Whenever i rage about a modern game being buggy, regardless if we should expect better or not, i just go and watch an AVGN episode.
I dont want this thread to turn into a "but in this day and age, quality has improved and so has our standards"..
Yes, i know. Every game SHOULD be bugfree, polished to perfection, that is what we all want, that is what the developers should always strive for.
No question about that. This thread isnt talking about bugs, its talking about the main game itself, and what it is.
But now, when things are the way they are, when a game has been released, it is what it is.
The thing i've noticed with myself is, i can stop playing a game because of a single tiny issue that grinds in my mind (such as the rebel problem in Victoria 2, or the magic balance in Elemental, or the horrible AI in the Total War games).
But then, you step back to look at the larger picture, watch an AVGN episode and afterwards you realize, Holy SHIT, we're so lucky to have these modern games, even if they are shitty by todays standards, they are miles ahead of every platform-copy of the 8-16bit era. Miles and miles ahead.
Now i know someone will reply and talk about how MoM is the best game in the world and still is, but the fact is, it isnt.
Those old games were amazing, when they came out. Not anymore. Our memories sweeten them to mask the issues those games had as well, as all games have.
I'm struggling not to disagree with myself here, i want to take the classical "noo!! old games were amazing, today they suck, only gfx and nothing else", but i must restrain myself, it simply isnt true. We've come such a long way in gameplay too, not to mention in the interface department.
I guess my main point is just that, the standard of quality has been raised skyhigh, and its GOOD because it forces progress towards even higher quality, but for us gamers, it helps to step back and realize that even with the issues, the games we enjoy today are so incredibly far ahead of the games in our memories.
I played MoM yesterday. It was horrible, not at all as i remembered. I also played Alpha Centauri and MOO2. They sucked. I loved them, i adored them, at that time. But today, i couldnt stand more than half an hour.
We've come such a long way, lets not let our memories cloud the truth.