The current culture and I are distant. Even in my vanished youth, I rarely knew who the artists were on the radio, let alone the titles of the songs. It took me months to finally catch an episode of the hottest TV show. So it’s often just dumb luck that lets me find something cool, which is how it was with the original Half Life back in 1998.
I had been playing DOOM 2 to death [sic]. Or maybe it was Quake? Anyway, I was bored but wanted more; first-person shooters are one of my favorite types of games.
During a theatrical rehearsal, I lamented my frustration at good gaming alternatives to a high school kid. He immediately piped up that I needed to get Half Life. He said it was awesome. He was right of course. Once again, I lamented the fact that I was utterly out of touch with the culture. Had I the right hooks, I would have known about Half Life and maybe even anticipated its coming. I vowed to change.
As these things happen, I continue to be culturally illiterate. I didn’t even know who Britney Spears was until her first marriage. Even today I keep hearing about this “Obama” person and I have no idea who he or she is. But I’m getting better on keeping up with the new games. Here are two I’m looking forward to:
Left 4 Dead. This one looks hot. It’s a first-person Zombie shooter with on-line action. Hopefully it will take up the slack from my current on-line muptiplayer favorite, Day Of Defeat, which is dwindling in popularity though I do enjoy playing it on-line.
Call of Duty 5: World At War. I bought Call of Duty 4 on a whim. It turned out to be lots of fun, though I’ve not played it on-line. Some of my on-line gaming buddies have played the CoD5 preview, but about half enjoy it and half say it needs work. I’m holding out for the best.
The Christmas season is rapidly approaching. It’s time to fill in your Amazon wish list with computer things you want so that you non-computer literate (and culturally illiterate) friends can buy you the proper and most-relevant toys as gifts. But, again, recognizing my own disconnect, are there any other hot games coming out that I should be aware of?
Well, the Chrissy, we’re going to Adelaide to shop for our own presents. I’m looking at a fancy-dancy new Philips MP3 player, and chocolate. Definently lots of chocolate.
Comment by Douglas — October 27, 2008 @ 12:58 am
Tomb Raider Underworld is coming out November 18.
Comment by matthewdk — November 2, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
I’ll have to check that out, thanks!
Comment by admin — November 2, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
Hey. It’s already out, and it’s a third person roam around kinda game, but Mercenaries 2 is pretty cool. The way I would describe it is Grand Theft Auto on a battlefield, and you can pretty much blow up anything you can see. Give it a try. And see you at robot club tomorrow.
Comment by hhanzen — November 17, 2008 @ 9:43 pm
I’m playing L4D now. It’s fun. I’ve been playing CoDWoW as well, but only in solo mode. I need a patch to do on-line multiplayer. See you tomorrow!
Comment by admin — November 17, 2008 @ 10:13 pm