There’s a good reason I like doing Retro Game Reviews, going back and examining the good and bad of video games past. That’s because deep down, I still really enjoy playing some of the old stuff. But, at the same time, that doesn’t make games back then better. While several old games helped to define genres and trends in gaming, nostalgia goggles can do a lot to alter one’s perspective on what was good and bad. Hell, when I was a kid, I thought Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was an excellent film, but that was a freaking peace of crap in retrospect. In the end, the “things were better back then” argument can sometimes boil down to fond memories as opposed to whether something was actually good.

Games Were Harder Back Then

To be honest, you can’t really argue with that. Games back then were harder, or at least appeared to be. Comparing the 8-bit Megaman games to the Megaman games of the 16-bit era or Super Mario Bros. in comparison to Super Mario World, there’s a tendency for the 8-bit stuff to be more on the difficult side. But then again, this isn’t a really a surprise when you think about it. After all, with every passing generation of the so-called “Console Wars,” video game technology has improved, meaning things don’t have to be as limited as they once were. Once you start removing some of the gameplay limitations, such as the amount of shots that can be fired onscreen in some old shooters, the games stop being as relentless. That said, there’s a reason why games have a hard difficulty setting.

On top of that, remembering old games as “being hard” doesn’t necessarily mean they were actually hard, or at least harder than things today. Though there were games back then that were controller-breakingly hard, that doesn’t mean all retro games were hard. Just like many other things out there, gaming is a skill and you get better at it the more you do it. Personally, I have begun to feel as games today have been getting easier as time goes on, but at the same time, after playing video games for almost the last twenty years, maybe it’s all that experience I’ve gathered from playing so long. Perhaps I’ve leveled up, along with several others who have realized that the normal difficulty setting just isn’t enough these days.

Still, with gaming having gone quite mainstream in recent years, who’s to say that games haven’t gotten easier? After all, not everyone is obsessed with being number one at a video game. In fact, game difficulty can turn people away from games and, as we all know, the gaming industry is just that; an industry. Developers and publishers exist to make money and if a easier difficulty setting will appeal to more customers, than it’s not all that surprising that games are somewhat easier. But, just because there are easy games doesn’t mean that there aren’t hard ones. Though I do love a good challenge, I play games that are fun, regardless of difficulty. So to say retro games are better because they’re harder doesn’t really make sense when you think about it. In fact, some of those retro games can be downright frustrating, especially some of the older arcade games. Though, given that they’re designed to take your money, their level of difficulty shouldn’t be surprising either.

People These Days Care About Graphics As Opposed to Gameplay

That’s another argument that gets tossed around when comparing modern games to games from gaming’s “golden age”. With graphics technology continuously improving, the belief that focusing on graphics detracts from gameplay development is a common one, especially when there are several games that look good but are ultimately very flawed, either having horrible gameplay or being glitchy. It’s no surprise that gamers would want improved graphics, but there are those who feel that it is costing gamers good gameplay. Still, just because a game looks good doesn’t mean it can’t also be good gameplay-wise. Inversely, a 2D game isn’t guaranteed to be a masterpiece. In fact, many were garbage, including games like Cliffhanger, Jurassic Park and Fester’s Quest to name a few. Many people may blame graphics for the decline in video game quality but that being said, there were still many shitty video games even before graphics looked good.

On the other side of the spectrum, the improvement in graphics can be a good thing. A good game doesn’t rely on graphics, but that doesn’t mean that graphics can’t help a good game look good as well, especially given that video games are a visual medium. It’s easy to say that a game that looks nice is all flash and no substance, but that isn’t always the case. Still, some “purists” will still consider good graphics a bad thing and, as I’ve said before, you don’t need graphics to enjoy a good game. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be welcome though.

Gaming Is Getting Too Complicated

It’s hard to argue with this one, simply because it is quite true, especially when it comes to console gaming. It used to be you just placed the game in the console, picked up the controller and played to your heart’s content. However, now that we’ve got built-in hard drives in every console, except for the Wii, which uses flash memory, console gaming is quickly becoming more like PC gaming in terms of complexity, especially when you look at the PS3, which requires that some games be installed onto the hard drive. With gamers requiring an internet connection to receive updates for games and keep them current, keeping up with system updates (though there aren’t usually that many), and online play being almost a necessity, the “simplicity” of console gaming as compared to PC gaming is slowly fading, and gamers who once turned to consoles due to the ability to just pick up and play can wind up being turned off by just how complicated things have gotten.

