I just want to talk about boss battles...more specifically, what the hell happened to them? I remember back then, fighting a boss was equivalent to watching two superheroes duke it out. In other words, the face-off was intimidating, brilliant, and the aftermath really made you feel like you've conquered a total war on your lonesome. Nowdays, chances are, 8 times out of 10 the boss battles are lame. I mean, the only time I know I was fighting a boss was the fact that this special guy had a flamboyant entrance, an evil voice and took longer than usual to take down. In other words, they have the impression of squaring off against, say, Magneto in an open city, but in the end it just feels like you called him names, and he walked away because he couldn't think of a better comeback. Nowdays, fighting a boss simply requires you to dodge a few fireballs, wait for an opening, and attack...and do this monotony for fifteen minutes or more. Or, just trade blows until you realize that the only reason why you won this brainless violence is because you can heal yourself, while he can't. In other words, fighting that towering behemoth who is tearing skyscrapers apart with little effort loses that "Wow" effect when all you do is toss endlessly spawning grenades at its weakspot. I mean, where's the pride in that? Would you really feel like a hero knowing that you've trudged through hell to smack the most powerful villain in the galaxy who is capable of causing the world to implode if he snapped his fingers, just to see him run into his car and crash into a wall? To me, it's always been the Last Stand that will make or break the conclusion. And it's extremely dissapointing to see the biggest threat to the world die without going down in flames. For example, the Snake VS Liquid duel on the downed Metal Gear on the PSone was epic because you had absolutely nothing to back you up, and you had to win the fight solely on kicking his ass with your bare hands. While this contradicts everything I said I didn't like about boss battles, it was the atmosphere that set the mood that I really was being a hero in an action game. Waiting for someone to pop out of cover and unload your pistol in slow motion just feel like a chore. If you've played Wanted, you'll know where I'm coming from. Taking on fellow assassins sounds good in theory, especially when you've seen what the movie offered, so you'll feel like tossing this game in the microwave when you find out how these supposedly professional killers never break from their failed routines. Curving bullets is fun, but if all the enemies do is wait for you to kill them, it feels like a lost cause. In other words, the last boss is supposed to symbolize that you've pushed him to the point of desperation where he's not interested in destroying the world, but that he knows he's defeated and just simply wants you dead by any means necessary. Very few games successfully capture that feeling. There's nothing imposing about chasing someone in a preset pattern and relying on good aim to deplete his health bar. While I won't deny that there are a ton of awesome games in my collection, I'm just saying that I feel cheated knowing I didn't pat myself on the back for saving the world.