I've Got A Fever

Often times when I'm talking to someone about video games, I'm usually met with "Oh, I can't play video games, I'd get too addicted", and that always bothers me. I feel like people should be able to exercise more self control. Video games aren't a drug that one can get addicted to. However, looking back there have been many cases of the masses getting addicted to video games. Back in the days of the arcade there was PAC-MAN Fever. Later on in the mid 90s, there was Pokemon Fever. Maybe video games can be addicting. Maybe video games have the propensity to get people hooked without them ever intending to be.

Surely, one can exercise self control when playing video games. After all, how simple is it to just hit the power switch and turn off the game console? Apparently pretty dang tough. I know this all too well. I have spent many nights arguing with myself that this will INDEED be the last try, and if I fail I will turn it off. Alas, there was that moment of "I almost had it! This next time will be the one." time and time again: no. It took me seventeen years to put my initials at the top of the scoreboard of Star Fox 64, so there must be some reason as to why I keep on trying.

Games are a challenge, and there is something within us as players that it beckons to. We feel the need to overcome that challenge, and when we do we feel accomplished and empowered. Video games make it very easy for us to pick ourselves up and try again. It's just one "retry?" away from another endeavor into whatever game we were playing. Too many times have I faced down that "Game Over" screen, and thought to myself that I could beat this. It's something that goes beyond pride, I feel. There's something withing us, a will, a strength, that drives us to go for the finish line. We want to win. It feels good, but it is so much more than that. I'm sure that athletes, after training and training and training, when their hard work finally pays off and they bring home the gold, it's more than just a feel good sensation and a stroke of their ego. No, they've invested heavily into that victory. It was months before kickoff that player spent running plays. It was years before that runner got to the Olympics that he started training. We gamers are very similar on a number of levels.

This is where that addiction comes from. Games are our battlefield, our track, our court, our test of worth. We feel that accomplishment when we finally overcome.We spend nights working on our leveling, working on our strategies, working on our skills, to overcome whatever may come our way. How are we not to get pulled in, when the promise of greatness is on the horizon? It's right there, and it is within our reach. Just one more continue away.

New High Score!!!

Today I have set a new high score on Star Fox 64. A game that I've had since its release back in 1997. It feels like it's been forever that I have been gunning for that top spot on the score board, and today, I finally did it.




The top score was 1028 and it always felt just out of reach. Today, on a whim, I decided to play some Star Fox 64, without even making an attempt for the high score. I just wanted to relive some glory days. By the time I finished up Sector Z, where I only got 49 hits, it didn't seem like I was going to make it. Until I looked at my score of 623 and realized that I could get over 200 hits on the next level, and I was guaranteed another 200 on the one after that. All I had to do was fight my way through Area 6 and score over 200 points. It was quite the harrowing tale.



Two of three members of my squad were in good shape, except for Slippy. Oh, Slippy, you will always be a disappointment to me. The level started off, and I began to shoot at everything on screen with extreme prejudice. Even if it didn't move I shot at it. The points started to quickly rack up. "HIT +2", "HIT +3". More and more enemies filled the screen and my lasers were shooting down all that they could find. "Great Fox will cover you" called ROB 64 over the comms. Frantically I mashed down on the A button to take out the targets before my allies could. I had to score these points. I had to get that high score. I had never played more aggressively than this night. I deftly maneuvered my ship through the onslaught of enemy fire, making my way towards the end of the level. Just before reaching the boss, Slippy was shot down. She was nowhere in sight, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I thought nothing of it, until I reached the end. The only thing that makes me, or anyone, appreciate Slippy is his ability to analyze the health of the boss at the end of each level. Not having any idea of how much damage I was doing to the end boss made me fight even harder. The boss at the end of Area 6 is the most difficult, and my least favorite, though this boss had no idea what he was in for. My heart was racing, and my nerves were tense. As the adrenaline surged through me, I reacted faster than I have. Shot quicker than I ever have. I had slain the boss without taking a hit. It was awesome. What came next was the final level: Venom.