Also, with HD gaming being all the rage these days, developers are starting to cater more to that crowd. Though that hasn’t been that big of an issue, there have been a few cases in which HD gaming has caused a few problems for those who aren’t HD capable, such as issues with blurry text in Dead Rising and Mass Effect 2 when playing in standard definition. While HD technology is quickly becoming popular, a problem like this wouldn’t have been an issue in earlier gaming days, unless someone had a particularly crappy TV. Like I said before, it’s hard to argue with the fact that console gaming has become rather complicated. Still, even in it’s simplest form, the video game world has always been technologically driven, so is it really a surprised that things wound up this way? Probably not, but some people like to keep it simple, and compared to today, gaming back then was definitely simple.

The Verdict

Gaming is a continuously evolving thing and, while there are people who would prefer to stay in gaming’s past, I feel that there are still great things to come when it comes to the future of gaming. I’m still a fan of the retro stuff, always have been and probably always will be. But, when it comes to both old and new video games, while there are those who will favor one over the other, you can’t really say that one is better than the other. After all, it was the old stuff that helped to lay down the foundation for the games we have today. Sure, some games, such as the Sonic series don’t always translate well as tech becomes more advanced. That, for the most part, will always be true, but it’s not something that holds true for everything and I think there’s more to modern gaming than just pretty graphics, otherwise, I would’ve given up years ago.

Oh, and the die from the pic above sold at Christie’s for nearly $18,000.  That’s some expensive glass.

Well here’s an interesting development, Apple has invited a couple of gaming news organisations like Kotaku to it’s January 27th event in San Francisco. Now we already know from their tagline that it’s something new, which most people presume to mean the Apple tablet. We also know that Apple has been making larger and larger strides into the gaming market with the iPod touch and iPhone with the help of big name developers and indie studios alike. Does the inclusion of gaming press mean that Apple is going to aim it’s ‘Latest creation’ with much more of a gaming bent?

Without the confines of the smaller for factor of the iPod touch, many will be expecting more umph and processing power in any tablet that Apple may or may not ship. Perhaps we’ll see some decent graphics hardware in there too. After all, the Nvidia Ion (9400M) is already in the MacBook Pro line, so inclusion in the tablet isn’t as far as stretch as you might think, even if the rumours ring true about an ARM processor powering the device. Of course the Apple tablet might just end up being a massive iPod touch, which I don’t know about you but I would be extremely disappointed about.At this stage though, the fact that we’re even talking about a tablet device is just down to rumour and speculation. Who knows, Apple might have pulled a fast one on us with all this tablet subterfuge and in reality has a games console under development. The Apple TV on steroids perhaps. All we know is that until Steve busts it out at the event it could be anything, so we’ll have to just wait and see.

www.doghousesystems.com

I just received my new desktop machine from them last week.  I got the Armor VS model.  Tossed 8 Gigs of RAM in that baby and she was still under $1,200.  Having just had a baby recently, I drooled over getting an awesome gaming PC for that price.  But I figured hey, its entry level price, the PC will probably be middle of the line at best.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  This thing flies.  I mean flies.  In WoW at peak times, in Dalaran, maxed settings, I get over 60 FPS.  Over 60 in 25 man raids, as well, again with everything maxed out.  I get almost 75 in maxed settings Left 4 Dead.  I is a happy panda!  I don’t have any of the super high end games like Crysis to test it with, but I can only assume I would find similarly pleasing results there, as well.

My little setup.

Again, I can not describe with how happy I am with the performance of this machine.  No “Optional” trial software, no crap running in the backround I don’t need, these guys at DogHouse ARE gamers.  They know how we want our PCs to arrive.  It came with WoW Pre-installed and Pre-Patched.

If my pleasure level with the machine itself was a 10/10, then my review of DogHouse’s customer service would be about a 12/10.  It started early, too.  When I ordered the machine, I had to call their sales department to ask if 8G of RAM was possible in an Armor VS, since the choices on the order form were 2G and 4G.  After a moment, they came back and not only told me 8G was possible, but to reload my browser.  I reloaded my browser, and lo and behold, in that moment, they ADDED a choice for 8G.  If that isn’t prompt shit, I don’t know what would be.

The excellent service continued throughout the next 2 weeks.  They emailed me, letting me know the PC’s status, asking a few setup questions so that upon arrival, I could simply uncrate my glorious machine and get to pwning n00bz.  So it is roughly 2 weeks after I placed me order that FedEx arrives with my big box of joy.  Now, if I love DogHouse Systems, I fucking hate FedEx.  I watched the dude carry it from his truck to my door, dropping it once and hitting the door I opened for him with it.  Twice.

