What are your opinion about older games? I almost always only buy games that are at least say 3-5 years old. It´s not that I prefer them to newer games, but:

* They don´t require the latest computer and graphics card

* They are fully patched

* They are usually bundled together with expansions in Collectors Editions

* They are CHEAP!

My latest addition was Baldurs Gate 2 Collection (with Throne of Baal expansion) from 2001. Sure, it´s a bit dated but as I am used to older games I´m not that picky about latest graphics, and it seems to be a great game anyway...

Do you guys buy many older games or do you prefer the latest games?

Prefer more newer games. Older games are hard to come across or has compadibility issues with a newer OS.

Another problem is if you play them in newer graphics resolutions, they tend to look very ugly.

Ever since i got a 16:10 widescreen I have to be very picky about buying old games. I just can't stand that stretched-out everything-looks-big-like-on-Doogie-Houser look.

I fail to see any reason to buy a widescreen moniter, when almost no games have true widescreen support... and even those that just cut off the top and bottom of the screen sometimes need you to manually edit a file.

There are new games that don't need a brand new computer, Mount&Blade, or Call of Duty 4 is extremely well optimised.

I generally buy Collector's Editions when they come out as well, saves me a bundle of money and it looks great too.

Although I disagree with fully patched, I sometimes get glitches with older games, and since the company may not even exist anymore, you're screwed on that part.

I have a widescreen, but that doesn't dissuade me from playing older games.

And I get some technical issues with older games, although usually I can fix them with some internet searching.

Big fan of older games here.
Having great, fully patched and cheap games is awesome. No issues so far with compatibility and no problem also with monitor resolution (19" widescreen).

Presently I'm really enjoying launching missiles at warships in Fleet Command, a game from 1999.

Ever since i got a 16:10 widescreen I have to be very picky about buying old games. I just can't stand that stretched-out everything-looks-big-like-on-Doogie-Houser look.
Like your avatar? :mischief:

Widescreen monitors seem to be a standard now a days (unless youre lucky enough to nab a standard monitor). With older games with no widescreen support, I tend to want them to have the ability to go into windowed mode.

I usually buy older games because they come in gold or collector's editions indeed. With the Sims 3 being released soon, I'm waiting for the complete pack of the Sims 2, like they did with the original Sims. The core game of Sims is boring anyway, the expansions really complete the game.

One funny thing: Age of Empires II + expansion costs €15 at a local store and Age of Empires I AND II with both expansions costs €5! I bought the €5 one, even though I only missed the expansion for AoE I.

And luckily enough, I'm not a graphics wh0re ;). I really don't mind if the game looks bad or stretched. I believe it was Sid himself who said games happen in your imagination, not on your screen. Granted though, I don't like games with CGA graphics (anymore), but I still like the AGI adventure games by Sierra. And if it's an old DOS game, Dosbox lets me play it pillarboxed an with some nice filters. ScummVM and Nagi do the same for old adventure games.
And more modern games like Caesar III, Pharaoh, Sims 1, TOCA 3, Silent Hunter 3, AoE 2 still look great because the graphics were really well made. As long as the art direction is great, the graphics will stay great.
Old and 'bad' graphics are really no objection for me to play or buy older games. And I'm not trading in my widescreen monitor. Once you've worked on a widescreen, you don't want to go back.

Incompatibility with modern OS'ses is still something I have to experience. And I'm running Vista (though not 64-bit). Only Andretti Racing fails to run on anything newer then Win98.

And luckily enough, I'm not a graphics wh0re ;). I really don't mind if the game looks bad or stretched. I believe it was Sid himself who said games happen in your imagination, not on your screen. Granted though, I don't like games with CGA graphics (anymore), but I still like the AGI adventure games by Sierra. And if it's an old DOS game, Dosbox lets me play it pillarboxed an with some nice filters. ScummVM and Nagi do the same for old adventure games.

.

What this wise person here said.

If the game is good in plot/story, gameplay, idea, or any other significant non-visual departments it's worth at least a try in my book. Also, I judge games based on their peers. Thus, for example, Maniac Mansion is judged together with other adventure games of the late 80's, and Myth the Fallen Lords with other (fantasy) strategy games from it's own time of release.

Thus, I have no issues buying older games if they have something to offer. If one looks purely at visuals alone and compares older games to newer ones, one will definitely miss on a lot of great games from the past two decades.

Yes, for example, consider the adventure games that were made in the 80s and 90s. Games like Monkey Island, Indiana Jones and Fate of Atlantis, Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, Gabriel Knight and Broken Sword. An almost dead genre, but some of the funniest, most clever and immersive games ever made!

I'm a great fan of older games. Not the best graphics, but most gameplay is good. I especially like the SimGames -- SimCity, SimTown, SimEarth, SimSafari, SimIsle SimCopter, SimEverything. Then EA ate up Maxis and now all they really have is Sims expansions.

I fail to see any reason to buy a widescreen moniter, when almost no games have true widescreen support... and even those that just cut off the top and bottom of the screen sometimes need you to manually edit a file.
Because not everyone in the world is a compulsive gamer.

