I sold my Playstation 2 on eBay about two years ago. At the time, I felt confident that I had outgrown video games. Video games have been a hobby since I was a kid, and I'm fairly certain I spent my entire sophomore year of high school playing "Tetris."
I never considered myself a hard-core gamer, but my list of consoles / computers included the Atari 2600, Intellivsion, Commodore 64, Nintendo, Sega Genesis, a dozen Macs, a Playstation and a Playstation 2.
But in the last few years, I haven't felt the need to buy or play "Madden Football" or the latest racing games. In fact, my last hurrah (I thought) was "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" in 2004. For about two months, I played that game nonstop. And when I finally beat it, I put away the PS2 -- where it gathered dust until I finally unloaded it.
That's why I was secretly hoping that Rockstar Games would continue to delay the release of "Grand Theft Auto IV." I knew I was addicted to that series since I played the first installment back in 1998.
What can I say? I guess I like shooting people in the face.
But seriously, the unstructured, open world style of the "Grand Theft Auto" series has always sucked me in. I'm not especially fond of the over-the-top violence, and while it doesn't offend me per se, I'm more intrigued about the meticulous attention to the smallest details in these fully developed, barely fictional cities.
As launch day grew closer, I had a fortuitous technology breakdown in my house. My DVD player completely crapped out, refusing to play any discs at all. Buying a low-def DVD player in 2008 would be a dumb waste of money, but Blu-ray DVD players start at $400 -- ironically the same price as the base-model Playstation 3.
Hmm.
I did the exhaustive research and found that the PS3 also works as a media hub, meaning you can stream content like music, photos and movies from your computer to your TV. Finally, it also comes with a decent Web browser built in -- and more amazingly, you can install Linux on this little PC, which means you can browse the Web on your TV using Firefox, and hypothetically, can even run Photoshop and Open Office. (I'm not sure why I would want to, but knowing the option is there is pretty cool.)
All rationalization aside, the PS3 is also one of two platforms for "GTA4" -- and after reading sparkling reviews of the new game, I decided to take the plunge. I could've saved $100 by buying the Xbox 360 -- but that doesn't have the Blu-Ray DVD player.
Two weeks into the game, I've confirmed both sides of my hunch. The game is awesome, and while I've just scratched the surface, when I'm playing, the house could be on fire and I wouldn't even notice.
On the other hand, I'm hardly playing non-stop, and I actually find myself just a bit bored by the notion of firing up "GTA." Unlike the last installments, I don't play every day after work or on weekends. I haven't stayed up 'til midnight even once trying to complete a mission. I don't find myself craving any other games right now, either.
So, yes, I have grown out of video games -- a little. But given the other features of this PS3, I don't have too much buyer's remorse. While I would've given anything for this console when I was a kid, I'm still happy to be back in the saddle. Lets just hope the cats don't knock off any candles while I'm exploring Liberty City.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
