Playing the Game

I've been watching Video Games Awesome LIVE today while they play the first Bioshock (a favorite of mine) so that provides the inspiration for the following.

Yes, I am a gamer. Also if you read the title, you've just lost a whole different game. I apologize for that (but not really.)


For as much as I play, rage, and talk about them now, you'd think that video games were a part of my life from an early age.

But what you need to understand about my life growing up is that we didn't HAVE a gaming console in the house until I was 12. The only non-educational game I had ever played at home up until that point was Roller Coaster Tycoon (which was an AWESOME game).

But I have more than made up for my lack of gaming as a child with far too much gaming in college and grad school. I'm going to touch on two games here...the one I call my favorite, and the one that has made me rage the most out of any other game I have ever touched.

Assassin's Creed 2
I love the AC series. Addicted to it is probably a better description of my love for it. I love the "story within a story" aspect, as well as the historical touch the series has in all of its games.

But specifically I love the second game. The first game had awesome battles and established the story line, but the second game made me fall in love with the series as a whole, and is still the one game from the series that I will replay over and over. It introduced characters I could care about (see: Ezio Auditore) and gave the series a whole new direction. I got very wrapped up in the series from that point on as the rest of the characters became more developed in each of the stories presented.

And yes, this game has caused me rage...usually when I do something dumb and my character dies. But it's nothing compared to the next game.....

Prince of Persia 
No, not the "Sands of Time" game that everyone thinks it is. Just the game by this title. The 2008 reboot of the series.

This game caused me so much frustration and anger.

I became somewhat invested in the story aspect...with the thief and the princess and saving the world through restoring the tree of light. That part was cool. Also the fact that you literally could not die was nice because it saved me having to do a lot of things over again....or so I thought.

This game involves a lot of needing to push buttons at the EXACT right time or your character will miss the landing/ledge/object/everything. This is particularly frustrating when you have a long string of actions and you fail at the last one and are put back at the beginning and it takes you 30 tries (not even exaggerating) to complete the action.

On top of the rage I had at moments like that in the game, the storyline didn't pay off and left me feeling very dissatisfied about the entire experience.


So there you have it. I'll take game suggestions and opinions if you have them!