Because not everyone in the world is a compulsive gamer.
Or is a compulsive media driven fanatic (IE uses their computer as a Media station)

I still don't see any reason to buy a widescreen.

It looks great.
Since I've had a widescreen I cannot imagine myself without one.

Also i think 16:10 is somewhat better on the eyes. It feels a little more natural. And if you want true 4:3 for something you can just crop the sides.

As for old games, i'm no fanatic, but i play one every once and a while. Mostly adventure games, or games i played as a kid. But generally i think games are getting better and better, so i mostly play newish games.

What this wise person here said.

If the game is good in plot/story, gameplay, idea, or any other significant non-visual departments it's worth at least a try in my book. Also, I judge games based on their peers. Thus, for example, Maniac Mansion is judged together with other adventure games of the late 80's, and Myth the Fallen Lords with other (fantasy) strategy games from it's own time of release.

Thus, I have no issues buying older games if they have something to offer. If one looks purely at visuals alone and compares older games to newer ones, one will definitely miss on a lot of great games from the past two decades.

So true. One word - Starflight.

What this wise person here said.

If the game is good in plot/story, gameplay, idea, or any other significant non-visual departments it's worth at least a try in my book. Also, I judge games based on their peers. Thus, for example, Maniac Mansion is judged together with other adventure games of the late 80's, and Myth the Fallen Lords with other (fantasy) strategy games from it's own time of release.

Thus, I have no issues buying older games if they have something to offer. If one looks purely at visuals alone and compares older games to newer ones, one will definitely miss on a lot of great games from the past two decades.
Listen to Reno for he is wise :)

I have not problem playing older games since awesome visuals aren't high on my wishlist. I play plenty of older games, some because they were just bloody good, others for nostalgic value.

A nice side-effect of that is, that my 'game'-costs are a lot lower than those of the visual-effects-whores :p

I say old is gold, both for console and computer games.

When I was 5 or 6, I used to have an old Nintendo but we sold it. :(

My PC games that I play are:
SimCity 3000 World Edition (Old)
Age of Empires: Rise of Rome (Expansion, Old).
SimCity 4: Deluxe (Expansion, fairly old).
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (No Expansion, Old).
Dawn of War II: Beta (Testing).
Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 + 3 (No Expansion, Old).
Space Rangers 2 (Quite Old)
Half-Life 2 (Newly Instanlled, Old).
Civilization II: Test of Time (Old, Expansion).
Civilization IV (Fairly new, No expansion but a mod).

SimCity 4 isn't that old, neither is Half-Life 2. Or Sim City 3. They are becomming middle aged though. Old is like pre-2001.

Does runescape count?

No because it is still in developement.

I like older games more than new ones probably because I like turn based 2d/3d isometric games rather than real time 1st/3rd person games. Also game genres I like have gone mostly out of fashion nowadays (RPGs, Turn based tactical or strategy games and space sims). I do have rather large games collection (http://koti.mbnet.fi/ton_hur/games.htm) (It's bit outdates as I haven't updated it in past 1-2 years or so).

Since finding GOG.com (http://www.gog.com) (Good Old Games) I've pretty much stopped buying new games (well retail anyway, I've been buying bargain games for years now). GOG offers older games as cheap (5.99$/9.99$) digital download with extras (soundtracks, artwork etc.) and all the games are DRM free (MAJOR bonus these days of rampart DRM). The games are also made Windows XP/Vista compatible and are patched to latest version. The catalogue (http://www.gog.com/en/catalogue/) is not large but grows at a rate of 1-3 games per week.

Anyone interested in older games should check it out.

When I was 5 or 6, I used to have an old Nintendo but we sold it. :(

A few weeks ago I fired up my old Nintendo again - I was surprised to see it still working. I think it's about 10 years since I last used it. So far I've played Mario 1 & 3, Chip & Dale, Street Gangs (River City Ransom) and Double Dragon 2. Even the zapper for Duck Hunt worked - great fun. :)

...Chip & Dale,

That was the first game I ever managed to complete :love:

I like how the old NES and SNES consoles and controlelrs still work more than 10 years later and yet X-Box 360s have trouble living past their warrenty.

That was the first game I ever managed to complete :love:I remember that I struggled alot with that game when I was a kid. Now it was a cakewalk. :D I haven't managed to complete Super Mario 3 yet though - I find it quite hard in fact.

I like how the old NES and SNES consoles and controlelrs still work more than 10 years later and yet X-Box 360s have trouble living past their warrenty.I have two controllers - one of them works 100%, but the other is somewhat broken. Makes it frustrating to play two-player. :(

I dug up and fired up my PS1 not long ago with lots of sightseeing planed on memory lane. But alas, no result. The playstation title screen appeared, but it wouldn't start any games.

I remember that I struggled alot with that game when I was a kid. Now it was a cakewalk. :D I haven't managed to complete Super Mario 3 yet though - I find it quite hard in fact.

