Welcome back! That was a nice little break and I think we’re ready to take another stab at this. Now where was I?
New Releases: Purchasing vs. Playing
Ah yes, my dilemma. I had previously mentioned that I often purchase newly released video games, but rarely play them. If you take this to mean that I consciously and regularly make the pilgrimage to a purveyor of game software and game software accessories, exchange hard-earned currency for the latest title I am very excited about, return to my cave and place it on a shelf alongside the others where it will sit for months before being called into service… you are catching on.
If you are still reading at this point, you are probably asking yourself, “Why?”, or possibly, “Are you mental?” I think we can all agree that the answer to both questions is… “42”, but that’s another topic for another day and I’m trying to keep this one from jumping the track. Stay with me now. Keep your eye on the person in front of you, we don’t want to lose anyone today. Use the buddy system if you have to. Moving on.
There are many smaller causes and minor distractions that contribute to the situation, but today we’ll be discussing the two primary, hyphenated culprits. I am a well-informed gamer with a full-time job.
…well-informed gamer…
I am a proud subscriber to one magazine and one magazine only, Game Informer. I actually have two paid subscriptions (Mrs. B’s idea). They recently started offering a digital version of the magazine, which meant that she would no longer have to mail each issue to me when I’m working away from home. It’s a good system, in theory, with one major flaw… internet access. You have to be on-line to read it and I can’t always count on having reliable internet access during the times that are convenient for me to browse the current issue. The nature of my work often puts me in the middle of nowhere, and I never know what resources will be available to me. Now, if it was made available as a download for off-line reading, then we’d really be cooking with gas.
If you’ve ever spent time in a GameStop, you are familiar with this magazine. Every time you go to buy or trade in an item, the nice sales person will ask you if you have a card (like almost every other business these days) and if you don’t, he/she will enlighten you to the benefits of signing up for one. They will politely respect your wishes should you decline, but make no mistake, you will engage in this dance at every visit. If you are anything like me, and pop in with any kind of regularity, you will likely sign up because whipping out the card is so much quicker and easier than going through the sales pitch over and over. I don’t want to give the wrong impression, it really does benefit the regular patron, but for me the best sales pitch is, “You won’t have to hear this sales pitch again.”
The meager fee for this card includes a one year subscription to Game Informer, the best video game publication on the face of the earth. With in-depth previews of upcoming titles (often a year away), well-written reviews reviews of new releases, opinion pieces by professionals in the industry and regular fun segments such as “Sacred Cow Barbeque” and the yearly April Fool’s “Game Infarcer”, each issue is an entertaining, informative and satisfying experience. What began as an occasional flip through the pages for something that catches my eye has since evolved into a monthly cover to cover feast. I have always found their reviews to be honest and helpful. Whenever I have purchased a game based on a review that indicated not only a product of quality, but also an experience that I would enjoy, I have never been disappointed.
The downside to all of this is that there are many more excellent games being made than I was previously aware of, certainly more than I have time to properly enjoy. This brings us to the second half of the equation.
…with a full-time job.
”Full-time” doesn’t really, properly define my schedule. If bed sizes were applicable, I could say I have a “queen-time” job, whereas an ER doctor might have a “king-time” job. It’s a relief that it’s not the case… a “part-size” bed would be like sleeping on an ottoman
and “queen-time” job sounds wrong for a whole host of reasons. Perhaps a different approach…
For those of you not relatively familiar with the construction world, allow me to shed some light. During actual construction of a project there is no such thing as a 40 hour week. It just doesn’t exist. Even a 10-hour day (at least in my experience) means something happened on-site, usually in the form of a severe thunderstorm or hurricane. When the rare 10-hour day happens, someone is bound to be heard asking, “What are you gonna do with the extra time?” And what about a 5-day work week? All together now…Long weekend! A 5-day week typically follows Labor Day… or Memorial Day… which should probably be listed first, as it is observed earlier in the year… but they are in alphabetical order at the moment… and we just lost the OCD group. The rest of you, follow me. They can catch up later.
Do you remember in math class when you had to solve the word problems? Try this one. If a traveling Field Engineer puts in… lets say 72 hours a week, plus commuting, eating and sleeping (I skimp a little here), showering (do not skimp here, trust me, the world thanks you), time with my wife (for the sake of argument we’ll call this a 30 minute phone call, she’s busy too) and a sprinkling of other miscellaneous free-time activities (favorite TV-shows, learning Japanese, etc.), how much time does that man have to enjoy his video games? Correct! Not enough! Gold star for all of you!
And so it goes. That new game I’m all excited about could be played immediately, but only at the expense of the back-log. If I ever get ambitious enough to post my own review of a game, rest assured, it will most likely be a game released at least 12 months ago.
Is there any hope to be found, any solution to the overabundance of awesome? Probably. But in all honesty, I’m enjoying the challenge. Game On, fellow cave dwellers… Game On!
In Closing
Since my last post I have completed the following:
Heavy Rain
Assassin’s Creed 2 (finished off DLC)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (100%)
Mini Ninjas (100%)
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (100% and DLC)
Prince of Persia (100% and DLC)
Hope to see you here again soon, thanks for stopping by. Oh, and if you know why the answer is “42”, you get an extra gold star!
Posts
