A long, drawn out rant about videogames...(mind your head!)

[The Tawashi Bus Hat]

WARNING - RANT AHEAD!

But seriously, it has recently come to my attention that there is a rapid decline in the quality of modern day videogames.

Yes, I know the graphics are drastically improving every year, the high definition games look flawless, and there is always a limitless number of titles to choose from for every system.

BUT, the things that make all games good are not necessarily their graphics or numbers. I mean, after trying to find a new game to pique my interest in gaming once again, I ended up turning my sights to Final Fantasy 1 + 2 : Dawn of Souls. Yup. A Gameboy Advance remake of an NES game.

"But TBH, what about all the new games on the PS3, XBOX360, Wii and DS? They are all much newer and nicer to look at!"

This may be true, but you know what these new games are missing?

A SOUL. That's right, SOULS. That little something that resonates withing a game that cannot be pinpointed from the outside, but can be felt when you are deep inside its realm within. It's the thing that makes you remember a game 5, 10 or 20 years after you first lay your hands on that controller.

All these new games...they are missing the magic behind them. Like Super Mario Galaxy, Halo: Reach, Starcraft II, and Final Fantasy XIII - they are all supposed to be the epitome of their lineage, yet they have nothing behind the discs. After beating them once, they lay to gather dust because you were unable to delve yourself into their worlds. They don't...have souls. They are merely three dimensional worlds with familiar characters without that heart you came to love.

What has happened? Has the corporate leviathan swallowed all those that care about the future of videogaming? Why is it that, even with the new Pokemon Heart Gold, I still rather pull out my bulky Gameboy and Pokemon Gold? Instead of New Super Mario Bros., I'd rather dust off my SNES? Instead of dishing out $300 for a new XBOX360, I'd rather spend over $100 on used PS2, GBA and N64 games?

What is this madness? I demand answers!!!!

/RANT

[LLM]

I must admit as a gamer, games with souls are slim now. But there are some games left. The Legend of Zelda series is a good example, I still can replay any of them even the new ones. I am not sure if this one counts for a soul or not for it is only multi-player, but Team Fortress 2 is great! The crazy community that is around the game itself is fun. And the game is 2 and a half years old and still get free updates that expand the game. And the humor and personality Valve put into it is amazing.
Also like to add the only redeeming quality of Halo: Reach I see it has a new story and the updated forge mode. Can't wait to make some crazy maps.

/my 2 cents/add for TF2

[Bakabits]

NOTICE: I don't like rants that much (no offence) but i accept them.

Why do you rant so much? lol jk

As i have been a gamer since age 1 (lol) i will say that you play what you like and you don't play what you don't like. don't get upset about what others like. this is not a rant. also i agree with you on some of the things you said. the free mmo population has grown too much in the last few years. people are even copying other games! Gates of Andaron and 4Story are a example idk which one is the copy but they are the SAME game! Although there are some bad soulless mmo's i have to say the one i am playing now is amazing! It is called Dungeons & Dragons online. you know that table top rpg? yeah it is now a game... and its AWSOME. you don't need to play the table top game to LOVE it. here is the site: http://www.ddo.com/ the story and play style is just so original and FUN! keyword FUN. that is what matters. not graphics, reviews, or anything else. its just what YOU like that matters. And again..... play what you like and don't play what you don't.

[karl0s]

I've been a decently keen gamer for years. Although i've never committed myself to playing WoW for days at a time, i still remember playing a heap of old SNES games [Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country and the old Mortal Kombat games] as a kid. They were all awesome fun at the time, all good games in their own right. But i did kind of see a 'soul' in them, they just remind me of a time when beating a new game before my anyone else in my family did was the most important thing in the world.

There are games around now that are just thrown together with decent graphics and a few explosions and shipped out, no love involved and nothing to get excited about. There were games like that 15+ years ago.

