Future classics

[AMANIAC]

What recently released games (last 2 or 3 years) do you think will be recognise as classics in a couple of years? One of my suggestions would be cod4, but what else do you suggest?[/b]

 

[De-Ting]

I consider classics to be innovative games that either introduce a new concept or perfect it. So CoD4 would be a classic multiplayer game.

MGS4 and Uncharted I refer to as classic movie games for their unprecedented cinematic quality.

 

[Green_Lantern]

Bioshock will probably be remembered for a long time, and possibly Mass Effect for its great conversation tool.

 

[Diabolus]

Oblivion. First true next gen game.

 

[Kijan]

Classic? I'd say Little Big Planet, Super Mario Galaxy (it's the pinnacle of platforming for me), Bioshock, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Mass Effect.

 

[ZankerH]

Mass Effect, Portal, MGS4.

 

[PsionicSoldier]

Portal will easily be a classic. Period.

 

[Tylzen]

Portal
MGS4
Little big Planet

 

[used44]

No one's mentioned Halo 3? That's the pinnacle of online gaming. Everything from the matchmaking to the file-sharing is near-perfect and lots of games will be building on those in the future.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

No one's mentioned Halo 3? That's the pinnacle of online gaming. Everything from the matchmaking to the file-sharing is near-perfect and lots of games will be building on those in the future.

No. I mean, sure the ranked matchmaking is pretty good, but the fact that you can't choose which level you want or set any rules without being forced to only play with friends detracts from the whole experience.

 

[AMANIAC]

The COD4 ranking in system is much more rewarding and less mean (i lost points in halo 3 everytime my connection crashed and i was chucked out of the game, that happened a lot, but now my connection's better).

 

[spanky1113]

Peggle will go down as a modern day BubbleBuster.

Portal will be a cult classic forever.

I'm sure Oblivion will be seen as a great step in the right direction for next gen and adventure/rpg games.

Fallout 3 will be remembered as a great adventure game with a great replayability. If it wasn't such a highly promoted game, it would go down as a cult classic like the first 2 Fallouts, but it's too popular to.

 

[ZankerH]

No one's mentioned Halo 3? That's the pinnacle of online gaming. Everything from the matchmaking to the file-sharing is near-perfect and lots of games will be building on those in the future.

Look at the existing old online FPS games that are still being played. They're not viewed as "classics", they don't have a "cult following"...just an army of drooling fanboys. I'm not saying it makes the game any worse (lol MMOs), but making a legendary game is not about a multiplayer experience that lasts forever, it's about making those few hours (or a few dozen hours, in the case of mass effect/oblivion) of singleplayer content good enough to really leave a lasting impression and replay value.

 

[Kiristo]

While I disagree with Zanker's opinion on multiplayer gaming, I don't think that Halo 3 is a classic. The first Halo, maybe, but the 2 sequels don't provide enough of a significant change in gameplay to warrant being better than the first in my opinion. Call of Duty 4 on the other hand, made some great improvements to multiplayer and will be played for awhile because it's a good game and fun, not just because of fanboys, like Counterstrike. I still am iffy as to whether COD4 would be a classic though.

 

[Kijan]

While I disagree with Zanker's opinion on multiplayer gaming, I don't think that Halo 3 is a classic. The first Halo, maybe, but the 2 sequels don't provide enough of a significant change in gameplay to warrant being better than the first in my opinion. Call of Duty 4 on the other hand, made some great improvements to multiplayer and will be played for awhile because it's a good game and fun, not just because of fanboys, like Counterstrike. I still am iffy as to whether COD4 would be a classic though.

If I'd have to pinpoint a FPS classic I'd go for the new Left 4 Dead, Half Life 2 and etc.

 

[jc00l]

Halo 3 WILL be remembered. why? because its part of a great trilogy. Back to the future 2 sucked and 3 wasn't nearly as good as the first but we still remember them. Halo 3 wasn't as good as Halo, but was better then halo 2 imo. honestly all three were good games though that will stand the test of time.

 

[ZankerH]

If I'd have to pinpoint a FPS classic I'd go for the new Left 4 Dead, Half Life 2 and etc.

Maybe it's just me, but somehow the very idea of another first person shooter being a "classic" revolts me. Especially if it's claiming that status because of an army of "hardcore" gamers whose life revolves around shooting people in the head over the internet, thereby "pwning" them. Again, this is just my personal opinion, but I feel that the more sophisticated games, either through deeper game mechanics, storyline presentation, or more engaging gameplay, are much more appropriate for such a title.

To summarise, the criteria used are as follows:

• Regarding gameplay, the game has to have at least, at the very least, minutely more involving gameplay than "shoot bad guys, collect weapons and ammo for them".
• Deeper, more sophisticated gameplay that allows for more a greater variation in playing styles contributes positively, even if the learning curse is increased significantly as a result
• The storyline is, of course, significant, but what's even more important is it's presentation and how it blends into the game.
• Replay value - after completing the main storyline, if the game ends, there should be enough variance in how it can be completed so it's worth playing it a few more times. If the game doesn't end afterwards, the game world should be sufficiently filled with things to do that it's interesting to keep playing with it for a while.

Thinking about this, I've compiled the following small list of the mainstream games I've played that fit my criteria:

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which, with the appropriate selection of add-ons and community modifications, provides not only a very an excellently worked-out setting, compelling RPG system and an engaging storyline, but also an incredibly large open world full of stuff to do.
• Mass Effect, for taking the concept of a hack&slash dungeon RPG and putting it into a sci-fi environment, and doing to more successfully than many other attempts. Also, the return of dialogue trees and other improvements to NPC interaction.
• Grant Theft Auto: San Andreas, for pretty much being the best in all aspects mentioned at Oblivion until it's release. Although the setting is not entirely to my taste, I've nevertheless decided to include it for the sake of minimal objectivity, and the other features redeem this surely insignificant drawback.
• Victoria (An Empire Under the Sun, Revolutions, Victoria Improvements Project), a very deep grand strategy game focusing on the Victorian Age from the mid-19th century to the post-WWI era, basically allowing for the control, in great detail, of almost any then-existent countries for what amounts to almost a century. As for the storyline, you pretty much create your own. You could, of course, through experience, follow the historical line more or less precisely, but exploring alternate history is just as entertaining.

In conclusion, I'd just like to again point out that while some of the modern online FPS games are widely popular, it's not the kind of "popular" that makes them classics. Look at the state of the modern pop-music, for example - can you truly believe that any of it will at some point in the future be evaluated next to Wagner and Bach's works - many of which were considered to be what we know as "pop" in their time? Today we're seeing a rapid polarisation of the gaming market into three distinct directions - the casual gaming market, the FPS twitch-gaming market and the "other" market that more or less aims to follow the criteria outlined in the beginning of this post.

 

[Kiristo]

^ I didn't write that, Zanker. I don't think anything recent, FPS-wise is revolutionary or will be a "classic." Max Payne was the last classic shooter in my opinion, but it wasn't even FPS.

 

[TheNesMan]

Portal's an insta-classic, not a future classic.

 

[lokness]

No one's mentioned Halo 3? That's the pinnacle of online console gaming. Everything from the matchmaking to the file-sharing is near-perfect and lots of games will be building on those in the future.

Fixed.

Portal is a no brainer aswell as Shadow of the Collosus, but other then that i cant really think of anything recent that warrant a 'classic' title.

I know, there a slew of awesome titles recently but non of them are enough to be a classic. IMO, a classic title has to do something new/revolutionary. [/b]