I'm lucky that I work at a business where a few co-workers share in my interest for all things video games. This leads to frequent lunch-time discussions on the latest and greatest happenings in the news from sites like Destructoid. It also leads to some very interesting discussions on the topic of who has or has not played certain games.

Let me get something out of the way now so that the argument can't be made later... Yes, I do realize that everyone has particular 'tastes' for certain games and genres. This isn't about those tastes though. This clog entry is about folks that flat out refuse to play a game based simply on a principle. Heck... I'm not even talking about the idiotic fanboys whose only purpose is to bring down a particular company. Many of the instances I'm going to give examples for are much less dramatic than that and are borderline nuts.

Case in point. I'm having a discussion with two of my co-workers about the Zelda series. One of them is a fairly big fan of the Zelda games... fanboy? No... but definitely a fan. We began talking about the series as a whole and the topic of Wind Waker came up. I talked a bit about how I thought the game was very fun save some parts with the sailing. I then touched on the graphics and that's when he chimed in with... "The graphics is the whole reason I've never played that game. I don't feel like playing Powderpuff Link".

I couldn't believe what I had just heard... Sure that's a phrase you might pass off as one coming from an anti-nintendo Sony/MS fanbot... but not from someone who is fairly neutral and is a self proclaimed lover of the series as a whole.

I, myself, used to be this way when it came to console FPS games. I'm a long time PC FPS player with countless hours in Quakeworld and Unreal Tournament as well as play-throughs of most of the other big titles to hit the platform. I used to always spout off on forums about the inferior control schemes of consoles when it comes to FPS games and how I'd never stoop to that level. Thankfully, I broke down and bought a 360 a couple of months ago and was introduced to Gears of War which pretty much took my view that console FPSs were inferior and slapped its dick in my face. Sure, I'd still prefer a mouse and keyboard any old day... but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a console FPS game JUST as much (if not more than most!)

One game that is about to hit us all next week is Bioshock. All signs are pointing to it being the front runner for Game of the Year. The reviews that have come in so far have all been VERY high and there's no sign of the hype train slowing down any time soon. But, if you look around, you will still find people who want nothing to do with this game and, in fact, wish to tear it down as much as possible based on silly arguments like how the guns look literally like pieces of junk (intended... art deco / dystopia feel), or how the game can be completed in anywhere from 12 to 20 hours depending on the skill level of the player and the difficulty of the game. There are plenty of other insane arguments (especially considering that 99.9% of the population out there has yet to play the game... damn you lucky bastards). You'll always have those who want to do nothing but tear down a game which is destined for greatness only because it appears on the system they abhor (I'm looking at you Sony bots)...

Can't we all just get along? Wait... that's been used before. Can't we all just agree that a GREAT game is GOOD for GAMERS? Don't limit yourself from trying something out of the ordinary. Don't discount a game simply because you CAN. Don't write off a game simply because you wan't to be the only guy on the block that doesn't like it and you need to feel like a rebel. When enough people say something is great... there comes a point when you have to tell youself "That many people can't be wrong... can they?"

I'd like to hear your personal tales of dealing with folks who refuse a game based on a silly principle. I'd like it even more to hear from you guys about your personal stories of overcoming views like this of your own and how they panned out to be unfounded when you realized that the game you once wrote off for silly reasons was actually just as good as everyone else has been saying.