Turning Japanese, I Think I’m Turning Japanese (or why I can’t play Call of Duty)

by Wayne Shayler

I like to think that I have a varied games collection, but as my hair gets greyer, my gaming tastes seem to be changing.

When the technical leap was made, from 2 dimensions to 3 dimensions, there was no longer any need to be able to see the character that I was playing.  We had arrived at the stage known as ‘First Person’ gaming where you saw through your character’s eyes. 

I had become the hero and I loved it.

It gave me a sense of immersion that I’d never had before.  Doom, Quake, Half-Life and of course, Goldeneye.  All classic ‘First Person Shooters’ that redefined what video games could be and are all quite rightly, highly revered forms of the genre.

The Japanese have always had a problem with shooters, especially the first person style, which is why Halo hasn’t taken off as a franchise in the Far East. They’ve always preferred third person games where you can see, and identify with your character.  I’ve never quite understood that philosophy, until now.