Kaz

All right gamers, it’s time to talk about something we all fear and despise: time to talk about love.

Specifically, I’ve been thinking about how romance is handled in video games. At its worst it is a goal, a feather to place in your cap, an objective a gamer heartlessly conquers. At best: it’s an awkward subject. I’m thinking about how games display affection based on our comments in last week’s podcast, and my experiences finishing Metal Gear Solid 4. 

Last week I said that while it was nice that Mass Effect tried to handle a relationship in a realistic way, it improperly rewarded you with points for getting your character laid. When I thought about the action in that light; I became kind of disappointed in Bioware. After defending them in the “Sexbox” scandal I feel kind of betrayed in retrospect. 

Is there a way accurately represent a romantic relationship between characters in games? Surely every JRPG under the sun has tried, but in those games you don’t control the story so much as you ride along with them. And last October’s RPG The Witcher probably wasn’t much of a step forward in allowing you to control what you sexed. 

Ironically, last summers’ The Darkness has probably come the closest a game has to accurately portraying a relationship; with its early mini-game of sit on the count and watch a movie with your in-game girlfriend. Yep that sure was a lot of fun. 

But that’s the point really, the whole scene in first person made you realize just how much your character (and you, subsequently) cares about his girlfriend. There was no overly melodramatic love scene, and the time you spent with your girlfriend was completely determined by the player. 

Sure some players probably skipped the whole sequence as fast as possible, but if you wanted to, there was something a little more serious than an achievement in it for you. 

God forbid.