SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic

Posted: May 20 2013 01:15 pm

I played Sin and Punishment when it came out on the Virtual Console. I think that was the first time I ever balked at 90s/2000s-era 3D graphics.

Posted: May 20 2013 01:37 pm

Greg the White wrote:

It's hard to explain. I can actively respect if a game is good if its graphics are dated, but if the game looks like total butt with limited color palettes, repetitive textures, awful in-motion visuals, and non-descript character models, hell yes it's going to poorly affect my enjoyment of it quite a bit. I won't call it a bad game, in fact I'll acknowledge that it may have been impressive and good for its time, but most of the time I won't finish it unless it's an RPG with a particularly good story, an FPS with good action, an adventure game with good writing, etc.

Agree. This is a much more succinct, direct expression of some of the ideas I was trying to get across.

Posted: May 20 2013 05:21 pm

I was hoping that maybe one day Syd might review some PSX games. Guess I can forget that shit.

I thought the PSX was amazing at the time and I have very fond memories of gaming from that era. I always thought everyone was was blown away by the jump to 3D, it opened up a world of possibilities. Just curious guys, but how was gaming for you back then? Did you start to lose interest for awhile?

Posted: May 20 2013 07:53 pm

The period between the release of Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII was a very dark time for console gaming in North America. PC gaming really came into its own after the release of Doom and that's what all the cool kids were doing.

The console market was a fucking mess. You had all these super expensive, poorly supported consoles coming out: Saturn, Jaguar, CD-i, 3DO, Apple Pippin, Neo Geo CD, and the PSX. These firstgen CD systems tended to suffer from slow loading times and poorly made hardware; the original PSX models were notorious for being unreliable pieces of shit.

As we all know, only one of these systems succeeded, and that was the PSX. The path to success was not a quick one or an easy one for Sony. The PSX only succeeded because Sony had both the financial resources and the resolve to stick things out with the PSX until it succeeded. They courted developers and subsidized games, because they were determined to stick it to Nintendo for fucking them over. And then they did.

But at the time, especially circa 1995, it seemed like 3D console games were a failed experiment that were going to go away. And it seemed like maybe consoles in general were going to go away. All the buzz in those days seemed to be about PC games. Consoles were going to have to find something different to do, because their shitty watered-down Doom ports simply weren't pulling gamers in.

And then Nintendo came out with their own 3D system, and the realization that 3D gaming was here to stay finally started to take hold, and either you were on board, or it was time to find a new hobby. Around the same time, the PSX started to really gain momentum, and suddenly console gaming was alive again.

Posted: May 20 2013 10:15 pm

I remember reading about computer games in gaming magazines and hearing a couple people talk about them, and both always had great things to say about them. The people who were PC gamers would scoff at the consoles' attempt to create good 3D games. I never understood it because console gaming was all I knew so I was blown away by the PSX when I was first able to play one. I'm so glad that today's consoles have been able to bridge the gap some of the way between the two.

I suppose I'll always wonder what could have been if Sony and Nintendo could have found some way to work things out and create something as a team...

Posted: May 21 2013 12:47 am

I actually own a PS2, but that's only because my PS1 crapped out. All my games for it are still PS1 era games. Seems like the PS2 was better manufactured. I got it a few years ago,used, and it still does fine.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

Have there even been any core first-party games announced for the Wii U? I haven't followed console-only news in over a year (Last of Us being the exception).

Posted: May 21 2013 05:37 am

There was NSMBU at launch. There has been nothing since. Well, Windwaker HD, I guess. The rumor is that Mario Kart and 3D Mario will both be announced around E3 with Holiday 2013 release dates. Zelda and SSB are also expected to be shown soon, but with release dates further out.

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

All I know is that I had a shitload of fun playing the PSX in high school in the mid 90s with my friends. Worms, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, King of Fighters 95, Wipeout, Demolition Derby, Jet Moto, and Twisted Metal, plus all the sporting games. Hella fun.

I still enjoyed the n64, especially in college. The stuff looks like crap now, but Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Golf, Star Fox, and all the wrestling games provided so much entertainment, as well as Madden 2002, which I ended up playing occasionally up to ten years after its release. My fiance and I had a load of fun this past Sunday playing Mario Kart for hours. Trying to play Goldeneye and Perfect Dark over the Winter was certainly a kick in the nuts for me though, graphically, as well. Like Syd, I always downplay my concern for graphics compared to the importance of story & fun, but man, it's getting hard to return to the games of my youth. Except RBI Baseball on the NES. Fuck, that game's fun still.

Growing up, I didn't play enough PC games, missing chunks of a platform that was usually superior. I made up for most of that in the years after college, during my 20s. Now, I don't buy consoles at all, and if I play a new game, it's on the PC. Although, I really want to play that updated version of Super Mario Bros. that came out on the Wii a few years ago.

Posted: May 22 2013 11:02 am

Syd Lexia wrote:

The period between the release of Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII was a very dark time for console gaming in North America. PC gaming really came into its own after the release of Doom and that's what all the cool kids were doing.

Coincidentally, this was around the time I discovered NES and SNES emulation.

Posted: May 22 2013 09:42 pm

Murdar Machene wrote:

Seriously, is there?

Yes. Because it's not XBox One.