(We write in a segmented fashion, therefore we have cut up pieces of writing we currently fitting together.)

Rough Draft 

What makes games so entertaining? Is it the excitement from doing a triple-kick flip, vanquishing a demon from an unknown town, or smuggling drugs and assassinations? If you're a part of Gen-X (or Y whatever the separation is) explosions, decapitations and sophisticated button entry systems are pretty commonplace in the gaming world. RPG's offer a player a world away from the "harsh reality" of life, while puzzle games (such as Tetris) may give someone a needed break from work. The newly evolved "network games" present a community and well defined goals for any person willing to invest. What draws gamers to games? Basically great marketing, but when it comes to certain games, they can blow people away, through a variety of ways.  

     There is a primary reason for listing primarily older games for systems such as the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft XBOX. Many companies focus their attention largely on graphic development due to high definition audio/video becoming an emergent technology when the next generation consoles debuted (+PS3 and X360, excluding the Wii). By doing so, the level of game play and storylines took somewhat of a dive at least when looking at today’s game reviews and by continuing to play games ourselves. A decent portion of the older titles had reached a near untouchable status during their runs for being well rounded and so it felt more in tune speaking about these than with the next generation games we possess. However it is important to not that some games are an exception to this rule, especially in the world of PC's where games can be updated and patched constantly.

     When thinking of action games, Grand Theft Auto: III had to be one of the greatest and most successful games for any console. To go without mentioning it would be missing an important element in game culture, due to the changes the game brought. Regardless what genre of video games a person is into, there are always a few that remain in your head as those that changed or removed a boundary formerly present. This game is a staple example of changing it up, you have free roaming level design and around seventy percent or so of the environment is interactive. From picking up weapons, to speaking with people, stealing cars, being able to travel to different cities via bridges, you are allowed to generally wreak havoc on the city. All the kids such as myself who had a destructive side intrigued by watching things get blown up and causing mischief now had a place to release this, rather than in society or keeping it inside. I remember picking up an AK47 (a machine gun available in the game), grabbing a parked Dodge Viper named the “Banshee” (for copyright reasons) and proceeding to travel to a strip club to alleviate a another crime boss making waves for my crew. Another instance had me piloting a “Rhino” fighting vehicle firing tanks shells at police enforcement in an effort to escape in order to down my wanted level. Up until this point there was literally nothing even close to touching upon the harsh subject matter present in the game and while it may have shaken a few people creating complaints, the overall ideology and marketing had succeeded. Create a game to shock and awe the audience and keep them coming back for more.

Due to the game being so successful and creating such an infamous connotation associated with such, Rockstar (the company that developed GTA) has been able to release new additions

to the franchise ever since and has done well at nearly every attempt regardless of certain negativities (bad reviews, etc.) In regards to so many releases, something has to be said as to the origin of all the popularity and it is somewhat simple in nature. Players with often look past minor faults of a game, some even major as long as the game is overall entertaining (an A/V thrill ride per se). We see this very fact with the release of GTA: Vice City. A vast improvement over the prior games, with more interaction, and a different story line. We now head back to the 1980's Miami, a place known as Vice City and there is a familiar song playing on the radio, this song is called "Flock of Seagulls." All the while driving my shiny red ferrari to the golf course to pick up some new clubs and in turn steal a golf cart. So many new vehicles to drive, better damage imageries from explosions to fires and new weapons to take out anyone who stands in your way. Who would have thought the original could be improved upon so much with such minor changes, but that is when you realize there was nothing minor about it. Suddenly we are roaming thr streets in costumes in outfits from other professions in order to disguise ourselves and mafia like voice of Ray Liotta sounds off as Tommy Vercetti, the games main protagonist. From here on out cruising around on your PCJ-600 (a street bike), mowing down a few cops and cop cars, setting people on fire and flying helicopters away from the scene is an everyday occurence that required no second thoughts.

 The ultimate expansion, before a horrible crash, was San Andreas. A new character, new locations, much better scenery and imagery, a bigger story line and map, and once again way more interaction. Now you can take your homies around town after recruiting them, demolish a few drug dealers or gang members, mark your territory through gang wars, and have the occasional girlfriend (a rare for hardcore gamers). You can level up your gun skill in the Ammo-Nation shops, steal a jetpack, drive on bigger highways, participate in flying, driving, and fighting schools, save in better houses, and drive trains. You also have the option of working out or gorging till you throw up; and changing your character's clothing, bling, hair style, facial hair, and tattoos. The best thing by far is the incredible F-16 fighter jet, with lock-on radar, missiles to blow up just about anything including other jets, and a decoy drop for when an enemy fires at you. If you are persued and cannot escape you can always jetison out and deploy a chute. Not only do the police chase you, but other people as well, and if you park or walk on the train tracks you will get hit. It seems much more realistic. The storyline throws you out of towns, into cahoots with crooked cops, into Area 69 (51 really) Las Vegas, California, and out of planes. It is the closest combination of a good story and a great game I can think of, but pong comes pretty close.

