• Why Half-Life ruined videogames for me forever: a Christmas story
    96 replies, posted
[QUOTE=cdr248;49391960]Probably taking your post too seriously but hey you never know: NV is probably one of them more memorable RPGs I can think of. Its plot was very clearly a self-referential [I]narrative[/I], but the factions, companions, and the way the game handled choice in general was good enough to pass for the 'moderately well-written RPG award'.[/QUOTE] Well it's just an opinion but i never got any feeling for the story in any of those games. The story missions seem so fleeting and generic they never really stand out and length wise they're only slightly longer than some side quest arcs.
After left 4 dead there were quite a few fps games where I tried using the melee shove. Took me some time to get over that.
[QUOTE=Dissolution;49386907]this one is more recent but its totally timesplitters: future perfect for me, i used to fucking love EVERY single part about that game. i replayed that shit probably 500 times[/QUOTE] Hands down my favorite game on the PS2. I played so much of the split-screen multiplayer with my brother when I was a kid that I knew all the secrets on the maps and the locations of all the guns, and the singleplayer was great too. And then there was all the challenges. That game had so much content and so much character that I can't think of any games recently that can stand up against it.
Back when the internet wasn't nearly as big as it is now, it was hard to find info on games to see what the hubbub was about, you had to discern if you'd be interested in it by word of mouth or just what the back of the case had on it. I found many great games by taking a gamble. I wouldn't do that today, I have to look up alot of info about a game to make sure I'm willing to dump 60 bones on it.
the more I think about it the more awesome games I've played for Christmas I strongly remember Ocarina of Time, DK64, Majora's Mask, Super Smash Melee, Luigi's Mansion, Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Mario Sunshine, I remember well playing them and then just being incredible. Even in the recent years, Kingdom Hearts DDS, RE Revelations, Silent Hill 4, Castlevania Lords of Shadows, Silent Hill Downpour, I love getting games on Christmas I love Christmas
[QUOTE=Fr3ddi3;49391346]Wolfenstein? Metro? Fallout? Dishonored? Deus Ex? Likely more out there and if your loosen the constraints a bit you can add in Alien isolation, Dying Light. All of those were at least good, if not great to fantastic.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't include Fallout in that list, but yes all of those were amazing. We need more games like this, its a shame that there's so few.
Svencoop, i played it so much back in time, literaly my childhood gaming.
the only other game that i can relate to the feeling of being immersed in was dying light i got so sucked into it just like half-life it's so rare to find quality titles like that
[QUOTE=Richardroth;49392202]Back when the internet wasn't nearly as big as it is now, it was hard to find info on games to see what the hubbub was about, you had to discern if you'd be interested in it by word of mouth or just what the back of the case had on it. I found many great games by taking a gamble. I wouldn't do that today, I have to look up alot of info about a game to make sure I'm willing to dump 60 bones on it.[/QUOTE] Oddly enough I got into STALKER because of my sudden strange resistance to googling everything for that specific title, which i usually do for every game nowadays. I was literally google searching for atmospheric/horror games and I played the first game once when it came out and quit before anything really happened, so seeing it on lists of games had me confused and got me to try it again in 2012. I played through without looking up anything about it save for what I needed to for patches, and it was the first game I went into in recent memory not knowing what to expect at all. No previews, trailers, reviews, anything except what I remembered of how little I played in the past. Not at all dissimilar to how I played games as a kid actually, which may have been part of the reason I got so hooked.
I miss this days when companies didn't release games with atrocious DLC and then call us entitled when we said pretty much that. They don't even have to give free content in patches like a lot of old games did, just don't nickel and dime us with retarded bullshit.
[QUOTE=megafat;49392569]I miss this days when companies didn't release games with atrocious DLC and then call us entitled when we said pretty much that.[/QUOTE] Its the games media thats supposed to be on our side calling us entitled. Anyways, my christmas day amazing experience would have to be Superstar Sega. God damn that game was good. Whats great is that I've been experiencing that same enjoyment thanks to the releasing of Jrpgs on Steam.
[QUOTE=CLungcancer;49387244]Ppl love to hate on Undertale only based on it's popularity and the crazy fans, but honestly that game made me giggle like a kid and kept surprising me over and over again. If you want to have a chance at experiencing some of that magic again give it a try, it's one of the reasons why it's so popular after all.[/QUOTE] This. I got Undertale just recently, and couldn't put it down. I've been through the fandom craze and back, starting the game already knowing most of the characters and their personalities. But I'm still having loads of fun playing it. Hell, Undertale's simplistic gameplay is a lot like a bunch of other simplistic indie games that I sometimes feel like I'm forcing myself to finish. It can be a really, really good game, but sometimes indie games don't feel as enticing. I keep playing so that I can finally say "yep, I beat that game." Undertale, though, keeps me coming back. It has writing and atmosphere I've never really seen in a game before. Plus the whole concept of sparing every enemy you come across is really nice, too. I [I]was[/I] going a bit through my backlog and playing through Darksiders, but Undertale just felt so much more enticing. [editline]26th December 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Rossy167;49391415]Do Fallout and Dishonoured really classify as great 'stories'?[/QUOTE] Are you criticizing their quality, or referring to their choice system where an objective story isn't present, more reliant on the player (which I disagree with, but I'm still asking)?
