Stiq Figures, January 20 - 26: Childlike wonder edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter.
When I was a kid, I had the time and imagination to get drawn into great fantasy worlds in books, movies and video games. To me, Zelda games and Pokemon didn't have strategy guides to help me get out of a tough spot; they had supplementary books to enhance the worlds I was busy memorizing enemies and locations from. The best fictional worlds were coupled with iconic moments that made my tiny eyes bug out, like realizing that stationary "Pidgey" in the Power Plant was a level 50 legendary bird that was going to pound my team into the tile floor.
It's harder now to get as pulled into game worlds the way I used to. Maybe it's the cynicism coupled with adulthood, maybe it's because I know what storyline tropes are now, but it's rare for me to flip out over great gaming moments and crave fiction like I used to. Thankfully, there's still the odd experience that helps me trip back into old habits.
A lazy summer trip to Walmart with a friend ended with a purchase of Bioshock, which we bought just to have something to play through between shifts at our summer jobs. Once I was watching the credits roll two days later, it registered that I had spent every free moment of those 48 hours with my head buried in that game. Exploring Rapture was engrossing, as was finding audio diaries, unraveling Rapture's downfall and dealing with its haunting cast of Splicers. Gaming is still fun in general, but there's a strong incentive to keep playing new titles in order to stumble over another experience to get completely immersed in.
Maybe you've found modern examples, like I did with Bioshock, that took you back to a time where review scores and advertising campaigns were irrelevant. Share your recent standout games that blew you away in the comments - for all we know, your examples might be someone else's future favorite! Just be sure to check this week's Japanese hardware sales first, right after the break.
3DS LL: 26,484 [DOWN] 5,909
Vita: 21,498 [DOWN] 3,257
PS3: 13,360 [UP] 117
3DS: 11,745 [DOWN] 3,300
Wii U: 8,490 [DOWN] 2,953
PSP: 3,428 [DOWN] 596
Vita TV: 1,792 [DOWN] 416
Xbox 360: 260 [DOWN] 13
[Image: 2K Games]
