It's My Birthday, Here Are My Wants And Needs, Get To It!

Friends, Romans, basement gamers, lend me your ears. This week's article is going to be a touch different due to it being my birthday weekend and figured that it would be a good time for a wish list. Recently, a lot of news has been released over the last few months due to several gaming conventions and despite being impressed by a lot of the news, I still found myself wanting more. Several gaming concepts that I have been crossing my fingers to hear about these last few cons simply did not come to pass. Well here they are: Charlie's top five gaming ideas that should come to pass. A tad self centered, but doesn't mean you won't enjoy it.

5. Warcraft

It's been a few years now that I've found myself craving for a new Warcraft game—no, not new expansions in WoW; Not a new graphical engine for Wow; Not a new nothing for WoW—I simply wish Blizzard would get back to their roots and make a fantastic Warcraft RTS. The one thing that Blizzard is incredible at is their lore. Who doesn't love the story of the Horde and Thrall? Who wasn't immersed in Kael'Thas' betrayal? Who didn't love Illidan Stormrage? We all enjoyed the storyline, the world that was built for us. I simply want to re-immerse myself into said world without having to own a subscription and base my gameplay entirely around other people. I want to click peons and have them complain and I want Rexxar to tear stuff up! Make it happen Blizzard.

4. Free Flow System

Free flow system, what a combat system it is. Arguably one of the best and simplest combat engines to hit gaming in a long while. For those of you who do not know what the Free Flow system is, it is the fighting mechanic in the Batman: Arkham games. Why is this on my list? Well, it's great in Batman so why not implement it in other games? Why hasn't a company stepped up and made a fantasy game with this engine? Would that not be the perfect setting for that kind of combat? Imagine your heroic knight facing off against a dozen men and being able to slash at one target to another with the simplest ease, tapping a button for exciting sword counters or deflects and lastly, two-button combos for finishers. The closest I have ever played was the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King game on the Playstation 2 which aimed for a similar stimulating system but not as refined. What are we waiting for?

3. Hyper Japanese Games

I have to admit that in my younger days, I was such a fan of Japan. I love their history, I loved their anime, their culture, etc. This was highschool and now I've graduated university and I haven't really cared for that scene in a long time. I don't sit at my computer watching .hack//sign anymore, I don't play JRPGS for a month straight and I definitely don't claim "waifus" on internet forums. However, I do really enjoy hyper Japanese stereotype culture in games. So what exactly am I talking about? Well, think less Final Fantasy and think more Katamari Damacy. I know for a fact that there's a multitude of these types of games in their homeland. I simply request that they port them over. Who doesn't enjoy bright, colorful, feel-good games? I, for one, absolutely love them. After a long day's work or after just an off day, I don't want to come home and play a Metal Gear or a Zone of the Enders. I want to go completely the other direction and play ridiculous Katamari games or something similar. Yes, I agree, they're mindless games that don't require too much skill to play, but that's what we need. STOP, imagine Dynasty warriors with talking mushrooms and bears fighting intergalactic sushi over a jar of mustard with a huge emphasis on lasers and the color neon-pink? Right? RIGHT? Let's make it happen people.

2. More Couch Multiplayer

So, my '90s brothas and sistas. I cringed writing that, but people of that generation who grew up in sandboxes, wearing overalls and played the Super Nintendo, you'll get what I'm about to exclaim. What happened to couch multiplayer? Do people not get together to game anymore? I definitely do and there's a severe lack of couch co-op. Growing up, the Nintendo, super Nintendo, etc, offered offline multiplayer on nearly all their games. Do you remember the glory days of Battle Toads and Double Dragon? What about the intense sessions of Golden Eye? Do you remember how fun it was to run away from Lu Bu together in Dynasty warriors 3 (when he was broken, as he should be)? It's been nearly a decade since companies have veered away from couch-multiplayer and it hurts. I have amazing memories with my best bud getting angry at one another, throwing controllers, using profanities and well the typical laughter and friendship-goodness. When your closest friends are among the following: A) a comedian and internet personality or B) an angry Russian, then you want to game with them in the same room with a few dozen brews, trust me! Even games such as Anarchy Reign, which should have had couch co-op lacked any such feature. So please, don't ignore it, some of us still prefer it to online multiplayer or to use both in tandem. Don't scrap what a whole generation grew up with.

1. Monster Hunter

What happened to this gem of a game? It got handheld copies and a Wii exclusive? Thank you Capcom for another grand decision. Monster Hunter which first debuted on the PS2, was an amazing and completely unique game. There isn't much of a story presence but the gist of it was that you were a Hunter and you slaughtered beasts to gain money and fame. The game was also pretty difficult and time consuming. You really had to work hard to earn new gear and ranks. It was just overall a great game and I plan to review it eventually. The reason why it's on the list is, as previously stated, it's had really awkward exclusivity and releases. It's either on Nintendo exclusively, a handheld, PC or Japan exclusive. In other words, if you're not in Japan and have Sony's or Microsoft's current system then you're out of luck. The title hasn't gotten a Playstation release since the original and I can't fathom why. It had a rough start but it has spiked in popularity since and there should be no reason to not release it on the big name consoles. Capcom, give me Monster Hunter, I promise to play endless hours of it if you do.

So that wraps it up for me. Let me know what you all look forward to in the future of gaming. Be it a new title of your favorite series or simply a new mechanic. Remember one thing, lasers, neon pink and mushrooms.