[QUOTE=Toyhobo;49391995]Well it's just an opinion but i never got any feeling for the story in any of those games. The story missions seem so fleeting and generic they never really stand out and length wise they're only slightly longer than some side quest arcs.[/QUOTE] Thats what I'm saying. The plot itself was fairly regular but I think the effort that was put into the world-building (as well as the alternate choices/options for quests) was good enough to make it interesting for me. It didn't have a crazy good or mindfuck story, but it was a good enough effort. [editline]26th December 2015[/editline] Morrowind feels the same way where they story and history of [I]everything else[/I] is far more interesting than the actual quests you get to play.
[QUOTE=GLaDOSCAKE122;49391774]To be honest I loved how the old games like 'Return to Castle Wolfenstein' or 'Half-Life' didn't have fancy graphics and enhanced realism, what made those games for me was the gameplay and storyline. It's probably a nostalgic thing.[/QUOTE] But for their time they were the pinnacle of fancy graphics. I still have a PC [del]Gamer[/del] Zone mag which previews RTCW and describes it as having photo realistic textures, high definition models, and ground breaking visual effects like the flamethrower :V:. And as someone who still plays it on a regular basis, it does still hold up remarkably well in the visual department (gameplay and story are a given) Half life for it's time was the same deal.
[QUOTE=cdr248;49393513]Thats what I'm saying. The plot itself was fairly regular but I think the effort that was put into the world-building (as well as the alternate choices/options for quests) was good enough to make it interesting for me. It didn't have a crazy good or mindfuck story, but it was a good enough effort. [editline]26th December 2015[/editline] Morrowind feels the same way where they story and history of [I]everything else[/I] is far more interesting than the actual quests you get to play.[/QUOTE] I absolutely loved the game but like I said I found the story to be shite.
[QUOTE=Captain Chalky;49394059]This phenomenon made me realize how rare a platformer is these days. Well, a [B]good[/B] platformer at least, like the original three Crash Bandicoot games. All we have now is Mario and thousands of terrible indie games. Rayman Origins and Shovel Knight are the only ones I remember at the moment. Before them I was suffering from withdrawal for [B]years[/B].[/QUOTE] Fortunately we've got Yooka Laylee and Poi both on the way now, I think a fair few people in industry have seen this gap in the market.
[QUOTE=Dissolution;49386907]this one is more recent but its totally timesplitters: future perfect for me, i used to fucking love EVERY single part about that game. i replayed that shit probably 500 times[/QUOTE] Fucking this. If they released an HD version of that game I would buy it in a heartbeat. [I]"Spaceman!"[/I]
[QUOTE=GrizzlyBear;49390450]Also people should look at what gaming was like in the late 80s and 90s.[/QUOTE] All I remember of the 90's was PILES of photorealistic Adventure games. There was Myst/Riven and The Journeyman Project/Buried in Time but there was also a million other games that tried to clone the idea and overall sucked balls. There was also a fuckton of RPG's coming out of Japan. Go find a a copy of EGM or similar gaming magazine from say....1995 or so on Google Books and read through it. It really helps give you an idea what the market was like pre-Half-Life.
[QUOTE=Wormy;49394174]The reason for this gap in the market is more or less because platformer games that have been released recently haven't sold very well, with the exception of well know IPs such as Mario by Nintendo. I recall reading about someone working for Activision regarding the Spyro IP that they now own. He said they would love to make Spyro games, [b]if[/b] there was a demand for platformer games in the market. Since it's a pretty big risk at the time to focus on making platformer games, game developers choose not to get involved with it. I can see platformer games be successful if released for smartphones at it's current state, but not for home consoles.[/QUOTE] 3D and 2D platfomers are both entirely different beasts. But I'm really not sure if that's true, maybe my nostalgia goggled are fucking with my view but it feels like one day everyone collectively decided we were too grown up and mature for 3D platforming.
[QUOTE=Toyhobo;49386855]I'm not even sure any more if I got picky or the games industry just started sucking.[/QUOTE] I'm blaming the games industry. I noticed somewhere around '07, '08 maybe, that general design principals started to shift over from "create a complete, cohesive experience" to "just cram a bunch of shit in the game and hope it sells". I've gone back and played games from before then that I'd never played as a kid and had a fucking blast, I can still get wrapped up in the atmosphere for stuff like RE4 which I only just now started playing.
I still remember when I could play a game for hours without getting exhausted. Nowadays I can't be more than 2 hours with a game unless I really REALLY like it , and also sometimes when I'm in the middle of a game, I just continue playing for the sake of finishing that game sooner. The good side is that there are plenty of old but awesome games I have never tried, for example Jedi Academy (yes the only Sw games I have ever had contact with in the past were Battlefront 1&2) and I'm enjoying it a lot. I feel like new games aren't that worth it anymore, I have reached a point were I refuse to pay full price on a game unless it's a saga I love like Kingdom Hearts. Some years ago I would have said the same with Uncharted but they ruined it in the 3rd game for me.
