• Billy McKenna Billy McKenna
    Billy McKenna ► Favorite Video Games
    9 years ago
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    Looks like 'The Last Of Us' is retaining it's popularity. Second game to break 4000 points here, and there's only 70 points in it for first place vs. 'Mass Effect 2'. Interesting to see the steep drop-off in points after that though. 'Skyrim' and 'Ocarina' keep fighting over 3rd place a solid 170 points away, there's than a gap of more than 600 points before 5th place, Another drop of over 170 points for 6th place. That's a total range of over 1000 points between 1st and 6th place. That same range again covers twice that many games going from 6th to 18th place.

    I find all this quite fascinating.
    • Daniel the Ducktective
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      Daniel the Ducktective
      Editing … Well of course it is. To me that game is literally perfect. It's a masterpiece and will probably always be my favorite game of all time.
      9 years ago
    • Claudio Müller
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      Claudio Müller
      Editing … I would say, it is highly overrated, and in a couple of years, maybe one, two decates, when the grafics aren't convincing anymore and the cinematic-flashy presentation doesn't hold up any longer, this game will disappear from most people's conciousnes, because what it has is a nice movie, under the cover of a game, good story and so on... but as an actual game it simply is lacking. Again: I'd be surprised if this game has any such long-lasting appeal as f.e. an "Ocarina of Time".
      9 years ago
    • Billy McKenna
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      Billy McKenna
      Editing … The problem is Claudio, video games have little in the way of substantive judging criteria and are often remembered because of nothing but nostalgia. The amount of people who go on and on about games that have been clearly surpassed is just ridiculous. People remember 'Ocarina Of Time' not out of greatness but out of nostalgia, after all, it's a painfully boring, tedious, badly paced game, with little to no challenge; it has redeeming qualities sure but 'Ocarina Of Time' is hardly the masterpiece people make it out to be. Why it's so popular has always eluded me. That said, I've yet to see a truly breath-taking, masterpiece in video games. Even the very best are trope heavy, predictable, cliché stories; with gameplay challenges that only engage on one point at best. Some games come close. 'DmC' was great. It was challenging and had a solid story, but it was basically just the plot of films like,'They Live', and 'The Matrix', with biblical imagery, all played out as a cinematic action game. Possibly one of the most cohesive games I've played but not exactly breaking new ground. Then there's the likes of 'Journey', a truly artistic game with delightful sound design and visual aesthetics; but lacking a failure state or any sense of challenge undermines it as a game... though I can't imagine how you'd even be able to address that. Will 'The Last Of Us' be remembered, become a nostalgia trip for todays teens? Who can say. What I can say though, is gaming is still looking for it's identity. Once it's decided, then we can look for true works of art.
      9 years ago
    • Claudio Müller
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      Claudio Müller
      Editing … @Billy McKenna: I'm not sure I would agree entirely. Maybe let's leave the question if games are "art" or even can be "art" aside, and let's just look at them as... well games. Something you play. There are a lot of very old games you can still play today and have a lot of fun. Things like "Contra", "Mario Kart 64" or even a "Silent Hill 2", which still is extremly scary, and therefore still delivers on what it wants to be. These games still deliver on the elements that made them great in the first place, and you can still hand them to a gamer today, who has not grown up with them, and they can get a similar experience out of it (e.g. I didn't grow up with "Silent Hill 2", I've played it the first time when everybody else was already playing on their PS3). So, I don't buy the idea that we only like old games because of nostalgia. Some of them, maybe, but I do think that many of them have an actual long lasting appeal. Yet, if the appeal of a game is just it's grafics and/or it's pretend of being like a movie, then this appeal will vanish, as soon as the technology has moved on. "Mario Kart 64" will always be a fun instance racer that you can pick up with a friend and play, without requiering any significant training. "Contra" will always be a fair, fast-paced challange. "Silent Hill 2" will always deliver on its scares and atmosphere, because it doesn't do it through the grafics or cinematics. "The Last of Us"... well, I just don't know on what level this game engages that will remain this kind of classic. But you are probably right with calling out "Ocarina of Time"... although I would make an argument, that "Majoras Mask" still holds up today ;-)
      9 years ago
    • Billy McKenna
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      Billy McKenna
      Editing … From what I can see, it seems we tend to agree. I'd argue that 'The Last Of Us' is a very solid game with smooth, atmospheric, tension filled gameplay (particularly on PS4), with good characters, and a traditional zombie survival storyline that rivals it's contemporary counterparts in both TV and Film, and that's enough for it to be memorable in my book. I would agree it's over-praised though because both good storytelling and decent gameplay in the same game are hard to find. As for the others you mention, I don't disagree for the most part. I still play 'Sonic The Hedgehog' on Mega Drive and consider it, 24 years later, to still be one of the best and most satisfying 2D platformers ever made. I enjoy the story and character development in 'Planescape: Torment' after 16 years despite it's noticeably aged graphics. Nostalgia isn't the only reason things from the past are remembered fondly, and it's not always a bad thing. Honestly though, games haven't existed long enough for any to be "remembered", there are no classics that have stood the test of time because not enough time has passed. When the generation that actually played 'Ocarina Of Time' die, it will also die; because it's not the "best gaem evarr!!!1!!" as the internet at large likes to pretend, it's just the biggest fanboy craze in gaming. As for 'Majora's Mask', I wouldn't know as I've never played it; though I think 'Wind Waker' is far superior to 'Ocarina Of Time'. Sad as it may seem, I can't think of any game that will transcend generations and live on like classic films or music does. Is there a gaming equivalent to 'Citizen Kane', 'Snow White' or 'Cassablanca', or the music of Elvis Presley or The Beattles? Even the most basic classics like 'Super Mario Bros.' seem unimpressive to todays pre-teens/teens. I can say handedly, that the music of say, Michael Jackson will still be enjoyed by people in 50+ years. I can't say the same for any video game at present... I still think gaming has a lot of growing to do.
      9 years ago
    • Claudio Müller
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      Claudio Müller
      Editing … Yes, we seem generally to agree. Although, I'm not sure I agree on your idea, that there are no games that will "transend generations". Don't get me wrong, I don't say that there are any either... I'm saying that I simply don't know. It's an interessting question, to which we don't really have an answer yet, because the medium is too young. But let's stick with the comparison to movies for the moment: I am a big movie fan. I don't consider myself an expert, but I'm certainly interessted. Now, if you point to "Cassablance" or "Citizen Kane", then you are right that they will always be around and will still be watched even in thhe decates, maybe centuries to come... but by whom? And why? Are they still being watched and will they still be watched as a piece of entertainment, which reaches a big part of society... or will their existence be a reference for people who are really interessted in movies and especially in the history of movies? Because that's a difference. Because if you can point to these movies and say, that they are still being watched in the same way that we watch modern movies, then you are right, there might be hardly any games that can match that. But if they are mainly watched out of "historical" reasons, because the people who watch it are interessted in the movies of the past... well, then I think we do have games like that. Yes, no of the so called "Classics" in gaming will in the same way be played for pure entertainment as current games... but for fans of the genre, and people who are interessted in the history of gaming (in the same way as people who are interessted in movies) will probably even in the future play "Ocarina of Times" at least once in their life. Not because it's the "best game ever", not because it has the biggest fanbase (which will die out, I agree), but because it was good at that time, and is a game that revolutionized many, many things. So it might turn out that similarly to "Cassablanca" or "Citizen Kane" for movies, "Ocarina of Time" will end up being one of the "must play" titles of gaming, if you want to understand the current state of gaming as an art-form. Or maybe this is complete b.s. and gaming will just move forward, and leave its past behind entirely ;-)
      9 years ago
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