Not if you have the will to do it. It's as simple as that. Play some Morrowind or some KOTOR, and see if you can get into it. No one can truly answer this but yourself, by actually trying it.
You sometimes gotta do some quick fiddling to get old games to play nice on swanky new 64bit Windows systems, and to get them running in something bigger than 640x480, but for the 100s of hours you might be playing them, that don't matter!
Definitely Definitely Definitely play Planescape Torment, Fallout 1 & 2, and BG 1 & 2 to get those two sides of oldish RPG (Interplay and Black Isle/Bioware nom nom nom) goodness.
Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. Since its not just gameplay that advanced, its balance, glitches(not nearly as many nowadays), and just depth in general. Only thing you might be able to extract out of old games is a good story, kotor isn't too old yet, i would recommend it.
edit: Think of it like this, for instance if you played fallout 3, and ur trying to play fallout 2, its like you were fed a steak with fries, and now your just being served the fries. Its sort of there, but its not as enjoyable, of course for games with no sequels its different. Planescape torment could be unbearable to play nowadays... but its got good mechanic when they aren't glitching, its worth playing just to see what the creators were thinking but its tedious by todays standards. And wizardry... o god... i mean i remember loving it, but then went back to it last yr... i just could not play it.
go for it.. personally i'd had a hard time because of the bad grafix on non-3d titles (3d works cause you can just jack up the rez).. but i'm sure one gets over it pretty fast.
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
No. "
yes "
Subjective experience. I played a lot of modern games, and am capable of returning to Morrowind in all it's low-poly glory. Hell, I even had a go with Tyrian a while ago, as I never got to play that game before in it's time. It was a cool retro experience, but again, it is all subjective, like your own opinion.
People will say they're timeless, and you have to play them. Rose tinted goggles.
Don't get me wrong, those games are unbelievably good, or I should say, they were. Back in the day, Deus Ex/BG2 and such, they were incredible. But now, you're just too used to new games. Going back will seem archaic, but it's doable.
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
No. "
yes "
Just seems like you're stating your opinion as fact there, hence the no. I've played lots of modern games and I'm still constantly discovering old gems. I agree there is a certain type of player that can't play anything without top-of-the-range graphics but I would guess that if someones passionate enough about games to waste their time on a videogame forum then they probably will be more concerned with gameplay and ideas. Just a thought.
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
No. "
yes "
Subjective experience. I played a lot of modern games, and am capable of returning to Morrowind in all it's low-poly glory. Hell, I even had a go with Tyrian a while ago, as I never got to play that game before in it's time. It was a cool retro experience, but again, it is all subjective, like your own opinion. "
a cool u decided to say something :P. Well in essence what i'm trying to say is that we get Spoiled with the improvements and expect them, and when they are not there we get disappointed. I mean be honest did you finish Oblivion? Morrowind just falls down after u play Oblivion, the only thing i can still play in Morrowind without puling my hair out, is the werewolf expansion (which is awesome) shame they have none of that in Oblivion.
The Fallout games hold up pretty well visually. I tried playing Baldur's Gate 1 again recently and FUCK that looks old.
The thing with going back to old games is, if you can get past the initial shock then you soon become used to how they look again, and you won't even think about it after an hour or two. Old skool UI can be more of an issue though, like when you expect something to work a certain way and it just doesn't, because they hadn't figured that out back then (ie. shit that should have tooltips not having tooltips).
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
No. "
yes "
Just seems like you're stating your opinion as fact there, hence the no. I've played lots of modern games and I'm still constantly discovering old gems. I agree there is a certain type of player that can't play anything without top-of-the-range graphics but I would guess that if someones passionate enough about games to waste their time on a videogame forum then they probably will be more concerned with gameplay and ideas. Just a thought. "
Ok well, i will switch my argument to be directed at sequels, because some games do do original things and then nobody picks them up again later, i can't think of one right now but i'm sure they exist. Otherwise all of the value is in the story, which is why kotor is still playable after playing the second one, (that and not having nearly as many glitches).
The games you've named hold up, both graphically and with their game play, the only difference I find is game play is more methodical and patient, especially with Icewind Dale.
@gamefreak9: It sounds like I'm just arguing for the sake of it now but even though I love Oblivion I genuinely prefer Morrowind. I thought the setting was way more interesting, and I like levitating :-) Also I see you mentioned the Bloodmoon expansion which to my mind is much better than the Oblivion DLC. But I guess it's different strokes for different folks as they say! I guess the only correct response to this thread is "OP, try them and find out."
Get your hands on Baldurs Gate and see what an rpg should be like for yourself. People say they are timeless cause they are, if someone cant see past the pixels to appreciate them I say thats on them.
I bought Fallout 1 earlier this year..it was interesting, but there were too many issues compatibility wise to keep it an entertaining experience. Just skip ahead and play new pc rpgs like The Witcher. Your life is only so long, you can't play every game under the sun. So don't hassle yourself if you don't need to. Play The Witcher.
