The ESRB: Bringing Out the Big Guns, or Pandering to the Masses?

We all know violence in video games has been an issue for a long time. I won't bother linking any documents here, because you're a big boy/girl who can use Google for him/herself.

Through all of this, one of the things that seems to be forgotten by most people who are not as closely associated with the gaming industry as people like I am is the Entertainment Software Ratings Bureau. Just as films have a ratings board, so does the gaming industry. There is a clear rating system and reasons for why a given title got the rating it was given. Even Europe has PEGI, which fulfills the same function.

As a parent, I've always felt that we parents should be involved in the games we and our children play. Even parents who are not gamers, it is in your child's best interests that you at least somewhat understand what they are playing. The reason being that even though not true causal link has been observed between violent games and increased aggression in people, all media has an effect on us. These effects can be either positive (e.g. increased hand-eye coordination, problem solving, or even fighting dyslexia) or negative (increased levels of frustration mixed with adrenaline can lead to some lashing out -- ask any gamer and they have probably thrown a controller in frustration at some point). Regardless, there has been a ratings system in place for decades to provide parents and other consumers a guideline about the content of a game. But, most politicians are either unaware of this system or think it is ineffective.

As a result, the ESRB has decided to make a change to marketing requirements for games. To summarize, trailers for Mature-rated games will soon be required to provide a clear ratings statement at the beginning of said trailers. It is being likened to the green "this preview has been approved for all audiences" ribbon at the beginning of most movie trailers:

The general consensus I've noticed in comments on various sites is that this change is regarded as pointless. Personally, I really like this change. Making this disclaimer appear more like the MPAA rating screen will likely make the ESRB rating screen more accessible. More Americans are used to the MPAA rating system and making the ESRB rating resemble it as best as it can will somewhat equate the two in the minds of an audience. In these examples, though, there are not details or reasons for the rating like there are in the MPAA screen or as they appear on a game box. I hope to see that in here, too.

One of the possibly unintended side-effects of this is that game developers and distributors may start to do a gaming-version of a "red band" trailer. This hasn't appeared to have any effect on the movie industry, though with the emphasis on violent games in today's culture, the gaming industry better step carefully before doing something like that.

There are some other ramifications of these new rules, such as allowing game websites to now show ESRB ratings next to ratings by other ratings boards like PEGI. I can understand not wanting ratings that are not necessarily equivalent to be shown next to each in order to minimize confusion. However, as the article states, many websites weren't showing ratings at all. Lifting this regulation now allows websites to show all ratings, which is better than showing none whatsoever.

Glad to see that the ESRB is trying to change up their game. Kudos!

Gnome out.

Player? I hardly know her!

My wife and I got the collector's edition of Tomb Raider last week. I'm busy digging into AC3 (finally), but she's been having a blast with it. I can already tell, even without touching it, that I'm going to love it when I get around to playing it.

Lara Croft has always been an interesting character and gaming icon. She's had her ups and downs, certainly, and it seems that Crystal Dynamics has found a formula for her that works in the modern gaming market. Sure, it may borrow heavily from Assassin's Creed and 3rd Person shooters, but there is a reason those games work and are popular. I hope to see a bit more focus on tomb raiding in future games that is more along the lines of the original games, but that will have to be a balance CD will have to strike on their own.

As a character, though, I can still see a bit of Old Lara in New Lara. They do seem like very different people, though. At the end of the game, Lara expresses a motivation for her raiding of tombs that seems different than what is has been in the past. I'm still waiting for the coy and aloof Lara we came to know, but maybe that will never happen. I'd just hate for her to be stuck as a tragic heroine forever.

New Lara in all her gritty and bloody glory. This girl takes a serious beating and keeps on going.

I think the gaming world's eyes are on Lara right now, since she is one of the only widely-recognizable female protagonists in gaming, and her reinvented persona/image has everyone curious. It seems developers are already getting the third degree about female protagonists. OXM recently discussed a female protagonist with Epic Games. According to the interview, Epic doubts that they will be making a female protagonist the focus of any future Gears entries. For one, I think this is a shame. While I don't think a character has to be "butch" to counteract the stigma that they have to be sexy to be entertaining, I think GoW3 did a good job of providing an alternative to the traditional model.

