PC Games - anyone else with me?

[Videopac]

I can't really explain why but I hold no value in old pc games except for the 1st fallout.
I think its something to do with the way PCs are evolving. Not just waiting for the next console to be released.
Perhaps its because it feels like there is no end to the games produced for PCs.
Also I've never been a big pc gamer. I played the 1st Halo, Warcraft 2, Half life and Counter strike and not for very long.
I always laugh when I see charity shops selling old pc games and always think they'd be better off just binning them.

How do people decide what they're collecting or what is even worth playing? I can only assume there isn't much call for it as it doesn't seem that people talk about it that much either.

[maD_mAN1983]

only pc games i want to get my hands on at the moment are the big box Need for Speed games, other than that i don't really want to get any of them for my collection, but that might chance in the future if i start to collect for some other game series, but i don't think that would hold much value to other then me, would also be nice to have big box of the games i used to own, but i'm not really looking for them, and they arent that many, since i mostly got copies of the games i wanted to play, but i remember having Toonstruck, Micro Machines V3, NFS III Hot Pursuit and some Might & Magic games as originals in their big boxes

[Killingbeans]

I've bought a crapload of old big box PC games lately, but I think I'm gonna sell most of them again.
They take too much space and most of them have a cheap feel to them.

I jumped from console gaming to PC gaming in the mid 90's. And then 7 years ago I jumped back to retro console gaming (still don't give a rat's ass about modern consoles). So most of the quality PC titles released from ~1993 to ~2004 are pure nostalgia to me.

I'm definitely keeping my small FPS/RTS big box collection. Stuff from 3D Realms, ID Software, Lucas Arts, Westwood and Blizzard will always have a place in my collection.

Highest on my to-get list you'll find things like: Doom II, Heretic, Heretic II, Strife, Blood, Redneck Rampage, Outlaws, C&C Red Alert and System Shock 2.

[Videopac]

Ah Doom and C&C were great on pc actually.
I dabbled with "z" too.

No urge to get them back on pc though...

[BuckoA51]

I think it's those old huge boxes that puts you off because the Amiga has the same issue and I was number 1 Amiga fanboy back in the day but now I only have a small Amiga collection. These days I just want to play the best version of a game so quite often that means PC of course.

[muppet42]

Never been all that much of a PC gamer myself. I had the Sinclair bug till the early 90's and swiftly moved onto consoles plus my Dad wasn't all that much into gaming either so not many PC games were bought. Think the only ones I ever really played were things like Keen, Netstorm and Doom.

Still got only 3 games - Grand Theft Auto, Doom Trilogy and Max Payne and haven't even played the latter :p

There are a fair few games I'd like to play though mainly after seeing internet reviews of them. Things like the big boxes and such don't bother me all that much but I have heard some of them are a pain to try to run. Things like Ripper, Phantasmagoria and other random FMV games for example look like an potentially interesting though frustrating play

[totalgridlock]

Of course there is value in old PC gaming! Sure, it might not hold the collectable status of console stuff, but the games are still worth playing and there's some damn fine stuff that never made it to other platforms. Now digital-download sites like GOG are opening a lot of folks up to playing the old PC stuff again in a ready-to-go format (i.e. minus all the messing about in DOSbox!) which might make old physical copies redundant to some, but on the other hand the increased interest makes some titles insta-collectables to people that care. Especially anything that ever came with a doorstop manual, clue-wheel and bloomin' cloth map

I grew up with PC gaming. Yes I owned a NES in my formative years and loved it to bits, but most of my gaming in the 90s and early 00s was done on PC. Classic RPGs and graphic adventures, the original wave of first-person shooters, the best RTS games, all experienced through monitor, mouse and keyboard. You mentioned Fallout, but how can you say that no other games of that era hold the same weight?

