Vintage game review thread

[CaptainCrunch]

I just finished Grand Theft Auto V. I remember buying it years ago. probably when it was released in 2013. I also remember that I quite on the game fairly early, after getting frustrated with a mission that I couldn't complete early on (rescuing Michael's son from the stolen boat).

I've played most GTA games. 1, 2, 3, San Andreas Vice City, 4 and 5. While San Andreas still remains my favourite, due to a story that borrowed generously from Las Angeles and the Rodney King trial, a huge map that featured 3 cities and a huge country area, and some really great mission types. V came close to surpassing it, but didn't quite do it.

Don't get me wrong, GTA V is an incredibly polished and well rounded game, its beautiful to look at and the story line was amazing. As well you had three really likeable hero's that were killers and thugs and in the case of trevor a meth drive psychopath with severe mommy issues. We got some well designed heists, some intriguing villains, and some interesting backstory.

However from an open world perspective, it just didn't feel as deep or developed as San Andreas or even Vice City. In a lot of way it did have a mrore movie feel then a video game feel as you went through the story, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it felt the missions were on rails where you could apply really creative solutions to the problems like you could in other games.

I think that the ending was a bit of a disappointment in that the final 2 missions, the Union Depository heist and the final mission were just incredibly easy compared to missions earlier in the game. Maybe my characters got too over powered, but the final part of the last mission where you kidnapped Devon Weston was a literal walk in the park. It should have been a really tough mission that felt rewarding when you finished it.

In terms of presentation, the graphics even for a 2013 game looks incredible especially the vehicle presentation. The driving is a blast, and I will say that the battles with the use of cover was a lot of fun. The humour really shines through on the game when you listen to the NPC whether they're having conversations or talking on their phone or yelling insults when you wreck their cars.

The sound tracks are great as is the selection of radio stations, but I found I was disappointment by the talk radio station which was pretty repetitive.

This was also a game that went away from using celebrity voice overs, San Andreas was the king with actors like Samuel Jackson, and James Woods. This was voiced by mostly non descript actors, however the work done by the actors on Michael and Trevor were great, Franklin though I thought was a pretty poor performance.

Outside of the driving the flying was hit or miss. I found that flying planes was great, however they continually forced you to fly low because of radar, and the controls were fine tuned enough on that side even when you had max flying skills. I thought the helicopter controls were terrible, it missed a strong ability to hover, and when you hit the gas on the helicopter it tended to drop fairly quickly. In one mission where you had to intimidate your passengers by flying recklessly under bridges I passed it accidentally because I crashed into the tower on takeoff.

The thing that I missed was a the little details that made San Andreas, the dating part of it wasn't bought across, except you could date strippers. In San Andreas you could literally eat your self to morbid obesity and zero stamina, and an inability to climb walls, but then you could go to a gym to learn a fighting skill and get into shape.

I also noticed that the game went quickly, it had about 69 main missions and about another 15 to 20 non main missions, but I played through the game in about 5 days.

Also at the end of the game though you can still rumble around the city, there's nothing to do except grind to buy some of the higher end properties. I know that you can go and play online and I might try it, it would have been nice to have some kind of end game content, where you can gather your characters to rob banks or casinos. Again I know they have that in online, but it would have been nice to have that here.

Overall though, this is a very polished, beautiful game to look at and play. Its a lot of fun, has a great story line that's over way too soon. But in the end it might be quibbling, but it felt like it was missing that truly polished detail that turns a game into a piece of gaming art.

[dino7c]

What did you play it on? I never finished it either when I bought it for the 360 but they have a Series X update now and I also picked it up for free on PC somewhere along the line.

[codynw]

Oh no. Can we please not call GTA5 a “vintage” game? Thank you.

[OutOfTheCube]

I’m glad we now have an opinion on this little known vintage hidden gem.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by dino7c

What did you play it on? I never finished it either when I bought it for the 360 but they have a Series X update now and I also picked it up for free on PC somewhere along the line.

I played it on PC, it was really frustrating when I was failing over and over again because I couldn't shoot the guy on the boat fighting with franklin while going 100 miles an hour on a busy highway when the panicked drivers around you are ramming you off of the road.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by codynw

Oh no. Can we please not call GTA5 a “vintage” game? Thank you.

Technically a 10 year old game could be considered "retro", though that blurs a bit with GTA V getting re-released on current consoles and still getting support from Rockstar.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Even if a game isn't that old there are a bunch that just didn't make a splash when released and have now gained appreciation in retrospect, like Sleeping Dogs (2012) or Mad Max (2015).

It's kind of funny that what used to happen with movies - i.e., released in theatres to bad box office results, then becomes a cult hit once on VHS at your local Blockbuster - has now translated to video games via Steam sales.

