The Video Game Critic

I mean, ALL of it! I was watching one of the old(1990, I think) Game Players tapes on youtube and I was cringing at some of the awful puns the narrator was spewing forth but, in a way, I really miss that time! I miss when games weren't necessarily serious, but we were deadly serious about them! I miss the non-sarcastic gaming publications! I remember being SHOCKED at a World Heroes ad in a magazine(Life's a *****, Wanna Fight About It!) because of cussing! I actually hid that issue under my bed, out of fear of "mom" finding out! Lol!

I can't really say that I miss the games, because I can still play them any time I want, but the overall feeling of the times? The feeling of being a kid, perhaps? Maybe it's that same feeling where watching four men in rubber turtle suits was absolutely awesome! Where you weren't ashamed for owning the "Coming out of Our Shell '91" vhs tape! I was talking to one of the boys and it's cool because they really do have their own era, their own time, that they will grow up to miss as well! I'm actually surprised that they want to hear about my time. They ask questions about certain things, and they'll ask to join in on certain nes games. I allow it, but on one condition: we have to beat it! Every time I had a sleepover with friends, we'd stay up until the crack of dawn, sometimes on just one game alone! It's fun, but it isn't quite the same.

Every now and then, one of these "it sucks growing up/it isn't the same" threads pops up. Maybe it gets a bit old but what else are going to talk about? The Dreamcast?

I've mentioned it on this board a couple times before, but.. I really miss the excitement in going to my mailbox and seeing the new issue of Nintendo Power in there - back in the NES days, when the magazine was new.

[QUOTE=Luke]I've mentioned it on this board a couple times before, but.. I really miss the excitement in going to my mailbox and seeing the new issue of Nintendo Power in there - back in the NES days, when the magazine was new. [/QUOTE]

Haha, I did the same thing when I was a kid.  Between EGM, Nintendo Power, and Video Games and Computer Entertainment life was pure bliss. 

Gaming today is WAAAAY better....especially with the download channels evening out development.

I mean look at all the internet does ALONE for gaming today - wether it be D/D, Chess online, ONline stores, even the iphoine has 10,000 junky games...

Even when I was a kid, I did not spend a lot of time gaming, I mean its a semi nightly half hour activity, my money goes a long way cause it is very easy - through reviews, boards, and youtube - to find games you have a high probabilty of liking...

Game quality is higher today, on average

Graphics, both 2-d and 3-d are better as well.

Controllers are better.

T.V.s are better.

Game saves and game storgae are superior and more reliable.

EBAY makes buying and selling old games better

Everything is better.

In a way, I sort of agree with you Steer. It's not as if the games have decreased in quality.

I do think it's really cool that I can get a game at the click of a button, through my 360 and Wii! That, to me, is completely awesome! "I'll never be bored again," I remember thinking to myself. Lol!

I think that some people, though, are really into certain eras of things. Sure, I can download new games and the tv's are of the upmost quality, and things are certainly more polished, etc. I guess I miss the feel, in a way. Take music, as an example. Even with pro-tools, pitch correction(forgive me, I'm not conversant in any of this), multi-million dollar budgets, and the like, I'd still rather listen to something recorded on a four-track. It's why I still reach for my copy of the Beatles Revolver and have long since traded in so many cds that were recorded on better technology. The Beatles were my first love in music, but I remember how great the music made me feel when I was an awkward teenager.

The same way I remember how fun it was, being eleven years old. The excitement of having a couple of friends stay the night. We'd ride our bikes up to the video store in town where they had a rent two games for $1 deal. We'd usually rent about four, fool around with three of them, and really dedicate ourselves to one certain game. Maybe it's that completely bogus longing for better days. If you were to ask me if I'd rather be an eleven year old, without a worry in the world, playing games with his equally oblivious friends or a 27 year old, unemployed college student with a wife and two kids who is scared to death about what the future holds.....That old-style tv sounds pretty sweet to me.:-)

I understand what you're saying, though, Steer. Gamers have it better now than they ever have. I love the fact that I can appreciate what is now but also still have that affection for what was then.

Banjo, you made me think about some things.  Back in the day, it was possible to totally conquer a game.  You could see all of the levels, discover its secrets, and definitively beat it.

With newer games, you can never get that same satisfaction.  You'll never get to explore every square foot of a level in a 3D game.  You'll never get a chance to play every mode or variation.  The games today are just so rich and expansive.  Attempting to experience everything a game has to offer would be like a full time job!

Recently I've been thinking how I don't really play the NES a lot anymore even though I really like the system. The reason for this is pretty much because I don't have the time.

