Ruminations on Gaming Temptation (k3nshi)

At the dawn of this year I proclaimed my intention to avoid buying any games for at least 6 months. This would be a prudent thing to do, going by the number of games I have bought in the past versus the number I have played to any real degree. Of course this bold proclamation was doomed from the moment it was uttered.

The first temptation was PC Darwinina. Written by UK indy outfit, Introversion, I was always looking forward to this title. However playing the recently released demo, which failed to run properly on my (admittedly underpowered laptop) kind of put me off. Yes, yes, yes - I should try the demo out on my more powerful PC. But the fact is, the demo has been deemed confusing from some quarters. To their credit Introversion say they will release an updated demo with a tutorial. I can't help wondering how many people will have been put off by the initial demo and won't give it another go. Hopefully not many - I sincerely hope Introversion have a big hit. The Industry needs some fresh, independent talent. Regardless of this, the lustre of Darwinia has been reduced for me.

The current Game du Jour seems to be Resident Evil 4, for the Gamecube. The amount of excitement this game seems to have generated seems a bit unprecedented to me. But then I have studiously been avoiding reading about it. It's only word of mouth recommendations from other gamers that make it a blip on my gaming radar. I almost bought it out of sheer boredom (my typical games buying modus operandi), but resisted somehow. I think the thought of having to drag the Gamecube out of my drawer and set it up, kind of put me off.

So far, so good. 2 contenders, seemingly seen off. But its always the sucker punch that gets you the hardest. In this case, the long forgotten Dead or Alive Ultimate. I was never a huge fan of the DOA game mechanics (VF4EVO4LIFEYO!) but they seemed entertaining enough. And, of course, its one hell of a pretty game. But the lure of an online 3D beat em up? We may have a winner...

Oh, and another potential contender: Wipeout Pure for the PSP. If this manages to capture the fun of the original Wip3out, then Sony have the killer app to sell me a PSP. Portable Gaming might not be dead for me in 2005 after all.