Sometimes people take games a little too seriously.

The Good

Games Which Are Not About Killing

Flower’s wistful environmental message may be a little two-dimensional and, even with its relatively enjoyable gameplay, it was never really going to be the Game of the Year™. However, considering it’s part of a medium so focused on battle, bloodshed, and characters who are made up mostly of growth hormone, testosterone, and cleavage, it’s incredibly refreshing that a game about petals floating in the breeze can even be on many people’s consideration lists for the Most Important Titles of 2009™.

The Bad

Dead Televisions

The PlayStation 3 is on, the controller is in my hand, but instead of the usual rousing strings greeting me, there’s nothing but the sad clicks of a television trying desperately to hold onto what bit of life it’s still got left in it. It went pop last night as I was shifting from an imagined life of diving upon renaissance Italians, blade drawn, in Assassin’s Creed 2, to the less interactive, but equally as good Weeds that takes up the seemingly single non-Seinfeld block of Channel Go’s programming. Now all I can do is stare at the blackness, thinking dark thoughts and wishing for that virtual life that’s not mine. It’s like being a teenager all over again.

The Complete and Utter Misdirection of One’s Funds

Man Buys Virtual Space Station for US$330,000

I’ve spent money on some stupid things in my time. The set of Samba De Amigo maracas in my cupboard are testament to that. I guess I figured that if a set of Latin infused twins was good enough for a masculine guy like Ricky Martin, then a set was good enough for me. But my couple of hundred dollar investment into rattles tied to electric string pales in comparison to that of Buzz “Erik” Lightyear. Mr. Lightyear is now the proud owner of a 3,300,000 PED imaginary space station in the world of Planet Calypso (which translates to 330,000 real world US dollars – the most ever paid for a virtual property). Well good for ‘Buzz’. Isn’t he a lucky boy. But believe it or not, he got ripped off. My space station was free and I fly to it every Thursday on my Pegasus that’s made out of fairy floss. His name is Kevin. And the reason Buzz got ripped off and I didn’t is because … his space station is as real as mine. It’s pretend. And like most pretend things it should cost a whole lot closer to nothing. Maybe someone should inform Lightyear about all those real people out there, without real world houses, who he could have helped with his real time and money.