Because I had gone through the hard route, I would get the true ending, along with the true last level where I would face down a modified Star Wolf. Even though I hadn't fought Star Wolf in this particular campaign, they still acted as though they were taking revenge for my defeating them earlier. The standard format for a Star Wolf fight, is that each member of Star Wolf will chase down each of my team respectively. Only, I was down a member: Slippy. That means that I would have two ships on my tail, as opposed to just one. I would have to take care of the other ships that were dogging my wigmen as well as the two ships that were on me. The start of the battle had me chasing down Pigma, who chases down Peppy by default. After landing a few hits, the AI had Pigma do a somersault to avoid my incoming fire. However, this did not go according to plan as he crashed into one of the many pillars that dot the level. I lucked out, and had a moment of hysterical laughter. One down. Next, I had to take down Leon, who chases Falco by default. On my way to circling around to get to Falco, there was a great deal of enemy lasers coming from my 6 O'clock. I pulled a successful somersault, unlike Pigma, and my assailants scattered under me. I scored a few solid hits on them before I lost sight of them. I found Falco and his mark, and started lighting him up like the Fourth of July. Leon managed to escape my blasts with a somersault of his own. The somersault seems to be a pretty reliable move. Enemy ships seemed to be everywhere, even though they were down to just three. I shot at anything that I could paint my reticle  over. I managed to score some decent hits on the ships that would pass me by. The remaining enemies would chime in with taunts that went over my head because I was so focused on dog fighting that I didn't have time for any of their guff. The only thing that mattered was to see their health that was dwindling further and further to the left. I had one in my sights, and I refused to let him go. I hunted him down, and viciously attacked him. Star Wolf cried out in agony as his ship exploded into oblivion. Two down. I went back to Leon because I knew where I could find him. Sure enough, he was right on the tail of Falco. I lined up my shot and let loose on the A button. Three down. Finally there was Andrew. As he was the last ship to take out, his movements were erratic, and he managed to lose me a couple of times. Moving like a fly that got lost inside of a house, he was hard to hit and just as annoying. In my effort to find him, I lost track of where my ship was and ended up running into a couple of the pillars that claimed Pigma. Andrew Eventually made the mistake of getting in front of me, and his days of flying came to an end. That's all of them. Now, it was on to the final boss.



Before reaching Andross, the game has you going through a small labyrinth with a few forks in the path. This forced me to choose either left or right. I've played Star Fox 64 many times, but I still don't know where to find the best pick ups to take on Andross. This made things difficult, as my health was low. Low enough to get a slow warning sound from my Arwing. When I finally reached Andross, I exhaled and began the fight. First I fired at the left hand and then the right. I was rather careless with my movements, as he landed a few good hits. When he clapped his hands together to draw me in to his mouth, I let him get away with that, too. This fight was not going well. I managed to defeat his first form with only a sliver of health left. I wasn't going to win this one.



Andross' final form is a brain, and he makes a pun about it. It's super lame and super annoying. His two eye stalks chase after you, and they are relentless. Not only do they shoot lasers, but are also tethered to the brain via lightning. Running into that lighting will do a number on your ship. This was going to be a tough fight. It didn't last long, because I was so low on health, but because I hadn't died this entire run, I had a few lives in stock. The second attempt had me at full health but with only a single laser. I ended up choosing the wrong path, and got no bonuses for my ship. Single laser it is. Taking only a few hits from Andross' punches, I got back to his final form. This time around I tried a somersault to lose the eyeballs, and it worked. I got behind them and handily took care of them. All that was left was the big ol' brain. For a brain, he moves pretty quick. The key to beating this boss is to get behind him and shoot the cerebellum. However, this brain is faster than you, and will pull you in when you get too close. When he does pull you in, Andross drains your health and usually takes off a wing, hindering your maneuverability. He ended up taking off both of my wings and I ended up dying because I was too slow, and couldn't make those turns that I needed to. The third try, I was determined to beat him. I missed the powerups again, and was facing down Andross with only a single laser. Well, beggars can't be choosers. I nimbly flew past his defense of giant hands, and blew up his face to reveal that Andross is in fact, a brain. I exhaled another time, and got straight to work on the eyes that flew about the area. Taking care of them, I did my best to get in good range of the brain. I peppered it with a few shots, but fewer connected with the hit spot. Without Slippy, I had no idea how much I ended up doing. I managed to set up for another attack run, this time it didn't go so well I was caught. I lost one of my wings and a good deal of health.



