Old games that are better than newer ones!

[James8BitStar]

I dont know how you can think old shooters like Doom are better than something like Bioshock or Gears. I think your going the rose coloured glass's route x 3 + 10 lol

You have to face the facts that things have progressed and in a much better way, superior graphics and sound do add tremendously to a game.

Maybe they do, but are today's graphics and sound really superior? Its impossible to argue that the hardware isn't superior, but that doesn't mean the things created with it are.

I can easily see calling Doom superior to pretty much most FPSes today. Half-Life and Red Faction and Halo were good for what they were but they're just not the greatest. The main thing is that those are games you kinda have to dedicate yourself to, whereas Doom you can just load it up, play a level and be done with it.

I think the real debate here is - are 2D games better than 3D ones...

Depending on how you define 3D, I'd say yeah.

One of the big reasons IMO is just that 3D games drag. Using your own LTTP versus 3D Zeldas... in Link to the Past, you can get from point A to Point B in Hyrule, by foot, in under five minutes. In Ocarina of Time you can get from point A to point B in five minutes... if you're at Hyrule Castle and Point B is LonLon Ranch, and you have Epona, and she doesn't get hung up on any fences or anything when you whistle for her. Camera is also an issue that 2D never had.

I wrote a bigger list of reasons once, but it needs some re-thinking. In general though I find I always prefer 2D over 3D.

[Fearless]

plus, older rpg's werent so linear! Todays rpg's tell you you, go here next, then go here, then go here. Stick in some old rpgs like Bards Tale, Legacy of the ancients, Ultima, etc. you had to do some serious exploring just to see what you needed to do, it wasnt spoon fed to you.

[Rob2600]

Star Fox 64 is better than Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox Assault. Spy Hunter is better than the new Spy Hunter that was released a few years ago for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. The original Rampage is better than Rampage: World Tour and Rampage: Universal Tour.

Atari Football was even better than some football games.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but I agree that overall, old sports games are much more fun to play than new sports games. I'd rather play the original Bases Loaded, Baseball Stars, Double Dribble, Blades of Steel, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Tecmo Bowl, or Joe Montana Football instead of Triple Play, NBA 2K, NHL Faceoff, Knockout Kings, or Madden NFL any day.

Take Zelda for example i think LTTP was pretty much the high point of the series, im not a fan of all 3D ones

I agree that the old 2D versions of The Legend of Zelda were great, but Ocarina of Time was a masterpiece.

[James8BitStar]

plus, older rpg's werent so linear! Todays rpg's tell you you, go here next, then go here, then go here. Stick in some old rpgs like Bards Tale, Legacy of the ancients, Ultima, etc. you had to do some serious exploring just to see what you needed to do, it wasnt spoon fed to you.

Or then you had RPGs that start out linear but then let you find your own way once you got to a certain point (pretty much any NES or SMS RPG and more than a few PC ones). Yeah, I love that because it feels more like an adventure that way.

[blue lander]

I don't know. Every time I think "the current generation of games suck! I'm sticking with my Atari and NES", five years later when the system goes obsolete, I find out that there were quite a few excellent games that I missed out on. It's happening now with the XBox.

And I'd normally agree that no FPS has ever been better than DOOM, but that was until I played Serious Sam 1 and 2...

[Rob2600]

I'd normally agree that no FPS has ever been better than DOOM, but that was until I played Serious Sam 1 and 2...

I thought Perfect Dark was great. Goldeneye 007, Turok 3, and XIII were fun, too.

[Daft Punk]

By far the best football game ever, for me anyway. Super Tecmo Bowl 3 Final Edition for the SNES, or the first Super Tecmo Bowl for the NES

I was going to say the same thing! Long live NES tecmo bowl!

[Eternal Champion]

plus, older rpg's werent so linear! Todays rpg's tell you you, go here next, then go here, then go here. Stick in some old rpgs like Bards Tale, Legacy of the ancients, Ultima, etc. you had to do some serious exploring just to see what you needed to do, it wasnt spoon fed to you.

Oh my God, so true. Even back to FFIII on SNES, just too linear for me. The old Metroid felt less linear! Eh, I'll take Phantasy Star II over any Final Fantasy.

[Trebuken]

Older games are much easier to pick up and play...you don't have to adjust or take time to get into them...that's why they seem superior.

Current games are just as good.

Ultima VII was awesome but Morrowind and Oblivion are superior by a hair.

No Unreal game can compare to Unreal Tournament 3. (IMO)

I enjoyed Doom 3 as much as the original Doom but the original is more replayable.

I think games are better but they are not as casual. Even the handheld games are tougher to just pick up and play.

It's remarkable how the greatest games of the past remain among the greatest games despite technology.

[whoisKeel]

I wouldn't say that Doom or Quake are BETTER than Bioshock or Gears, but I don't think that the genre has evolved much since the Quake series. Gears had great co-op, and Bioshock had an OK story, for a FPS, but given that there's 10+ years in-between, that's not really saying much. Because of this, Gears and Bioshock strike me as less memorable, they don't break the same ground that those early id games did. I like all 4 games, Bioshock being the only one that I will probably never play again.

It's tough to compare newer sequels to originals, and really unfair to this generation. I mean, of course, the original Spy Hunter is better, you can't re-invigorate a franchise 20 years later unless your name ends in in Lucas. I think it would be more fair to compare Spy Hunter to the Burnout series, since it could be argued that they target the same demographic.

