Did you read about the latest amazing game that’s been announced? It’s a first person shooter blah blah-dy blah… I’ve been hearing that same story over and over and over and over and over and… you get the idea. What makes one FPS different from another in your opinion? Weapons? Level design? Setting? Storyline? How many shooters TRULY bring something new to the table? And when they DO bring something new, is it ever that big of a deal? Now I’m the first to admit that a thick layer of polish can even make a turd look nice at first glance, but really… where is this genre of gaming going and why does it seem to be obliterating every other genre in popularity (or in my opinion, “perceived” popularity). What’s the frickin’ point?! I don’t see the enormous “draw”. Yes, today’s consoles can handle full featured first person shooters, no compromises (except that you typically have to use a controller). Are these games popular because they’re being made in large quantities or are they being made in large quantities because they’re popular?What is the point of the “first person” in a first person shooter anyway? Is it to get your into the mindset that you are the main character of the game? Is it a cheap development trick to keep from having to display your character on screen? Is it to create mystery as to your “true” identity, a la Master Chief’s “behind the mask” technique of never showing you what your character looks like? How many possible ways can you spruce up a picture of an environment with a phantom hand holding a gun overlayed on it? Yes, the weapons and hands have gotten more realistic over the years, and occasionally there’s a sci-fi edge where you get to say inject yourself with things to gain additional powers, but really where is this genre going? You can only ride on improving your graphics for so long and then you’re going to stagnate completely. What if we had the ability to generate photorealistic graphics in 1080p at 60fps today. What would be the next step in the genre?

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