It just occurred to me that there must be an entire generation of kids (they’re probably adults now) who only know Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and other classical works, by their use on Lemmings. There don’t seem to be that many games using classical music these days, although I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have noticed either way.
It’s strange – I make it my business to stay very up-to-date with the latest PC and videogame news, partly because I find it interesting and partly because I have the vague idea that knowing all this stuff may prove useful one day. Yet I don’t play computer games any more, with the notable exclusions of Dance Dance Revolution and Civ3.
Call me jaded, but I don’t think I’m missing much. It seems that most new games are just prettier versions of old genres; I don’t need to play Virtua Fighter 4 or Super Mario Sunshine (which are both very fun games) to know how things work. Games like Rez, Black and White and Halo are different, but then there’s only so much time in the day and money floating around. What’s a gamer to do?
mssv 
I know exactly what you mean. Inclination/money/time/. That said, I find that console and emulation gaming is more rewarding than trying to stay abreast of hyper-up-to-date PC gaming. I play the odd round of Day of Defeat, which was free, a modification for half-life, and maybe some Tony Hawk, but that’s about it on the PC now.
That said, I’ve recently acquired an N64 and am entirely sucked into Zelda. It’s really very fine. I guess I can now see beyond the flashy graphics and just care about either having fun, or being involved – preferably both. The sequels-thing is one of refinement. I’m looking forward to trying VF4 purely because it’s an update to VF2, which I find entirely wonderful – and very deep. I’ve put in a lot of time learning VF2, getting the nuances – the shiney graphics just bring it all up-to-date.
But that said, I did think what I played of Halo was genuinely excellent. Refreshing, controllable, genuine wow. I think I’m leaning towards acquiring a console one day simply because I spend work and some leisure time at a PC, and enjoy the change of scenery.
But your right. Maybe it’s getting older; maybe it’s seeing through sales hype. The most fun I’ve had with games in the past four months has been playing Mario 64, Zelda 64, Goldeneye, and having my ass whooped at NBA Jam on the Super NES. Why? Fun without having to cut through the crap.
I’m right with you on keeping up with PC gaming. I really do think it’s impossible, having to constantly upgrade graphics cards and processor speeds. Buying a console – which are now the cost of a good graphics card – seems so much easier.
I wonder if the thrill of novelty is what’s wearing off as we get older. Looking back, I remember that the one game I had most fun with while at school was a Bomberman clone – we played it practically every day for two years and we never grew tired of it.
On another note, a few people have been voicing a thought that I’ve had for a while – that Black and White, while being a technically impressive game, is not actually very fun. I haven’t played much of it at all, but it didn’t seem very exciting. Sometimes I think Peter Molyneux has lost touch with the fact that gaming should be fun, not merely some kind of cerebral exercise or non-graphics technical showcase.
Sigh, I remember the days, “the blue danube” blaring out in full midi quality as “Elite” loaded.
btw, is the “tiny” column meant to be down there at the bottom rather than the side?
Nope, it’s supposed to be at the side. I have no idea why it doesn’t stay at the side; it works fine in Mozilla (which no-one uses) and used to half-work in IE. Now it doesn’t work at all in IE. Something to do with CSS, I imagine. Bloody Microsoft.
It works provided the window is big enough. Too narrow and it ends up down the bottom.