[JamesE]

Well, before Mario 64 took over there was a tyranny of linear games that held your hand at all times and enforced a strict program of events on you. Then suddenly you have this little pocket universe to play with as Mario and cannons to shoot out of and peaks to scale and flying hats and submarines and shell riding and there's this whole new outlet for your imagination to exploit instead of just abusing physics. Then four-to-five years later Grand Theft Auto 3 comes along and adds a ton of different playstyles, strategies and tools for the player to use. They should have saved virtual NYC for their third game, because there's probably not an urban environment on the earth more appealing.

Being pushed along a path is fine and all, but I have a tendency to want to dick around with games and do my own thing. The first few levels of Mario 64 were a complete revelation, and GTA 3 became something like a lifestyle - the atmosphere of running around the airport the night before my sociology exam, driving around to daft punk and the rave station as the sun came up. Linear gaming does that in limited doses and in limited terms - "Destroy Them All" is one of the greatest moments in gaming, but I'll never see it in any terms other than those that Gunstar Heroes presents to me, again and again. There's a balance to having the two types around. When I cause shit in GTA or do something cool with Mario or smash up some hulkbuster suits with style in Ultimate Destruction I know that's all me. I've got a rebellious gaming nature and an urge to do stunts and suchlike, so freeform really appeals to me. Level design is key though, and that's where the last bit of Mario 64 always lost me. The levels became so much more unfriendly and abstract.

I don't see why having something of substance on the Wii is undesirable, though - the lineup seems about as anemic as the first six months of my owning a DS, Zelda aside.

[JamesE]

[JamesE]

[JamesE]

I'd define casual gaming as unforced gaming. Impulse buys over must-haves, mini games, doing things for the shit of it. In that sense Super Mario Bros has become a hardcore title, while SMB64's open ended nature allows for more casual play. I used to dick around with the cannons a lot.