Coming Back To The Warm Bosom Of PC Gaming!

It's that time of the gaming cycle again. As 2012 dawns, the three main gaming platforms are in a state of flux. We have our two consoles, which are refusing to make room for the new. For all their greatness and genuine contribution to gaming over the last few years, the console duo are getting long in the tooth, and it's quite obvious. However, their makers have yet to give gamers any glimmer of hope regarding a next generation to kick things up a notch in terms of both technology and design innovation. The venerable company from Washington State and their peers from Japan have not really said anything about new consoles, and in fact have on several occasions come out and hinted that we basically shouldn't hold our breath.

I don't know about you, but as much as I enjoy my console gaming, it's the third platform that's looking more and more attractive as time marches on. Yes, the PC. With venues like Steam and Origin gaining more and more momentum, and the consoles aging rapidly, the PC is now looking once more like the King Platform it's been for the last 20 years. We now have 28nm graphics that have more power in their MOSFETs than both major consoles combined. That may be an exaggeration, but not by much. And trust you me, I can't reiterate enough that I'm no console hater. I love the consoles, and have both of them. I just don't love technology that refuses to move on when it's blatantly possible and prudent to move on. That defeats one of the main tenets of technology as I see them: to make things better. In gaming, the key way to make things better is to make them more advanced, more impressive, more involved, more sophisticated. You won't get a lot of that achieved (no pun intended) with 2005 technology.

So I'm voting with my wallet. As a compulsive game buyer, I command a considerable investment in gaming from a monetary standpoint. And while I don't think the fate of the industry lies with me, I do believe that my actions as a stakeholder and a consumer do have an impact.

So I'm moving back to PC gaming, armed with a new 28nm graphics card, six-core CPU, and trusty 12GB of RAM. Not exactly WOPR but certainly lightyears more advanced than my beloved consoles. Again, no misrepresentation intended. I never really stopped gaming on PC, but it has been severely challenged by the others. No more. Once the holiday game backlog is cleared, 2012 games will be on PC. The only title I can think of to play on consoles right now is Mass Effect 3, because I played the first two on a non-PC platform.

Other than that, games I'd get for console until recently because they don't really call for the power of a PC...well, will be buying them for PC anyway to send my money where innovation is going.

Two I can think of right away are The Darkness II and Prey 2.

The Darkness II is the sequel to my favorite game of 2007, the dark, moody, story-heavy, action-tastic and hugely creative The Darkness. While no longer made by awesome Starbreeze Studios, The Darkness II is a must buy for me as I want to follow the adventures of Jackie Estacado as he takes on the mob, monsters, and who knows what else while allying with a demonic entity.

Prey 2 just so happens to be follow up to my favorite game of 2006 - Prey. That one was also very story-based, had great action, a mood so palpable you could cut it with a butter knife, and excellent characterization. Almost none of the first Prey's elements seem to have been included in the sequel, but I will be playing it anyway for sure.

Speaking of Starbreeze Studios, I hear tell they're doing the new Syndicate. Well, that's another auto-purchase day one for me, so get that money ready right now. Ditto for the UFO: Enemy Unknown remake...

Plus don't forget stuff like Metro: Last Night, which is coming out in the spring. That one's going to be a nice showcase for the PC, likely the biggest one since Battlefield 3 in the fall.

There's a lot to look forward to as a PC gamer, and I have to applaud the platform for its constant evolution. I'm certainly not writing off the consoles, and like I said before, they have done a lot to help gaming in recent years, more so than previous generations. But when it's time to move on, move on. Hopefully the message myself and many other gamers are sending with our money will get things rolling again, which of course will also help push PC technology forward and keep the cycle intact. And lest we forget mobile gaming, which is becoming a true force to be reckoned with, and not just for the so-called casuals.

Here's to a great year of gaming!

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