Opinion: Where Have All The Classics Gone?

Whilst I’m not the oldest gamer on TSA’s staff roster (they remember parchment based RPGs), I’ve been around long enough to be privy to the evolution of the medium. From cassette tapes to Blu-ray, every gaming generation has had their classics; the games that get brought out every now and again in ‘best of’ lists, or as part of a reminiscing session down the pub, or even dragged up to settle old fanboy arguments (face it SEGA fans, the SNES was better…).

The first time the camera panned round a fully 3D Mushroom Kingdom in Mario 64; four-player deathmatch in GoldenEye 64; the haunting silence of ICO; your first few steps onto the lush green grass in Halo –if you’re anything like me then these are the things that will always have a place in your mind, even if they’re pushed to the back somewhere.

Unfortunately the last few years have left me feeling slightly empty in this respect. This is in no way a slight on the games that have been released, because we’ve had some corkers, but perhaps more the way that games are now viewed. The constant stream of high quality content means that, in my opinion, new games are often no more than fads.

Two weeks ago Brink was the game to play, and what seemed to populate every slot in my friends list, but that’s old hat now and has been brushed aside as L.A Noire takes centre stage. That hasn’t got long though, because although praise is being heaped on its fantastic looking features, people are now getting their hands on DiRT 3. The cycle begins again; nothing seems to stick anymore.

I’m aware that perhaps I’m coming across as ridiculously old fashioned, and I certainly will have missed out on a few classics that I should really try and play. There is also bound to be loads of you reading this who will disagree, which is fantastic because I hope you all have fond memories of the current generation.

For me though, sitting here scanning through my game collection, there are only a couple of games I can see that will stay with me for many years to come; games that evoked not only an emotional response during, but an amazing sense of satisfaction upon completion.

“So what are the games?” I hear you ask. Ah, well that would be telling…

 

54 Comments

  1. I remember first discovering the scope of LBP as my big moment of this generation, so to me it’s just as nostalgic as when I first played all the classics from Alex Kidd to tekken tag. There are a lot of plain fps games out there, but there’s also more innovation than ever

  2. I see where your coming from since classics such as Timesplitters 2 and Jak & Daxter seem to have disappeared. But we have to give time for them to bring nostalgia. Red Dead Redemption is worthy of classic status in my opinion. Call of Duty 4 is another game worthy of being called classic.

  3. Heavy Rain and Demons souls are the two games that spring to mind,Red Dead also has taken alot of my time this generation.
    I think that saying that new media generally reaches maturity after 30 years is significant here.Now games are much like movies,accepted and consumed but that doesn’t mean they can’t be special anymore.The 3 above are an example but i’ve enjoyed many more and videogaming remains my favorite pastime.

  4. Btw i would suggest with only eight static objectives Brink was never going to last more than two weeks,that would be without the problems it has,big dissapointment for me.
    Which brings me to L.A Noire,wheres the review lads?,have to say i’m finding it unsufferably dull and was hoping you guys would shed some light.

  5. if you think people buy brink then ditch it after a week to me that is strange I no people who will buy L.A. Noire play it for a few hours then put brink on or whatever a bit later you can play multiple games in a day.

  6. How do we define a classic?
    Is it a game we come back to regardless of its review score? or is it a game that everybody likes so I will like it aswell?
    Put it this way, i’m still playing SNES & Megadrive games as much as Battlefield Bad Company 2 multiplayer. For me, a classic is timeless entertainment that invokes memories.

  7. There are still modern games that can give the creeps. The first time i raced in GT5, the first i approached Rapture in Bioshock, first time i were in Stormwind in WoW, first time my created level finally worked in LBP..

  8. Mirror’s Edge, Uncharted 2, COD 4, Little Big Planet, Bioshock, and possibly (from my level of enjoyment and addiction so far) LA Noire for me. They are truly fantastic, and I will never get rid of them. In contrast, my PS2 games that I still enjoy are Resident Evil 4, Killzone, and Burnout 3. Just three games, from a console that was arguably the best ever. From PS1? Final Fantasy VII, Spyro, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and Metal Gear Solid. The best classic game, in my opinion, however? Pokémon Silver. The hours I put into that will make any other game pale into insignificance.
    What you’re noticing is not a lack of great titles, but a surplus.
    While it means we’re not all going to agree on what the best games of the generation were, we’re all going to agree that there were a lot of stunners.
    Keep ’em coming, I say.

  9. out of the games ive played i would say some of the potential future classics are demons souls, COD4 MP, LBP, potentially warhawk (i still haven’t bought it yet), oblivon (and hopefully skyrim), fallout 3, portal, maby arkham asylum, Red dead redemption, vanquish, fight night champion’s, 3D dot game heroes

    but for me personally i would say that so far (bare in mind that this gen is still going strong) my list consists of
    demons souls, LBP 2, mafia2, COD4 MP all of which are games i could see myself playing and enjoying many years from now

  10. For me, classics are a thing of the past ;)
    It’s difficult to view recent games as classics but ten years from now some of them will have earned that status.

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