Support NeoGAF

[Schmick]

God of War was released in 2005, so its a 18 year old game and is why I consider it an classic (old) game. I'm actually playing it for the first time. Started in the later half of 2022. Admittedly its taking me longer than it should (just to got to the underwater sections of the game), as I play through not just GoW1 but other games in my backlog. But what strikes me about this game is how well it plays today despite its age. The fighting is soo satisfying that when hitting those combo's it just causes me to smile all through the combat segments although some encounters can be frustrating as hell. The tension you feel when enemies spawn over and over again can be relentless especially when you find yourself against a group of Ceberus Pups. You definitely have to be smart when you fight since button mashing wont always work in your favour (and I try not to button mash anyway). There's definitely a lot to learn in the fighting with all the different control combinations to pull of a variety of moves.

I think its still a good looking game too.

Its a challenging game. I've had some frustrating moments. Like when I had to push a caged enemy up an incline but with every encounter with a spawned enemy it would mean I wasn't able to prop up the cage so it would slide back down the slope. It took me ages and many attempts pushing that damn cage up the hill, positioning it front of rocks whilst destroying the bad guys only to constantly die.

I suppose my only annoyance with the game is the camera.

Overall my impression of this game, playing it today in 2023, is that its at least a 9 out of 10 game from what I have played so far. This has a lot to do with the mechanics of the game and the gameplay. They both have aged so well.

 

[Punished Miku]

This also came out in 2005.

Almost all Nintendo games still hold up and have a timeless quality to them.

I enjoy a lot of older games still, which is why I appreciate BC. It's easy to forget how similar most larger games are today until you look to the past.

 

[adamsapple]

God of War 2 is the best of the original trilogy IMO.

Best mix of story + combat mechanics.

 

[Schmick]

God of War 2 is the best of the original trilogy IMO.

Best mix of story + combat mechanics.

As soon as I finish GoW1 I'll be straight onto that game.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I think there are plenty that still hold up pretty well. Half Life 1&2 would be my picks.

 

[mxbison]

The original trilogy definitely holds up well.

 

[Kacho]

All I remember is the last boss in GoW being the most rage inducing thing ever lol

 

[Punished Miku]

All I remember is the last boss in GoW being the most rage inducing thing ever lol

I made it to Ares and stopped there lol. I never do that.

 

[SmokedMeat]

There’s a lot of games from that generation that hold up today. I couldn’t say God of War is the best, but it’s up there.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Baldurs Gate 2 for me.

 

[Trogdor1123]

All I remember is the last boss in GoW being the most rage inducing thing ever lol

I don’t remember it being that bad… what am I forgetting?

 

[diffusionx]

Metroid Prime remastered shows just how well those early 00 games hold up. Like F-Zero GX could come out tomorrow exactly like it is now and be a 10/10 game.

 

[TheDraconian]

And many others

 

[TheGodfather07]

There are many. God of war is one of them for sure. Still just as fun to play today as it was then. Gameplay is so satisfying and the old school feeling of constant progression has aged finely in the modern age of bloated open world games.

 

[stn]

This also came out in 2005.

Almost all Nintendo games still hold up and have a timeless quality to them.

I enjoy a lot of older games still, which is why I appreciate BC. It's easy to forget how similar most larger games are today until you look to the past.

This right here. Though God of War 1 is still awesome and holds up (2 is better though).

 

[Hayabusa83]

I preferred Kratos when he was vengeance and retribution personified.

 

[Kacho]

I don’t remember it being that bad… what am I forgetting?

I haven't played the game in almost 20 years so I can't remember specifics. Just that fight was incredibly frustrating at the time.

 

[ACESHIGH]

For some reason I can't consider anything PS1 and up old. I'd argue super Mario 3 is the best old game of all time.

 

[Kataploom]

Hated it... one of the worst games I've played in a while, too many design decisions I hated, too much RNG, the collisions system buggy as hell, combat was... serviceable until all of previously mentioned hit it, but I was coming from Bayo 2 so by comparison it felt several notches below my expectations.

It's a game where you die because of devs trolling or lack of play testing more than because of actual difficulty, how in the fucking earth did that game get a sequel? HOW?!

I mean, it feels like just hating on the game, yeah I hated it and only kept going because it was short but those were the longer 10 hours I've had playing a game... But I'm told too many people felt the same about the things I didn't like and that GOW2 is way less annoying (hopefully, less buggy too) so I'm gonna give it a chance this year probably, so I can get up to date and play the reboots.

 

[Punished Miku]

how in the fucking earth did that game get a sequel? HOW?!

At the time it had many elements that were pretty much unheard of on a disc. Instant start from the start screen with no loading. Transitions in levels that hide loading was not really done well before this. Highly cinematic. Violent. Nudity. Combat was pretty solid too, if not a bit too casual.