Deep breath... System Shock, Baldur's Gate, TIE Fighter, Quake, Outcast, Ultima Underworld, Planescape Torment, Day of the Tentacle, Half-Life, Command & Conquer, Deus Ex, Warcraft, Jedi Knight, Grim Fandango, Alpha Centauri, Aliens vs Predator, Wing Commander, Dungeon Keeper, Thief, Freespace 2, Age of Empires, Morrowind, Might & Magic V, Neverwinter Nights, Unreal Tournament, Diablo... just off the top of my head. Plenty to be getting on with there!

To each their own though. Leave those PC games in the charity shop, maybe some other folks would be glad to get hours of fun out of them.

On an aside, although most big-name publishers have prematurely pulled the plug on AAA PC gaming through some inane fear of piracy, a different sort of PC gaming is actually blossoming. An open platform mean low development costs and therefore plentiful, cheap indie games some of which would put a £40 Xbox 360 title to shame in the fun stakes. Along with smartphone/iOS development the indie PC market is easily the best source of new talent in the industry, just like the bedroom programmers of the 80s cut their teeth on the Spectrum and C64. Just something to think on.

[BuckoA51]

I don't really think it's fair to say most big-name publishers have left the platform either, EA, Ubisoft, Sega, Capcom, Valve, Atari and lots more still put out PC versions of their games. Look at Skyrim, one of the most popular games of last year and the PC version completely utterly blows the console versions away.

[UltraMagnus]

I used to be a bit of a PC gamer mid to late 90s. Back when PC gaming really offerd something different. Xwing vs Tiefighter, Monkey island, Full Throttle. Now I get everything I need out of consoles. PC gaming just does not hold any appeal anymore and to me the games just dont feel special enought to collect.

I got rid of all mine after Things like windows 95 versions and Dos versions being a tota pain to get running. I know some people say its easy but thats not the point, I want to put a game on and know it runs, no messing.

At least if I have a bunch of Snes or N64 games I know I can drag out the machine and be able to play all of them no probllem. I just find the idea of collecting games for a platform that constantly outgrows its own games and makes them obsolete a bit pointless.

I dont want to keep downloading Programs patches, and having to configure settings to get games working that worked ten years ago on the same platfrorm.

PC gaming is no longer for me.

[Videopac]

I got rid of all mine after Things like windows 95 versions and Dos versions being a tota pain to get running. I know some people say its easy but thats not the point, I want to put a game on and know it runs, no messing.
At least if I have a bunch of Snes or N64 games I know I can drag out the machine and be able to play all of them no probllem.

Exactly.

I also found that games like counter strike that are continuously getting upgrades that the game out grew the capabilities of my pc.

and I never played it again...

[adam763]

PC games are old-hat (at least, that's how they feel)
I used to own the original Half Life on PC and at the time I loved it, but consoles are for games, PC's are for work!
The only PC games I 'play' are titles that aren't for offer on other systems (I occasionally play No Limits -a roller coaster sim- a game that simply wouldn't work too well on a console, on the PC).

[BuckoA51]

I

used to be a bit of a PC gamer mid to late 90s. Back when PC gaming really offerd something different.

PC Gaming DOES offer a lot that's different and a lot that is better, as other posters have said the indie scene alone far eclipses anything on consoles.

PC games are old-hat (at least, that's how they feel)

How can a version of the same game that runs with better graphics, a smoother frame rate and more features be old hat?

Most PC games these days are install, whack in a 360 controller and play, easy as that. Any that aren't you just use XPadder.

I sort of see the argument about not being able to instantly play older PC games. Getting DOSBox to work for retro games isn't that difficult though, and all retro gaming is a hassle in some ways. How many HDTV's properly support retro consoles for instance? Zero. For me its definitely those big ugly boxes that stop me building up a bigger collection. Collecting floppy based titles is also a pain since floppies degrade and most PC's now don't even come with a floppy drive.

Only barrier to PC gaming is price, you'd probably want to shell out £600 to £800 for a really good gaming machine (assuming you're into modern and retro), but if you do, you not only get access to the very best indie games, a colossal back catalog, MMO's and emulators you also get access to versions of modern games that are so far ahead of the console versions in terms of graphics, frame rate and often features that there's simply no competition. Top it all off PC versions are normally cheaper too. All you need is a HDMI cable long enough to get to your TV and the PC is easily the best platform for modern games

[UltraMagnus]

I

used to be a bit of a PC gamer mid to late 90s. Back when PC gaming really offerd something different.

