I sat calmly, sipping my ginger ale and watching digital representations of fictional characters run around my screen. I wanted to feel the euphoria that I had in years past, that desire for my turn to control the pixels on the screen. Yet this feeling did not come. Were the rumors true? Have I become spoiled to the awesome power of these games? Or is there some more sinister power at play? As I watched the E3 press conferences this year I considered something that has been a bit of a growing problem over the past few years not just for myself but for many gamers my age. We seem to be getting a bit jaded. For example, I watch epic titles like Halo 4 and Black Ops 2 and have to keep myself from yawning. Most of the Microsoft Press Conference was fairly boring to me despite the fact that both of these headlining titles are very popular and despite the fact that I will probably end up owning most of the games that were showcased.
Expressing these feelings will usually illicit comments either along the line of “[Insert Franchise Here] sucks” or along the line of “You’re just spoiled.” And it’s true, in a way gamers of my generation are spoiled. We have a huge library of awesome titles that are constantly competing with each other for our attention. This is especially true when it comes to shooters. But while I was watching the conference I considered from where the stem of my apathy takes root. Because it’s not that I’m jaded to all games, some titles still give me that chill up my spine and make my eyes open wide with excitement. Even “remakes” like Need for Speed: Most Wanted got my blood pumping and helped keep me excited for the three-day experience that will begin tomorrow. I believe that my lack of interest in titles like Black Ops 2 and Crysis 3 flows mostly from the fact that they don’t bother bringing anything new to the table. I’m not turned off to the titles, they’re clearly very well designed shooters that are working with a tried-and-true formula. But they don’t really give me something different, something exciting, something to look forward to. While the story or the setting or the minute details may be different, I know exactly what game I’m going to be getting. If I liked the first Black Ops, I’ll almost certainly enjoy the second one as well. If I liked Crysis 2, I’ll like Crysis 3. But there are still games that get gamers like me excited. These usually include some sort of simple but revolutionary mechanics that change the way the game is played. For example, while I have never been a huge fan of the Splinter Cell games, the ability to use voice commands in Splinter Cell: Blacklist caught my attention. Simple things like that would be an awesome addition in many games and it’s enough to make me consider picking up the game in the future. Whatever your thinking may be, here’s the current list of games we’re going to be taking a look at:
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The Legendary Carmine
Andrew Clayton (a.k.a. The Legendary Carmine) is SSG's Executive Editor. He toils at the stone to make sure this site brings its readers valuable content on a daily basis. Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
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July 2015
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