As 2012 closed, I had a decision to make. I had gone back to
World of Warcraft after a few months away – and YEARS of playing before that –
to pick up The Mists of Pandaria expansion. And it was fun. The new content was
enjoyable.
But…
See, the problem was that it was basically the same, old
game. After ten years, nothing had really been done to update the graphics. So,
it always looked like the same, old game. And I had been reading about games
like Skyrim and FarCry 3 and I had been getting, well, a wandering eye.
As I said, as 2012 closed and my WoW subscription came up to
renew, I had a decision to make. Renew WoW? Or purchase one of the nicely
priced bundles on Steam? The Bethesda Bundle, for instance, featured Skyrim and
more than a dozen other games. Then, there was the FarCry bundle… hmmm…
In the end, I decided to step away from WoW again. Not only
was it the same, old game but I decided it was the same old pain in the ass. I
had to download an “authenticator” onto my phone just so I could log in to play
the damned game! It was time I saw what the rest of the world had to offer. Vicky bought me the Bethesda Bundle and a couple FarCry games at Christmas and I readied myself to
enter a new world.
… but I quickly found a familiar, old world as well. An old
world I hadn’t seen in a while. You see, the Bethesda Bundle had been bundled
with some newer games, yes, but also some older games as well. I had purchased,
unknowingly, 20 years of gaming goodness!
I started out by playing Doom (1993). I’d forgotten just how
old and old and old and old and old Doom was… It’s pretty old. The mechanics do
not allow you to look up! You can’t jump! There’s no inventory and the map is
kind of a joke by today’s standards. Also, the graphics have not exactly aged
well. All the same, I decided to play through it for nostalgia’s sake.
And that started my OCD mind down a chronological path. I
enjoy viewing things chronologically because it allows me to see how things
have evolved. This applies to movies and video games as well. I decided I’d
play these games chronologically and see what happened.
Doom 2 (1994) was next. And I quickly realized it’s
basically Doom all over again on different maps. The mechanics are the same.
The graphics are the same. There are some new and interesting bosses and, of
course, I still played it because – come on! But I was amazed how quickly I
went through it. I’d forgotten how short older games were. But I knew that each
game that followed would take longer.
I learned this lesson in Quake (1996). It’s a much longer
game. Mind you, it’s a much different game. You’ve got full 3d modeling here! Enemies
that look somewhat real! Better sound! You can jump! You can swim! All this in
just three years! I remember being a gamer back then – those three years felt
like forever. (Mind you, there were about 13,749 versions of Doom in the
meantime…)
Can I take a moment to talk about nausea? I’d forgotten how
those old games made me sick when I played them for too long. I played through
Doom, Doom 2, and much of Quake all at once… and then realized I was going to
throw up! I quickly moved to the bed to lie down and hope the world would stop
hating me… it was brutal. That’s another thing about those old days. But I knew
it would get better.
And it did begin to get better with Quake 2 (1997). This was
my favorite FPS to date and I remember playing quite a bit back in ’97. This
game had a story, better graphics, freer movement, better weapons – again, in
just one year after the original! Sure, it still lacked things like an
inventory or graphics that looked anything like realistic, but it was a step
forward.
I played Quake 3 (1999) for about five minutes. After all,
it was intended as a multi-player game. Still, it was a big step from Quake 2.
More colorful, vibrant, and just fun looking!
And that takes me to today.
Right now, I’m playing The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind (2003).
Replaying it, I should say. I spent the summer of 2003 playing the hell out of
this game – the best RPG of its day! And yet, wow, did it age! Not only was the
voice acting at a minimum but you couldn’t do things like SCROLL, for crying
out loud! Progression through menus or dialogue is done with mouse clicks.
Ouch!
But I didn’t just leave WoW for games more than a decade
old. Progressing chronologically, I look forward to playing…
Doom 3 (2004), which is basically Half-Life in the Doom
world. Nothing wrong with that!
Quake 4 (2005). I haven’t touched this one, yet – though I’ve
previewed others – because I know it’s a continuation of Quake 2 and I don’t want
to ruin it.
TES: Oblivion (2006). I was very happy to get this because I
never finished Oblivion and I couldn’t run my original copy in Window 7. (The
Steam interface is very helpful with older games.) Looking at this game, I can
already see an improvement over, and a reason to move on from, WoW. Better
graphics and a more compelling story are sure to make this a fun game to return
to.
Fallout 3 (2008). Have I played it? Yes. Have I played it
twice? Okay, yes. But this is the Game of the Year edition, so I’m looking
forward to hitting some of the new content. (And I LUV the soundtrack!)
FarCry 2 (2008). Now, I’d heard all the praise for FarCry 3,
but wanted to hit the earlier open-world version first. When I previewed it, I
thought it looked amazing. I’d be in for a shock later on…
Fallout 3: New Vegas (2010). What can I say? I loves my some
Fallout 3!
Just Cause 2 (2010). This isn’t a new game. I’ve actually
had it for a while. But it is one of my favorite open-world games and it’s a
blast to play.
Rage (2011). More FPS fun!
Brink (2011). Even more FPS fun! (No, I didn’t preview
either. I’m trying to save some surprises for myself.)
Dungeon Siege 3 (2011). This is another game that wasn’t in
the bundle – but I have it and I haven’t finished it. And Diablo 3 was such a
pain in the ass…
TES: Skyrim (2011). How can I be playing Morrowind when I
have this, you may be asking. Sheer strength of will, would be my answer.
Skyrim is amazing to behold and when I previewed it I was blown away. I can’t
wait to get there… maybe this summer? It’s absolutely beautiful and runs like a
dream!
Dishonored (2012). Another game I’m saving but I’ve heard
all kinds of wonderful things.
Finally, I’ll play FarCry 3 (2012). I’m saving this for last
because, when I previewed it, it absolutely blew me away. It is so immersive
and so beautiful… Even if every other game sucked, this would be reason enough
to leave WoW.
So, there you have it. Easily a year’s worth of games, and I
bought them for what six months of WoW would cost me.
Will I go back to WoW one day? Perhaps. I won’t say “Never”.
But it’ll take some effort on Blizzard’s part. An updated graphics engine certainly
wouldn’t hurt! WoW was my favorite game of the first date of the 21st century.
… time to find out what else I missed…
