Reply 40 of 47, by Ensign Nemo
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newtmonkey wrote on 2024-04-19, 16:34:AppleSauce wrote on 2024-04-19, 16:21:I dunno I feel there are some old games that had a mix of interesting mechanics , or designs that haven't really been copied and make them special but might be considered not as accessible by modern standards.
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So yeah maybe there's something in the whole notion of having to play it right.
Great examples! I agree with both, especially the Tex Murphy games as I'm currently playing Under a Killing Moon for the first time now, and loving it. It's clunky and weird, and to be honest, my first thought when I started the game was, "this first person mode is unplayable." But it only took a few minutes of playing to get used to it, and now it's fine. I like the fact that nothing else in the world plays like it (other than the other Tex Murphy games I guess).
I had a similar experience with System Shock. It's another one that feels completely overwhelming and bizarre when you first try to play it, but once you sit down and give it a few minutes of solid play, it makes total sense. The fact that it controls like no other game out there gives it a lot of character, and it's really satisfying to master the controls.
A lot of older games had more to offer than newer games in the genre or even the same series. X-Com/XCOM is a great example. While I enjoy the newer ones, the original has more to offer in several aspects. It's definitely more complex and many people enjoy the harder difficulty. The Elder Scrolls series is another good example, as it has steadily moved more towards the action side with fewer RPG elements. The Jagged Alliance series also followed a similar pattern, as the first two games haven't been matched.
Multiplayer has also had a considerable impact and flight sims are a good example to consider. In the past, we had flight sims with amazing single player content and dynamic campaigns that adapted to how your missions played out. The newer flights sims seem to focus more on multiplayer and often the single player content is a few scripted missions with little variety.
Ignoring graphics, newer games tend to focus more on streamlining the gameplay, which often involves simplifying things. It's also hard to continue innovating the games in a series, so a lot of sequels end up fixing what isn't broken. For me, strategy games provide the biggest examples of why retro gaming is worth getting into. There just aren't many newer games that can give you the same experience.