I want to thank video games.

Sometimes, things get tough. When they do, we all need a way to cope.

Video games help me cope. They unwind me. They entertain me. They engage me. They surprise and delight and challenge and awe and intrigue me. They let me escape, if only for a few hours each week, so that afterwards I can return to reality refreshed and ready to take on hardship anew. Yes, video games do this for me.

If I were perfect, I would be able to weather anything with nothing but my own fortitude. But I am not perfect. I am not impervious to every last stress and challenge in life, and I can get worn down by it all. But, video games, useless, waste-of-time, always-at-the-centre-of-controversy video games, can give me that extra gallon when I am running on fumes.

So, thank you, video games.

So, I let my eleven-month-old son play with my DualShock 3 controller, thinking he could do no harm. So, he drops it a foot and a half from his play saucer. So, now the left button on the d-pad no longer works.

Lessons learned: Babies are not to be trusted with electronics. DualShock 3 controllers should not be dropped from ANY height.

Fortunately, the broken button didn't stop me from getting my first platinum trophy over the weekend for God of War. The only thing I couldn't do with the broken button was select Medusa's Gaze. (Luckily, I was past the part of the game where you needed MG to solve a puzzle.) I know that the God of War trophies are a cakewalk, but I'm still happy to have gotten my first platinum. I was getting discouraged after trying so hard with SFIV and WipEout HD.

So, how long can I hold out before I give up and buy a new controller? Let's see:

• Critter Crunch: d-pad needed to play! Crud!
• God of War II: Can't select Cronos' Rage. Is this spell essential to completing the game or Challenge of the Titans?
• LittleBigPlanet: SackBoy has lost an emotion. No problem. I only use 'happy' anyway.
• Shatter: d-pad not needed for gameplay. Not sure about menu navigation.
• Street Fighter IV: I have a fightstick for SFIV.
• Super Stardust HD: d-pad not needed for gameplay. Will probably play this through while I decide what to do.
• Virtua Fighter 5: I'm used to playing this with my d-pad. Maybe now's the time to learn to play VF5 on the fightstick.
• WipEout HD Fury: d-pad not needed for gameplay. Not sure about menu navigation.

I'm sure this is an old topic—as old as the advent of widespread online multiplayer—but it's something that I've only had to come to terms with since I started playing online on my PS3 this past year. When I was growing up, I would play games with my friends at our houses. Since our only opponents were each other, whoever was the best among the group would consider themselves 'the best' at that particular game and enjoyed all of the associated bragging rights.

Not so anymore.

Now, with online multiplayer, one's pool of opponents has grown from one's close-by friends to all connected players over the world, and it's much harder now to think of oneself as 'the best' at any game. This can be brutally hard on the gaming ego. To be the best, you now have to focus a huge amount of time and effort on even a single game, let alone your entire gaming library. (And us married-with-kids-and-a-full-time-job types don't have that time or, by the end of a long day, the energy.)

However, the upside to this is, with more and harder competition more readily available than ever, we have the opportunity to become much better at the games we choose to play. But where does this leave most of us who were once used to the days of being 'the best at X'? (For me, in high school, it was Dr. Mario—until some girl in university trounced me mercilessly and repeatedly. I haven't been 'the best' at any game since.) Most of my friends don't even play games anymore, so, with the experience I've gained from online competition, I am far superior to any of them at, say, Street Fighter IV or WipEout HD or Critter Crunch, to the point that there is no point in even playing against them. However, I am nowhere near world-class at any of these games and don't have the time or motivation to become so. So, like many others whom I imagine to be in the same boat, I am left in this limbo of being 'okay' at a game, sometimes slightly above average, sometimes—probably most of the time—below average. But pretty much always in that middle realm of mediocrity. That's the consequence of moving from the small pond to the online ocean.

But I'm okay with that. I still have fun. These days, I just set my sights a little lower than 'the best at X'. How about you?

Today, the Charter for Compassion was launched (http://www.charterforcompassion.org/). The charter is a one-page document calling for everyone to treat everyone else with compassion. That is: EVERYONE (even me; even you; not just people who are religious) to treat EVERYONE ELSE (even our enemies; even the anonymous opponents in our multiplayer games; even other gamespot/gamefaq posters whose opinions differ from our own; even celebrities) the way they themselves would like to be treated, with dignity and respect.

