Sometimes, we underestimate the dramatic changes we've seen in this industry over the past several decades.

And very often, we don't realize that as we get older and as the games continue to change (most have grown with us), we actually experience this hobby differently.

Sure, I was always enraptured when playing my RPGs. I wasn't sitting there with a goofy smile on my face; I was probably pretty intent on what I was doing and though I adored what I was doing, it was a different sort of adoration. It was a different sort of happiness. But as very few games these days are constructed like traditional RPGs, I don't experience them in the same way and as such, I react differently.

Same goes for most modern games when compared to "old" games like, for example, Ratchet & Clank. I never realized just how significant the change is until I sat down and played the recently released remake. After a few hours, it dawned on my that I had spent the majority of my time grinning at the screen. Then I asked myself- "When's the last time you did that?" When's the last time a video game elicited this feeling of pure, engaged entertainment?

Last year, my favorite game was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (and I actually hope Blood and Wine really does hold off until June, just so I have time to sink my teeth into it). I'd say my other favorites were Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Rocket League, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Until Dawn, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and The Order: 1886. All very different and yet, none of them had the same effect on me as R&C.

The point is, I can't remember the last time a game did have this effect. Just happy as a clam, running around, not wanting to stop, enjoying every ounce of the production. You don't have to think very hard about anything, there's nothing dark or gritty or dirty or grimy to get in the way of the carefree fun, and while there's certainly depth, there isn't enough to make you sit, lost in thought. No, this is just fun. And I've completely forgotten that video games did this at one point.