Unfettered Blather

The Wii Virtual Console is a wonderful thing. It provides Nintendo the opportunity to sell me games I’ve already purchased from them before at discount prices! I don’t really mind it all that much, it’s not like they put a gun to my head and so far I’ve only partaken of two titles. Excitebike and Super Mario Bros. 3, two games that represent what I consider some of the NES’s finest offerings.

Since I am tracking the best and worst games I’m playing this year, Excitebike has to fall on the list, and to be fair it didn’t do so well. It’s a very shallow and simple game, it doesn’t even have the depth of your typical contemporary “casual” game. It’s fun, but I think a lot of the fun is about doing crazy things while still winning the race. Excitebike represents what is likely the only game where I’ve tolerated timed races.

The real bummer though is this shallow, simple, and 24 year old game has compared favorably compared to ten other games. That’s right, as of this writing Excitebike fell off my “Worst Of” list for 2008. I have purchased 10 other games already that are worse than it. Of the ten games on my “Worst Of” list, only one is older than 2007. Everything else was released last year or this year.

My rating system is essentially how much “fun” a game is, an entirely subjective measurement not unlike people who judge diving or skating competitions. What nebulous criteria do I use to determine a game’s place on a list? I can’t quantify it exactly, but I can tell you when I hold up two titles and think about which one I feel I gleaned more enjoyment from, well there you have it. So is Excitebike more fun than Call of Duty 3 on the Wii? Yes, infinitely moreso. I have to say, if your contemporary game does not compare favorably with a game made over 20 years ago, you are just flat out doing something wrong. If I even have to consider whether it is more fun, you are doing something wrong. Shoot, if I think “What is more fun, Excitebike or Guitar Hero?” my next thought should naturally be “Am I on crack? Excitebike is 20 years old and Guitar Hero is wicked fun!”. That’s how it compares to games on the “Best Of” list, it’s not even a consideration.

There is simply no excuse for making games that don’t compare favorably to a shallow game made over 24 years ago.

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