Let's discuss even more video games.

You know me.  I love video games.  I love the potential they hold.  I love their ability to transport me to new worlds, and play as new characters.  I love how much impact and gratification they can give me.  It’s a medium that I think deserves a lot of respect.

That said, sometimes -- and more frequently, as of late -- I hate video games.  I have a number of reasons, and it’s because of those reasons that I’d rather be a writer (a book writer, not a game writer -- although I wouldn’t mind a bit of overlap every now and then).  As much potential as games have, there are just things that can be better done with a book than a game, because by design there should be a focus on gameplay -- on player-game interaction.  A fair trade-off, assuming the game is a competent one…but there are other issues.  An abject refusal to satisfy on even an elementary level of thought.  The industry at the mercy of creativity-stifling trends and absurd budgets.  And of course, the homogenization of titles into cinematic dudebro brown and gray shooter-action-parkour-stabbing sandbox entertainment.  I know that both books and games have their own separate issues, but I’d rather deal with the former’s problems than the latter.

Why do I bring this up?  Why do I have a creepy picture of Commander Shepard?  Why do I insert third funny thing here?  Because the theme of this discussion is “hating on video games.”  Because you can’t know true love until you know true hate.

Hit the jump to see three games that make me feel the hate…and one that makes me feel unrelenting love.

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