I’ve always loved video games, but growing up I was often behind the curve. I had a Commodore64 and a ColecoVision when I was very young, but hit a lull in home entertainment until I had a GameGear at age 10. In the middle, I was obsessed with my friends’ Nintendos (one actually gave me hers years later, and I still have it) and Segas (received one as a present in 1997, and it was still amazing).
However, by the time I had those consoles, most kids my age had moved on to Nintendo64 and Playstation. I played a few Playstation games (most notably the Final Fantasy ones) but the next console I owned was a PS2, in 2002. When I was in college, I seemed like the retro dork with my Nintendo… but really, I had never stopped playing it.
Now, as an adult, I can afford to keep up a little better. I have a 360, and a Wii, and a DS Lite, somewhere. However, while the 360 has been a worthy console due to Rock Band, the truth is… aside from Rock Band, I haven’t really, really loved any other new-console game. And I’m beginning to wonder if my tastes aren’t simply, well, simple.
I can still get completely engaged in DS games like Professor Layton, but Gears of War was lost on me. Some games hold my interest for brief periods of time, but unlike, say, Sonic 3, I never get the urge to go pop in Oblivion and have a whirl. Some of the games that I have liked the most on 360? Games purchased through XBox Live – Boom Boom Rocket and Braid. As for the Wii, I do enjoy Wii Fit, and some of the games are great for parties, but for one-on-one playing the novelty wears quickly.
I don’t completely have the attention span of a gnat – as I’ve mentioned before, I loved the Kingdom Hearts series, and I will eventually try out Final Fantasy XIII. Maybe it’s that World of Warcraft takes all my long-term gaming attention?
So here’s what I’m thinking: either the new consoles and new games are leaving me behind – which makes me feel old but isn’t the end of the world – or I simply have gaps in my gaming education (notice I essentially made the jump in controllers from the fairly simple PS2 to the 360) that predispose me to certain kinds of games. Maybe I’m just not trying out the right games on these new consoles. And that’s where I turn to you: what would you recommend to a girl whose tastes are decidedly old-school?
About j
I like a lot of the old school NES games as well. I love the fact that Capcom released “retro” versions of Mega Man and Dark Void recently. MM9 and 10 were good solid releases from them. I haven’t tried the Dark Void DSi Ware game, but I’ve heard good things about it.
If you liked Metroid like games (Super Metroid or any of the ones on the GBA), I would suggest Shadow Complex for the 360.
Of course, it sounds like I have the opposite problem that you do; I like pretty much everything.
I am confused the 360 controller is identical to the PS2 except the XBOX Guide button in the center And the Left analog stick and d-pad are switched. As for some good games I agree there are some games that shouldn’t of been redone. I like the New Super Mario Brothers for the Wii it keeps its “Retro Feel” but has updated graphics. I also highly recommend both Mass Effects, Batman Arkham Asylum, And both Assassins Creed.
I am like you, in that I just got the Wii, and before that I had a PSX, when the PS2 was already out. Before that… The Odyssey 2000 and Atari 800.
The games on Wii Fit Plus are a lot of fun, and typically short. There are tons of little things like Hula Hoop and the funky Bull’s Eye Bird. Mario Kart Wii is my favorite though.
You want a seriously weird game for the Wii: Muscle March for Wii Ware is simplistic, and goofy. Loads of fun.
.-= Darius Whiteplume´s last blog ..Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (Pasolini, 1975) =-.
@Ashimar – You’re right, but now that I think about it, I didn’t play many games that actually utilized the analog stick (I’ll have to look at my old PS2 games when I have a chance). I’m mostly thinking D-pad, buttons, the occasional trigger.
I’ve been reading your blog stealthily via RSS feed, but as an old skool female gamer type, I just started and am currently in love with EA/BioWare’s “Dragon Age: Origin”. The engine they use seems to finally bring some fuzzy logic -roleplaying- into the RPG genre.
Related to these, if sci fi is more your kink, they’ve reportedly done something similar with “Mass Effect” and “Mass Effect 2″.
And, going back a ways, if you want more straighforward button mashing, I really enjoyed the hell out of a couple of EA’s “Lord of the Rings” tie-in games, mostly “Return of the King” (which had a major bonus to being two-player cooperative, meaning I could play it with my roommate), and “The Third Age”, which is more along the lines of a Final Fantasy like game play. You just have to get around the Mary Sue’ness of the storyline.
@Alix – I do have Dragon Age! And I did like it; I think it, in particular, suffered due to the fact that I had begun raiding in WoW around the same time.
I have heard good things about the Mass Effect games but have never tried them; and now I have to try The Third Age JUST to see the Mary Sue-ness.
Mass Effect has characters which you can more then easily fall in love with and come back to again and again. Fallout 3 has a very drop-in/drop-out friendly gameplay, but that’s mostly due to the size of the game world.
I find I often go back to fun, silly sandbox style games like Crackdown and Borderlands. The downside to these is that they are somewhat lacking in the plot department.
.-= Hammer´s last blog ..Third Kit’s The Charm =-.
Check out “Hotel Dusk” for the DS Lite! Also check out the used GBA games in your fave Gamestop store.
I feel your pain, J. I grew up hopelessly behind the times, and remain there about 95% of the time, despite being old enough to game however I want.
My reccomendation is to game on the PC. pretty much all the good ol’ games can be played via emulation, and a lot of good games get released on pc, in addition to consoles.
If you’re into the whole “legal” thing, that does throw a wrench into things. If that’s the case, I’d reccomend a Wii.
Nice to know I am not the only one who feels the need to break out the Sega. I complete agree feeling out the times when it comes to gaming even though I do enjoy gaming. Sounds like your gaming tastes are fairly similar to mine (Kingdom Hearts being one of my all time favorites).
If you don’t have it yet, you have got to get Final Fantasy XIII, the graphics are amazing and the storyline is great. It is a bit linear so far (I am on chapter 8 of 13) but personally I am ok with a more linear structure. I found the battle system to be a bit odd at first but I am really starting to get the hang of it and really enjoy having characters switch between roles during battle (tank to DPS to healer in one battle). ^_^
Other games that I have enjoyed lately are Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth Investigations, Rune Factory (1 and 2), and the orginal final fantasy series on the DS and PSP.