The Rise of Spectator Gaming

All of the God of War 3 hulabaloo this week – stemming from the NDA lifting Monday to reveal stellar reviews – got me thinking about another Playstation 3 game with similar cinematic flare: Uncharted 2. While Uncharted’s pompous-but-likable protagonist Nathan Drake, and God of War’s vengeful anti-hero Kratos couldn’t be more different, their game worlds share the common bond of absolute, jaw-to-the-floor spectacle. Granted, GOW 3 isn’t out until next week, but early reviews, and the past two games in the series, stand as testament that it will be a doozy.

But again I think back to Drake’s adventures in Uncharted 2 for one reason alone: my wife would come into the room and watch me while I played. She doesn’t like playing games, and likes watching them even less…but with this particular game, she wouldn’t complain or ask if we could watch something else; she would just sit and watch. This was absolutely unprecedented and has never happened with any other game I’ve played. Some games she tolerates for a while before asking that we do/watch something else, others she can barely tolerate for 30 seconds. *cough* Modern Warfare 2 *cough* But Uncharted 2 was different – it drew her in and held her interest like she was watching a good action movie. Sure, there are plenty of gunfights (which she’s not exactly a fan of), but they always took place somewhere new, somewhere interesting. The venues were constantly shifting. The dialog always new, fresh. Well acted and well written. Uncharted 2 had more in common with a feature-length film, and better, for lack of a better word, cinematography, than any game I’ve ever played. So she would sit. And watch.

God of War 3 is certain to be filled with just as many awe-inspiring vistas and cinematic wonders, but eviscerating centaurs and graphically decapitating Greek gods puts it in a different class of spectators games than Uncharted 2. I picture a group of guys huddled around the lone TV in the house, cheering their pal as he pilots Kratos around Mount Olympus…but that’s not really anything new. Heck, that was my colleague experience with gaming.

Uncharted 2 gives non-gamers a more approachable entertainment experience. Anyone can plop down on the couch, enjoy the surprisingly witty banter between the characters and watch crazy action that you’d see in the best summer popcorn flicks. There’s even entertaining dialog during some of the action set pieces. Everyone in the room is given an enjoyable experience, not just the person gripping the controller.

Very few games transcend the typical gaming experience of a single person sitting blasting away at on-screen enemies while eyes of everyone else in the room glaze over with boredom. But that seems to be changing. I’ve already mentioned God of War 3 as another game that does more to (bloodily) entertain everyone in the room. The Mass Effect series also does a fine job of creating interesting characters in interesting settings that actually say things that you want to hear. I’ve also heard that Heavy Rain also provides an experience that would cause the casual bystander to sit and watch. 

This is my great hope for gaming; games that I can play with my wife in the room that don’t put me on the receiving end of the ‘turn it off or I slap you’ look.