Evening Reading

I played Uncharted 2 as one of my catch-up-over-the-holidays games and finished it off the other night. After such a fun adventure--one of the best I've played--the last few combat encounters and then the boss fight felt like a tremendous punch to the gut. Someone on Twitter asked if I was suggesting that there shouldn't be boss fights at the end of games. Hell yes I am.

Boss fights grew as a logical extension of the control mechanic-heavy nature of video games in earlier generations. Since then, the content in and way we play games has dramatically evolved. In many games, like Uncharted 2, they no longer feel like an epic showcase and payoff for all the skills mastered in the game. Instead, they become a distracting--or often worse yet, annoying--anachronism. Sure, at the end of God of War III I wanted--nay, needed--a massive boss fight. But at the end of Uncharted 2, all I could think while running the patterns to beat that boss was "God, I wish this would end," and that's not the last feeling such a great game should leave.

No such suffering to get to chatty and the top video game news stories from today on Shack:

• StarCraft 2 Patch 1.2 Launches with Chat Channels, Balance Tweaks

• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Dev: PC is Primary Platform

• LIMBO, Red Dead Redemption, and Mass Effect 2 Most Nominated Games for 11th Annual GDC Awards

• Dragon Age 2 Pre-orders Get Extra Sword and Shield; All New Copies Get 'The Black Emporium'

• Capcom Accused of Ripping-off 'Splosion Man in 'MaXplosion