Shall we play a game?

Those crafty worker bees at Blizzard are up to something, and at 5 p.m. (Seattle time) today we'll get to find out what's the latest addiction the company is brewing.

Seriously, games by Blizzard are God's way of telling you that you have too much time on your hands.

The mystery game looks like some kind of sequel to their space-based strategy game "Starcraft." In the game, you play one of three races vying for galactic domination. Each race has its strengths and weaknesses. You must manage your troops and resources to plot the best strategy for winning. Think "Rock, Scissors, Paper" meets "Risk" in outer space.

Rumors around the Web hint that it'll be a first-person shooter set in the "Starcraft" universe. Others whisper something of a massively multiplayer online game set in the "Starcraft" universe, with people all over the world playing as Terrans, the animal-like Zerg or the techno/psi-savvy Protoss.

Myself, I dunno; I'll have to wait, too.

Personally, I'm looking forward to "Baldur's Gate" and I'm really hot for "Jedi Outcast" for the Gamecube. Both appear to be coming in November.

I like to think I'm not a violent guy. I'm not a fan of football or wrestling and I've grown out of action films. That said, "Jedi Outcast" looks outstanding. You get a lightsaber. And force powers. You get to slice stormtroopers with your lightsaber and fight evil Jedi in big, bad-ass swordfights.

Yes, I'm a geek, I know.

But video games like "Jedi Outcast" allow me to experience my childhood dreams of becoming a Jedi, even though I would have been a horrible Jedi. I was really hyper as a kid and I think the Jedi police would have weeded me out of training on the first day of school...just after they caught me running around with my Fisher-Price training lightsaber screaming "Respect My Authority!" Yeah, I would have been carted off to the Jedi temple cafeteria, serving out the rest of my days dishing out the daily special.

You know, I wonder if during the Jedi purge, did the Empire also knock off the Jedi fry cooks, dishwashers and dry cleaners or just force them into a life of catering and cleaning servitude. If they did kill them, it seems like a real waste of manpower, if you ask me.

Deja vu, all over again

I kind of talked about this a couple days ago.

And again, I don't mean adult games should be filled with grittiness, tons of blood or naked people. Games for older audiences should be just smarter and bigger. It's one thing to make a guy being blown up with a rocket launcher look realistic and gory; it's another to create a game where you defeat a villain with your wits. Again, I refer you to my "Prisoner" game idea. (Scroll down to Sept. 15 and 16)

The writer of the article does have a clever ending, too. Hits it firmly on the head.


Message board chatter about such games has been generally dismissive – and often mocking. Thanks to the Internet, anyone (of any age) who wants to see a naked woman doesn't have to look too far. As a result, they're not looking to their games for that. Instead, they're buying titles in hopes of discovering something that's easy to learn, but not too easy to win; something that tells a good story, but offers immersive, addictive gameplay.

It's the fun factor that sells, not the flesh factor.