Lately, I've been digging back through my game collection and have been revisiting some old favorites. One game in particular I've been putting some time into is ICO for PS2. I have very fond memories of this title and I'm finding a bit more appreciation for it as I play through again. I started to wonder how I was really enjoying an older game like this a bit more than anything I've purchased recently for the next gen systems. I arrived at an answer: in many cases, over production can ruin a game.

At it's core, ICO is just a simple concept, but executed in a very well manner. The game isn't the best game in the world, but in my perspective, it has it where it counts. The atmosphere is where it's at. With the lack of a HUD, it does a great job of just immersing you into the adventure. Also, the subtle use of sound effects and music at key moments add to the vibe. Shadow of the Colossus is another example of a vision well realized. That game does an astounding job of making you feel very alone and isolated in a sprawling adventure to take down fearsome giants.

Now, did either of these games have good play control... no. For the most part, they were sort of difficult to control, but for me, that was forgivable. I could actually 'feel' the game. I could appreciate the thought, design, and atmosphere that was brought to life. As many times I wanted to wing the controller into the TV, I still sucked it up and continued.

This all leads to my initial realization. In today's games, it seems like we lose a lot of the small key elements that create a great game. Now, don't get me wrong, we've seen some fantastic games come out on the next gen systems, but we're seeing many ideas recycled or dumbed down in the not so good games. So many developers are sacrificing substance for graphics. Sadly enough, many casual gamers are ok with this and help feed the 'popularity' of these sub-par titles.

It's much like the movie industry over the past several years. With the extensive advancements in digital effects, more time and effort is put into all the effects we see in a movie rather than balancing it out between script, acting, etc, etc. I was absolutely appalled at the more recent Star Wars trilogy. Great visuals, TERRIBLE script and acting. Don't even get me started on Jerry Bruckheimer movies, either.

Getting back on track, I feel we're in a rather dangerous time for the gaming industry. Where big graphics, big bangs, and big hype are ruling the charts, the potential for great, unique titles is shrinking. One can only hope that the developers with the fresh ideas keep up the good fight and keep the pulse pumping of the creative side of the industry.

Among my current/next gen gaming, I continue to dip back into the games I grew up on by buying up game for NES, SNES, N64, Atari, etc. I love my old school gaming! With my game collection stretching past 300 games, I've come to a nasty realization: I don't finish the games I have :(

I find that I have developed what I call "GameDD". Yeah, cheesy, I know... but there's really no other way I can put it. I totally zone out when it comes to games. There's tons of current/next gen games that I have and love, but looking among my shelves, i noticed how many I have yet to even finish.

Bioshock is one of my favorite games right now. I've had it since the day it launched, but I have yet to finish it. Assassin's Creed another I really dig... I haven't even done the first assassination in the story yet. I've just done tons of the side missions. On the PS2 side, I haven't scratched the surface of Final Fantasy XII. Never finished Shadow of the Colossus. Here's the biggest travesty of all: I have never finished any of the Metal Gear Solid games.

So, what causes me to zone out so much and just not focus on one game. Is it that the market has become so over saturated with games, that I end up buying into the hype of the next 'big game' that's coming out? I've pondered this for quite some time now. I remember the days that big 'blockbuster' titles were few and far between. A big hit game would come out and you would spend months playing it.

I have very fond memories of playing The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time for weeks on end. As soon as I finished that game, I went back and played through it all over again. Nothing could pull me away from that game and it was quite some time that another game of that magnitude came out on any system. Now, that's certainly my opinion on it, but I'm sure others would say the same thing about another game they latched on to during that time frame.

Today we just get bombarded by game after game and hype after hype. Granted, we've seen some great games come from all this competition, but when does it all become too much? One trend I'm seeing in gaming as of late is short games. I understand that developers are reaching out to the casual gamers and a broader audience. I also understand that production costs are more exorbanant than ever. Along with those two points, there's the ever growing demand to 1up the opposition and release the next big thing.

With all that said, I'm still confused to where my GameDD kicks in. Honestly, it's a combination of everything. I always want to see the next big game, I end up buying into the hype, and I start to milk the new games for all they're worth because they're over far too quickly for my tastes. The last point is probably my major problem. I read reviews or hear from others about how short a game is and I become disapointed. Knowing a game is rather short lived, I end up playing it in very short burst in order to prolong it's life in my gaming heart and soul.

I have to get used to the fact that we live in the age of more casual players picking up games. My hopes are that those of us that are among the hardcore crowd will be appeased from time to time by developers that remember we're their bread and butter :)

I'm sorry to just go on and on about this in my blog entries.  It just seems this is the only time I want to blog; when I have something to complain about.  I'm quite saddened by the state of affairs with today's gaming scene.  Nothing but negativity flows through a majority of the conversations here on GS.  You go in a forum post and it's nothing but 'this game is going to suck', 'down with EA, fight the power', 'wah wah wah they didn't do this in a game', etc. etc.  JUST STOP!  Why can't anyone just sit back and enjoy their games.  Sure, you'll have some you don't like, but I love when everyone starts ranting about a game that HASN'T EVEN COME OUT YET!  They assume what it's going to be... and we all know what happens when you 'assume' things :wink:  Honestly, people need to stop thinking they're the definative mind in gaming and that their opinion is the final word.  Stop your beotching.... you'll live longer.

