The passage of 𒉰time can be cruel, especially in the games industry. With technology moving forward so quickly, me𓄧mories of classic games can be ravaged by aging graphics, simplistic gameplay and limitations of once cutting-edge hardware.
In this list, we celebrate some of the clas🐟sic games that despite their age, still look and play great today while highlighting some of the others that aren't so fortunate. Regardless, all of these games are iron🐭-clad classics that deserve your attention.
10 ༒ The Good: Doom (PC, 1993)
In 2020 Doom might seem an odd 💜choice for a game that still holds up, but arguably, because it's not fully 3D, it avoids some of the pitfalls of other early 3D games. The 2D sprites are large, detailed and creative, the levels, whilst boxy and low-res, are bright and colorful and the animations and effects are beautifully done.
Watching a demon burst into a gooey mess from one blast of your trusty shotgun is as satisfying today as it was in 1993. Doom still looks great and if anyone tries to tell you differently, they'ꩵre wrong.
9 The Bad: ꦬWolfenstein 3D (PC, 1992)
Before Doom, there was Wolfenstein 3D, a World War 2 shooter where the final boss was a machine-gun-toting Hitler in a mech suit. Sure, why not? This quirky game𒁏, now hailed as the granddaddy of the modern FPS, spawned/inspired countless games over the years but understandably, the years have taken their t🔯oll.
Character design was uninspiring even back in the day and enemies are mostly just generic soldiers. Environments are even worse, plain boxes with bland text💦ures and lots of 🐻shades of grey. To be fair there are splashes of color thrown in but generally, it's tiresome visually.
An important milestone in gaming history, and wor♒th playing at least once, but if you want something mo𓄧re fun and a lot less ugly, stick with Doom.
8 Th🍒e Good: XIII (PS2, 2♍003)
XIII is a hidden gem re🌟leased on the PS2 back when console shooters were really starting to come into their own. It's a game that people don't seem to talk about often which is surprising given its unusual cel-shaded gr😼aphical style.
These visuals, co💙mbined with comic book style panels and text boxes ("BAOOOM", "THWAAACK") that pop in and out during story and action sequences, make XIII a very unique game.
It's this stylisꦬtic approach that keeps XIII looking great, but despite all the visual polish, it r꧙emains a really fun game with solid gunplay and an absorbing storyline.
7 ♈𝓰 The Bad: Goldeneye 007 (N64, 1997)
Goldeneye is an undisputed classic of the genre. It proved FPS games could work on console and that multiplayer was still fun even on a tiny TV with a screen area per player roughly equivalent to your average smartphone🍬. But it certainly has not aged well.
Character models arﷺe weird and angular, their little digitized faces stretched and distorted like tormented caricatures. Environments, especially outdoors, are bland and blocky with awful textures and draw d♈istances that are laughable, to say the least.
It's still very playable though. Controls a𝔍re counter-intuitive for modern gamers but gunplay is still fun and if you can get a few mates around an N64, you're guaranteꦛed a great time.
6 The Good: Half-L🌠ife ꧑2 (PC, 2004)
Ha💙lf-Life 2 is arguably the best first-person shooter of all time and despite its age, still looks and plays great today. The stunning lighting effects, gorgeous reflections, detailed facial animations and physics were all revolutionary and complimented the immersive in-game storytelling already perfect🔥ed by the original.
The engrossing sci-fi storyline features locations that are truly grand in scope with stunning mountain vistas, towering city blocks and🀅 te꧙rrifying monster-infested villages.
All of this, including the variety of weapons on💮 offer, combines to make an incredibly fun and inte𒐪ractive game.
5 The Bad: Time Crisis (PS1, 1997) ꧃
Time Crisis is an on-rails lighꦇt gun shooter, a genre that doesn't exist anymore on home consoles and the only way to have this kind of experience now is to buy an oldꦡ CRT or visit an actual arcade.
The PS1 version of Time Crisis is ported over from the arcade and inevitably the visuals take a big hit. Characters and environments are jagged and blocky and there's a general fuzz and lack of detail to the textures. Environments are quite colorful and interesting but hardware 🤡limitations mean they quickly lose their appeal. There are also a plethora of weird clipping glitch♛es that occur as the action unfolds.
Even stil😼l, it's highly replayable an🃏d worth picking up if you can find the original hardware.
4 The Good: Soldier of Fortune 2: Double He🌊lix (PC, 2002)✅
Soldier of Fortune 2 is a big chunky shooter with explosive gunplay and an intriguing story about biological warfare. It's also hard as nails even on the lowest difficulty setting and you'll die conti🌞nuously. But what sets SOF2: Double Helix apart from the crowd is its unique physics and anatomical destruction.
When bullets strike an enemy, their body is wounded realistically. A gunshot to the shoulder to will cause an enemy to ꦜreel backward but a shotgun blast to the head, arm or leg will blow it clean off. If you're feeling particularly sadistic you can even use a knife to c𓆏arve up bodies into giblets... if you must.
Yes, it's gruesome and violent but it's satisfying in the ꦛsame way that Paul Verhoeven movies are. The modern Mortal Kombat and Sniper Elite games may have taken this even further but Soldier of Fortune 2 is still incredibly realistic.
3 🧸 The Bad: Delta Force (PC, 𒀰1998)
Delta Force is a classicℱ series of military shooters where realism is the order of the day and missions require tactical precision.
Even at the time, Delta Force's visuals were criticized for being outdated. The game engine allows for sprawling terrain and exceptional draw distances but due to a lack of 3D🉐 acceleration, everything else lacks definition and sharpness.
For a game that relies on long-distance warfare, this is a big problem with enemy units and structures lacking clarity. Weapon models are detaile🅷d but firing animations ar🅘e static and lifeless.
Delta Force remains quite fun but by today'♊s standards, it's very ugly.
2 T♋he Good: System Shock 2 (PC, 1999)
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:System Shock 2 is a sci-fi/horror set in the far future on a faster than light spaceship. You're tasked with uncovering the secret behind the outbreak of an infectious dis🐓e🦋ase that has turned some of the crew into horrific bloodthirsty monsters.
Some of the character🐻 models are crude but the environments themselves are beautifully realized and the use of light and dark really makes the sterile sci-fi backdrops stand out. Chinks of light in the darkness, shadowy corridors, blinking buttons and flickering data screens all contribute to a palpa🎃ble tension and creeping dread.
Dynamic lighting effects may have come a long way since 1999 but System Shock 2 still drips with atmospheric terror.
1 The Bad: Medal of Honor (👍PS1, 1999)
When Medal of Honor was released it felt like a real evolution for the FPS on home consoles. ✅Conc🐽eptualized by Stephen Spielberg, developed under the expert scrutiny of a military adviser and scored by an award-winning composer, it's an indisputable classic.
While the music, sound effects and general presentation are still top-notch, the same cant be said for the visuals. Environme🌱nts suffer from poor draw distances and enemies often pop-i𒅌n suddenly and unexpectedly. Character models are generally a bit rubbish and the animations, where enemies react realistically to hits in a variety of locations, now look comical and over the top for what's supposed to be a gritty depiction of war.
Medal of Honor was a step forward in cinematic gaming experiences but one that just doesn't hold up well 🌺at all.