Been a while since a PC game engaged me

[Starbuck1975]

Maybe its an indication that I am getting older, or my tastes are changing, but it has been a while since a PC game truly engaged me...there was a time when the release of a new game heralded marathon gaming sessions into the late hours of the night.

My gaming fascination started on an Apple 2c, with text based RPGs and later adventure games. While I had an Atari, and later a Nintendo, console games never fascinated me to the extent that computer gaming did, and hence I never traveled very far down the console branch.

CD-ROMs and sound cards hit the market around the time I hit college...I remember spending hours performing upgrades on my school issued computer just so I could play games.

Like most, my first PC game was Myst...for all its flaws by today's standards, it was a revolutionary game for the time...and introduced me to the hobby, so I can't complain too much.

My favorite games from that era...the late 1990s...include the X-Wing and T-Fighter series, Dune II, the Myst Series, the Myth series, Commandos series, Baldur's Gate series, the Freespace series, and most of the LucasArts adventure games...particularly Grim Fandango and Full Throttle.

Honestly, Doom and Duke Nukem never did it for me.

The first FPS that truly gripped me was Half-Life...from there, my favorites have been System Shock 2, Deux Ex, Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series and the No One Lives Forever series...I also really enjoyed Tron 2.0, as the movie was one of my favorites as a kid.

Similarly, I started getting into RPGs a bit more...with Neverwinter Nights, Planescape Torment and Morrowind topping off the list.

On the RTS side of things, Command & Conquer, Warcraft, Age of Empires, Starcraft...none of those had the depth to truly keep me playing...they were fun at first, but the tank rush tactics that seemed to work for all of those games got dull after a while...the RTS games that rocked my world include Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War, Rise of Nations, and two of my favorites, Homeworld & Rome:Total War.

Other games off the top of my head that I truly enjoyed: Ghost Recon, Hitman, Splinter Cell, and Max Payne. Also Giants, Black & White, Armed & Dangerous and Freedom Fighters were fun games.

A pending computer upgrade kept me restricted to games that came out prior to 2002, and I recently performed an upgrade with the hope of enjoying all of the new games on the market.

Having completed the upgrade, I have been somewhat disappointed with the current offerings. Half-Life 2 was the first on my list, and it wasn't what I expected given the its development time...from the introduction of the gravity gun to the bug bait for the Ant-Lions...each level of the game works more as a playground for the weapons introduced throughout.

Similarly, F.E.A.R., Star Wars: Empires at War, and a few other recent releases haven't really progressed gameplay all that far...just the graphics have gotten prettier.

Online multiplayer games simply don't really attract me...I experimented a bit with Evercrack when it first came out, but I tend to enjoy games framed by a larger story as opposed to open ended sandbox environments.

I haven't picked up Oblivion yet, but I am hoping it restores my faith in the hobby a bit...there are also a couple of promising titles on the horizon, with Company of Heroes being one I am eagerly awaiting.

Browsing the latest games at local stores that sell PC games, nothing is really jumping out at me...reviews on Gamespot and in PC Gamer have also left me a bit lost in finding the next install on my system.

Maybe I am viewing the games of yore with a biased eye...but it seems to me that developers are devoting more resources to eye candy and gimmicks then they are to gameplay and story.

 

[DannyLove]

if its gameplay and story you seek, I think Oblivion is a good start.

I've been playing this game for awhile now and it has a lot of story involved. I played Thief, and with this game I made a similar character, and its been great so far!

just out of curiousity, how old are you?

danny~!

 

[fierydemise]

I'm a whole lot younger then you but I'm in the same boat, I've been turning to older rpgs but oblivion is a great game. Story wise the main quest isn't great but the faction quests are generally fun (try the dark brotherhood) and the gameplay is good. I've also been trying more obscure games that I've found better in general then the more popular over hyped games.

 

[potato28]

This is why I play PS2 rpg's. Great stories, immersive, and lots of em!

 

[Starbuck1975]

Ooops...forgot about the Thief series...enjoyed those as well.

If my original post didn't reveal my age, I am 30.

 

[shortylickens]

I'm 27 and feel the exact same way.
These days, games are made to sell, not to provide enjoyment.

I've actually been busting my butt to get older stuff to work.
Duke3D, MOO2 and some other classics. I know they provide enjoyment and thats what I'm really looking for.
I'd have to say that a handful of DOS games and few gems during the late Win98/early XP days are my overall favorites.

