Quick Hits: Thankful for Gaming

(Editor’s Note: There was supposed to be aweekly series this month in honor of Thanksgiving and to fight, just a bit, against what has been called Christmas creep. As with most things around here, that plan has been completely ignored in favor of no plan. Hey, it’s part of our charm.)

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article about the things that made me thankful. The list was incomplete and not only because I refrained from most mention of the usual reasons to be thankful. If I truly listed everything for which I’m thankful, it would come in much longer than the usual 1000-1500 word articles that I usually write. With more and more pages pushing video content, and the slow death of the written word as most recently evidenced by ESPN killing Grantland, I should probably refrain from such marathon articles. Don’t worry, I won’t. Because YOLO. Are the kids still saying YOLO? I really need to research popular culture more.

Apparently, Sam Jackson doesn't think that the kids should be saying that anymore. — Apparently, Sam Jackson doesn’t think that the kids should be saying that anymore.

Nevertheless, I did want to take a stand against “Christmas creep” this month and it has proven difficult to come up with topics for this particular holiday. Unlike Halloween or Christmas, there aren’t a ton of Thanksgiving movies. You decorate mostly in a generic Harvest theme like you would if you don’t want to go overboard for Halloween like we did this year. I’m not desperate enough yet to do a Food Channel style “Top 15 sides or deserts”…yet. Stay tuned. It might be coming over the next few days. There’s just not a lot that defines this holiday other than the “thankful” bit.

One of the things that I mentioned in the previous article that I’ve been thinking about is the bit about this being a good time to be a gamer. The article didn’t specifically talk about games, but I’m narrowing the focus for this article. My nerd cred isn’t as deep as it used to be. I don’t read comics monthly. I’ve all but given up on zombies. All I have left is games. In keeping with the spirit, I present some of the reasons that I’m thankful to be a gamer.

I will start with the obvious. There are so many different types of games available and so many different games available of each of those types. Just this year, I’ve discovered Dicemasters and Heroclix on the tabletop, too many free to play games to mention via Steam and mbile (some that I haven’t even played yet), and Fallout 3 on the XBox 360.
I know that some of you will disagree with this bullet point. Two of my closest gaming friendsdo, but it is finally time. Given my near allergic reaction to the thought of facing Black Friday crowds, I’m not sure how to do it, but I really want one of the Wii U bundles. I know. Wii U sucks. It barely even gets mentioned in the fanboy console wars. Just another terrible Nintendo gimmick with no real games. Blah, blah, blah. Liam and I are unapologetic Nintenerds, though, and the Wii U is one gimmick that has us both excited.

I've often said that Nintendo just has to make a new Mario, Zelda, and Metroid game and they've sold me a console. Whoever made this picture, please adopt me. — I’ve often said that Nintendo just has to make a new Mario, Zelda, and Metroid game and they’ve sold me a console. Whoever made this picture, please adopt me.

Times are especially great for cheap gamers. I already mentioned the F2P and Freemium movement. Again, you may have different attitudes about those games, but I love the idea. Putting our differences aside, I think that we can all agree that finally getting a PS3 because they are so cheap is a great idea.
Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront. I haven’t played either but I’m completely obsessed with both. The announcement of Fallout 4 had me more excited than any other game except for Portal 3 if it ever happens. Star Wars wasn’t even on my radar until I started hearing reports from people that it felt like playing the movies. Now, both of the games have me thinking that I need to find a way to get a PS4 instead of a 3.

Nevermind. Whoever made this needs to adopt me. Wait, you can both adopt me. It doesn't matter if you're both dudes, I live in Massachusetts and we're totally cool with it. We could be like that old TV show. Full House. — Nevermind. Whoever made this needs to adopt me. Wait, you can both adopt me. It doesn’t matter if you’re both dudes, I live in Massachusetts and we’re totally cool with it. We could be like that old TV show. Full House.

Gaming led me to create this web page and other accounts as a result. It hasn’t had the reach that I hoped it would, but I’m having fun. Similar to my other writing, hopefully people discover and enjoy it.
Many of the games that I play have given me something else to share with my kids. Likewise, they discover and share games with me on a regular basis.
Still other games have rekindled old friendships, opened up aspects of friendships never considered, and have the potential to open up entirely new friendships.
Overall, as I mentioned, this is a great time to be a gamer. There are just so many games of all types that bring together family and friends.