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A few days ago, I shifted around in my collection of PS2 games, looking for a decent game to pass some free time away. I picked up a few and glanced at them: Wild Arms 3, Final Fantasy X, Onimusha 2, Dark Cloud 2, etc. I saw their front covers, then put them down again. Digging deeper, I stumbled upon a somewhat dusty copy of Parasite Eve. Arching my eyebrow, I thought, 'Well, I haven't played this in a while. Maybe I should finish it for once.' So I brushed off the dust, stuck the disc into the PS1 (because it was a burned copy), and picked up the controller.
As I ran through the backstage area of Carnegie Hall, I marveled at the simplicity of the controls and menu, the light flow from scene to scene, unburdened by excessive cutscenes and numerous artifacts and charms and equipment and whatnot. All I had was a gun, armor, Parasite Energy, and items.
That was all I had. And yet I blazed away at the mutated rats and birds. I shot down Eve with a mere pistol. I cured poison with a Detox spell.
Throughout the whole game, I have rifes, handguns, and machine guns, and armor and more PE spells. That was all. No major customization, just equipment changing. No dealing with tons of accessories, no dealing with special abilities. Everything was kept relatively simple.
I thought about this, and tried to figure out why this game caught me in a tight grip. Was it the story? Not really. Was it the graphics? Definitely no; the graphics of PE was a bit crude. Was it the freedom to create Aya Brea the way I wanted her to be? No.
It was the simplicity of it all, the pick-up-and-go scheme, the shortness of the game. Those factors were the catchers of my eye and mind. Parasite Eve isn't perfect, I understand that, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. After finishing it all the way, including the EX Mode, I found myself looking to play it again. And again. And again.
And all because it was so simple to play, compared to many video games of today.
I found myself thinking, why aren't games like PE made these days? Are there any other games with such readiness to play? 'plug-n-play', as I like to think of it? Surely there must be; I just haven't found them.
I realized games these days have some sort of customization system or big, über-shocking story to push their way along. And I mourn the days when things weren't so complicated, when things weren't so attention-lusting.
All I want is a simple game that can capture me with its ease of use. I don't want a game where I must devote countless hours just to level up characters. I don't want a game where I'm drowning in dynamic cutscene after cutscene. I don't want a game where I'm given so many ways of creating my characters that I end up using only a few, leaving other ways to waste.
I just want a game.
It's amazing how we seem to lust for something complex, something more. Maybe we've been desensitized by mass media. Maybe we've drunk too much flash and headache-inducing multi-plots. We always need something more, something mind-blowing, in order to stay fascinated and interested.
And what about me? I haven't had the time to play PE these days. I got something else to fascinate me.
Hello, Doom.
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