Danger, Will Robinson!

I’ve created a monster.

There is a guy at work who isn’t a big gamer but he’s been into computers and games for some time. Over the years he’s dabbled here and there and has a sizeable appetite for first person shooters.

A while ago we got talking and he mentioned older games such as Heretic, Quake and Rise of the Triad and the wonderful little nuances that made each game great. He also mentioned that he had been playing a lot of the original Medal of Honour games.

Unbeknownst of the consequences, I asked him, “Why? The Call of Duty series is much more visually appealing and realistic. Give that a crack instead”. It took a little convincing that COD is more than just modern artillery and warfare, but he eventually went out and bought World at War.

This is where my troubles began.

As usual, my suggestion was a massive success. Unfortunately, this is all he has spoken about since starting the game about six months ago. Until now...

Now he has started on a new game. Well kind of. He’s invested in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops. So all I hear all day is Black Ops this and Modern Warfare that or “World at War is far more superior because you can get up close and personal to really do some damage and you get to see the detail” (he’s into all that gory, stabby action. He won’t watch Saw but he’ll happily bayonet troop after troop of Nazi’s all night long).

Anyway, let’s just say it’s wearing thin among many of us, with one team member letting loose with a barrage of profanity at a mere mention of any of the titles, or even just the word ‘black’.  

My new challenge is to find another game for him. Sticking with his preferred historical war genre I suggested the new Medal of Honour (I probably should have played this myself before suggesting it) however based on previous games he is now completely put off by the series.

I may just have to wait until June for Duke Nukem Forever to come out, for that will surely take his mind away from Call of Duty. Although I’ll be fairly peeved if the release date is pushed back again, there is one benefit it will bring: Gears of War 3 will soon be released (September 2011 is going to be a great month!), which means potentially less time to hear about Duke and more time for me to get my own back and ramble on excessively about an Xbox 360 exclusive, something Mr “PC is the best and all I need” will have a little bit of trouble accessing.

Have you ever brought happiness to another through gaming only to wish you had shut your mouth? Do you have a suggestion for my colleague, whether it be a FPS or just a genuinely good game?