Pokemon!

Pokemon Pearl for DS is probably one of those dated games that persist to the present day. However, from a game mechanics point of view, it is actually quite remarkable. Pokemon has a healthy number of the hallmarks of a successful game. It has a persistent game world in that players can trade their pokemon both in the card game and online. It generates itself by having invisible and random enemy spawn points that spew random enemies (not necessarily a good game design). It has an apparently large game world that houses lots of inhabitants. More importantly, there are a huge variety of playable pokemon that can be captured. Even the interface is quite dynamic for something this dated.

What would keep most from appreciating it, though would probably be its skin. For one, it is probably targeted at a younger audience and I know a good number of people who would not be caught dead playing it precisely because of that reason. Besides, those who are used to "meaningful" (read: more glitz, blood and gore) gameplay would bemoan the repetitiveness of the combat sequences. I, for one, am more than a bit peeved that there is no way to get through them quicker so I can spend more time exploring.

That aside, there really is a remarkable amount of content in the game. There are huge numbers of pokemon to be seen/captured and each one is somewhat different from the others. (Of course, this is not to evaluate it from a balance point of view, since the game is clearly heavily weighted towards certain pokemon.) Besides the sprites and their supporting accessories, there are numerous small embellishments that pop out through gameplay. We have the underground levels, the little widgets that you collect in your adventures, and hidden items to name a few.

The more (self-perceived) mature audience may view the overall game world as predictable, but it is undeniable that there is much to see in the game world...assuming one actually has the patience to go over all of it.