 Relying on my last wing, I was flying in big circles to get some distance. I managed to get a clear shot, and let loose. Just before I was pulled in to get trapped by the giant brain, I had killed it. I did it. I won. All that was left was to escape with the ghost of my father. I was so ready to be done with this nightmare that I boosted the heck out of my one winged plane. I got so giddy, that I ended up crashing into the walls and died. Oh dear. Luckily, the game started me off after defeating the big brain, and I had both my wings were back, as well as a full bar of health. This got me even more excited and I boosted the heck out of my two winged plane. Again, I crashed into the walls and died. My next life, I decided that I would take it slow. I wasn't going to lose him, so I boosted only when I thought it necessary. The ghost of my father led me out, and I really had beaten Star Fox 64. "I'm going to do it! I'm going to do it! I'm going to do it!" I shouted as I rose from the couch. I met with the end of the tunnel and triggered the ending cutscene. I sank back into the couch with exhausted ecstasy. I laughed hysterically as the credits rolled. I was so elated to beat Star Fox 64 with a new high score. I had been chasing down that number for so long. To finally get that number, and blow past it, was an extraordinary feeling.

Feeling limp, and basking in the afterglow of achieving something that is as lame as it is awesome, I wore my smile with pride. I may not always give credit to points in games, but damn, did it feel good to get that score.

The PS2 Shot My Pa

The other night I dusted off the old PS2 so that my friend could watch a movie on the living room TV. After the show was finished, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and dust off some of the games that I have for my PS2. I noticed that of the consoles that I have from that generation of consoles, all of them, the PS2 had the most games. It's rather interesting, as for most of my gaming career I had been strictly anti-Sony.

I didn't own an original Playstation. Instead, I had the N64. The Playstation was such a foreign thing to me. Only a few of my friends, whom I didn't get to see that often, had a Playstation. As a dedicated Nintendo fan, I was opposed to this new brand of console trying to take over a market that was already a tumultuous battlefield between two giants. The age old battle between Sega and Nintendo was a heated one, and having a new challenger step in would only muck things up, and muck things up it did. As my fanaticism of video games grew, so too did my library of consoles.

A friend of my brother's brought over his Sega Dreamcast and my mind was blown by the cutting edge technology. Graphics and sound that I couldn't believe could come from a video game were on full display with the Sega Dreamcast. A short while after, the Playstation 2 was released, and me, my brother, and his friend were none too impressed with the new console from Sony. It had about the same amount of power, and the game selection was nowhere near that of the Dreamcast, or so we thought. Shortly after the release of the PS2, the Dreamcast went into a downward spiral of sales. The PS2 killed the Sega Dreamcast.

Some say that it was the console's ability to play DVD videos, others say that it was its superior library of games, all I know is, gaming lost one of its finest consoles. When the Dreamcast was officially declared dead by the gaming public, I hated the PS2. I hated Sony for stepping into a ring where it had no right to be in. This was a travesty, that a once great and fun loving company should be shut out by this newcomer. I swore that I would never get a Sony Playstation 2.

At the end of the school year in 2005, I had just finished the worst year of my life. Everything about my Freshman year was awful. On the last day, I came home to a big box that game in the mail from my grandpa. It was a belated birthday present. My birthday was over two months ago from that day. It didn't matter though, I would have taken anything after that year. In that box was the Playstation 2 that I still own today.

The PS2 quickly grew to be the primary console that would occupy my living room with many nights of playing games like Guitar Hero, DDR Max 2, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Metal Gear Solid, Shadow of the Colossus,  and quite a few more. Sony may have killed off the console with some of the most imaginative games that I've ever seen, but to its credit, the PS2 did have a few games that stood out as rather artistic.

During that time, the debate of whether or not games should be considered as an art from was rustling about the internet. This very notion shook my world as a gamer, and helped me to understand games in the way that I do today.

Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, Katamari Damacy were all great games that did things differently from what was generally considered a game. The Playstation 2 library was expansive and diverse with many great titles that left their mark. These games have not, and should not, be forgotten. The Playstation 2 was a great console because of the games that it had available to it.

