Mario's weekend job
There is a longstanding stereotype that gamer’s are lazy. For years, many of us have been fighting this unfair label and have largely proven that gamers work just as hard as anyone else. We don’t go around calling avid readers or knitters lazy, so why should we stand by when we are labeled as such. Nevertheless, there is one area in which many of us are lazy, and we have to change it. For some reason, many gamers tend to rely on marketing and media to tell us if an upcoming game will be good, rather than expend the time and effort to do some research on our own.
Really quite boring
According to data from the GfK Chart-Track, reported by Games Industry, Aliens vs. Predators is now the fastest selling game of 2010. Really? Obviously, with Halo Reach and WoW: Cataclysm releasing this year the data will change, but we’ve had Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect both release this year, and AVP has beat them both out. The real reason this shocks me is because AVP is the most boring game I have ever played. The controls were fine, and the graphics were decent, but it bored the hell out of me and most people to whom I have spoken on the subject agree.
Not as cool as it looks
You see, the problem is that we get so enamored by brand recognition and pre-rendered cut scenes, that we do not take the time to look into a game. Last year one of the darlings of the industry, Bethesda, released a horribly done game (author’s opinion) entitled Rogue Warrior. As it was only published by Bethesda, I have often wondered if anyone there actually played the game when it came up from the publisher. Game Informer gave it a 1.5 out of 10. However, when I saw the beautifully rendered cut scene that was used for the commercial, I thought the game was going to be amazing. Nevertheless, I chose to do some research as the game neared release and began to realize that it was going to be bad. To prove it to myself, I rented the game, and it was very bad.
The developers are not going to stop trying to get us to buy their crappy games, so it is on us to pay attention to the industry, do some research, and stop buying in to the hype. Some games are destined to be good. We all knew that Mass Effect 2 would not fail. No game is destined to be good. If we want things to change, we must be willing to kill our darlings. For example, I have been waiting for Heavy Rain for four years. I have anticipated it more than any other game ever. I am very lucky that it has turned out to be good. However, I did my research over the years, followed the insider previews, gameplay trailers, and played the demo. Had those things started looking bad, I would have killed my darling. The more we condone the actions of publishers release bad games with good marketing, the more they are going to do it. The principle is simple, and it is one that can apply to all aspects of our lives: we must think for ourselves so that we are not taken advantage of.
Sharing: It’s Win/Win
