Pixels or Polygons? Why 2D still beats 3D

Even the classic 2D game Pac-Man was brought into the third dimension. Nowadays, nearly every RPG, Strategy game or Action-Adventure uses 3D graphics. But in quite a few instances, 2D is the better (and better-looking) choice. CliffyB himself said that key elements in Gears of War are just classic 2D features transformed into the three dimensions. So read on as this feature explores retro games and examines modern game design.

[Joey Gladstone]

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...."The JOEY has Spoken"

[Winter47th]

2D's an era well served, though its age has passed.

[INehalemEXI]

Zombies ate my neighbors was a great game , the original shadowrun too.

[socomnick]

I hated the gigantic baby in that game.

[Rice]

Ummm, i still prefer 3d...

[joemomma]

That theme died in the early 90s. I cant beleive what blogger will write...

[kewlkat007]

like Symphony of the Night.

When will I get it..

[harv052]

Absolutely!!!

Since castlevania went 3D, it seems to have lost its edge....

[TwissT]

I prefer 3-D but I know without 2-D there would be no 3-D, so 2-D you have my respect.

[Yi-Long]

...I never understood why 2D went away in the first place!

Come on, give us a gorgeous FullHD Widescreen sidescrolling sprite-based new adventure of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic hasnt been Sonic since his 2d adventures on the Megadrive.

Street Fighter 4? Why are they making Street Fighter 4 with hideous ugly 3d models, while they will keep the gameplay 2D? Why not get the greatest artists available and create a gorgeous Full HD widescreen Street Fighter 4, full of gorgeous animated sprite-based characters in highly detailed and animated backgrounds!
(And dont mention STreet Fighter 2 HD Remix, cause they might be remaking that in HD, but it still looks crap cause they've kept it all very bland etc. Udon is underachieving on that title!)

Monkey Island! The 2 funniest and greatest adventure games are from the old Amiga days, and they were 2d! Bring back Guybrush, and for god's sake, dont make him 3d, or give him that awfull cartoony look he had in MI3. Stay close to the 2 original games, design-wise. I have SO many ideas for a true new Monkey Island game, it aint even funny anymore. That game that has yet to be made, has been haunting inside my head ever since I played the originals! And yeah, I would DEMAND it would be made in 2d! Old-skool style.

Finally, Turrican. Why the hell isnt there a gorgeous widescreen FullHD sprite-based remake of Turrican out yet!? I honestly dont get it. That game was AWESOME, had a great soundtrack, brilliant gameplay and leveldesign, etc etc. It was EPIC!

Dont get me wrong, I also love 3d games... they're great.
But 2D should still be around as well. It has every right to be. And for some genres, it's definately the preferred option!

BRING BACK SPRITE-BASED 2D GAMES! NOW! Give us a a good Sonic game, give us old-skool Mario, bring back 2d sprite-based fighters, etc etc.
We miss them.

[cjp4eva]

HAHAHAAH XBOX 360 CAN ONLY OUTPUT 2D GAMES LOL!!!

[socomnick]

AHAHAHAHA you are a retard.

[mintaro]

dude.......ur thinking is as old as 2D gaming

[ThatArtGuy]

3D and 2D aren't better than each other. Each has its place and is a better tool for certain types of gameplay. Just like Disney's Aladdin and Pixar's Toy Story, each used the tools that were better suited for the type of story they were trying to tell.

[Genki]

that cherry-pick a few points and run with them until they're satisfied with trying to tell people this is that, or what's what.

Put it this way: throw all of this crap out the window and we'll just agree that good games beat bad games, period.

There are good games with crap graphics, good games in 3d, good ones in 2d, and good ones with glitches.

There is no standard, no exclusive, required pattern, and there's no manifesto or bill of laws to dictate what's "better" than anything else. This type of arbitrary crap is usually done by folks who just either can't let go of the past, can't accept the present and near future, or a combination of the two. Good games know no prejudice with regards to 2d or 3d, they're just good games.

[MK_Red]

OMG, AWESOME find. And OMG2, Fallout is the first pic of article :)
So many classics are here.
But OMG3, I disagree with them prefering Fallout 3's 3D look to the 2D of originals. True Fallout is 2D, isometric and truely classic.

Final OMG: "There are but a few games that test the player with moral dilemmas. Fallout and Ultima 4 did it" and that's why they are the bests and beat any other RPG.

I just wish there was more talk about other 2D vs 3D games like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat 2 vs Tekken 3 and Soul Calibur (And as usual, 2D beats 3D flawlessly).