They do not make them like they used to

Few weeks ago I picked up some games I used to play decade or so ago from GOG and Steam.

Master of Magic, which I never actually owned as full version previously. What I had was magazine promo 3 inch diskette with demo version of Master of Magic. Due to free time limitations I was under back then I never even got my fill of that demo. So it stayed as something on my 'to do' list, to be done when I get a chance.

Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition and Baldur's Gate 2 with Throne of Bhaal, also Enhanced Edition, from Steam. While I did actually play sequel quite a bit, all I got to see of first one is Candlekeep. It was during 30 minutes prior to 8-man team match of some FPS, I do not remember which one it was, and as we were in LAN internet cafe and waiting for couple guys to arrive, we were checking out some other games. Among others, I saw Baldur's Gate, and did not expect much as previous computer DnD games I tried (stuff from 80's) were pretty bad from my point of view. RPG's I played back then were on Sega Master System (Y's and Phantasy Star), Nintendo, Super Nintendo, then Playstation, which was last system I bothered to buy as I switched exclusively to PC gaming as of 97.


Anyway, first thing that came to my mind was to compare Civilization 5 to Master of Magic. And MOM wins, hands down. In 20 years of making Civilization games, not only did they not improve AI, but it looks like they got lazier and stupider. This is not something that would be noticeable by anybody who cares about what game looks like, rather then how it actually works. Play Civ 2 for few hours, on anything higher than default difficulty, then try same thing with Civ 5 and you should see exactly what I mean.

Another very easy comparison is original Deus Ex, versus either of its sequels. Newer ones are utter garbage. I actually purchased expansion for new Deus Ex and gave up on it as I really do not find more crawling through air ducts any fun.

I also prefer original BG2 to 'Enhanced' version. Quite frankly, they added far too much low quality content, which dilutes the experience. I picked up new version due to implied bug fixes. I did not expect, nor want, bunch of modded NPC's that force interactions with very, very sub-par voice acting.

Same thing with MMO's. I am actually on hiatus from MMO's as everything out there right now is bunch of cheap copies of what worked once. Last two I tried were Warhammer Online and Star Wars Online and in neither did I even play through my free month. WOW was fun on PVP server while leveling, but endgame was pointless. Last MMO with meaningful endgame I have played was DAOC, Dark Age of Camelot, Mordred server. It was kinda like Rallos Zek on original Everquest, but better.

Modern games seem to be more about removing freedom from player, and forcing one set story. One game that went against that trend is Skyrim, but one game in half a decade is far from sufficient. Here's to hoping future brings forth something better.

Thanks to Vedmak.