I’m replaying Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter and it amazes me that the game has held up for so long. After thinking about it for a bit, and rewriting this entry more than once, I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what technology the game uses, whether or not your board game pieces are made out of pewter, or if the game comes with a secret decoder ring. What matters most is the game itself or more specifically:

Is the game fun to play today? And remember that meaning changes every 24 hours.

This may seem like something obvious, but so many companies miss the boat. I see compilation CDs with several games available for play, but I shake my head when only half of them are fun to play now. They may have been fun a few years ago, when the technology or technique was new at the time, but many just don’t cut the mustard. I see polls for Golden Eye (N64), citing that it should be released for the Wii. Why? Have you played the game recently? I absolutely loved it when it was released. The multi-player games were quick and exhilarating. I played that game with my brother-in-law until my eyes were bloodshot. If you play it now with some friends, you may find it just doesn’t have any appeal. The single player mode is marginally better; the missions are still challenging but it lacks a certain panache. After an hour of game play, you’ll probably be checking your watch or thinking about how much you’d rather be helping Roger Wilco defeat The Sariens once again.

Categories: Games
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