Video Games

WARNING: This piece is less philosophical, though more so than I expected.

Games I've enjoyed seems to range far and wide. From Super Mario World to Champions Online, I've always been the jack of all trades. I'm pretty good at just about any game I pick up, but I'm rarely The Best. I don't particularly like violent games, but neither do they repel me; I become rather snarky about the violence, mocking the world that's built to maximize brutality. And yet, at the same time, I once WILLINGLY played a Barbie game. (Do note once however. I wouldn't really want to repeat it, as it was rather boring, vapid even.) I love the story of a good RPG, but I've also enjoyed God of War without paying much attention to the cutscenes. Really, the only game I don't like is Halo, which combines the three traits I least like: It's an FPS, it's plot-light (from my point of view; I don't get to play the single player much, but I've seen the cutscenes, and they didn't really inspire me.) and finally, the death knell:
It's 100% competitive, less-than-well-made team games notwithstanding.
It really does speak volumes that I prefer Gears of War by far, despite having clunkier controls and less plot (I HAVE played the single-player...) But fundamentally, co-op is too much fun. Moving with your partner, assigning tasks, backing each other up, and the rush of helping, not an NPC who won't care but a *friend* who will be laughing along with you at how close to the edge of loss you both came. My skills, such as they are, escalate rapidly in any team -
In City of Heroes
I was a so-so tank (Taking the hits for the team),
a bad scrapper (Getting up close and dicing foes),
a joke of a blaster (Staying far away and bombarding foes),
but a good defender (Empowering allies and weakening foes),
and a truly incredible controller (Taking the foes, locking them down, and in my case giggling madly as I used wormholes to send them wherever I wanted.)

In Champions Online, a similar thing is occuring; I sadly can't be a real controller yet (working on it) but I'm at my best co-ordinating my team, the foes, and the environment.

In Rock Band, I can play alone, but I actually play slightly better alongside another person; the feeling of mattering to them means that I have one more incentive to bring out my best.

In Prototype, my favorite missions were the normally-reviled escort ones, because the NPCs were well-developed enough that I felt an echo of that - even though the game was made to cultivate a feeling of uncaring, godlike power in the player. This is a game that is even more violent than God of War, and I enjoyed helping people. I guess my name doesn't mean 'Paladin' for nothing... (Actually it means Christ-Bearer, Spear-Carrier/Young Warrior - but I wouldn't call Paladin much of a stretch from that.)

I suppose the root is that, for all that at my worst I have a horrible ego and an unfriendly nature, I prefer assisting to competing or even being assisted. It's just more fun that way! Of course, the weakness of this is that I hate being the direct center of attention unexpectedly - on my own terms, I can do it, but being randomly dragged out for something that I'm not totally confient in? Pass, I'd rather figure out what's going on and THEN talk about it.

Okay, maybe that became a little more philosophical than I meant. Or rather, a little too much 'self-commentary' and not enough 'Hey guys, I like video games.'

Speaking of which, please PLEASE please let me know if you want to play Champions Online, Left 4 Dead, Warcraft III, of Neverwinter Nights 2. Or, well, anything else. If I have it, I probably want to play.

Comments: Please comment as you wish. No insulting consoles, though individual games can be recommended or commented on. Do note I won't stop playing things I like because of you.
Relevant Trope: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/CrowningMoment/VideoGames may not be directly related, but you won't regret reading it. Also, check out http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/HeartwarmingMoment/VideoGames for the less 'WOW!' and more 'Aww!' version.
WARNING! TvTropes can be an addictive experience!
WARNING! The trope listed was not used in the creation of this post - if you read it expecting a continuation, you may be deservedly disappointed.