The Video Game Critic

I play modern portables, but retro console.  Besides just saying which, here is the why:

I prefer the simpler graphics, simpler controllers, and a small learning curve to competence (mastery can take awhile).   There is also my opinion that less realistic graphics reduced the issue of video game violence (for me personally). 

I also find some modern big budget games violence can overwhelm my 'this is just videogame violence' filters to be disturbing.  This is just me, but its soured my willingness to invest in modern non-Nintendo consoles and games.   After the shooting of a school room full of defenseless children ...well...Lara Croft swimming in blood...the Batman of Arkham City (which only gets a T for Teen)...Modern Warfare 2....just seem excessive. Its an old debate, but better graphics is not a good thing here. Then again, violence on tv, in HD on a big screen no less, has ratcheted up too on premium channels, AMC shows and even broadcast network television...so its not just video games, but it does not excuse video games to say 'well, the neighbors let their kid swim in blood...'.  

I have a Retron 3 for 'the big 3' of the 8 and 16 bit era, plus a SMS, and the 2600 upstairs, with another 2600, an N64 and Gamecube downstairs. Others are nearby, a few hookups away.  The upstairs machines get more playtime, and my guess would be the Genesis and the 2600 get the most.

I basically only play retro games too. Things changed in the late 90s, gaming became more tedious and a significant amount of time was needed to learn how to play the game, which is the case with every game, and that's the deal breaker. Of course, if there is a wider selection of games, and if some extinct genres (2d shmups, for instance) somehow make a comeback, then it might be different. 

It comes and goes. Busy lately, so not playing too much of anything except the new DK once in a while.

More modern than retro though lately, for sure.

I love playing games from all eras. Saying that, I prefer retro gaming over modern gaming any day. The SNES is my all time favorite system. Lately, I've been playing the good 'ol GameCube to relive some of my childhood. Well, GameCube games on a Wii, but same difference, right? Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is still one of my favorite Mario games.

What I also like about retro games (and I'm going to include PS2/Xbox/Gamecube and Dreamcast in this) is they don't take ages to get into ie tutorials and a billion button combinations.

Also a biggie for me is once you've finished a game and unlocked everything that's it! Your done, you feel you've beat the game and it's lets you move onto another game, another genre, another experience. From the PS3/360 and beyond this ideal ceased to be, what with DLC, online multiplayer and idiotic time sink trophies - Just let me play something else and move on - Please !

This post has been moderated.

Reason - This post was a response to another post that has been deleted for being off topic.  

I haven't really been playing many games these days....mostly because I'm completely burned out on modern games.  The fact that most of them take so long to get into and be interesting (anything more than 5 to 10 mins is pretty much unacceptable to me) has soured me on modern games.  Nintendo is pretty much the only company making anything that I'm remotely interested in.  Still I'm a ways off from getting a Wii U. 

Lately I've had the craving to play games...but I want instant gratification.  To remedy this I'm thinking of hooking up a bunch of my older systems.  Thing is I don't have a room set up with old CRT TVs to play these games.  So I'm really thinking of picking up a Retron 3 or Retron 5 so I can play these on my HD TV.  

So while I'm not playing a ton of retro games at the moment....I'm in the process of converting my man-cave area so that I certainly will be playing these games soon!


Stuff I really want to play right now:

Ghosts n Goblins (Genesis)
Castlevania IV (SNES)
Haunting: Starring Polterguy (Genesis)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Genesis/SNES)

Can you tell that I'm a bit like the Critic and I love playing games while they're 'in season'!

I've noticed a common theme running through this thread. We don't like tutorials. We don't like games that take way too long to get started. We like to be able to spend our precious gaming time, you know, actually gaming--not downloading updates, watching cutscenes, or having our hand held through Tutorial Zone 1-1.

I agree, generally, with all of these sentiments. There's a place for updates, cutscenes, and tutorials, however. While I'd love for every game to be as polished as Super Mario when it releases, it's simply not feasible to demand the same level of programming perfection from much more complex modern games. Software updates at least allow developers to remedy their mistakes for all users, not just the ones with the foresight to wait for a later revision of the game to print.

As much as From Software's RPGs have sold me on the idea of implicit storytelling in games, I'd be sorely disappointed if the next Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid didn't indulge in cinematics a a little bit.

Street Fighter vs. Tekken and Killer Instinct (2013) provide two examples of phenomenal tutorials. They're optional and extremely useful to beginners. Not only do they show you the ropes of the particular game, but they actually also teach you a lot of important concepts universal to 2D fighters.