          Our next candidate is one known as Crash Bandicoot. Nearly everyone remembers the quirky prairie dog known as Crash and his travels through various levels in an effort to satisfy collecting items in order to save someone, or assimilate various objects. A game that spawned several sequels and spin offs, most of which highly successful and created a household name for the franchise. Naughty Dog Entertainment had the entire thing planned from the very beginning covering every minor detail to further the game. Commercials dealing with Crash fishing, getting beat up, to going out on dates kept me entertained all the way through high school when the popularity started to decrease. However this detail came into play only after remaining popular for the better part of ten years. Gamers now had a modern day platform jumper in 3-D. Today 3-D is expected, though back in those days it was revolutionary and jumping on to turtles, over pungee stick pits, breaking boxes and surfing could be seen and enjoyed from all angles burning the word “amazing” into audiences minds. The player would attempt to collect apples as a way to gain another life (after reaching 100 apples each time) and throughout the level would search for crystals and keys to unlock objectives and items lending support to overall completion. Besides these facets of game play, these new graphics were amazing using geometric design points in order to make objects and characters more realistic along with a funky soundtrack and effects aimed at pleasing the consumer. Job well done, to this day there are still Crash Bandicoot merchandise and spin-offs that sell remarkably well all things considered. Reminiscing about rushing home from school only to play this game until I had to go to bed like many other kids my age lends itself to being in the highly successful games category.

     Spyro wasn't a big impression on me (David) till a new game came out on XBOX. I played samplers of Crash, but loved the options of burning, head butting, freezing, impaling with rocks, or sweeping up enemies in whirlwinds. What a cool idea, great game flow, and completely unrealistic game to play. You are a purple dragon, with a dragonfly-type buddy, who is on a quest to destroy the evil dark dragon. You battle irritated monkeys, pissed of rock-men, frozen ice-beings, and fiery minions. Like I said, it’s unrealistic, but interesting. There is a story line, and you can level up.

     The last example of what constitutes an entertaining game for us: C&C Red Alert 3. After years of hiatus after the original developer (Westwood) went under, gamers everywhere alike waited in anticipation for a new Red Alert game to come out and at some point it seemed as though the day would never come. But eventually signs were revleaed that EA (Electronic Arts) would be releasing a new Command & Conquer in addition to the Red Alert series and that played like a symphony through many ears across the world. Though there were doubt on whether or not EA could manage such an endeavor, however once I (Dylan) saw the trailer, my mind went blank as I was blow away by the imagery, gameplay, storyline and oh wow it certainly had something near epic in nature. Just tonight we were all playing it for hours watching each other anxiously and screaming out commands, "yes! build more blimps and send those robots straight to hell." Yes, it's an all out war in this planning/destroy simulation. The Soviets have gone back in time and killed Einstein, hence no theory of relativity and no Nuclear weapons, not exactly what the Russkies had originally planned on. It's the Allies Vs. The Soviets Vs. The Empire of the Rising Sun. Armed to the teeth with sophisticated manpower, weaponry, Mobile Construction Units, top-secret protocols (sky-dump, magnetic tractor beams), aircraft and navy units; you must destroy your enemies with extreme prejudice. This game combines a magnificent story structure packed with actors (Tim Curry, JK Simmons, Jenny McCarthy, etc.) who issue commands, threats, and congratulations. Every mission can be played solo or online co-op, with three levels of difficulty. If you don’t have friends who play, the game automatically issues a computer generated second in command army. The most interesting aspect is the requisition and allocation of resources from ore mines and banks. If you don’t have enough credits, forget about building that MiG Fighter or training your war bears, your destruction is inevitable. In order to use creation facilities you must build power structures. You are able to issue twelve different commands to your infantry and vehicles, and four to your second in command. Each of the three powers has completely different lines of fighters and the buildings differ in appearance. It’s not all destruction and death, sometimes you have to capture buildings using your engineer, or build ore mines on multiple islands. Besides offensive units, there are a few defensive structures (walls, sentry guns, air-turrets, and electrical towers).

Feedback

FINAL

What makes games so entertaining? Is it the excitement from doing a triple-kick flip, vanquishing a demon from an unknown town, or smuggling drugs and assassinations? If you're a part of Gen-X (or Y whatever the separation is) explosions, decapitations and sophisticated button entry systems are pretty commonplace in the gaming world. RPG's offer a player a world away from the "harsh reality" of life, while puzzle games (such as Tetris) may give someone a needed break from work. The newly evolved "network games" present a community and well defined goals for any person willing to invest. What draws gamers to games? Basically great marketing, but when it comes to certain games, they can blow people away, through a variety of ways.  

