Every time I get a break from school, I start (and finish) a video game. Maybe three. I have about a dozen, that I play over and over again. This strange habit never fails to surprise my friends…I’m often a bit surprised by it myself. Buried under the piles of schools books, thesis research, pastel pencils, and a floral comforter are three under-bed storage bins. One of them holds a Playstation, a PS2, and a dozen or so games. A secret stash of mindless entertainment.

My brother plays Worlds of Warcraft. It is an addiction. He puts far more time into that game than into his life. Which is…terrifying. Yet not unique. As the gaming-monster in me rears its head every break, I wonder what separates my brother from me. Why I can stop and he cannot. Why my priorities are in real-world time and his are in online time. What is the appeal of game space? Why is it so powerful? The Media Studies major in me asks these questions and hopes to find the answers.

Some preliminary thoughts: WoW never ends. You can’t beat it, you can’t win, you are never done. Time and energy in WoW translate into leveling up, but never to finishing. My brother revels in an endless cycle of raids, victories, and trades. He won’t come down for dinner if he’s in a major campaign. I, on the other hand, I prefer RPGs for children. I’m talking Tomba–little barbaric man with pink hair fights evil pigs. Or Spyro the Dragon–little dragon saves bigger dragons, dragon eggs, dragon treasure from evil monsters. Anything that’s fairly straight-forward, has lots of side plots/missions, and can be beaten perfectly. Perfectly is the key. I will comb the grounds and pick up every last coin, power fruit, and health wedge. It’s a tangible, knowable perfection that alludes me in real life. But in the finite world of the video game, perfection can be mine. My OCD rests satisfied in this meticulous obsession over useless details.

The difference between WoW and my games: Weight Watchers versus the Hollywood Magic Detox in bottle…My brother is in it for the long-run, I’m figuratively binging and purging.

In the sleep/east/rebuild week after graduation, I reacquainted myself with some old favorites. I share:

Space Channel Five (PS2): Ulala is a swingin’ report show host who sings and dances to fight evil aliens. Requires a good sense of rhythm and a working knowledge of the directions up, down, right, left, chu, and hey. Fierce– you better work! Check out the first level in the second game:

Tomba! and Tomba!2 (PS): Fun little soft RPG with lots of useless extras. Easy gameplay, so it’s fun to figure out the game, then beat it as fast as possible. I’m down to under 6 hours with a perfect score on the first game.

Spyro the Dragon (PS + PS2): Tiny dragon Spyro explores worlds, flames baddies, frees dragons, and learns to fly. The game rewards you for collecting every last gem with bonus levels.

Cake Mania (PC)*: DO NOT play this. It is crack. Actually one of the most addictive things I’ve ever encountered in my life. At least I warned you…

Chocolatier: (PC) Build a chocolate empire by recovering lost family recipes, manufacturing and selling fine chocolates, and building your reputation and capital. Good stuff, no pressure. Leisurely game play.

*Both PC games can be found in their full version forms at www.mostfun.com. You just have to watch a 30-second add every 15 minutes or so. Or unplug your internet and then watch a blank poster for 30 seconds. Your call.

My mom asked to me find a Wii for my littlest brother’s birthday. “I don’t have time to call Target every morning,” she said. “I will get one,” I said. No problem, glad to help, and how hard could it possibly be?….but as I did a bit of research, I was drawn into the fray of this illusive console. Even though it’s been out for a while, the platform is still constantly sold out and never on the shelves. Long after the Christmas release, the $250 console still sells for double that on eBay. Dug a little deeper and found this gem of a site:

www.wiialerts.com

…on which you can customize alerts for the type of Wii products you are looking for, and it will alert you by phone/email the millisecond it becomes available. I already found a Wii for my brother, but now I want one. It’s like hunting. Sitting in earshot, waiting for the alarm to sound so I can log onto to Amazon and buy it as quick as I can. The average length of time it takes for the Wii to sell out on Amazon is 3 minutes. Three. If that’s not a good competition, I don’t know what is.

So I wait. Wait for the perfect win.