Like you, I tend to like the story, even though I often feel like I start playing for the mechanics. I'd say that one advantage the early games had was that there were no standards or expectations, so designers were trying all sorts of mechanics combined with hardware controls to fit the mechanics. I'm old enough to remember when pong and asteroids came out, as well as the day we got an Atari 2600. When PCs first started coming up, games were hobbled because they lacked the innovative hardware controls of arcade games. Nowdays games fit into standard genres and tend to have very similar controls. It is rare to see something different, but I'm happy that developers are trying.
Proud member of #steemitbloggers @steemitbloggers
Well, yes a good mechanic is also necessary ingredient! There is nothing worse than a game where it is a chore to play!
Ha, I also remember pong and asteroids! Although, that was at friend's places... Somehow, an active imagination made them seem incredibly epic!
I don't know why, but I find console controls incredibly confusing... Whereas the huge array of commands available on the mouse and keyboard combo is not at all confusing...