I would like to apologize in advance for the gratuitous use of commas and the never ending great wall-o-text that follows. I promise if you persevere through this diatribe there will be cake at the end. I will try to add some pictures also, because we all know pictures make books worth the time it takes to read them.

So without further ado…



My fellow Dtoiders

Last week I blogged about playing underappreciated games and rated a few of them. In said blog I touched on a subject that I have decided to elaborate on. The subject in question is the state of gaming as a whole and, more importantly, the state of gamers and their expectations.

I like many of you, played games extensively as a youth. I started with the NES, and then moved up to the SNES, Sega Genesis, PS1, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3. Also, pepper in the various Game Boys and the PSP. I had them all. So I have been around the proverbial "block" in terms of video games. Using the countless hours spent playing and the untold amounts of cash spent as my credentials, I am going to attempt to figure out where everything changed.


Not quite, but close.

As a young one I recall the absolute joy I experienced every time I tongue raped an NES cartridge and did the up-down-up-down trick to start the game up. There was no disappointment. I wandered around in Metroid for hours upon hours never knowing where to go. Did I want to beat the game? Nope. Just to have fun doing things that were nigh impossible in this "real world" I hear so much about.

Fast forward to today, and you have the age of GameFAQs and strategy guides. Everyone has to conquer games, instead if exploring and having fun. People are not satisfied with just saving Princess Peach, but have to find all 100 and some odd stars. The excitement of not knowing what comes next is gone, seemingly for good.

I seemed to have digressed from my original point slightly. I want you to dig deep into your memories as a child and try to find a time when you were disappointed with an NES game. Not a game that you didn’t like, but a game that let you down because it didn’t have this or that. Recently, it seems that every game released must either be an absolute blockbuster or be forever banished to bargain bins and clearance shelves. Gaming publications and websites rule with an iron fist, and so many consumers are easily swayed by the “1-10” or “out of 5” rating systems that are used commonly. I beg of you, pick one game that piqued your interest but received “low” scores on a gaming website or in a magazine. At least rent it. There is a good chance that you will be pleasantly surprised. I was when I picked up Kane & Lynch, Stranglehold, and NFS: Prostreet.

Not every game is going to be a Bioshock. For every Mario Galaxy, there will be 100 titles that are cast aside in favor of the big guns. By the time another Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune comes along, many Heavenly Sword’s will have set on shelves lonely and forgotten. All I am saying is that we need to give games a chance. Most titles are either praised or condemned before they are even released. Our expectations have become so high that we are too good to be seen playing a Kane & Lynch over an Orange Box.

Ok, that is the end of that rant. I realize that I jump all over the place and that I may or may not have made any sense at all. However, I think I covered my bases pretty well. Now on to the CAKE…


Like you didn't see that coming.