Can Edward Come out and Play?

The last video game console I had was probably the first console ever made – The ubiquitous Pong. Since that time I have abstained for the most part from playing games. I skipped right over Atari through Nintendo. During the very early ‘80s I found myself enamored and addicted to the first and second-generation quarter consuming machines such as Asteroids, Joust, Galaga, Spy Hunter and Defender. I played defender so much that I slightly disfigured the middle finger of my left hand from the joystick. After that Video games fell into darkness for a myriad of reasons. My draconian father found games abhorrent, a scourge upon the work ethic and that they were a time waster and that nothing good would ever come of them. He would have flipped out if he had known how much money I was giving Williams Entertainment via the Defender & Stargate consoles. It was about that time I went into the Army and just after that off to work in Hollywood and after that I just sort of grew up. I got a chance to play A10 Warthog on a Windows 3.1 station, but that was about it during that time. When I got my first computer I didn’t even think of putting a game on it. I had convinced myself (through my father’s brainwashing) that games were just a waste of time. By the time I got introduced to Doom I realized that I had a visual acuity issue with first person shooter games resulting with me vomiting into a trashcan. That alone was aversion therapy enough to prevent me from wanting to play games. I thought that I had retired from video games.

Then came the Xbox 360

Initially we wanted to get a game console for Aimee this last Christmas so that she could play Dance Dance Revolution and other games on it. At the same time we were buying the box I was goofing off with a demo version of Guitar Hero and failing miserably. As I dejectedly hung up the guitar a Best Buy salesperson asked, “do you play drums?” “Kinda,” I replied. “Follow me and try this,” He led me over to a set of drum pads and handed me a set of sticks. I tore through The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and was hooked. Jill, the minister of finance saw that I had enjoyed myself said, “you should get it.”

Aimee and I formed a band, The Burning Scorpions and have been rocking out taking the world tour, earning money, instruments, a tour bus and a Learjet.

A couple of months ago I was finally convinced to try out a first person shooter game.

Playing Call of Duty 4 takes me back to when I was 10 and a friend or cousin would ask if I could come out and play. I would then head toward the closet and select the appropriate toy gun from my arsenal of plastic weaponry. We would then head out and terrorizing the neighborhood. This type of activity was safe for children during the ‘70s for it was long before the days of mace, Tazers and cops mistaking wallets as guns.

The awesome thing about the Xbox is the online community that you build. The first time I used it I was able to contact my friend Scott Cleverdon in Spain and he was able to walk me through a match. He then contacted his brother in Northern Ireland and then another friend in Scotland. We started a game with friends and family spread across three countries and two continents.

With CoD4 there is no ambiguity about who killed who, no one-pump rule on the bb gun. All of that is clear within the game leaving the only frustration of whether your opponent has the Juggernaut option turned on or not. It’s an incredible game. For any of you that have served in the military, specifically in the combat arms, this game with have your heart in your throat. Don Morris, “Buck” Surdu, I invite you to the challenge.

All of the hours, kills, deaths and rank I have racked up will soon come to an end. I’ve been playing on borrowed time, literally. One of my coworkers who is an avid gamer was kid enough to loan me the game, so I have to return it soon. The other reason is, the fall semester cometh. I’ve registered for another semester of fun and it’s going to be busy between Psychology and Math.

So, I General Flores (4-Star) hereby retire upon meeting the requirements of prestige. Don’t worry; you’ll still see me online, just not as often.

If you ever want to come out and play with me (online), just send a friend invite to DigitalElvis77. It will be like old times again.