That sounds kind of funny since there are a lot of NES games that are pick-up-and-play and can be enjoyed in short spurts. But the thing is that to really get into them, enjoy them, and master them, you do need to devote a lot of time to it.

And that's what I miss most about being a kid. Being able to sit and play a single game for 3 or 4 hours straight to try to master and beat it. I was playing Ninja Gaiden 2 recently and had fun, but I couldn't help thinking, "Man, I wish I could just sit here for a few hours to really get deep into this game and try to beat it."

Thanks a lot, time-consuming job and and adult responsibilities!

I really do miss and long for the era of gaming that I enjoyed during my youth.  Its funny that you mention this because I was just talking to someone at work about this.  I was telling the person how awesome it was to sit down during the weekend and know that I had 7-8 hours (per day) to play some games.  Nowadays weekends are hardly time off from work...there is always something that needs to be done.  Wasting precious spare time inside playing a videogame is more of rare treat for me.  Sure I could come home from work and just veg out playing games, but after 8-10 hours of work (sitting at a computer) I usually don't feel like it. 

Nothing  could beat calling up your best bud, getting a ride to his house and playing a brand new game.  You would both give your opinion about said game.  If it sucked you went and played some of your favorites instead.  Regardless of what happened you had countless hours of blissful gaming to enjoy.  Again, I can do the same thing today, but the excitement level just isn't the same. Also, calling someone up to play them online in Call of Duty 4 just isn't the same either...plus the girlfriend thinks the headset makes me look ridiculous.

I think another problem of the modern era is that games don't feel fresh anymore.  Sure were are privileged to some of the greatest games ever, but the themes are the same...its just prettier graphics, deeper stories or new controls.  Gauntlet was an awesome and simple dungeon crawler back in the day...now stuff like World of Warcraft has taken over and you practically need to quit your day job and speak another language just to play.

I wholeheartedly agree with Banjo about the unabashed cheesiness that used to be associated with videogames.  Games like Kid Chameleon were hilariously bad, because they tried to be "hip and cool"...but the gameplay rocked and overall it was an endearing package.  Games weren't all serious and gloom n doom.  Even when they were darker they had some cartoonish mischief about them (probably do to the graphic limitations).  Today most games try to be as realistic as possible and leave almost nothing to the imagination.  When was the last time you played a game and seriously thought, "Wow, I've never seen something like that before?".  Maybe I'm just jaded, but overall games have lost that wow factor for me...much to the point where I stay away from many big blockbuster releases and search for more unique/quirky titles.

To this day nothing will beat the days when I used to go to Toys R Us and browse the massive Wall O' Games they had going.  I remember tediously looking at every game until it was time to select the ticket of the one I wanted.  It was a ritual that my parents dreaded, but I will always cherish.  The excitement of bringing that ticket over to the videogame counter and to be handed a fresh new game was unmatched.

Games are still great...perhaps better than ever.  Yet I will always long for those simpler time.  A time when RPGs had super deformed characters, and Japanese translations were laughably bad...a time when the princesses were conservatively dressed, and people exploded into clouds of smoke when shot with a machine gun.  The golden era of games when I would wake up at 6:00 am to play the 2600 in  my folks bedroom.  Those were the days...

Yes I miss the era of games when I was a youth, but I also miss the era of movies when I was a youth, and the era of fashion trends when I was a youth, and the era of fast food when I was a youth, and the era of home computers when I was a youth, and the era of hobby programming when I was a youth, and ...

You get the idea.  It was in our youths that we learned to appreciate those things for the first time.  Our little minds were opening.  We were the most receptive during that time.  Our recollections are colored heavily by that.  I think it's a function of appreciating that stage in our development, when everything seemed new and ready to explore, than it is a real appreciation of the time itself.

[QUOTE]Gaming today is WAAAAY better....especially with the download channels evening out development.

I mean look at all the internet does ALONE for gaming today - wether it be D/D, Chess online, ONline stores, even the iphoine has 10,000 junky games...

Even when I was a kid, I did not spend a lot of time gaming, I mean its a semi nightly half hour activity, my money goes a long way cause it is very easy - through reviews, boards, and youtube - to find games you have a high probabilty of liking...

Game quality is higher today, on average

Graphics, both 2-d and 3-d are better as well.

Controllers are better.

T.V.s are better.

Game saves and game storgae are superior and more reliable.

EBAY makes buying and selling old games better

Everything is better.[/QUOTE]
This is all true. But there was a certain charm to the old games that is really lacking in today's gaming. Even with the Nintendo Wii