Choice VS Narrative: Why Didn’t I Ever Get Into WRPGs?

One question I’ve asked myself a lot, and that some of my fellow gamers have been simply incredulous about, is why I don’t enjoy playing the Western Role Playing Games that have become increasingly popular over the years. And, honestly, I really didn’t have an answer for a while. It’s true that I do enjoy the gameplay style of the Japanese variety, but that’s largely because I grew up playing games like Pokemon and Final Fantasy, and that’s no real reason as to why I couldn’t enjoy this particular type of game. It was while reading about the recent fan backlash against Mass Effect 3 that I started to put together what it is about WRPGs that just doesn’t appeal to me. It got me thinking, and in order to figure it out, I looked back to the first WRPG I ever played: Knights of the Old Republic 2.

Skyrim and Dragon Age

I won't lie- I really hate Oblivion. To me, Oblivion is probably the most overrated game this generation. Sure, it has a big open world, but it's ridiculously buggy, the NPCs and characters look stupid, the voice acting is terrible, and the gameplay is clunky.

But this? This I'm excited for.

I've been trying to ignore Skyrim ever since it was announced. I honestly didn't care about it, because I hadn't liked Oblivion, and I couldn't fathom what the big deal was. Now that I've finally seen the game in action, though, I'm definetly excited. From the looks of things, they've improved on everything I hated about Oblivion, as well as crafted a beautiful world to explore. Truth be told, from third person it reminds me a bit of Zelda: Twilight Princess, one of my favorite games, simply because the world looks so fun to experience. I know it's not quite the same thing, but still.

On a side note, I finally might get around to playing Dragon Age: Origins soon. It's really the only Bioware game I'm interested in (KOTOR was fun because of the Star Wars connection, but Jade Empire was lame and Mass Effect isn't on PS3). It looks like they put a lot of time and effort into the game's creation, something I always appreciate. The best games are ones created with the intent of creating a great experience. So, looking forward to that as well.

Skyrim is released on 11/11/11. And less than a month away, I'm finally excited to play it.