Only one word can state how things have gone in the fortnight since the PlayStation Network was shutdown.

WOW!

However, it takes two words to describe the reactions from users over the issue.

HOLY CRAP!

I mean, come on. When the PSN first went down, I like everyone else was annoyed. I had just bought Portal 2 and was looking forward to doing a little co-op puzzle solving. But i thought "hey, screw it, I'll take it online tomorrow"

All together now, panto style

"OH NO YOU WON'T"

No, I wont. On the sofa co-op has been the way to go for my portal MP experience so far. I don't mind, it's great fun either way.

I've missed my online gaming, don't get me wrong. I was just starting to do pretty well in Killzone 3's multiplayer and was working on the MP trophies for Crysis 2. But the thing is, after i raged for a few minutes, mainly at my poor, but very understanding wife, I just kind of sat down and decided that now would be the time to crack on with my Single Player games that I haven't touched in a while! And it's been great. No morons cursing me out every time i frag them, no server DCs half way through a great online game. No rubbish P2P servers moving at the slightest online glitch. Instead, it's all game, all the time.

All I have read over the last couple of weeks, falls in somewhere around 65% rage about no online gaming, 30% screaming about the security or lack thereof and like 5% support for Sony.

I understand the anger about not being able to play online. I really do. But it's getting to the point where people like me, who have a life outside of our PS3s and Xboxes are looked at like lepers because of the way people are reacting to not being able to play modern warfare 2 online. At least here in the UK, the outage has covered two absolutely beautiful 4 day weekends. Even the most hardcore of gamers that I know and work with found the energy to go outside and enjoy a good pub meal, or play a game of footy, or even getting some food and beer in for a barbeque!

Next issue, the security.

Sure, Maybe the PSN servers (and the Sony Online Entertainment servers since) were not as secure as they could have been. But if people can hack into the Pentagon, how are the PSN and SOE servers safe? Is it cheap servers and cheap firewalls because Sony don't charge for their online and "you get what you pay for"? Or is it that someone actually has a vendetta against Sony for one reason or another. Whether we know the reasoning or not. Whether it's a group we have heard of or not. This attack seems, at least to me, either directed at Sony to try and make them suffer, or directed at us the consumer and they are going after our saved details. None of which, by all reports, have been used yet. Personally, it seems like it may be the former. If you went to steal our details, you would be using them for something wouldn't you.

That brings us to the third thing in my list, supporting Sony.

Surely even the most immature and idiotic of gamers can realise that the best thing to do in a situation like this would be to prevent all access to a compromised system. Surely, even after two weeks of Black Ops withdrawal, peole can see that the best thing all around is for Sony to get everything throughly tested before they hand access back to the users and more potential hackers.

I work in IT. I have had servers crash, I have had firewalls broken through, and these have been in small companies with only a few servers. The Sony server farm must be running into the triple figures. Just try and imagine the work involved in bringing those back up.

I am dying to get my PSN back. Just because I have XBL doesn't mean I don't miss my PSN. I am dying to try the PSN/Steam crossover on Portal's co-op. But there are plenty of other things to do until it does arrive!

And hey, we're all getting free stuff when it comes back. I say, take your time Sony, the safer the better. Especially when I put my credit card back onto my account!

It'll be back eventually. I don't think we are too far away from the first signs of life. And once that happens, we ca all crack on with our games. Until then, please, understand what Sony are doing for us and stop making all us gamers look like paranoid, no-life, basement dwellers!