In Search of the Game

Having my first experience with a PS2 was not only confusing but also frustrating. I felt archaic and outdated in my knowledge of the game Resistance as well as my inability at surviving let alone succeeding. Much of the frustration and sense of helplessness came from the search for the challenge. Having been used to playing with the first version (1985) of Nintendo with Duckhunt and Mario Brothers, I was conditioned by those earlier games to follow instructions to succeed whereas Resistance actually requires creative and self motivated searches to seek the thrill and find the challenge. I almost felt like the child whose mother left him at the grocery store for the first time and said, "Go get all the ingredients to make a cake," sure I knew what a cake tasted like and I even had a vague idea of how its made but having to go through all those isles wandering off felt wrong in a sense. I knew that I was given permission to wander off but having been taught my entire childhood to stay close by and not get lost, I felt paranoid. I felt just as odd while playing Resistance because as I was playing with someone else, I was caught up trying to stay close to my fellow fighter. It was very easy to get caught in the moment of staying close to your comrade as well as looking for the Nazi aliens. The limitations of the game due to the suspense of the enemy's whereabouts and the freedom of mobility worked closely and played off each other rather quickly and continuously making the gaming experience not only intense but very engaging. Where two hours had gone, I had no idea. In trying to find the aliens and not getting killed, I felt there was a strong sense of involvement and awareness which Resistance required for one to go on to the next level. The added dimensions provided the aliens one more direction to attack from making me very paranoid. All in all, I really enjoyed the game in terms of its features and the qualtiy of involvement as it has increased from the first version of Nintendo to PS2 and I can only imagine beyond. It will be interesting to see what reactions and experiences I have once I am over the system and able to pay closer attention to the game itself. That might take a few more tries, but I do feel that the form the game is played in is a very crucial aspect of the experience so in that sense I feel privelgaed in my ignorance to be able to evaluate the the system as its own entity and provide the game its own evaluation as an independent creative source.