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I can't help thinking "fun" is something that is not high on the list of things that are looked for in contemporary games. A few weeks ago, I commented on how Saints Row the Third was the most fun I'd had in a video game in quite some time. While that still stands true, I've looked over my collection of games, and realized that fun is not at the top of my list of qualifiers of why I play, or would want to play, a certain game. Perhaps that fact is why it's so strange to me that when I do find myself having fun, I don't really know how to react to it.

I have been acquainting myself with a character familiar to most gamers, and admittedly unfamiliar to me. Sonic the Hedgehog is not entirely unknown to me, but I'm familiar with the character through comics and in-jokes in other games, not in hands on experience. Sonic Generations for the Xbox 360 fell into my hands recently, and I've been enjoying the simple running, jumping, and collecting of rings. It's not overly complex on story, the characters are charming and light, and there does not seem to be a serious world-ending catastrophe involved; this game is just plain fun.

I only came into gaming a few years ago. I didn't grow up playing Sonic, so if it seems odd that I would bring the cute blue hedgehog into this discussion, it's due to the fact that I've never played a Sonic game until just the last few days. Admittedly, it is not the type of game that I tend to gravitate to.

When I play a game, or even when I am looking for elements in a new release that I might want to play, I tend to look for a few simple things: story and characters, control mechanics, production values. Fun does not rear its head in my list of criteria. I don't tend to look for fun, and that might be why it surprises me when I do find myself enjoying the simplicity of a game like Sonic Generations.

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Fun does not seem to be a big draw for games these days, at least not for major releases. Fun, it seems in my view, is a quaint concept relegated to the days of the old Super Nintendo Systems and the Sega Genesis. Fun is not the first word that comes to mind when I think of the video games that I tend to play.

Why am I surprised by this sudden revelation of fun in gaming? I'm surprised because fun appears to be far down the list on reasons why people make, play, or promote video games. It's certainly near the bottom of the list for me, which isn't to say that I don't like a game to be fun, but it is usually the last thing that I am thinking about when I am about to play a game.

When I go to pick out a game, I will weigh how much I might possibly enjoy the time I put into it. If I think that I will not enjoy it, then I am less likely to play it. Everyone has at least one game that they thought they would enjoy, only to be sorely disappointed in their experience.

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I remember the game Darksiders. It was a game that I really wanted to enjoy. It had an interesting story, an intriguing lead character, puzzles to solve, and a strikingly designed world to play through. There were several aspects of the game that appealed: the art style was unique, the enemies were cleverly designed, and the collecting of abilities and weapons to improve the lead character was very Zelda-like. Controlling the lead character was easy enough, and he was a compelling lead, if a bit on the broody side; his chatty sidekick offered advice and tips for game play, along with the compulsion to physically throw something at the screen just so he would shut up for five seconds.

Darksiders had all the elements that I look for when I'm ready to sit down and play a new game. One thing I do think, now, though, is that it wasn't very enjoyable to play. Apart from the irritating sidekick, the repetition eventually got to me. Repetition is not a new feature of video games, but if a player is expected to do the same thing over and over again in order to reach a goal, then there has to be something that encourages the player to keep going.

Darksiders, for me, wasn't fun. It wasn't enjoyable either. There was nothing to make me keep wanting to play. Despite the promise this game showed in its presentation and story, I was not enjoying it. That is my primary example of a game that I thought I would like, and ended up being disappointed.

Should one expect fun from video games? With the shift into a more serious, film-like tone in video games, fun might be losing its appeal. Games are moving into a more serious style, with denser stories, more complex characters, and bigger stakes. Game play itself is still key to games, though. So even if a game is as serious as a funeral and as attractive as a particularly overrun Victorian mansion, shouldn't the gamer, the player, still derive some fun from the experience of playing the game?

Perhaps fun and enjoyment mean two different things in the gaming world. Fun implies a sense of childish wonder, something as simple as pleasant graphics, good music, or a creative method of controlling a character. Enjoyment seems to speak to a deeper level for a gamer. I certainly enjoy the Gears of War and Mass Effect games, but I wouldn't necessarily call them 'fun'. Enjoyable to play, yes, but not necessarily fun, at least not in the same way that Sonic Generations is fun.

Saints Row the Third is a game I find fun because it revels in its own sense of obscenity and general mayhem. Gears of War and Mass Effect are games that I enjoy for their narratives and the complexity of their characters. Their game play functions are certainly engaging, but, again, 'fun' is not the word that I'd use to describe them.

I can think about games that I have enjoyed, and a few games that I have had genuine fun playing. The enjoyment tends to trump fun every time. If I take enjoyment out of something, that suggests that it was not a waste of my time, and perhaps I took away something meaningful from it. Fun doesn't necessarily carry the same deep thoughts or big questions, but it does leave a good feeling.

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And maybe that's all a video game has to do. It can leave a good feeling, whether a sense of accomplishment in reaching the next checkpoint or new area, or even in something as mundane as unlocking new costumes for a character to wear. Am I asking too much of a video game if I ask that it offer me something engaging on an intellectual level, while still offering me a fun experience that I will want to share with people?

All I know for certain is that Sonic Generations is offering me puzzles, colorful backgrounds, engaging music, simplistic but familiar characters, and a game play experience that I am genuinely enjoying. I am having fun playing this game. I hope it's an experience that I will be able to repeat in the future.

Serious Infotainment runs on Mondays. Follow Alexandra on Twitter @Al3xandra_G.