On that same note, I think Super Mario Galaxy is comparable to Super Mario World. Other than the purple coin thing, which left a bad taste in my mouth, I think that game serves as a great example of updating a franchise for this generation.

[calthaer]

Ultima VII was awesome but Morrowind and Oblivion are superior by a hair.

KEEP MOVING.

[James8BitStar]

Oh my God, so true. Even back to FFIII on SNES, just too linear for me. The old Metroid felt less linear! Eh, I'll take Phantasy Star II over any Final Fantasy.

... Errr, what? Phantasy Star II is in no way, shape, or form less linear than FF6.

[bazariah]

It's remarkable how the greatest games of the past remain among the greatest games despite technology.

it's realy not, i'd say it's no different from film IMO.. the technology and means to play just moves onyet the greats will allways be there
like there are movies from 30 years ago which are still great to watch today

examples:
star wars trilogy (4-6) beats star wars trilogy (1-3)
alien/aliens & lastly predator beat the aliens vs predator movies
dawn of the dead? i'd take the original over the 2004 remake

but i'd take
the halloween remake over the original
transformers live action over transformers 1986 animated


when it comes to this topic
i'd take street fighter 2 hyper fighting over any 3-d beat em up
super mario bros 3 over mario galaxy
mega man 2 over mega man x8

but then on the same basis i'd get more satisfaction out of playing
dead rising over resident evil (which is a game i adore)
halo 3 over doom
new super mario bros over super mario bros

so it's not so much of a what is better, it's more of a deal of what you prefer.. therea are many shining examples of greatness from the last 30 years of gaming, but there are also many more to come.. this runs parrellell to movies, film and books, no matter which way you slice it theres bound to be something awesome which is relevant to your particular tastes.

[Dreamcast]

Duke Nukem 3D is a hard find to be better. it's level design is very unique and the way the blood droops off the wall.

[sidnotcrazy]

Modern games still hold some interest to me, but the number of games I buy for next-gen systems keeps dwindling. I think there are some classic games that have not been eclipsed by modern titles, and will likely never be. You can get angry, and write it off as nostalgia, but it’s the truth. In some ways a good 35% of modern games just simply ride the coattails of what has come before them.

[Blitzwing256]

transformers live action over transformers 1986 animated

I...don't think we can be friends anymore.

[YrGod]

I honestly enjoy splatterhouse more then I do any of the new resident evil/silent hill/horror games of today.

[Rob2600]

transformers live action over transformers 1986 animated

I just read that. Wow. I don't know what to say. The Transformers: The Movie (1986) is a masterpiece. Transformers (2007) is an embarrassment.

alien/aliens & lastly predator beat the aliens vs predator movies
street fighter 2 hyper fighting over any 3-d beat em up
mega man 2 over mega man x8

At least we agree on a few things.

[bangtango]

Games certainly have more customization, options and unlockable content than they used to. They are better that way. Take Mega Man 2. Probably the best Mega Man game and better than any of the newer ones. However, if it were released today then you would almost certainly get to change the color of Mega Man's outfit or after beating the game you'd probably be able to go back through it playing as any of the other robots (i.e. Metal Man or Air Man) and be able to collect power-ups the same way Mega Man does after beating the other robot masters. I would have loved to do that on the NES, rip through Mega Man 2 as Quick Man or Heat Man, starting with their powers and gradually adding to your arsenal after beating other robots. All while having unlimited firepower of the weapon for the robot you pick (like Mega Man's gun) without needing to collect weapon energy for the guy you are using. It'd be a feeling similar to going through the old Sonic games as Knuckles when Sonic & Knuckles came out.

Now let's talk sports games. Let's face it. The options, stat tracking and season/franchise modes are far and away better than what we used to get in the old days with password systems or single game exhibitions without a full season mode. Fantasy drafts are just awesome. I will say this, though. The gameplay isn't always better in the newer sports titles. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. That debate will go on forever. I like lots of 8/16-bit titles, some of the stuff from the PS1/Saturn/DC era and plenty of newer stuff in the sports genre (since PS2).

[Rob2600]

let's talk sports games. Let's face it. The options, stat tracking and season/franchise modes are far and away better than what we used to get in the old days with password systems or single game exhibitions without a full season mode. Fantasy drafts are just awesome. I will say this, though. The gameplay isn't always better in the newer sports titles. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. That debate will go on forever. I like lots of 8/16-bit titles, some of the stuff from the PS1/Saturn/DC era and plenty of newer stuff in the sports genre (since PS2).

I know that modern sports games are very popular and that's fine, but to me, they're unplayable. I can't memorize which button does what.

"Hey Rob, you should try out this new basketball game. It's easy. A is to pass, B is to shoot, C is to steal, D is to switch to a different player, L1 is to dunk, L2 is to foul, R1 is to call a time out, R2 is to throw chairs into the audience..."

"Wait, how do I pass again?"

Good old sports games are fast, simple, and fun (Blades of Steel, Double Dribble, Tecmo Bowl, Bases Loaded, etc.). Of course, bad old sports games are just bad.

NCAA Basketball on the SNES is my cutoff for realistic sports games. I played that game a lot, but I think most realistic sports games after that era are too complicated. I'm fine with most modern arcade-style sports games though (NBA Hang Time, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, Virtua Tennis, Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, Sega Soccer Slam, Beach Spikers, etc.). I also think the Mario Golf games are fun.

I'd also rather play a simple, arcade-style racing game than a complicated racing simulation.