Unless you’ve lived in a bubble the last few years, you know as well as I do that the economy isn’t exactly in the best shape. Yet even in this state, one industry manages to not just survive, but to thrive and grow, at least according to my Introduction to Mass Communication class. I am talking, of course, about the video game industry!
We college students could have something to do with that. Since I started attending Fresno City College, I’ve quite often ran into some type of gamer. Despite our classes and jobs, we still find time to sit down for a gaming session, no matter how long or short a time we have to do so.
In this column, I have made it my mission to explore the gamer culture I feel strongly pertains to my own life, as well as keep updates on all the news coming from the industry. But to start, I feel a proper introduction of myself as a gamer is appropriate. And what better way than to give a list of my favorite games?
I’ve been an active follower of the “Halo” series since I got the game along with my first Xbox back in the fourth grade. Now don’t think that because I’m a “Halo” fan that I dismiss “Call of Duty”, or that I think the PS3 is the worst system ever. While “Call of Duty” is considered by some Halo’s competition, I think both are great games, and the PS3 is a great system with or without rights to the “Halo” franchise. My reasons for liking “Halo” are deeper than the reasons of most fan boys.
“Halo” took off like a rocket since its release and has expanded into a massive multimedia industry. What draws me to “Halo” is not so much the excellent FPS style game play, but its epic plotline and characters. My love of “Halo” also goes into the fact that I grew up playing that game with my friends and brothers. It has a sentimental value.
I’m a Disney patron. Plain and simple. So not much beats fighting alongside classic Disney characters while bashing monsters over the head with a giant key! The series started on the PS2 but since “Kingdom Hearts 2” has released multiple handheld titles that bridge gaps and serve as prequels to the epic plotline about a boy, aided by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, who is destined to save the universe from darkness. Now, side stories and prequels are fun and all, but they need to hurry up and get us “Kingdom Hearts 3” already.
When you think of shooters, you typically go to the first-person perspective. “Gears of War” is one of the few that dare to be bold and go third-person, but it works! “Gears” focuses on a more realistic experience, making the characters speed and agility slower. You can’t leap around as you might be able to in “Halo” or other shooters, but it completely strengthens the experience. Plus, it’s got a chainsaw attached to an assault rifle. Come on, that pretty much sealed the deal!
When it comes to open world missions, “Assassin’s Creed” is king. This franchise allows gamers to traverse in-depth cities and environments as they go about their missions. But the main strength of “Assassin’s Creed”, I think, is its story about conspiracy and religion that takes the player back and forth between a modern day setting and an ancient crusades or renaissance world.
“Knights of the Old Republic” was first released on the original Xbox console. Taking place 1000 years before the original “Star Wars” trilogy, players get to go on a quest across the galaxy to stop the Sith, or ultimately join them. The new MMO coming out soon, “The Old Republic”, will be made by the same company and will hopefully give “Knights of the Old Republic” fans the epic adventures they’ve been hoping to continue!
While this list is my top five games, it does not in any way imply that I don’t enjoy games outside of them. I have many more that I’d love to have included and talked about, but I feel that this was enough to give a general idea of my gaming preferences. Until next time!
