I used to love tactical games. You know, the ones where you sometimes had to leave it paused for a long while because you couldn't think of a strategy that would end up in your team not being wiped out? Up until a few years (a decade?) ago, games firmly ensconced in this genre flourished, perhaps due in part to the limitations in older hardware.

Now we're seeing a kind of resurgence, especially when it comes to classic tactical franchises. The resurgence isn't exactly a welcome one, however. Instead of sticking to their tactical roots, remakes of games like X-Com and Syndicate are being made into first-person shooters. Call me old-fashioned, but why do developers keep ditching the more cerebral (and honestly speaking, very much slower) gameplay of these games just to cash in quick on the FPS market slice?

Oh wait, I think I just answered my own question. It's a cash-in. Big developers and publishers know that you can't make millions on nostalgia alone, and let's face it, the slower pace of tactical games doesn't exacty equate to huge dividends. An FPS, on the other hand, is easy enough to pick up and keeps the masses entertained with some one firefight after another and huge Bay-esque explosions.

As much as I hate to say it, tactical games just don't stand a chance. Of course, us fans will still get a few every once in a while, but our genre of choice won't ever reach the heights that the shooter market enjoys. I just really hope the studios make new shooters and stop mining our old gaming memories for franchises to rape.

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