I feel weird calling myself a “Retro Gamer” but I have to face the facts, I am one. I fit in to that category of the person who will not let the past go. It could be that I am stuck in the eighties… I play old games, listen to Metallica and drive a DeLorean, if that does not scream eighties then what does?
Its not that I haven’t tried to get with the times, I have a PlayStation 2 and a Nintendo Wii. The thing is that even though I got new systems my mindset was still on the old classics. Some of the games I picked up are Frogger, Atari Pong and Activision Classics for the PS2, then there is the Intellivision classics and Impossible Mission for the wii! Do you see the pattern here? Even though I bought the newer systems I found myself only buying classic games to play on them. This obviously is not a problem except for the fact that I still own the origina
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l systems and games too. So any rational person would ask “what is the point?… Why buy the same games that you already have for a newer system when you can just hook up that old Atari and have a go?”
Of course I can’t deny that its easier to use the new systems with today’s technology, they practically just plug right in to our flat screen TV’s with ease. The older systems required a special wire to make that connection and would usually require a coaxial thingy which as most of you classic gamers know is a pain in the butt. There is also the fact that you now need to use a different controller then the original, which may or may not be a problem. Older systems like the Intellivision used a controller that had a number pad and a disc, tell that to the PS2 controller. That being said, I have noticed that a lot of Atari fans are using a Sega Genesis controller instead of the classic stiff Joy stick that is traditionally used, so there might be a bright side there!
I am not writing this because I don’t like modern systems and games, I think there are a lot of great titles out there. Sports games have 100% improved from the days of navigating those numberless/Nameless mono coloured stick-man around a green block and calling that Soccer. And lets not forget Super Mario Bros wii, a modern take on a true classic. I can’t really say that I am big on the first person shooters, but I do admit that the game-play is pretty impressive and as real as can be. Its most likely that I look at the NES as the last system that I truly loved and spent dedicated hours playing, anything released after that just did not feel the same. The games of today to me are practically movies, they require voice actors, scripts, editors and directors!, Pac-Man had none of that!
Regardless, the gaming community has grown and that is fine with me. Some modern gamers will never bother to try the old classics just like some will never bother to watch a Charlie Chaplin flick. So I say to each his own, as long as you enjoy what you do, have fun! oh … and play Frogger, it’s fun… trust me!
Brian Pudden