Yes there are a lot of great games. But if you play only the amazing games that come along nowadays, you'll be missing out on a multitude of older games that are incredibly fun and that are a part of video game history. So put down your hi-def TVs (if you're that strong), prepare to blow on you Super Nintendo and watch from an isometric perspective.

1. Fallout 1 & 2: You think that God of War was violent? You think that Oblivion gave you too much freedom? Well, these two gems are here to blow your mind. These games were made a century ago, yet I don't really believe they've been topped. I mean, when was the last time you blew a huge chunk out of someone torsos, revealing splintered ribs and glistening guts? Okay so it's not that clear, but it's still a really gruesome game. And you think that GTA invented the sandbox game? In Fallout you can literally take wathever path you want to and do whatever you want to. Okay so there's a certain order that you have to visit certain towns and what-not but it's still pretty damn open-ended. You can be the gun-totting warrior that does that aforementioned blowing off of limbs. Or you can be the charismatic thief with the thugs that do the bone crunching for him. You can be the sly assassin. The peaceful diplomat. You can even be a woman. It's crazy. The moral choices you have to make would make Knights of the Old Republic blush. You can kill everyone in your sight or you can give the populace a helping hand. You can be a pimp, a drug dealer, or you can find a cure for drug addiction. It just boggles the mind. With Fallout 3 coming out soon, you might as well play through these amazing experiences.

2. GTA III: One of the most famous games ever made. Play it. It's still a lot of fun. Trust me, it's just as fun as its sequels. You'll miss some things (a non-broken targeting system if you're not playing it on the PC like you should), motorcycles, non-blocky characters. Pros outweight the cons though. Fun, freedom, hilarity, and a much better knowladge of Liberty City's alleys for when GTA VI comes out.

3. System Shock 2: An underapreciated game. It's crazy good. It's like a less pretty Bioshock. There's incredible freedom, amazing storytelling, innovative gameplay. Graphics are not what they used to be and it's no longer as scary after having played Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill 4, but it's still a truly great game.

4. Mortal Kombat: Remember when the Mortal Kombat games were amazing? No? Well, then you have to play MK. The one that started it all is just as bloody, incredibly hard, and smooth as you remember it. The gameplay is still razor sharp. The greatest 2D fighter ever made deserves your attention.

5. Dune: That game that basically started the RTS genre is ugly, but alot of fun. By really pushing you to use actualy tactics instead of just massing unis, this game will take you to your limit. Antiquated, but a must play.

Bioshock. Mass Effect. Halo 3. GTA IV. MSG 4. Crysis. UT3. Wii Fit (why not?). What do all these games have in common? They are all (unless some sort of a catastrophe happens) amazing, innovative games that push the way their respective genres and gaming conventions as a whole.

With a pseudo-E3 happening right now, there are a lot of predictions being made. Some are ridiculous (That things will super awful for Sony) others, like the one I made in the beginning, are almost a sure thing. I have another prediction that is actually not that far-fetched. That games will get better.

I remember that, after Game Informer gave Resident Evil 4 and God of War perfect scores, a reader asked about the sanctity of the perfect score. He said that a perfect score was not something to be given to any ol' game, but something that was truly espectacular. The GI staff answered: Games are getting better.

It's not just that games are getting better. Bad games are becoming less frequent. Okay we still have Shreks and Pirates of the Caribbean, but there's is a movement towards less bad games. So my prediction, which will probably not be completely true until the next generation is: More innovative, great games, less crappy games. This is why:

1. Age: Time is an unstoppable monster that keeps on rolling. Until we all become Dorian Grays we will all have to deal with this fact. Like it or not, the passing of time will affect the industry tremendously. Back in the old, golden days of gaming, there was a lot of crap out there. For every Double Dragon there was some piece of worthless garbage. And games were not that innovative (sorry Duck Hunt). They were merely laying down the foundation for what games could be. By the time we get to the N64 and the PS, it's all about dealing with 3D and about starting to think about pondering about taking games more seriously. Now it's all about doing the unexpected, giving players choices and telling really good stories. Now every game is like this though. There are alot of games that are stuck in the past (The Spiderman series is just one recent example) or are just not fun. Still costumers had to take what they could get in the past. Now, costumers are much savvier and, with the rise in game costs, less willing to just shell out their hard-earned bucks for something with Star Wars in the title (even though a lot of people do). By the next generation of gaming, I predict that video game companies will consiously start making their games better, simply because smarter costumers won't buy their product. Also, developers will know better what works in a game and what doesn't (i.e. jumping puzzles in a FPS no, interactive cut-scenes yes). This will be like natural selection for games. Those that are good get bought, those that aren't don't. It hasn't been that way in the past, but it will be by the time the next-gen rolls around.

2. Money: Games are more expensive. This makes the costumer much pickier about what he or she buys. Video game companies who have to pay a lot of money to have a game made and are gambling millions on the success of a game, will be more conscious of this and strive for more innovative, more fun games.

The video game industry is also growing at a huge rate (relative to the other art industries). This will make more people (like Spielberg) enter the game industry, leading to better and better games.

Boy was I wordy. Anyways, what does this mean for the average Joe like me or you? It means that in the future, we'll be playing great games in a regular basis. You really couldn't ask for a better outlook. Get out there and enjoy it.

As a true gamer, I spend a lot of my time gaming. For most people who are not gamers, and who like to judge me, I spend way too much time doing something useless. That's when I started thinking about all the good things that gaming has brought to my life. Sure it's fun, sure I get attached to characters, universes, stories, etc. But I was looking for something more tangible. So here, without further ado, are the things I have learned from gaming.

1. Mythology: I remember a long time ago, when I was in 7th grade, there was a huge snow storm, but everyone had to stay inside studying for a tough mythology test. It seriously was really hard. However, I went out and sledded all day. The reason? Age of Mythology. I easily aced the test thanks to all the knowledge I had somehow amassed from playing countless and countless hours playing the game.

2. History: Although this has not helped me academically, I do have quite a firm grasp on history from playing Age of Empires 2 and reading the glossary. It's not too deep, but it's there.

3. Guns: Everyone plays countless games where you are promised a super realistic experience and you have to shoot people. Things like Counter-Strike, America's Army, etc. Playing all these games has lent me a deep knowledge of guns. The only time this has come in useful so far was to impress a lady who was a cop, but who knows? If I get into a shootout, I'll know which guns to pick.

4. Driving: I could basically already drive a car before I got my license thanks to all those racing games. Plus my dad actually made me practice driving in Grand Theft Auto. I had to follow the rules and everything. Good times.

5. Trivia: These are useless pieces of lint that just hang out somewhere in my head, but it sure helps me beat my friends in Jeopardy!


This is all I can remember for now, but keep checking, I'll be posting more