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GotchayeX on 15 June 2007
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I'm not a huge fan of games like MGS or FF, myself, and I'm somewhat conflicted about all of the nontraditional games. They're so close to the sorts of games I like, but they're just not quite there.

The most important thing that a game can offer, as far as I'm concerned, is engaging same-console multiplayer. That's why I play video games - it doesn't get better than having some friends over for hours of pizza and Halo/Smash Brothers/Mario Tennis/Wii Sports/etc.  Just this last weekend everybody had some time off from work and some college friends and I got together for six or seven hours of Mario Tennis and a movie.  It's important to me that one be able to play games for long periods of time - I don't get lots of thirty minute sessions; I get very few three-hour sessions.

Single player games are all right, but I've never really understood the appeal. I'll rent RPGs or adventure games when I'm bored, but I agree with Bodhesatva's criticism of their premises and stories.

So I've generally been against the increased focus on online multiplayer. Halo was great for the system link games. Halo 2 was still fun because of the ability to take guests on to Live, but you never had the 8 player fun of the original. Smash Brothers and Mario Power Tennis are the best things on the Gamecube as far as I'm concerned, and I still play a few hours of those every week.

What I dislike about the new nontraditional games is their tendency to only really be fun for short stretches of time. Wii Sports is an obvious offender - it's a fun game, but how many people can play it for more than an hour at a time? I'd really like something with a bit more variance between games and complexity. However, in other ways, I love them. They're great for lots of people, they're especially great for girls and nongamers, etc.

Mostly I like the social aspect of video gaming. I don't like modern gaming for its focus on online play and I don't like nontraditional gaming for its deemphasis on long sessions. I prefer Warioware to Half-life 2 though, so I guess it's a net win for me.