**This post may or may not have been paid for by CD Projekt ** >_>
It's never too late, and GoG pretty much kills the compatibility issues for the best games. The only real issue would be the steeper learning curve (compared to the hand-holding of most modern day games). Cannot recommend Fallout and Fallout 2 enough.
@stoodspoon: Id skip Icewind and play Baldur's Gate instead, if you haven't played any old RPGs. the first two Fallouts are great and i think the combat is different enough to keep even modern gamers interested in it. I've own Planescape Torment and Baldur's Gate 2 for years but have yet to play it.
As long as you go in ready to use your brain and not be hand held every step of the way then you will be fine.
The best advice I can give is don't be afraid to open a FAQ now and then. There are just some things that would be automatic in gamers minds back then that are not the case anymore that may cause you to get stuck. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but there were certain game designs that we took for granted back then and never thought twice about that may confuse someone not used to them in this day and age or who never experienced them.
I myself have even gone back to older games and gotten stuck on parts that I had breezed through without a second thought when I was a kid simply because I have become accustomed to how games are dumbed down and made for even the simplest of people to understand now.
As I said, play with a FAQ open so you can alt tab into it when ever you get stuck and you will be fine. Enjoy the ride and don't let the negative Nancies deter you from playing the greats.
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. "
No. "
yes "
Subjective experience. I played a lot of modern games, and am capable of returning to Morrowind in all it's low-poly glory. Hell, I even had a go with Tyrian a while ago, as I never got to play that game before in it's time. It was a cool retro experience, but again, it is all subjective, like your own opinion. "
a cool u decided to say something :P. Well in essence what i'm trying to say is that we get Spoiled with the improvements and expect them, and when they are not there we get disappointed. I mean be honest did you finish Oblivion? Morrowind just falls down after u play Oblivion, the only thing i can still play in Morrowind without puling my hair out, is the werewolf expansion (which is awesome) shame they have none of that in Oblivion. "
I get what you mean completely. However I finished both Morrowind and Oblivion extensively, finishing just about all of the major side-quests for each (example, the mages guild quests and the fighters guild quests etc). My problem with Oblivion was the arbritrary difficulty adjustments that caused enemies to take a lot longer to kill than necessary. It was not so in Morrowind, where if you truly excelled in certain skills, you were close enough to a god that you really felt like you were the superior fighter. Having to repeat a set of actions just to not die to a thief that magically went from leather armor to dwarven armour after levelling up, with the intent of making those particular fights easier, was a step backwards in my opinion.
Also, quite a few attributes were heavily weakened when going to Oblivion, such as alchemy which hardly has the potency it used to have in Morrowind, as well as choosing your own power level of enchantments in Morrowind. They purposely got rid of a number of effects in the game simply to make it arbitrarily harder, and that is not good game design at all. This is not to say I didn't enjoy Oblivion, because I sure did, but its problems were clear as day if you really thought about it. Oblivion at least gauranteed that you would always hit the enemy, unlike Morrowind where there was heavy chances of missing (annoying until your skills with the weapons were good enough of course, but that was a game decision made from old game methodologies).
Finally, the story in Morrowind was clearly better, simply because the protagonist in that game actually had to defeat some mortal deities throughout the main game and the expansions, whereas Oblivion saw the protagonist eventually solve very little, relying on everyone else to script their way into solving it all for you. Didn't like that at all. I get where you are coming from regardless dude, and nice to hear other opinions.
Get them through GoG for compatability reasons and then get the mods to up the display size. 2D holds up very well, 3D not so much. So playing Anachronox could be an issue. But things in the pentium era should be fine.
Frankly, you must play those games if you're able and willing . They're actually genuine RPGs (unlike Bethesda-Bioware's recent offerings), and quality ones at that in terms of mechanics, depth, and writing, although UI and graphix are a slight problem. I can't tell you if you'll like playing them or not, all I can do is stress their importance and quality. It's entirely subjective: some people are constitutionally incapable of playing old games, and others not.
Anything from 1997 onward is most likely still playable, although the judgment of if something is worth playing is totally subjective. In some ways, these old RPGs are still some of the best in terms of either tactical combat or story, but they usually come with some sort of old school baggage that makes it harder for me to totally recommend to someone cold turkey. If you are determined enough to overcome these obnoxious inconveniences and perhaps (blasphemously) occasionally refer to a walkthrough, you can probably enjoy them almost as much as if you had played them in the era they were released. Just be warned: Most of the games you mentioned are hella long. You are going to need some time in your schedule if you plan on playing any one of them.
I played Fallout last year for the first time and I didn't hate it. However, I was using a guide so maybe you could do that or just watch a playthrough of it on youtube.
Edit: I also played through the last mission of the Terran campaign in StarCraft with invincibility cheats, and most of the Zerg campaign (I hate zerg) with cheats. Shows you how much reverence I give old games.