While the Playstation 2 may have killed off my favorite gaming console of all time, and may have beaten out Nintendo two generations in a row, as it outsold the N64, Sony has a place in my heart. Even with today's generation of consoles, or rather the last generation of consoles, my PS3 may have a smaller library than that of my Xbox 360, but it does have games which matter more. These games have a certain specialty about them, and they are unique. These games matter. Not just for Sony, but for the gaming industry as a whole. Games need not be defined by the standard formats of win/lose scenarios, or boss battles at the end of each level, or fighting the bad guys all the time. Games can explore so much more than just those basic concepts, sometimes they even use those concepts to explore them. Sony, at lest in their ad campaigns, understands the greatness that exist within games. How, games can turn players, into legends. How games can help us explore dark places, and come out of them stronger people. How games can encourage us to keep moving forward. How games can teach us that if we fail, we should try again. How games can help us find within ourselves, the strength to overcome that which we thought was impossible. So, here's to Sony, and here's to video games. Cheers.

Off The Beaten Path

Have you ever been playing a video game where the universe is ending and only you can save it, but the game still allows you to tool around and do whatever you want until you decide to get around to it? Of course you have, because that seems to be every video game ever.

 Lately, I've been playing the new Tomb Raider game by Crystal Dynamics. I have been enjoying it immensely, but there are some things that still bother me. I'm the kind of player who wraps himself up in the story, and I feel the weight and immediacy of the situation. All too often, however, when there is a situation that doesn't seem like it can wait, I'll come across a side activity that will take up some of my time. For example: in the game there is a plane that crashes, and Lara Croft decides that she has to go to the smoke signal to retrieve him and make sure that he's okay, not two minutes into my journey to get to him do I come across an extraneous activity. I understand that the game would have allowed me to do that, and still be able to get to the pilot and have everything play out the same way if I hadn't, but still. I find this kind of thing to be vexing.

Tomb Raider isn't the only game that commits this crime, though. There are many others. It seems that the entire game of Skyrim is built around this principle. The world is ending, and it all starts with the province of Skyrim. Dragons seem to be around every bend, and can drop in on any town. The end times are truly here. "LOL, I'll go and collect Dwemer cogs for that one guy at the Mage's College for whatever reason he asked me to." Things like this should take more precedence in your game experience. I mean, in Skyrim, you can become an assassin, and eventually murder the Emperor. The world is ending and you want to upset the political balance?

However, most games commit another crime of locking things out if you complete the main quest. A game that comes to mind is Batman: Arkham City. I really enjoyed this game, though being one who is not one for completing games 100% I missed out on a few things. What I really liked about Arkham City is how all of the side quests played out. Each one of the side missions centered around a specific Batman villain. There was something going on that Batman had to solve, and it played out with a full story. The down side of the game is that most of these fleshed out side stories are closed off after completing the main game. Why do this? Why force the player to start over again, just to experience these extraneous, but really cool, side missions? This happens in a lot of other games as well, and I don't think that it should. I think that the game should give players total freedom once they have taken the time to beat the main game.

I feel like I talk about Mass Effect 2 a lot here, but it just does so many things right. It is the only game that I've beaten 100%, and yet I still go back to it. Moreover, I find myself discovering new things to do in the game. What ME 2 does right when it comes to side quests, is that the game finds the perfect balance of rewarding the player vs the time spend playing that side quests. Not all of the side quests are that exciting, like when you have to go to some backwater planet just to kill some mechs to recover boxes which only net you a few credits, but the game makes it okay because after each mission you are greeted by the mission summary screen which doubles your collective profit from each activity. It seems ridiculous, but when you finally get around to buying those upgrades, you'll notice the difference in the next firefight. Plus, the side quests make up the majority of the game. Mass Effect 2 is structured around the "Loyalty Missions" for each one of the crew members. The reward for completing these is allowing your crew member to survive the final mission and allowing them to show up in the next game. Another thing that Mass Effect 2 gets right is that it forces the player back onto the main story line after a few side missions here and there. It's a good reminder to the player that they need to constantly be preparing for the final battle with the Collectors. This kind of game structure plays into the building of the character and story, which is awesome. Each one of those missions that takes you away from roaming around the galaxy and helping out your crew really sucks, just because they're so tough, but they remind you of the threat of the Collectors.

