The State of Entertainment

"What the hell is going on with the state of entertainment today," my boy John asked me today. He lives on the east coast, and I'm out west, and back in the old days we'd make a point out of talking to one another at least once a week to discuss the movies/comics/books/video games that we saw/read/played the week prior.

It started out as a way to keep the long distance friendship going (you know how quickly you can forget about friends and family...even in this email age), but it quickly became what John referred to as "the Monday morning conference call." We'd spend 45-90 minutes ripping or praising some bit of entertainment --- sometimes agreeing, sometimes butting heads --- and then part ways looking forward to the next week. Before today, I hadn't talked to John in three weeks. and before that, another three weeks had elapsed. Had we had a falling out? No. It's just that our chosen forms of entertainment are crapping out.

When was the last time a game came out that you just HAD to play? I think it was 'Xenosaga 2' for John and me. "That game was my Waterloo," John told me. We're hardcore RPG fans, and the first' Xenosaga' was red hot, but after paying $50 for that last piece of crap...well, maybe it's time I reevaluate why I'm buying these damned things.

Sure, I ended up getting 'God of War' (albeit as a birthday gift, but still...) and it really seems to be living up to expectations, but it took me nearly 2 months to get the game. I've just grown tired of wasting the half C-note on crap. I'm almost totally relying on the reviews of EGM, GameSpot, GI, and G4. Now it looks like I'll have to average the four for the final game tally...and even then, I don't think I'll ever buy anything lower than an 8 again. The damned things just cost too much.

And movies? Hell, the last thing I saw in a theater was 'Episode 3', and I only saw that to complete the set. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was okay...just not $9 worth of 'okay'.

As for comics, well, let's just say that I used to buy about $150/month. Now, I'm down to around $50/month. What the hell happened to the 'Uncanny X-Men'? When did it become a lame soap opera with the occasional fight scene thrown in? Sure, it always had some fluff in there, but it was always second to the real superhero action. I'm seriously thinking of dropping that book, and it's the one thing I've bought continuously for the last 15 years. Looking back, I've probably only been buying it for the last year only because I've never NOT bought it.

Hell, maybe it's time for a change. I'll happily pay for worthy entertainment, but I don't want to waste my $50 on a crap game, my $9 on a crap movie, or my $2.95 on a crap comic. Looks like I'm facing my Waterloo as well...