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 by Sol Invictus, Level 30
Last updated at October 2, 2008, 6:47 pm
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Many of these successful games are old, and most of them do not age particularly well. Play them today, and the experience they offer pales in comparison to the games available today.
This statement is true for most first person shooters and action games which rely almost entirely upon the quality of their presentation and less on the quality of their content. I’d even go so far as to saying that most, if not all old games are particularly bad when held up to the light of today’s significantly higher standards of interface design, graphics, sound and polish.
The only drawback to today’s internet and broadband access technology is that most games today are released in a far worse state out of the box than their predecessors because developers find themselves able to patch the games post-release, and most gaming magazines are willing to forgive them this sin.
With that said, a few exceptions stand out and timeless games do exist. These games are fun to play, even today, and the experience they offer can be surprisingly good for anyone playing these games for the first time.
The List
- Heroes of Might and Magic 3
- Jagged Alliance 2
- LucasArts Adventure Games
- Baldur’s Gate and Planescape Torment
- Starcraft
- Diablo II
Jagged Alliance 2 / Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Jagged Alliance 2 and Heroes 3 have aged exceedingly well because the game mechanics employed within these two games are just as good today as they were back then. Jagged Alliance 2 could certainly use a huge facelift (especially the limited color palette) and a more streamlined interface, but Heroes 3 is simply just as enjoyable now as it was back in the day. I ought to mention that everyone’s favored classic, X-Com, is a game that just didn't age well because the interface is simply way too clunky and the tactical options are extremely limiting.
I may take some flak for saying this, but I'll say simply that Jagged Alliance 2 puts X-Com to shame through with the amount of tactical freedom available to the player and the customization allowed outside of combat. Its own problems notwithstanding, Jagged Alliance 2 remains a testament to good tactical turn-based gameplay that not even newcomers like Silent Storm can manage to surpass. In contrast, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 doesn't suffer from these problems, and the game is just as fun to play as it was back in the day. The challenge that Heroes offers is by no means frustrating, and the varying difficulty levels in campaigns are forgiving to players of the respective skill levels. There are no interface or graphics-related issues worth mentioning as 'issues', and the sequels that came after Heroes of Might and Magic 3 suffer from having far less polish and tedious new changes, and exist inferior in every way.
LucasArts Adventure Games
LucasArts adventure games like Sam and Max, Day of the Tentacle and the Monkey Island games certainly cater to a niche and apart from suffering from a lack of mousewheel support and right-click drop down interface menus, they aren't bad at all. The presentation of the entire games, including their graphics and sound are perfectly top notch in their 'lo-fi' sort of way.
Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment
Bioware and Interplay's infinity engine games, notably the Baldur's Gate series and Planescape: Torment, are every bit as playable and enjoyable today as it was when they were first released.
Featuring stories and an assortment of NPCs that most RPGs today find it impossible to aspire to, the Infinity Engine games represent the best of a rare breed of games; a golden age of RPGs.
Apart from a few pathfinding issues that afflicted players back then just as they would today, these games are the epitome of the perfect 'western RPG' that Bioware and Obsidian have developed over the past few years with Mass Effect and Neverwinter Nights 2, but failed to make as memorable and as 'classic' as their original predecessors.
Starcraft
In an article that celebrates classic and timeless games, Blizzard’s Starcraft is no exception. Favored by gamers worldwide, Starcraft is the only real-time strategy game to have captured the attention of an entire nation, driving it to the height of being a professional sport.
To this day, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent in sponsoring and rewarding professional Starcraft players. Released exactly a decade ago, the gaming world is feverish for a successor to the only strategy game that has managed to capture the hearts of so many, and for so long.
Diablo II
Last, but not least, I must refer to Diablo II. An instant classic that's close to a decade old, yet played even today by tens of thousands of gamers at any given moment, Diablo II currently stands as the definition of the "Action RPG".
Many games have tried to assume its throne, including Sacred and Titan Quest, but there are simply some very special qualities about Blizzard's classic action RPG that keep bringing players back for more. Not the least of these elements is its superior online match-making system, via Battle.net; not a lot of multiplayer games today even feature such fantastic accommodation.
