Gaming Yesterday Vs Today, Part 1 (my choice in games) - ubernoob's Blog

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Gaming Yesterday Vs Today, Part 1 (my choice in games)

Posted on July 26, 2012 at 03:42 AM.

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Greetings again all.

Since the whole Penn State fiasco with punishments is done, and nothing else that big on the horizon I'm changing my blog topic to something much more light hearted. After all this is a video game forum, first and foremost.

Part one of this blog series I am writing will cover my choice in games - so you can understand where my viewpoints come from.

One look at my signature on the forums will tell you a lot about my choice in games. Not everything, but quite a bit to be sure. It lists the Pokemon series, two of the first Final Fantasies (7/8) to make a big splash, one of the original graphical MMOs (EverQuest), and a text-based Soccer sim. I'm not even a big fan of soccer, to be honest. There is one thing that these games share in common...

Replayability. Customization. Depth. Okay, so that's three things but you get the picture. Now I'm not here to be the old man yelling at whippersnappers to get off my lawn - there are plenty of games today that I can appreciate. The Uncharted series was FANTASTIC. I was blown away playing it, and even more so just watching it. I had beaten the game at one point, and a buddy that lived in the barracks with me wanted to play so after work every day he'd set up shop in my room and play Uncharted 2. I literally laid in my bed, grabbed some popcorn, and watched him play it. This went on for a while and I had no itch to say, "Okay dude, enough hogging my system I wanna get some game time in." Nope, just sat back, relaxed, and watched.

Another great series is the Dark Souls. It is hopes-and-dreams-crushingly difficult. Every time I progressed I felt like I had earned it. The story might not have been great, the graphics may not have been the best, and there may have been their minor bugs here and there. Guess what? I was having so much fun losing (?!) and planning my next move that it didn't really matter to me. Not a perfect game (and granted it is not for everyone) but a fun experience.

Let me digress a minute and go back to the Uncharted series (Uncharted 2 more specifically for me.) After I had beaten the game never once did I wonder why I purchased the game. I may not get any more play time out of it, but in support of the game studio that made it I am glad I bought it. Anything to give them a chance to produce more quality games like that, I'm down. That brings me to a key point that I made though...

"I may not get any more play time out of it." Since then, I haven't had the urge to pop it in the PS3. This isn't a knock on the game itself... it's more a statement of how games have changed. Never did I get the urge to say, "Well... What if I did THAT differently? What if I did THIS differently?" It was a one play-through game, and keep it on the shelf in case I want to show it to someone who hasn't been introduced to the series yet.

Games don't need to be overtly difficult, dramatic, complex, or a social commentary to achieve what should be the ultimate goal for most games. That should be this: Replayability.

If I can spend 15-25 hours beating the story mode of a game, and walk away from it happy with the purchase I won't be disappointed. If I can spend 10 hours with a main story, but the game has enough to keep me occupied for 100+ hours for $30-$60? I'm thrilled.

Pokemon has the stigma of being a "Childs game" because of the premise. I'm not here to change any minds about that, it's not 1996 anymore and I don't care if I am judged for what I play. Why do I play it? I'd say about 10% of it is nostalgia. The other 90% is because beneath the surface lies a surprisingly robust RPG. From the breeding of your companions, to them learning specific moves only through breeding them multiple times with specific others, to the strength/weakness type system, to the myriad of things there are for you to do in the game... You can get well 150 hours of playtime from a 35 dollar purchase.

The same goes for Final Fantasy 8. The story may not have been the greatest (still a better love story than Twilight though) to some, the main thing is that there's more than 1 way to skin a cat. Having troubles with a boss? Grind a little bit. Granted they level with you, but it should make it a little easier. Don't want to grind? Figure out the bosses weakness and junction the spells you have available to you properly. If done right you will have a cakewalk of a time. Don't even get me started on the card game minigame. I could lose hours at a time there.

Why do I think some games have drifted from this winning formula of solid foundation, simplicity, and options? Technology plays a part in it. They just weren't able to attempt some of the things they are today. It will be that way in the future too. Not that I don't appreciate games trying to push the envelope technologically - I just think sometimes it's just too focused on graphics and not enough on the meat and potatoes of the games.

I direct you to the top selling games of all time (according to VGChartz, which takes everything but digital downloads into consideration... though PC sales have never really been on a level that console sales have.)

Global sales wise, the top 21 selling games of all time (minus #15 which is GTA:San Andreas) are all published by Nintendo. Even looking at North American figures only, 17 of the top 20 are Nintendo. The ones that are not are The Sims (EA) at #11, Kinect Adventures (Microsoft) at #12, and GTA:San Andreas (Take 2) at #16.

Why is this, one would ask? My reason is this: Replayability and simplicity. Don't take simplistic as meaning shallow though. I would personally call MineCraft simplistic. You can walk/run, break blocks, place blocks, make items through a very simple crafting interface, and participate in rudimentary combat. Pretty easy, right? Correct. Easy. It is also one of the deepest/most replayable games out there, because no game is ever the same. You are only limited by your imagination. Want to make your house? Do it. Want to take it a step further and make your street? Go right ahead. Do you want to make a castle to live in with your pet? You get the picture.

That reason (replayability and options) are the reason the most played games by me are often older games.

What do you think? What are you playing and why? I'd love to hear from you below, so leave a message.