Of course it got a sequel.

 

[RaduN]

Mgs2
Mgs3
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 3
Devil May Cry 3
Ninja Gaiden
Final Fantasy XII
Resident Evil 4 (gc)
Dead or Alive 2
Soul Calibur (dc)
Street Fighter Zero 3
Metal Slug

...and soo many more "classic" games that are as amazing as they were day 1.

 

[TintoConCasera]

First GoW is kinda average imo, the second one I enjoyed much more.

Anyway, how old are you OP? You should check out more modern games, any good videogame from 1990 onwards is perfectly playable and fun to me.

Baldurs Gate 2 for me.

And it's not nostalgia. Beat it for the first time last year and the story, characters, sidequest, music and combat encounters... all amazing.

 

[Kataploom]

At the time it had many elements that were pretty much unheard of on a disc. Instant start from the start screen with no loading. Transitions in levels that hide loading was not really done well before this. Highly cinematic. Violent. Nudity. Combat was pretty solid too, if not a bit too casual.

Of course it got a sequel.

Well, that makes sense to me... Also standards get higher by amount of time one spend playing games, there are design decisions that I hated but I could get used to them... The buggy collisions? I got some white hair just because of it. Also, I'm very used to play Nintendo games from that era and before mostly, so by comparison it makes me appreciate how absurdly polished they've always been (i.e.: I couldn't believe Tales of Symphonia and Twilight Princess belonged in the same console generation lol)

I don’t remember it being that bad… what am I forgetting?

It was a annoying having to come back to him, but it was ok the first fight... Saving the family from Kratos clones? That's completely BS... But having to go back to Ares after that was another level of BS...

 

[intbal]

No.
Moon Patrol is better.

 

[CatLady]

No, I have other favorites.
Released 2003

Released 2001

Released 2007

 

[OZ9000]

No, I have other favorites.
Released 2003

Released 2001

Released 2007

Halo 1 was good for it's time but it has such frustrating level design. Everything looks the same. No clear sense of direction.

Halo 3 > Halo Reach > Infinite > 4 > 2 >1 IMO.

God Of War 1 was absolutely fantastic. God of War 2 is even better. I think both of these games deliver a much better experience to God of War than the latest remakes.

 

[casnix]

 

[chinoXL]

GOW3 was easily my favorite...those boss fights were crazy!! just the first one with Poseidon had me geek'n out lol

 

[vodka-bull]

Hope you‘re playing it upscaled on PS3. I just bought the GoW Collection last month and I‘m about to replay the entire trilogy as well

 

[Shut0wen]

God of War was released in 2005, so its a 18 year old game and is why I consider it an classic (old) game. I'm actually playing it for the first time. Started in the later half of 2022. Admittedly its taking me longer than it should (just to got to the underwater sections of the game), as I play through not just GoW1 but other games in my backlog. But what strikes me about this game is how well it plays today despite its age. The fighting is soo satisfying that when hitting those combo's it just causes me to smile all through the combat segments although some encounters can be frustrating as hell. The tension you feel when enemies spawn over and over again can be relentless especially when you find yourself against a group of Ceberus Pups. You definitely have to be smart when you fight since button mashing wont always work in your favour (and I try not to button mash anyway). There's definitely a lot to learn in the fighting with all the different control combinations to pull of a variety of moves.

I think its still a good looking game too.

Its a challenging game. I've had some frustrating moments. Like when I had to push a caged enemy up an incline but with every encounter with a spawned enemy it would mean I wasn't able to prop up the cage so it would slide back down the slope. It took me ages and many attempts pushing that damn cage up the hill, positioning it front of rocks whilst destroying the bad guys only to constantly die.

I suppose my only annoyance with the game is the camera.

Overall my impression of this game, playing it today in 2023, is that its at least a 9 out of 10 game from what I have played so far. This has a lot to do with the mechanics of the game and the gameplay. They both have aged so well.

Theres alot of games that are fully playable in todays standards, viewtiful joe 1 and 2, smash bros melee, outrun 2, burnout revenge, black resident evil 1 remake and so much more then god of war

 

[Sleepwalker]

No.

It's decent but no.

 

[Schmick]

First GoW is kinda average imo, the second one I enjoyed much more.

Anyway, how old are you OP? You should check out more modern games, any good videogame from 1990 onwards is perfectly playable and fun to me.


And it's not nostalgia. Beat it for the first time last year and the story, characters, sidequest, music and combat encounters... all amazing.

I'm 40 years old. I just never got round to play GoW. Im certainly looking forward to playing GoW2.

 

[Schmick]

Hope you‘re playing it upscaled on PS3. I just bought the GoW Collection last month and I‘m about to replay the entire trilogy as well

I can only play it via PS Now for PC. Perhaps one day i'll get my hands on a PS5.