I get it to my little Nerd Lair, set it up – Which by the way, if you’re computer retarded, DogHouse sends a full color, lamens terms, very well labeled instruction binder on how to set it up – to find out that the bumbling idiot from FedEx managed to bend the housing on the top case exhaust fan.  What the fuck, FedEx?  So I call DogHouse, let them know my problem, and while I am far from computer illiterate, I’m not confident enough to go digging around in my new PC trying to fix this, so a gentleman named Sina walked me through getting the fan unhooked until they could ship me a new one.  Thats right.  FedEx fucked up, and DHS is fixing the problem.

These guys have my future business for all PC purchases and I can not stress enough how pleased people will be ordering from them.  If you need a new gaming rig, whether you’re looking to spend $1,000 or get the absolute top end shit, this is the place to go, geeks.  Keep up the good work DHS.  You guys rock.

The gaming world can be a daunting one to jump into, especially when one considers just how long many gamers have been gaming. Speaking to a friend of mine, a geek in her own right and a major bibliophile, she expressed her interest in gaming in an odd way. While she is not a gamer herself, she would spend hours watching her brothers play games, interested in what was going on in the game itself and in the story. Immediately, I figured that if she was spending so much time watching people play, there was a major reason why she herself didn’t jump into gaming: she sucked at video games.

More gaming after the break.

It’s a common complaint and one I hear often from non-gamers. Video games, especially these days, are much more than just picking up the controller and pressing buttons, unless we’re talking about casual games. For one who has rarely, if ever, picked up a controller and simply played a game, getting used to gaming can take a bit of time, patience, and practice. And some people just aren’t willing to spend that time. In the case of my friend, I decided that if she was spending time simply watching people play, getting her into gaming wouldn’t be a difficult thing. Obviously, something about gaming was enticing to her and, after very little convincing, she was ready to try. The game we chose to start with? Kingdom Hearts.

She was pretty bad at first, as it took her 40 tries to beat Riku on the Destiny Islands during a duel. But then again, you have to learn to walk before you can run. Eventually, I attempted to motivate her by offering to buy her dinner should she be able to beat the first boss, not necessarily one who is all that difficult to begin with, in her first attempt. Needless to say, I ended up buying her sushi. And with that, she was well on her way.

So, for all you non-gamers out there who want to squeeze your way into the gaming world, but for some reason you can’t, here is some advice to get you started:

1. You will fail…a lot. More often than not, you’re not gonna get things on the first, second, or even tenth try. You can’t expect to be the best right from the start. It’s okay to be frustrated, but all you really have to do is have patience and ride it out. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t smash the controller in a fit of rage. Simply try again until you get it right.
2. Play something that interests you. There are many games out there, a lot of which are crap. As for the example with my friend, we chose Kingdom Hearts because it was a game that she instantly express interest in. If you’re going to fail horribly at something, it might as well be something that you’re gonna enjoy and get something out of.
3. If you are friends with gamers, ask them for help and training. Contrary to popular belief, not all gamers are screaming, foul-mouthed assholes. Just the prepubescent loud mouths on Xbox Live who feel the need to troll everybody and never shut up. If you know gamers, especially friends, approaching them to help you learn is a lot simpler than one might think. Hell, many of them would probably be happy about it. Which brings me to my next point.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you are new at something, sometimes a push in the right direction is all you may need. Don’t be embarrassed about not being able to do something. If you try and try but just can’t seem to get it, ask a friend for a hint or a tip.
5. Contrary to what many think, a gamer is not defined by their skill level. No matter who you are, more often than not, you will find someone who is better than you. Rather than spending hour after hour perfecting one game in hopes of being the best, you’re a gamer if you enjoy playing video games. Don’t just confine yourself to one game just because it’s the only one you’re good at. Explore.
6. Broaden your gaming horizons. If something is interesting but you’re worried you’re going to be horrible at it, don’t worry about it. Like say you usually prefer Role-Playing Games, but a certain First Person Shooter looks appealing, go for it. Everyone sucks when they start off. If a game interests you, even if it isn’t in the usual genre of stuff you enjoy, give it a look anyway. You might be pleasantly surprised.
7. Lastly, if you’re gonna go as far as to get a yourself a system, make sure you know what you want before shelling out the cash for it. Every console offers something different so make sure you find out which one is best for you.

So there you have it. A few easy tips to get you non-gamers started. It’ll be somewhat discouraging at first, but if gaming is something that really interests you, see it through. Don’t let morons on Xbox Live get you down by telling you that you suck. And definitely don’t let the Game Over screen deter you either. Believe me, as someone who has been gaming for 17 years, I’ve seen those words displayed many times over. So good luck and good gaming.