rocketpig said:
If you completely ignore the whacked-out gravity, crazy planetoid perspectives, and new pointer system for doing various tasks, then I, uh, agree. I guess. I suppose Mario still jumped around a lot and I do remember seeing a few koopas. |
Those elements you just mentioned are a direct result of the updated hardware of the Wii. Gravity/physics due in part to processing capabilities although it was a good design call to implement into the game involving space travel and planetoids. Naturally the game would have to implement Wiimote functionality in some form from the IR tracking to motion controls. It's entirely an issue of how well the developers implement it, as in natural feel, enhancing play/ease of use without being simply tacked on.
As much as I enjoyed Ocarina, being that it was the only game on the N64 that really made it worth my owning one, the hardware was responsible for the jump to an open 3D world, which to me, was the most groundbreaking aspect of the game. The story itself was good enough to keep me playing through to the end (multiple times) and the game play made a near flawless transition from Link to the Past. Link to the Past was and remains a favorite (I will play this on a DS before playing Ocarina on VC), but the scope of Ocarina, due to the open world design, literally dwarfed it.
It's the degree of immersion and the ability to create and maintain the illusion of being in the developer's game world that ultimately makes the game memorable. And in most cases, that is done by producing something that has not been previous seen or experienced. That's the game that is typically remembered as the "classic" over the years as opposed to those that attempt to follow the same formula, to different levels of success, sometimes even producing a more technically impressive and broader game during the same generation. And sometimes that follow up game is simply another game from the same series. They may be better games, but the groundbreaker is almost always the one that receives more acclaim.
So sure; Ocarina of time belongs in the top ten for console games, I'll even argue top ten on all platforms, but best game of all time? That just boils down to a matter of opinion, which is pretty far from objective. It's not the greatest game I've ever played, and I probably approached triple digit hours playing it.
Time will tell how GTAIV will be regarded in ten years. But it seems that the success of any given chapter of GTA should be dependent upon story/character/world, rather than just technical improvements due to new hardware although GTAIII was just like Ocarina in this respect. Ocarina I can still play. GTAIII I may play just to note the blaring technical differences between it and GTAIV. But I don't think the success of GTAIV lies in the technical aspects, which is why opinions won't 180 in ten years simply because games will be playing on superior hardware.
