Games That Aged Horribly

[SFMB]

Black Ops looks horrible! Just installed it and almost puked. And the controls are clunky, too.

 

[Master-Jedi]

I get why everyone says Deus Ex, but I think the mechanics still work quite well. I can look past graphics that are dated as long as they don't hinder the gameplay. If the mecanics are bad,however, I just can't get into the game. Like the original Legend of Zelda, not having a map and having link only stab with his sword make it really hard for me.

 

[chimeracreator]

I'm still a fan of the original Deus Ex. The graphics may look terrible, but the game play holds up as pretty solid. Also to anyone knocking turn based games from the 90s... X-COM. The controls are utter garbage (which certainly hurts enjoyment) but egads... that game still scares me.

 

[edgecult]

I get why everyone says Deus Ex, but I think the mechanics still work quite well. I can look past graphics that are dated as long as they don't hinder the gameplay. If the mecanics are bad,however, I just can't get into the game. Like the original Legend of Zelda, not having a map and having link only stab with his sword make it really hard for me.

The deus ex graphic thing catches me every time I sit to play it >.> I do the same thing with FF7.. I remember them quite well when they were new and me and my brother being like awesome 3d graphics -insert obligitory vomit rainbow pic- now I got back to replay once or twice a year between new games( and finally finish ff7 >.> someday...) and I just eye twitch when the game loads up.. in my memories I seem to have replaced those images from the game back when they were new with fake super rereleases with photorealistic graphics.. so to have.... that come on the screen tends to BSOD my brain for a few minutes and makes it hard to keep playing on.. someday I'll be able to sit and do it.. and finally finish ff7.. (and several other good rpgs i'm still sitting on >.>)

 

[imagremlin]

I have a very high tolerance for old graphics and controls. I can play PSOne games despite blocky blocky graphics and non analog controls.The graphic/control shock goes away after a little while for me (that applies to the newest and shiniest too)

Case in point, I'm currently having a blast with a recently acquired (for dirt cheap) copy of House of the Dead 2 & 3 on the Wii. And I revisit old games from time to time.

In short, it takes a lot for me to stop playing a game that was reasonably good in its time.

I can only think of one case, where the graphics and gameplay made me stop playing and that would be... the first Splinter Cell.

 

[MammothBlade]

DOOM, I just can't get past what is a completely awkward interface + mechanics for a first person shooter and textures and animations which don't excite or stimulate me in the slightest. Then again, I never played it when I was younger, so I don't have the sort of nostalgia that some hold.

Contrast that with Deus Ex, which I really enjoyed and immersed myself in despite a complete lack of nostalgia. It's all in the details, I think. Very linear, simple games don't age as well as those with more depth and freedom.

im really curious. what did you think was awkward about the interface and mechanics?

i replayed deus ex a couple of months ago. we may be in the minority but its still just as good as i remembered.

i agree with you about the open world vs linear in terms of aging

i tried to play neverwinter nights the other week thats going to take some effort to get into again

Well, the scenery textures now look like cardboard painted grey and you can only aim in a horizontal 360 degree arc. My first shooter was 007: Nightfire (PS2 was my first console), and Goldeneye 64 doesn't look too bad either. It set a basic standard for FPS that was evident in Nightfire. Free aim, an aiming arc in all directions, and relatively decent animations. Heck, I played 007 NF multiplayer a few days ago. It aged very well.


Deus Ex is just a step up from that.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

A whole lot of games from the PSX/N64 era; right when 2D game franchises were releasing games in 3D for the first time. Like these:

Spoiler: 6 images of varying size representing games which we've seen in 2D now in glorious 3D on the PSX and/or N64

Castlevania 64

Super Mario 64

Mortal Kombat 4

Spider-Man

Final Fantasy VII

Megaman Legend

Spoiler: And here's some games from the PSX/N64 era that were new at the time!

