Love of the Game

Adrienne's been begging for us to buy a Nintendo DS, a portable video game console that is all the rage, even with the adults. To be honest, I have been thinking about wanting one ever since my old roommate Mitchell bought one, but I never caved into the temptation because it's expensive and I knew I was going to waste a lot of time with it.

About a year ago, NPR did a short piece on a game developed by a Japanese professor for people to train their brain using Nintendo DS. This brain game has become so popular in Japan, the wave of its popularity was now in the States. When Adrienne heard about this, she immediately wanted one... and so did I. The thought of solving simple mathematical equations less than 30 seconds and figuring out which shapes go with which while I'm doing #2 in the bathroom sounded so exciting.

But I kept resisting. The DS is $120 and each game costs around $30+. A few weeks ago, Adrienne just decided to buy it. Even though I was upset, I was still excited until I saw the games she bought: Strawberry Shortcake, Mr. Robinson's Adventure and Mario Party. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about any of the games she bought.

I decided that it was time for me to buy a game. I went to the nearest Best Buy and bought a PC game called Rise of Nations. It's a strategic game in which the player selects a country and you expand your nation and eventually rule the world. Now, that's my type of game. But now I'm sick of invading other countries. I need a sports game like Madden 2008. At this rate, I may never stop.