Most everything else sucks.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

I'm jaded as well. I've been ever since I've got off of WoWcrack. Oblivion held me in thrall for a month or so. Now I feel so empty again. But me likes NWN2. I think I will place my bets on NWN2 + it's expansions to keep me in check this fall... and then maybe Hellgate after. Even consoles interest is at an all time low for me. I don't think it's just aging/maturing though. I read a recent article on the death of videogames... and I had to agree with it. Innovation/creativing down, safe sequels are up. A rehashing of the rehashed stuff made prettier does not equal fun. Atleast I've been more... productive as a result? Pffft.

As for FPS games, I love them, but I get motion sickness quicker with every generation of improved engine, which makes me not wanna play them.

 

[MX2]

Funny how things that used to captivate you dont seem so important when you get old

 

[Wag]

Oblivion has eternal playing time.

 

[Bateluer]

Games today are being made to the lowest common denonimators. As more and more developers start copying console games, this is going to get more and more apparent.

With studios selling games almost solely on their visual appeal, the quality of the game is going to continue to get worse. RPGs are getting short and short, few choices, minimal consequences of those choices, less and less dialogue, etc. RTS games become more about their visual appeal as well, with hundreds of units and factions that almost mirror images of each other. No genre has been uneffected either. The FPS shooter was just the first.

The last bastion of hope for gaming, PC and Console, is the mod community. These days, most originality, fresh storylines, good dialogue, etc, comes from the mod community.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: MX2times
Funny how things that used to captivate you dont seem so important when you get old

For me, the real noticable difference was after I got out of boot camp. The world seemed like a whole new place. I saw things differently.
Gave up video games for several years, until I was in the barracks at Norfolk with lots of free time on my hands.
TV was shut off for good, and I spent much less time at the theater.

I no longer spend 10 hours a day on Final Fantasy, but because of that I tend to take the little time I have available seriously. I dont like spending a lot of money for games that suck and wont occupy my time well. So, (just like TV) I think its better to go do something else.

 

[Bateluer]

Some titles to keep an eye on though that look interestng: Neverwinter Nights 2, The Witcher, and Gothic 3.

 

[cyclohexane]

Try playing civ3 or civ4

 

[gorcorps]

I was in a gaming lull like you OP (didn't start that early but ya know) and haven't liked a lot of recent games until Oblivion. That game had me sitting on my ass for hours which isn't good health wise but good gameing wise. Hopefully if/when you get it you'll have the same addiction.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

The Gothic series never appealed to me. But Bioware. Bioware. Bless your souls you sexy beasts. Who were they before? Dark Isle or something? Whatever. If Bioware was a woman I would court her like no other.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: makoto00
The Gothic series never appealed to me. But Bioware. Bioware. Bless your souls you sexy beasts. Who were they before? Dark Isle or something? Whatever. If Bioware was a woman I would court her like no other.

Black Isle, they were a studio under Interplay. Interplay shut them down to help keep themselves afloat financially. Smart move Interplay, can one of the most respected developers in history. :|

NWN2 isn't be made by Bioware though, Obisidian is the lead developer. Bioware is just a consultant. Obsidian has talent though, LucasArts fvcked them over with KOTOR2 though.

I would like to see more developers self publishing their games online or through Steam, and cut out idiotic publishers like Interplay, EA, LucasArts, and Activision.

 

[Stuxnet]

Ditto here. I've tried a number of games over the last couple years, but either the gameplay is getting worse or my expectations have become unreasonable. Whatever the cause, I don't even browse the games when I walk by them any more.

I'll fire up CS:S if I have a little time to kill, but I'll get bored after 30 minutes or so. UT2004 was a LOT of fun for me, as was the latest Splinter Cell (Chaos Theory). Other than waiting for Double Agent and *maybe* UT2007, I've turned to other hobbies.

I own an Xbox and still get a blast out of games like Burnout 3, Fight Night Round 2, and Forza Motorsport.

I'm about your age OP, and I've lost the same interest. If I could find a new in box Nintendo (8-bit) with all the classic games, I'd buy it and blow a week. But the games that are produced today just aren't the same. Aside from visual and auditory advances (which have been very impressive), the games are nothing new. I tried FEAR but was bored to tears. Yeah, the game scared the piss out of my at moments, but that doesn't necessarily equate to fun. It just wasn't entertaining.

I can get into games like Battlefield 2, but only if they actually do what they're supposed to do.

Oh well... my other hobbies are more applicable to the rest of my life and they get me away from the computer, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. I had fun back in the day when I'd kill an entire night playing CS or Soldier of Fortune II, but it's probably better that there isn't a game out right now that has the same captivation for me.