[Sr. Mints]

I've been chipping away at Mario 64 via the Mario All Stars Switch release for some time now. It's nice to pick a game and be able to play it for 10-15 minutes, few modern games allow that.

The camera is BRUTAL. I'd forgotten how frustrating it can be to do simple tasks like walk in a strait line along a plank. The first 50-60 stars in the game are a breeze, but now I'm no longer having fun.

[TorqueDog]

I could have posted the OP about GTA IV. Such a phenomenal game, and a great story.

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

I've been chipping away at Mario 64 via the Mario All Stars Switch release for some time now. It's nice to pick a game and be able to play it for 10-15 minutes, few modern games allow that.

The camera is BRUTAL. I'd forgotten how frustrating it can be to do simple tasks like walk in a strait line along a plank. The first 50-60 stars in the game are a breeze, but now I'm no longer having fun.

I was playing it via emulation and, oof, that camera makes me want to throw the controller out the window sometimes.

[btimbit]

I agree with Captain, loved GTAV but San Andreas still stands at the top for me

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

I've been chipping away at Mario 64 via the Mario All Stars Switch release for some time now. It's nice to pick a game and be able to play it for 10-15 minutes, few modern games allow that.

The camera is BRUTAL. I'd forgotten how frustrating it can be to do simple tasks like walk in a strait line along a plank. The first 50-60 stars in the game are a breeze, but now I'm no longer having fun.

There was a PC port that some fans made by decompiling the original N64 binaries back into C and then recompiling it for x86. It had quality of life mods like modern camera control (and you can play it in 4K with updated textures)

[Ozy_Flame]

You want to get vintage? I'm currently working my way through Police Quest 1 after finishing it 25 years ago. The whole PQ collection is on deck, and it's already reminding me why I fell in love with PC gaming when I was a kid. These Sierra games should be in the National Registry.

[Jacks]

I stopped playing at GTA IV when they forced the Xbox controller on me. On the older games you could completely customize the controls.

As for other older titles I'm playing through the Mass Effect trilogy again and it still holds up today. Still play Dragon Age every few years too.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Jacks

I stopped playing at GTA IV when they forced the Xbox controller on me. On the older games you could completely customize the controls.

As for other older titles I'm playing through the Mass Effect trilogy again and it still holds up today. Still play Dragon Age every few years too.

I was thinking of doing Mass Effect 1 next, such a great game.

[calgarywinning]

Vintage game love is playing Ultima V on an Expensive Apple and the experiencing Witcher 3.

I would also agree with CaptainCrunch on Mass Effect of being the pinnacle. When you load up a vintage game it's a world of hurt, except for Ray Liotta's voice.

The old games you load up lived bigger in your imagination then they technically delivered.

[Muta]

I will never get bored of the original Super Mario RPG. One of the greatest games ever made. It's on my SNES classic, and gets a replay every now and then.

[Huntingwhale]

I still consider Mario 64 the most groundbreaking video game of all time, and for me it's my #1 game of all time. I was 12 when I got my N64 for Xmas and I could not believe it was given to me and my siblings as a gift. Spent the next few years 100%ing that game. Literally every secret I found and such a labor of love every minute. Still holds up well to this day. The graphics, the music, the controls. Everything so damn good.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I still consider Mario 64 the most groundbreaking video game of all time, and for me it's my #1 game of all time. I was 12 when I got my N64 for Xmas and I could not believe it was given to me and my siblings as a gift. Spent the next few years 100%ing that game. Literally every secret I found and such a labor of love every minute. Still holds up well to this day. The graphics, the music, the controls. Everything so damn good.

This is how I feel about the SNES DKC games. They still hold up amazingly well (except for K. Rool in DKC3). I got a SNES and DKC2 for christmas in 1995 and it's still probably my favorite game of all time. I played through all 3 over the holidays and it was awesome.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

You want to get vintage? I'm currently working my way through Police Quest 1 after finishing it 25 years ago. The whole PQ collection is on deck, and it's already reminding me why I fell in love with PC gaming when I was a kid. These Sierra games should be in the National Registry.

The Police Quest series (and the subsequent SWAT games), the King's Quest series, the Space Quest series, the Quest for Glory series and the Leisure Suit Larry series are all outstanding Sierra games, and I highly recommend people get a hold of them and play them. Absolute classics.

The Police Quest series is particularly fun. You can get the entire series off Good Ol' Games (Police Quest Series) right now for $9! Worth every penny.

[dino7c]

RPG games age well since they aren't really about graphics...Played through Final Fantasy on Nes last year. I played it as a kid but never finished it, talk about a back log lol.