ok, video games

I'm a bit of a gamer these days.

Well, I always was, I guess, but I played the old-school stuff like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on SNES, Goldeneye on N64, and Medal of Honor or Driver 2 on the Playstation.

But after watching my brother play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare online, I went out bought a 360 (which I later sold to buy a PS3). So I'm with the current generation of gamers now.

What's impressed me about these new consoles is not only the graphical-capacity but the overall scope of the games.

Like in Fallout 3, you customize the look of your character, take him/her out into the post-apocolyptic wastelands of Washington D.C., make or break alliances with hundreds of character, kill a variety of enemies/creatures, embark on at least 15 side quests in addition to the main quest, and enter more than hundred buildings or bunkers to scour for weapons or equipment.

The map itself is 16-square miles. Wow. How is that not impressive and potentially-addictive? (I'm embarrassed to say how many hours I played this game in the week I had it...ok, 65).

Lucky for me though, I'm picky and won't just play any game. I own only two games (COD4 and Metal Gear Solid 4) and rent less than one game a month on average.

One huge factor I look for in a game, aside from the obvious graphic and fun factors, is story.

The game I'm playing now, Dead Space, has a fascinating story - and a way of telling it. But I'll expound on that once I beat it.

Another factor is online play. That's where I play COD4 almost daily with friends from high school, one living all the way down in Welland. As with Goldeneye or Driver 2, it's just fun to play with friends -- except we don't have to be on the same console.

Anway, this post is pretty geeky. Time to play COD4 and pwn sum n00bs