Gamer Confession: New IPs Saved Me From Abandoning Games Forever

I really did almost do it. About a year ago, around this time, I had given up. The games of yore, the new and exciting developments, from the mid 80s until sometime during the middle of the last gen…I began to lose interest. Sequel after sequel, shooter after shooter after shooter.

I realize it’s all about the business decision. New franchises get released all the time, sure, but how much are you really going to invest? A sequel that you know if it’s a decent game will generate X million number of copies, let you break even. The chances of some newfangled idea of even breaking even are slim to none. Once in a while something new breaks through….maybe.

But recently, the biggest games? Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Battlefield 2. Gears of War 2. Killzone 2. God of War 3. Halo 3.

You tell me: why should I be interested?

Yeah I got a Wii. I was excited for the possibilities. When I found out the possibilities I was excited about were mostly lame sports or fitness related Nintendo games and most of them looked worse than games on my Gamecube, I dusted the thing off and got rid of it for a 360.

Two months after I got the 360 I wondered why I had wasted a few hundred bucks on a bunch of alright RPGs and another paperweight of a useless system.

….Until I was persuaded to get an XBL Arcade game, Shadow Complex. A dandy of a game, basically mixing Metroid with Metal Gear in a sidescrolling platformer, based largely around getting upgrades. It was pretty awesome. For such a cheap price, I was really amazed and I’ll be honest, knowing how good that game is and it’s replayability? I’d easily pay double whatever amount it was I first paid for it.

About a month later, another gem fell into my lap. Borderlands.