The older you get, the more valuable the minutes become. You know what I mean, right?
Your 9-to-5 quickly becomes a 7-to-7 before you can raise your hand to ask how that's even possible. You then have the rest of life to check off your list: eat something, do some laundry, get groceries, clean up around the place, not be a total piece of crap and get some exercise in for once, maybe you're lucky and get to spend time with your girlfriend... the list goes on. But the light at the end of the tunnel for a lucky few may just be the small window of opportunity where you can fire up the 'ol console, dust off the controller and escape for a little bit. Bliss.
Except, it's not.
What does this "Joc" guy know, anyways? Better yet, who the [REDACTED] is this?
Valid question, sure.
For those who aren't aware yet: no, Mr. Ags didn't write this blog. This is me. I'm just Joc, and I probably — no, definitely — spend way too much time now behind the sticks, and have no real accolades to show for it other than Minutes Played. So far, we're a lot more similar than you might've thought. Funny how small the world seems, we might just be good pals. Anyways, back to me.
Once again, I'm Joc, also known as JocPlot, briefly and formerly known as JocularPlot9034 (shoutout Microsoft for the auto generated gamertag). If you're an MRags fan, and I'm assuming you are, I'm one of the ones behind the scenes. Graphics, memes, chat emotes, decent chance that could've been some of my work. I'm also brutally honest with myself — I'm not that great at most games in the grand scheme of things — so that's why I consider myself a valid opinion, because believe or not most of you aren't great either.
*Firm handshakes*
How do we, as the average gamer, do it? How do we sacrifice the few free hours we have each week to games that developers don't actually care about anymore. AAA, titles across the board, have been lackluster for years now. Yet, a lot of us are cool with tossing 60-70 bucks into the wind to buy the same disappointment year in, and year out. I'm not a complete grouch, I'm aware there have been some recent Ws for big titles and indie devs continue to crush it. But, gaming as a whole is stale and I don't really have any idea of a solution other than a time machine.
Am I being ignorant? Yeah, I could be, but let's run through some of the most popular games so far this year. Take these semi-analyses with a shot of reposado because remember, I'm not a top competitor and neither are you:
Fortnite — can be good times with the boys; if you're playing this as a solo... why? They're doing cool things though, which in this day in age you can't be mad at devs for actually giving a damn.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — 6v6 COD like we loved has been dead for some time. I couldn't justify investing $70 into some refurbished maps, and I'm still happy with that decision today.
Minecraft — timeless classic; if you don't like Minecraft, you have to be lying.
Palworld — gotta love the balls on Pocket Pair for taking a look at Nintendo's homework, slightly changing the answers, and adding guns. Tried it for a weekend, wasn't for me.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege — I'm convinced if it wasn't for Jynxzi, this game wouldn't be nearly as popular.
Grand Theft Auto V — 11 years later and most of us still have nothing else to play. It's wild that we're at this point. Only 8 more years 'til GTA 6!
ROBLOX — if you file your own taxes and play this, I'm personally calling the police. Let's grow up.
EA Sports FC 24 — Hand up. I'm stuck playing this. It's not good. It's a money-grabbing machine. EA has a lot of us in a chokehold.
Believe it or not, these are some of the most popular games as of last week. You know what you don't see up there? Aside from a few, games developed on this side of the decade. You can say gaming isn't stale, but if all you're playing is GTA in 2024 that's a little rich isn't it?
We — scratch that — I want something new, and fresh, and fun, and something that doesn't require a monthly IRA contribution to enjoy on it's own. I really don't think that's too much to ask. So in hope that the balloon of excitement won't pop prematurely, these are a few titles I'm actually looking forward to this year
Hades II
Star Wars Outlaws (bias: I don't like most Ubisoft games, so this is already not starting off hot)
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
EA Sports College Football 25 (for the love of God, please be good. Nobody asked but my first dynasty will be with James Madison University #GoDukes )
It's not all doom and gloom, we just need a solidified W every now and then to keep us here in the peanut gallery satisfied for a little bit. It's not too much to ask for, if you ask me.
So yeah, that's my first blog and my first lukewarm take. If you like it, or don't, follow me on Twitter (@JocPlot). I'll catch you guys later. Take care, brush your hair, make your bed, and please remember: don't pre-order any games, it's never worth it.
Shout out to the BOGO Bananas. Keep MF Peelin' 🍌