What are your gaming trump cards?

So you read the title and are probably wondering “what is that supposed to mean?”. What I mean is this: I believe that everyone has his or her own “trumps” when it comes to whether a game is liked or not. It is almost like in rock paper sissors, where one item can trump the next, but also can be trumped by another option. It isn’t necessarily that simple, because there can often be more than three variables involved, depending on the person. I’ve thought about this for a while now, and have come up with my own trump circle of sorts, so I will give it for an example

First, gameplay/controls. Extremely solid or fun gameplay can keep me playing a game even if the graphics or story are not very good. And example would be the original Call of Duty. The graphics are not good, and the story is pretty “meh”, but the superb COD controls and great gameplay keep me playing through that game. So good controls can beat out a poor story or graphics.

Next would be story. A great story can keep me playing a game despite either bad graphics, bad controls, or both. An example of that would be the first Mass Effect. As a shooter the controls were not extremely well done, and it could be frustrating at times until I got used to them. There was one point a litte ways into the game where I was stuck at a level because I just could not beat a sort of boss fight, but I kept on trying. It must have taken me twenty some tries to finally beat it, but I did because I wanted to see more of the story. Another example would be KOTOR. While its controls are not bad, when I started playing it I was a complete novice at RPG’s, so I really did not get the controls and gameplay very well, yet I kept at it because of the story So a story can trump graphics or gameplay, yet can also be trumped by gameplay in certain cases.

And finally, graphics. This is the one that is slightly more complicated for me, because by itself graphics alone will not keep me playing a game. Graphics in conjunction with a great story, or great controls will do it, but it can also be trumped by both gameplay and story.

So mine is not a perfect circle, but I think it gives the picture. It all boils down to tastes, for some people gameplay may take the top spot, and not be able to be beaten by any others, or story may be the most important. Knowing what yours are will likely help you to better know if you will like a game when reading reviews, and can help you better recommend games and receive recommendations from friends and people you know. It isn’t rocket science, but it is something that is interesting to think about.