DGeneral

First things first

The reason why i'm writing this blog is to express what i think of the current ongoings of video games in general. Not just the actual games and consoles but also things like video game journalists and more....Oh yeah this blog will be long. So let's hop to things shall we?

The actual games

My actual thoughts on the actual "Next generation of gaming" is that only a few games actually deliver on the promise. To be next the next generation means something other than updated graphics. The experience itself must feel like something original and new to be considered "Next generation" not just the visuals. When we still have FPS with dull stories of "aliens invading earth" or some type of military game the storytelling isn't be pushed enough in my mind and neither is some of the concepts. While the weapon designing is getting better i must admit and some of the A.I is getting boosted not enough games is doing it. This is the same for most of the other genres as well instead of building upon the conventional bases how about thinking outside the box? That's why games like MGS, Hitman, God of War, Okami, Pyschonaughts, Ico, Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Dues Ex, Shenmu and so many others have that lasting memory. They thought outside the box and brought something new to the fold.

Now this isn't to say games are not being fun because that's the point of this all but i think it's time for the dev's to step up and really try to deliver something that makes us say "wow" not just with the eye candy but in the overall experience. If that was to happen other dev's would be encouraged to strive to make their games better as well and more outstanding..... But then when i think of games like bullet witch, gundam crossfire, vampire's rain, Blitz the league and Timeshift i think i'd settle for just fun games.

"Console Wars" ?

This might be one of the most interesting of topics for the video game scene now. The reason i say "Console wars" is because lets be honest it isn't the consoles that's fighting, hell it isn't really even the companies that's fighting each other (the only time that happened was SEGA vs Nintendo). But it's actually the extremists company backers that's having the real war. With there constant bitching and moaning and going on and on about the same topics over and over has made things go dull. If you spend enough time listening to them even when you go home to play a game in the back of your mind some of their words will echo through your mind. What i think alot of us need is more mature discussions to level off some of this nonsense they spew. I think that the fun of debating video games have been stripped away from fanboys with their constant bad mouthing of "the other system". I think if we did more of that some of the fun in discussing video games would be restored.

All of the systems have something good to offer to everyone. There is good games on all of them and alot of fun to be had. All you need to do to figure this out is to actually play the other system to understand this. This generation despite what i harped on earlier has been having a barrage of fun games coming out and no one can deny that. Like i said arguing over these consoles is like arguing over which is better a wild redhead, a busty blond or a gorgeous brunette.

Video Game Journalists

To me this is the most interesting thing right now to be talked about. I think myself we take these guys for granted, video game journalists unlike most journalists have the most interaction with their readers. Blogs, reviews, forums, answering questions and even effecting which things we actually buy. No other Journalists have this type of direct contact to their readers while most other journalist job is for entertainment purposes and providing some information on certain things. The journalists for video games does much more than that. They tell us when games are not good or are a gem, they tell us how to solve a certain problem, give us away free things and interact with us almost on a daily basis to answer our questions and comments and create some sort of small talk with us. They warn of us bad games and other crummy products, get us the scoop on interesting things and read and respond to our comments and criticisms.

Think about other industries writers for the likes of sports, movies, books, even some other hobbies the people that read their work don't have the type of direct relationship with their readers. We don't go to Rupert and Ebert to see if we're gonna watch a movie, or read the times to see which books we are going to purchase next or Rolling stones to see which cd to purchase next. But with video game journalists we read their writings to get a grasp on how good a game is or another type of gaming related product. Yet we still take these guys and girls for granted usually only skewering them for what we disagree with and complaining. We have to sometimes remember these are gamers like us for longer than some of us even. I know we don't always agree with what they say or their opinion on things but we have to remember they are only trying to help us. Instead of always accusing them of being biased why don't we try to do it in a more civilized way and not assault their character. They don't have to do these things for us or communicate on the level they do with us but they are down in trenches with us their readers. I think we should at least try to cut them some more slack than we sometimes do.

In closing

I would just like to say thank you for reading and to be a little more open minded in a overall sense of the current state of games. We're all gamers and we all want the same thing believe it or not. This generation of gaming should be a very fun and entertaining one and remembered for the games not the arguing and bickering that's going on now.