Modern video games, especially AAA-class ones, are literally replete with all kinds of “sores” – paid add-ons that would actually be nice to add to the main game, a sea of donation and cosmetic items for real money, all kinds of experience boosters, even ad inserts and other tricks. At the same time, the quality of the games themselves is often unjustifiably low – boring plots, mechanics of the same type, lack of innovation, only the graphics change. Fortunately, nothing of the kind did not disappoint the cult games of ten or twenty years ago – now I will tell you which of them you can happily play to this day.
Heroes of Might and Magic III
The release of the third “Heroes” has changed the turn-based strategy market – the developers have shown that it is possible to strike a balance between battles and exploring the map, while simultaneously innovating both elements of the gameplay. In the battles themselves, a special map with sectors for the movement of characters was used, each fighter in the squad had its own strengths and weaknesses, plus you could use scrolls for defense or attack. And outside of battles, the player can capture castles of various factions, collecting an army from units of completely different races, accumulate resources, explore dungeons, play against AI or in a local network with friends. To this day, the best part of the “Heroes” has not been released.
Half-Life
This game has so many awards and regalia that a separate article should be devoted to listing them – in the year of release alone, at least 40 gaming sites were named Half-Life the game of the year. This is because the project has radically changed the attitude towards the genre of shooters – gamers have ceased to perceive “shooters” as a banal shooting gallery with dashes. For the first time, the developers put the plot at the forefront in a shooter, prescribing the most interesting characters, and also added many puzzles, tactical actions and interactive elements. Even today, multi-million dollar shooters don’t have the same benefits that Half-Life had twenty years ago.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Just two years after Vice City, the craftsmen from Rockstar North made a real revolution – San Andreas was so ahead of its time that even GTA V does not have all the mechanics that were shown in 2004. A huge open virtual world consisting of several islands, the ability to pump (in the literal sense of the word) your hero by changing his appearance, hundreds of clothing options, tuning the Need For Speed level, a war for territories and gorgeous quests. And for the first time in the history of the series, the character learned to climb over fences, swim, fight in different styles of martial arts, shoot straight from the car and put a mark on the map to quickly find a route. To this day, this game is insanely popular, even 17 years after the release – if you do not take into account the outdated graphics, it is even more elaborate than modern projects.
BioShock
Although the subsequent parts of the franchise turned out to be very worthy, many loved the first BioShock the most – the plot of this game is simply fantastic, you can shoot films and TV shows on it without worrying about reviews. At the center of the story is a real utopia – a city under water, in which everyone in society is equal, contented and happy, everyone has enough of everything. True, only on paper – in fact, the founder billionaire arranged a whole dictatorship, which led to a civil war. And everything would be fine, but people with mutations have significantly complicated the situation, in the center of which the player himself will be. Great storytelling, cool setting and vivid characters – this is enough even now.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
We can safely say that Oblivion literally blew up the role-playing games market – even then the developers showed a huge map with cities, into whose houses it was possible to easily sneak in and steal valuable items or food. At the same time, the latest AI system Radiant AI was developed, thanks to which NPCs behaved very realistically and understandably. For example, the guards will catch the player if he steals something from the counter and is noticed. In addition, you can join various factions and, depending on this, receive the corresponding tasks. Or just go to the arena and fight like a gladiator. And the graphics with reflections, HDR and other little things looked amazing in 2006. Now, of course, the last bonus is no longer so noticeable, but everything else has not gone anywhere.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
The original Most Wanted, released in 2005, is deservedly considered the best part in the entire Need For Speed franchise – it was corny with everything you need and even more. The scriptwriters wrote a cool storyline for a racing simulator with a 15-person “Blacklist”, charismatic characters and real people in the frame, the designers drew an impressive detailed map, and the developers added decent physics, many competition modes and returned the series to its origins with chases from the cops. And at the same time, there is no donation, grind, optimization problems and other troubles of modern releases. Yes, EA once knew how to make games.
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins has been in the making for six years, and as a result, gamers have greeted the release with a standing ovation and enthusiasm – such a sophisticated role-playing game has never been seen in the video game world. The writers have invented an interesting fantasy virtual world with six different backstories for different characters, plus a ton of quests, an interesting storyline, tons of equipment, skills, upgrades and sidequests. There are even intense real-time battles here. Considering the replayability and duration of one journey (about 100 hours), this RPG can still give you as much fun gameplay as you want.
Gothic 3
The authors of Gothic 3 gave the fans of the franchise a variability that allows you to replay the game several times, getting new emotions. First, you can choose which of the gods you will fight for, or you can oppose both deities at once – this directly affects the ending of the storyline. Secondly, there are three factions in the game, which also affect quests, and the development of events, and the completion of the game. And, thirdly, no one forces the player to do something specific according to the template – you are given complete freedom of movement, three large regions with different biomes and a sea of equipment for every taste and color. Even in modern AAA releases, there is not always such a rich selection.
Assassin’s Creed
Now Ubisoft is actively criticized for leaving RPGs, a sea of donation and paid DLC, but once the company was literally raised above the rest for the first part of Assassin’s Creed. The developers allowed the gamer to climb all the walls, beams and buildings that are on the map – you could climb anywhere, and then also jump from roof to roof. Also, the game pleased us with a simply gorgeous plot with a conditional time travel, Templars and assassins, interesting historical events and locations, and the tasks themselves, crowds of people and additional activities made a splash. And when you choose between the original Assassin’s Creed and what Ubisoft is releasing now, the winner is clear.
FlatOut
While absolutely all major developers have repeatedly released stylish arcade racing with polished supercars, the authors of FlatOut decided to show the world another side of racing, completely non-standard. Here, of course, it was also necessary to arrive first, but at the same time no one bothered to crash into the enemy and throw him off the track with his rusty trough, jump from a springboard and fly into a pole, or just enjoy the tracks without bumpers. And besides racing, it was fun – the game has a whole section with arcade modes, where the driver acts as a bowling ball, a dart in darts and more. Nothing more fun has been released since then, this is a fact.
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