I've been putting off Planescape Torment till I get diagnosed with cancer and am in need of a pick me up, however I too look back fondly on a "golden age" of gaming when I would play Fallout 2 and Freespace in a state of quasi-religious awe.
It's a lie though.
As the masters of the Old School learned that their Wu-Tang style was no match for peasants armed with gunpowder, so too did the craftsmen of the past find that in order to compete in the global gaming industry their products had to be accessable. This is not a bad thing. Greater interest and investment in gaming will take it in new directions and encourage new approaches to game design.
I think we can all agree that it is far better to shoot a bear with a rifle than to punch it in the face.
