"Cinematic Experiences"

 Let me take a moment to explain why I love gaming as a hobby so much.

I like a good challenge, it doesn't matter if its some kind of super hard puzzle or something more skill based, I love being challenged to do something and then doing it.  One of the reasons I love gaming so much is that I see every game I play as a challenge issued to me by the developer, so I have to step up and beat it.

It sounds stupid but its what makes the whole thing so appealing to me.  Of course, this does sometimes lead to controller biting fits of rage on some of the more obtuse titles but the feeling of satisfaction one gets when overcoming a huge problem feels really good.

But this leads me to a problem with games today.  Gaming for a while has been trying it's damned hardest to mimic the film industry, so all the challenge is gone nowadays.  Sure, there do exist hard games, and they are usually the best ones but companies seem to be more focused on delivering pretty looking "cinematic experiences" rather than an actual game.

It's kind of a shame because when I was a kid, I would pick up a game and have no idea if I would ever see the ending, but now anything I buy I know I'll see it to completion with basically no problem.  It's a shame that people would rather have interactive movies than actual games.

It's not like these "cinematic experiences" aren't enjoyable, but I want to be challenged, I want to have to use my brain and overcome great hardship!  People always talk about how far gaming has come, but to be honest, right now, it's the most brain dead it's ever been.