Video Games: Nostalgia Vs Extinct Genres

[MarkB]

Oh that reminds me of another old game I played a lot of recently: the Wizardry series! Most of those games were super hard, but I kept playing them anyways, lol. I guess it was the original Dark Souls.

I played all the way through Wizardry 8 back when it was released. Tried replaying it recently, and while it's definitely still something special, the difficulty did get a bit too much for me to keep slogging through in the end.

 

[James Gasik]

I played all the way through Wizardry 8 back when it was released. Tried replaying it recently, and while it's definitely still something special, the difficulty did get a bit too much for me to keep slogging through in the end.

It's definitely masochistic, though some titles are better than others; Crusaders of the Dark Savant wasn't that bad, though my memory is fuzzy.

 

[Mad_Jack]

Y'know, if I wasn't so busy these days, I think I'd like to play through the original Dungeon Master again just for giggles.

 

[bloodtide]

I still play Oregon Trail !

 

[MarkB]

I did play through the original X-COM about a year ago, using the OpenXCOM mod, which not only allows you to use modern aspect ratios but also adds some great QoL enhancements to the interface. A brutal game at some points, but still a classic.

 

[Kaodi]

SMAC had some amazing quotes. I have always really liked, "He who denies you access to information, in his heart, sees himself your master," and, "With crude tools we make better tools, and with better tools we make more precise tools."

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Could you be a little more specific, please?

( )

<3 Super Mario WORLD to be specific, but yes I appreciate this causes eye-twitches for some lol, I was trying to remember the exact name.

 

[Stalker0]

For Civ style games: SMAC and Civ IV. I think Civ IV with its expansions remains the best "out of the box civ", though I do prefer Civ 5 with the Vox Populi mod, as its the best AI I've ever seen in a 4x and just so much richer than the base game, to the point where its basically a new game. SMAC for all the reasons mentioned, mechanically it could use a tune up with the lessons of modern games but frankly nothing beats its settings and diversity of play, nothing.

How about Planescape Torment? I never played it myself but I have many friends that rave about the variety and intricacy in that game, and nothing else seems to have recaptured that.

I'll go with F-Zero, there has never been another racing game that just felt as "fast paced" as that game.

 

[Celebrim]

How about Planescape Torment? I never played it myself but I have many friends that rave about the variety and intricacy in that game, and nothing else seems to have recaptured that.

One of the more philosophical games ever made.

Along those lines, a game that marked in many ways the high-water mark and end of what is now an extinct genre - Grim Fandango. At one time "Adventure Games" were a major share of the market. After Grim Fandango, major studios ceased to make Adventure Games as they seemed to feel that the market wasn't big enough to justify the expense. Adventure Games began to incorporate action/shooter and RPG elements, and action/shooter and RPG games began to do more with cut scenes and carefully plotted storylines. Now you have things like "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted" that have story going but aren't accessible or enjoyable to the gamers that purely enjoyed playing out the story without heavy reliance on combat, reflexes, and so forth.

Agree with those that saying Moo2 is still the high point of the 4X genre. I do think that Ascendancy could have gotten there, but the game was so buggy and the AI so bad. Stellaris is a spiritual successor to Moo2, but I just don't find it nearly as compelling.

I personally think Civ2 is the high point of the series, though I do agree that Civ4 is good, the game play in Civ4 feels more artificial to me (though not nearly as artificial as that of Stellaris). I'm also not big on the RPG elements that have crept into the game like faction units and faction buildings.

I'm personally OK with 1998 as the high mark in video games. Starcraft came out that year and with only a bit of updates, still conceptually dominates the RTS community. Grim Fandango is still high on almost everyone's 'greatest game of all time' list. Half-Life is a genre defining game that has rarely been surpassed. You have 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that year. Balder's Gate came out that year. Unreal came out that year. Sports games like Madden and FIFA were getting close to entering their final form, with almost all evolution since then being more detailed textures. The original Gran Turismo came out that year.

 

[GreyLord]

The absolute must games that I still play around with from decades ago would be...

Diablo 1
Diablo 2
Starfleet Command
Conquest Frontier Wars
Freelancer
X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter
X-Wing Alliance
Tropico
Sim-City 2
Dungeon Hack
Defender
Pac Man
Galaga
Zork

Some other reminders after reading the thread...

Master of Orion (original)
Infinity Engine Games (Baldur's Gate series, Icewind Dale Series, Planescape Torment)
Birth of the Federation