PC Gaming DOES offer a lot that's different and a lot that is better, as other posters have said the indie scene alone far eclipses anything on consoles.

PC games are old-hat (at least, that's how they feel)

How can a version of the same game that runs with better graphics, a smoother frame rate and more features be old hat?

Most PC games these days are install, whack in a 360 controller and play, easy as that. Any that aren't you just use XPadder.

I sort of see the argument about not being able to instantly play older PC games. Getting DOSBox to work for retro games isn't that difficult though, and all retro gaming is a hassle in some ways. How many HDTV's properly support retro consoles for instance? Zero. For me its definitely those big ugly boxes that stop me building up a bigger collection. Collecting floppy based titles is also a pain since floppies degrade and most PC's now don't even come with a floppy drive.

Only barrier to PC gaming is price, you'd probably want to shell out £600 to £800 for a really good gaming machine (assuming you're into modern and retro), but if you do, you not only get access to the very best indie games, a colossal back catalog, MMO's and emulators you also get access to versions of modern games that are so far ahead of the console versions in terms of graphics, frame rate and often features that there's simply no competition. Top it all off PC versions are normally cheaper too. All you need is a HDMI cable long enough to get to your TV and the PC is easily the best platform for modern games

Who cares about all the indie games when I can break out my Snes/PC egine and instantly play 100's of far superior games than any indie game. As for Emulators, no matter the extra options and so forth they are a completely diluted experience compared to banging in a cartridge and flipping the switch and playing it in its original form.

As for the HDTV thing, I have never had a problem. Scart box with an RGB on off switch cures any problems with older consoles.

As for comparing PC's to modern day consoles. You talk about framerate and graphics and saying its the best platform for modern games. I guess you are right, in fact I am going to start up my PC and play some games now.

Super Mario Galaxy
Mariokart
Twilight Princess
Skyward Sword
New Super mario bros
Motorstorm
Uncharted
God of War
Metal Gear Solid
Gran Turismo
Forza Motorsport
Little big planet
Ratchet and Clank

What? you mean I cant play any of those classics plus dozens more on the best platform for modern gaming.

Whats that you say £600 to £800 for a good PC, but I can get all 3 modern consoles that actually play the games I want to play.I have to admit, I am not convinced.

[argan1985]

I play only PC games...and I'm still in the process of re-collecting a lot of games that I used to have, but for some reason sold. Only buying complete big-boxed games.

[Tyron]

I tend to play quite a lot of PC games. Real-time strategies are the most obvious choice - but I've put about 300 hours into each of the Total War games.

As far as collecting - no real interest. Unless it was a big game or I collect the series.

[BuckoA51]

Who cares about all the indie games when I can break out my Snes/PC egine and instantly play 100's of far superior games than any indie game.

Anyone who cares about gaming cares about modern games, there's just as much good stuff going forward as going backward. You can't simply look to the past all the time. Indie games are not all simple, throwaway titles. Things like Minecraft show that indie gaming can be as big as big budget AAA titles. Games like Dear Esther push innovation and new ideas in a way that you simply do not get on closed platforms such as games consoles.

As for the HDTV thing, I have never had a problem. Scart box with an RGB on off switch cures any problems with older consoles..

No, it doesn't, not even close. There isn't a HDTV on the market that doesn't garble retro consoles. Gash deinterlacing, drop shadows messed up, rubbish scaling, jerky scrolling, spiked input lag. Fine if you don't notice it you're obviously not a perfectionist as me but it's definitely there. Ask anyone who's owned a CRT which they prefer.

As for Emulators, no matter the extra options and so forth they are a completely diluted experience compared to banging in a cartridge and flipping the switch and playing it in its original form.

