The title of this post may piss some of you off, but hear me out.

By now I am sure you have all seen the following commercial:

The commercial was launched in October of last year and made some female gamers pretty agitated.  Check out G3- A Girl’s Guide to Gaming as proof: G3

As a woman, I can sympathize with the frustration.  However, as a woman who isn’t a gamer I have to admit I actually found the commercial quite funny.  In fact, I could completely relate to it as I have watched my own boyfriend play Uncharted 2 and sat captivated for hours eagerly awaiting the next installment of the story to unfold.  This got me thinking, as a woman who is just beginning to learn and understand the gaming industry, what are those games that someone like me, a non gamer would be into?  So I decided to come up with my list of the top 3 games for non gamers.  Here it is…

1) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

As I mentioned above, this game was the first game I ever took an interest in.  One lazy Saturday afternoon as I was cruising the Internet, my boyfriend was playing yet another video game on the PS3.  However, as I tore my eyes away from Facebook, I noticed something quite different.  There were no grizzly kills or bloody zombies; there was something different about this game.  I found myself instantly drawn in by the colorful visual imagery, but what kept me watching for the next three hours was the story, rich in character development with sharp tongued, witty dialogue.  I was hooked and never even picked up a controller.

The game, a sequel to Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and created by Naughty Dog starts off about a year or so after the events of the first game.  Uncharted 2 begins with protagonist Nate and a few fellow thieves working on finding Marco Polo’s lost treasure fleet.  The plot is reminiscent of the Indiana Jones trilogy (yes I know there was a fourth installment, but I am intentionally blocking it out) and protagonist Nate is a CG cross between Eric Bana and Colin Farrell.  As someone who doesn’t necessarily understand the intricacies of game play I can’t speak about that, but I can say that the story was incredibly rich and layered, constantly holding my attention, gasping as Nate made his way through each level.

2) God of War 3

Yesterday my boyfriend’s roommate shared the following with me:  “Leslie I think I may have met the best girl ever.” “Why? What happened?” I asked.  “She asked me if I could play God of War 3.”  This exchange sums up my feelings on this game.

Over July 4th weekend, as I ate BBQ pork ribs and drank beer, I got my first taste of this video game.  Frankly, if anyone has not seen the last Clash of the Titans movie I would say skip it and go play this game instead.  Developed by SONY Santa Monica and published by SONY Computer Entertainment, the game is set in the world of Greek Mythology, and focuses on protagonist Kratos as he attempts to kill Zeus.  A warning for those that aren’t into gore, this game is brutal, with lots of blood and detached limbs.  However, the journey of Kratos through Hades and back is a compelling one.  God of War 3 is the end of a trilogy and from reviews I have read wraps everything up nicely for the gamer and for someone new to the game, I felt the story kept me watching and wanting to watch more.

3) Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

For me, many a night has been put on hold for the video game known as Starcraft.  Now, over a decade after the original Starcraft was released and after selling over 11 million copies, Starcraft II is now being sold in stores.   With the release on July 27th of this year, Starcraft II could ultimately put on hold my two year relationship for the next six months to a year.  However, after my boyfriend installed the game onto his computer and made me sit through the trailer I thought the game looked pretty cool so I decided to explore the game some more.  Created by Blizzard the game is released for Windows, Mac OS X and digital download.  The game, set in a distant galaxy in the 26th century, is about three distinct races battling each other for survival.  The three races are the Terran (humans that once inhabited Earth and have been exiled), the Zerg (insect like creatures similar to those in the movie Starship Troopers) and the Protoss (a human like species that have special powers and built in technology).  The game is a real time strategy game and follows the protagonist Jim Raynor as he leads a group against the Terran.  The game reminds me of a cross between the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Starship Troopers.

I have only just started watching the game unfold, but I really like the real time strategy element.  This game so far isn’t like watching an epic twelve hour movie, but the back-story and history of the game is keeping me interested.  Granted I have a lot more to explore, but can’t wait to spend the next six months to a year learning all I can about this new release.

So that is my top three list of games for non gamers.  I am interested to hear from the community! What games should a newcomer to the world of gaming check out?  How do you feel about the list?  What games did I miss and what games should I check out to talk about in future posts? Feel free to post comments and feedback.