A bikini and a belt? All the protection an adventurer needs!
Also, what is up with that right wrist!?

The issue of female characters in video games is not just about sexiness or clothing (or lack thereof), though. Their portrayal and personality is equally important, if not more so. A game could be chock full of women clad is reasonable clothing or armor, but if they remain weak, subservient, or otherwise less interesting than their male counterparts, the effort is wasted. For an example of this, we need to look no further than Metroid: Other M. Samus Aran is arguably runner-up in terms of popularity and notoriety (ignoring the fact that hardly anyone knew she was a woman in the first Metroid game, due to her armor). Due to the distinct lack of sexualization of her character, she has been one of the more respectable and empowered women in video games. The Metroid Prime trilogy is one of my favorite examples of how a female protagonist should be portrayed in a game. However, Other M got harangued by critics because the upgrade/progression "system" in the game undermined decades of her character development as a strong woman. Though she is outfitted with all the tools she needs to do her job from the first moment the player takes control of her, she is limited in their use by her male CO. Abbie Heppe from the now nearly-extinct G4TV explains:

In the world of Other M, Samus stumbles upon her old Galactic Federation squad mates while answering a distress call on a seemingly abandoned vessel. Among the people she encounters is her former captain, Adam Malkovich. In the most contrived manner possible, Samus loses her special abilities. How? She opts not to use them. Why? She wants to show Adam she can follow orders.
Yes, that’s right. The woman who in the first five minutes of the game gives the squad access to the ship by using her missiles is restricted from using her abilities -- some which could open a path or save her life in the future -- until a bland male character dictates it to her. She does this because she likes him, but only as a friend.
No matter what way you rationalize this mechanic, when you're 10 minutes into the lava sector and you can't use your Varia Suit yet, you will understand how painfully stupid this plot device is.

In short, you're asked to forget that Samus has spent the last 10-15 years on solitary missions ridding the galaxy of Space Pirates, saving the universe and surviving on her own as a bounty hunter. Instead, Other M expects you to accept her as a submissive, child-like and self-doubting little girl that cannot possibly wield the amount of power she possesses unless directed to by a man.  (http://www.g4tv.com/games/wii/61992/Metroid-Other-M/review/)

While I tend to believe this was not necessarily an intentional decision made developer Team Ninja, it does make me believe that developers sometimes do not fully consider the impact of their storytelling and design decisions.

That's it, Samus. A thumbs-down will show them you mean biz-nass.

Despite the debacle that was Metroid: Other M, the current gaming generation has produced many attempts at female protagonists. Games such as WET, Velvet Assassin, Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation, Heavy Rain, and Bayonetta have all attempted this with varying results. However, my favorites have been Mirror's Edge and Heavenly Sword. Faith and Nariko are both strong women who are only moderately sexualized, though Nariko is more sexualized than Faith. Previous generations also gave us Cate Archer of No One Lives Forever and Jade of Beyond Good and Evil. Again, two moderately sexualized characters with strong, independent, and commanding personalities. All four of these characters starred in good games, too. The formula can work. But, it's up to the developer to make it happen. This is all part of the reason I hope Remember Me can make it big, and why I'm happy Tomb Raider has turned out as good as it has.

Nilin will hack your brain while kicking your ass. Sure, she may be wearing really tight clothes, but she's no Bayonetta.

Case in point.

Besides often being over-sexualized and portrayed as weak, women also tend to get the crazy roles in video games. I was reminded of this when I came across an announced project by Keiji Inafune, wherein he has invented a fictional niece for himself. As his niece, you are forced to take part in a terrorist's twisted games in order to save your "uncle's" theme park. But, here's the kicker: It's an otome game, so there will be plenty of flirting and melodrama.

It's definitely not the weirdest otome game I've heard of, but it's up there.

That's all for now. Gnome, out.

Start Your Engines! (now with gifs)

ZOMG PLAYSTATION 4!!!!!!!1!

Mind = blown

Okay, so maybe the announcement wasn't that mind-blowing, but it certainly wasn't as lackluster as some of Sony's recent E3 press conferences. There weren't any giant crabs, massive damage, or RIIIIIDGE RACER references. I'm a little curious where Jack Tretton was, but I'll live without seeing him.

