by Daniel "Tanz" Lattanzio, staff writer

I play video games. I admit it freely. I’ve been playing since the late 1970’s, and still do today. I lived and played through the video game market crash of the mid-80’s and have probably spent enough money on my hobby to fund a third world country. Gaming is my obsession: it is like my mistress; or maybe like that teenage girl that works at the mall – the one that’s over-developed for her age, and wears those oh-so-too-tight sweaters. You know, the redhead? Anyway…

Years ago, I’d buy or rent any game on a whim, no matter how bad it was. Especially if it was bad – it was a matter of principle at that point. If the game was bad, my friends and I would find ways to make it enjoyable; whether we were mocking its storyline (a flying robo-space-bunny?), or trying to decipher pre-32 bit graphics (is that Donkey Kong Jr. or a brown cleaning lady pushing a vacuum?) – we found ways to have a blast. That was the whole point: having fun.

Nowadays, I just don’t have the time to invest in gaming like I used to. I know the types of games I like and read through many magazine reviews so that I get the cream of the crop. I have precious little time (and money) to spend on inferior games.

While there are many things I like about the industry, There are a few things I could do without. I am not biased against any game console – but the companies behind them are (pardon the pun) fair game.

1. Bad controls.
Yes, I am talking to you, “Resident Evil.” You have one of the worst control schemes ever. Who had the bright idea to have someone run, stop and rotate in place, and then run again? Oh yes, and then change the orientation in the next room so that you’re facing a completely different way! I heard people explain that it “fits” the fixed camera setup – that’s bull! It is nothing more than artificial difficulty put in place to save designers from making the puzzles and such more challenging! The fact that it has been copied in other games such as the “Fear Effect” series and “Parasite Eve 2” only pisses me off more. Damn you, Capcom!

2. “Buggie gaymes”
Games, especially those that are tied in to a license (like a movie) are usually rushed out the door so that they can be on store shelves the same day (or before) the movie hits. What generally happens is that the games aren’t thoroughly tested for bugs or glitches before they’re put on store shelves. Computer gamers can, at least, download patches and fixes from the internet; console gamers (people with PS2s or GameCubes, for example) are stuck with shiny platters of digital crap. The companies make a quick buck, but at the expense of screwing over their customers. Customers that remember these things. I doubt that the next “Tomb Raider” game will sell like “Angel of Darkness” has. (Then again – does ANYONE still enjoy Tomb Raider games?)

3. Remember me?
This one is personal for me, and is aimed straight at Nintendo. Remember the NES? The Super NES? I sure do, quite fondly, I might add. Those two consoles had TONS of classic games – I don’t even need to list any; everyone knows them. Even the ones made by “Third Party” companies (games not made by Nintendo themselves) were great! Sure, there were some bad games – every system has them – but they were far outshined by the greats.

So what happened? Nintendo grew too big for their britches - they became arrogant. They felt censoring the blood in Mortal Kombat was a great idea – that was a main point of the game! They pissed off their third party developers, who would go on to have huge successes on other consoles. (Square was a main one – and it’s taken nearly ten years for them to start making games for the Big N again.)

I admit, this is a more “behind the scenes” aspect, but you get a company that, when it finally released the N64 (the only console I’ll rip on, by the way. What was up with those god-awful controllers?), only two games were available. Nintendo had been hyping it for so long that it was somewhat of a letdown. Hardcore Nintendo fans will still argue that the N64 was better than the original PlayStation. It was really with the N64 that Nintendo took, what most perceive as, their “kiddie image” for making brightly-colored kid friendly games. While that is not a bad thing, I can think of, maybe, five games that the N64 had that can be considered “must have.”

This all boils down to my point that companies need to remember their audience. Nintendo fell to third place in the current generation of consoles because of their past failure in this regard.

These are just my personal beefs with the industry – and I feel that I have spent enough of my hard-earned cash to at least be heard. But, to be fair, I thought I’d list, in no particular order, five of my all-time favorite games for comparison. These games aren’t perfect, either – but they’re a hell of a lot of fun and are worth checking out.

1. Yar’s Revenge (Atari2600): Okay, the premise is a little strange, but you play the role of a space mosquito seeking vengeance against the aliens that wiped out his planet. Trust me, this game is addicting like no other – it is one of the reasons I still own an Atari.
2. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX): I love RPGs and am a huge Final Fantasy fan. Yet, my favorite in the series is not even a RPG! FFT is a strategy game with RPG elements. It may look like a SNES era game, but it has deep game play and a fantastic storyline dealing with politics, religion and betrayal. In fact, after 40+ hours into the game, I screwed up and had to start over – I put in another 100+ hours in the game and loved every second! This is not a game for the easily-bored.
3. Super Metroid (SNES): The Metroid series seemed to fall by the wayside for a few years, only to have three new games come out in the past year or so. This is the classic one that everyone SHOULD play, and while the original kicks ass, this one sets the standard that all the others follow.
4. The Dot Hack series (PS2): This is my current obsession. It is a four part series that chronicles the deterioration of the online game called “The World.” As its users fall victim to the rampant virus spread, the players fall into comas in the “real world.” I say “real world” because the Dot Hack games are a simulated online game; it emulates the online experience with email messages with other “players” and communication during battles. Being a big fan of story and plot, I am totally addicted to these games.
5. The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past (SNES): As far as I’m concerned, this game is far better than its 3-D successors. If you need proof, it’s now on the GBA so gamers who missed it the first time now have another chance to enjoy it.

It doesn’t take the best graphics, fastest frame-rate or most high-tech game engine to make a game fun. As long as companies listen to what their audience wants and is willing to try new things instead of just copying the newest “game of the year,” the industry will be fine. I understand it is a business, and they are just trying to make money like anyone else; they just need to give me a reason to give them money and not alienate me in the process.

And if a company expects to be able to release a buggy, unfinished game to cash in on whatever movie is out next month – then I expect them to pay me to be a beta-tester. My fees are reasonable, and I swear to use the money to buy quality products from someone else.

Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what bugs you in the game industry, or to let me know how wrong I am.