            There is a primary reason for listing primarily older games for systems such as the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft XBOX. Many companies focus their attention largely on graphic development due to high definition audio/video becoming an emergent technology when the next generation consoles debuted (+PS3 and X360, excluding the Wii). By doing so, the level of game play and storylines took somewhat of a dive at least when looking at today’s game reviews and by continuing to play games ourselves. A decent portion of the older titles had reached a near untouchable status during their runs for being well rounded and so it felt more in tune speaking about these than with the next generation games we possess. However it is important to not that some games are an exception to this rule, especially in the world of PC's where games can be updated and patched constantly.

            When thinking of action games, Grand Theft Auto: III had to be one of the greatest and most successful games for any console. To go without mentioning it would be missing an important element in game culture, due to the changes the game brought. Regardless what genre of video games a person is into, there are always a few that remain in your head as those that changed or removed a boundary formerly present. This game is a staple example of changing it up, you have free roaming level design and around seventy percent or so of the environment is interactive. From picking up weapons, to speaking with people, stealing cars, being able to travel to different cities via bridges, you are allowed to generally wreak havoc on the city. All the kids such as myself who had a destructive side intrigued by watching things get blown up and causing mischief now had a place to release this, rather than in society or keeping it inside. I remember picking up an AK47 (a machine gun available in the game), grabbing a parked Dodge Viper named the “Banshee” (for copyright reasons) and proceeding to travel to a strip club to alleviate a another crime boss making waves for my crew. Another instance had me piloting a “Rhino” fighting vehicle firing tanks shells at police enforcement in an effort to escape in order to down my wanted level. Up until this point there was literally nothing even close to touching upon the harsh subject matter present in the game and while it may have shaken a few people creating complaints, the overall ideology and marketing had succeeded. Create a game to shock and awe the audience and keep them coming back for more.

            Due to the game being so successful and creating such an infamous connotation associated with such, Rockstar (the company that developed GTA) has been able to release new additions to the franchise ever since and has done well at nearly every attempt regardless of certain negativities (bad reviews, etc.) In regards to so many releases, something has to be said as to the origin of all the popularity and it is somewhat simple in nature. Players with often look past minor faults of a game, some even major as long as the game is overall entertaining (an A/V thrill ride per se). We see this very fact with the release of GTA: Vice City.

          A vast improvement over the prior games, with more interaction, and a different story line. We now head back to the 1980's Miami, a place known as Vice City and there is a familiar song playing on the radio, this song is called "Flock of Seagulls." All the while driving my shiny red Ferrari to the golf course to pick up some new clubs and in turn steal a golf cart. So many new vehicles to drive, better damage imageries from explosions to fires and new weapons to take out anyone who stands in your way. Who would have thought the original could be improved upon so much with such minor changes, but that is when you realize there was nothing minor about it. Suddenly we are roaming through streets in costumes in outfits from other professions in order to disguise ourselves and mafia like voice of Ray Liotta sounds off as Tommy Vercetti, the games main protagonist.

From here on out cruising around on your PCJ-600 (a street bike), mowing down a few cops and cop cars, setting people on fire and flying helicopters away from the scene is an everyday occurrence that required no second thoughts.

            The ultimate expansion, before a horrible crash, was San Andreas. A new character, new locations, much better scenery and imagery, a bigger story line and map, and once again way more interaction. Now you can take your homies around town after recruiting them, demolish a few drug dealers or gang members, mark your territory through gang wars, and have the occasional girlfriend (a rare for hardcore gamers). You can level up your gun skill in the Ammo-Nation shops, steal a jetpack, drive on bigger highways, participate in flying, driving, and fighting schools, save in better houses, and drive trains. You also have the option of working out or gorging till you throw up; and changing your character's clothing, bling, hair style, facial hair, and tattoos. The best thing by far is the incredible F-16 fighter jet, with lock-on radar, missiles to blow up just about anything including other jets, and a decoy drop for when an enemy fires at you. If you are pursued and cannot escape you can always jettison out and deploy a chute. Not only do the police chase you, but other people as well, and if you park or walk on the train tracks you will get hit. It seems much more realistic. The storyline throws you out of towns, into cahoots with crooked cops, into Area 69 (51 really) Las Vegas, California, and out of planes. It is the closest combination of a good story and a great game I can think of, but pong comes pretty close.