[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;49387188]Anyone that can get into Half Life 1 would probably still feel this way today. Its about as perfect as perfect can be when it comes to a full singleplayer FPS experience. I cant really think of an FPS with a singleplayer thats as grand as HL1, its a huge adventure the entire time, and id argue some of the best pacing in a game. If you like FPS even a bit, I dont see how it would be possible to not find HL1 amazing, it does everything right and then some.[/QUOTE] The First Fear Wolfenstein The New Order Half Life 2 there is some out there
[QUOTE=theevilldeadII;49394600]The First Fear Wolfenstein The New Order Half Life 2 there is some out there[/QUOTE] How is W:TNO anything like half-life in any way he mentioned?
[QUOTE=theevilldeadII;49394600]The First Fear Wolfenstein The New Order Half Life 2 there is some out there[/QUOTE] W:TNO is great, but its not anywhere as good as HL1. HL2 I think went without mention when I said HL1, but HL1 is still a better FPS than 2 while 2 has a way better narrative/world. Ill give you FEAR on gunplay, but HL1 was everything.
I am so fucking glad I still enjoy things and games that come out today. Sure, I remember things fondly, old games were amazing. But I've actually gone back and played those games. Fuck nostalgia. It corrupts your perception of things and makes everything worse. Games from that time period were not always that great. I can't even remember how many fucking duds I played as a kid. There were amazing titles that I'll never forget, but I go back to them, and my memory, and reality are not the same. Nostalgia is what drives a lot of this I believe. [editline]31st December 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=WhyNott;49425722]How is W:TNO anything like half-life in any way he mentioned?[/QUOTE] While it isn't a clone of it in any way, it has a well paced story that is centered around a singular protagonist as he goes through some pretty crazy events. It's one of the few games of the last decade to emotionally connect with me. I understood BJ. I got why he cared so much, and I got why he was so unstoppable. There was a lot more emotional heart to that game than anyone really wants to give it credit for. Not to mention, level design in that title is second to none.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49428498]I am so fucking glad I still enjoy things and games that come out today. Sure, I remember things fondly, old games were amazing. But I've actually gone back and played those games. Fuck nostalgia. It corrupts your perception of things and makes everything worse. Games from that time period were not always that great. I can't even remember how many fucking duds I played as a kid. There were amazing titles that I'll never forget, but I go back to them, and my memory, and reality are not the same. Nostalgia is what drives a lot of this I believe. [editline]31st December 2015[/editline] While it isn't a clone of it in any way, it has a well paced story that is centered around a singular protagonist as he goes through some pretty crazy events. It's one of the few games of the last decade to emotionally connect with me. I understood BJ. I got why he cared so much, and I got why he was so unstoppable. There was a lot more emotional heart to that game than anyone really wants to give it credit for. Not to mention, level design in that title is second to none.[/QUOTE] I think its simply a matter of some game designers getting lazier. Theres still games where if you go back and start them up, you feel that magic. Its a weird unexplainable feeling. For example, first time playing MGS1 was around a year ago, and i felt it. It was something special.
IMO the games that stand out are the ones where, when you replay them, you go into EVERY new level or area and be like "shit, I remember this so well!" Games like Quake, HL1, 2, Bioshock 1, Wolfenstein TNO, and Deus Ex 1 and 3 all do this for me.
If there isn't anything really good out at the moment I just don't bother looking and find something else to do instead of slogging through the store for some niche pick that might end up being not that great. I also rarely buy single games during the year, so what usually happens is I'm super behind as far as new releases go and I pick up everything when it's stable, cheap, and well reviewed. This way I avoid the frustration of spending a bunch of money and feeling like only a few things I bought that year were really great. [QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49428498]Not to mention, level design in that title is second to none.[/QUOTE] I wasn't blown away by it like some people were, but I agree that the maps hit that single player experience on the head.
I think video games are as good as they've ever been but I rarely look forward to AAA video games these days. That probably says something.
[QUOTE=Lambeth;49428824]I think video games are as good as they've ever been but I rarely look forward to AAA video games these days. That probably says something.[/QUOTE] It says the most important thing of all and it's purely a reflection on you. You, like most of us, are getting older. Usually, that entails being less surprised and being less enthralled with things. That's okay. For me, personally, I find it really helpful to separate my critical thoughts, from my enjoyment of things, and just try and let myself have fun when I can be it mindless or not, I use my mind enough during my day job, I find it perfectly acceptable to play some dumb games and just zone out doing that, and I get really wrapped up in them that way. One of the small indie gems that has kept me playing for 2 years now is a title called "Factorio" and it's absorbed thousands of hours of time, and resembles nothing of any child like experience I ever had. It always reminds me game design is moving forward even if it is in often unlooked places.
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