So is playing an original console on a HDTV without something like an XRGB. A properly configured NES emulator for instance is way better than trying to hook up a composite NES to a HDTV and putting up with awful composite handling AND the problems associated with 240p material on a HDTV set. Both approaches are a compromise of course.

As for comparing PC's to modern day consoles. You talk about framerate and graphics and saying its the best platform for modern games. I guess you are right, in fact I am going to start up my PC and play some games now.

How does listing a heap of console exclusives prove that the PC isn't a great platform. In fact the first 5 you listed are Wii exclusives, does that make the PS3 rubbish? By your logic then, I'll just fire up my Wii/PS3/360 and play

Trackmania 2
STALKER
Battlefield 2142
Dear Esther
Command and Conquer Generals
Company of Heroes
Magika
Starcraft 2
World of Warcraft
Jamestown
Recettear
Trackmania United
Dawn of the Ancients
Rome Total War
Shogun Total War
Total War: Shogun 2
Frozen Synapse
SpaceChem
Anno 2070 and Terraria
To the Moon

What, I can't play any of those plus dozens more on any of the consoles? Plus all the games that are out for consoles and the PC play significantly worse than they do on the PC. Oh I think I'll fire up Left 4 Dead and download a bunch of user levels, what, I can't? Oh well I'll play Skyrim I hear the HD texture pack is out, what's that, PC only? Perpetual testing kit for Portal 2? Maybe you'll get that on PS3 in a month or three, if you're lucky and Valve can clear it with Sony's legal department. Don't want the kids stumbling on any penis shaped levels do we?

Whats that you say £600 to £800 for a good PC, but I can get all 3 modern consoles that actually play the games I want to play.I have to admit, I am not convinced.

Sounds more like you have your head in the sand to be honest. The PC is a fantastic games platform, easily at the cutting edge of graphics and creative new gameplay. I own all three current gen consoles and use them all and enjoy them all, each offers something different over the others but if a game is multi-platform it's going to be best on PC and we're not just talking minor differences. The range of exclusives is more than match for any of the consoles out there. The likes of PS3 can't even claim to be that much easier to use any more, what with huge patches and forced hard disk installs.

[maD_mAN1983]

i agree with everything BuckoA51 have said now, and for retro consoles you need to have a old crt tv, looks better, and you can play lightgun games with no problem on them

[UltraMagnus]

Who cares about all the indie games when I can break out my Snes/PC egine and instantly play 100's of far superior games than any indie game.

Anyone who cares about gaming cares about modern games, there's just as much good stuff going forward as going backward. You can't simply look to the past all the time. Indie games are not all simple, throwaway titles. Things like Minecraft show that indie gaming can be as big as big budget AAA titles. Games like Dear Esther push innovation and new ideas in a way that you simply do not get on closed platforms such as games consoles.

As for the HDTV thing, I have never had a problem. Scart box with an RGB on off switch cures any problems with older consoles..

No, it doesn't, not even close. There isn't a HDTV on the market that doesn't garble retro consoles. Gash deinterlacing, drop shadows messed up, rubbish scaling, jerky scrolling, spiked input lag. Fine if you don't notice it you're obviously not a perfectionist as me but it's definitely there. Ask anyone who's owned a CRT which they prefer.

As for Emulators, no matter the extra options and so forth they are a completely diluted experience compared to banging in a cartridge and flipping the switch and playing it in its original form.

So is playing an original console on a HDTV without something like an XRGB. A properly configured NES emulator for instance is way better than trying to hook up a composite NES to a HDTV and putting up with awful composite handling AND the problems associated with 240p material on a HDTV set. Both approaches are a compromise of course.

As for comparing PC's to modern day consoles. You talk about framerate and graphics and saying its the best platform for modern games. I guess you are right, in fact I am going to start up my PC and play some games now.

How does listing a heap of console exclusives prove that the PC isn't a great platform. In fact the first 5 you listed are Wii exclusives, does that make the PS3 rubbish? By your logic then, I'll just fire up my Wii/PS3/360 and play

.

