flawless.
I'm not just saying that they were good for their time either, they're still immensely playable up against today's games as well.
If you take a look at the first Zelda game (on the Nes), you'll see that not all modern great games have classic predecessors.
Not that the original Zelda was a bad game.
It was amazing at it's time and is still playable today, only it's so primitive, the only reason why you'd want to is because you love all things Zelda (having played the later games in the series).
Zelda on the Snes was a HUGE improvement, although I've not played enough of it to determine whether it's a classic...
I'd also give that title to Donkey Kong Country and Super Metroid.
And I'm sure that there are others that deserve the title that I've not thought of.
These games are roughly 10+ years old (Metroid and Donkey Kong probably only being 9).
They're not as complex as modern 3D games, but their relatively simple 2D gameplay is pretty much flawless.
I'm not just saying that they were good for their time either, they're still immensely playable up against today's games as well.
If you take a look at the first Zelda game (on the Nes), you'll see that not all modern great games have classic predecessors.
Not that the original Zelda was a bad game.
It was amazing at it's time and is still playable today, only it's so primitive, the only reason why you'd want to is because you love all things Zelda (having played the later games in the series).
Zelda on the Snes was a HUGE improvement, although I've not played enough of it to determine whether it's a classic...
I totally agree with this, but only for the moment.
I think when games become more sophisticated - as in photo-realist graphics, huge fully interactive gameworlds, perfect character animation and storylines which compete with films and books, only then shall we see games which will be labelled as timeless classics.
When graphics reach the point of near-perfection in every game, developers will turn the full-force of their talents and abilities to creating deep and inspiring storylines and truly fantastic gameplay. At that point, I can see true gaming classics beginning to emerge.
I think when games become more sophisticated - as in photo-realist graphics, huge fully interactive gameworlds, perfect character animation and storylines which compete with films and books, only then shall we see games which will be labelled as timeless classics.
When graphics reach the point of near-perfection in every game, developers will turn the full-force of their talents and abilities to creating deep and inspiring storylines and truly fantastic gameplay. At that point, I can see true gaming classics beginning to emerge.
But what do books and games have in common? Books use heads and pens, that's all you need. You can come up with the same book now as you can in twenty years.
Sensible Soccer is Citizen Kane, and Fifa 2002 is xXx. Sensi may not have pretty graphics or colour commentary, but it's fun to play. It's a classic. Fifa 2002 has flashy graphics, licensed music but it lacks real substance.
Although I'm playing devil's advocate here, people on this forum say Sensi Soccer is better than PES, which is bollards.
BTW, I see a pattern forming here with our two topics. I reply, you reply, I reply...
Sensible Soccer is Citizen Kane, and Fifa 2002 is xXx. Sensi may not have pretty graphics or colour commentary, but it's fun to play. It's a classic. Fifa 2002 has flashy graphics, licensed music but it lacks real substance.
Although I'm playing devil's advocate here, people on this forum say Sensi Soccer is better than PES, which is bollards.
BTW, I see a pattern forming here with our two topics. I reply, you reply, I reply...
Yes but years later we can look back on them and read them as if it was just written yesterday... despite maybe old flaws in gaps.
Look at Senisble Soccer and it's no where as good as say Fifa 2002
You can compare new books to old books
You can't with games
Look at Senisble Soccer and it's no where as good as say Fifa 2002
You can compare new books to old books
You can't with games
Gaming is pretty recent in itsself. I'm sure that books written in the first 20 years of printing, or the first films made in the first 20 years of cinematography suck too.
Recent?
GoldenEye?
Final Fantasy VII?
GTA3?
Halo?
The Sims?
EverQuest?
CounterStrike?
Final Fantasy VII?
GTA3?
Halo?
The Sims?
EverQuest?
CounterStrike?
‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Pong’ are maybe the first names that pop into your mind when you mention ‘Classic Games’. These came around in the late 70’s in the style of a massive arcade machine. It wasn’t really until the 80’s that the Gaming Revolution took place. Companies like Nintendo and Sega started to make the first consoles with their infamous front men/hedgehog Mario and Sonic. Then moving into the 90’s you have the birth of Sony’s Playstation which helped produce a whole new variety of games and even the PC played a big role in games.