I recently finished Mass Effect 2, it blew me away. It may have been lacking the 'soul' that a really old game may have had. But every aspect of the game was immersed with detail. Every person has a different personality, every race has a different culture and different traditions. It gets you completely involved in its universe and thats why you keep going back to play it, and why you play it over when you beat, and why you like it. Same goes for the new Final Fantasy. Admittedly the only other FF game i've played was 8, but both are incredible. Despite coming out 10 years apart from each other, the games are completely different but the 'soul' is still there.

That's just what I reckon anyways.

[fafner]

Welcome to the modern mass-production era. Big corporations need to pack games after games, more graphically glutton that the previous one to hope to beat their competitor. No time to put such a feature as... what do you call it? a "soul" ? What is it anyway?

I have been buying less and less games in the past, and I forgot a good part of the few I bought. However, there is still sometimes a gem burried somewhere in the heap, most of the time not in full view. As mentionned, the Zelda series are among the most visible. I still regularly play to the first one (yeah, the 1986 one), and the last one too. Some of them aren't even known and were desperate flops because of non-existant advertising. Freespace 2 comes in mind. It was released at the same time as one of the Star Wars game, I dont' remember which one. While the Star Wars game was decent, it was nevertheless mediocre compared to Freespace 2.

And please don't hesitate to rant. I like rants, especially when I can happily join :d evil:

[Black Rabbit]

I am not sure if this one counts for a soul or not for it is only multi-player, but Team Fortress 2 is great! The crazy community that is around the game itself is fun. And the game is 2 and a half years old and still get free updates that expand the game. And the humor and personality Valve put into it is amazing.

You like Team Fortress too? My brother (Faram45 -_- ) gets on Team Fortress almost everyday. Heh, his avatar is Astro Boy.
And soul? Uh, I don't play much video games, so I can't really tell the difference... >____<

[Alittleacorn]

Mind my head? Wha-THUMP OW! T.T hey why's the ceiling so low in here!?

And I couldn't agree more with you. The quality of games have just been going downhill that i've not been bothered to get a ps3 yet until something shiny comes along. What happened to the classic Final Fantasy games (the new ones are just terrible, it's like a reuse of past character where the plot's focus is to stare at girls >_< ) or the old Resident Evil's I miss that lame camera angle and the zombies, WHERE HAVE THE ZOMBIES GONE!?

Even my favourite horror game Silent Hill went down after the third installment. 3 I love, 4 and 5 and the upcoming 6th, LAME @_@ I miss the old story board, why can't they bring back the past characters instead of pulling in new ones.

Not to mentino I'm getting fed up with Kingdom Hearts, sure Birth by Sleep is original in it's self but Kingdom Hearts 2, Coded, Chain of Memories nad that revisualling of the first game....it's just the same stuff! >_<

Graphics might improve but at the end of it all it's really the story that should be at it's heart with gameplay. When are they gonna go back to the old ways and stop inventing games where you just stare at woman with implants and revealing outfits! That's right Square Enix! Capcom! Those idiots who made messed up Dead or Alive, yeah! I'm looking at YOU! -.-

o.o...Wow, I think I let off some steam too. Hey ranting is fun! Come on people join in, get that weight off your chest!

[Fauna]

It's because many of the game companies have fallen into a habit of automatically making shovelware, no matter what franchise they're in.

My brother's in the other room, playing Sonic CD, and I was just helping him unlock the secret pictures (D.J. Eggman!). I watched the animated ending theme and felt...really, really old. Sonic used to be just a teenager who rolled around the planet, relaxing with select friends and fighting robots when he had to. Now it's all about Sonic And The Secret Swords of the Werehog Tennis Vs. Mario 4, and there's too many characters to keep track of, with too many humans. I remember when Knuckles was still Sonic's rival, and it was a big deal! Now all Knuckles does is punch things and be secretive.

I remember when the OVA came to home video, and when the American comics were still based on the old cartoon and games. Now Sonic has been warped as a rude guy who gets all the girls he wants and has to compete with other hedgehogs who are depressed. It just makes me sad.

[Anime Girl]

Okaaaay.