April 2003 Archives

Have you ever played a game and got so frustrated with it because whatever you did you just couldn't get past one particular boss? That is how my time is spent lately with Metroid Fusion. It's a fantastic game with engaging level design and boss fight after boss fight. The gratification felt when finally defeating that stubborn boss is glorious, and yet this one (named simply "Nightmare") just won't let me be. And like a glutton for punishment, or a geek with OCD, I go running back for more. And yet I know if I just keep trying, I'll master that one skill it's requiring of me. I think I'll go try again...

...or, confessions of a reformed Animal Crossing (AC) addict. Either way you slice it, my AC days are done. It's time to move on. Though I'll admit that I logged more hours with AC than I have playing any other game, including even StarCraft. The game was surprisingly addictive to me and I found myself playing every single day for over three months' time. So, why did I stop playing? The answer to this I'm still not entirely sure of. Though I suspect that getting my hands on the new Zelda game set the stage for putting my AC responsibilities on hold, and then I just never went back. Can I see myself playing AC again? Possibly, as it is a game that appeals at a variety of levels of depth. Though at this time I cannot see myself playing again at a level from which I now view myself as being reformed.

And isn't that what makes a game great: a game that provides play that people may grasp at levels with which they are most comfortable? In other words, a game that becomes what the player wants it to be instead of a game that dictates the way is is supposed to be played.

So, what was the objective in Animal Crossing? I'm not really sure. All I know is whatever it was, I wanted to do it all day long. It sounds rather silly to me now, but it was tremendously gratifying at the time. And when the day is done and the game is over, that's all that matters anyway, isn't it?