            Our next candidate is one known as Crash Bandicoot. Nearly everyone remembers the quirky prairie dog known as Crash and his travels through various levels in an effort to satisfy collecting items in order to save someone, or assimilate various objects. A game that spawned several sequels and spin offs, most of which highly successful and created a household name for the franchise. Naughty Dog Entertainment had the entire thing planned from the very beginning covering every minor detail to further the game. Commercials dealing with Crash fishing, getting beat up, to going out on dates kept me entertained all the way through high school when the popularity started to decrease.

          However this detail came into play only after remaining popular for the better part of ten years. Gamers now had a modern day platform jumper in 3-D. Today 3-D is expected, though back in those days it was revolutionary and jumping on to turtles, over pungee stick pits, breaking boxes and surfing could be seen and enjoyed from all angles burning the word “amazing” into audiences’ minds. The player would attempt to collect apples as a way to gain another life (after reaching 100 apples each time) and throughout the level would search for crystals and keys to unlock objectives and items lending support to overall completion. Besides these facets of game play, these new graphics were amazing using geometric design points in order to make objects and characters more realistic along with a funky soundtrack and effects aimed at pleasing the consumer. Job well done, to this day there are still Crash Bandicoot merchandise and spin-offs that sell remarkably well all things considered. Reminiscing about rushing home from school only to play this game until I had to go to bed like many other kids my age, lends itself to being in the highly successful games category.

            Spyro wasn't a big impression on me (David) till a new game came out on XBOX. I played samplers of Crash, but loved the options of burning, head butting, freezing, impaling with rocks, or sweeping up enemies in whirlwinds. What a cool idea, great game flow, and completely unrealistic game to play. You are a purple dragon, with a dragonfly-type buddy, who is on a quest to destroy the evil dark dragon. You battle irritated monkeys, pissed of rock-men, frozen ice-beings, and fiery minions. Like I said, it’s unrealistic, but interesting. There is a story line, and you can level up.

            The last example of what constitutes an entertaining game for us: C&C Red Alert 3. After years of hiatus after the original developer (Westwood) went under, gamers everywhere alike waited in anticipation for a new Red Alert game to come out and at some point it seemed as though the day would never come. But eventually signs were revealed that EA (Electronic Arts) would be releasing a new Command & Conquer in addition to the Red Alert series and that played like a symphony through many ears across the world. Though there were doubts on whether or not EA could manage such an endeavor, however once I (Dylan) saw the trailer, my mind went blank as I was blow away by the imagery, game play, and story line; wow it certainly had something near epic in nature. Just tonight we were all playing it for hours watching each other anxiously and screaming out commands, "yes! Build more blimps and send those robots straight to hell." Yes, it's an all out war in this planning/destroy simulation. The Soviets have gone back in time and killed Einstein, hence no theory of relativity and no Nuclear weapons, not exactly what the Russkies had originally planned on. It's the Allies Vs. The Soviets Vs. The Empire of the Rising Sun. Armed to the teeth with sophisticated manpower, weaponry, Mobile Construction Units, top-secret protocols (sky-dump, magnetic tractor beams), aircraft and navy units; you must destroy your enemies with extreme prejudice. This game combines a magnificent story structure packed with actors (Tim Curry, JK Simmons, Jenny McCarthy, etc.) who issue commands, threats, and congratulations. Every mission can be played solo or online co-op, with three levels of difficulty. If you don’t have friends who play, the game automatically issues a computer generated second in command army. The most interesting aspect is the requisition and allocation of resources from ore mines and banks. If you don’t have enough credits, forget about building that MiG Fighter or training your war bears, your destruction is inevitable. In order to use creation facilities you must build power structures. You are able to issue twelve different commands to your infantry and vehicles, and four to your second in command. Each of the three powers has completely different lines of fighters and the buildings differ in appearance. It’s not all destruction and death, sometimes you have to capture buildings using your engineer, or build ore mines on multiple islands. Besides offensive units, there are a few defensive structures (walls, sentry guns, air-turrets, and electrical towers).

            So ultimately, what is it that creates an entertaining game? We do not know the universal structure or the general audience of the games we enjoy, but we enjoy them. Basically it’s all a matter of taste, same as in music, food, or any other kind of art. These games are far more entertaining than Tetris, Pac-man, or Solitaire because of the different opportunities they offer. It’s an escape from the mundane, boring, the ruts everyone eventually runs into. Whether you enjoy decapitation, racing, puzzle solving, CSI-type investigation; there is always something that will intrigue a gamer. Yes we think these are the best so far, but you may disagree due to background values, or differing opinions of entertainment. So what makes us the authority of presenting the entertainment of games? Nothing. Except that we play the games we love, and don’t play the games that don’t create a great enough challenge with decent control. What entertains you?

Nathan's Causal Final Reviews