 

[lozina]

Same situation here. I think it's good though... games are such a waste of time! I remember staying up all night playing games like XCom, Civilization, Pirates! Gold, Daggerfall, Master of Orion and/or Master of Magic. Nowadays I get tired after playing an hour and want to do somethign else.

I try some of the newer varieties like Civ4, Oblivion, Sid Meier's Pirates!... and they really don't keep me interested for very long. It feels so repetitive and does't immerse me into the game anymore. Now I'm more likely to stay up late working on a programming project than playing a game =\

 

[Starbuck1975]

I agree, it's not necessarily a bad thing that I am not staying up to 2am every night playing games...actually with my schedule, finding time to play is often a challenge.

I guess my biggest gripe is that for three or four hours a week I can commit to gaming, I want it to be an enjoyable experience...I don't mind a short duration game if the plot and gameplay is well developed...honestly, I never beat any of the Baldur Gate series, Neverwinter Nights or Morrowind because I got burned out on questing...Planescape Torment is the only one I finished because the balance between story development, RPG goodness and duration was just right.

That Half-Life 2 tends to bore me after about 30 minutes isn't a good thing...the last game I really played in large doses was Dawn of War, only because it was such an interesting take on the standard RTS, and I was already familiar with the WH40K canon...not a very long game in terms of levels, but each level was a unique twist and offered its own challenge.

 

[Bateluer]

Something I wanted to add about Oblivion. Oblivion is a good RPG, not great, merely good. Its storyline is interesting, the world is large, the visuals top notch, and so on. But, its dialogue and characters, two essential elements in an excellent RPG, are almost nonexistant. Oblivion has no dialogue from the player, merely 1 word or simple phrases that prompt the NPC into a usually short, voice acted blurb. There's no discussions between the PC and NPCs. The dialogue is shallow and simple. Compare this to BG2 and PS:T where half the fun was talking to your party members and having full blown conversations with powerful NPCs. Oblivion has no memorable characters at all. 5 years from now, I'll still be remembering Annah, Fall-From-Grace, Dakkon, Morte, Vhailor, Trias, Minsc & Boo, Aerie, Irenicus, Nadia, Imoen, and others. The characters in Oblivon don't exactly leave a lasting impression, they are all 2D, 1 faceted, faces in the crowd . . .

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
Ooops...forgot about the Thief series...enjoyed those as well.

If my original post didn't reveal my age, I am 30.

Same boat as you, age included.

Nothing really interest me anymore, well except a child hood board game I played that someone made into a PC game, in which I've been having a little bit of fun in. Star Trek: Starship Tacitcal Combat Simulator.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

sounds like your at a good age to play WoW. yep thats right. WoW.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Wag
Oblivion has eternal playing time.

interesting....eternity only lasted about 2 weeks for me...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: jbourne77
Ditto here. I've tried a number of games over the last couple years, but either the gameplay is getting worse or my expectations have become unreasonable. Whatever the cause, I don't even browse the games when I walk by them any more.

I'll fire up CS:S if I have a little time to kill, but I'll get bored after 30 minutes or so. UT2004 was a LOT of fun for me, as was the latest Splinter Cell (Chaos Theory). Other than waiting for Double Agent and *maybe* UT2007, I've turned to other hobbies.

I own an Xbox and still get a blast out of games like Burnout 3, Fight Night Round 2, and Forza Motorsport.

I'm about your age OP, and I've lost the same interest. If I could find a new in box Nintendo (8-bit) with all the classic games, I'd buy it and blow a week. But the games that are produced today just aren't the same. Aside from visual and auditory advances (which have been very impressive), the games are nothing new. I tried FEAR but was bored to tears. Yeah, the game scared the piss out of my at moments, but that doesn't necessarily equate to fun. It just wasn't entertaining.

I can get into games like Battlefield 2, but only if they actually do what they're supposed to do.

Oh well... my other hobbies are more applicable to the rest of my life and they get me away from the computer, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. I had fun back in the day when I'd kill an entire night playing CS or Soldier of Fortune II, but it's probably better that there isn't a game out right now that has the same captivation for me.

wait for the wii then. nes, snes, n64, gamecube, wii, & tg16 games, all in one box...

 

[manno]

I felt the same way and then I started playing Battlefield 2. I got tired of that after about 4 months of some CRAZY marathon sessions. Cought up on my social life, and then found out what it was like to play Battlefield 2 in a squad and now I'm crazy hooked again.
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2
This review does a good job of summing up how I feel about the game.
Battlefield 2 is awesome, and Special Forces is just OK

Watch the video review of it.