Also keep in mind that it's helpful to know a bit about the D&D rules if you're going to play the D&D rpgs. I'd start with Planescape since that's pretty light on spells, feats, and the like, but super heavy on attributes which you really need to understand up front if you're going to jump in with Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and the like. Planescape gives you a steady supply of attribute points throughout the game and is very good about explaining their affects (ex: "your exceptional wisdom gives you further insight in conversations and unlocks more memories.")
Or, you could skip the D&D route and jump into Fallout 1 & 2, which are some of the most devilishly funny games ever made.
I played the first Fallout game recently and enjoyed it. There are a couple of game mechanics I don't like (mostly the time limits) and its kind of buggy (I'm not sure if it's my setup or just how the game was written), but overall I had a lot of fun with it.
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. Since its not just gameplay that advanced, its balance, glitches(not nearly as many nowadays), and just depth in general. Only thing you might be able to extract out of old games is a good story, kotor isn't too old yet, i would recommend it. edit: Think of it like this, for instance if you played fallout 3, and ur trying to play fallout 2, its like you were fed a steak with fries, and now your just being served the fries. Its sort of there, but its not as enjoyable, of course for games with no sequels its different. Planescape torment could be unbearable to play nowadays... but its got good mechanic when they aren't glitching, its worth playing just to see what the creators were thinking but its tedious by todays standards. And wizardry... o god... i mean i remember loving it, but then went back to it last yr... i just could not play it. "
Depth has not increased noticeably in video games since the late 90's. If anything, old crpg's are probably more deep then almost anything put out today. I'm not the sort of person who believes that everything is being causualized, but i don't think that games are really getting deeper at the moment.
I'm really surprised that there's such a stigma about playing anything older than 10 (or even 5) years...I don't see the issue at all, I played Fallout 1 for the first time earlier this year and I loved it. Yes, of course there were shit games released back then, but there's been a lot of shit released this year too.
Perhaps the issue is that some people are expecting some things to be identical to games released in the last 12 months. If you suspend your expectations, then everything should be a-ok. If you're playing those games don't immediately just expect motion controls, achievements, HD etc... just play them for what they are.
" Games aren't like movies, they are fluid, they advance in a significant manner, and if you played too many modern games you will not be able to enjoy the old ones. Since its not just gameplay that advanced, its balance, glitches(not nearly as many nowadays), and just depth in general. Only thing you might be able to extract out of old games is a good story, kotor isn't too old yet, i would recommend it. edit: Think of it like this, for instance if you played fallout 3, and ur trying to play fallout 2, its like you were fed a steak with fries, and now your just being served the fries. Its sort of there, but its not as enjoyable, of course for games with no sequels its different. Planescape torment could be unbearable to play nowadays... but its got good mechanic when they aren't glitching, its worth playing just to see what the creators were thinking but its tedious by todays standards. And wizardry... o god... i mean i remember loving it, but then went back to it last yr... i just could not play it. "
Depth has not increased noticeably in video games since the late 90's. If anything, old crpg's are probably more deep then almost anything put out today. I'm not the sort of person who believes that everything is being causualized, but i don't think that games are really getting deeper at the moment. "
Um, how can you say that? I mean compare Baldur's gate, wizardry and planescape torment to Neverwinter nights 2 or 1 for that reason, the complexity has like trippled(not to say that they used it properly, in fact there's not much transparency at all and it alienates new players). Or like dragon age in comparison to something not so old like Kotor. The only one that has not exponentially increased is final fantasy, where instead of adding things to the systems, they completely change them, i think they are the exception though not the rule, and its sort of not working very well for them, popularity is drying down from where it used to be if you take into account how many gamers there are today. Rpgs back in the old days did not have nearly as much choice, especially if you take into account balance, some tech trees are just wayyy better than others. Chrono trigger, i mean not even like close to ff tactics depth, or golden sun. Graphics are small part of it also, i mean i can still play final fantasy 1 to 6, but 7's(its the first 3dish one if you didn't know) graphics just get to me, i need to persevere to get used to them.
However there are some rpg's that nobody expanded on too much and therefore will not be as noticeably old, mainly Deus Ex comes to mind, but i have this affinity to compare it to Mass Effect, although it is very different, i feel like mass effect just does everything better than it does.
Anw as i'm making apparent, i'm a pretty big RPG fan, and its not that i'm saying the old ones were not great, but they do deteriorate over-time, and this isn't like a primary thought, i am fighting against nostalgia.
It's never too late to revisit old games, but you have to realize that games have a lot evolution. You have to be open to the time period, so that any problems can be overlooked as "well it WAS 19xx" instead of raging that it's not modern enough, like some people seem to.
They're finnicky and hard to run on everything, and require a certain mindset to play, but if you can get into them it's pretty rewarding I find.
My favourite old PC games are almost always adventure titles, because while the graphics might age, the stories are usually all pretty funny, or engaging in some way.
Personally I'd recommend SNES rpgs if you haven't played them yet.
The old sprite art has aged very very well imho. Just look at Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasys 4-6... The only annoying thing about those games is their slow and simplistic combat. Back then "attack" was what you hit 95% of the time.
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