The Video Game Critic

I'm 38 with five kids 10 and under. My two boys play a LOT, every waking moment if we allowed them, and occasionally I'll play with them, but often I prefer to use the time to get other stuff done so I can have some free time when they are all in bed.

My wife is very easy going not emotionally needy. As long as her and I have a date night once a week she doesn't really care what I do after the kids go to bed. Sometimes well both watch TV, especially when there aren't any games that I am really into at the moment.

I think that is my biggest issue right now, actually. I feel like I really want to play something, but I don't even want to get started with a game unless I feel like it's going to rock my world. I have very little patience right now because my gaming time is significantly smaller than any other time in my life, so I have a bad habit of giving a game very little chance to win me over before I turn it off forever. But when I DO find a game that sucks me in, I absolutely cling to it. I finally got a PS4 and a copy of Infamous:Second Son, and I am absolutely in love with it and look forward to playing it all day while I'm working. Even if I end up watching TV with my wife until she goes to bed, I stay up just a bit later to make sure I get a quick gaming fix on Second Son.

Thursday nights I play COD Ghosts online with a friend until the wee hours of the morning, and if nothing else, that always gives me the rush that I still need.

Paul Campbell wrote:I'm 38 with five kids 10 and under.

You, Sir, deserve a medal. I'm 34 and have 2, and have no idea how you are managing to keep up with that. Simply amazing.

I think a supportive wife is definitely a plus. Mine both plays some games (notably Animal Crossing) and enjoys watching me play some of them as well (right now, The Walking Dead). We also do date night once a week, which is almost always going to a movie, which means I still see most of those too.

For a "game that rocks your world," just last week I was still really out of games, as I said on here What has pulled me out of it is "Freedom Wars" on the Vita TV. Man, the oppressive, Orwellian set up, very Japanese graphics and sound, dark sense of humour, and Spiderman-like webslinging makes this one really hit the spot. Takes a bit of reading early on, some of the fighting feels generic, and it feels like there are a lot of controls introduced early, but it is worth it for the world and setup they have there. You start out with a million year prison term you have to work off "Suicide Squad" style by working for "the greater good" of society (which generally means fighting giant robots). Along the way, more years can get tacked on your sentence for breaking minor rules (I got 10 years for walking around my cell, and another 10 for "reclining without a permit" on the bed for example). It maintains it's world better than most any game I've played in years.

Friday and Saturday nights, after the peanut has gone to bed. I have two choices: get a full night's sleep and MAYBE get an hour of playtime in the morning, or get less sleep and play for four hours at night. I'm currently playing Fallout 4, so you can guess who option I chose. *yawn