Keeping Time

I seem to have this constant need to consider myself “up” with the world of video games for one reason or another. For the larger part of the year, this means devoting a few hours a week to playing through certain games or going back to play through a game again (and again, and again). For many of you, the thought of this entirely dull and overly nerdy, and honestly, I don’t blame you. For many, my hobby is something that consumes very little of their time. I don’t expect many people to understand why I play video games so often, or why I feel the need to have such a knowledge, or feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars on them each month. To tell you the truth, I’m not exactly sure why either. Maybe it’s just because I’m too clumsy to take up an intrument or any kind of hobby that requires me to show my “skill” off to others.

As previously mentioned, for the larger part of the year, I do as I please. Play title X to completion and still have time to play through some older games that I’d never given a chance when they came out, or didn’t have the time/money for at the time. Plenty of time for socializing and the like, but at the same time it can get kind of boring.

However, and I’ll skip the technical babble, the shit hits the fan. Now, I assume that if you’ve read this far, you still give some form of a shit about what I’m talking about. For the last six weeks or so, there’s been what I would consider to be a major title released, and I can safely say that I’ve played 99% of them, much to my wallet and free time’s dismay. The following list is a short thought on each:

• MegaMan 9:

• Dead Space: ****/***** – Definitely worth looking into. A great new IP that has lots of potential.
• Fable II: ****/***** – Solid action-rpg. Molyneux loves hyping his shit, and this time it actually somewhat lives up.
• Fallout 3: *****/***** – Definitely gets better with the more time you put into it. If you don’t like too much depth to your game, stray away, this definitely isn’t a casual title.
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts: ***/***** – Physics-based system can be frustrating, and having the Banjo-Kazooie title to live up to doesn’t help.
• Left 4 Dead: ****/***** – Make sure you play it with your friends. No sense playing this one alone.
• Rock Band 2/Guitar Hero 4: ?/? – It’s more of the same. I’m personally growing tired of playing so many fucking songs.

Can’t say I’ve played Call of Duty: World at War, although I’d love to. Just no time and no real interest, although I’d imagine it’s just CoD4 set in the Pacific Theatre.