We all play games because we love them. We talk about games because we love them. We want to have as good a time as we can playing and talking about games. And we lose nothing from helping others have a good time too, whether we beat them or they beat us or they play a different way from what we're used to, whether they agree with us or disagree with us or write and spell in a different manner than we do.

Games can be competitive, but they needn't be divisive. Much love to you all.

• My next PS3 purchase: God of War Collection. I've got my pre-order in. Just waiting for it to arrive. The GoW games were great on the PS2. Can't wait to play them again in HD, and with trophies. Nice! Now, if only we could get HD PS3 ports of Okami and Shadow of the Colossus, I would be an even happier PS3-owner than I already am.

• My next PSN purchase: Super Stardust HD. I really like dual-stick controls: One stick moves. One stick fires. It's straightforward, and it makes for some fun gaming times. I had a blast with Smash TV back in the day. I remember it being one of the more replayable titles for my SNES.

• Awaiting the Blizzard: It feels like we've been waiting so long for Diablo III and StarCraft II to come out that I've just altogether lost interest. I'm not sure I even want to bother playing them when they come out. (We'll see if I'm eating my words when they finally do come out. It wouldn't be the first time.)

• Speaking of Diablo: I think I've grown tired of the action-RPG genre altogether. A couple of years ago, I would have been drooling over Torchlight: a $20 perfection of the click-click-click-4-phat-lewt formula. But now, I just haven't had the drive for an action-RPG since Titan Quest. I want to want Torchlight, but I don't. (Again, maybe I'll eat my words later.)

Speaking of devils (speak of the devil?): I asked for it. No, really, I did. The Divine Comedy is one of my favourite literary works, and I always thought it would be awesome to make a game of it. Now, EA is making a God-of-War-esque adventure of Dante's Inferno (cleverly leaving themselves the option of a trilogy with Purgatory and Paradise). And already there is no shortage of controversy.

Actually, the controversy so far has centred less around the game itself and more around EA's marketing. EA staged a fake religious protest of the game, which received backlash from real religious groups. EA presented a lust-themed contest—and game show booth babes were subjected to undue harassment—and this received more backlash. Apparently one of the game's trophies, called Bad Nanny, is also receiving backlash from nanny groups. Backlash aplenty and the game isn't even out yet. Is EA being reckless here? Or are they doing this precisely to evoke these angry reactions from people? (Anger is one of the deadly sins, after all.) A game about hell is bound to be controversial to begin with, so why not just go with it, eh?

I like EA's greed- and anger-based promos. For greed, game reviewers were openly sent $200 cheques in exchange for good game reviews. For anger, reviewers were sent wooden boxes that, once opened, would perpetually Rickroll unless they were smashed to pieces with a hammer (included in the box). (I just hope that EA got Mr. Astley's permission to use the song or there may be even more controversy... Waitaminute. Does that mean Rick Astley gets royalties for these Rickrolls?! Awesome!)

Is this all ridiculous and irresponsible? Marketing gone out-of-hand? Or is it brilliance and bringing the themes explored in the poem and game into real-life to urge us to reflect upon sin? Either way, I asked for this game, so, for better or worse, I'll have to get it and play it. I might have to learn my lesson about being careful what I wish for…

I took the list of Every Game I've Ever Played and I ran it through Wordle. This is what came out the other end. An egg-shaped semi-graphic representation of my gaming history:

Click here to see the original, larger image.

For the first time, I got all the trophies on one of my games: Critter Crunch!Capybara Games did an awesome job implementing the trophy system on this fantastic, and freakin' hyper-inexpensive, game. It wasn't a cakewalkgetting all the trophies, but it wasn't unreasonably long or hard, either. I think they found that sweet spot.

I've been struggling to get the trophies for SFIV. It hasn't alwaysbeen easy (e.g. normal trials). It hasn't always been fun (e.g. gold medals on survival). And over 100 hours of gameplay later, I still have a few trophies left andI don't think I'll ever be able to get them(e.g. all the ones that depend on completing the hard trials). And if I do, I don't think I'll enjoy the process, and I doubt that I will feel that it had been worth it.

