Burke's Joystick

[The following is from a blog entry I did for my Chess.com blog.  Seeing how it is about a year old, I am surprised that my feelings on the current (dismal) state of CRPGs has not changed (I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I think Crusader Kings II is the only true CRPG out there at the moment!)  I am posting it here because the criticisms contained in this post are as valid as ever.] I realized something interesting recently: even though I have played my fair share of computer role playing games, I rarely blog about them. Oh sure, occasionally I will have a post about how RPG X has really impressed me with some facet of its gameplay, but rarely do I find myself drawn into an ongoing narrative as I have been wont to do with other genres. This is strange when you stop and think about it. I mean, RPGs by definition are designed to weave an engaging story that should be readily tailored into not just a single blog posting, but multiple posts. Yet, despite

This is going to be one of those oh-so-rare posts about a World War II game.  Why so rare?  Because World War II bores the heck out of me! You just can't get away from it:  World War II movies, TV shows, books, magazines...the world remains awash in this epic conflict!  I guess that is to be expected seeing how it was a world war that affected millions of souls around the globe, and defined much of the 20th Century's political history. Regardless, the dosage makes the poison, and I have to conclude that the non-stop saturation of all things World War II has fatally poisoned my interest over the years. Gaming, of course, has over-indulged with WWII like every other medium, so I haven't even been able to find refuge here.  To make matters worse, unlike, say, television or cinema that has attempted to portray this world war in different ways over the years, gaming has largely been stuck in neutral with various games constantly revisiting the same territory over and ove

Something unexpected happened the other day:  I was watching the following stage demo for the yet to be released Saints Row 4 when a tear came unbidden to my eye.  Why?  Because it reminded me of when this great nation actually had a manly president.  Check it out: " You think you could *$@! with my country?!?  This one is for Uncle Sam!"    Now that is a take charge and take names president!  Unfortunately, we are currently saddled with this guy instead: Barak Barry Hussein Soetoro Soebarkah Obama...if that is your real name Thanks a lot, effeminate America. Could you imagine what would happen if aliens attacked during Obama's presidency?

It's all going down the drain. That's the best way I can describe what is happening to my beloved hobby of gaming.  Right down the drain. I guess it is is apropos seeing that the same thing is happening to this great nation of ours.   Republican, Democrat, console dev, or PC dev...it doesn't matter.  It seems everyone is content to watch the train wreck happen rather than do something about it. Hence, the reason why I haven't written in a long while.  It's not that I didn't want to write, it is just that there has been absolutely nothing to write about.  Even my leftist opponents in the gaming press have run out of things to talk about - don't blame 'em, after all how can to inject militant feminism into a platformer??? Gaming, it would seem, is dying. Now, why would I say that?