CEG Illusion

Illusion Unwrapped

With the economy like it is, is the video gaming industry affected? Yes, but no. While the industry is taking a hit, the industry still makes due with recent releases such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3 ODST, Assassins Creed 2, and much more.

Even with the recent economy, are people playing more video games now than before? Definitely! This generation started only a few years ago, with the early release of the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 launched originally with only 14 games, almost half being instant hits. These include: Call of Duty 2, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dead or Alive 4, Saints Row, and Gears of War. These are only a few of the games that sparked the Xbox 360’s success….. until we found out about the Red Rings of Death. This and the release of the motion sensing Nintendo Wii sparked the slight downfall of the Xbox 360.

To say the Xbox was a failure is a mere overreaction. With many great games sparked over all three new generation consoles: The Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360, this generation of gaming could never be better. Ok, it could but what exactly is better. Many believe the best game is still tetris or solitaire, but others are into the new games like Wii Sports Resort or Gears of War 2. Which are better? Even though now we have better graphics and gameplay, does that mean that the games are better?

Well Highlander still may be into pong but I think most people have moved one. Where are those once popular family games? Why are we playing war games constantly or games that consist of things many of us would be to ashamed or scared to do in real life? Again, these don’t apply to Highlander, he does them anyways, but still the fact remains our core values are just not what seem important to most people in the world.

To prove my point, let’s take a look at Modern Warfare 2. How many people actually read the part before starting the campaign about the offensive level? How many played the level anyways? How many of you didn’t find the level offensive because you are use to this type of behavior? I am guilty as well. These are very important and controversial subjects that we reenact in daily while playing games. Is this right? While this is a controversial subject, these indeed remain just a video game. While this indeed makes for a better experience and more interesting game, does this make the games from this generation any better than the last?

While the gaming industry has definitely grown over the years I think we should all be a little disturbed by the direction we have taken, from sports and basic games to killings, sex, drugs, and almost every other controversial subject out there. So I will say that this generation gives for a better gaming experience that is more entertaining and realistic. But I honestly am disappointed in the way we have all turned what once was an enjoyable experience to what now is just a yelling fest and a competition to see who can act more like a child and be the most annoying.