I have, in recent weeks, found myself completely uninterested in any games I own, and only a mild passing interest in games being released. I don't know what is wrong with me!

Part of it I think is because a lot of games coming out are (shock!) Shooters. As I've said in an earlier post about Gears of War. I bought the game, but I lost interest in it before the day was through. The game I'm currently sort of looking into is Viva Pinata. Now, is that because Viva Pinata is so completely different from all these damned shooters, and I'm so desperate for something new I automatically go for the non-fps, or because I'm genuinely interested in it? I don't watch it, nor had I even heard of it until I saw the commercials and the synopsis telling me it was based on a tv-show. I can't help but think I'm just drawn to the most apparent alternative, since everything else being advertised is SOCOM: Navy Seals and Call of Duty, etc. etc.  - I realize that is what is popular right now, but there are a lot of other genres out there that need some attention too. I wouldn't mind World of Warcraft so much - except that I generally hate playing with other people online, and I DEFINITELY don't like pay-to-play model. I realize that these fee's are a necessary evil, however, if thats the case, then the game should be less to purchase in the first place. If you play for a year, you've essentially bought the exact same game 4 or 5 times in a row, not including your initial purchase. Plus I'm highly unlikely to play the same game over and over again, trying to get my moneys worth.  Just based on my own gaming habits, that would be a waste of money for me.

Most people I talk to about this of course negate whatever I say with things such as "Theres lots of awesome games coming out!" Then proceed to name off every FPS under the sun. I just can't seem to say enough how utterly sick of shooters I am. I've run the gammut from feigned interest, to mild frustration, to apathetic, and now onto flat out hatred. Companies are obsessed with relentlessly cranking these things out, because there are apparently a large group of people who blindly buy everything that centers around a first-person view with a gun bobbing back and forth on the screen.

I can see the draw I guess for creating one - the stories all revolve around 1 of 3 or 4 different templates, and you don't have to worry about detailed character models since the object is to make them explode as quickly as possible, and you rarely, if ever, even SEE the main character. If you do, it's likely in a cutscene. Sure you can draw up some great looking art to slap on the box and place liberally throughout the game manual - but thats not what is going to be seen in the game most of the time. Most of the dev time seems spent on making the environments pretty. I realize there are some exceptions here and there, Gears of War tried something new by setting to a 3rd person over the shoulder view, which I love - but the story is still pretty much the same as Halo, or Doom. Run around blow things up, watch a cutscene, repeat. The story unfolds a bit more, more aliens/monsters show up. The main character never gets any stronger, or smarter. Same thing over and over and over again.

My ideal game comes with a deep storyline, and excellent character development. 3rd person view is an absolute necessity, as I want to SEE my avatar on the screen. Graphics should be further down the priority list than they currently are, I think. Storyline, Character Development, and intuitive gameplay should be at the top. Then Graphics. The old RPGs are certainly not known and loved because of their sweet graphics, Napolean.