Everyday Gamer

The Road to Recovery

Since I'm playing a game which I've enjoyed in the past, the experience feels all too familiar. Every car I add to my collection is a memento of whole afternoons lost to the winding roads of Paradise City, a reminder that, not too long ago, I was able to lay back and let a game take over for hours at a time. Maybe I haven't changed as much as I thought. I'm still young. I'm still the hardcore gamer I was four years ago. And ... I'm really starting to get my ass kicked.

Eight hours after I started, a race, a marauding car and an overwhelming sense of lethargy all lead to me shutting off the console by sundown. I quit with only eight wins between me and an upgraded license. Paradise City has beaten me, and I instantly recall what makes the binge so hard these days: the sting of defeat. Nightfall comes, and my dreams are haunted by cars and Jedi.

On the final day, I sit down with a familiar face from the realm of first-person shooting: Halo 3. I elect to spend the day working my way through the game's campaign on Normal difficulty. Before I begin, a friend suggests that he aid me in crossing the finish line. I jump at the idea, as this binge has been very isolating so far.

We set out with one goal in mind: to beat the game before day's end. Accordingly, we start off playing fast and hard. We dive into hordes of Grunts and splinter roaming pairs of Jackals with deftly thrown grenades. My flawless head-shot, more effectively honed with each new installment of the trilogy, returns with very little coercion. Like Death personified, we dispatch these faceless creatures without mercy and press onward to the next goal without pause. But despite the severity of our purpose, we're both having a blast.

Throughout the nine or so hours of gameplay Halo 3 has to offer, we bear no aggressive demeanors, no ill will or even frustration. We complete level after level, laughing at ludicrous situations and celebrating our successes. By the time we finish, the day is gone and we both feel content. We have slain that horrid beast known as "time" and avoided its worst attack: boredom. Our binge is exactly as I remember it from my youth. It's the first time I've truly gamed in years.

Two weeks have passed since the conclusion of my experiment, and I now find myself in the Halo 3 matchmaking lobby each and every night, trying to reestablish myself as the great warrior I once was. It's a slow process, but I'm enjoying the trip. Now, as in my youth, I can sit back for a brief moment at the end of the day and lose myself in a world which promises fun - as long as you know how to find it.