The State of PC Gaming 2010

I would like to start off by saying that I am primarily a PC gamer. This is not a shot fired in the console vs PC war, merely my own point of view. Since the glory days of Fallout 1 (yes kids, there were 2 earlier ones, that's how we got to 3) I have been hooked. The PC offered games of such depth, games that could be experienced, while consoles offered up arcade games to pass the time.

By now some of you are about to leave, some are thinking up thoughtful comments to be posted in hate mail, some are digging out old jewel cases for the old Fallout games, and some just wish I would get to the point. Computer games have changed over the past 10 years. While there are still many great products out there, there are more problems than ever. In this article I will try to cover the ups and downs of PC Gaming.

Pros:
1.) Number of titles: The never has and never will be any console that can encompass so many varieties and niches of the gaming experience as the PC. From the casual (Bejeweled), the popular (World of Warcraft), the graphically spectacular (Crysis), the absurdly complex (Dwarf Fortress) and the time eating (World of Goo). This variety allows anyone to find something that is catered just to them.

2.) Modability: Fallout 3 for PC is a great example of this. I, being a fan of games 1 and 2 was hoping against hope that the game would be loyal to its roots. Now while Bethesda did an excellent job on the game, perhaps a few more of the developers would have played the old ones. Being able to mod a game, especially if the game provides the tools to do so (shining credit to Bethesda for doing that) allows us to change nearly anything to our own liking. Feel there are not enough guns? So did someone else. Feel the game is missing some creatures? So did someone else. Feel that all characters should have pig masks? You might be alone on that one. But the important thing is that if you are determined enough, you can make your own idea for the game come true.

3.) Length: As a gamer on a budget, and how many people aren't these days, I want a good 40 hours plus of gameplay. If it is short but has huge replay value, great. If its so insanely long that I wanna run around singing "We are the Champions" in my underwear just because I beat it, that's great too.....well, at least the game part is good.

4.) Indie Gaming: Just the sheer originality of some of these games are stunning. Mount & Blade is the most amazing medieval combat simulator ever in my opinion, and it was made not by some mega-company with 1000 workers and endless budgeting. Now some of you will be quick to argue that it had a publisher. Sure at the end it did. I was with it back during its beta when it was a slowly increasing price to buy as it got more complete(I think I got in at $9), so it still counts. Games that sometimes seem silly until they hook you until the end(Hammerfight).

5.) Digital Distribution: A game that comes to me, without interfering with the with the hard work and dedication it takes to make this computer chair's dent so perfectly shaped. I think I might be tearing up here......

Cons:
1.) Playability: It's that happy feeling, after the game you have been reading about in the forums, watching commercials for, and making every guess under the sun about what new features it'll contain, it happens: You lock your eyes onto it at a local GameStop. Music starts playing in your head, the carpet turns into a meadow, and your slow motion leaping to get it. The ride home takes forever, ever red light attempting to come between you and your new game. Finally your at your house, installing the game, wondering why the installer bar doesn't move at an even pace. Then there's the magic moment when you click that icon to launch. The intro plays and you light up at the story. The anticipation builds as you click new game.......SUPERAWESOMEGAME.EXE has stopped responding.

2.) Microsoft: No, no, I am not going to go on a Mac rant here, this is a article about PC gaming, and the Mac last I checked was up to 4.5 games that worked without workarounds(bracing for the hate-mail). I mean the XBOX. Once games started going from console to PC and back, they seemed to meet somewhere in the middle. Consoles have a fan-base, PC games have a fan-base. Mixing the two of them together ruins the PC experience. I didn't put all the work into my Beast-PC(ugly but fast) to play console games. I wanted no loading screens, absurd playtime, mind-blowing graphics. Instead I got........ mouse support?

3.) Indie Gaming: Yes, for those of you scoring at home, I did already use indie gaming as number 4 on the pros list. Try a search on indie gaming. Now wade thru the sites and sites and sites of random junk, searching for a site that lists them all. In their obscurity, they have managed to hide themselves. For every 10 indie games, there are 6 that were horrible, 3 that were great,but no one could even find them and one that you played forever telling yourself you were about to quit. Perhaps a support group? "Hi I'm Charlie and I have a GOO problem"

In closing, game makers need to look at what the fans of their previous games liked about them, not just slapping random extras to it and hoping for the best. We already had that phase in the 80's, and it died out.

"Is it just a can-opener? NO, its a can opener with am/fm radio, a keychain and a flashlight. Never worry again about losing it, because its so big and clunky you wont wanna carry it..."