So.....PS4. It's real, and it'll be here before Christmas (most likely).

Kevin Butler is amazed, even though Sony just sued him.

To sum up the event, I'd have to say that Sony certainly seems to think social media is the next brave frontier for console gaming. I don't want to say they're wrong, but I will agree that there is some promise in the foundation they have laid.

Let's start with the hardware. I'm not a technical expert by any means, but 8GB of GDDR5 RAM is...incredible. From the press conference, it seems this memory will be used for a vast number of things, such as background downloads, saving game state for quick startup, massive particle counts, etc.  Apparently the PS3 only had 512GB of a lesser flavor of RAM, so this leap is gigantic. Then, there is the new controller:

Meet the DualShock 4.

Not too different, really. The big changes are the blue light on the front (we'll come back to that in a bit) and a touch pad between the face and directional buttons. Smaller changes include more rounded edges and slight redesign of stick and shoulder button shape/contour/texture. The blue light will be used with a sensor bar that will apparently come with the console so the controller's position in 3D space can be tracked, similar to Move.

Well played, Sony. But, you forgot three things: price, release date, and the console. Sure, you want to save it for E3. I get that, but isn't this the same problem Nintendo had with the Wii U? I'll trust your judgement for now, but you better wow me. I've got my eyes on you.

What's next? How about interconnectivity? CrossPlay and second screen sound as if they will be getting expanded upon exponentially. Vita may one day act a lot like Wii U's gamepad, acting as not only a second screen, but a way to play games away from your TV. Sony also plans to keep using tablets and phones as other means to expand gameplay and social interaction.

Speak of the devil: Social. This is one of the most terrifyingly intriguing aspects of the whole PS4 experience. One of the new features of the controller I left out is the "Share" button. I think I really like the concept of sharing my gaming experience. Not only can you tell your friends what you're playing while you're playing it, you can also share video of your gameplay session to social media (hereafter referred to Facebook and Twitter, because we all know that's where this is going). On top of this, the plan is that you'll be able to stream your gaming, having friends comment on your stream while you're playing, and even take control when you chose to let them. My initial reaction to all of this is generally positive.

It's even enough to soften up Ron Swanson.

I've wanted to share a lot of my gaming experiences with friends, but never had the means. PS4 has it built in. The idea of streaming gameplay to friends and letting them take control feels like long distance hot-seat play ("Dude, it's my turn!" or "You suck, let me kill this boss for you."), which sounds like a great way to connect friends and family over long distances. But, then the doubt sets in. I don't want someone to take over my game, whether I allow them to or not. There is also a security concern, which must be kept in mind when you consider PSN's history. Then, the added level of interconnectivity with other devices starts making me feel a little technophobic. It feels too much like a slippery slope leading to less and less human interaction while we're all burying ourselves in device screens. This is how the world will end...

That's the first PS4 arriving to stores.

Another focus of Sony's meeting was their partnership with Gaikai, the leader in streamed gaming that Sony purchased last year. What does this mean, exactly? Immediacy, essentially. Sony's plan is to make portions of games available for instant streaming to act as demos. Great! PS4 will also try to predict your gaming tastes and habits so the it can proactively download what it thinks you'll be interested in next. Again, I'm a little conflicted.

Ooh, that's good. Don't like that. But, this is awesome. Wait...no...damn it.

As far as games go, not much was shown off. We got confirmation that Watch Dogs will be on PS4, as well as Bungie's new IP, Destiny. There's a new Killzone and Infamous (which looks pretty sweet), too. Media Molecule showed off what I think is one of the most clever uses of Move (or Kinect, even) so far: 3D sculpting, basically. I can't see what they use that to create.

The biggest surprise, though, was that Diablo III is coming to PS4 and PS3. Some D3 fans seem to be none to happy with this. But, Blizzard seems to be getting back into the console game, folks! Perhaps they'll finally make Starcraft Ghost (fat chance), or the mysterious "Project Titan" will be on consoles. Only time will tell...or Blizzcon, maybe.

My cautious optimism for the PS4 was a good stance to take pre-announcement, and has only increased. I think the majority of the PS4 specs and features sound great, especially the massive RAM, what that means for how the console will perform, and what the Gaikai partnership can provide. More details on games, the physical machine's appearance, release date and price would have been great. I'm guessing Sony's holding on to all of this until E3, the sly devils. For now, we'll just have to save our pennies for "Holiday 2013."

