by Daniel Alden

Created on: November 10, 2009   Last Updated: October 12, 2010

As time goes on, graphics in video games are getting better quickly and the complexity of games is growing rapidly. While neither of these are bad, gameplay seems to be taking a backseat. These days, companies seem to focus more on graphics and game length than story or actual gameplay. 

When a new RPG comes out, what seems to be the big question of people's minds? "How long is the game?" If the reply is "about 15 to 20 hours," the game is dismissed as "not a real RPG." This is stated without knowing anything else about the game. For "Fable" on XBox and "Fable 2" on XBox 360, many reviews stated they were too short because if all side quests were completed, each game took about 15 hours. I loved both games and felt they were a good length. What is the point of adding useless content just to make a game longer? That's not to say long games are always bad. Bethesda makes very long games, but much time and effort is put into the story and game engine. Bethesda games can be relatively short (15-20 hours), but game play can be extended well over 200 hours depending on how much one wants to play. On the other hand, Final Fantasy games seem to be getting longer simply to add length. Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 10 were very uninteresting to me. The stories were not very strong (especially in 8), but all 3 had great graphics (at least for their time) and a long game length. I preferred the stories of the Super Nintendo Final Fantasy games and Final Fantasy 9 (which felt like a Super Nintendo game story-wise). Too many companies these days are focusing on game length and not content.

This leads to the topic of Downloadable Content (DLC). DLC can be used to add additional quests/stories to a game after the game has been released. It is a fantastic idea, but companies are too greedy with it. DLC should be used to update rosters or add truly new content/expansions to a game. However, many companies are putting out incomplete games and charging for content that should have been included. When a game is launched side by side with DLC for that very game, something isn't right. 

Graphically speaking, games today are beautiful, but as the old saying goes, "Graphics do not make the game." Some of my favorite games are still NES and Super NES games, which, by today's standards, are not so great graphically. That doesn't really matter, as the gameplay is just good.

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