Do you ever wonder what you may have missed in the previous generation of consoles?
I always wonder that … so I’ve been on a Playstation 2 kick lately. It WOULD be the Xbox … except mine isn’t so much an Xbox anymore so much as it is an emulation/homebrew machine. And add on to the fact that damn DVD tray won’t open anymore for some reason. Yeah yeah, I know that’s easily fixed but I’m just too lazy to do it. The damn thing is basically an underpowered PC in a big, ugly, heavy black box anyway. And the Gamecube … honestly those games are a bit harder to get than PS2 games in my area, so I’m also going to leave that out. I’m just speaking me personally here, but you can say the same thing about any of the previous generation systems really. Just with the Gamecube being a somewhat smaller one because not everything came out for that for some reason.
A lot of the PS2 games I’ve gotten lately are games that I’ve already played on the Xbox 360 and, in one instance, the Playstation 3. But those PS2 games have gotten so damn cheap I’ve just been picking them up left and right for things like the nostalgia factor like the numerous “Anthology” style compilations … of which this system is PERFECT for, games that I’ve played in the past that I miss and want to play again like the Need for Speed Underground games, and to see how this little system can stack up against it’s current generation alternatives in games like The Simpsons and Need for Speed Undercover. And, last but not least, to play these games that for whatever reason I didn’t play back when they were new like Project : Snowblind and Black.
Not being in high definition or having the highest polygon counts doesn’t really matter to me. It never has. I still play old DOS games from the 80’s and 90’s. I still play games from the 8 bit and 16 bit generation. I tend to stay away from PS1 games for the most part because that transition from 2D to 3D made for some really hideous looking games … with a few exceptions of course like Jumping Flash. And don’t tell me about Final Fantasy VII because I don’t really see that as being a 3D game. It’s just loaded down with ultra low polygon characters on a pre-rendered backdrop. Others like Gran Turismo 1 and 2 still look absolutely stunning (considering the hardware they’re running on) even today.
But all of this kind of started when I got the Playstation 3 and beat God of War III. I realized that I had gotten REALLY far in the previous two on the PS2 but never beaten them, so I started playing them again. Then I found out that my God of War 1 disc is messed up somehow and won’t play. So I said “Okay, to hell with it.” and started playing God of War II. And that game is still just simply gorgeous to see and still a blast to play. I got a few hours into that and just went out and bought the God of War Collection, and since I’m only playing them in 480i there’s almost no difference in the graphics to me … even though they are in widescreen where they weren’t before, the frame rate is solid as a rock, there’s no more screen tearing and not having to dick around with the memory card is a blessing.
Other littler things on why I choose to get some games on the PS2 rather than their current generation counterparts is the simple fact of genre. I casually play sports games, and I’m definitely not a hard core player. So when I decided to REALLY try out Madden for the first time since the 90’s I decided to get it for the PS2. It was the same thing with MLB The Show. I originally got ‘06 for the system because it was cheap, and I got ‘09 recently. The only sports game I’ll get for a current generation console is Tiger Woods PGA Tour because EA just got lazy with the PS2 releases with not doing anything to update the gameplay in heaven knows how long and taking features OUT of the game like game modes and online play. I have 2003 and 2009 on the PS2, and if I happen to see 10 for DIRT cheap I MIGHT pick it up out of sheer morbid curiosity. But that’d be about it.
But outside of the Tiger Woods games, I know full and well that Madden and MLB The Show isn’t anywhere NEAR as good as the their current generation versions. But I’m so casual in my playing of them it doesn’t really matter because I’m not going to shell out 60 bucks for a football or baseball game that I’m only going to play occasionally. And with regards to the system, they’re STILL good games for THAT system.
There are some GREAT games that came out of the previous generation, or games that came out THIS generation that still have a PS2 version. Have you ever played Black? I just recently started playing that recently. And while it does have it’s problems like being an EXTREMELY short game, short enough I would’ve been PISSED if I shelled out 60 bucks for it back when it was new. But at today’s price? I can deal with the few problems the game has. The destructable environments are fun, the explosions are cool, the guns feel pretty good, the graphics and sound are astonishing even today and was damned well worth the small amount of money I paid for it. I don’t even know why I took to long to play it.
Other games like Burnout Revenge (the single BEST game in the entire series so far by the way) … I got it for the PS2 because I wanted to play it. It’s still a damn fun game. It may not be in HD and the load times may be a bit longer, and unfortunately the online servers have been cut off. But today, nowadays it’s DIRT cheap compared to the current generation versions. Of course, I’m more of a single player gamer and I don’t play racing games online all that often so it works perfectly for me.
We gamers need to be more like GAMERS. Who GIVES A SHIT what platform a game is on. Sure, it’s damned fun to play the current generation games. And current generation versions of older games. Except in a few instances for example, I couldn’t see myself EVER going back to the Nintendo 64 version of Perfect Dark. The graphics are muddy, the frame rate is atrocious and the lack of online play really hurts it as well. Other times in games, I want to play Need for Speed Most Wanted … I’m just going to get it for the PS2 because #1) it isn’t any less fun and #2) it’s cheaper.
And, on a final note it just astonishes me that a lot of gamers nowadays won’t play a game unless it’s 5 minutes old, or has “Halo” or “Call of Duty” in the title. Or whatever retarded band game people are playing nowadays is. Or, even more pathetic, some gamers won’t play a game unless it has achievements or trophies. Here is a good example of this : there are ACTUALLY people out there with an Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Gold who have NEVER played ANY indie game off the service. Why? Because they’re indie games. Or they don’t have achievements. Or both. That is just a pathetic state of mind that gamers really need to get out of in a hurry.
If you call yourself a gamer, just for the love of everything that’s good, BE A GAMER. I’ve decided recently that I don’t CARE what platform a game is on so long as it’s good. Of course, there are times where I will only get a game for a certain platform. I just can’t see myself playing Bayonetta on the PS3 unless I see it DIRT cheap for example. That’s the ONLY reason I picked up Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360. It was cheap. When I eventually buy Naughty Bear I’m not even going to waste my time with the PS3 version. Of course some people will tell me not to bother with anyway, but I still want it.
I’m still going to prefer some consoles to others. For example, multi platform games on this generation, I’m generally going to stick with the 360. But the PS3 has IMMENSELY better exclusives than the 360 could ever dream of having for my money. If you haven’t played Killzone 2, Uncharted 1 or 2, Resistance, etc etc you’re really missing out. Hell, I played Killzone 2 and I don’t care if I never hear about Call of Duty or Halo again. It blows them both completely away and I can’t wait for 3.
Possibly related posts:
- PCs? Consoles? What the hell does it matter?
- Changing gaming habits and old systems.
- Mario Kart 64 - Not a whole lot changed from the previous SNES outting, but still a hell of a lot of fun.
- Perfect Dark … would you believe it came out May 22nd, 2000.
- The 5 best Xbox Live enabled Indie Games nobody is playing.