Additionally...
First, I will say that Ive not always been as open minded and mature about things. This is something that age, experience, and choice to grow, have attributed to the different attitudes and opinions.
Its more often than not, that a younger person will choose a certain time period as their own. Weather its music, movies or games... they tend to be biased twords anything older that a certain point... And, when they get older... may be biased towards things Newer.
However, this has little to do with good reasoning. And more to do with an Image. With Ego.
We all know that music, is merely a bunch of notes played in time. Theres nothing that makes it new or old. The same composition played 100yrs ago on piano... could be played on a keyboard, and be enjoyed just as much... because of the emotional content and beautiful arrangement / sounds.
And Food? Again, just a combination of ingredients. Theres no New food. Just different ways to mix it up. There may be some older lost recipes that would be a Huge hit today, If it were released into the latest top restaurants.
Where things get a little hazy, is the way certain technology is presented.
For example, most would agree that they would rather watch a movie in Color instead of Black and White.
But, a good judge will weigh the content, rather than just the media, or technological limitations.
There are some Excellent B/W films. Thought provoking, funny, emotional, etc. Many of the good older films are being recycled into the new media formats, because the content is still relevant and is excellent material. Timeless.
Someone I know said that anything that wasnt classic rock sucked. Then later, I asked him if he liked Starwars. He said yes. I asked him to reconsider his obscene position on music, especially considering that Starwars has no classic rock in it. Only Orchestral instrumentation. He couldnt say anything. Quite simply put, you wouldnt have the same movies, if classic rock was the only media for all movies background sound tracks.
And while for example, I dont care much for country music... I can admire the individual instruments in the music.
Like most things... the more depth of experience you have... the better a critic you will be. If you have only ever eaten at fast food places... your opinions will be related to that. In that you will think that everything else is garbage, or cant possibly be better than what You have experienced.
This is much more a better example with Media rather than food Obviously. But the points the same.
If you have only played 10 pinball machines in your life, with very little time on the machines... then your opinion will pale compared to a person who has played 60 machines, with yrs worth of playtime on them. Quite simply put... you have a poor palette. You cant possibly be a very good critic / judge.
And then theres the Media nose-thumb syndrome...
When I was a kid, and I first saw a Robotron machine... I thumbed my nose up at it... because at that time, there were far better looking and sounding games out there. When I finally decided to play it, it was half hearted, and I was crushed in seconds... and so I walked away not really 'getting it'.
Much later, Smash TV came out, and to me, looked and sounded so much better than Robotron. I enjoyed it a lot, thinking how much better a game this was, and how much more inferior RT was.
Years later, hen I met a guy who said Smash sucked compared to RT. I couldnt believe the stuff he was saying about it. So I went out, and found a guy who had a real RT cab.
This time, I wasnt a 7yr old poorly coordinated kid... and while the game really spanked me for some time... I started to get good. I started to 'get it', and understand why the Original was FAR superior to Smash. And now I feel the same way. I thumb my nose at Smash instead.
RT is simply a better game. Its AI is incredible. The difficulty is crazy, and it makes you go into an adrenalin furry. Theres near death escapes nearly every second of play, and you giggle like a kid, as you escape by a mere pixel, from a brilliantly impossible move. The games balance is excellent. While hard as heck, its possible to play for a very long time IF you collect enough points / humans. The trained skilled efforts can pay off.
Where as Smash, is more casual. Its not as intense, and or it gets impossible... merely to suck quarters out of you.. because its a 'Continue' game. Its nowhere near the adrenalin rush of the original. Its not even half as good.
(Much earlier before this, the two games I prejudged the worst were: Two Tigers and Mr Do. Both of which my father Forced me to play with him.. and both of which quickly became two of my top favorites machines)
And when you consider this, of how an older game (or any older media) can be superior in ways.. then you start to realize that you should give the older stuff (and new stuff too) a proper fair attitude and test. Judging it on the most important things, such as Gameplay, and the feelings it may give you.
While Asteriods Deluxe may not look that good... its a Timeless classic. A classic, is a game that when you play it, its instantly recognized for its brilliance. Not just because of the technology... but because of the gameplay.
There certainly are some Over-Rated classics.. but you have to remember, that these were pioneers for their time. Such as noted, Moon Patron having very cool Parallax scrolling layers, as well as a really groovy soundtrack. The game plays pretty well too, however, its certainly not a top level game as far as gameplay is concerned.
Karate Champ is nothing compared to Street Fighter II... However, it was more than likely a huge inspiration for it. KC was a big hit in the arcades, and even was released to many computer platforms. It is a Classic. It was a revolution in fighting games, and its till fun to mess with to this date.
War Gods, however, is Not a classic. Even in 100 yrs, it wont be a classic. It merely borrowed the same gameplay mechanics of other games, and it was never very popular. Its clunky and ugly. (though sometimes its kinda funny)
Centipede, while not being the 'best' classic, still Is a classic. It was one of the most popular trackball games. Its got solid action, and good unique control. The sounds are really cool, it looks trippy, and it has a certain spirit to it that sucks you in.
Back in the Atari 2600 days, we had a trackball for the game, and played the thing for hours at a time... trying to roll the score. It was pretty much a family battle, that lasted for some time. No other 2600 game was played to this type of effect.
Its not my top Fav, but its definitely a classic that does get played.
Its also extremely popular for all ages, as well as being one of few games that a lot of woman actually got into.
Finally, a lot of these classics were meant to be played for 5 mins at a time. You would get your 3 to 5 min of play, than move on to another one of the 100 machines there. Certain games however, really grabbed you, and so you would play the damn thing till your pockets were empty. It wasnt always about score, but just the experience of playing, and or getting to a higher level in the game.
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Topic: What killed the Arcade for you? (Read 42086 times)