The stories in games are usually presented with something that needs to be taken care of immediately, yet often times the games themselves will allow players to lollygag about and take their time. Even in a linear game like Tomb Raider, players can just let something that could very important to the survival of Lara Croft and her friends just sit and wait. That's no good. If you're going to stress to me that there is something that needs to be taken care of right away, make me do it. After all, I'm the "only one who can do it", or you could just put up a timer and not tell the player like Fable III... on second thought, don't do that.

Can't We Just Talk About This?

I am a coward. I don't much care for violence, and I have never been in a fight. Though, to be honest, I'm rather proud that I have never engaged in fisticuffs. In so many video games today, violence seems to be the only viable option for resolving conflict, so when a game comes along that gives me an option to talk my way out of a hairy situation, it's a nice change of pace.

Games like Mass Effect and Fallout have options to avoid confrontations through specific dialogue options. I always tend to pick these over the direct approach of fighting. I love the feeling of being a silver tongued badass. Plus, it saves me on health and resources. The thing with talking your way out of sticky situations, is that it never seems to nab you as much as experience points as it would if one had gone with the "kill everyone" route. Which to me, sends a rather negative message about talking your way out of things and coming to a peaceful solutions? What is a game that does this trying to say about peaceful solutions?

Anyhow, another thing that bothers me about these snake oil salesman options, is me. I never really pay attention to what it is exactly that I, or rather my character, is saying during all of this nonsense. Reason being, is that these options are highlighted with some kind of annotation denoting the effectiveness of what the dialogue option. Rather than reading what it says, my eyes are drawn to the [SPEECH 60] next to whatever dialogue option that I chose. In Mass Effect's case, there are several options throughout the games that are highlighted either red or blue. The text is so small in the first place that I can't even decipher what it was that I said. All I know is that it will get the job done in either a paragon or renegade fashion. Half the time, I don't even remember what it was that good old Commander Shepard said, other than I was left with a small sense of awe and the wish that I could be that cool.

I think that players should really consider what it is that they are saying. Older Bioware games that I've played, such as KOTOR or Dragon Age: Origins, allow for such contemplation. Both of these games present players with many dialogue options, other than just "paragon" or "renegade", because, often in life there is a lot that can be said. I have very fond, or rather stressful, memories playing these games and trying to decide what I could say that would be the best option. What I would say, would ultimately end up deciding the fate of whatever character I was interacting with. The decision came down to me. I felt the gravitas of the situation, and it was crashing me. This is what a game should do, if you're going to have dialogue options. I shouldn't just tilt the control stick up or down as a default to decide between good or bad, morality isn't that binary.

The principle of "think before you speak" should really be encouraged in video games like these. Players should have multiple options and should go over each of them carefully. It's a lot of responsibility being the hero, and what you say matters. I love Mass Effect, but I never stress about what decisions that I make. Sure, my squad-mates could live or die depending on my decisions. However, those decisions only come down to how many points I put into a certain skill bar, and that's only in the first game. The rest of the Mass Effect series streamlines the whole "paragon vs. renegade" system by keeping track of what dialogue choices the player makes. Again, morality is not so binary as to be either good or bad. It is by default in Mass Effect that if I want to be good, I'll choose the top option and the opposite for being the bad guy. I understand that there is a lot of work that goes into both writing, and recording voice acting, but the payoff is so worth it.

The Journey, The Depression, The Struggle

Over the weekend, I went through a break-up of sorts. I say "of sorts" because we weren't actually dating. I had to leave because I was tripping over myself from overthinking everything, and getting down on myself from thinking that I wasn't good enough to wash her feet. This flung me into a downward spiral where I fell back into my state of depression. For a while, I was happy. I was really happy. My life seemed to be on track. Sad to say it, but then I met the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and threw everything else out the window just for her. Never give up on yourself, kids. Well, now that I've gone and left her, I'm doing my best to refocus my efforts on me and where I'm headed. People will tell you that you need to move on. That is the least comforting thing that you want to hear after a break-up of any kind and when your heart feels broken. Even though you know it's the right thing to do, you still feel the need to linger and sit still. It really sucks to be there. I know, I feel like I've been there my whole life, but I know that I'll never get anywhere if I don't move forward.

