Super Mario Superstar Will Probably Rock Though

You know, no one is happier than me that video games have become mainstream entertainment now. I'm far from one of the annoying purists who claim that games are too easy now trying to appeal to a mass audience (play the hard ones - on hard if you really want to) or that too many throwaway games are made just for cash (an issue I continue to cleverly avoid by playing only older, thoroughly reviewed games), but once in a while, I see something that makes me a little afraid.

Today, that something is Grease: the Video Game.



No, it's not a simulator where you butter pans. (You thought I was going to make a dirty joke there didn't you? Cheeky monkeys.) Instead, someone thinks that there is a portion of the market who doesn't want to pretend that they are a hero fighting villainous hordes or a puzzle solving pirate. No, they think these people really long to pretend that they are John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, before he got all hooked on Scientology and she helped nearly single-handedly destroy the movie musical (not to mention Gene Kelley's pristine career) with a steaming pile of Xanadu, although I will admit that at least Xanadu gave us good songs, whereas Scientology seems to mostly result in conspiracy theories.

Anyway, I have to admit I'm a little thrown by the idea of taking up a Wii-mote and microphone and belting out "You're The One That I Want". It's not fear of public performance (although that particular tune, like so many others, is reserved for moments when I'm alone in my car). Rather, I'm concerned that this could become a trend, the birth of genre if you will. People will forgo the latest first person shooter for Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Piles of adventure games will collect dust while shelves reserved for Les Miserables lay empty, homes now full of the lamenting wails of downtrodden Frenchies, most likely off key.

Even more horrifying, this is for the Wii, a system that prides itself on it's wholesome, fun-for-the-whole-family image. That's all well and good but let's not forget that not all musicals are concerned with those same values. When we get to the point where someone put's together Hair: the Video Game Experience, I'm thinking that they're going to lose their E for Everyone rating, not to mention the suffering that will occur when someone walks in on Grandma singing The "Age of Aquarius" in the buff.

And thus concludes another successful "Dangerously Low On Grog Makes You Picture Something You Can Never Un-Picture" Wednesday.