modern games are utter garbage. i went to this place called "cinema" (the only local arcade i have) and paid fifteen bucks for a single play session. it started out interestingly, where you have to match the sequence on the play token with the correct seat to begin (SPOILER: K8 means row K, column 8. not too difficult, but pretty hard for the first level. certainly tougher than the first puzzle in bioshock infinite). then there was the obligatory stealth section: open the packet of chips without alerting the other moviegoers. yawn.

then it all went downhill. ten minutes of preroll ads? people will call this a skill issue, but i couldn't for the life of me find the little [X] to dismiss the ads. i had to sit through all ten minutes. then the main experience starts. two hours of unskippable cutscenes! what is this, a kojima game? god damn. the graphics were incredible -- almost as good as alan wake 2 -- but jeez. and the cutscenes are locked at 24fps. not 30. 24. i guess it's for the "cinematic experience".

and then... it ends. you get a victory lap mission of finding the exit (literally the only door in the room) and it's over. and since it's an arcade, you need to pay again to replay it.

they had multiplayer with proximity chat (the further you sit from your friends, the louder you have to talk), but you instantly fail the stealth sections if you use it. what's the point?

gaming is dead.