I mean really. Complete it, finish it, play it, even hate it, but NEVER beat a game. 
 
*Slight ODST and Killzone 2 final mission scenario-type spoilers inside*
 
That's not what I wanted to write about, but I do want to talk about two games that I finished today. Killzone 2, and Halo 3:ODST. I think I preferred ODST - the race to the conclusion was much more exciting than Killzone's "BOSS" (another antiquated gaming term that needs to go). Killzone actually frustrated the hell out of me. I played both games on the "hard, but not impossible" difficulty, but Killzone had me tearing my hair out everytime a group of those bug eyed bastards came up the balcony in the visari palace and screwed me over. I eventually had to give in and get a FAQ for some strategy on that last mission. Meanwhile, ODST has you scrambling out of New Mombasa escorting an elephant while waves of covenant ships stand in your way, and a fleet of covenant fly overhead towards Halo 3's beginning sequences. 
 
One of these left me wanting more, while the other had me thankful it was over. Can you guess which? 
 
I think it might have been Killzone's goal to exhaust the player with it's final push. The ending has a very kind of anti-war vibe to it and delivers no conclusion or satisfaction for the war you fought for the last 8 hours. Thinking about it that way, it surely accomplished its goal. Killzone left me feeling a little bit guilty about blowing away all those red eyed, faceless enemies. 
 
ODST's ending is made to be a thrill ride with lots of explosions, easy to defeat, but epic looking enemies, and plenty of nostalgic fan service. Neither the helghast nor the covenant were anything but cannon fodder in both games, and Killzone's attempts in it's last few minutes to make me care about the plight of the helghast were empty and confusing. Meanwhile Halo's covenant have a little more personality but ODST's story doesn't add anything to the overall halo plot other than a new perspective on things we already knew.
 
If I have a point to make it's that ODST knew it was going to be a simple side story and ran with it, making it easy to digest and fun to play. Killzone 2 starts out seeming simple, but throws this odd "well I guess everything we were doing was wrong" angle in. Maybe if it had ran with this theme the entire time (see HAZE for a reason not to have done that) it would have been a little more satisfying, but it's hard to say.
 
This is one rare case where I have to go with the simpler, more fast food solution. I really enjoyed both games, but Killzone left me confused and a bit exhausted. ODST had me saying 'hell yeah that shit BLEW UP". I do appreciate the attempt. It's just a shame about the result. Is it better to have a shooter that tries to have you think about things you don't care about, or makes you care about things you don't have to think about?