I'm not even bothering with WipEout HD. I love the game, but I don't have the time and energy to invest to get good enough to get those trophies.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to know how many video games I've played in my life, from Atari 400 to PS3. So, I started going through Wikipedia lists and jotting down titles. Turns out that I've got 726 games on my list. And I'm not even really a hardcore gamer--just your garden variety avid gamer.

*Now, this list is far from 100% accurate:

• Naturally, I've forgotten some of the games I've played.
• Some are most likely not listed in Wikipedia (or I scrolled past some titles too quickly).
• In some cases, I'm not sure if I only played the original or the sequels as well. When I wasn't 100% certain, I didn't include sequels.
• I only listed games that I've played for some amount of time with some effort to actually play all the way through (e.g. I didn't list Guitar Hero III because I've only ever played a single song)
• I didn't count games where I've only played the demo (which eliminated many PSN and Steam demos)
• I forgot a lot of sports games I've played, especially ones with yearly releases.
• I avoided duplicating the same game across multiple systems, unless versions were significantly different (e.g. Super Doge Ball NES and Super Dodge Ball Neo Geo are different. Mortal Kombat II SNES and Mortal Kombat II Arcade are identical enough).
• I did not count expansion packs as separate games. I considered them to be a part of the original game (e.g. I count WipEout HD and the Fury expansion pack as a single game)
• Basically, whenever there was any doubt, I erred on the side of NOT including a title.

In future posts, I will use titles from this list for top ten lists and such, but for now, I just wanted to present all 725 titles en masse, simply for the effect. Here are the 725 games I've played:

