Let me first say that I am a picky guy when it comes to tastes in video games. I don't like most of the mainstream 'popular' games. God of War, Assassins Creed, Uncharted, Borderlands, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls... all of them fail my personal test. 

I am this way when it comes to genre as well. I have been put off of FPS thanks to the oversaturation of military shooters and interchangeable games. If I was watching someone play Call of Duty and Battlefield, I couldn't tell the difference. That is a big issue for me; knowing what a game is simply by watching the gameplay. 

I have a PS3, but as of yet, enjoy none of the exclusive games. The only one that I have not tried is Killzone because of my FPS phobia. I saw Killzone 2 and 3 at Gamestop and it looked to be pretty interesting. They aren't expensive either, and I nearly purchased both games. Past judgement got in the way, however, not only with FPS, but with PS3 exclusives as well. 

That's one of the reasons I nearly traded in my PS3 for a 360. It seems strange to own a console but not enjoy the perks. I figured that I would try out the 360 exclusives. I researched them, and the only one that seems like it would be enjoyable, to me, is Halo. 

A FPS.

And the only PS3 exclusive it seems that I would like is Killzone. 

A FPS. 

This is pretty odd to me, considering my blatant dislike for the genre. Now, here lately (since E3) I have been trying to branch out a bit. I was very impressed by one game in particular at E3. No, not The Last of Us. Crysis 3.

A FPS.

It looks amazing. Incredible even. I am truly anticipating the game, and it will be a launch day purchase for me. In preparation, I dusted off my old copy of Crysis 2.

A FPS.

I was young(er) when I first purchased the game. That, combined with other games that I was interested in caused me to basically bypass the title. I decided that I would finally try it out and see what I had missed. I was amazed.

All this time, I had a true hidden gem simply sitting on my shelf. I could have enjoyed the game much, much sooner. Keep that tidbit in mind. 

Now, I love RPGs. Final Fantasy is one of my favorite series ever. The genre, in general, floats my boat, rocks my casbah, and whatever else you would like to say. With the build-up of Skyrim, I decided to take a stab at Oblivion. It turned out to be less than adequate, surprisingly, in my mind. It had all of the elements that I love; freedom of choice, RPG elements, lengthy gameplay, character creation, etc. I found I was forcing myself to play it. 

The acclaim that Fallout 3 received made me purchase it, as well. It failed my test, too. Much like Oblivion, I was shocked to find a widely popular RPG/sandbox game that I could not get into. 

I then purchased RAGE on a whim. It was a FPS, which I tend to hate, and a Bethesda release. I had some disappointments from them (the above mentioned Oblivion and Fallout 3), so I didn't expect much. 

It now sits on my second place pedestal of my favorite games I have played this year (behind the Mass Effect series). I was shocked that a Bethesda game and a FPS could make me want to keep playing. I couldn't wait to get home to hear the beep of my PS3 and to see that buggy I had customized. 

I was changing. FPS games were becoming things I enjoyed, while the big RPG releases were falling short, in my book. I have made the decision that the Killzone series (2 & 3) will be my next video game purchases. I can't wait to get into the games. Hopefully, I will finally find a PS3 exclusive that I enjoy playing. I have extremely high hopes for the series, to say the least. 

It turns out that a video game genre fails to matter anymore. It may be because of my age or maturity or changing tastes, but I am having an extremely large amount of enjoyment from a genre that I proclaim to hate. Meanwhile, the genre that I love has failed to impress with my recent experiences. 

It seems like its the individual game that should be judged, not the genre in which it resides. Who knew? For so long I have written games off of my playlist because they were FPS or shooters or sci-fi games. Now... my gaming possibilities have been blown wide open. I can't wait to get my hands on games I never thought I would try... Killzone, Dead Space, Ghost Recon... Yea, I am pretty excited. 

I can't wait for my love for RPGs to return, as well... coughFFXHDcough.