The Greatest Games Never Sold

*Presses Start*

This game sucks.

A phrase said all too often. We get a game home, pop it in and expect to be bedazzled with amazing graphics, a immersible story, and game play that will blow the socks off even the most stubborn gamer. Sadly, PS1 graphics, terribad story and horrible controls instantly brings out the worst case of "Buyer's remorse" that anyone will ever see. For every Call of Duty and Uncharted, there's a BodyCount and MindJack. What happens when the game that instantly gets the rage is a game that is actually good...but doesn't sell?

I've made it no secret that I had about a two week affair with Deus Ex: Human Revolution that cultivated into a up-all-night session crack at the ending and a phone call to Megan at 8am. The story drew me in. The game play rocked. It had a little something for everyone and made it pretty awesome. Worth a 2nd play through and I believe a heavy contender for GOTY. I went into my local game store to trump how good this game in and overheard a conversation that made me wonder what kind of gamer are around today.

*hands a copy of Deus Ex* I'm trading this game in. This game blows. You can't run around and shoot things and it was hard. The story was boring. This game sucks and I don't know why people liked it. *looks around at PS3 Section* Hey, let me get that Call of Duty or that Saints Row 2. Those were some good games!

Now, in order to keep me from disconnecting this man from living, I have to understand that everyone has their opinion. No one's game opinion is correct and I'm sure that there is someone out there who's favorite video game is Iron Man. Hell, Nickelodeon Guts was my favorite game for a while. Then again, I openly admit that this game was terrible then and it's still terrible now. It just bugs me greatly that the smart games are the ones that just don't sell. Maybe it's the crowd of people that it goes for. Sometimes, it's the console that the game is ported to. Okami is a perfect example. The game dropped on the PS2 but because the PS2 was dying, no one really played Okami. Never mind the fact that the game is beautifully well done. Even when it was ported to the Wii (The ideal system for the game, mind you.) Everyone didn't want it, because it was the Wii. Alas, the game because a cult hit. A lot of my friends in particular got their first exposure to Okami from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. (Yami, the boss from Okami, was the final boss in the Capcom fighter.)

The thing that gets me the most, however, is that people were calling Dead Island (which dropped 2 weeks after) the better game. Yes, a game that on launch had save game problems and had a pretty lackluster story. I do like the game and problems aside, it's well done and a gory good time. However, to say that it's better then Deus Ex, is insulting to me. Maybe it's my problem. Maybe I'm just a old fogie who prefers being in a challenging situation instead of being a super soldier who can kill everything.

Continue?

Confessions of a MMORPG n00b

I'm not Exactly a n00b to MMORPG's, I just don't play them all that often. I experimented with text based ones on my old Apple2. I have Guild Wars, I anticipate Guild Wars 2. I've played the trial versions of World of Warcraft, because I was too young at the time to even consider affording the monthly payments. When I was 17 I considered getting Final Fantasy 11, but other singleplayer games caught my attention first. I'm not adverse to trying out new MMORPG's, looking for a good one, and I learn how to level up and take quests fairly quickly. I've found a new one to play, FTP on Steam in fact, and I've become a little bit addicted to it.

Forsaken World is what I'm playing. When I first opened it to play it I played it for three hours and found myself at level 13 when I left the 'tutorial' world. Another four hours later and I'm sitting pretty at level 22 as I type this up. I will admit that I spent a lot of time just exploring the harbor and trying to remember where all the different merchants were, and where I could go to buy something other than just 'basic weapons'. I'm ready to graduate from basic I feel.

But I do have a fatal flaw when it comes to playing MMO's, and it's kind of a big one. If I don't have any other friends playing the same game, I won't join or start parties. The problem probably stems from growing up as an only child and never really playing any multi-player games. The most multiplayer action I got was playing Super Mario Bros. 3 with my best friend when we were single digits. So I've never really felt comfortable finding random people and starting a party. Unless a quest or instance requires it, I will do everything alone. There was one time playing Guild Wars that I was invited to a party, and on a whim I accepted. I was a lower level than everyone else, and I was still exploring new abilities and actions that I could do. I was not as good as the others and not too long after I found myself traveling alone again.

I think what I'll have to do is explore the forums, become part of the community, for I want to make my Kindred Vampire awesome, and I'd like to join a Guild soon. I'm going to do what I never did what I was younger. I'm going to learn how to play MMORPG's the way they were meant to be played, with other players. Wish me luck. But, until then, I'm going to continue knitting Harry Potter scarves and crocheting Sailor Moon amigurumi's. The life of a nerd is never slow.