S
Soliloquy
Games have changed over the years... oftentimes, I'd argue, in ways that are more streamlined and less exciting. This is the thread where we reminisce about the things that we feel were better in the "good old days"
Things I miss:
RTS games without strict balancing.
Starcraft is great, yes. But I never had nearly as much with Starcraft as I did with Red Alert 2. Instead of feeling that every side was carefully balanced to create a fair game, I felt that every single unit in the game was absurdly overpowered. This gave the feeling that, no matter how hopeless the situation, you could always surprise your opponent and put a huge dent in his plans.
Blew up half my base with tanks? Well, that left a hole in your defenses that let my Tanya through to blow up your barracks and construction yard. Destroyed my buildings with a Tanya? Well, too bad you didn't notice the airships slowly making their way across the lake.
Then EA bought Westwood, and did its EA thing to it.
Explorable dungeons, not corridors.
I loved Skyrim, save for one thing -- almost all of the dungeons, caves, etc. had a single path to take though them, without even keeping up the illusion of the idea that you're exploring the place. Same goes for Mass Effect 1 & 2, which I recently played through. I miss the days of Morrowind, or A Link to the Past, where I felt like I had to figure out what the heck I was doing instead of just running through a pre-set path until I reached the end.
I understand this applies to modern FPS games as well, but I didn't play many FPSes back in the day.
Nonexistent or less-contrived Karma systems
In older western RPGs, there were just as many moral that you could make. But they weren't spelled out in black and white -- they were just there. The ghoul city uses a water chip that could purify the vault's water supply? Well, I could take the time to find a suitable replacement for them so they don't die of thirst, but I'm running out of time to complete my quest, and the chip is right there in front of me...
The games actually put you in situations where you legitimately felt torn between following your conscience and what was expedient at the moment. And what happens if you choose the easy way out? The town dies out, some people look down on you, and that's it. The consequences are exactly what the consequences are, and you have to live with that.
These days the moral choices just go down to "Do I chose the 'be a dick' option, or the 'don't be a dick' dialogue option?"
Space shooters
I miss space shooters.
Things I miss:
RTS games without strict balancing.
Starcraft is great, yes. But I never had nearly as much with Starcraft as I did with Red Alert 2. Instead of feeling that every side was carefully balanced to create a fair game, I felt that every single unit in the game was absurdly overpowered. This gave the feeling that, no matter how hopeless the situation, you could always surprise your opponent and put a huge dent in his plans.
Blew up half my base with tanks? Well, that left a hole in your defenses that let my Tanya through to blow up your barracks and construction yard. Destroyed my buildings with a Tanya? Well, too bad you didn't notice the airships slowly making their way across the lake.
Then EA bought Westwood, and did its EA thing to it.
Explorable dungeons, not corridors.
I loved Skyrim, save for one thing -- almost all of the dungeons, caves, etc. had a single path to take though them, without even keeping up the illusion of the idea that you're exploring the place. Same goes for Mass Effect 1 & 2, which I recently played through. I miss the days of Morrowind, or A Link to the Past, where I felt like I had to figure out what the heck I was doing instead of just running through a pre-set path until I reached the end.
I understand this applies to modern FPS games as well, but I didn't play many FPSes back in the day.
Nonexistent or less-contrived Karma systems
In older western RPGs, there were just as many moral that you could make. But they weren't spelled out in black and white -- they were just there. The ghoul city uses a water chip that could purify the vault's water supply? Well, I could take the time to find a suitable replacement for them so they don't die of thirst, but I'm running out of time to complete my quest, and the chip is right there in front of me...
The games actually put you in situations where you legitimately felt torn between following your conscience and what was expedient at the moment. And what happens if you choose the easy way out? The town dies out, some people look down on you, and that's it. The consequences are exactly what the consequences are, and you have to live with that.
These days the moral choices just go down to "Do I chose the 'be a dick' option, or the 'don't be a dick' dialogue option?"
Space shooters
I miss space shooters.
