Some things in this life age well; music, movies, cheese, fine wines...heck even fine women. Many people don't tend to lump video games into the category of aging with grace. As the newer generation of games comes to a graphical peak, the older games tend to fall by the wayside. Many gamers can recognize the fallacy of this, as many of those older games can still maintain the same level as the newer games. While their looks may have slumped, the gameplay is still incredibly fun and the controls as familiar and solid as anything produced these days. If all a game needed was good graphics to get by then Lair would have been a success. This past decade has seen a plethora of great games that surprisingly hold up well even by today's standards. Here are my top picks:
Grand Theft Auto III
This one seems like a no-brainer on this list, doesn't it? But if you just back just one more version, to GTA 2, you experience a game that doesn't quite hold up like the 3rd one did. One of the first games to truly define "sandbox gameplay" (though to give credit, the game Hunter was really the first 3D sandbox game, coming out in 1991), this title took away the top-down view of the city that were once staples of the franchise, putting the player in the middle of the sprawling Liberty City. For the first time players were actually faced with the problem of getting lost in a game. Large buildings, responsive traffic, and interactive AI characters kept players going on this game years after it was released. With so much to do, players found themselves walking around and experimenting, as opposed to going from one level to the next. They could choose what they wanted to do, when the wanted to do it. Killing hookers became a strange past-time in the game (as were many of the more violent acts).
In the game you play a small time thief. You start working as a thug and grow your influence by working for various rival gangs and even a corrupt cop. Needless to say, each group offers slightly different missions/tasks for you to complete in order to get paid. These missions moved the story forward which in turn opened up more areas of the city for you to explore. While this idea wasn't exactly new, it's implementation was. Unlike other games, the world evolved along with you. Choices you made earlier had a real effect on the world later on. As you opened up new territory, the previously available areas became increasingly more dangerous, as rival gangs become more hostile towards each other. While newer GTA games have been able to improve the graphics in leaps and bounds, introduce deeper mission structure, and more elements to interact within the world, the core of what makes this series so fun is still in GTA III, and that's why the game holds up so well.
Knights of the Old Republic
This game was the sole reason many people purchased an Xbox. With 48 (count them all
here) different Game of the Year awards, Bioware easily created the best Star Wars game to have ever been released, as well as one of the most influential RPGs to hit the market.
KOTOR redefined the way RPGs were played. It gave the player an unlimited amount of freedom, meaning you could handle every situation differently. A fully voiced cast of characters and NPCs populated the galaxy. Every conversation you had with a character allowed you to choose different responses. You could be a meanie, a nice guy, completely indifferent, or whatever captures your mood. The catch? Your actions had consequence. Consider an early mission on Dantooine. You come across what is essentially a crime scene, where law enforcement officials ask you to help them to determine which two suspects is a real killer. Through a series of questions you must figure it out on your own without any other help. Using your powers of deduction you must eventually choose who is lying and who is innocent. The result being if you chose wrong, it was highly possible you were sending an innocent man to jail, setting a murderer free. KOTOR has introduced many action oriented elements that have now become staples in Bioware's design efforts. While the mechanics have been further deepened and refined for more recent games, including the just released Mass Effect 2, there's no denying that KOTOR's storyline and gameplay mechanics still holds up well today.
Diablo II
You know this series still holds up well after all these years, because it seems like when a newer game attempts to copy its design, and doesn't do it justice, gamers lament "Well Diablo is still better." Even today, during any hour of the day, you can check out battle.net hosted by Blizzard and find thousands of people online. Diablo IIcontinued the dungeon crawling hack-n-slash game play from the first entry of the series, but this sequel was designed with one focus clearly in mind: multiplayer. The online aspect was designed to allow players to quest with their friends (for free mind you). Diablo II made popular the "party" system now commonplace among MMOs. Friends could combine their skill sets in order to take down the crushingly difficult dungeon bosses. It introduced a PvP system in which players could win bragging rights from their friends as they collected "ears" from the players they've defeated.
This online aspect was expanded further with the ladder system, giving players a way to rank on a "leader board", featuring harder enemies and ladder specific items and goodies you could only gain by participating. It's because of this multiplayer dynamic (and improvements to battle.net admittedly) that has made this game so playable even after nearly 10 years. It's innovation in online play has contributed greatly to its longevity, creating systems that are now staples in other franchises (even Blizzard's own World of Warcraft).
