Things we miss from old games.

[Gennadios]

The thing I miss most is RPGs with the D&D style flat leveling curve that forced players to go prepared and switch out their tactics. You couldn't rely solely on level ups back in the day to beat monsters.

To me it seems that even Western style RPGs are taking the JRPG route of just giving the characters crazy stat and skill growth with each level up to keep the player from having to try too hard... well, the best of the western RPGs at least, some of them just decide to go all first person shooter and throw RPG mechanics into the trash bin.

I'm not complaining too hard though, between indies and Kickstarter, there's somewhat of a comeback.

 

[Flaery]

I miss the mascot era of games. Cute, bipedal animals fighting a random assortment of enemies with either side-scrolling or collecting as their main objective. Sonic and Mario are really the only two mascots I see nowadays and I miss the likes of Spyro, Ty, and Bubsy, the best out of all of them.

 

[bono9001]

Game developers not always treating me like an idiot was nice. Sure there are plenty of exceptions today, but the by and large it often feels like the vast majority of modern games either strive to cater towards the lowest common denominator or implement some sort of feature to try and let make the game easier for said denomination, and it's annoying.

Over long unskippable tutorials, constant 'help' popups that refuse to go away, simplified 'one button does all' control schemes, etc. Seriously, just let me play the damned game. If something isn't explained properly because I skipped a tutorial that's my burden, I'll figure it out, stop constantly holding my hand.

Of course there's also tons of older games that had manuals the size of small novels that counted as required reading, I'll admit I'm not eager to go back to that either, but there's got to be some middle ground here between games giving me homework and games treating me like a moron.

See I always loved the big game manuals. I mean sure it was annoying when the control schemes took up multiple pages, but I loved that the manuals usually had a map, character bios, race descriptions, and even the entire backstory summarized in a few pages in it. I miss those so much, I still have my original Warcraft 3 game manual because of that.

While I really agree with a lot of the posts on here (and hate tutorials over basic stuff like movement), the manuals is something I always miss. Rockstar used to make amazing manuals that fit the games (like Manhunt having the manual disguised as a catalog of snuff films or GTAIII having the manual as a tourism guide for Liberty City). But my all time favorite is the Wizardry 7 manual. 80-some pages of detail on what I still consider the best RPG ever made.

 

[pilouuuu]

Fun, innovation, creativity...

If games were ever to be considered like art then you could find much better examples in the 90s because nowadays games are commercial crap made by people who only care about $$$ and not about games. Developers used to respect gamers.

Also deep gameplay. Games are becoming so dumbed down that it's better to simply watch a Let's Play of the damn things instead of playing them.

I also miss leaning on the walls and levels which weren't completely linear. And likeable characters. And ADVENTURE games! They were amazing.

 

[pilouuuu]

Shadow Warrior has almost everything I missed from old games and things I didn't thought I missed.

-Fast movement. Playing Bioshock Infinite right after playing SW was extremely jarring.

-Backtracking and secrets. I like these when they're optional, not because the story tells you so (I'm looking at you Bioshock Infinite).

-Quicksave. Good God, I hate when games don't let you save anywhere, whenever you want, especially with shitty checkpoint systems (hello again, Bioshock Infinite!).

-More than 2 weapons. I generally don't have anything against the trope of "just 2 weapons" that Halo popularized, but I definitely appreciate when I can hold more, especially if they're the enemies' own head and hearts >

-Challenge. THIS is what a shooter should have, not some bullshitty shootouts where you need to cover in chest-high walls every 5 seconds.

-Longevity. I'm extremely surprised at how long SW is and how BIG the levels are! (although the ship levels are a bit bland, sadly).

-Huge ass bosses. I don't want to just "look at them" (yes, I'm talking about you Gears of War 2), I want a big, epic fight and this game just frakking delivers!

-Colors. Lots and lots of colors, not just shades of brown and grey (yes, I know the Crysis series and Bioshock Infinite, among some others, are very colorful, but they're the exception rather than the rule).

-Complete games. I don't have anything against DLC, but I DO hate it when they sell you an incomplete mess and later sell you everything else with "season passes".

So yeah, I want more of this please :3

Haha it seems like Bioshock Infinite is an example how not to do an FPS game. I kind of agree. They should have gone for a more RPG thing with less shooting instead if they wanted to do something special. So disappointing.

Shadow Warrior sounds amazing though!

 

[hermes]

Inventiveness in FPS weapons.

At some point, someone decided that arcade was a bad word for FPS. Everything has to be "realistic", "gritty" and "modern" (meaning "unimaginative", "copied" and "generic"). The original work of Insomniac and People can fly seems far away now, since their latest games don't have the same level of creativity, and Halo represents the zenith of science-fiction weapons.

Borderlands did a good job, but it feels weird including it since they are randomly generated. I don't like (and don't count) games that call themselves "creative" in that area, yet most of the weapons are "almost an RPG", "a gun with another name" and "works like a shotgun".

