Name one game that you think has aged well and one that hasn't - CHAT WITH THE STAFF!

[danosaurus]

I can definitely understand if people disagree with me on this one, but I think the original StarFox for SNES has aged pretty well. That could just be the wide eyed sixth grader in me talking though.

Heh i think there may be a little bit of nostalgia talking there.
I played Lylat Wars in year 6 before Starfox 64. I became quite obsessed with that game and would always try to beat everyone elses high scores... then my mate lent me his Super NES cos i was obsessed with the whole Starfox thing and I was completely dissappointed with Starfox, reminded me of graphics on my Amiga Commodore 500!

I admit that I was very 64-bit biased though, that console changed my life (and health).

I will add that I believe that WoW has aged terribly. I mean considering the amount of updates it's had, they basically could have created a new engine for it by now.
I don't actually play it (bar one 30 minute session) but I'm almost embarassed by the graphical content of that game when I see my mates playing it and I don't even really consider it to be an old game.

 

[Wolf Blade]

Aged well? The Neverhood. Without question. The Neverhood.

Aged badly? Hmm... let me think... Crash Bandicoot 3. It was a good game, but I tried replaying it after about 2 - 3 years, and it felt AWFUL.

 

[Woe Is You]

Aged really well: Super Mario World, Super Street Fighter II Turbo. I don't think I really have to explain these. New Super Mario Bros and Street Fighter IV have almost the exact same gameplay.

Aged really poorly: The first Tomb Raider, the first System Shock.

The first Tomb Raider suffers simply from being a 3D game without any analog controls. The first System Shock on the other hand feels even clunkier than it did during release due its downright weird control system and corridors where enemies seem to respawn right after you've killed them.

 

[iJosh]

Good game : Zelda Ocarina of Time. Nuff said.

 

[Fightgarr]

I think that most isometric 2D games aged pretty well.
Myst also aged pretty well too.

I think games that have not aged well are, like Kukul said, early 3D. Stuff like Final Fantasy 7 is nigh on unbearable to look at for me (the environments are nice but the character models are awful).

the ignored black bean rice noodles in my fridge have not aged well

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

I can definitely understand if people disagree with me on this one, but I think the original StarFox for SNES has aged pretty well. That could just be the wide eyed sixth grader in me talking though.

As someone who's played both the original Panzer Dragoon and Star Fox for the first time long after they were way out of date, I agree. I couldn't enjoy the original PD, but Star Fox just had a quality that made it ageless.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

StarCraft and Age of Empires II have aged quite well (two is better than one).

For poorly I guess Jet Force Gemini. Really any N64 shooter but I recently was replaying JFG on an emulator and couldn't stand it (quit after getting the the graveyard on the swamp planet).

 

[danosaurus]

StarCraft and Age of Empires II have aged quite well (two is better than one).

For poorly I guess Jet Force Gemini. Really any N64 shooter but I recently was replaying JFG on an emulator and couldn't stand it (quit after getting the the graveyard on the swamp planet).

I actually purchased JFG off eBay a few months back because I'm on an extremely lame//awesome mission to own and finish every N64 Rare Game but I couldn't even get past the first world, it was terrible.
I don't understand how the company that released the likes of Blast Corps, Banjo-Kazooie and Conkers Bad Fur Day could have churned out a rubbo shoot-em-up like JFG.

Maybe if I'd played it back in the day i would've appreciated it more.

 

[AkJay]

Aged Well - Mega Man

Aged Bad - Sonic The Hedgehog

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

Well: Super Mario Bros.

Bad: Metal Gear Solid

 

[Cagia]

Games that have aged well:
Most great games with 2D graphics: Fallout 1&2, Starcraft (hell, even Warcraft 2), Diablo 2.
Games that haven't:
Games with reletively early 3D graphics.

Shadows of the Empire has earlyish 3D graphics yet I will sit there playing the first level for hours on end without getting bored.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Aged Well: Freedom Force - Still one of the most fun light-gun games on the NES. Better than Duck Hunt, by far.

Aged Horribly: A Boy and His Blob - Yeah...when you are allowed to go either way on a screen back in the NES days, confuzzlement and frustration is sure to come your way. I never figured out what to do in that game, ever.

 

[thejoshualee]

Aged well:
Tetris. When you make a game that is simple and perfect, as I would argue Tetris is, then there is no need for an update, everything they did with the Tetris formula since the beginning feels like a step back. I can still get lost for hours on the old school game boy version.
Along with Tetris I would say that Super Mario Bros. 3 is as close to a perfect game as was ever made.

Aged poorly:
Looking at games everyone loved that are nearly unplayable now.... Resident Evil with it's horrible tank controls comes to mind.

 

[Citrus]

Aged well? Every RPG that comes to mind. As well, Age of Empires II (still play it), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (not that old, but still), Zelda and Mario games, etc.

Games that have aged poorly?

One word: GoldenEye.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Aged Well?

Saga Frontier 2, an RPG for the PS1 which boasted brilliant looking Watercolor Backgrounds and 2d Sprites... and because it's turn based it feels archaic, but it doesn't show any notable holes in playablility like some Real Time games from the era do.

Aged Poorly?
Metal Gear Solid, this game, while it is still passable, feels VERY dated when compared to the newer entries in the series, especially when you look closely at the joints in the character models during "shirtless" cutscenes.

Saga Frontier numero uno however, hasn't aged so well. Actually I'm not sure it did so well when it came out either.

As for MGS, I have to say that I was playing it a year ago, before MGS4's release and I felt it held up really well. Yeah the graphics are dated, but I think the character designs kind of transcend the limitations.

I find this ironic because I actually liked the first one better than the second (the first to come out under that name, 3 others came out on game boy with the name final fantasy legend.)

Anyways secret of mana still plays well (also ironicly the second in the series the first one on gameboy called final fantasy adventure).

 

[Killerabbit]

It really depends on what you mean by aged well. Are you saying game play, plot or graphics? One that I guess would fit all three would be max Payne, I think the Russian guy has to be one of my all time favorite characters, personally. All of the C&C games are pretty playable, even if it is to try and recreate that BEAUTIFUL time that was the LAN era. Ether that or startopia.
On the other hand, and I know this sounds controversial, but AvP2. Now before I get a crap load of abuse, let me explain. My friends and I used to LOVE this game. There was NOTHING like waiting on the ceiling for your friends to come beneath you. But I played this game not so long ago, and maybe I shouldn't, but it just disappointed me The graphics just weren't what I remembered, the controls felt... clumsy. I just felt like a child that just watched his pet dog get run over. twice. then raped. extreme yes, but I'm sure you get the point.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Adventure Gaming has aged terribly over the years, mainly due to lack of interest by the players. Either they want full interactivity (FPS, RPGs) or complete control (RTSs) and they don't seem to enjoy a middleground.

FPSs and RPGs, as already mentioned, have truly blossomed over the years.

 

[SimuLord]

Aged well? Considering I still play it to this day, Tetris on the NES. Some things mankind got plain got right, and Pajitnov's contribution to gaming history stands as Hall of Fame caliber.

Hasn't aged well? I could pick just about any JRPG from the old school, but I'm going to focus on Dragon Quest IV in particular since I got it for the DS last year and thought "damn...it is not 1992 anymore! What did I ever see in these types of games?"

 

[ganpondorodf]

Super Mario Bros hasn't aged a day. It still plays great and looks fun.

To be honest, I think no good game really ages... The graphics do, sure, but great gameplay is timeless. Some people have mentioned Goldeneye as having aged badly, and while I agree that it looks like ass, I still have a lot of fun playing it.