The "enjoyable for kids today" is a bit difficult, because quite a lot of games depend at least a bit on their graphics or music, in a way that really don't translate very well to people who hasn't got the whole rose-tinted nostalgia bit down since their youth. For instance, I recently tried Uridium, which we all remember as this wizz-bang fast as hell graphically stunning frantic shooter, ne? And today...well, I can play it and enjoy it, but seen through the eyes of "kids today", it really just looks naff. For a similar reason, I can't get into Atari 2600 games, or Odyssey, or Intellivision. I can understand, in my head, that people obsess about them and remember their childhood and all that, but when it comes down to playing them, I really can't get by the (to me) cruddy graphics and simplistic gameplay. I imagine the Kids of Today would feel rather the same about some of my absolute faves.
With that said, I'd mention "Xeno" for the ZX Spectrum. Does not score very highly for graphics or sound, but the gameplay is simple to learn, simple enough that it doesn't get hooked up on lack of processing power, and addictive as f*ck. Plus it is something of a hidden gem.
Whenever I get my thumb out (as we say in sweden) and actually get into some sort of game programming, the first thing I do will be a Xeno port.
With that said, I'd mention "Xeno" for the ZX Spectrum. Does not score very highly for graphics or sound, but the gameplay is simple to learn, simple enough that it doesn't get hooked up on lack of processing power, and addictive as f*ck. Plus it is something of a hidden gem.
Whenever I get my thumb out (as we say in sweden) and actually get into some sort of game programming, the first thing I do will be a Xeno port.