Many would have hoped that Diablo II's developers, Blizzard North, many of whom became Flagship Studios would bring the magic that created Diablo II to their own original title, Hellgate: London, but alas, the only thing that they delivered was disappointment. Their story is one that has been told and repeated far too many times by far too many developers, so I'll end this article with mention of such failures as a reminder that new games, both 'sequels' and 'successors', aren't necessarily better than their predecessors.
Conclusion
As we move into a time when the quality of graphics and sound have more or less peaked, the aspect of gameplay comes to the forefront of importance in the innovation and evolution of gaming, and ultimately, its reception to the playing public.
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7 comments
Sp3tSnAz Oct 3, 2008 at 5:19 am
+1 votes
Heh, nice article.
Loved Heroes 3 and think that it's probably the best in the series so far. Playing D2 atm, and consider it to be one of the most fun games I've played. Just recently started playing Planescape Torment for the first time and really loving that game.
While I'm not a huge fan of RPGs like that where there is so many choices, one wrong decision could affect the game way too much later on, Im using a walkthrough just so I don't miss quests and know what people to talk to and so on, so it's playing more like an action RPG with an interesting story which to me makes the game that much more fun!
Loved Heroes 3 and think that it's probably the best in the series so far. Playing D2 atm, and consider it to be one of the most fun games I've played. Just recently started playing Planescape Torment for the first time and really loving that game.
While I'm not a huge fan of RPGs like that where there is so many choices, one wrong decision could affect the game way too much later on, Im using a walkthrough just so I don't miss quests and know what people to talk to and so on, so it's playing more like an action RPG with an interesting story which to me makes the game that much more fun!
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ThyrsaM Oct 3, 2008 at 1:16 pm
+1 votes
Great read and I must admit that heroes 3 was a great game. I am also playing heroes V now and I like it too. bene palying Diablo II for awhile but you kinda need a group to play that game. Am playing King's bounty now. A really nice game that mixes RTS with an RPG and turnbased action.
Sol Invictus Oct 3, 2008 at 2:04 pm
+1 votes
Give King's Bounty a go if you're a fan of the Heroes of Might and Magic games. It's easily the best spiritual sequel to Heroes 3, succeeding where Heroes 4 and 5 failed so miserably. Need I also mention that King's Bounty was the original name for the first Heroes game? They acquired the rights to the name and they wear it proudly.
It really raises the bar with turn-based strategy games.
It really raises the bar with turn-based strategy games.
Webbstre Oct 3, 2008 at 10:27 pm
+1 votes
I'm going to be very honest here... you are right on the spot with Diablo, HOMM3, and Diablo2... but do you have to mention your disappointment with Hellgate every time? There really isn't any reason to beat a dead horse... it's already dead X_X
Project_Xii Oct 4, 2008 at 2:28 am
+1 votes
The "clever" Lucas Arts team (as Yahtzee puts it) are brilliant. Day of the Tentacle, Sam and MaxHit the Road, and Pyschonauts are among my all time favourite games,
Good article Sol. Ahhh memories.
By the way:
Me + Hellgate + Horse = Severly Beaten and Dead Horse
I support Sol on that. It just has to be done. I think of it as pooping on their name... makes me happy
Good article Sol. Ahhh memories.
By the way:
Me + Hellgate + Horse = Severly Beaten and Dead Horse
I support Sol on that. It just has to be done. I think of it as pooping on their name... makes me happy
ThyrsaM Oct 4, 2008 at 4:05 am
+1 votes
Indeed I am giving King's Bounty a real try, love the game so far.
it is really challenging and forces you to change strategies all the time.
it is really challenging and forces you to change strategies all the time.
Visidius Oct 9, 2008 at 7:52 am
+1 votes
Just to throw a couple more great sequels out there:
1) X-Wing v. Tie Fighter
2) System Shock 2
3) Half-Life 2
1) X-Wing v. Tie Fighter
2) System Shock 2
3) Half-Life 2
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