Though immensily sad (and I CANNOT stress how emotional it is, see for yourself.) it did make the game one of my most memorable and I will treasure this game for as long as I can due to the way it touched me on a level I was unsure games could. I'd cries while watching films before, and music has inspired similar emotions, but this was something new.

Another excellent example was provided by Half Life 2: Episode Two. After hours of escaping the citadel and driving to White Forest, after hunter ambushes and strider attacks I had the joy of watching a father and daughter be reunited. Suddenly all the respawns, all the anger over difficult puzzles and all the time spent seemed worth it. To then have this tarnished had me gasping defiance. Eli Vance's death had me white knuckling my desk; how could this be happening? How had the combine gotten so close to the fortress? This man can't die the resistance needs him! And speaking of which where the hell are they? Eli Vance CANNOT DIE!

Gripping stuff, but at this moment in time, with the death so tragically recent I almost feel a loathing towards Valve. Was this the only way? Now I feel anything but excitement over Episode Three. Fate of the Earth aside, I don't know if I can handle seeing my Alyx in tears over her fathers death. I say my ALyx because over the course of my travels, from her saving me from Combine arse-rape to her care-free flirting, I've come to love this woman. As the screen blackened I could still hear her cry, sobbing over her fathers body. It struck a chord with me, and now my only reasons to play Ep3 are these, fulfill the dying wish of Eli Vance to Find Judith, and to avenge his death, for him and for his daughter. The combine shall feel my wrath for this injustice.

Rant aside, I do believe that the manipulation of the players emotions are a key aspect of future game development, my experiences have shown me that If anything it makes a game memorable, and a release that no one should not play.

In conclusion, attention games developers! Hear this, though you may not believe it, I believe that my emotions can do more for a game than any degree of graphical wonder or innovative gameplay ever could. Think!

Though better graphics are paving the way for improves video games could this be an alternate route to gaming perfection? A new release where ; the scenery is sub-standard, the sound is acceptable, gameplay is interesting enough to keep the player compelled and yet the connection the characters make with the player is more than enough to keep them playing. Enough to make them care about their virtual avatars and their fate similar to that between a mother and child. To cringe as they see an ally take a bullet and sigh with relief as they emerge from the rubble of a destroyed building. In my opinion, such an aspect of gaming should not be overlooked.