Hexen still looks awesome. My son asked me the other day if I had ever played any games like call of duty, so I gave him a little mini lesson on the history of FPS games, and Hexen was the one he was really impressed by and wanted to play.
Agreed. It is surprisingly advanced for the era, and replaying some of it recently, I am blown away by how large and interesting the levels are.
Yes, the level design is amazing and still interesting today. The weapon selection is also a lot of fun. I have a hard time deciding which weapon I prefer to use the most. The music is also awesome.
I was going to say Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. I haven't played Dark Forces in years, but I'm planning on tackling it again this fall.
I've played both with in the last 6 months, and I think the relatively early polygon graphics of Jedi Knight don't hold up as well as the sprite-based original Dark Forces graphics.
The voice narration is kind of annoying, as well, IMO, and the light saber duals left a lot to be desired (some of the bosses you can really only beat by cheesy exploitation, it seemed).
I was just contemplating starting back into Jedi Knight .... been missing it a little! Love to play that game through again. I try to take Doom 2 down every year for old times' sake, great game
Blurrly visuals, runs like a sloth, janky mission objectives, endless respaning enemies, sub-optimal control setup. Either people haven't played any FPS released in the last 20 years, or they got some serious nostalgia blinders on.
Doom, Half-Life, Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood (one of my all time favorite games), Hexen/Heretic, Strife, Sin, Serious Sam, Quake II, Dark Forces (didnt like the sequal too much)
Something about their graphics are still appealing even today to me, plus their atmosphere/humor/gameplay.
Blurrly visuals, runs like a sloth, janky mission objectives, endless respaning enemies, sub-optimal control setup. Either people haven't played any FPS released in the last 20 years, or they got some serious nostalgia blinders on.
I love me some N64. But yes Goldeneye hasn't aged well.
Agreed. It is surprisingly advanced for the era, and replaying some of it recently, I am blown away by how large and interesting the levels are.
Yes, the level design is amazing and still interesting today. The weapon selection is also a lot of fun. I have a hard time deciding which weapon I prefer to use the most. The music is also awesome.
I was going to say Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. I haven't played Dark Forces in years, but I'm planning on tackling it again this fall.
I've played both with in the last 6 months, and I think the relatively early polygon graphics of Jedi Knight don't hold up as well as the sprite-based original Dark Forces graphics.
The voice narration is kind of annoying, as well, IMO, and the light saber duals left a lot to be desired (some of the bosses you can really only beat by cheesy exploitation, it seemed).
I was just contemplating starting back into Jedi Knight .... been missing it a little! Love to play that game through again. I try to take Doom 2 down every year for old times' sake, great game
Man, Dark Forces along with Tie Fighter have been on my need to play list for a while now. I should really get on that
This is funny, I just bought and downloaded Doom on my NVidia Shield last night and played it for the first time in 20 years. I was confused by the controls though, I tried turning with the directional pad and strafing with the L / R buttons but that's not how it works. For some strange reason turning is done with the right joystick and strafing is done with the left joystick. The trigger is R2, how does that make sense? I looked for options to change it but it doesn't look like you can and that singlehandedly killed the play experience for me. I tried it for 20 minutes and just couldn't get used to it. I'll go back to Goat Simulator.
Goldeneye, most of the PS2 and PS3 007 games (Nightfire, Everything or Nothing, Bloodstone, etc.) Perfect Dark, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 3, Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, Bioshock series, Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2, older Call of Duty games and all their expansions, Medal of Honor series, Doom 3 BFG edition (which includes Doom and Doom II plus the best version of 3), Halo Master Chief Collection (Halo 1-4 but 1 and 2 in particular, you can see old versus new graphics by pressing a button anytime during gameplay), most Tom Clancy games, Far Cry series, Duke Nukem 3D, etc...
Not sure how anyone can deny a 4-Player deathmatch in GoldenEye being fun, even comparing to today's games. There may be some slowdown here and there, but I find that even in modern FPS titles. And the graphics are just fine on the right televisions. It's not going to be quite as "wow!" nowadays, since we're spoiled with HD textures and online multi, but the right group of people sitting around an N64 can have an awesome time. The game has to be good to begin with for that to happen.
I don't know, I can't really get into most classic FPS games from 1993-2001 only because I played them to death back in the day, and for some reason I'm not really that nostalgic for them. It's hard to say games that games like doom 1,2, quake, duke 3-d and goldeneye have aged extremely well, although they are still amazingly fun and playable, I'm guessing even for those who have never played them.
Me and my bros ripped through GE last night and I would say it's aged well. Definitely a little glitchy, but still fun and easy to follow. the auot aim is definitely OP, but that's classic Nintendo. Make the game easy as pie so 'everyone' has fun. ***cough cough*** SMW3D
Doom is my favorite game of all time and playing it with a source port keeps the game kicking into the current generation, especially with so many excellent user made .wads coming out all the time. Heretic is another, which I don't think has been mentioned so far, which certainly plays like a great Doom total conversion; the gameplay is nearly identical (you even get punished for trying to enter Doom cheat goods, by killing your character.) Heretic, which also can be played in higher resolution, through a modern source port, is like adding spice and variety to the Doom world, in a purportedly different game.