The question that has to be begged now is, what does Microsoft have waiting in the wings? More Kinect? More exclusives? Will they also be focusing on immediate access to games and social integration? How will the next Xbox hardware stack up? The ball's in your court now, Microsoft.

Haven't you done enough damage, Kratos? Geez.

Wait, Wait! Don't Tell Me...

Today's going to be a big day for Sony and their fans. Though we still don't truly know what Sony is planning to announce today at their press conference, the evidence seems pretty unshakable.

Sony's spent the past several days recounting the recent successes of the PS2, PS3, Move and their games. PSP and Vita haven't been anywhere near the spotlight. Then, there are the leaked photos of what may be the PS4 controller. It feels pretty safe to say that the PS4 going to be in the wild pretty soon.

Memebase (Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale)

I have to say I'm generally supportive of the next console generation coming to fruition. It feels right; now is a good time. While the current generation still feels viable to me, I have started to sense a bit of stagnation. Part of that is corporate business models (annual game releases, etc), but I think developers could also use new hardware to explore. Besides the emergence of second screen technology and Kinect/Move (don't get me started on Illumiroom...), games are starting to feel same-ish. Games look great, and will continue to do so, but mechanics are wearing a bit thin - unless you're exploring indie games. (If that's the case, good for you! Please keep that up.)

Kill me now.
(memebase)

I really don't know what the next generation will bring. Nonetheless, I have aspirations. I hope Microsoft foregoes their MSP system and provides XBox Live as a free program with a premium level, more along the lines of how Sony does the PSN. Having to pay to play online is one thing, but having to pay so you can access other apps  you pay for, e.g. Netflix, is ludicrous. I hope Sony tries to be a bit more user friendly and less technical, for lack of a better term. I think second screen is useful and would love to see more applications of that in new and interesting ways, but let Wii U keep its touch pad. I hope for more cross-platform interactivity. I'd love to play Borderlands 2 on my Xbox against friends who prefer to play on PC or PS3. I mean, as long as the game was purchased for your system, who cares who they play it with? (I know the problem is that the online access servers are owned by Microsoft/Sony respectively, which makes this a pipe dream. I can dream though, dammit.) I know GameInformer has some ideas for Sony, though. I generally agree with these.

If the Intertubez are correct and today marks the unveiling of Sony's new console. True or not, the gaming world will be changed for better or worse. I'm cautiously optimistic for now, but still reserving judgement until details are made corporeal.

Sony's press conference begins at 6:00 EST and will be streamed online here.

From memegenerator.com

Extending Beyond The Small Screen

If you are reading this, I assume that you must be a person who rather enjoys a video game. If you could not tell, I too, am one such person. For nearly two full decades, I have indulged in my favorite hobby. Sometimes, I play video games to relieve stress or escape reality for a while. But one of the best aspects of video games, especially with the current generation of consoles, is the social aspect of the medium. This is one of the major reasons I love games such as Borderlands and World of Warcraft.

However, the gaming industry extends well beyond the TV or phone/tablet/computer screen. As featured in issue 234 of GameInformer, hobby gaming is on the rise. What is "hobby gaming," you may ask. Great question!

Hobby Gaming is a term rising in popularity that is used to define a subset of table top gaming dominated by what can be called "indie" games. Such games usually take the form of a board, card, dice, miniatures form or some hybrid of any of these. Usually optimized for 3-8 players, these games focus on experimental mechanics and unique settings. Above all, though, these games are meant to be enjoyed with other real people.

Perhaps one of the most notable hobby games, and certainly one of the most popular, is Settlers ofCatan. This game places players on the shores on the newly discovered island of Catan and tasks each of them with making a stake in this frontier while competing with their frenemies for precious resources. Trading of resources and forging of alliances is not only allowed, but encouraged. Catan has gained such a loyal following that it has even been the subject of further analysis. Filmmakers, such as Jay Cheel have gone far enough as to look at how Catan can affect interpersonal relationships. Catan can be found in electronic form on iOS and XBLA, in addition to its physical board version. 

