I have always been fond of good computer graphics. When I played King's Quest III, for example, I thought it was a drastic improvement over the first two games. When King's Quest IV was released, it was the first VGA title in the series and I was BLOWN AWAY. It was a full 8MB, too. Other Sierra titles of the day were quite cutting edge, such as Police Quest IV, and Space Quest IV.
Another classic was Wing Commander. Another 8MB monster, but ambitious and thrilling.
Then came Wing Commander 2... 16MB. (Try installing that on a 20MB hard drive back in the day. Phew!) It was a step up from the first game, and pushed technology further.
But then we got Wing Commander 3, and it was a CD-ROM title starring Mark Hamill, and with many other actors, and this game was so demanding on a 486 system that it seemed to make my PC melt. A Pentium 90MHz ran it like butter. I couldn't believe how much more advanced and spectacular it looked compared to any other title released at that time.
Move up to Playstation 2, and it was leaps and bounds above previous gaming titles. Around that time, PC and console titles began to have a large divide in graphics presentation and capabilities, and games like the Final Fantasy series (VIII and onward), Splinter Cell, Half-Life 2, or Crysis and FarCry were unbelievable.
If I play any of these games now, I can hardly believe how amazing these games looked when I played them, wondering then if things could get any better. But now, of course, these games are quaint and curiously low-fi.
I wonder what I will think of titles released in the last few years if I'm still around 10-15 years from now. Will these current games look like Battlefield Bad Company 2 looks compared to BF1? Or will it be like Wing Commander II vs. Horizon? I wonder.
What games did you guys play "back in the day" that blew you out of your seat? Have you tried playing them again recently? If so, has your perception of the look of the game changed since it was released?
Another classic was Wing Commander. Another 8MB monster, but ambitious and thrilling.
Then came Wing Commander 2... 16MB. (Try installing that on a 20MB hard drive back in the day. Phew!) It was a step up from the first game, and pushed technology further.
But then we got Wing Commander 3, and it was a CD-ROM title starring Mark Hamill, and with many other actors, and this game was so demanding on a 486 system that it seemed to make my PC melt. A Pentium 90MHz ran it like butter. I couldn't believe how much more advanced and spectacular it looked compared to any other title released at that time.
Move up to Playstation 2, and it was leaps and bounds above previous gaming titles. Around that time, PC and console titles began to have a large divide in graphics presentation and capabilities, and games like the Final Fantasy series (VIII and onward), Splinter Cell, Half-Life 2, or Crysis and FarCry were unbelievable.
If I play any of these games now, I can hardly believe how amazing these games looked when I played them, wondering then if things could get any better. But now, of course, these games are quaint and curiously low-fi.
I wonder what I will think of titles released in the last few years if I'm still around 10-15 years from now. Will these current games look like Battlefield Bad Company 2 looks compared to BF1? Or will it be like Wing Commander II vs. Horizon? I wonder.
What games did you guys play "back in the day" that blew you out of your seat? Have you tried playing them again recently? If so, has your perception of the look of the game changed since it was released?