 

[Captain Toad]

It's a game where you die because of devs trolling or lack of play testing more than because of actual difficulty, how in the fucking earth did that game get a sequel? HOW?!

Yeah, it doesn't take much to justify a sequel.

I mean all the game really did was amass a huge audience who considered it an instant classic, won Game of the Year and completely raised the bar at what was possible from a technical standpoint at the time.

For some reason, the publisher thought that was enough to warrant a sequel.

Perhaps if they had known you died a lot in what you consider as "totally, not your fault", they would have smartly canceled the sequel. It might have been clear then that this franchise would never work.

 

[Kataploom]

Yeah, it doesn't take much to justify a sequel.

I mean all the game really did was amass a huge audience who considered it an instant classic, won Game of the Year and completely raised the bar at what was possible from a technical standpoint at the time.

For some reason, the publisher thought that was enough to warrant a sequel.

Perhaps if they had known you died a lot in what you consider as "totally, not your fault", they would have smartly canceled the sequel. It might have been clear then that this franchise would never work.

Nah, damage was already done, but thanks for the advice

 

[touchfuzzy]

Pretty sure gaming more or less peaked design-wise in the early to late 2000's. I'm playing Metroid Prime Remastered and The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap and they'd still be amazing games if they released for the first time today.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

My game tastes lean toward retro games, and as a result I find that many classic/retro games are worth playing even today!

 

[Northeastmonk]

I remember getting the slim PS2 when this came out. It was the western Devil May Cry at the time because western games didn’t have crazy action combat like DMC. The demo disc with the Hydra battle was enough to warrant a purchase for me. DMC3 was also out around that time, so action games were doing great at the time. DMC3 peaked with the SE.

There’s a lot of replay-able games on legacy platforms. Looking back on it, the PS2 had a great couple years when the PS3 launched, especially God of War 2. The PS2 had a lot of good looking games. PS1 has some great looking graphics too.

 

[Lunarorbit]

I'm guessing we're skipping listing stuff before psx/xbox?

Wild arms, some tomb raiders, sotn, legacy of kain soul reaver, mgs, ape escape, most of final fantasy games, colony wars, twisted metal 2, suikoden 2, breath of fires, Tony hawk

 

[phant0m]

God of War II is better (and imo best in the series until 2018), so no.

Also try:
MGS 1-3
Halo: Combat Evolved
Vagrant Story
Hell, even the Goldeneye re-release holds up

 

[CGNoire]

Fuck the Haters Warrior Within is Fantastic and the best POP game.You should play that next.

 

[Schmick]

I've seen a few people mention Halo 1. And i agree that also holds up really well. I played Halo 1 on the PC in classic mode. Its hard to ignore the copy and paste level design in some areas but the combat is spot on. Learning the pro and cons of each weapon is satisfying. I was quite dismissive of the Needler until i realised it strengths against enemies with shields or enemies who were retreating to hiding spots. You really need to think about your choice of weapons in any given situation.

 

[Schmick]

This also came out in 2005.

Almost all Nintendo games still hold up and have a timeless quality to them.

I enjoy a lot of older games still, which is why I appreciate BC. It's easy to forget how similar most larger games are today until you look to the past.

Is this available on Gamepass?

 

[SpiceRacz]

Seems like this turned from an 'older games that play well' thread to a 'my favorite older games' thread.

 

[Punished Miku]

Is this available on Gamepass?

NG:B and NG2 are both available for purchase digitally. Never seen them on GP, and never seen them go on sale. But worth every penny. They're not full price.

 

[Fbh]

IMO Chrono Trigger doesn't just hold up, it's better than most modern JRPGs. The cast is great, the combat is fun, the world is interesting and the setting over multiple time periods is still unique, the music is great, the art direction is great. It has "modern" features like no random encounters and NG+. And, most importantly, unlike 99% of modern JRPG it actually has good pacing and isn't some 90 hours game with 60 hours worth of bloat.

 

[ChoosableOne]

Almost all Nintendo games still hold up and have a timeless quality to them.

Plus Fallout 1-2. They are timeless classics. I can add many games that use pixel art to this list too.

You can try Devil May Cry 1 and 3 if you liked old God Of War games. They are still viable options if you like combo based action games.

 

[RoadHazard]

It's good, but GoW2 is quite a bit better.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Lol no.

 

[tomato shrub]

Lots of 16-bit classics can still be enjoyed. PS2/GCN/XB classics might lack a few QOL features, but if their gameplay stood out back in the day and not just their graphics, gaming enthusiasts shouldn't have problems with those either imo. Getting old games to run on modern machines is more problematic than actually playing, I'd say. And any PS360 game that "aged poorly" was likely overrated/mid to begin with.