Guess what, you’re getting two whole guest articles this weekend. Today’s offering comes from JamboGT.
I love the internet, I love gaming sites, I love finding out about games that are coming out and I love you all. Well maybe scratch that last one…
I do have one problem though, the element of surprise.
When there is a game in which I have a lot of interest in I can spend a lot of time scouring the web looking for any news I can find about that game. This is something I do enjoy, every tid-bit of news I can acquire is devoured, examined and more than likely discussed with people on Twitter, friends on my course or randomers in forums. The internet and sites such as The Sixth Axis provide us with so much knowledge, information and discussion that we can sometimes feel that we know the game before it even hits the shelves.
In many situations this is a great thing, it lets us know at a basic level if we should purchase the game or not. It gives us an idea what to expect, helps us not to get too carried away in our own expectations. It gives us the news we crave.
This for me has been the biggest single change in gaming.
Back in the day, we had no news about games other than the magazines you may have bought every month. This is where I learnt special moves, cheats, the best times to beat around Ghost Valley and occasionally what games were coming up and why I should be interested. Other than that, games would be bought for three reasons: it was a sequel to a game you liked, word of mouth from friends or the box and blurb on the back made it look pretty cool!
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish to return to those bleak days. Back then, and up to most of the way through the PS2’s life, I was generally oblivious to how a game would play, how a battle system would work, what would multi-player be like. This meant that each game became a mini journey of discovery; details I didn’t know existed until I happened upon them. Sometimes I miss that. This is something that I don’t think we will ever get back with mainstream games.
I realise that there is a simple solution to this, don’t be the guy that spends hours a day looking for the news! I don’t think I can do that though; gaming for me now is more than a hobby, it is where my study – and hopefully my work – lies. I would hate to be without the news, details, opinions and enthusiasm that I get daily.
Sometimes, though, wouldn’t it be nice to be surprised again?
gordon_strange
R. I. P. Craig David. He died this evening from of a bite from a black widow spider. He was performing in Egypt and was bitten in his hotel room.
On topic: I like guest articles. One day I’m gong to be brave enough to submit one of my ramblings.
SpikeyMikey23
If this were true I would have just posted ‘can he get a rewind!’ but alas, its bullshit. Someones having you on fella. This was flying around last year.
(Unless, your comment was referring to jambos love of the internet, and its randomness)
bunimomike
Where do you get this stuff from? :-)
gordon_strange
yeah you got me. we (me and my non cyber friends ) started thisabout 3 years ago. i was on the train home from Laaaaaadaaaaan, and bored so thought i’d try it here . damn you people for being so astute!
now as i know the rules here i’d best say the following : cumpooter gaymes r well kewl n dudey~FACT!
Mike: I love you, we should be together ( or be in some kind of underwear exchange programme)
stueeeee
I also miss those days. Nowadays if u specifacally want a game u read is gonna be good we can just click and pre order. And if u just so happen to buy a game on spur of the moment in a shop, and you are an avid gamer chances are if u haven’t heard of it then it probably isn’t brilliant. As all the cracking games are so hyped up u cant really miss them. My dad came home with Silent Bomber on PS1 for me after picking it up randomly for £3.50, I never heard of it before, but I played it and absolutely loved it! Same for many other people and many other titles I’m sure….
JamboGT
Thanks for the nice comments everyone.
I have to be honest I think it is brilliant just how much media attention gaming gets, it really is widely accepted now and very much in the period of coming of age. I think, as with all things though, that there is sometimes the feeling of “wasn’t it better before it was popular?” though.
Michael
GTA III on PS2. That (kind of) came out of nowhere. Ok, so I got the word-of-mouth via the net, but still it was a surprise. It was a game that you created stories in, and those stories I read on the net persuaded me to buy it.