Games That Haven't Aged Well

[patlefort]

Diablo 1 and to some extend, Diablo 2. Hard to run on current systems, stuck in low resolution, clunky tiled movement, really bad potion system. It was ok at the time because we didn't know better. Diablo 2 improved things but the potion system was still horrible and it's still stuck in low resolution.

[Meelis13]

Hmm maybe the first few GTA games? They look awful now.

i disagree on that. In fact, i think GTA & GTA 2 have aged much better than first ones in 3d era.

[Mr Nutt]

The original Ratchet & Clank

While I wouldn't say it's a bad game, it's pretty hard to go back and play it when you're used to the stuff added later on. For example, like the upgrade systems and the much better controls system that allows you to strafe, shoot and dodge at the same time.

 

Morrowind

I really tried to get into Morrowind, but it's just not very fun for me. You move way too slow, you never hit anything and quests only vaguely tell you where to go. That last thing is especially bad since it seems I have zero sense of direction so I never end up finding anything. Then again, who knows? Maybe I'm just too used to having quest markers? I guess it probably doesn't help that I didn't play any games in the Elder Scrolls series until Skyrim. I did enjoy Oblivion though, so I guess I've got that going for me.

 

The Sims

After playing The Sims 2, I couldn't help but notice how annoying it was in the original that your Sim had to work every single day. After that, it just sort of started feeling like a bit of a chore in comparison to play. The music is still some of the best in the series though.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2

Might come off kinda bad in this forum, but I'm not saying these games are bad. They are by all means some of the most groundbreaking games ever released. It's just that they were so groundbreaking that after their release, better games have already come out and taken inspiration from them, so at this point they both kinda feel... dated. I still love these games but I find them kinda hard to come back to.

 

Fallout 3

Kinda talking about Vanilla Fallout 3 here as mods is the only reason this game has any longevity. With the ugly models and clunky combat, not to mention the godawful durability system, this game kinda feels difficult to revisit without hardcore modding...

[Psychotic Ninja]

Spider-Man (2000)

 

Controls are wonky, no camera control, swinging can be annoying and the PC version is a broken mess. Two levels (race to Daily Bugle and when you're being chased by a helicopter) are almost unbeatable (the chase one especially). Luckily there's a level select cheat. Oh and you have to load your save file before you can continue...

[Biya]

System Shock. Now don't get me wrong, I love the first System Shock, despite all the things it's sequel improved on. However, the control scheme and interface is dogshit and makes it almost unplayable to modern audiences.

 

The interface is a click and drag type, similar to Ultima Underworld. Now, that actually doesnt bother me personally, I think it makes more sense to pick an item up with the mouse cursor and drop it into the inventory, rather than just automatically pick it up after running into it like a kleptomaniac track runner. However, the lack of mouselook on the native DOS version makes this a real pain in the ass, as you can be ambushed while interacting with the environment, and not be able to react in time to counter. If you want to play the game, I strongly advise you get the Enhanced Edition and use mouselook.

 

The HUD is a cluttered mess of gauges and icons that correspond to all the cybernetic upgrades you collect throughout the game. The game gives you two different HUD's to choose from that you can switch on the fly; one that monitors all of your life and energy levels, as well as your stamina and icons to activate your abilities, but it's completely unnecessary and takes up a lot of your view of the action. The other HUD being a scaled down version of the former. Unless you want to feel like a walking CRT monitor, I suggest you play with the latter.

 

And finally, cyberspace. Your neural interface gives you the ability to jack your consciousness into computer terminals in game to hack them and progress through the level or gain information, which is a really cool idea, but the execution is flawed. You fly through a series of neon wired, maze like rooms in first person, blasting security programs. The constant bombardment of colors and the slippery controls are disorienting, and the higher you set the games difficulty, the worse the controls get. That's right, the developers intended it to be bad.

[MonkeyBoi]

GTA 3 and VC were mentioned in this thread, but I feel San Andreas deserve to be mentioned as well. Maybe its just the sub-par PC port but everything feels so clumsy and dated, The animations outside cutscenes, The AI, Plane controls, and so on. Its not to say I didn't enjoy the game, it certainly has its highlights.

 

Another one I'll add is Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights, nostalgia definitely got the better of me there.

[Kaiosama TLJ]

The first 3 Duke Nukem games. The reason why varies depending of the game.

 

Duke Nukem 1 (or Duke Nukum) didn't aged well because of some of the negative staples of old PC platformers. The level-design revolves around exploration to get keys and open doors to progress, and it DOESN'T give you a map (at least the levels aren't that big), and the game has the same boss at the end of every episode, the only thing that changes is the arena (and the one in episode 2 is a assault to the eyes like Bip Bop II's backgrounds). Also, those FUCKING BLUE ROTATING PILLARS! Do NOT play this game with headphones if you love your sanity and ears.

 

Duke Nukem 2 has some improvements over the first one, you can shoot up (and down when you are in a rope), there's new weapons, and it has a kickass soundtrack. But it brings the same problems of the first game and make some of them worse. The level-design is bad, there are some dickish enemy placements, and the bosses take FOREVER (no pun intended) to beat since they are badly designed.

 

Duke Nukem 3D is the opposite. As far as FPS go, it aged pretty well on the gameplay department despite it's flaws (at least for me it did), the same I can't say about the sense of humor however... Yeah, it's a dead horse at this point but it's hard not to mention it. It's not entirely unfunny, I can laugh at some moments and hey, I can like toilet humour, IF done right and it's not the ONLY thing that characterizes the game. What bothers me the most about DN3D humor is not even the sexist part (it still bother me, but not in the same degree as it bothers other people), it is the fact that the writers really intended this to be a parody of action hero movies, but their idea of parody was "cram as many quotes and pop culture references we can". We see that a lot today in many games like the Borderlands series, but DN3D was the one that started this trend and had it as it's only notable characteristic, aside being "edgy".

 

Looking back at the older platformers, I think the humor on them was better. Sure, it was silly and nothing groundbreaking, and some lines were so-so, but there's a weird charm on some of the dialogue and Duke feels more of a parody there (Duke Nukem 2 instructions note about the score items being Duke's merchandise is that "Duke is so vain, he enjoys ammasing his own memorabilia."; also the line in the first game where he says that he's going to beat the bad guy in time to watch Oprah). In DN3D, it feels that he became what he was supposed to parody instead of being a parody, which is one reason why DN3D didn't aged well with it's jokes.

Edited October 29, 2020 by Kaiosama TLJ
The post became a mess with embedded link errors because it was made before the forum overhaul. (see edit history)

[gh0st_hunt]

I had a problem with Diablo, couldn't run it at all..

[Selous Templar]

Star Wars: Republic Commando.

Not only do you have to mod it for Widescreen Support, but the AI is a little on the silly side, and the weapons are way too underpowered, with some stupidly overpowered enemies and weapons that don't blend well with the default underpowered weapons. Also fuck those Trandoshian scavenger droids.

Needs a remaster and a sequel.