A statement hit me pretty hard lately. It was from someone I've known for quite a while and though he's been into games as long as I have, I wouldn't be afraid to say he's not the kind who can get passionate about games in the same way I can, but really just wants to kick everyone's ass in multiplayer of the abysmal Call of Duty 4. You know the type. Anyway, we were discussing Fallout 3 and how it beats almost everything on the Xbox 360, and he comes in with the self-assured declaration of stupidity, 'what you guys talking about, it's not a good game, it doesn't have multiplayer!'. These days I'm a facepalm veteran but this time I nearly broke my nose. But this fella acts like, talks to and is friends with the average Xbox gamer of today, and I realised, a lot of people are thinking like this. The mentality for a huge amount is, 'it's only good if I can play random people and kick their asses'.
How did this happen so quickly? I know online gaming has been existent and competitive for a while back, but the population of console owners has only just come out the PS2 days for goodness' sake! It's not as if they were playing the Playstation's terrible internet play, and barely any of the kids you'll find on Halo or CoD had Xbox Live on the original Xbox. So how have they so suddenly adapted from good old single player games, or a bit of split screen Nightfire to ONLINE GAMING ONLY, ULTRA-COMPETITIVE. I know I still haven't. I enjoy matchmaking but big fuckin' deal, you're never going to be pro, and if you're not pro then no one cares.
What's worse, is that what is also now available due to powerful systems isn't always fully appreciated nearly enough. People buy Gears of War and Halo and don't think once about using any of what the developers have sweat blood to create. OHHH HEY GUYS I HERD FROM A M8 DER IS SUM GD HORDE MODE ON DIS, GUNNA PLAY JUST THAT 4EVER. No need, of course, to experience Gears of War 2's stunningly varied campaign which takes third person shooters to a new level. SUP GUYS JUST GUNNA PLAY SUM HALO 3... HERD FROM EVER1 ITS GUD SO ILL JUST GO STRAIGHT TO MULTIPLAYER 4EVER. Grand finale to an incredibly complex storyline, the Forge mode making thousands of possiblities for your own maps, custom games also offering endless different ways to play with your friends; hell, even just the soundtrack deserves immense appreciation. Open your eyes, multiplayer is just one part of the game. Get your money's worth...
And of course this is what drove this associate of mine to thinking Fallout 3 was bad. 'No multiplayer, therefore bad'. What? I think you'll find it's an RPG, and RPGS BARELY EVER HAVE MULTIPLAYER UNLESS THEY'RE MMO. So what was basically said is that a whole genre is bad. Because you can't use your l33t sk1llz to do some mad no sc0p3s H34DSH0T5 on some person who won't even be impressed. Fallout 3 has depth, serious depth, a million different storylines from so many different people, life lessons, ironic views expressed on the American Dream and on human futility, yet combining it with excitement, action and humour. NO, IT'S BAD. IT DOESN'T HAVE THE SEARCH AND DESTROY PLAYLIST AND DOUBLE EXP WEEKENDS.
Reading the post before this one followed by this, someone would probably think that I prophesy the end of gaming to be brought about by ignorant kids 'playing to pwn'. Don't get me wrong, I hate the little critters, but I don't think that, and although I think gaming has its problems due mainly to the people playing it, I think it's also got a lot of good stuff to come. However I think it's clear to see that casual gaming, in a lot of cases, is ignorance. Sounds extreme doesn't it? I'm really into this gaming thing.
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