Side note: I did fire up Goldeneye not so long ago, and found it to be far too cumbersome and awkward to play for more than twenty minutes or so. Compare that with the pick up and play nature of Doom which is simple enough to have been an arcade game.
I still play Wolf3D from time to time. Spear of Destiny not so much because of the brutal difficulty, but the granddaddy of FPS has held up with its simplicity IMO. It's not Doom and definitely not Quake, but who doesn't love shooting Nazis that yell MEIN LEBEN when they die?
I still play Wolf3D from time to time. Spear of Destiny not so much because of the brutal difficulty, but the granddaddy of FPS has held up with its simplicity IMO. It's not Doom and definitely not Quake, but who doesn't love shooting Nazis that yell MEIN LEBEN when they die?
It's interesting to reflect on where the suspense and challenge come from in each of the games.
In DOOM, it's generally that you don't want to end up in a place where you accidently reveal an ambush and get surrounded by enemies with nowhere to run.
That, and the getting stuck in the dark with a bunch of nightmare demons.
In Wolfenstein, it's almost always either a case of worrying about who's on the other side of a door... or ending up in an area with HUGE open corridors where guys start coming from the other end of the hall and have longer distance accuracy than you do.
I think Goldeneye has held up. Recently I was playing through it again but got stuck at control on 00 agent. The graphics seem muddy like they always were and the controls are fine. I use the c buttons to strafe and look a lot so that has helped my get by pretty well. With a CRT it still seems good to me.
Timesplitters Future Perfect(and 2, to a lesser extent) are still solid FPS games, even by today's standards. Tons of content and replay value, and the controls are pretty tight.
I played through Future Perfect for the first time this year, and I thought it was absolutely awful. It was a huge letdown after playing 1 & 2. It had way too many elements of the worst modern day shooters (too linear, too many checkpoints, too easy, too much bad story). Timesplitters 2 was really good, and I recommend playing that game instead. I haven't played the MP for any of those so I can't judge that aspect.
So, I mentioned Codename Tenka above. I got it a few days ago and played through it (~7 hours or so). It's below average, and I wouldn't recommend it. There were a couple of unique levels where you had to take mines and deliver them to a certain spot by running quickly (each mine had it's own timer once you picked it up, and also there was an overall timer for the level). Those were frustrating but by far the most interesting part. However, they did seem to reuse levels/environments constantly. Even the final level was almost a complete copy of one of the earlier ones.
It was cool how you could see bullets remaining on your gun itself. I know Dead Space got a lot of praise for having a similar lack of HUD, but this game came out over a decade earlier. So that's unique. The rock music was enjoyable, although it didn't seem to fit the game too well. I also don't understand why the game had a jump button, when there was nothing to ever jump on. It's a useless feature. Oh, and unlike the PS1 version of Doom, there was only one strafe button instead of two. So holding the button did nothing by itself, you had to move the dpad plus as well to strafe left or right. That was very awkward and it was impossible to move forward and strafe at the same time.
The voiceovers between levels were really bad, but enjoyably so. Unfortunately, the conclusion to the story left me shaking my head. It was such an abrupt, stupid ending, and then it immediately went back to the title screen with no credits. Was that really it, I was thinking? There was no boss fight or dramatic conclusion, either. One of the worst endings in video game history. The whole game, you are unwillingly following the orders of this female voice inside your head. They allude to you finally meeting, and then:
I played through Future Perfect for the first time this year, and I thought it was absolutely awful. It was a huge letdown after playing 1 & 2. It had way too many elements of the worst modern day shooters (too linear, too many checkpoints, too easy, too much bad story). Timesplitters 2 was really good, and I recommend playing that game instead. I haven't played the MP for any of those so I can't judge that aspect.
Did you play any of the arcade/map maker/multiplayer content, or just the story? I breezed through the story just to unlock more characters and MP content.
Comments
Dark Forces still holds up well in my opinion.
Agreed. It is surprisingly advanced for the era, and replaying some of it recently, I am blown away by how large and interesting the levels are.
Yes, the level design is amazing and still interesting today. The weapon selection is also a lot of fun. I have a hard time deciding which weapon I prefer to use the most. The music is also awesome.
I was going to say Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. I haven't played Dark Forces in years, but I'm planning on tackling it again this fall.
I've played both with in the last 6 months, and I think the relatively early polygon graphics of Jedi Knight don't hold up as well as the sprite-based original Dark Forces graphics.
