Video games today are light years ahead of when Nintendo games first came onto the scene. However, games like Mario, Sonic, Street Fighter, and the like deserve special recognition. After all, if it was not for their groundbreaking approach to visceral gaming, games today would never see the light of day.

The “Super Mario Brothers” series set the bar for 2D gaming with its brick-breaking mushroom growth spurts and flower power action that took players across levels and dungeons that had every kid glued to the TV after school.

But now, our demand for better visuals, in-depth stories, and innovative gaming have risen two fold and undeniably, “World of Warcraft” has fulfilled the demand.

“World of Warcraft” is a massive multi player online role-playing game that has accumulated easily more than 7 million subscribers who happily fork over 15 bucks a month to play upwards to eight hours a day.

“World of Warcraft” has since revolutionized what MMORPGs should be and what it takes to become number one. It features customizable characters across two factions, thousands of content scattered throughout the virtual world, and massive dungeons where a group of 40 players set forth to battle foes as a team.

However, living in a virtual world isn’t for everyone and some people prefer the fast-pace shooters, much like “Doom,” “Quake” and “Unreal Tournament.”

A new over-the-shoulder shooter released late this year has set the bar of what fast-paced action games should be.

“Gears of War,” designed by Cliff Bleszinski, the man behind the “Unreal” series, has once again curbed the competition with his very adrenalin pumping shooter exclusively for the Xbox 360.

“Gears of War” offers some of the best graphics around on the Xbox 360, with original over-shoulder perspective and gratifying weapons that put players into an ambiance of gruesome brutality that has never been witnessed before.

Stories play a great part in any great video game and “Half Life” takes the prize for one of the best stories in a video game. Their original setting put players into a science lab that went haywire with gruesome monsters, mysterious occurrences, and plot-twisting elements that left players in a confused state of shock.

“Half Life 2” returned to the PC with its legendary story and pushed the limits of graphics that sent players rushing to the stores to stock up on the latest hardware to enable them to experience the greatness of “Half Life 2.”

In the end, games have become people’s newest demand for entertainment. Games have to continually push the envelope to stay above water in this very competitive market.

With the latest next-generation consoles now on sale striving to capture every player’s attention, the need for a great game has become the highest priority.

Game developers should look to the past for inspiration and deviate just enough to set new standards for demanding gamers who need more of everything. More action, more story and above all, more blood.