An interesting article over on gamerdad.com examines the level of importance good looking graphics play in today's games, be it PC or the upcoming next-gen consoles. The article looks closely at how much enjoyment a gamer can get out of an old title like Super-Mario Brothers, compared to a current day game like Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, in terms of sheer enjoyment instead of focusing on the physical appeal of the experience.
Gameplay innovation is what really turns me on the most. I'm looking at the Nintendo DS lineup that's available and coming soon and I'm really excited because I see things that are new. The graphics look fine to me so it really doesn't matter that they're not cutting edge for handhelds. Same goes for games on the current consoles. PS2, Xbox and Gamecube games all look pretty good so it comes down to what kind of gameplay I want to enjoy influencing my decisions on what to play. I recall a day when that probably wasn't so true about my gaming habits. I know I played way too much DOOM and Duke Nukem 3D back in the early 90's and that was driven by how great they looked. Both were also great games but the graphics drew me to playing those games. I bought many games back then because they were technologically awesome even if they played like crap. Graphics don't draw me like that anymore. They're not the thing that makes me say, "I should play that!" If they do have influence on my gaming, it's more because of stylistic choices. Jet Grind Radio on Dreamcast was alluring because of its cel shaded appearance and yeah, that drew me to the game. It wasn't really a technical achievement though. It just was a new way of making things look cool. Cool beats technically amazing any day for me now.
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Next-gen consoles to assassinate pc gaming forever
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