Lately I have been struggling with AT&T and their stupid interent connection problems. It has now been two almost three weeks of me constantly calling them only to find out my account request has been cancelled (for odd system glitches that constantly are occurring) which has resulted in me setting up a new account only to have the same problems within the system occur. All this time I have been so pissed with AT&T (coupled with imenit First Degree Black Belt Testing) that it is actually stressing me out through out the day; so what does a guy such as myself do during times of stress? I game of course! So I sit down in front of both my PS3 and the New 360, only to realize one thing: I'm not interested. What? How can this be? I'm stressed, I'm tired and all I want to do is relax, so why don't I do what I have been doing since I was 2 years old, pop in a game and lose myself for a couple hours and refresh my patience? As I sit and ponder I realize the exact reason...I can't connect to the internet therefore I don't want to play anymore.

This for me is a new problem that I am not too sure happens to other people. Here I am, sitting with thousands of dollars of equipment, and because I can't connect to the internet I don't want to play. Of course this would make sense with some games, I mean I finished the short MW2 Campaign Mode on Veteran with ease, but it was the online play that really drew me. Logically speaking I wouldn't play that anymore if I can't get online then right? Well what about Assassin's Creed 2? Having just purchased it, I still have much of the story to uncover, but not being able to broadcast my progress (to no one in particular I might add) has put a damper on my playing spirits. It is here that I began to panic as I questioned my gamer status. Am I truly a gamer if I can only game with the knowledge of being online sitting in the back of my mind? Why is it that both my PS3 and Xbox just don't seem to have that shine anymore just because of a loss of internet? As I sat and I pondered what to do including possibly just selling every piece of gaming equipment I own back to Gamestop, something AMAZING happened...my girlfriend of 8 years, a woman who doesn't despise my avid gaming but doesn't particularly enjoy it asks four simple questions I will put for all of you in our simple dialog as follows:

1. Girlfriend: "Aren't you going to play?"

Me (in a pouty whimper as if I'm two): "No."

2. Girlfriend: "Why not?"

Me (still pouting): "Because I can't go online without the stupid internet."

3. Girlfriend: "Is it broken then?"

Me (getting annoyed she doesn't understand my plight): "No it still works, I can play just not online."

4. Girlfriend: "Soooo....what's the problem? "If you like the game, then play it. Why do you need to be online?"

And then it was like a cloud opened up from heaven and the Gaming Gods spoke to me through one that does not believe. If I like the game, i.e. the game is good, then you must play. With that I popped in Assasin's Creed 2 and began to play, and it was exactly the same if not better than being online. And I realized: my internet capabilities should never interfere with my gaming capabilities. If I have hands with thumbs, a tv and a system then I should play. My first system was the NES back when I was around three years old, and though I may have not really understood what to do with Mario, I enjoyed jumping on turtles with him none the less. From then on I would grow to love gaming for what it is...problem solving, exploring, learning, interacting and the building of imagination. I have been so wrapped up in the hype and thrill of online play that I have forgotten, essentially like most game developers that produce poor games for high prices, what gaming is all about. A good game doesn't need online capabilities, the capabilities simply supplement the game by adding on more content and the ability to play with people all over the world, not the other way around. My first online game was Halo 2, and I enjoyed the game for itself and the online play simply added to it. I played the campaign mode just as much as I played the online mode, if not more because I enjoyed the game itself so much.

As fans, I think we all get so wrapped up in online play we forget what gaming is about...its about the game. Then developers get wrapped up in screwing up the story and game itself (like their names are George Lucas) and creating pieces of crap with online capabilities. Of course we still buy it, because we want to play it and then the next time around the story and the game itself is even worse, but with added online play. I love Super Mario Galaxy, I love Metal Gear Solid 4, and I love GTA 4, but these games shouldn't be so few and far between. They should be the rule, not the exception. We like these games because of the story and the gameplay, not particulary because of the online play. So why with all of the technological advancements do we not have more games like these; games where online play is just a bonus to the greatness $59.99 should buy you? Metal Gear Solid 4 was a perfect 10 before online play, but finding out that it has online play that is actually good! Well now they have really sold me.

So wrapping up here's my point: Remember to game for the game first, and then enjoy the multiplayer mode second. Games used to be full of imagination and innovative abilities and most importantly...FUN! Think we should make developers go back to their roots and find that realm of fun that all of us gamers are looking for, otherwise gaming is doomed to never reach the potential that it could have been and we gamers are doomed to the mediocre.