Why I Can't Stand COD and Halo

First of all, let me say this I used to love these games. Halo was THE reason I bought an original Xbox, and Halo 2 is the reason I bought Xbox Live. I grew up playing Duke Nukem and Doom on my computer. Not to mention that when deciding which next-gen (now current obviously) console to go with, Halo 3 is what pushed the 360 over the edge for me. And I also always liked COD 1-4. They were all so fun at the time. But let's be fair here; of all these games, the latest came out when I was barely 16. I'm 21 and I'd like to think I've grown since then. I'm not as easily manipulated into squandering 60 bucks for slightly improved graphics. Nor am I quite as entertained by running into a house, shooting 5 guys, running out, shooting 5 guys, running down the road, shooting 5 guys, riding in a jeep for 5 minutes, shooting 5 guys, and that's it. Oh, some poorly-written war movie cliches thrown in between. To be quite honest, I'm far past boredom with these games. It's to the point where I would literally rather sit and do nothing. And Halo, while a little more purely fun, has also more than overstayed its welcome. But personal opinion (though fact-based) aside, these are not my biggest gripes with these kinds of games. There is one concern that far overshadows everything else.

These are killing the video game industry! I know that sounds extreme, but think about it for a second. What were the biggest-selling games of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation? Grand Theft Auto, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, God of War, Jak and Daxter, Halo, Sonic Adventure, Splinter Cell, Fable, Knights of the Old Republic, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker. How many of those are first-person shooters? ONE. Look at that variety. It's... it's beautiful, man. Now let's look at this generation, by system. Xbox 360: Kinect Adventures, Black Ops, Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3, Skyrim, Gears of War, Gears 2, GTA 4, COD: MW. PS3: Gran Turismo V, God of War III, MW2, Uncharted, Black Ops, MGS4, MotoStorm, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance, Killzone 2. Wii (refuse to count gimmicks) Donkey Kong Country Returns, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Super Paper Mario, Epic Mickey, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. You see what I'm getting at? he PS3 offers a little more variety, and you could argue the Wii is very anti-FPS but both of those systems still fall into the habit of taking one or two franchises and hammering them down our throats as opposed to being creative. Besides, once the "ooh!" of the Wiimote subsided, the FPS systems started dominating. Personally, I think the DS is the best system of this generation, but that's a different article. (SPOILER ALERT!!)

I think these statistics are a very bad sign, hence the entire paragraph dedicated to them. We used to have Metal Gear, Kingdom Hearts, God of Warm Jak and Daxter, Splinter Cell, KOTOR, Mario Sunshine (a new kind of Mario), Windwaker, Smash Bros. Now we have rehashed Mario, war shooters, post-apocalyptic shooters, and almost everything that isn't that is feeding off of past-generation success. Like God of War III, MGS4, Metroid Prime 3, Gran Turismo V, and Uncharted basically being a AAA version of Tomb Raider. Where's the creativity? It's there, but it's scarce and no one wants to market it if you can't shoot something through a red dot sight. Where's Alan Wake, Enslaved, Gun, Earth Defense Force 2017, Tales of Symphonia, Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire, Endless Ocean, Zack and Wiki, Blue Dragon, Muramasa, The Club, I could go on. The point is, while less in number, there are still many great games that I believe would be much more known and loved if not for COD and Halo destroying the non-FPS market.

Call of Duty is the Michael Bay of video games. Taking everything gamers (not people that call themselves gamers and list every COD as their favorite games) love and turning it into the same indistinguishable shlock. All we get now is gray and brown FPS games, and everything in space (including turtles) in movies. I for one will NOT be buying any next generation console until they've proven they can offer some damnshitassfuckingballspiss variety! You all should too. As long as you all keep eating this shit up, it will never change. Every game will be COD or space marines, and we'll never have a unique experience again. In games, in movies, in music, in books, anywhere. Stop it!