Anyway that’s the scene set, gaming has been around for a decade or two and has got bigger and better over time and it looks like this trend shall continue into the future. I’m going to look at if you can have classic games, can you play them again and again? Are they better than recent games? All the while comparing them to similar aspects in music, films and books.
Music has been around for years and years, even as back as cavemen making noises through horns or something. Anyway some classic albums in my opinion could be Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and Radiohead’s ‘Ok Computer’. Now these albums are from a few years apart yet in terms of quality they are both equal. They are both concept albums and are critically acclaimed as being the best of a musical era. They can be played over and over and many people will never get tired of them. They will still top the greatest album charts for years to come and will influence many more musicians. So games? You can never have two games as good as each other years apart, times change and games still keep getting better and better. The best of charts will always be topped by the brand new games. Games are always trying to be improved upon whilst music is always trying to be replicated by fans. You can’t really have a ‘classic game’ like a piece of music from years to come. Look at CLASSICAL music… decades old but still regarded by some as the best.
Films have been around for a fairly long time as well. Once again films from an age are still regarded as the best such as childhood films “ The Wizard of Oz” and “ The Sound of Music “. Over the years they have been made to portray everything really and different types of film as horror, humour etc. Every year there is said to be a classic film… the only thin different in them might be better special effects thanks to computers. The acting is the same and the level of script writing and films can really affect and change people. Yep you can have classic films.
So books… well it’s really the same again. The Bible could be called a classic, it’s been around forever and many people base their lives around it. Or books like ‘1984’ by George Orwell that make people admire it and is done in every English classroom in the country, decades after it was first written.
Now the three above have the same type of theme going through them… you can look back at the past and call a certain a classic… a landmark… genius. You can’t do this with games. After a few years most are completely forgotten about unless many more sequels are made for it. It’s a shame games won’t have this kind of nostalgia. Sure you can go back and play them to remind you of better days but never will you recapture the beauty of the game when it first came out. It will just look old and poor and then you’ll go out and buy a new game.
Anyway that’s the scene set, gaming has been around for a decade or two and has got bigger and better over time and it looks like this trend shall continue into the future. I’m going to look at if you can have classic games, can you play them again and again? Are they better than recent games? All the while comparing them to similar aspects in music, films and books.
Music has been around for years and years, even as back as cavemen making noises through horns or something. Anyway some classic albums in my opinion could be Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and Radiohead’s ‘Ok Computer’. Now these albums are from a few years apart yet in terms of quality they are both equal. They are both concept albums and are critically acclaimed as being the best of a musical era. They can be played over and over and many people will never get tired of them. They will still top the greatest album charts for years to come and will influence many more musicians. So games? You can never have two games as good as each other years apart, times change and games still keep getting better and better. The best of charts will always be topped by the brand new games. Games are always trying to be improved upon whilst music is always trying to be replicated by fans. You can’t really have a ‘classic game’ like a piece of music from years to come. Look at CLASSICAL music… decades old but still regarded by some as the best.
Films have been around for a fairly long time as well. Once again films from an age are still regarded as the best such as childhood films “ The Wizard of Oz” and “ The Sound of Music “. Over the years they have been made to portray everything really and different types of film as horror, humour etc. Every year there is said to be a classic film… the only thin different in them might be better special effects thanks to computers. The acting is the same and the level of script writing and films can really affect and change people. Yep you can have classic films.
So books… well it’s really the same again. The Bible could be called a classic, it’s been around forever and many people base their lives around it. Or books like ‘1984’ by George Orwell that make people admire it and is done in every English classroom in the country, decades after it was first written.
Now the three above have the same type of theme going through them… you can look back at the past and call a certain a classic… a landmark… genius. You can’t do this with games. After a few years most are completely forgotten about unless many more sequels are made for it. It’s a shame games won’t have this kind of nostalgia. Sure you can go back and play them to remind you of better days but never will you recapture the beauty of the game when it first came out. It will just look old and poor and then you’ll go out and buy a new game.