I realize that a lot of you are playing FPSs, working
on your grenade launching or aiming that mortar at people’s heads, and another
lot of you are MMOing it up, grinding your way through to the next level, the
next power, the next item to make yourself a formidable [something]. And that’s
ok. It’s encouraged. We love it! I love it! I can be found daily in the MMO
worlds, poisoning my daggers and punching enemies with my fists of energy.
Then who am I to be pushing sports games, of all things? Well, I’ve got this
husband. And he likes video games. During our dating days, I got his attention
by staying up into the wee hours of the morning, proving to be quite the foe on
the racetracks of
Crash Team Racing. We played things like Splinter Cell
and Halo and Battlefield 1942, and as I sniped his belt off and he watched his
pants drop to the floor, he was all, “Whoa! I think I like this girl.” Somewhere
in the midst of our gaming history together, there was a wedding and a couple of
babies and the general enjoyment of life together.
But the one thing I have never been able to provide for him is a sports game
partner. I’ve played Madden, and it’s not pretty. I make an ugly art of choosing
the Madden-recommended plays and then getting some serious smack talked about me
by Madden himself based on my poor, poor execution of the suggested play. I may
be a great sniper, but twitch gamer I am not. I play my sports the same way I
play my FPS when I get a machine gun in my hand and an enemy in front of my
face: panicky. Put me on a basketball court and my player runs in circles while
I mash the controller with the palm of my hand, hoping to chance upon some
combination of buttons that will win the game for me.
Pope Shabooda (this “husband” I speak of) joined TOG in the hopes that he’d find
some partners to game with, including the sports games at which we all wish I
didn’t suck so ridiculously. We have a subscription to Xbox Live so Shabooda can
play things like Madden, NBA 2K6, and Fight Night 3 with friends, but what he’s
ended up with so far is a pool of kids who quit when they start losing, or IM
him at work looking for someone to play a game with.
So I now place a standing offer to those of you out there who are looking for a
little competition in the world of Xbox sports. Send him a friend request and
he’ll play (PM me for the info). If we can scrounge up 8 players with
NBA 2K6,
a special TOG league can be made, complete with a draft
and trades and all the fun that such sports games can offer. Heck, if you just
want a warm body to mash the controller so you can pad your win column, either
myself or our two-year-old will happily play against you (good luck telling the
difference).
One more note before you get back to your plasma cannons and swords: Did you
realize that TOG has a sports forum? This is not actually news because it’s not
a “new” creation (my mad detective skillz tell me it was put up somewhere around
January of this year), but I’ve been there, and it’s a slow, lonely little
forum. Get yourselves over there, spice it up a bit, and let the games begin!
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