Catan is only a single example of the larger hobby games trend. A simple visit to your FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store/Shop) will reveal a bevy of unique and interesting games. Here are some of my other favorites:

Fluxx is a stand-alone card game, opposed to CCGs, or "collectible card games" such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh or Magic: The Gathering. Instead of buying various packs and making the best deck you can, games like Fluxx are standalone games, with optional expansions or companion sets. At its base Fluxx only has one rule: on your turn you must draw one card and play one card. As the game progresses, players will change the very rules of the game by laying down new Rule and Objective cards. As these cards are played, removed, and replaced the fabric of the game itself changes constantly to keep everyone on their toes. It is entirely possible to win simply because another player has no choice but to play a card that will make you win. Fluxx has several varieties, or "flavors" as they tend to be referenced, including but not limited to EcoFluxx, SpaceFluxx, HippieFluxx, and Monty Python Fluxx. And yes, they can be mixed and played together.

Ticket To Ride is a bit of a hard sell based on its premise: You connect cities by completing railroads, thereby earning points. The trick here, much like Catan, is in the interpersonal relationship aspect. My wife and I are nice people and tend to play "coopetitively." We will still strive for the most points, but will not go out of our way to purposefully block another player's intended route. However, in a more hardcore game, this strategy is paramount. A single move can completely ruin another player's intended path toward completion of a destination. Ticket To Ride, like Fluxx, comes is various flavors and mediums. There are Europe, Scandanavia, and Germany boards apart from the typical US board, and the game is also available in dice, iOS, and XBLA versions, if not more.


Guillotine is one of the more humorous LCGs I have played (and own). You are an executioner during the French Revolution, and take turns with other executioners over the course of three rounds called days to collect the heads of nobles and officials marked for beheading. The goofy aesthetic and bloody art style is good for a macabre chuckle, and the strategy is deceptively deep.











As macabre as Guillotine may seem, Gloom takes it to another level and turns for the downright sadistic. With art inspired by Edward Gorey, you are put in charge of the fate of a doomed family of five. Your goal is to make their lives as miserable as possible before ultimately putting them out of their misery. At the same time, opponents can block your progress by having good things happen to them and lessen your score. Largely notable for the art style and translucent cards, Gloom is definitely one of the more unique hobby games I've come across.

An example of Gloom's unique cards.

My internal film nerd/geed/dork is also in love with the B-Movie series of games from Z-MAN Games. Originally pioneered by Grave Robbers From Outer Space, each player tries to create a movie, buffing it up with strong characters and weapons, while fighting off monsters/enemies launched at them by other players. The player with the highest ranking movie by the time the Roll The Credits card is played wins. Grave Robbers plays on cliches of the horror/sci-fi genres, and other sets parody genres such as kung fu, martial arts, anime, adventure (like Indiana Jones), pirates, Westerns, fantasy, and Blacksploitation. Like Fluxx, each set can be combined and use a cumulative set of rules and special mechanics from each set.

Hopefully I have piqued your interest in this unique subset of gaming. Here are some resources you may find interesting and/or helpful:

GenCon is one of the biggest gatherings of hobby gaming enthusiasts in the US. Their official site is here. As a native Hoosier, I am ashamed to admit that I emigrated from the state before I became a big fan of hobby games.

Star Trek: TNG alum Wil Wheaton produces and stars in a YouTube series based on hobby games called TableTop wherein he gathers friends to showcase a game or three. Check it out here. (ProTip: TableTop is featured as part of Felicia Day's Geek And Sundry channel. I highly recommend subscribing.)

Classic Games I Wish I'd Played

This may seem a bit late to the party, but...

Last year was the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda!

Pretend that the "mershed perderders" are Zelda games,
since I'm the farthest thing from a Photoshop pro.

I remember my babysitter's teen son playing his Gold Cartridge, making notes, and generally getting flabbergasted searching for the next dungeon. This is, in fact, one of my earliest gaming memories. Legend of Zelda was there at the beginning, and remains as one of the finest franchises in the history of video games.

Just in case you didn't know.
(Fun fact, if you know where to look, you can get this on a  T-shirt!)

