The Hero Game

With the release of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception today (and even more truly great titles due this month), the videogame has evolved into something more than just a game. Its been happening for a while of course but with this current crop of new releases, we can safely say that videogames are no longer mere games with hi-scores, they are interactive films, the natural extension of the movie with brilliantly written/scripted stories which contain convincing characters and fabulous looks.
What started in the late seventies/early eighties with the likes of Pac Man, Bombjack, Bubble Bobble, etc, has now turned into a bona fide, fully fledged successor to cinema. The digital tadpole has found its creative legs so to speak and could well sprint past film as the more popular form of entertainment (if it hasn't already). And why not? Its as 'legimate' as the silver screen as ever been.
People want more immersion into stories these days, one only has to look at the popularity of Wii games and 3D movies to see evidence of this. Im not knocking film but the thirst to get more involved is a real one, one that Hollywood cannot quench. We don't want to be swooning over the leading man or lady anymore, we want to be them, want to fire their guns and defeat the arch villain ourselves. The audience is no longer content with leaving it all up to Stallone & Co.


Nathan doing what he does best

Take last years Western game Red Dead Redemtion for instance. That was more than a videogame, it was an experience. The player actually felt as if they were in their very own Wild West adventure; we hunted animals, rescued damsels in distress, captured wanted men, played poker in typically Texan styled saloon bars. We lived like the games (anti)hero, John Marston lived. It was a hell of a ride and no offence to Josey Wales and all celluloid cowboys, it reached further into the spirit and tickled the emotions much more than a mere film ever could. You see as my fellow countryman, the folk singer Max Boyce would say, "I was there!"
Videogames have been constantly evolving; one of my first 'real life' games was Shenmue on Sega's Dreamcast and it is a title that holds wonderful memories in the games files in my brain. The hi-score table, while still very important to games, isn't everything. Not anymore.
And we have grown up too which makes games even more equal to the big screen. The Playstation 2 had games like The Getaway and today we see the likes of Alan Wake, Heavy Rain and L.A. Noire selling like fresh Welshcakes. All of these have fantastic stories and are produced to the highest quality. Alan Wake plays out exactly like a television series, in fact its impressed myself and others way beyond television. Its brilliant!
I have been saying this for a while now, but movies today have a very short leash. Im not trying to convince you that they are finished, im simply putting videogames in their proper place; equal (but more satisfying) to film. Game on!