I know I sure as heck haven't been having as much fun recently.
Games are far too easy these days. Casual appeal, simplistic overall gameplay, and short game length all contribute to this. This would be fine, if the game was at least a joy to play. But I feel like I'm doing some kind of chore rather than really playing a game. Forums have contributed to this somewhat, with arguements and flame wars raging about everything I love and enjoy, and me having to open my mouth and contribute with logical information from a non-biased perspective. Brand names and franchises are the name of the game these days, heck, it used to be only the truely hardcore and stupid who cared if they were playing the SNES or the Genesis, as long as they were having fun. Recently, something seems to have gone terribly wrong with the world in general. Cynical and jaded people, not just gamers, sling mud on the competition while churning out products that rate just above mediocre, yet still get praised based on hype and initial impressions. Story and Graphics didn't use to matter in games, now they seem like the most important part. Now, all people care about is a ride for the senses, moving on automatic as they repeat nonsensical hand motions, with only the dimmest thought that they might actually be doing something. Thought is no longer a requirement, and no comprehension is necessary, just point and shoot.
There's nothing wrong with all this, of course, but when the number of poor and mediocre games on ANY given system grossly overwhelms the number of fun and original titles, something is going horribly wrong. Even Nintendo, the so-called kings of originality, has fallen into the trap of remakes and sequels overtaking original ideas and characters. This is to say nothing of Capcom, which churns out a new Megaman every other week, and EA, which doesn't actually need to do anything anymore. Gaming today should be the best ever, so why are all the offerings so poor?
[/rant]
Log in to comment