Thanks Brad for getting me riled. :)

I think I might be only half-way to my destination of a moment of clarity; as, right this second, my thoughts are more muddled and confused than John Bobbit’s were when he woke up to a bleeding crotch.

Now that Rock Band 2 (less than a year from the original release) has been announced, I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me spout off trite analogies.

It makes me wonder what videogames are as a whole? What have they become? Did they, only recently, lose the fun and gain the greed? Have they always been this way and am I just too entranced by my passion for them to see past their bullshit?

It’s frustrating, not because I’m compulsive and want every game coming down the pipe, but because Devs these days make me feel so…used. So dirty and cheap. So…Jessica Alba. I’m no longer a fan, or a gamer, but an economic number.

EA really knows how to milk a franchise; just look at the 93 new sports games we have coming out this year…and next year…and the year after that. But alas, with every new year, the same people stand in line to pick up their newest addition to their Madden library. For what? New rosters that can just as easily be downloaded? A nice, neat, new cover?

EA, however, is not the only offender. Even my beloved Konami and Capcom series’ are being given away to repetition. Castlevania is becoming more of the same, with little to no innovation or expansion from the last game and MegaMan now has more randomly strewn about words in the title than a dictionary can hold (see: Mega Man Star Force 2 Zerker X Saurian)(yes…that’s a real fucking game).

It seems that innovative and unique games aren’t finding the appreciation they deserve, or even once had. Recent games like; Brutal Legend (where the fuck are you?) or Boom Blox (a low seller??) are being overshadowed by recycled, casual fluff like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (yes, another one)- which is being set-up to rival the second coming of the Messiah. For some reason, I find myself looking forward to Too Human (as bad and as cookie cutter as it may be) just for the fact that they're trying to make something worth our time.



Back in the day, before the idea-well was dry, adventure games were adventurous, shooters hadn’t been done to death and overall (and dare I say it), videogames were fun.
Gaming becomes more and more accessible with every third party piece of trash released. Geek is chic now, and even Grandma is getting in on some of the action.

But as a gamer, I just feel out of place in my own world…like we are being overlooked for the new hip crowd and thought of as nothing more than moronic sheep who will BUY anything. My faith for the reclamation of what we once enjoyed so much is lost with each passing swing of Grandma’s Wii bowling arm.