Old games that still look good today

[tongue_of_colicab]

Last week I found my legacy of kain soul reaver cd and decided to try and install it because I loved this game when I was a kid (never finished it though because im stupid and always get lost). After a bit of fidling around I got it working and I was suprised by how good it still looks. Ofcourse, my first reaction after seeing enemies with legs and feet made out of 3 polygons and some textures that looked like big dots made in paint I kinda raised my eyebrows for a moment but besides that I'm very suprised how good this game which is from 1999 still looks. Everything is alot less detailed ofcourse but it still has very much atmosphere, something I think alot of modern games lack, and the gfx didnt hurt my eyes at all (and it wasnt even running in hardware mode if that makes any difference, just software because I couldnt get it to run in hardware mode).

I have exactly the same feeling with hl1 and donkey kong country. Though that is a bit different as its 2d.

Am I just weird or are there more people that think there are certain old games that still look good today because of the way they are designed? because that is something that often bothers me about modern games. They try so hard to try and make everything look realistic but seem to forget that art design probably does alot more than better effects and more poly's and turn out with great gfx but boring designs.

 

[AlNom]

hm... I'd have to say Max Payne 2 without a doubt (on PC). Relatively high poly, some good high res textures. I still play it.

How old is old though?

Chronicles of Riddick is another one that holds up fairly well IMO, PC or Xbox.

 

[infinity4]

Half Life 2 is the only game that looks like a new game to me. Maybe I play narrow range of games.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

How old? Champions of Norrath on PS2 is only last gen, but on a good CRT still looks beautiful and atmospheric. There's a host of last-gen titles that'd fit that bill, especially artsy stuff like ICO. Going back into the 90s and before, I'm sorry to admit my tastes have shifted so I don't care for retro. Any old stuff I liked, I want remaking with spruced up graphics before I'll care to play it again!

 

[Neb]

Far Cry belongs to the list (PC version). Not only becosue it still looks fantastic but also becouse the shader settigns in teh menu lets you play it in cartoon mode, oh buggers!

IMO the indoors scenes even look better but I got no shots of it.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/Big4.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/FCcold.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/FCcartoony.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/Big1.jpg

 

[Neb]

hm... I'd have to say Max Payne 2 without a doubt (on PC). Relatively high poly, some good high res textures. I still play it.

How old is old though?

Think it was 2003 and I'll back you up on that one. It still looks nice despite its age becouse of the realistic/pre-baked shading/shadows the textures got and the scenes.

 

[Mobius1aic]

Far Cry belongs to the list (PC version). Not only becosue it still looks fantastic but also becouse the shader settigns in teh menu lets you play it in cartoon mode, oh buggers!

IMO the indoors scenes even look better but I got no shots of it.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/Big4.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/FCcold.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/FCcartoony.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/NebulasPhotoPocket/Big1.jpg

The multi-render style settings are pretty awesome, including the cartoon mode! I always used the warm look to make the landscape look even more inviting......even if it was covered in blood

 

[Dominik D]

Probably not a very popular pick but outdoors in "Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal" are IMO one of the best ever.

 

[AlNom]

Think it was 2003 and I'll back you up on that one. It still looks nice despite its age becouse of the realistic/pre-baked shading/shadows the textures got and the scenes.

Indeed It's a shame the post-processing effects disable AA, but at least there's the 8xS mode (yay supersampling ) for G7x cards. It's a very well optimized game otherwise.

 

[DeadlyNinja]

I think some NES games still look good today... But that's just me.

Here's an SNES game that I still go back to every now and then (just played it last week).

 

[friendo]

Doom 3, still looks like it belongs on current gen consoles
Shenmue 1 & 2 , although you can easilty tell it's old tech, the art assets and game mechanics feel very current if not surpassing most games today.

Also I'd like to say I agree with every game listed so far, especially HL2.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I ment old games, hl2, doom3, fc etc arnt old With old I mean pre ps2 era or maybe early 2000's. Hl2 is still way to new, it pretty much uses all tech that is more or less default these days, its totally dx9 so it doesnt really classify as something out of what we have now. It has to be based on really limited tech, like Soul reaver for instance is recommanded with a 4mb gfx card. Now that is old. Not something that recommands a 128mb dx9 videocard. Creating something that looks good today on a recommanded 266mhz cpu and 4mb gpu is something totally different that hl2 tech level.

 

[Blade47167]

Myst

Seriously tho Super Mario 64 anyone?

 

[Nesh]

Outcast

TrickStyle

Tobal 2

Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2)

Wipeout XL

 

[AlNom]

hm......... SHOGO Mobile Armour Division. Pretty colours and the sound effects are kick-ass. I think the only problem was the lack of trilinear filtering at the time, or it was borked.

 

[Mobius1aic]

The PS1 Spyro and Crash games still play excellently (and they were still made by Insomniac and Naughty Dog too).

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Zork. Looks as good today as it did when I bought it off the shelf.

Seriously, people. Max Payne 2? HL2? You know, F.E.A.R. still holds up pretty well today.

I'd agree with AL, SHOGO was just a great game at the time. I remember my friend actually bought it and sold it to me because he couldn't play it on his system. I think it's the art style that makes it still hold up today, it still creates the same atmosphere.

 

[vazel]

I recently finished playing No One Lives Forever 2. The environment and models still look great. I still prefer the way these older games looked with their textures to the way new games look with the way they pixel shader everything to all high heaven(at least I've still got the Wii).

And yes I read post #12 but some people still consider games from 2002 ancient especially on this forum where people are prone to bleeding edge mentalities.

 

[AlNom]

I'd agree with AL, SHOGO was just a great game at the time. I remember my friend actually bought it and sold it to me because he couldn't play it on his system. I think it's the art style that makes it still hold up today, it still creates the same atmosphere.

Agreed. From the variety of weapons and the environments to the dualistic gameplay and the execution of the story... it's just so unique!

I should dig up the CD and see if it works still...

And yes I read post #12 but some people still consider games from 2002 ancient especially on this forum where people are prone to bleeding edge mentalities.

More than 5 years can be a long time in the computer industry.

 

[zed]

knightlore, though only really 2 colors + a very low res but in some respects better than a few games today WRT scenery interaction