Winter-een-mas!

Jan 27, 2006 15:25

I've never given any attention to Winter-een-mas before, and I feel like such a poser, claiming to be a gaming fan :x

So happy Winter-een-mas all you gamers! I'm going to celebrate by giving love to "old is new". Older games that have been remade recently.I have a couple of days to make up for, so let's get started.

Good idea, bad idea? I say "good idea", given the developer is capable. It bugs me that this is a bit of an offshoot of the "sequel factory" problem that gaming has right now, where developers and publishers are going with the recognizable names and the safe bets, rather than take chances on a new IP. I do think it's a better alternative than the sequel, though. Because the long-haul gaming geek who cut his teeth on the Commodore Vic-20 and Colecovision, and thought that Super Mario Bros. would be the pinnacle of graphical achievement would kill to see his old favourites rehashed using today's technology. I think I'll cap it off with some old time favourites that haven't seen new life, but should.

Doom 3

I just got this game for Christmas, and I remember having the very first shareware demo of the game. It was so advanced, it came on three whole floppy disks. This even predated Windows: in DOS, we had to open up the system config files, reallocate the proper amounts of memory, reboot, and play. Then when we were done playing, open the config files up again, and set them back the way they were so that programs like Wordperfect would still work. And look at those advanced graphics!



Hells yeah! It was far and away the freakiest game I'd played at the time. Scary ass demons chucking fireballs at you, lights flickering on and off, creatures popping out of hidden nooks, seemed the game was downright mean when it came to scare tactics. Then we have Doom 3 today:



This is how to make the most of advancing technology. It aptly took all the concepts Doom tried to pull off with the technology of the day and rocks them. Creature models are pretty much only limited to the imagination now. Killer dynamic lighting effects play hell on the mental stability. Superior animation brings life to everything, drawing you in, sometimes a little too much. And the sound. Holy sweet mercy the sound. Using common mechanical-type sounds at inopportune moments, along with organic noise ranging from human expressions of pain to more guttural, evil, decidedly non-human sounds adds yet another level of scare tactics the original never could have. Of course, the pretty package wouldn't count for shit if the gameplay was weak, which is not a problem here. Just like in the original, the controls are super tight, and weapon usage decidedly gratifying.
Obviously, in the new one there is plenty more depth in the way of gameplay, which cements it as a great transition from the old classic to modern, soon-to-be-classic.

Some critics panned Doom 3 for the simplicity of the gameplay and lack of interactivity with the environment, which I don't get. There's more of the environment to interact with than other modern FPSes, and the gameplay is quite serviceable, with a modicum of variety thrown in here and there. My only guess is that the environments are so detailed, it feels like everything should be touchable. But really, what purpose would that serve? For an action game, most environmental interactivity is a gimmick at best. Take the pic above, for instance: would you care if you could flush the toilets? Exactly. The game focuses on atmosphere and detail. I found it to be one of the most solid, glitch-free games I've played in a good while. If that means I can't open every filing cabinet I see, big effing deal.

The version I got is the Collector's Edition, which packages in the original Doom and Doom 2. This is the best thing that id could have done with this game, because putting the two side by side gives you the chance to see how much service they've paid to the classics. A number of the enemies and weapons are ported over, giving us the chance to take on our nemeses of yesteryear while being able to deal death in the same manner, and seeing it on a brand new platform. Bits of level design, such as the hidden compartments enemies will pop out of, and the mini-room you enter at the end of every level, are enough to make you weep with nostalgia.

I'm very glad id thought to bring the Doom franchise up to date. Many shooters and horror games alike borrowed heartily from the originals, and this is like the old master showing the students he still knows how to rip shit up.
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