Quit Playing Games

No. This is not about the Backstreet Boys. This is about the video games of today and how far it has come from the days of 2-D. I recently purchased a unit of Playstation 3. My last videogame console was the first Playstation. Aside from borrowing my little cousin’s Playstation Portable, I really wasn’t that familiar with the video games of today.

I have a vague recollection of how Atari games looked like but that wasn’t my generation. I grew up playing the Family Computer (The fake one. Not the Nintendo unit). I played a little Mario Bros. but my favorite game as a kid was the Legend of Kage. Being a two-dimensional ninja has never been as cool. Games then were usually scroll type games. Either the screen scrolls from side to side or they scroll down as you play the game. The colors were limited and there’s not much detail as far as the graphics aspect of the game. Games then were so low on pixel count that it’s practically like watching cartoon versions of Lego.

Soon SNES or Super Nintendo came around and the games started having more detail. Gameplay improved from your usual scroll type games. When Playstation came along, the game, pun intended, changed. Gamers were introduced to the concept of 3 dimensional games. Gamers were allowed to navigate in all directions.

Now, I don’t even know where to begin. The graphics are so superb that the characters are almost lifelike. With the advent of HD Television, the visuals are enhanced even more. The game play is even better. I’m playing the first Assassin’s Creed. In that game, they practically created an entire country which is totally interactive. Everything in the game has “real” dimensions. The physics of the structures in that game are simply similar to that of real life. You can climb walls, hit your head on beams, run into people, break vases, etc. etc. Gone are the days of “box” buildings and flat backgrounds.

Anyway, point is I’m really enjoying my new console. Now, if only I can…uhm…quit playing and pick up a book.