Half-Life 2
It seems like FPS games are one of the gaming categories that generally do not age well. So much of the experience is based on more explosive graphics and onscreen action. However Half-Life 2 is a game that can wow you to this day. There are a couple of innovations here that make the game worth going back to. One of the most remarkable aspects of this game is the inclusion of what's arguably the best weapon to ever grace a shooter: the Gravity Gun. Utilizing its impressive physics engine, any object in the game had the ability to become a weapon, even people. You could fling objects through the air with sickening speed and accuracy, with the satisfaction of seeing said object react realistically to the environment. The concept of using physics as a gameplay element introduces so many variables that makes the game feel fresh each time. In addition, while the graphics does look somewhat dated now, the animations used in the game, and the way characters express emotion are still better than many FPS of today's generation.
More revolutionary, this game introduced us to the concept of Episodic Content. This isn't like your normal DLC or map-packs, which feature maybe one extra level, and a few new guns to keep you satisfied until the sequel. Each new episode has brought nearly a completely new game into the world, while maintaining the same story and continuity. They really are extensions of the game, giving players new experiences without taking them out of the world and surroundings they originally fell in love with. This also allows Valve to make some noticeable improvements to graphics, AI, and gameplay as well. What's interesting is that when even compared to the newer episodic experiences, the original game is still just as compelling.
Beyond Good & Evil
Arguably one of the best games that seemed to have slipped into the shadows on the PS2, this third-person action adventure romp centered around the main antagonist Jade. Most of the action takes place with you sneaking around (borrowing heavily from the popular stealth action titles of the time) and using your camera in most situations. When combat was the only option you were equipped with your trusty Dai-jo fighting staff and your friends to help you tackle the challenge.
The story really set this game apart from the rest, and that's why it holds up so well today. It was compelling and engaging, and the JADE engine immersed you in the world. Utilizing something similar to the "sandbox" feel, the world of Hillys felt alive. AI characters interacted smoothly and intuitively with your character as she traversed the land, rivaling even the systems used today. Had it not come out alongside triple A titles like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Splinter Cell, this would have gone on to become as big a commercial success as it was a critical one (having won many of the prestigious game of the year awards).
God of War
While Sony recently re-released God of War with some graphical enhancements to look silky smooth on today's HDTVs, they nary touched the gameplay. It's testament to how well it originally worked, and how still works. Smooth controls and intense action comes so easily to this title it makes one wonder why developers before then hadn't thought of such control implementations-and why some developers still can't do it 5 years later. One of the most remarkable features of this title was the elimination of load times. Since the creation of 3D on consoles, gamers have been plagued by interminable loading screens. Through clever level design and clever usage of PS2 hardware/software, the developers were able to keep the gameplay flowing.
God of War also seemed to have nailed the fixed camera issue that so many developers today still struggle with. In fact, because of clever camera placement, the game had a cinematic quality to the visual storytelling. Beautifully crafted cut-scenes integrated smoothly into the game play making you feel as much a character as you did a player. What made combat so engrossing is that while it was possible to get by just button mashing, there were layers of combos that you could master. Doing so would make you feel like the king of the world (or god) if you could pull them off. Though the game is story focused, the replay value is high as the way in which you dispatch enemies or solve puzzles can be handled differently.
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo makes this list is because it has the distinction of being the first console FPS to break the control "barrier". The fascinating thing with creating a FPS on a console with great controls is that it becomes so natural you don't even notice it anymore. Halo holds up so well because the controls still feel natural for a FPS. The game takes you outside of the confines of the typical corridor shooter, and does it with grand style. You can ride massive vehicles across vast terrain, allowing you to tackle battles in new ways each time. You can fly vertically and explore your surroundings.
What makes Halo a great ride even today is the way the game encourages you to try new ways to engage combat. Players have a recharging shield, eliminating the now archaic gameplay mechanic of constantly looking for health; keeping you focused on the battle situation. Players suddenly found themselves limited to carrying only two guns. Plasma guns required no reloading or ammo, but could overheat if used too rapidly. Conventional firearms didn't overheat, but players had to deal with reloading times. This forced players to think through a level, as opposed to simply running-and-gunning. Each situation required a different weapon or tactic, meaning you could play through the same level in a multitude of ways, never having to repeat yourself.
-Jordan
