A note about future reviews.
As those of you who have been following me for a long time know, the overall purpose of this site has always been to chronicle my various interests in anything “nerd-related”. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been passionate about nerdy things. As a young child, my obsession started with my introduction to Star Wars. It was strengthened even further as I encountered video games, comic books, and other things that, at the time, were largely considered “odd”. These days, all of the things I just mentioned have since become part of the mainstream media. Today, nearly everyone is familiar with Mario, Bat Man, or even literary characters like Bilbo Baggins.
While I’m certainly happy to see that the “nerd” label no longer carries the stigma it once did, it’s also a bit sad. I’ve always harbored a deep love for these types of subjects. And I always felt a sense of camaraderie with my small handful of readers. These days, it’s obvious based on the sheer number of hits this site gets that my thoughts and reviews are now being read by more than just fellow grognards. When I started this blog years ago, I made it my goal to share anything that I felt passionate about. Over the years, I’ve discussed subjects like Japanese culture, Dungeons & Dragons, movies, and of course, video games. In fact, gaming is the primary focus of this site – and I doubt that’s likely to ever change. But considering my audience is larger than ever, I do want to make a few minor changes.
Initially, when I started posting game reviews, I was discussing games that I enjoyed as a child. But it wasn’t long before I realized that for every game I DID play when I was young, there were numerous others that I never experienced. That’s when the idea of using my blog not just as a chronicle of games I had played, but also making it into a tool to help me conquer a massive backlog of titles that I never taken the time to explore. Over the years, I slowly went from one generation to the next, occasionally branching off to explore a particular series or genre here and there.
Now, after more than seven years, I’ve reached a point where the majority of the games I’ll be reviewing are not classics from my youth. But instead, games that I have never played before. In the eyes of many, they are indeed classics, but they are new to me nonetheless. So, with this in mind, I’ve decided to initiate a small change to the way that I pick and choose what games I’m going to review for the site. Up to this point, I’ve selected games based on two criteria. First, the most popular and recognizable titles. Second, obscure titles that appeal to me personally. That’s always worked just fine my own purposes. But, admittedly, it’s made things a bit chaotic at times. For example, as a reader, you may be very invested in my reviews for classic Nintendo 64 titles – and your favorite N64 game is next on my list! But then, all of a sudden, I switch gears and dedicate the next two months to a game series you care absolutely nothing about.
To remedy this, I’ve decided to narrow my scope somewhat. I still plan on tackling my backlog in a somewhat chronological manner. But to help keep things organized I’m now splitting things up into two main points of focus. The main stage, as always, will be playing through my backlog generation by generation. But I’ll now have a secondary focus as well. This second point of focus will be much more narrow, but it will also end up dovetailing into the main backlog by the time I’m through. What do I mean by that? Well, let me give you an example.
Right now, my current concern for the foreseeable future is with games from the following systems: GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox, and the Game Boy Advance. In this mix I’ll also be reviewing PC games released during the same time-frame.
Some of the games on my list, tie-in with older games that I never took the time to review in the early days of this site. For example, one of the most critically acclaimed games for the original Xbox is a remake of the classic NES title, Ninja Gaiden. Now, as I approached this part of my backlog, I knew that the Ninja Gaiden reboot was something I wanted to play and review. But, I felt it was wrong to do so without spending some time on the original NES trilogy. That is why I went back and posted a retro review for the Ninja Gaiden trilogy back in April. In keeping with the same line of thinking, the Ninja Gaiden series also crosses over with the Dead or Alive series – another batch of games that I’m eager to talk about. But, what sense would it make to discuss a series of fighting games like Dead or Alive, if I’ve virtually ignored the genre on the site thus far? That’s why I’ve also recently turned my sights on fighting games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. So, even though my main focus is games from the Sixth Generation era, I have a few pieces from previous generations that I want to pick up. I’m doing this so that in the end, I can craft a more complete picture with my game reviews.
To keep this process clear, I’m going to be adjusting the “Currently Playing” area that appears on the right sidebar of the site. As always, this area will list the games that I’m currently working on, but with just a little more clarification on how I’m dividing my time. The goal here is to keep the secondary focus on retro games that complement some of the upcoming titles in the generation I’m currently reviewing.
I realize that this is very long-winded way of detailing something so simple. But, I wanted to share a little insight into my thought process.
Of course, I’ll still review the occasional new game here and there. But I did want to try to bring some order to what is often perceived as chaos when it comes to my day-to-day game reviews.
