Geeze, I Need to Play More Video Games

How many times do you hear people say that?  In my case, it’s truth. Games are how I relax. If I’m not playing, I’m not relaxing. Sometimes I feel like the only woman in the world opening up her calendar to see if she can fit 20 minutes of gaming in there.

When I went to college, I used my very first paycheck from the new job to buy a Super NES and a game from the pawn shop. (Pawn shops in college towns are incredible. I snagged the most amazing CDs there.)Image

The game? Illusion of Gaia. Check out this action. You slide under things. And have a sword. And fall down nearly dead of scurvy. I’m not kidding. That’s my favorite part!

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I would come home from school, finish work at 11:00 pm, and play Illusion of Gaia for half an hour. Then I could go to bed.

I realize that I associate specific events with what game I was playing at the time.

Senior year in high school was Tekken  with my dad and brother. The fact that my daughter’s name is Nina? Yep. Tekken.

I was dating my husband while playing Secret of Evermore and Earthbound.

9-11 happened during Chrono Cross.

I moved to Seattle during Devil May Cry.

My son was born during OKAGE: Shadow King. I literally played with his tiny, new body wrapped up on my chest.

And there the timeline stops. Children plus writing plus more responsibilities equals no game time. And this makes me sad. I realize that it is also unhealthy. I need that escape. That respite.

Thanks to my dear friend’s urging, and physically putting the game in my hands, I played BEYOND: Two Souls
last night. And it was incredible. An experience, to be sure. I’ll be making time for it in my life. A simple pleasure that pays dividends.

Plus! Games! YAY!

So what about you? I know I’m not the only one who loves my console. What do you guys play? Any fantastic games you’d suggest?

6 Comments on “Geeze, I Need to Play More Video Games”

  1. I would love to play games, and actually have the past few Saturday nights. With our new baby though I’m having a hard time getting time to read. And I only have one 😉

  2. I’m trying to make my way through Metroid Prime right now. It’s absolutely fantastic, but it’s also maddening. Like you, I don’t have tons of time to play anymore either, and MP is a game that demands time. If I’m looking for some quick play, I turn to LIMBO; though I’m also having a go at a Pokemon game (never played one before), and it’s proving to be easy to pick up and put down at a moments notice.

  3. I haven’t really “gamed” since the early days of Nintendo. Hey, I could rock Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Defender. There was some other jungle game I played too that I loved. I starting “gaming” with Pong. Yeah, I am and fart but that’s just how things are. As games got more sophisticated I was having a baby, going to school and working three to four jobs at a time along with some reading for fun and writing. Also, I have hand/eye coordination issues so the more complicated games are beyond difficult for me to even navigate.

    I just play free slots type games, Solitaire and I used to play Hearts on my Gateway. That was my favorite but my Gateway with Windows ME has now died. Oh, and back in my WebTv games I played Roof Drop and Cat Herding. Now, am I an exciting “gamer” or what? They relax me and keep me closer to sane so if they make me happy then that is all I need and want.

    Hey, I just remembered the games I played on my Commodore 64 but I won’t bore you with that stroll down memory lane. LOL!

    Enjoy gaming Mercedes. It is worth a few minutes out of your day.

  4. I’m a hard core World of Warcraft nerd. I saw the commercials for it back when I first became sick, and it has sustained me during the last 8 years of chronic illness. I kind of look forward to the days when I’m well enough that I’ll be too busy to play!

  5. These are all great games! And I love Limbo. It’s surprisingly relaxing for being so, um, dark.

    I started out with Atari. Playing Salmon and whatever the one was where you swing on a vine in the jungle. I love that one! And I’m a huge FF nerd, but they lost their charm as they went along.

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