With this in mind, and having met a number of old-school gamers over the past year or so, I have recently rekindled my love of classic games. And, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I missed out on a lot of great games. While, my first taste of games were on the trusty NES, my first console was actually an Atari 2600. This was an admirable place to begin. My next console, though, was a Sega Genesis. So, I really missed the vast majority of the NES era. I got to dabble with those games here and there while visiting family or friends, but I never got much quality time with most of the games in that generation.

With the current wonders of the Intertubez and things like Nintendo's Virtual Console, I can relive a lot of these past masterpieces. It also gives me an opportunity to finally take a crack at some great titles I missed the first time around. As I said, there were plenty of these. And now, I present to you, the classic games that I have never played (with much depth) in no particular order:

Chrono Trigger
I dabbled with this game a bit on an SNES emulator back in middle or high school. I never got very far, though. What little I did play made an impression. The art style was cool, and the non-random encounters were a welcome change after having recently played FF VII. It also never hurts to throw in Akira Toriyama's art style. That dude must have serious piles of money between this, Dragon Ball, and Dragon Quest.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!
Another NES game I witnessed but never participated in. Perhaps I'm daunted by the legendary difficulty of the game, but I still have not even attempted to visit this one. That or I'm scared Mike will reach out of the screen and bite me.







Castlevania
As much as I love Metroid, I have not touched any Castlevania game with the intent of really playing it through. That goes for the whole franchise. I've played demos for Lords of Shadow and SotN on XBLA, but have never picked up the full games. It's a shame, since SotN seems right up my alley.




Final Fantasy I-VI
Don't know what else to say. I came into the franchise along with most of North America with FF VII, so I never played the earlier games. I know they're good and classics, and with recent remastered versions I might be able to give them a shot sometime. Hopefully there aren't any villains as terrible as Seymour in these. Gawd....Seymour.

DuckTales
Often considered a model platformer, I have yet to try this one. I hear so many great things about it, though. The music for the Moon level has recently hooked me in, and now I have to play it. As long as I can be Gizmoduck, I'm happy.



River City Ranson
Here's one that is set to make a comeback. I used to love brawlers (hell, I still do!) like Double Dragon and Battletoads. I'm still surprised I never played this one. Who doesn't love sweaty 80's dudes beating up on other sweaty 80's dudes?










Day Of The Tentacle
I love quirky games. Sometimes, I'll take a quirky game over a technically well-built game. Hell, I do that quite a lot, really.  Day Of The Tentacle, from what I've read and heard, was one of those rare games that was both. Hopefully, I can get around to giving this one a fair shake some day.







Grim Fandango
Like I said above, quirky games are great. Grim Fandango had a really cool concept I think I could really get behind when playing it. Anything involving an the supernatural world in a day-to-day way, like Beetlejuice or The Addams Family, intrigues me. I'm sure Grim Fandango would not disappoint if I gave it a shot today.







Cool Spot
I hear this was one of the most underrated platformers on Genesis. Sure, it was just 7Up propaganda, but who could resist Cool Spot? Not this guy.










Uniracers

This concept has always interested me, but I never got around to trying it. This was the era of game rentals down at your local video store, so a quick test would have been easy. But, I never had an SNES. So, it never happened. I did, however, watch the GameInformer staff revisit this one. And I have to say...it looks terrible.



Ninja Gaiden
Another classic action platformer that I never got to play. The only taste of Ninja Gaiden I ever got was of the rebooted version on XBox. If the NES games were anywhere as hectic and difficult as that one, I think I'd be for a world of hurt.






StarTropics
During the Playstation era, I knew a friend with an old NES and a copy of StarTropics. Just looking at the cartridge, I had a feeling it would be a game I'd enjoy. We never popped it in because the save game battery wasn't working. Well...at least there was a good reason.

Flashback
I had heard great things about this game at the time. It was one of those enigmas that no one seemed to be able to crack. So, I rented it once. (Pause for dramatic effect.) My eight year-old brain could not process what I was seeing. I must have played for a couple of hours, but got so lost I ragequit and never touched it again. #nerdrage







Final Fight
Another classic brawler I never touched. I played the HELL out of Streets of Rage 2, though. I sure hope playing as Mike Haggar was just as badass as he looks. Jesse Ventura would be proud.