No it does not, and that was my point. You cant say the PC is the best way to play modern games because a lot of this gens games are unavailable on PC. Same goes for any single console.

If you enjoy PC gaming thats great, I have listed my personal reasons for not liking PC gaming. Thats my opinion. I prefer consoles, but I would never be presumptious enough to say that one system was the only way to play modern games, because obviously people who enjoy PC gaming cant get what they want on consoles.

We can argue the pros and cons of each, Its just a ridiculous statement to say that the only way to properly play modern games is with a PC.

[JoeMD]

Wow. A lot of venom in this thread....

Anyway, I've been PC gaming for about 10 years now, at least seven of those exclusively. When the Dreamcast faded away I had no interest in getting a PS2 or N64 so I looked at the PC for my gaming fill. Titles like Deus Ex, Max Payne, Hitman, Myst, Neverwinter Nights, FarCry and similar really impressed me. I love those games and - as far as I know - they were all originally developed with the PC in mind. Discarding the PC as a gaming platform, IMO, is really discarding some truly brilliant games. Yes, many of them also appear on consoles but as BuckoA51 said many of the console ports of PC games just don't hold up as well. Look at Dragon Age for instance. The PC version is better in every respect and when BioWare tried to make the sequel more console friendly it was something of a flop. However, it's also true it can work the other way around.

While I do really enjoy console gaming, PC gaming is just as important to me. I love consoles for platformers, shoot-em-ups, beat em ups and so on but the PC is brilliant for RPGs, RTS, FPS and adventure games. So I guess it kind of depends what you’re after. However, it is true that with a 360 PC controller that the PC is now pretty much brilliant for anything. I've Sonic Generations for PC and absolutely LOVE it but I realise it'd be naff without the 360 pad.

As for collecting, I don't really collect for PC. As someone else mentioned, services like GOG mean I can easily play older games where as with consoles part of the fun is playing the games on the original system. Having said that though I've not got rid of any of the PC games I have bought in the past and I do go back and play some of those older titles. So I guess, in a way, you could say I have a PC collection as I've kept all my older titles and continue to buy new ones. However, unlike consoles, I don't actively source old games for PC.

I guess it comes down to personal preference and what kind of games you enjoy, but for me each system and platform has its strengths and weaknesses so you can't really say one is better than the other. If you PREFER one over the other then that's fine, but I honestly don't think there is an out-and-out superior platform.

[BuckoA51]

Its just a ridiculous statement to say that the only way to properly play modern games is with a PC.

Which is a statement I never made, I said "the PC is easily the best platform for modern games", which is true, since it has the most horsepower and graphical grunt, and the old issues of configuring games, controllers etc, while they haven't disappeared entirely, are much less of an issue nowadays than they were in the past.

agree with everything BuckoA51 have said now, and for retro consoles you need to have a old crt tv,

I'm actually pretty happy with my CRT-Free setup (XRGB3 and DVDO Edge combo) although it's taken a lot of money and time to get from being happy with a CRT to being happy with a flat screen. I freely admit I'm a perfectionist, the point I was making was it's hypocritical to write off emulation and then go play the real system on a display that does a terrible job at emulating a CRT.

As you stated though, light-guns don't work, and Composite still looks terrible. My RGB modded PC engine doesn't work either. I'm hoping to get the new XRGB Mini at some point soon which will tackle that. Since I can't afford an RGB NES I've pretty much shelved that in favor of emulation, I mean you can have this with a HDTV:-


(looks even worse when it scrolls)

or this with an emulator:-


(also scrolls perfectly)

Maybe the top one is more authentic but I know which I'd prefer to play

Anyway, running the odd emulator is just a little sweetner to the PC deal (yes the Wii has Virtual Console but it leaves a lot to be desired), I think the main gist of the thread was collecting PC games. Now that they all come in nice uniform boxes I've no problem collecting them, sadly of course the PC seems to be the platform that's up with all the newest trends in gaming even the bad ones, and more and more PC games, even the AA or AAA ones like Trackmania 2 are download only.