I couldn't do it.

I'd waited for the Manhunt sequel's announcement. I'd paid the entire game off the moment it hit the Gamestop computers. I'd stayed the course when the game was postponed with the AO rating. I kept the faith when there was mention of an M-rated version.

But I couldn't do it. I couldn't stomach the changes that were made. And so I cancelled my preorder.

When the original rating came down, nobody would say precisely why it was rated AO. We were given vague generalizations by the ESRB's Patricia Vance, and much hemming and hawing was performed as we waited to find out what the game's fate would be. Would it be a few textures removed? A few executions replaced? The entire project scrapped?

Now we see that executions will be replaced with a dark, blurry mess. Oh, the replaced executions are no big deal. I can live without the genital rip. But when most of the kills are replaced with the equivalent of Sub-Zero's Blackout fatality, what's the point?What's a horror game without the horror?

I used the credit I had on Manhunt 2 toward Beautiful Katamari, a game that runs on the opposite side of the thematic spectrum. My $40 won't be missed, I'm sure. But I don't buy games to make political statements.

Gamespot is currently doing a promotion where the more games you trade in, the higher the bonus percentage you receive in store credit.  I traded in six games today, something that only a few years ago would have been unthinkable.

See, I used to play games and then keep them.  For some reason, I thought this was what "real" gamers did, building a collection that would impress just about any game playing geek who would look at it.  In my mind, they would marvel at my first-run Final Fantasy Tactics, smile at Symphony of the Night, chortle knowingly at Valkyrie Profile.  Games would be lined up like empty beer bottles, showing my gaming accumen to any and all who would look.

But nobody did.  Nobody freaking cared about how "hardcore" I was, except maybe the staff at EB who looked forward to raising their number of preorders whenever they saw me.  Sure, I have Rez, but nobody at work cares.  Record of the Lodoss War doesn't do anything when it comes to wooing the ladies.  While I'm at it, try bringing up Skies of Arcadia at a dinner conversation and see how quickly other people can change the subject.  Ultimately, an impressive collection of games just doesn't win you Brownie points with anyone outside a small circle of people you'll likely never meet, and who'll just scoff anyway when they realize that you've never played Disgaea.

Now I trade games in.  Is there really any reason I should have held on to Chibi-Robo or Cubivore, other than to maybe say I owned them to people who'll probably never ask?  I can't think of any reason to hold on to Twilight Princess, especially since the trade-in value is still pretty high.  And Rez -- well, that one stays with me.  I may not collect games like I used to, but I haven't lost my mind.

I've been playing Rogue Galaxy for a little while, and it has finally dawned on me that I can't stand the JRPG archetypes anymore.  From the naive-yet-brave (but no less stupid) Jaster to the "I'm skinny and cute and I've been on this ship my whole life but I'm still retarded" Kisala(?), I want to punch them all in the face.  The big, strong, sexy, but stubborn and loudmouthed Lilika (who is, yes, incredibly dumb), the... you know what?  It doesn't even matter.  I hate them all with a passion.

The story elements are so damned similar to all of the other games I've played, I can't even figure out why I'm still playing.  (Well, I can, sort of: the collecting and item-building is really addicting).  But the characters, URRGH!, the characters!  How many times do they need to say someone's name and then trail off?  And how many times to I have to sit through the "They're going to carry out ritual execution, but it is not our place to judge, no, let us sit here and cry until the last second" storyline?  Played out and really, really dumb.

And then there's that annoying ballad roughly midway through the game that they play over a long cinematic -- sure, you can skip cutscenes after a few minutes, but then you miss some neat lines and important plot points that inevitably come back to haunt you.  Why, though?  Why sing that song just then, especially when it's so out of place?  This is just terrible direction on somebody's part.

But you know something?  It's not just Rogue Galaxy.  It's Tales of the Abyss.  It's Tales of Phantasia.  It's almost every JRPG I can think of that has come out in the last ten years, and even before that.

A lot of this can be chalked up to Japanese culture as a whole.  I used to be fascinated with it, but the more I learned, the less I liked.  And a lot of these elements are reflected in the SAME.  DAMN.  RECYCLED.  THEMES.  IN.  EVERY.  GAME.  THEY.  MAKE.

Even so, I hate to throw the proverbial baby out with its bathwater.  While the thematic elements need a serious overhaul, the actual gameplay has proven to be exciting and dynamic.  New games bring new ways of bolstering characters and viewing the gameworlds.  If only I didn't have to wade through a river of crap to get to it...

A silly thought, really, but one that comes up from time to time: what will this console generation be called?

The naming conventions have been a bit of a mess, mostly because they're inaccurate, they're not all-encompassing, and frankly, we in the videogame console are very silly, proud, and pedantic.  I know that referring to a console generation in terms of processing power doesn't take into account that certain parts of a machine aren't really 16-bit.  Just, just SHUT UP, ALRIGHT?!

That said, I refer to console generations thusly:

Atari generation: The Atari 2600 dominated the gaming scene, so they get the nod.

8-bit: This included the NES and the Sega Master System.  So named because of marketing.  Hey, it works, alright?

16-bit: Includes the SNES, Genesis, Turbo Grafix-16, Sega CD, and so it goes.

CD-based: The names go from processors to media formats, mostly because of the aforementioned people who want to look smart.  Here's the PSOne, Sega Saturn, the cartridge-based-but-it-was-out-at-the-same-time-so-who-really-cares Nintendo 64, and a bunch of also-rans.

DVD-based: No, they're not all DVD-based.  Still, it was (is?) the dominant format.  These guys include the PS2, XBox, and the Gamecube.  I'm sorry to say that the Dreamcast fell through the cracks between generations.

Now we come to the PS3, the Wii, and the 360.  Maybe I'm coming to the party a bit early, but I just can't see what this generation of hardware can be referred to.  Online?  We've had that off and on since the 16-bit generation.  Motion-sensitive?  I'm still not sold on that premise being anything more than a gimmick.  Wireless?  I hope not.

Time will tell how all this will shake out.

I think this'll be my first blog post here, and I don't expect anyone to read it.  Doesn't matter, it's a place to spew videogame-related opinions, so I may as well use it.

The guessing game: I've recently picked up an XBox 360, and one thing that I've learned very, very quickly is that I don't like spending $60 on new games.  It can't be avoided, I suppose, since big fancy programs on big fancy boxes cost big freakin' money to create.

On a very similar note, I've purchased a game called The Outfit for the 360.  Originally, it cost $60.  I got it for $20.  I've also purchased The Red Star for the PS2.  Purchase price, $20.

The though occurs, however, that I might not have been so lucky with The Outfit and I might have been far less fortunate with The Red Star had I not purchased them when I did.  We all know the story of Panzer Dragoon Saga, how it was produced in limited quantities and required a blood sacrifice to acquire a few months after its release.  What might have happened if The Outfit had been as difficult to find?  Would I have had to spend half my paycheck just to play it?  And what happens if The Red Star becomes scarce?  Will that $20 buy seem like a bargain?  Or will this game turn into something in Gamestop's $5-and-under bin?

I suppose that's the Guessing Game we all have to play these days when it comes to buying new games.  Today's high price tags may seem like a bargain tomorrow.  Today's bargains may be overpriced next week.  This hobby is not unusual in that we've developed an aftermarket that plays a bit like baseball cards did just a few years ago.  I guess that I simply dislike the high stakes game that something like this can become.