Time over Money, Value and Enjoyment

Reading the essay written by Hello Game's Sean Murray titled "The Long Game," something that immediately jumped out to me was one simple truth: Games geared towards the 18-40 crowd must be made with bursts of play time in mind. For adults, segmented quasi-episodic gaming, or a 4-7 hour campaign, seems to be the way to go, while a title with greater volume of content and length (as games used to be in the PS1 and PS2 era) would be a greater value proposition for children and teens.

Now, of course the essay itself is actually much more thorough and has a plethora of brilliant ideas and revelations, but as far as conventional games and gamers are concerned, and when it comes to being value-minded when shopping for new or used games, content (and quality content, at that) is king.

That's not to say that, as Sean writes, that a game play arc is not warranted, as it really is a desirable trait for any game. Assassin's Creed failed miserably in this particular respect, despite its 10-20 hour play time, compared to Heavenly Sword's brilliant story closure at a 7 hour mark. But its also worth praising games that have both length and a well executed gameplay arc, like Tomb Raider Anniversary.

With this being my first post for my new blog, French Pressed Megalixer, I'll end this post with a few suggestions to all of the readers out there.

As mentioned just prior, Tomb Raider Anniversary, available on PS2, Wii, 360, and PC, is a brilliant game to play. Not only is there a a huge amount of content, but the varied puzzle platforming and exploration will compel you forward. Its a PS1 game's amount of sheer content, met with a brilliant graphical and mechanical upgrade. It was released at a budget price, and is still available for pretty cheap at Amazon and Gamestop. If you're lucky, you might still spot it at any remaining big box electronic shops. Note: The game isn't meant for anyone who might be a member of PETA, if you know what I mean.

Next up is Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the Nintendo DS. This is an oldie but a goodie, with light noir overtones, a sketchy A-Ha music video look, and full of mystery and intrigue. I'll openly admit that I actually never got too far and got distracted when I originally bought it, but for those mystery novel lovers out there who want something different from the norm, this is a pretty solid title to pick up. Kinda hard to find nowadays, but if you have to pay more than $20, don't bother.