Game On: Modern video games aren’t better or worse, just different

It’s pretty easy to say video games have come a long way. It all started with a dot ping-pong’ing from one edge of an oscilloscope to another in “Tennis for Two” in 1958, and, in a matter of decades, the medium has become capable of simulating entire worlds onscreen. Elaborate stories can take shape in these imaginary realms, and players can influence the outcome.

I’ve grown a bit tired of most modern cinematic games. They use video games as a storytelling medium but rarely offer gameplay innovations. “Uncharted,” “Assassin’s Creed,” “The Witcher” and the rebooted “Tomb Raider” are a few examples – these franchises remain quite popular despite my own fatigue.

I nevertheless wonder how many third-person, action-adventure games with RPG elements will be released before people grow tired of the cliché? I could curse modern-day gaming companies for this apparent homogenization, complaining that most popular games today only represent a handful of genres.

Or I could be realistic and admit the existence of numerous trends through gaming history often done to death before being laid to rest. Just how many clones did “Mortal Kombat” spawn? And, of course, the likes of “Super Mario” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” inspired dozens of soulless imitators like “Bubsy,” “Gex” and a whole slew of games better off forgotten entirely.

These thoughts have been heavy on my mind as I witness many in the gaming community bemoan gimmicky game mechanics like loot boxes, battle-royale modes and quick-time events. Many of these individuals say video games have gone downhill over the years, but I’m not convinced they actually have.

Despite the massive cultural and technological differences, games haven’t changed much for better or for worse – they’re just different. Rushed game releases are one example. It’s no secret that many felt cheated when “Cyberpunk 2077” launched in late 2020 with numerous game-breaking bugs.

That story pales in comparison to the Atari 2600 tie-in for “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” a borderline unplayable mess that ushered in the Video Game Crash of 1983. Today, patches and bug fixes can be provided later via the internet. But about 15 years ago, a broken game was a broken game forever.

Game padding is another issue that’s changed but hasn’t gone away. In the 1990s, developers often made their products needlessly difficult to force players to replay time and again to reach the end credits. The hope was that people couldn’t rent the game from a store such as Blockbuster or Funcoland and complete it over a single weekend.

Consumers would feel more compelled to buy the game outright. Today, game padding often appears in the form of side quests and repeatedly “grinding” missions for higher power levels. It’s less punishing but just as tedious. Modern games do have their vices, though. It’s concerning how many multiplayer games today are filled with in-game cosmetic items.

And they can only be acquired with real money – “Rocket League,” “Fortnite” and “Team Fortress 2,” for example – but there’s a positive spin, too. While such systems do prey upon the weak-willed, no one’s forcing anyone to buy these meaningless items, and many such games are otherwise free to play. This is certainly no act of altruism on the part of game publishers.

The free-to-play model statistically rakes in more cash than a standard $40-$60 price tag – but nothing is stopping consumers from ignoring the cosmetics and playing many excellent multiplayer games free of charge. What’s more hilarious and strangely insulting than demolishing someone in “Fortnite” before performing the default dance over their corpse?

While I adore many retro games, when I revisit them, I often find myself frustrated by the lack of certain modern features. In-game tutorials, automatic saving, more difficulty options and more comprehensive audio and video settings are just a handful of common video game conveniences today.

On the other hand, many modern games drop the ball when it comes to features like couch co-op and hotseat modes, and the power of newer consoles has enabled developers to cut corners, resulting in poorly optimized games with lower framerates, input lag and huge file sizes. Instead of calling modern or retro gaming superior to the other, I like to dabble in the old and the new.

I subscribe to Xbox Game Pass to keep up, and I buy old Sega games released before Dreamcast’s end in 2001. I find a lot to love in old games – without realistic graphics, developers were forced to make games that were pure, unadulterated fun. On the flipside, features like loot boxes and microtransactions aren’t enough to condemn the whole industry today.

Riordan Zentler can be reached at riordanzentler@gmail.com.