The
Game Guy
Volume #9
By Mark H. Walker
Less is
More
Fallout, Mission Critical,
Shadow Watch, Parasite Eve, Odium, Diablo, Final Fantasy Tactics
-I can count the games I’ve finished (work aside) on a pair of hands.
Killing Diablo with my gaming buddy Brian Boyle, running through a
guided missile destroyer –Parasite Eve in tow, discovering Cloud
in an obscure corner of the Tactics world map -these are my most precious
gaming memories.
These games are not, however,
the most innovative software I’ve booted, not the flashiest I’ve seen,
not even the best I’ve played, but they all have one thing in common.
I took the time to learn the game, become the game, and finish the
game.
Hold that thought.
A couple issues back Computer
Gaming World seriously slammed the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time
release of Strategy First’s World War II Online. I don’t blame
CGW, WWII’s early release violated the most basic trust
between consumer and producer. To wit, “If I buy a product, it
will perform as advertised.”
Unfortunately, CGW
blamed the wrong people. The fault lies not with Strategy First, but
ourselves. Chew on this… the same issue of CGW ranked World
War II Online as one of the ten best selling games in computerdom.
Obviously, we don’t care how bad a game is. In fact, we can’t even
wait to read the game reviews. If it’s new we MUST have it.
The sales recorded in CGW
were bought and paid for long before consumers were warned by reviewers
to stay away. You have to think that Strategy First was counting on
that. Counting on a culture that tells us we need the newest, the
shiniest, the most.
Recall the thought.
What if we played each
game to conclusion? Enjoyed every nuance, took our time, worried not
about being the first to post, “I’m done!” on the message
boards. Worried not about having the newest, but rather enjoying what
we have. What if there was no rush to buy the latest console, game,
or gadget. Wouldn’t that make publishers make sure they got it right,
right out of the box? Wouldn’t it give us the quality products we
want?
Who Needs
the Game Boy?
I bought a Game Boy Color in 2000. Like everyone else, I had to see
what this Pokemon thing was all about. No doubt it’s a clever
game, but I soon bequeathed the purple gadget to my kids. They loved
playing it on trips to the relatives, and it kept them quiet. At first
I considered it a blessing, but grew uneasy as the silence lengthened
and the spring dogwoods drifted unnoticed by my Lumina’s windows.
It made me think –a dangerous occupation for sure.
We don’t need to live life
with our noses buried in a Game Boy (or Game Boy Advance), eyes drilling
into our PDAs, or an ear stuck on our cell phone. I’m afraid I’ll
miss seeing the girl in the black mini-skirt, hearing a friend’s joke,
or feeling the summer sun on my skin. We don’t need gaming on the
go, there’s time enough for that at our computers and consoles. Like
it or not, there’s a bigger game to play. They call it reality, and
it’s more fun than leveling up Pikachu.
Tight Takes
Etherlords plays like a cross between Heroes of Might and Magic
(HoMM) and Magic the Gathering (MtG). Heroes explore the HoMM-type
strategic map looking for resources and such. When they meet other
heroes or unfriendly creatures combat ensues. The skirmishes are like
a 3-D version of MtG, and the tactical options are richer than
my mother-in-law’s fudge. The beauty of the game stuns me. On the
strategic map golems pace through smoky stone portals, fronds bend
with the wind, and tiny mine carts orbit their mines. Once combat
is joined, lavishly detailed Orc Shamans attack scantily clad heroines.
Folks you have to understand
this is turn-based gaming. A genre that has traditionally been
a red-headed step child in the visual department. Etherlords
is the only thing I’ve witnessed that can rival a Virginia spring.
I promise I’ll play this
one through.
© Mark H. Walker,
LLC 2001
Mark H. Walker is a veteran interactive entertainment
journalist who has written over 40 books including his recently released
Myth III and Wizardry 8 strategy guides.
