Wed 20 Jun 2007
1:48 am
Last week, Penny Arcade scribe Tycho called for a moratorium on reviews of classic games, claiming that “there’s simply no need…for young men to toil in describing them, because these games are so elemental: they have two buttons, and one mode of movement.”
This sentiment was echoed by Jeremy Parish, who does the weekly Retro Roundup for 1up.com, a feature which rates the latest classic titles for XBLA, Virtual Console and PS Network as either “Worth It” or “Not Worth It” rather than delving into the gameplay mechanics of games which are themselves archetypes of entire genres, and assigning them scores for things like graphics and sound. By today’s standards many of these games can barely even be considered as having graphics and sound, so reviewing them based on such factors certainly seems silly.
I think, at the end of the day, two things can be said about a retro game: It has either held up well, or it hasn’t. All a retro review really needs to answer is that question and nothing more.
What do you think? Are Retro Reviews a waste of time or do you find they help you in deciding whether to buy a particular title or not?
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June 20th, 2007 at 2:02 am
Personally I don’t think it’s a waste of time. It’s funny that some have made quips about those covering Pac-man on XBLA with such comments as: OMFG, It’s Pac-man, what more is there to say?
Well, as you’ll find in my review on this site, I had plenty to say. Sure veterans are all too familiar with the premise, I took things a step further by stating the developers should have tossed in some new extras like trivia bits, interviews… something. Pac-Man CE was unquestionably one of the biggest surprises to hit XBLA this year, and even that should have incorporated some of the aforementioned bits. For someone to say retro reviews are worthless may as well be considering those of us that revisit old games in general to be a waste (see: GameFan’s Graveyard section). My guess is that these people only believe on focusing on the future and feel it’s no longer necessary to reflect on our past which brought us to where we are today.
June 20th, 2007 at 2:58 am
That’s the key to making these re-releases worthwhile I think, extra content of some form or another. That’s why for me, Virtual Console has been less than compelling.
Pac-Man is a great example. You can get the NES port of Pac-Man for $5 on the Wii or you can get the actual arcade game on XBLA with achievements and online leaderboards for $5. There’s no contest.
But even then, compared to something like Namco Museum which you can get for $10-$15, the $5 charged for individual Namco titles on XBLA seems crazy, especially since they don’t include any of the extras the Museum titles featured.
It’s unfortunate that classic collections like those are likely a thing of the past now that the individual titles can be sold at a premium.
June 20th, 2007 at 3:07 am
I especially hate that these individual titles are sold at a premium and yet fail to bring something unique to the table which makes the purchase worthwhile. On XBLA, the other redeeming factor for me are the achievements.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I agree that the releases of old games being sold on the VC and Live Arcade should not be point-scored. It’s much better to simply state whether or not a particular game is worth the price of admission (which is what we do in Sega-16′ VC round ups). I don’t see it the same as rating a game that’s bought off eBay or acquired from a friend, since it’s not a retail environment. Point scores are always going to piss someone off, but I do think they’re necessary if you’re judging a game in its proper context (like a site that only covers retro games).
June 21st, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I call bullshit. You can review a classic game just as well as you can a brand-spankin’ new one. Just because the controls are simpler or the gameplay “elemental” that means we can’t discuss it or have an opinion? Better cancel those Wii and DS reviews, too, huh? Why not just skip reviewing the new Castlevania and say “It’s Castlevania, go screw.”
The key, like all reviews, is having an articulate opinion, justifying it to the reader, and making it fun to read. Some reviewers might have trouble thinking of something to say, especially if it’s a well known game, but it can be done. Look at Alex’s fantastic review of Doom he did a while back. Weak minded writers will struggle, but that’s no reason we shouldn’t do it.
What Ken said is correct, except it should be said that rating any game with a number is pointless. We do it because it lets people get a general vibe for what we think, but it’s not like some scientific measure of enjoyment. It’s an attempt to arbitrarily describe a complex experience with a number, and it shouldn’t be taken seriously. Ever.
I’m going to go write a bunch of retro reviews now, just to piss you off.