Shadowrun (SNES)
Based on a pen-and-paper RPG which mixed high fantasy with cyberpunk culture, Shadowrun added a bit of a noir twist to the console RPG. This was a popular series when I was into Magic: The Gathering. I often saw features about it in InQuest, and it always piqued my interest. Since I had tried D&D, but it was hard to grasp at 10 or 12 years-old. That negative experience shied me away from trying the tabletop Shadowrun, but the SNES game would have been a fantastic fit for me.


Earthbound
The quirky games return! Probably one of the most unique turn-based RPGs I've heard of, I've always wanted to pick this up. Perhaps it was just how the Starman enemies reminded me of Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still. Maybe it was the fact that it didn't look like your typical JRPG. Either way, this one still intrigues me. Too bad I suck with Ness in Super Smash Bros.




Psychonauts
Ask any game reviewer and they will tell you Psychonauts was an under-appreciated and creative platformer. This has always drawn me to it, and I did once take a crack at it. But, I was in college and didn't really have the time to devote to playing through it. I never got far enough to see any of the true craziness that I know exists later in the game, but what little I did experience was enough to warrant further playtime.






X-Com
This series is getting a couple of reboots in the next year or two. I'll be honest, despite it would be enough to revoke my nerd card, I hardly knew this game existed until about six months ago. Again, it's a shame I never learned about it sooner; it seems like a game I would absolutely fall in love with. The reboots that are incoming seem impressive as well. Perhaps they'll serve as a good introduction into the franchise.





Ristar
I first encountered Ristar on a trip to Epcot. There was an expansive "Innovation" exhibit, what included the upcoming advances in gaming. Ristar was here, among other games I would come to love (like, Sonic Spinball and Vectorman). Since then, the game has crossed my path from time to time, but I've never been able to commit to playing through it. Which is a shame, as it is expertly crafted and one of the most fun and created platformers I've ever seen.






DOOM
That's right. I have never played DOOM. So what?! You wanna fight about it?! I've seen and been around people playing it, but I've never actually taken the helm. Now, I'm an admittedly casual FPS player, so I'm not too concerned about this one. But, I feel I owe my gamer reputation a trip down this nightmarish rabbit hole.




Civilization II
I've recently taken stabs at this franchise with Civ4 and Civilization Revolution. It's definitely a great franchise, and I love how diverse and open-ended the gameplay is. Sure, it's just a shade less spreadsheet-based than EVE Online, but it's still a classic that I missed out on. Unfortunately, the graphics look little better than Bea Arthur (RIP) at this point.






Command & Conquer
From turn-based strategy to real time. To be fair, my first introduction to RTS games was Warcraft 2, followed quickly by Starcraft. Command and Conquer was completely off my radar. My buddy has the anniversary collection with nearly all of the C&C games besides C&C4, and I tried to play the first one. The graphics are so dated...it was a true slog (please refer to Civ II entry for graphical comparison). I don't know if I'll ever be able to really pick this one up again.




Baldur's Gate 1 and 2
I'm a terrible nerd. Two of the most pivotal RPGs of the PC era, and I have not played them. I once tried to play BG2 at a friend's house in middle school, and got BG1 from my college library. Unfortunately, neither attempt really went very far. I got slaughtered in BG2, and just got lost in BG1.






EverQuest
My family/household was late to the PC party, and even later to the Internet. EverQuest had already been out for some time when we got our first PC, and it just didn't strike me as something I wanted to play at the time. By the time I had any inkling of giving it a shot, it was already being challenged by Asheron's Call and Dark Age of Camelot. It's a shame I had not gotten up to speed sooner. I could have totally given my weekends life to this while in middle and high school. Perhaps it's for the best, though.





Ultima Online
Another early MMO that I was too late for. I think this one would be nigh impossible to get into now.










Zork
Again, this was a game that I was just not in the right place or the right time for. It was essentially a pre-made, solo D&D campaign with a CPU as a DM.  I honestly don't know how much of a true effort I could give this one nowadays, but I think even an attempt would allow me to truly appreciate it's value in gaming history. Or one of the biggest migraines in history.



I'm sure I could keep listing them. Hell, I already have a huge backlog of current generation games I haven't completed, so getting around to these is not likely unless current developers just stop. Seriously, guys? You're making so many good games. What are you doing? Developers...stahp.

Do you have any classics you missed out on you wish you could revisit?