I got bloody close with completing Mario 3, but the last world is horrendous to play through.

I got bloody close with completing Mario 3, but the last world is horrendous to play through.I think I never have completed it without certain aids, like the P-wing, the cloud etc. For me the cloud is a must-have to get past the castle in the last world. :)

Snerk: That's a shame with your PS1. :sad:

I got bloody close with completing Mario 3, but the last world is horrendous to play through.

Super Mario 3 is the best Mario game and my favorite non-Zelda Nintendo game. Check my personal top 25 list.

Should I post my personal top 25 list anywhere? I want some commentary on it, and you guys won't be firing back at me since I made it myself (though it does have quite a bit of influence from other websites, GameFAQs particularly).

Super Mario 3 is the best Mario game

I absolutely agree.

Should I post my personal top 25 list anywhere? I want some commentary on it, and you guys won't be firing back at me since I made it myself (though it does have quite a bit of influence from other websites, GameFAQs particularly).

No.

Okay, but I'm going to ask another question. Tell me if I should create another thread for this or not.

GameFAQs will be holding its 2nd "Best. Game. Ever." tournament soon, probably April 1 (that's when the last one began). What do you think will win and what are you rooting for to become champ?

What I think will win: Final Fantasy VII
What I'm rooting for: Ocarina of Time (d'oh)

Tell me if I should create another thread for this or not.

Not.
Trust me.

I greatly enjoy older games, but now it's sort of forced on me now. My windows OS at home is Windows 98, so 99% of new games don't work on it.

There were some old games, I'd love to play today on PC regardless of the graphics:

Dungeon Master (one of the greatest RPGs ever ever for it's experience system and atmosphere)
Fate: Gates of Dawn (But I believe this was only known in Germany)
The Amiga 500 version of Pirates!

After an almost 25 years gamer 'carreer' I have no interest in state of the art graphics. It's just a bonus if it's there...

After an almost 25 years gamer 'carreer' I have no interest in state of the art graphics. It's just a bonus if it's there...

I strongly agree...

I'm kind of split down the middle. I have plenty of new games (COD4 & 5, TF2 etc.) but I since I'm cheap and new games are overpriced, I have a lot of older games which you can get for cheap/free (legally) from the creator or open source clones. Examples include: GTA2, Railroad Tycoon, OpenTTD (based on Transport Tycoon), Micropolis (Simcity).

Rollercoaster Tycoon http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7114/customawesome.gif

I've been playing Duke Nukem 3d during the past week and despite the outdated graphics, the gameplay still rocks.

I like to play a kiddy DOS game called Oregon Trail Deluxe, but it's so easy to beat I now like to see how fast I can kill everyone off.

I've been playing Duke Nukem 3d during the past week and despite the outdated graphics, the gameplay still rocks.

I'm sure some are digging the Xbox Live Arcade version.

I like to play a kiddy DOS game called Oregon Trail Deluxe, but it's so easy to beat I now like to see how fast I can kill everyone off.

Oregon Trail rocks <3 I found that on Underdogs last year, but it stopped working for some reason :(

I downloaded Nintendulator & some old Nintendo Entertainment System ROMS. (Super Mario Bros, and Duck Hunt.) Great fun.

I downloaded Nintendulator & some old Nintendo Entertainment System ROMS. (Super Mario Bros, and Duck Hunt.) Great fun.

On my iPod Touch I have emulators for the nes,snes,gameboy, gbc, gba and PS1. Most games play fine apart from PS1 games. FF7 at half speed is not fun.

I still can't get past the first level of Super Mario Bros. I always run into the mushrooms. I'm just as bad a player now as I was when I was 5.

I find there was a slump somewhere in terms of how palatable graphics are when going back to older games. I mean that I can pretty much go back and play Coleco Vision or NES or old PC games from the early 90s... Then SNES, no problem... Love a lot of these games. And I'm not too snob about the new games either; I have a high-end PC and I love following the game industry and playing new games.

The slump is that I have a hard time going back to late 90s console games. I have a really hard time going back to my N64 and Playstation 1. Everything in these years look so blurry and ugly. Even at the time, when it was new, I was impressed by some of the games but already felt like this was not great in terms of visual cues. Textures are coarse and make me dizzy, everything is choppy and blocky, the 3D was hardly palatable.

I'd much rather play a NES game, or a PS2 game, or something really new, than a PS1 game. Of course, there were some great games for the PS1 and N64 (well, a few in the latter case), like on most consoles, but in general, I don't know, everything was so colourful and crisp on the SNES (look at Super Metroid!), when I start playing Twisted Metal 1 or 2 on PS1 (a game I played a lot with friends back then!), I look at it and go "uuugh". You know, it was supposed to be an evolution... But... "uuugh". I guess it was a necessary step.

I can get up to world 3 on Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii), but I haven't played in months.

I can get up to world 3 on Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii), but I haven't played in months.

Whoever thought "water levels" were fun needs to be nailed to the cross! (along with "escort missions" and "suddenly controlling a vehicle of some sort for only one level" missions)