As Spring approaches I grow more anxious about the impending release of Aion: Tower of Eternity for the PC. This game has been on my “Oh God, OH GOD I want this game” list since one of my good friends sent me a few links to the videos of it from E3. It’s been in development for a good while, while the company making it has released tantalizing details sporadically so as to keep the drooling public (me) hooked and on the edge of our seats until it does come out.

I’m not going to compare Aion to any other MMORPGs on the market because doing so would be foolish and detrimental to all MMOs out there. Each online game, as far as I’ve seen, has brought something wholly unique to the gaming table as a whole, and comparing them in a bizarre contest just does them a huge disservice. Some people like World of Warcraft, others like Guild Wars. Saying any one is better than others based on any criteria (be it number of players, graphical capabilities, etc.) just doesn’t work. Surely there is a standard that all MMORPGs aspire to reach, but if they were all carbon copies of each other. Well. That would be pretty damn boring.

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It’s been a long time.

A long time since I’ve played a game that goes with me. That goes beyond the borders of the game, and follows me around. It’s been a long time since I’ve found characters that make me want to squeal in delight, that inspire me to write, to draw, to roleplay, to stick pictures to my bedroom wall and to dream every night about -

Well, you get the idea.

I thought it was because games were getting worse. That there was a lack of imagination, a lack of characterization, a lack of sheer creative inspiration in the game industry. That the money men were squelching any flash of originality, in an attempt to hit the middle-of-the-road audiences.
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As the curtain rises on another one of my attempts to entertain our reading public, I would like to take this chance to write a bit theatrically. In the past my articles have been broad, lists or rants or what have you. This time I would like to tell a story. Picture, if you will, my silhouette entering from the side of the stage ala-Hitchcock. Imagine the music playing in the background. Are you imagining it? You better be.

My story today, or tonight, depending on when you’re reading this, is a one of epic adventure. You may laugh, you may cry, you may write an angry comment. My friends, I shall tell you of the times I play Halo. “HALO?!” You’re saying to yourself, “All you do is sit there, there’s nothing exciting about that.” Well, I have a problem. As soon as I pick up the controller and we start playing Halo, I turn into a monster. I’m normally quite a calm and collected person, but Halo just does something to me.

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To follow up my Top Ten Stylish Games post, I decided to court controversy by posting my ten favorite box covers. This has the advantage in that I don’t need to have liked (or played) the game. When I came to write the post, however, I quickly found I had far far more than ten. Grand Theft Auto, Halo 3, Age of Empires III… all great covers, and none made it onto the end list.

The list also began to modify itself when I investigated the differences between European and American covers. Final Fantasy, for example, has long carried a stark white cover and beautiful logo in Japan and Europe, whilst in America they tend towards a more normal character focused cover. Equally Ico, a game that has a classic cover by anyone’s definition, turned out to have been mutilated for an American audience. On the other hand, the US cover of The Legend of Zelda became a classic, whilst the Japanese cover was rather more ordinary.

The result is that this list is even more arbitrary than the last. If you’ve got a favorite, and it doesn’t appear, let me know about it!

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What I’m about to say is crossing the line. It’s sacrilegious. I will be stuck down by lightning from the gaming heavens. Fanboys and fangirls will have my head on a replica Masamune sword tomorrow. And still, I have to say it. I have to confess. I have to come clean.

You see, I don’t like Final Fantasy VII.

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I haven’t done an opinion piece on gaming in a long while, so brace yourself. I love gaming. I love everything about gaming. I love practically all genres of games. I was exceedingly happy when gaming started to become more widespread and slowly evolved into a culture. But there are a couple of things that tick me off.

I’ve noticed that most of my gamer friends are exactly like me in some respects. We were the ones outside playing imagination games at recess, pretending we were power rangers and darkstalkers and just generally blindly running around and having fun. We weren’t really playing basketball or four square, or sitting on the slide playing with each other’s hair. I had toys that I played with when I was alone, sure. I had a tribal society of Littlest Pet Shops. I built them a village where they held council. I loved my toys. But more often than not if a friend was over, we were playing an imagination based game.

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