Hi Tom.
One crytical aspect i have noticed with games such as prince of persia,
Turrican, mega man etc is replay value, and I don't just mean in terms of
how much content a game has.
There are several games that i have played and replayed many times, yet
still find myself returning to them over and again, even when I know every
single aspect of them intimately. Super Metroid is a primary example. i've
finished the game with every single item, yet still! I find myself returning
to run it again, and finding I still get satisfaction from the enemy
placement, the puzzles, the design, even the basic atmosphere.
The Metroid games on the gba however, fusion and zero mission I've perhaps
played through twice, since while they are fun, they just don't have that
element of surprise and really clean design that made super what it was,
indeed zero mission, which i really enjoyed back when i first played it in
2005, I find doubly disappointing now since very little new was added to the
game at all compared to what I'd previously seen.
I'm told, with the first person prime series this has gotten even worse,
indeed I have a friend who hates the prime games with a passion, despite
being a huge fan of Super metroid.
It's not however just! classics of the 90's that have this sort of quality
though. As you said in another reply, I've replayed shades and gma tank
commander more than several times, not to mention pipe 2, since the elements
in those games, even in an arccade style game like pipe 2 were just so well
worked out.
It's this aspect that makes me want to come back and run through a game
again, even if I've finished it before. it's hard to say what this element
of design actually is, but certainly good planning, real judgement, and
challenging the player with more than just hear and react challenges all
come in to it.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
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