The voice narration is kind of annoying, as well, IMO, and the light saber duals left a lot to be desired (some of the bosses you can really only beat by cheesy exploitation, it seemed).
I was just contemplating starting back into Jedi Knight .... been missing it a little! Love to play that game through again. I try to take Doom 2 down every year for old times' sake, great game
Originally posted by: dra600n
Goldeneye has certainly not aged well.
This
Blurrly visuals, runs like a sloth, janky mission objectives, endless respaning enemies, sub-optimal control setup. Either people haven't played any FPS released in the last 20 years, or they got some serious nostalgia blinders on.
Is the PS2 considered "aged" yet? If so, SW Battlefront I and especially II have easily stood the test of time.
Something about their graphics are still appealing even today to me, plus their atmosphere/humor/gameplay.
Originally posted by: dra600n
Goldeneye has certainly not aged well.
This
Blurrly visuals, runs like a sloth, janky mission objectives, endless respaning enemies, sub-optimal control setup. Either people haven't played any FPS released in the last 20 years, or they got some serious nostalgia blinders on.
I love me some N64. But yes Goldeneye hasn't aged well.
Dark Forces still holds up well in my opinion.
Agreed. It is surprisingly advanced for the era, and replaying some of it recently, I am blown away by how large and interesting the levels are.
Yes, the level design is amazing and still interesting today. The weapon selection is also a lot of fun. I have a hard time deciding which weapon I prefer to use the most. The music is also awesome.
I was going to say Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. I haven't played Dark Forces in years, but I'm planning on tackling it again this fall.
I've played both with in the last 6 months, and I think the relatively early polygon graphics of Jedi Knight don't hold up as well as the sprite-based original Dark Forces graphics.
The voice narration is kind of annoying, as well, IMO, and the light saber duals left a lot to be desired (some of the bosses you can really only beat by cheesy exploitation, it seemed).
I was just contemplating starting back into Jedi Knight .... been missing it a little! Love to play that game through again. I try to take Doom 2 down every year for old times' sake, great game
Man, Dark Forces along with Tie Fighter have been on my need to play list for a while now. I should really get on that
-Doom/II/Final
-Duke Nukem 3D
-Blood
-Shadow Warrior
-Quake II
-Return to Castle Wolfenstein
-Medal of Honor: Allied Assualt
-Aliens vs. Predator/2
-Half-Life + Expansions
Side note: I did fire up Goldeneye not so long ago, and found it to be far too cumbersome and awkward to play for more than twenty minutes or so. Compare that with the pick up and play nature of Doom which is simple enough to have been an arcade game.
I still play Wolf3D from time to time. Spear of Destiny not so much because of the brutal difficulty, but the granddaddy of FPS has held up with its simplicity IMO. It's not Doom and definitely not Quake, but who doesn't love shooting Nazis that yell MEIN LEBEN when they die?
It's interesting to reflect on where the suspense and challenge come from in each of the games.
In DOOM, it's generally that you don't want to end up in a place where you accidently reveal an ambush and get surrounded by enemies with nowhere to run.
That, and the getting stuck in the dark with a bunch of nightmare demons.
In Wolfenstein, it's almost always either a case of worrying about who's on the other side of a door... or ending up in an area with HUGE open corridors where guys start coming from the other end of the hall and have longer distance accuracy than you do.
It was cool how you could see bullets remaining on your gun itself. I know Dead Space got a lot of praise for having a similar lack of HUD, but this game came out over a decade earlier. So that's unique. The rock music was enjoyable, although it didn't seem to fit the game too well. I also don't understand why the game had a jump button, when there was nothing to ever jump on. It's a useless feature. Oh, and unlike the PS1 version of Doom, there was only one strafe button instead of two. So holding the button did nothing by itself, you had to move the dpad plus as well to strafe left or right. That was very awkward and it was impossible to move forward and strafe at the same time.
The voiceovers between levels were really bad, but enjoyably so. Unfortunately, the conclusion to the story left me shaking my head. It was such an abrupt, stupid ending, and then it immediately went back to the title screen with no credits. Was that really it, I was thinking? There was no boss fight or dramatic conclusion, either. One of the worst endings in video game history. The whole game, you are unwillingly following the orders of this female voice inside your head. They allude to you finally meeting, and then:
GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite (of course the BioShocks are not that old)
I couldn't stand Infinite. Not sure why that is most people's favorite in the series.
Same. Absolutely loved the first two but almost hated Infinite.
I played through Future Perfect for the first time this year, and I thought it was absolutely awful. It was a huge letdown after playing 1 & 2. It had way too many elements of the worst modern day shooters (too linear, too many checkpoints, too easy, too much bad story). Timesplitters 2 was really good, and I recommend playing that game instead. I haven't played the MP for any of those so I can't judge that aspect.
Did you play any of the arcade/map maker/multiplayer content, or just the story? I breezed through the story just to unlock more characters and MP content.