Everyday Gamer

So Many Games, So Little Time

But there is one apparent flaw the critics all find utterly indefensible: In the minds of reviewers at a number of well-known outlets, the game is "tragically short." Say what? I adore its shortness. I love the eight-hour story campaign, which grants me both a few weeks of escapism and a sense of accomplishment after the harrowing climax at a Mayan burial site. But reviewers disagree: They lambast a well-made game just for offering an experience that's shorter than 10 hours.

How is that possible? In terms of entertainment value for dollar, any game with a story campaign of eight to ten hours and a decent multiplayer component is a bargain. Amazon.com currenlty retails Bound in Blood for $37.99, meaning that if you skipped the multiplayer entirely, you'd pay about $4 to $5 per hour for the game. That's a better value than the average full-price movie on DVD, let alone the admission price of cinemas or sports events.

Unfortunately, videogame reviewers at gaming-specific publications usually don't represent a gamer like me, who fits his gaming hours within the constraints of everyday life. They represent the "real" videogame culture, i.e. players who can handle a 20-plus-hour experience. Perhaps it's because the videogame critic has the same abundance of hours at his disposal as the hardcore gamer: It's his job to thoroughly review the game, so he puts in the necessary hours to write a valid review. Maybe he won't live the game as intimately as the public - after all, the next review session is always just around the corner. But he still knows what it feels like to while away the hours, build up intricate strategies to defeat bosses, revert to old saves in order to relaunch his attack better-equipped and with more health so he can defeat the odds, and - finally - zone out in victory.

And, truth be told, I know what these critics are talking about, too. I can occasionally be persuaded to buy a game that will take me months to complete at my own pace. And, whether I'm in it for the long haul or just bought an eight-hour game to kill two Sunday afternoons, sometimes I'll get that familiar itch, too - the one where it's 10 in the morning when I slip the disc into the console, and I play until it's dark outside. Sometimes, when I find an afternoon alone at home, I relive the good old days. And I secretly love these moments, the yawning infinity of time I had at my disposal when I was young. Maybe, during those rare occasions, I just envy my 18-year-old self, the guy I was before I went to college and gradually started to forsake my gaming habits. That is, until my girlfriend beckons me back upstairs for another dose of carnal life.