What to expect from the future of gaming?

Over the last twenty years there has been a quantum leap in technology and the ability to develop video games that are very photo realistic. This has got me thinking about how far we have come in this industry and what would video games be like twenty years from now? I think video games would use holographic technology that would interact with the user based on motion detection and would have sophisticated artificial intelligence that would communicate with the player like they are a person. I could only imagine how future iterations of Halo or Gears of War might be twenty years from now. Perhaps, the game would be a holographic image that would take up the entire room and you would be entrapped in a three dimensional world. You as a player would have to dodge the elements and beat the bad guys through a series of actual movements and actions. Also, these video games would incorporate other human senses such as smell, and the ability to touch to further enhance the environment of the world that we play in. I do wonder what social implications or political actions that may be taken due to the advancement of technology. I think about how fun Grand Theft Auto might be twenty years from now or how much exercise I might get by playing Sonic the Hedge Hog. I can only imagine how great playing a role playing game would be in the future. Can you imagine interacting with characters that would help you on your quest or confronting enemies that wish you harm. There are a lot of things to look forward to in the future but also there many games to look forward to right now. So, think about the future but enjoy the present.

Having Fun with Duck Hunt

I remember one of the first games that I played when I was a kid, was Duck Hunt on Nintendo. The video game cartridge was quite bulky and probably had a storage capacity of 500 kilobytes. Despite the size of the cartridge, and the storage of memory the game was quite fun. There was always a lot of action on screen, with ducks flying around, and a dog chasing those ducks. Playing this addicting game when I was a kid was pure joy, and bliss. The sound effects were quite simple for a shoot and click game, and can be explained with the following word, "pow". I have not played that game in over twenty years and I can reminisce about that dog always laughing at me after I missed shooting those ducks. The game was simple, enjoyable fun that I would play with my father from time to time. This was probably the turning point in time from moving from board games to video entertainment systems. Duck Hunt came packed with the first release of the Nintendo system and I have seen flash reincarnations of this classic game on several arcade mediums. The original Duck Hunt game represents a milestone in history that brought arcade games to television sets. This landmark in time may be equivalent to the shifting of home cook meal to TV dinners. Sure, Mario is credited for being that arcade game that represented this cultural shift in entertainment but Duck Hunt was packed in the box too. To my fellow retro Nintendo players, long live Duck Hunt. Retro games rule!

Halo is King

Have you ever played a game that was so breathtaking that it represented a mental shift in imagination? This is what the Halo game represented to me, the moment I placed the disc into the Xbox. The story is one of the greatest in any first person shooting games to date. You play the character Master Chief and you are a soldier sworn to protect and uphold the rights of the citizens of planet Earth. There is an alien invasion that takes places against Earth and your planet's resources are at stake. You may use any weapons that you can find, even use alien technology to fight off the evil aliens. One of the coolest guns is the plasma needle gun. You fire purple glowing needles into the enemy, and they explode about two seconds after impact. One of the biggest moments in the game is the introduction of the Flood. The Flood is the second alien race whose sole purpose is to eradicate all life, human and alien. This is one of the greatest action games that I have ever played. There have been several sequels to the Halo game that has spawned record sales around the world. If you have not had a chance to experience this game, you should go to your local video game store and pick up a copy. After I played the Halo series, I was a lot more critical to other first person shooters, and used Halo as the standard in this genre. The only game that has come close to the Halo series is Unreal. Still, Halo is number one in my mind and is still the king of all shooting games.