I’ve actually got this little personal list of features that I think every game should have. Co-op mode is right there at the top, along with ‘splitscreen multiplayer from the same console’ and ‘allow two people from the same console online for versus matches’. Recently I’ve been playing a lot of Battlefield: Bad Company and Red Faction: Guerrilla, and I’ve now added another feature to my “must have” list: Destructable Environments.

There’s really no excuse anymore. We have the technology, and smashing everything around you is just far too gratifying to be ignored. Even if it isn’t a key element of gameplay, we should be able to wreck our environments. Miss that shot in Wii Bowling? The bowling ball jumps the lane and flies through the back wall. Don’t feel like killing all that dungeon trash just to get to the boss? Knock down some intermittent walls and get right to him.

It would be glorious. You hear that, developers? Glorious.

Dan “YoungWolf7” Smith (the painter that we raised money for last month), has set up a new blog to journal his second battle with cancer. So if you have interest in reading up on his progress, or you don’t even know what I’m talking about, or you wanted to donate a bit, head on over and check it out. Later on this year I’m hoping to organize some different avenues for raising a bit more money for Dan’s fight, since cancer is one of those really annoying things that won’t just leave when you tell it too. Maybe auction off some original artwork, etc.