During the summer of 2009, I purchased an XBOX 360 for the sole purpose of playing Madden. I loved football and would purchase a new copy of Madden each year. Even the minor improvements and tweaks in gameplay made a difference to me. I rarely played online, instead choosing to lead my offline franchise into the playoffs each year (Go Bears!). But as the winter of 2010 approached, I started to wonder, what did other games have to offer? What about a first person shooter… well not my cup of tea. Puzzle games, ok I guess. Maybe an RPG? My previous RPG experience had consisted of playing Pokémon as a kid. Other games I had played growing up included StarCraft and Diablo 2, both with RPG elements, right? I had never heard of Mass Effect, didn’t know a thing about Bioware. Knights of the Old Republic… Nope. A quick trip to Best Buy, and there it was, the original Mass Effect. In fact, it was on sale for $20.00, not bad. I was used to paying $60 for a new copy of Madden each year. The box was reminiscent of old Star trek movies. I could tell this was a game with a rich backstory, the world contained secrets, maybe even a mystery locked away in the game’s story. I could have been wrong, but what did I have to lose, $20? If I was wrong, I could just go back to playing Madden each year. To be fair, I could have just read the online reviews, but I was an impulsive 20-something.
I took the game home, popped it in the Xbox, and started my journey. Immediately I was blown away by the music. The music was subtle, contemplative, and evocative of something mysterious. I knew I had made the right choice. Not long after beginning my adventure, I had a ship to explore, crewmates with unique personalities and back stories, and an adventure brewing. The game drops you on Eden Prime, and a quick tutorial begins. Needless to say, years of Madden gaming does not prepare someone for this type of gaming experience. I didn’t know how to aim, didn’t know how to manage my crewmates, didn’t know how to balance my character’s progress. Eventually I fought through waves of Geth, found the beacon and watched Saren assassinate Nihlus. I knew I had to return to the Citadel and expose Saren’s treachery. And then the game truly began.
I don’t want to spoil the game’s story, but wow. I didn’t know I could have experiences like this. Sure the game’s mechanics were poor, and driving the Mako was a chore. But my actions were important in this world, I was molding the story to my will, or so I thought. The illusion was real enough for me. It mattered. The actions and decisions I made in this world made a difference. Garrus wasn’t some throw-away character. I bonded with him over the course of 3 games (and multiple play-throughs). Nearly 7 years later, few games have held my attention and interest as deeply as the original Mass Effect. It was the first truly next-gen RPG I played with a story, unique characters, and decisions to be made. I wasn’t playing a videogame, but truly role-playing in this complicated world.
Few games have held my attention as deeply, the Witcher 2, Spec Ops the Line, L.A. Noire to name a few. These days I have less time for gaming, certainly older and more critical of the gaming experience. Finicky game mechanics matters more to me now than it did 7 years ago. Recently I began playing Mass Effect Andromeda. It’s a decent game, better than most. But it lacks that sense of wonder and possibilities that the original trilogy had. The characters are stiff uninteresting. For the first time in the series, I feel like I am playing a video game, a decent one, but still a game. Maybe I am starting to be jaded about the gaming experience. After completing the Witcher 3 this year, I am worried. The game was special in a technological sense, visually stunning. However I didn’t feel like anything I did mattered in that world. Maybe the characters weren’t flawed enough to build a real connection to. I don’t know, but I didn’t feel as invested as I have in years past. Horizon Zero Dawn is next on my list. Would love to hear your thoughts- have your gaming habits changed? What are you playing now… are you still playing into your 30s or 40s?
I havn't wanted to play it earlier as I don't really enjoy most RPGs, but this made me want to give it a try.
I'm not 30 though, so I can't comment on that part. But having played mainly PC games from the age of 5 until now (from time to time) at the age of 26, I don't see any signs of that changing. The games I play have changed slightly, yes. I play more "just for the fun of it" now, so I'm not as picky about the genre.
I used to hate playing sports games on consoles, but when you're older and only playing after work/when there is time and thus are playing for _relaxation and the new experience then such concerns don't take the same priority I've found.
The game is amazing!! I keep playing it 20 hours without taking any rests
Wow this looks like so much fun. Can't wait to try it now. Thanks for doing all that research. You present it well.
I have always played almost everything with the exception of a few genres like party games, games with no story, mmo, and mobas. I have always loved action games, platformers, rpg's adventure games, and shooters but I have noticed that as time goes on I am moving away from competitive games. In high school I played a lot of online games like Halo and Bad Company but know I just like to play more story driven games.
If your looking for something new that will really give you an incredible gaming experience play Dark Souls. I recently played 1 for the xbox 360. I had it lying around as a part of my backlog and said fuck it let me go for it. no joke, it is truly a masterpiece.
Congratulations @thinknate! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honnor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPIf you want to support the SteemitBoard project, your upvote for this notification is welcome!