 

[Hero of Lime]

When you buy a game, hurry home with it, put it in a console, and being able to play it right there. It's pretty lousy that games have to take a lot of time to install the game and trophies, achievements. I just want to play the game when I put it in the console, is that too much to ask?

 

[JayRPG]

And yeah, sure... All JRPGs released on the gamecube were pure gold, all... three of them.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Tales of Symphonia
Skies of Arcadia: Legends
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Baten Kaitos Origins
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Custom Robo
Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms 2
Evolution Worlds
Phantasy Star Online
Pokemon XD: The Gale of Darkness

And they were all good

Actually, one of the most disappointing things is that Baten Kaitos never got another installment

 

[MrBaskerville]

Instruction manuals. Back in the day if you wanted to know how to do combos, or which button did what you would look in the instruction manual. Now, since they long since stopped given manuals with games, they give you an unnecessary amount of tutorials.

I actually find this both sad and a little weird when I do buy a new game and there's not even a trace of any sort of manual inside the game case... So far, the only games that I know that still come with an instruction manual is Pokemon... (or any game I buy for my 3DS, that is...) Really, other recent games on my game shelf that are not Pokemon or 3DS-related? Not even a digital instruction manual, since some of these games I could have gotten off PSN and/or Steam??

...Maybe it would have cost too much money to even print out an instruction manual in the first place and just making in-game tutorials is the most "cost-efficient" solution or something... *starts mumbling with anger*

Wii games always has manuals, it's a nintendo thing i guess?

 

[Rad Party God]

Haha it seems like Bioshock Infinite is an example how not to do an FPS game. I kind of agree. They should have gone for a more RPG thing with less shooting instead if they wanted to do something special. So disappointing.

Shadow Warrior sounds amazing though!

Don't get me wrong though, BSI did a lot of great stuff, like the rails, they truly make the battles more dynamic, but yeah, all of the other stuff I ranted said still applies

And yes, Shadow Warrior is ALL kinds of awesome

 

[karloss01]

Manuals, did everyone suddenly become illiterate over past ten years? and now a portion of a game is dedicated to telling you the controls when a single page in a booklet would give you all the info you need. Hell, the control options is your tutorial right there.

and as others say the difficulty, let me explore the world on my own instead of having my hand held along the way.

 

[Jodokh]

Unlockables, like characters,levels and etc. That were in game and not DLC.

 

[FPLOON]

Instruction manuals. Back in the day if you wanted to know how to do combos, or which button did what you would look in the instruction manual. Now, since they long since stopped given manuals with games, they give you an unnecessary amount of tutorials.

I actually find this both sad and a little weird when I do buy a new game and there's not even a trace of any sort of manual inside the game case... So far, the only games that I know that still come with an instruction manual is Pokemon... (or any game I buy for my 3DS, that is...) Really, other recent games on my game shelf that are not Pokemon or 3DS-related? Not even a digital instruction manual, since some of these games I could have gotten off PSN and/or Steam??

...Maybe it would have cost too much money to even print out an instruction manual in the first place and just making in-game tutorials is the most "cost-efficient" solution or something... *starts mumbling with anger*

Wii games always has manuals, it's a nintendo thing i guess?

Ah... No wonder only Nintendo still does manuals... They must have a patent on all physical instruction manuals retaining to video games... That must be it! ...Or other video game companies realize that a "majority" of those that play video games don't even bother reading them in the first place... *shakes head* What a shame...

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

little to no hand holding. and come on, do we really need a tutorial on 90% of the games we play.

i like the way you were free to miss things happening, instead of control being taken over to show an epic set piece.

there were plenty of clones in the past of whatever was sucessful, but there seems to be zero risk taking/innovation now.
i think we need more middle ground between AAA and Indie

 

[scorptatious]

Frankly I don't mind games being a bit more accessible now. Better than the days when enemies you just defeated would magically reappear when you move back a bit and move right again. I will say though, I do wish more games settled for a middle ground in terms of difficulty and accessibility.

 

[Ishal]

snip

I recommend you try Demon's Souls, its Dark Souls predecessor and it's quite a bit more difficult. Several of the more convenient aspects in Dark Souls aren't present in Demon's Souls. Also your health is cut in half if you die and aren't in human form, I believe.

 

[Yoshi4102]

I miss a wide variety of platformers. There's something about them that just tickles me pink, specifically 2d!

Catchy music that will stick in your head. Not some forgettable movie soundtrack between exploding set pieces.

An over world with separate levels would also be nice a la Super Mario Bros. 3. It has a nice aesthetic to it.

I'm weird though, unless it's a pseudo retro game none of these are coming back

 

[Lunar Templar]

Good games as far as the eye can see.

Diversity in those good games.

Diversity in a games genera (like how Mario, Mega Man and Metriod where all different despite being 2D plat-formers)

Colors >.>

The lack of 'realistic grit'