One game that keeps coming to my mind is Journey for the PS3. Journey is a wonderful experience that is only two hours long, but has an impact that will last a lifetime. A section of Journey in particular that my current situation resembles, is just after the sand surfing, when you fall into the pit. This moment strikes a chord with me, because I was having a blast, but didn't even realize that I was headed downward. Suddenly, I fell. I fell into darkness, and all of those feelings of insecurity, not being good enough, depression, fear, doubt, all came back to me. In Journey, players find themselves surrounded by the darkness. It starts slowly, but is very present. Shafts of light beam down from above. Somewhat like spotlights on a stage. When you enter into them, everything is washed out. There is only you. It kind of feels like when you want to draw attention to yourself in your state of sadness. You want to let people know how you feel, and it seems like no one cares because you can't see them. You don't want to look like a drama queen, or burden them with your sadness, so you leave the spotlight and do your best to press on into the darkness.

As the level progresses, the light starts to fade away, as well as the bits of mystical fabric that help you out. They've left you all alone, and have been replaced by ominous statues of dragons. These dragons tower and loom over you with a dead, and yet dreadful stare. The darkness consumes the screen, nothing is able to be made out. The only thing that stands out is you, and the dragons. THese dragons are kind of like the manifestations of your fears, doubts, and failures. They can't kill you, the game doesn't have a game over screen, but they can hurt you if you let them. When the dragon does spot you, their spot light turns an angry, burning red and charges you with a menacing sound that puts you on edge.You are violently torn away from the path that you were on, and your scarf that you were working so hard to improve and make something of has been torn in half. You let it get to you. You let the dragon tear you apart. You let the past consume you, and you couldn't move on.

But, you can still walk. There is still air in your lungs. There's nowhere else to go but forward. As you press on, doing your best not to let the dragon spot you again, more show up. Two dragons block your path. Again, you press onward. With courage, and desperation, you move as fast as possible to get past these dragons of doubt. Feverishly, you slide past them and make it to your refuge of light that drives the dragons away. You've made it back to solid ground. You're safe.

Getting out of depression is not as easy as the game Journey. Nor is it as quick. It can be over come, and it can be moved through. Sometimes I feel like I am still there in the depths, surrounded by dragons on all sides. Sometimes I feel like my friends don't want to hear me and what I have to say. I feel like I hold on to the past too much, and I can't let go. I call to these dragons, and beckon they come after me. Stress, anxiety, self-consciousness, doubt, fear, anger, depression, obsessions, they all come out in times like these. It is a struggle to make it through these. People who don't understand say to just move on. As much as I hate that phrase, I know that they are right. Journey is important to me, because there is one lesson to be learned from it. JUST. KEEP. MOVING. FORWARD.

When I can manage to put my head on straight long enough to see where I need to go, I get determined. I start writing again. I start making plans to make it to the next step. I keep moving forward. The next day might be different, or I might keep that level of determination. I can never tell sometimes. It's very difficult for me to let go of the past, but I know that it needs to happen. I know that I'm made of stronger stuff than what my anxieties tell me. I know that I can go the distance, and I know that I can make it to where I want to go. It still sucks, though.

The rest of the game represents those next steps. Accurately too. After the darkness, players are bathed in light. Going from shrine to shrine, with depictions of where the player has been. It's good to look back and see how far you've come. It may not seem all that special because you did it, but you did it in a way that only you could have. It may not have been the best, or maybe it wasn't your best effort, but you still managed to get it done. You did the thing! That's something, and you should acknowledge it. You're not worthless. I'm not worthless. Players climb and climb and climb up this tower full of their accomplishments in this short time that is Journey. They see how far they've come, what they've done. New bits of fabric appear, bridges made of light, and friends surround the player, helping them along the way. Your friends support you and your decisions, or they will do their best to help you if you're headed down the wrong path. Good friends, anyhow. Good friends are tough to come by.

Finally, when you reach the top of that tower in Journey, you must face the summit of that mountain that you've been chasing the entire game. It's dangerous, treacherous, and it drains you. It seems like you're barely going to make it, if at all. I can't say what the summit is like, because I'm not there in life yet. I still feel like I've got a long ways to go up the mountain. These dragons keep dragging me down to their level, but only so long as I let them.