Resident Evil

Fighting Force

Nightmare Creatures

Goldeneye

Super Smash Bros

They may be ugly but I would play the hell out of all of those. In the case of Final Fantasy VII I've been telling myself I'd get back to my campaign for nearly a month now. I need to get back into Super Mario 64 too but other than those 2 I don't even own the other games listed in the spoilers. Just for clarification: while I consider those games to have aged horribly there are games on older consoles that I think look beautiful to this day such as Link to the Past, Super Mario Brothers 3, Final Fantasy III (VI on the Japanese Super Famicom), Super Metroid and, others. They're still a ton of fun too (my opinion)!

[sub][sub][sub]Fallout 3 looks dated; oh these kids today...[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[malestrithe]

Fallout looks pretty damn ugly nowadays. I did not play this game when it first came out, so I do not have any nostalgic attachment to it.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Fallout looks pretty damn ugly nowadays. I did not play this game when it first came out, so I do not have any nostalgic attachment to it.

Do you mean Fallout 3 because I'm pretty sure it isn't possible to get nostalgically attached to something that's only a couple of years old. If you mean the isometric PC games then yeah, they're pretty damn ugly.

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

Kingdom Hearts 2. All the mini games control horribly and I still don't understand what's going on.

 

[RedHighwind07]

Goldeneye. I tried playing it again after a 7 year stint of not having an N64 and it was horrible.

FF7 was never terribly good, but it's aged even worse.
-The extended verse isn't helping.

FF8 is still a favorite of mine, but I've been having a hard time playing it as of late.
Maybe I've replayed it too much, or maybe my tastes have changed, but the game just feels like a chore to play anymore.

In-fact, MOST PS1 games don't seem to age very well for me.

Also this^

 

[maugatar]

The origional FEAR, it just looks bad. Bad bad bad bad bad.

Dated graphics repetitvive game play. Dull.

 

[Netrigan]

Half-Life 1 has aged pretty well in terms of visuals and gunplay, but the level design is TERRIBLE compared to Half-Life 2.

Half-Life 1 came out at a time when I regularly played games two or three times. I finished it, thought it was pretty awesome, started over... then realized just how limiting the level design really was. It was also amazing how often I remembered when monsters were about to teleport in behind me. I stopped my second playthrough maybe half way through. Some months later, I attempted a third playthrough and only got about a quarter of the way through.

So, as it turns out Half-Life was a perfect name for it.

 

[Netrigan]

[/quote]

Any PC FPS made before the advent of mouse-look. I can't stand to play a keyboard-only FPS for more than about 30 minutes.

Dark Forces. It's a great game and I'd love to replay it, but the controls kill it dead for me.

 

[Abedeus]

I had huge problems getting into Baldur's Gate, and I think I'll leave it for the HD resolution. I kind of regret not playing it when it was still new...

Also Planescape Torment... Geez. I liked the premise of the game, but it was hard getting into it. Dropped it too, waiting for a lot of spare time.

From the stuff I actually did play in my youth, Thief 2. Lovely game but I liked T3 a lot more. Heresy, well aware if that, but it's the truth.

 

[Netrigan]

Well, the scenery textures now look like cardboard painted grey and you can only aim in a horizontal 360 degree arc. My first shooter was 007: Nightfire (PS2 was my first console), and Goldeneye 64 doesn't look too bad either. It set a basic standard for FPS that was evident in Nightfire. Free aim, an aiming arc in all directions, and relatively decent animations. Heck, I played 007 NF multiplayer a few days ago. It aged very well.

Having skipped over the N64 (and most consoles), every single video I've seen of Goldeneye just looks painful to me. It's not the graphics (which were pretty laughable for 1997), but it's the awful, stiff controls that are obvious even in game play videos. Gives me Dark Forces flash-backs, where you have to stop moving to aim.

 

[FoolKiller]

Super Mario 64.

It revolutionized gaming... and then it should have been buried under about 100 feet of dirt.

With modern 2 analog stick control and accuracy available in any game now, try to play this gem. It is a control disaster.