Got my 360 a couple of weeks ago. Also got myself a nice stash of games for it to last me some time, but I am however looking forward to a few upcoming releases, namely NCAA Football 07, Prey, and Battle for Middle Earth II. What can I say... I like all sorts of games :)

Not feeling too energetic tonight, so this blog isn't going to be too expressive or up to par in writing standards. I'm just a bit tweaked right now because I'm extremely sick of 'Elitist' gamers. Sure, I may come off elitist to some with how I am about gaming... but I do come from the era of the original Atari systems. So yeah, I have been gaming all my life and do take pride in that. But as far as actually playing the games and interacting with people online about gaming, I like to have competitive fun and help people out they may have questions about a game or such.

So, I go on the GS forums tonight, which I don't normally do. Just thought I'd take a look and see what's shakin. I see a topic concerning questions about Fight Night Round 3, which I own. I make a few posts to help shed some light on the questions someone had about the retail game and I get jumped on by some goober about making multiple posts to 'increase my post count' and should have just edited my previous post(s). As I said, I don't visit the forums often, so the drop down link for editing a post slipped past me... I didn't notice it was there. So sue me for trying to be nice and carry a conversation. And besides... you're not your **** post count! It doesn't make you who you are. The elitist attitude I was given just pissed me off a little... because it was unnecessary. To the peon that chose to be an ass to me... how's this for being elitist: I've probably been involved in the gaming scene long before your daddy decided or even thought to plop in your mom and conceive a wretch like you... get over yourself.

As far as my elitist comment... you know I didn't mean anything by being involved in the scene longer than someone. I just like playing these kids' games sometime to show them how much of an ass they really are :)

I've had a few people here on Gamespot ask me why I don't participate on the forums... that my writings and opinions are 'smart' and 'to the point'.  Well, I thank those that like what I write, but I can't find myself participating in the forums here any time soon.  Here's why:

Most posts I've seen people make in the forums on Gamespot are mindless ramblings and quite immature.  I can't begin to tell you how many know-it-all posts we've seen from people that have actually no clue what they're yammering about.  Sure, a lot of things on here are opinion based, but most people on here think their opinion is more; that their opinion is fact or the only opinion that matters.  We're all entitled to what we like or dislike and it's fine to express that.  However, that's what most of the forums have become:  a sound off of what's 'good' and what's not.  I would find myself participating if there were much more meaningful discussions than "PC Gaming is Dead" or "What's your favorite game".

There's a lot of gamers out there that want a bit more mind provoking discussions and interaction.

I have never looked into it until recently, but today I noticed that you can have your very own blog here at GameSpot. Blogs, blogs, everywhere; the latest craze on the net. Being a long time video game nerd (admittedly so), I was joyed to find a place to just 'jot' down my praises and rants involving video games. Will anyone here actually read this; probably not... but it will be fun to get the thoughts out of my head.

Most of the games I've been playing lately have been PC oriented. F.E.A.R., Civ IV, NFS:MW, and UT 2004 have been in heavy rotation, but online Texas hold-em has also been a part of my gaming diet. I haven't played console games for a stint, but I'm back to playing some x-box, ps2, and gamecube. X-box has been churning out multitudes of NCAA Football 06 games, along with Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. PS2 has been nothing but Guitar Hero... talk about a great game loaded with fun and challenge. That game is also my cup of tea because I'm a musician. Gamecube has been Resident Evil 4 for the most part. I've seen RE4 on ps2, but it just slightly falls short of the cube version... graphics are a bit more polished on the cube and it seems to flow better as far as controls in my opinion.

Any gripes I have with gaming right now would just basically the MMORPG games as of late. WoW is decent, but the rest I've played just don't do it for me. I know tons of people enjoy them and that's great. However the downfall of these games in my opinion are the monthly payments. I do understand that it takes some $$$ to keep servers up and running and what not... but to charge gamers $50+ for the game... then tag them with a $10-$20 monthly fee just seems steep. What happened to the days of just playing games and not having to worry about $$ after you purchase the game. Kudos to Guild Wars on the free service.

On another gripe note, I'm a bit divided on the whole ordeal advertising in some games. I do feel it adds a sort of realism to the atmosphere, however it is adding real world entities in what many people prefer to have as an escape from exactly that, that real world. I've come to feel and understand where the protests are coming from. I'm playing a racing game and I see an ad for McDonald's. Why advertise food in a racing game? I guess they're targeting those poor saps that don't stop playing games to eat or have a personal life. Hey goobers... put down the controller and take a break from time to time. Grab a bite to eat. Go out with some friends (if you have any). Get off your asses so we don't have to see Mickie D's or BK advertising in a game that's completely irrelevant to food. Thank you, drive through.