| Video games have come a long way. baby, a long | | | | art, then a beautiful represntation of what art can |
| way, indeed. And luckily for us gamers, the image | | | | be. In it, you wander vast, pastoral plains on |
| of the suspender wearing nerd who has to put his | | | | horseback and tackle beasts of epic proportion all |
| controller down every few seconds just so he | | | | in the name of rescuing your love from her |
| can push his taped glasses back up his nose has | | | | somnolent slumber (actually, she's dead.)Your only |
| faded away. Because now, even the cool, ruffled | | | | indication of who your next foe will be is from a |
| collared kids are playing games, as well as the | | | | ostensibly heavenly voice from the sky that |
| loyal crowd that has been playing them since | | | | speaks in an awkward manner that sounds like |
| Battlezone and Frogger hit the arcades, making it | | | | somebody's playing a Yanni record backwards.The |
| a multi-million dollar enterprise.But sadly, as with | | | | landscape, music, story, and character |
| any fairly new form of entertainment, as gaming | | | | development (the protagonist, Wander, loses |
| gets more popular as a genre, in come the | | | | another piece of himself with every majestic |
| naysayers who want to push it right back down | | | | monster he meticulously manhandles) are all as |
| its totem pole. And the most recent attacker | | | | artsy fartsy as something you'd be privy to |
| (passively, of course) of this upward movement | | | | seeing in a Norwegion epic, and it truly is an |
| is Roger Ebert, who gamers have been crying | | | | engrossing experience that everyone should |
| foul at ever since he said that video games will | | | | embrace.And like many other elegant games like |
| never be art.He claims that video games will | | | | Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy and other |
| never be as worthy as movies.Um, hello! Wasn't | | | | magnificent titles, Shadow of the Colossus IS true |
| the same thing said about movies when THEY | | | | art, And if somebody can drag Mr. Ebert away |
| first arrived on the scene when compared with | | | | from watching Mean Streets for the umpteenth |
| books? I'm sure some prissy, English chap with | | | | time, maybe he could find that out for |
| mutton chops that spiraled out of control and | | | | himself.Video games, like books, like movies, like, I |
| went down to his ankles probably said something | | | | don't know, Anime, will be accepted in time, just |
| along the lines of: "That new vulgar cowboy film | | | | you wait. As long as there are examples like |
| all those degenerates are slobbering over at the | | | | Shadow of the Colossus to push it forward, they |
| nickelodeon cannot compare to the wit and grace | | | | will eventually get there in time.Rich is a bum |
| of Mr. Dickens. Forthright!"Films had to gain the | | | | looking to be a writer. He enjoys comedy but will |
| respect of the critics, just like books probably | | | | take anything as long as his employer pats him on |
| gained the respect of some ancient Egyptians | | | | the head occasionally and cleans out his cage |
| who were just fine and dandy with their wall | | | | when the feces starts piling up. He enjoys reading, |
| murals of eyeballs and weird shaped snake dealies | | | | playing video games, complaining that there isn't a |
| that spelled out utmost love for the pharoah.And | | | | third Ghostbusters movie, and oh, yeah, writing, |
| while games, this gamer must admit, HAVE been | | | | and would love to get a job that's accomidating to |
| lacking in the story department, leading one to | | | | those aforementioned activities. Oh, and he's also |
| believe that they are not art but rahter just loud | | | | a demon at the buffet table. Boy, howdy, he |
| explosions and prostitute killing, there is hope.The | | | | scoffs at three plates, I tell you, scoffs at it! |
| recent game Shadow of the Colussus is, if not | | | | |