Whatever happened to...

I'm playing the newest Call of Duty game, and the graphics are intense. My friends and I are playing 4 player co-op against some AI bots that we've given different personalities and difficulties. Currently, I'm cycling through my myriad of weapons looking for what I want to use next, my mind tells me that the one-shot, one-kill knife would be the most fun, but my gut tells me to go with something that packs some more fire power. Just then, my radar flashes red behind, and I wheel my character around to find....

/End day dream.

Really, I'm just playing 007-Night Fire, inevitably in the less than desirable video quality of a Playstation 2 game, because Lord knows that no retail store carries original X-Box titles, and don't bother looking for a first-person shooter that is as awesome as Night Fire on a next-gen system.

An oldie, but a goodie

And this is where my rant on this new wave of shooting, action games begins. Sure, the graphics are awesome, and the story lines intense. The online play adds a fun element, but the realism has gone to far. 

I want my shooting games to have co-op, offline multi-player. And I want, nay, demand that AI bots be incorporated. What was better than assembling a team of Space Suit Bond and his cronies to mow down at your pleasure. I want to be able to carry a rocket launcher, two machine guns, countless grenades, a crossbow, some laser beam cannon thing, and a big, ole' revolver. I want to be able to cycle through all these with one button, and I want to be able to decide to use Oddjob's throwing hat as my weapon, because there is nothing more satisfying than decapitating Pussy Galore as she turns around and tries to line you up.

FPS (first-person shooter) games today only let you carry a main weapon, a side weapon, and only a few grenades. Maybe if I wanted to take part in some actual combat simulation that would appeal to me, but I want pure, unadulterated war.

In an attempt to get game designers to listen to me, I'm starting a petition in the comments section, so make sure you post (no this is not an attempt at getting reader participation). Realism is taking away our fun. We must stop it now. Now, I have some more Night Fire to play.