Dragons come in many different forms, and they can overpower us at times. There's no shame in reaching out when you don't feel as though you can move on. Whether it is to your friends, family, or to God. Know, that there is always someone there for you and that they want to help.

Journey may be just a two hour game, and for some it may be too 'artsy' for others it's just another pretty face. For me, though, it is something so much more. And I will play it again, and again, until I have reached the top of my mountain.

Music = 1UP

My early experiences with music games goes back to dance dance revolution. There was a game that swept the nations with a funky storm of J-pop and chart topping hits. I had caught DDR fever. I had even gotten pretty good at it, too. I played that game nearly everyday; my high school had one set up that students could play during the lunch hours. I even lost some weight playing that game. Who knows that regular physical activity could yield such a result? Though, as time went on, and the beats got stale, I moved on to other music games.

When I got my PS2, my library was growing rapidly. Along the way, I picked up the game Amplitude. Amplitude was a game by the company Harmonix, who would go on to create Guitar Hero and eventually Rock Band. Amplitude was a game that was unlike anything that I have played before. Each level was a song that had each part of the song (drums, bass, guitar, synth, vocals, etc.) divided up into different tracks. Amplitude taught me rhythm with flashing visuals and a vibrating controller that would pulsate to the beat. The game was so addicting and so cool that I played it religiously. Getting my combos to run the song throughout and try to get the highest score possible on the song was my goal for that game. Though, Amplitudes song would also come to an end.

Harmonix then came out with Guitar Hero. The first of many to enter households everywhere. This game was the one that started it all. Some loved Guitar Hero, while others scoffed at its inability to actually teach guitar. It was never about that, though. Guitar Hero had done something that no other music game before it had done before: it empowered the player. Harmonix is a studio full of musicians, and they wanted to give the thrill of playing music in front of a life crowd to their players. Great songs and the powerful road of the crowd made Guitar Hero an incredible experience. Sure, the plastic guitar was lame, but it was washed away when the volume was cranked up to eleven! And yet, more lame musical peripherals were to come.

In 2007, Harmonix released their masterpiece: Rock Band. A game that could make the least musically inclined people feel like rock stars. All across the land, every rocking band, was blowing up a storm. Now with bass, drums, and vocals, up to four people could rock their living rooms at the same time. Rock Band was the game all of my friends and I were playing through highs school and the following summer. The Rock Band Music Store only added to the insanity with tracks that we absolutely had to have, and the beat went on. Until one day, it stopped.

You don't see many music games anymore. It's troubling. Rock Band was at the pinnacle, and none could dethrone it. Others tried, mainly Guitar Hero (Harmonix's old project). Yet, music games stopped coming. There wasn't a market for them anymore. Those plastic instruments got traded in, or left to collect dust in a closet. Like many great musicians, Harmonix had made a deal with the devil, and his name was Bobby Kotik, president of Activision. Activision is now notorious for killing games, as it is a company that only works for profit. A company with legions of programmers at its disposal, only to make money. Activision was about to claim another, as it had with Tony Hawk: Pro Skater before it, Activision flooded the market with Guitar Hero games that were dwindling in quality, and the people were starting to lose interest. Harmonix had broken off from the tyrannical empire of Activision, which is about when they started working on Rock Band. Once Rock Band was released, Activision knew that they had no chance or competing, so they began to crank out Guitar Hero games on a yearly basis. Until eventually Band Hero was released. This was the nail in the coffin, not only for Guitar Hero and Activisions run with music games, but for the genre as a whole.

With all of the new technology that we have with gaming systems, I can't help but feel as though more could be done with music games than ever thought possible. Harmonix is still at it with dance central and it's use of the Kinect, but it is merely a drop in a very large pond that is filled with 'dark', 'gritty' shooters.

Music is such an integral part of games. So much so that it spawned an entire genre. Music is important, not only to video games, but in life as a whole. We need music to stimulate, comfort, create, express, and do so much more. Music game can inspire those who play them to maybe try their hand at the real thing, or maybe compose some music of their own, or maybe just get up and dance.