Video games have entertained us, shocked ultra-conservatives and pushed the bounds of technology since the 1970s.
Over the decades, countless titles have hit the shelves. Some have been veritable masterpieces. Others have been less than well received. Still others have been technical messes that earned a reputation for their many bugs, glitches and errors. A few highlights and lowlights of the gaming industry include:
The Good
There have been plenty of good computer games, but a few stand out as true classics. These include:
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. One of the most epic fantasy adventure games ever created, and arguably the best-loved entry in the immensely popular Legend of Zelda series. It is frequently named as the best game ever created (though of course there are other contenders for this title).
• Portal/Portal 2. Many games upon release are instantly branded “classics” only to be forgotten by the passage of time. It seems highly unlikely that Portal or its sequel will suffer this fate. While only a small game, the original Portal had a unique approach to platforming and a distinctive sense of humour. Its sequel expanded well upon the formula and introduced the unforgettable Cave Johnson.
• Bioshock. Bioshock and the series it spawned manage to stand out in several ways. It is one of the best examples of story-telling in gaming and also one of the strongest examples of an atmospheric gaming experience.
The Bad
Some games don’t quite manage to measure up to even the bleakest of expectations, such as:
• Superman 64. This game shared a console with Ocarina of Time, but suggesting they have anything else in common is practically blasphemous. Often labelled the worst game of all time , it features Lex Luthor kidnapping Superman and forcing him to fly through rings. That’s about all there is to this exercise in tedium.
• Duke Nukem Forever. This game wasn’t as bad as some, but the circumstances of its release mean there is very little room for forgiveness. It spent around a decade in development and expectations were high. The result: a poorly realised and disappointing game that tried to satirise action tropes yet embodied many of them itself.
The Buggy
Making a game is a highly technical process. As well as the creative elements and a long programming process, there is also a need for extensive bug testing such as that offered by www.bugfinders.com to eliminate bugs. Some games, regardless of whether they are good or bad, could clearly have benefitted from much more rigorous software testing before release.
• Fallout: New Vegas. This is one example that proves that buggy games can be genuinely good, though frustrated gamers would likely agree that better bug elimination would make the experience much better. Fallout: New Vegas is noted for its many, many bugs, but good gameplay still shines through.
• Ashes Cricket 2013. On the other hand, some buggy games are all-round terrible. Ashes Cricket 2013 was a complete disaster, and bugs were a major cause for that fact. Teleporting fielders, vanishing balls and no animation at all for catches meant that the publisher ended up withdrawing it from sale and refunding everyone who bought a copy.