Despair and Disillusionment

I'm losing faith in games. Look at the titles, or the trailers of any game shown at E3 this year. Count the number of games that centre around 'HIGH OCTANE KILL EVERYMUTHAFUKARTHATMOVES' gameplay, the number of games with 'war' in the name, the number of sequels, the number of games with bosses, or with 'destructible scenery', and you'll have accounted for every offering I've clicked on the name for during the trade show's coverage.

It's fucking boring. High fantasy, sci-fi, sports, ancient civilisations... Very, very little has changed in a very, very long time. People studying cinema next year might be looking at old films like 8 1/2 and new ones like I Heart Huckabees. I'll be falling asleep listening to people talk enthusiastically about old games like fucking Lemmings, and new ones with names like Gears of War, Burnout Revenge, and Stranglehold. Urgh. It's artistically and intellectually barren nonsense with big sharp teeth, probably a rocket launcher, and maybe a spread sheet thrown in to remind you you're dealing with something as emotionally unattached as the numbers what you're playing is based on.

You could argue that I'm wrong, perhaps offering examples of intelligence in some recent games. "Swat 4 introduces some humanity in conflict", "Resident Evil 4 does something new for the importance of environment", you might say. You'd be right, these are the points I argue daily. But really, one game is an episode of a shallow cop show, another is a disastrously generic zombie flick. Step out a level - all these games are actually, derivitive, childish tedium fit only for those who would watch the non-interactive versions upon which these examples are based. And interactivity just doesn't make up for enough of the shortcomings of any of these titles.

I haven't played a single game this year, or, actually, ever, that has made me come away feeling better about myself, or more learned, or anything remotely positive. I'm tired of making excuses for the mind-numbing pap that makes up the majority of every game we play. In fact, I'm tired of worrying about the 3D Mark of my graphics card. I'm tired of banal details we pour over, oohing and aahing at alternate filing methods in and out of game. I'm tired of the innovation extending as far as the fucking GUI. I'm tired of ID3 tags, viruses, junk mail, IGN, the Splinter Cell series, Oleg Yavorsky interviews, EA, slow uploads, windows, even this damn chair. Excuse me.



Notice the claws on the character's feet. This makes him scarier.