Journeying Through Video Games

Journeying Through Video Games

Here I am, preparing to play the third installment of “Kingdom Hearts” and I can’t help but think to myself, “Will I finish this game?” I’ve been playing video games since I was little. I grew up around a lot of cousins, so someone always had different toys and electronics to play with. We shared a lot as kids. Someone, I can’t remember who, had an Atari. Then, came the Nintendo. I have a perfect memory of ten of us crammed into my cousin’s bedroom, watching them play Super Mario Bros. I was younger, so I didn’t get a turn to play much. But I did get to play. I got to play Mario, Duck Hunt, Zelda, Tetris (I love love love Tetris), and whatever that game was with the running mat.

The first system my parents bought was a Sega Genesis. Man, did I love to play Sonic. But, when you have a little brother, you don’t get to log in many hours. Yes, I grew up in a household where “video games were for boys” so I always lost the battle for the controller. We lived in Mexico for a time and my uncle owned an arcade. I got to play all the games for free. I was usually one of the only girls in there. But I’ve always had the same problem: I hardly ever complete an entire game. What I’ve learned is to love the journey, not the destination.

When I bought my house, I was living by myself. I bought a nice television and treated myself to a Playstation 3. Oh yeah! No one to take my controller away and all the time in the world to sit on my butt. Easier said than done. There are a lot of great television shows out there. Plus, have you ever done the same quest over and over and just kept dying? You just need a break after so many times. Also (and luckily) I met my husband during this time. He taught me how to play first-person shooter games and games on the computer.

How many consoles do we currently own? I’m not sure anymore. But there’s no shortage of what to play in our house, there’s just a shortage of time. With my daughter now interested in playing and knowing which controller is doing the actual movements, it’s a battle all over again. But we love that she is interested and excited about video games.

At the time of this post, I’ve started-but-yet-to-complete:

  • Mass Effect Trilogy - This is pretty much the reason we still have a PS3
  • Tomb Raider - I got through about 50%
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum
  • The Last of Us - I’ve started this game twice and can’t get going
  • Batman: Arkham City
  • Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey - currently playing this
  • Kingdom Hearts III - Just started today

On top of these games, I’ve also extensively played Elder Scrolls Online, but I’m nowhere near the character level my husband is at. But this is where I have to reiterate how much I just love to play. Elder Scrolls is such a beautiful game that when I do have time, I just like to go around the world and see everything there is to see. The same for Assassin’s Creed. Sure, there’s a main quest and hundreds of side quests…but have you seen the DETAILS in this game? There are other games that I just love to start over again each time. There was a time where I was wickedly addicted to “Don’t Starve” where the main gist of the game is to stay alive by basically camping. But every time you start the game, it’s a different world set up. So I start my camp all over again, and it’s just as fun as the game the first time. Sometimes, you just want to sit down on your butt and turn off the outside world and play and relax.

Will I finish any games this year? Probably not, but I’ll enjoy taking a breather from real life and fighting villains, saving the world, building a camp, or hanging out with Disney characters. Or being Batman.

Susana
Susana Just another geek in a geeky world