As a late comer to this current generation of video games I must say I am some what disappointed with the current generation of games. Look around and the creativity is losing its spark. Developers seem to be more interested in making a game look realistic than worry about the core fundamental of video games, gameplay.
Lets look back at what I feel was the peak of video game development, the N64/PS1 era. To me this was the renaissance of video game development. One only needs look at the titles that came out to see that true classics were in abundance. What I would like to do is compare some of these titles to current titles and show people that for what they were in their era, older games offered a far more enjoyable gaming experience than the current generation.
Metal Gear Solid vs Metal Gear Solid 4
To me this one isn't even close. The first Metal Gear offered a far more enjoyable experience than the latest installment. The 2nd and 3rd titles were far from classics. Metal Gear 4 is an improvement over 2 and 3 but pales in comparison to the original Metal Gear Solid. Who remembers all the great moments it had ?? Plugging your controller into port 2 to defeat a mind reading terrorist, Lying on the floor and squeezing the ketchup out to make it look like you were dead, The 2 different endings that hinged on whether you were tough enough to endure the torture. These little touches added to what was, and still is, a fantastic game. Metal Gear 4 offered nothing like this. It tried to mimic the things that made the original one of the greatest games of all time, not offer anything new. While Metal Gear 4 is an absolutely amazing game I didn't feel the sense of accomplishment, or amazement, I felt when I finished Metal Gear Solid. For its time it offered alot more to the gamer.
We're another day closer to the release of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 on May 21st, and that means Ninja Theory is continuing to tease us with new snippets of info and footage - including a closer look at the game's Photo Mode.
Xbox 360 launched 18 years ago and was a generation-defining console that invited many people to jump into gaming for the first time and connect with friends around the world. We’re thrilled people continue playing their favorite Xbox 360 games on Xbox 360, or on newer consoles via Backward Compatibility for supported titles.
"To properly celebrate 35 years of the Game Boy™ system, we have to take it back to year one! Game Boy launched in 1989, and with it arrived classic titles such as Baseball, Alleyway™ and the first Super Mario game available on the system, Super Mario Land™. Today, Nintendo Switch Online members can play all three of these original launch titles as the latest additions to the Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online library. All just in time for the system’s 35th anniversary!" - Nintendo
FINALLY, Super Mario Land. I actually like this one better than SML2, bc it felt so odd and different. I was absolutely blown away in 1989 being able to play Mario for the first time while on car rides!
My parents recently brought some of my retro stuff from the US over to the EU where I currently live. Man, I forgot how tiny and hard to see the OG gameboy was! haha I appreciate revisiting how I originally used to play these, but I do enjoy especially OG Gameboy and Game Boy Advance releases on NSO bc the portable screen lends well to these games for my aging eyes! I could insert complaints about the drip feed of releases, but I still do appreciate these on the Switch especially w my nice 3rd party Nyxi grips that feel like a proper controller.
I also just pulled my childhood Gameboy out of storage and picked up a ever drive for it for around 20 dollars.
I feel you with the screen visibility I don't remember it ever being that hard to see I would play in the back of the car under all sorts of lighting unless it was night time I hated road trips that would go into early morning or late night because of it.
There's a ton of mods out there which require little experience to install a backlight into the old DMG Gameboy they are cheap to I'm in two minds about doing it because I don't want to mess with my stock original system but I find it hard to use and I am a sucker for playing games on original hardware. Links awakening on emulator vs the real thing I chose the real thing every time.
Oh yeah come on super Mario land. I have no idea why it took Nintendo to bring it's Gameboy launch title to the NSO service.
It's not as good as 2 and it's controls are janky even by the time of its release but it's iconic in its own way and the music is so catchy some.of my favourite Gameboy music was from this game just that opening level song is a classic.
I certainly got more into games during the n64 era. I put this down to time and financial restraints, as well a maturity. Back then when i dropped $120 on perfect dark i was gonna play it enough to get my $120 out of it because i might not get a new game for a long time.
Having no obligations other than school helped as well
These days when i can buy any game id like if i put a title in and dislike it like i did with warhawk i might never come back to it. The N64 gen was awesome ^^
I think I'm the only person on the planet that bought MGS4, played it for about 15 minutes and sold it. Everyone raves about the game. I believe it's that good I just got really turned off by the bonus DVD that tried to explain to me the history of MGS and all the characters and plot twists. I was so confused I didn't want to play a game anymore that I didn't have a clue what was going on.