Up late talking games & writing? You're...

Games: One of the things I love best about my wife is the fact that not only does she play games, she is a gamer.

In my previous relationships, video games were always a source of irritation with my partners at the time. After leaving those situations behind, I was bound and determined to find a woman who loved to play games, or at the very least, did not take issue with the fact that I do.

There are tons of things that I appreciate about the woman I am happily married to now, but to keep this blog post on track, let’s just say that she is about as far into the game zone as any human female could ever expected to be, short of joining the Fragdolls.

And I love it.

…Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that although she loves to play games, before me, she had never been with anyone who enjoyed them or was as knowledgeable about them to the level that I am. I don’t mean to sound egotistical, but I’ve played a shit-ton of games and I’ll gladly stack my knowledge of the medium against the best of them. I know from the videogames.

So, when we’re doing the game thing, I’ll often turn to the wife and say “Hey, have you tried Game X?”

Sometimes she says yes, which is quite cool. But, if she says no… it’s even cooler, because then I get the chance to introduce her to one excellent piece of software or another.

Sharing something I love with the person I love is quite possibly the best thing ever, and not only is it a treat to be able to connect with my spouse in this way, I also get the added benefit of watching her go through titles she’s never played before and re-experience them for myself. One particular mission of mine? To sit her down with each of the modern classics.

Last week, she tried God of War for the very first time – and loved it. In fact, after completing the first one she moved on to another, all on her own. I haven’t played the original God of War since it came out, and watching Kratos rip the heads off medusae and impale undead legionnaires with their own swords reminded me of what a breakthrough game it was.

This week, I introduced her to Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time. I remembered being absolutely bewitched by this game when I saw it for the first time at E3 (and I’m a big fan of the series, really) but sitting down with her and watching this game in action again, I was absolutely stunned to see what an amazing, beautiful creation it remains. The platforming and environmental navigation is as engaging as it ever was, and the animation is still of the absolute top tier, easily the equal or better of anything on shelves today. And the art and level design—my god, despite running on the PS2 it’s still jaw-droppingly stunning, and a masterful demonstration of skill and craft. Prince of Persia looks leagues better than a lot of PS3/360 titles, which goes to show that technical innovation is no match for artistic spirit.

Getting the chance to sit down with someone going through these games for the first time is like discovering them all over again, and seeing my wife’s reaction to certain scenes or the way she problem-solves through this puzzle or that challenge is a real treat. I can’t wait to do the same thing with our children when they are of age, and I count my lucky stars every day that I’m with a person that can appreciate something like this just as much as I do.