I used to play my fair share of video games but since having kids (and hence no time to play games, nor able to play violent games which represent most of the ones I like) it's really died off. I've tried a few of the new games but to be honest they just don't seem to have the charm or appeal any more. Graphics, sound, physics, connectivity etc. is all staggeringly good but just goes to show that fun is not all about technology. Or goes to show that I don't know what fun is.
On the newer systems though there are some gems. Of note on the PS3 apart from Fallout 3 and all the other usual suspects -
- Braid - simple 2D platformer but is based around some really awesome concepts of time (like time travels forward if you are running to the right and backward if you are running to the left). On one level a creature is trying to talk to you but you need to keep running away for it to speak, all the while asking where you are going. Eerie. The ending however is as close to genius as I've seen in a game. It's literally worth buying just to witness the ending.
- Limbo - brilliantly put together puzzle platformer that is simple, but very elegantly designed. Stunning artistic approach that makes for a very sombre and dare I say moving experience. Turn off the lights and crank up the sub.
On my son's Wii U I bought The Swapper which is available on other systems. Well worth the price. The whole game was modelled in clay and gets you thinking. Again the ending... it was crushing. I dreaded it. Really well done.
I personally keep going back to the old systems now if I want to play games. The Resident Evil series is probably the 2nd best series made, particularly the GameCube versions (original remake, Zero and RE4 is one of the greatest ever) and the original PlayStation series.
You can always come back to Zelda on the Wii. Link to the Past on virtual console, Windwaker is exceptional, and Twilight Princess doesn't miss a beat. I've also got the Ocarina of Time but couldn't really get into it.
The real winner though is Metroid. Super Metroid is one of the most deep and replayable games ever made - also on virtual console. I've probably finished it 10-15 times, it never gets old. The handheld variants Zero Mission and Fusion are held in high regard. Metroid Prime on the GameCube is in my opinion the best game of all time and I don't think it'll be topped for me. There's nothing like it. The sequels were also brilliant (particularly the 2nd) but the original Prime is in a class of its own.
I have all these games which I
know are good that I still enjoy playing. I can't justify getting more. The old games are more crude and simpler but were all made so that not everyone could finish it. Remember when games used to be hard? I remember finishing Alex Kidd or Sonic for the first time, it was an achievement. R-Type is my favourite side scroller but I've never even made it to the last level, let alone finish it (even on my MAME cabinet with unlimited coins). Could you imagine that these days? Kids would go "pff! Too hard, not wasting my time with this" and move on the the next game. Games are designed with the
expectation they'll get finished. Stuffs them up in my opinion, I'm gonna stick with the old series which are dependable, boot straight up when you turn them on and don't have a per-pubescent geek shouting "rofl" and breathing heavily through their mic.