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So Maybe They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To

This weekend was spent playing a game that, in my ever so humble opinion, is one of the greatest games of all time. And before the cries of “Mario 64″ or “Halo” or “Half-Life” ring out, I have to say it was none of these. Friday night saw me dusting off my Dreamcast for a trip down memory lane, and the game that not only went in first, but stayed there, was Soul Calibur.

Why, in this day and age, in a period of the year where we’re being inundated with the publishing world’s brightest hopes, that a four year old game could regain and hold my interest is beyond me. Granted, a great game is a great game, but even recent returns to Mario 64 after having played Mario Sunshine left me no chocie but to acknowledge that I had been remembering the game through rose coloured glasses.

It got me wondering whether a game’s brilliance has as much to do with the climate in which it is released as its actual content. If you think about it, in 1996, I guess everyone was going nuts over Quake or Duke 3D (I’m only guessing here, I mainly played on consoles at the time) and where the loungeroom was concerned, mediochre offering after mediochre offering was leading the Saturn into a rapid downwards spiral, with the Playstation holding court because nobody else could. The Nintendo 64 arrives, and with it Mario 64. Now the way Mario 64 lives in my memory is this: lush environments, a perfect camera, and a game that hooked you from the very first level. A recent return to it found me battling with bland environments, a frustrating camera and a game that felt vaguely familiar, but at the same time dated, and certainly bettered by other titles.

That can’t take away from it’s brilliance at the time though, and can only lead me to conclude that while it was as perfect as could be for it’s time, the evolutiuon of this industry and the platforming genre (if, it can be argued, it has evolved at all) has definitely improved on Miyamoto’s perfection, although the improvements have been incremental, rather than all at once, hence I guess the reason that no single game has captured the attention of the gaming world in the way Mario 64 did.

So cue Soul Calibur’s insertion into my Dreamcast, but there’s none of the dissapointment, or “I remember this being different” to be found here. The game remains competitive, graphically, in it’s control system, in any aspect you could care to mention. Now maybe I’m being biased, as aside from an attrocious launch, rarely was I ever to be found saying a bad word about Sega and their last great hope. But the revival of my rivalry with my brother in our Maxi/Cervantes hour-long battles is an experience that I’ve missed without really realising it. It was like riding a bike really, the second that controller slid back into my hands we were away, and while the combos are perhaps not quite as flamboyant as they once were, everything is in place, everything responds as it should, the game is as polished as can be and I’ve not a complaint about it at all.

Rumour has it Soul Calibur 2 has arrived on our shores and is now to be found in our arcades; an event I greet with some trepidation. For me, Soul Calibur transcends genres, eras, formats, whatever and gets right to the heart of gaming. What if it will never be like this again? What if the frustration that has been building in recent months is only a taste of things to come? Can Soul calibur 2 really have the impact, let alone be as important a game as it’s predecessor was?

I certainly hope so, but I doubt it. Where before there was one piece of hardware to concentrate on, there are now three. The balance was down to an art, and regardless of whether or not you played fighting games, you played and loved this one. In Soul Calibur 2 there’s an element of surprise to be had for me, and in wondering if it can be done again, I suppose I’m wondering if games can still have the impact on me they once did. Perhaps I’m even looking at their effects through the same rose coloured glasses that Mario was viewed with; it’s as likely an explanation as any. But I do know these days I spend more time with my guitar in my hands than a controller or a mouse. I’d like nothing better than to see the instrument replaced without a moment’s hesitation, but if something doesn’t come along soon then nothing will get the chance.

I honestly don’t think this love affair with gaming has anything to do with getting older, and it sure as hell isn’t anything to do with getting wiser. I suppose priorities are changing though, and the kind of irrational and irresponsible choices that are required to be made in order to stay up all night playing a game are getting harder to make.

A case of game-related insomnia could be my saving grace, though for now a night of sound sleep is all that’s on the menu.

  posted by splash · at 1:47 pm · filed under Editorials