Kingdom Hearts 2, 24: The Game, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, Rumble Roses XX. Four games I am in the middle of at the same time. Games you, my loyal riders (and my editor), are awaiting my cogent analysis thereof. Pages and pages of lengthy diatribes about a game’s deeper meanings, minute-by-minute analyses of a game’s content, bitingly sarcastic reviews and a surfeit of meaningless non-sequiturs.

But not today.

My neighbor’s alarm went off at 8am this past Saturday, and I groggily ended the short rest I had experienced after a late night nip/tucking my Elder Scrolls character. In the hallway light was streaming through parted curtains, filtered by the deck’s railings and my dining room chairs. I kicked a few loose controllers and notepads aside and made a space for myself and my morning bowl of Grape Nuts. Power buttons called my name and that old familiar itch took hold: it was time to get back to work. But first I just had to have a peek outside, just a quick look before I head back into Chorrol or Hollow Bastion.

Not wanting to get into that particular type of trouble again, I tied my robe tightly and stepped out on to my porch. It was the kind of day that just doesn’t come around everyday. The sun was bright but not blaring, warm, not hot. The sky was marked with long white strips of clouds that made it look as if it was a massive blue-white slab of marble suspended in the air. A warm breeze rustled newly reborn leaves, and the faint sounds of an ice cream truck rang in the distance. After a few moments, I turned back to go inside. I showered, shaved and readied myself for my day. But it wasn’t really my day, I had work to do, deadlines to meet. The forces of responsibility were pulling me towards the seemingly important matters that needed my attention.

As I prepared to pull the glare-obscuring curtains closed, I realized that barring the unforeseen, I was going to live a long time, and that there was a reason there are such things a memory cards and internal hard drives. Days like this don’t come around very often, and I was going to enjoy it. I powered down my systems, stuck my pen in my notebook and spent the day in the daylight.

You no doubt read last week that video games are my life, and they still are. I grew up with them, and they’ve been putting ideas in my head and food on my table for years (I didn’t even mention my summers as an arcade attendant). But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what a Frisbee is or that I don’t know the rules of pickup basketball.

Now I know what your thinking, I’m just trying to bust the gamers-don’t-leave-their-basements stereotype, or that I’m just trying to embarrass you into turning your own systems off once and a while and interaction with the real world. The truth is that I know gamers who don’t leave their basements (nice people, really), and I don’t give a crap if you’ve mastered DOA4 but don’t know how to play croquet. I just wanted you to know that just too nice of a day yesterday to spend it all inside.

THE RIDE BOARD:

Your Mail: My SquirrelMail account is down right now, please feel free to leave me a message in the comment section below, thanks.

In the PS2:   Dragon Quest 8 was a long game, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It even inspired my Silent Protagonist piece last month. If you’re looking for a change of pace from sweeping epics retelling nearly unintelligible Japanese fairy tales, then this one’s for you. It’s playable and the cell-shading fits the tone. The best part however is the voice over. Each major character (except the lead, obviously) is given different kind of British accent: Northern, Welch, Cockney, it’s an absolute riot and (for an American audience at least) gives the game the kind of depth and personality that the original Japanese silent version lacked. Now there is word of a spin-off starring the Ax-wielding tough guy Yangus in some kind of chibi form. I don’t have a lot of details right now, since I’m not in the habit of downloading this from foreign language websites, so play the original now.

Did You Know:  Cirrus Uncinus is a type of cirrus cloud. Its name is derived from Latin, meaning curly hooks. Also known as mares’ tails, these clouds are generally sparse in the sky, and very thin. The clouds occur at very high altitudes, at a temperature of about minus 40-50 degrees Celsius. They are generally seen when a warm or occluded front is approaching. They are very high in the troposphere, and generally mean that precipitation, usually rain, is approaching. (thanks, wikipedia)

This is my stop.

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Back of the Bus is © 2006 by Seth “4:10” Robison, used with exclusive permission by gamertransit.com.  Reproduction without permission is prohibited.