4 ms·

The saddest thing for me is how many great games and companies are on this list. The following are all games I bought, paid for and loved (one per firm):

by moomin 15y ago

The saddest thing for me is how many great games and companies are on this list. The following are all games I bought, paid for and loved (one per firm): Thief Deus Ex Battlezone 2 Syndicate Wars Magic and Mayhem Planescape: Torment Startopia Hostile Waters The only one on this list I didn't play through to the end is Syndicate Wars, because it's rock hard. Seriously, how come they don't make games like this anymore? Maybe, sadly, the answer is that I'm unusual. :(

archangel_one 15y ago
I guess the standard answer is because games cost more to make now so publishers are less willing to risk that money on doing something adventurous. IMO this is incredibly shortsighted but I suppose I'm not quite their target market any more. Totally sympathise about Syndicate Wars too. One thing I don't miss is that most games now seem to have a better balance of difficulty - I found that one amazingly frustrating and never finished the last few missions without cheating either. Oddly, that's one game I'd love to see a modern version of (not interested in that upcoming FPS which looks to be in name only) - IMO Syndicate Wars was hugely limited by the technology of the time.
lmm 15y ago
If the companies that made games like that went bankrupt, that's probably why.
teamonkey 15y ago
Great though that list is, I think a large part nostalgia. There are loads of great games being made these days but as adults we're more cynical and don't have the time to immerse ourselves.
- moomin 15y ago
  I quite agree that there are still plenty of great games being made, but there are very few games like the ones on the list. Hostile Waters and Battlezone were cracking first person RTSes. Sacrifice is pretty much the only other game like it, and that's old as the hills as well. Torment, again, is a game that no-one makes anymore. The storytelling in something like Mass Effect 2 is excellent, but it's a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. The sheer out and out weirdness of some of the story-telling in Torment has yet to be surpassed. Deus Ex and Thief/Thief 2 were vastly better than their sequels, and it seems unlikely anyone will ever make a game quite like Deus Ex again. Even with the best will in the world, a modern 8 hour game isn't going to have the same depth as a 20 hour RPG.

by moomin 15y ago

archangel_one 15y ago

I guess the standard answer is because games cost more to make now so publishers are less willing to risk that money on doing something adventurous. IMO this is incredibly shortsighted but I suppose I'm not quite their target market any more. Totally sympathise about Syndicate Wars too. One thing I don't miss is that most games now seem to have a better balance of difficulty - I found that one amazingly frustrating and never finished the last few missions without cheating either. Oddly, that's one game I'd love to see a modern version of (not interested in that upcoming FPS which looks to be in name only) - IMO Syndicate Wars was hugely limited by the technology of the time.

lmm 15y ago

If the companies that made games like that went bankrupt, that's probably why.

teamonkey 15y ago

Great though that list is, I think a large part nostalgia. There are loads of great games being made these days but as adults we're more cynical and don't have the time to immerse ourselves.

moomin 15y ago
I quite agree that there are still plenty of great games being made, but there are very few games like the ones on the list. Hostile Waters and Battlezone were cracking first person RTSes. Sacrifice is pretty much the only other game like it, and that's old as the hills as well. Torment, again, is a game that no-one makes anymore. The storytelling in something like Mass Effect 2 is excellent, but it's a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. The sheer out and out weirdness of some of the story-telling in Torment has yet to be surpassed. Deus Ex and Thief/Thief 2 were vastly better than their sequels, and it seems unlikely anyone will ever make a game quite like Deus Ex again. Even with the best will in the world, a modern 8 hour game isn't going to have the same depth as a 20 hour RPG.