10-Yard Fight, 1942, 720 (ARC), 720 (NES), 8 Eyes, A.P.B., Abuse, ActRaiser, Addams Family, Adventure, Adventure Island, Adventures of Bayou Billy, Adventures of Dino Riki, Adventures of Rad Gravity, Age of Mythology, Air Fortress, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, Alien Carnage, Alien Syndrome, Alley Cat, Altered Beast (ARC), Altered Beast (SMS), Amagon, American McGee's Alice, Arch Rivals, Archon, Area 51, Arkanoid (NES), Art of Fighting, Asteroids, Astyanax, ATV Offroad Fury, Austin Powers Trivia, B.C. Quest for Tires, Baby Pac-Man, Bad Dudes (ARC), Bad Dudes (NES), Bad Street Brawler, Balloon Fight, Banjo-Kazooie, Bard's Tale, Baseball, Bases Loaded, Batman (NES), Battle Arena Toshinden, Battle Chess, Battletoads, Beats, Bejeweled, Berzerk, Bigfoot, Bill and Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure, Bionic Commando, Bioshock, Blades of Steel, Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, Blaster Master, Blood: Plasma Pack, Bloody Roar, Blues Brothers, Bomberman, Bonk, Bonk's Adventure, Bookworm, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, Boxing, Boy and his Blob, Breakout, Bruce Lee, Brutal: Paws of Fury, Bubble Bobble (ARC), Bubble Bobble (NES), Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, Bucky O'Hare, Bump'n'Jump, BurgerTime, Bust-a-Move, Buster Bros., Cadash, Caesar III, California Games, Capoeira Fighter, Capoeira Fighter 2, Capoeira Fighter 3, Captain America and the Avengers (ARC), Captain America and the Avengers (SNES), Captain Commando, Captain Planet, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Castlevania: The Adventure, Centipede, Chessmaster 5000, Chip'n'Dale Rescue Rangers, Choplifter, Chuck Yeager's Flight Simulator, Circus Charlie, City Connection, Civilization, Civilization II, Clay Fighter, Clayfighter 63 1/3, Cobra Triangle, Columns, Comanche, Combat, Combatribes, Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Commando, Conan: Hall of Volta, Congo Bongo, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Contra, Contra III: The Alien Wars, Cool Spot, Crazy Taxi, Critter Crunch, Cruis'n'USA, Crytalis, Dance Dance Revolution, Dark Stalkers, Darkstalkers Chronicles: The Chaos Tower, Dead or Alive (PS1), Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, Deadly Towers, Decathlon, Defender, Defender of the Crown, Demon Sword, Descent, Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, Diablo: Hellfire, Die Hard Arcade, Dig Dug, Disney's Aladdin, Dogfight!, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Donkey Kong Jr., Doom, Doom 3, Doom II, Double Dragon (ARC), Double Dragon (NES), Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Double Dribble, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Mario, Dr. Mario 64, Dragon Spirit, Dragon Warrior, Dragon Warrior II, Dragon's Lair, Duck Hunt, DuckTales, Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem 3D, Dung Beetles, Dynasty Warriors, E.T., E.V.O.: Search for Eden, Echochrome, Ehrgeiz, Elder Scrolls IV: Game of the Year Edition, Elevator Action, Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, Epic Pinball, Excitebike, Fable, Face Off!, Fade to Black, Fantasy Zone, Fantasy Zone II, Fantavision, Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Faxanadu, Fester's Quest, Fight Night, Fighter's Destiny, Fighter's Destiny 2, Final Doom, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, Final Fight, Fist of the North Star, Flashback: The Quest for Identity, Flight Simulator, Flow, Fool's Errand, Freedom Force, Friday the 13th, Frogger, Frostbite, FX Fighter, F-Zero, G.I. Joe, Galaga, Galaxian, Gauntlet, Gauntlet II, Ghostbusters, Ghosts'n'Goblins, God of War, God of War II, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Godzilla, Golden Axe, GoldenEye 007, Golgo 13, Goonies II, Gorf, Gradius, Gradius III, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Guardian Legend, Guilty Gear Judgement, Hangman, Hang-On, Hard Hat Mack, Hardball, Hat Trick, Headrush, Heist, Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, HeXen, Hexen II: Portal of Praevus, Hexen: Death kings of the Dark Citadel, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hogan's Alley, Hook, House of the Dead, House of the Dead (PC), House of the Dead 2 (PC), House of the Dead II, Hoyle Board Games, Hoyle Card Games, Hoyle Word Games, I Wanna Be the Guy, Ice Climber, Ice Hockey (2600), Ice Hockey (NES), Ikari Warriors, Impossible Mission, Inca, Incredible Machine, India Jones and the Last Crusade, IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II, Jaws, Jazz Jackrabbit, Jeopardy, Jet Force Gemini, Jill of the Jungle, Joe & Mac, Jones in the Fast Lane, Joust, Jumpman, Jurassic Park (ARC), Jurassic Park (SNES), Kaboom!, Kangaroo, Karate Champ, Karateka, Karnov, Karnov, Ken' Labyrinth, Kid Icarus, Kid Niki: Radical Ninja, Killer Instinct (ARC), Killer Instinct (SNES), King of Fighters 2000, King of Fighters 2001, King of Fighters 2002, King of Fighters 2003, King of Fighters 94, King of Fighters 95, King of Fighters 96, King of Fighters 97, King of Fighters 98, King of Fighters 99, King of the Monsters, King's Quest, Kingdom of Paradise, Kirby 64, Kirby Super Star, Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's Dream Land 3, Klax, Knights of the Round, Knockout Kings 2000, K-razy Shootout, Krusty's Funhouse, Kung Fu, Kung Fu Heroes, Last Blade, Last Blade II, Last Bronx, Legacy of the Ancients, Legacy of the Wizard, Legend of Kage, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mark, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Legendary Wings, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Leisure Suit Larry, Lemmings (DOS), Lemonade Stand, Life & Death II: The Brain, Little Nemo: Dream Master, LittleBigPlanet, Llamatron, Lock'n'Chase, Locoroco, Lode Runner, Lord of the Rings (DOS), Lost Vikings, Lumines II, Lunar Pool, Mach Rider, Mad Dog McCree, Magic of Scheherezade, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers, Major League Baseball, Maniac Mansion, Mappy, Marathon 2: Durandal, Marble Madness, Mario Bros., Mario Kart 64, Mario Paint, Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Tennis, Marvel Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Marvel vs. Street Fighter, Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu, Master of Orion, Maximum Force, MDK, Mean Streets, Mechwarrior 4, Mega Man, Mega Man 2, Mega Man 3, Mega Man 4, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Mega Man: The Power Battle, Megaman X, Mercs, Metal Gear, Metal Slug, Metroid, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (ARC), Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (GEN), Mickey Mousecapade, Micro Machines, Microsoft Space Simulator, Mike Tyson's Punch Out!, Millipede, Milon' Secret Castle, Miner 2049er, Minesweeper, Minotaur, Miracle Warriors, Missile Command, Monopoly, Montezuma's Revenge, Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time, Mortal Kombat (ARC), Mortal Kombat (GEN), Mortal Kombat (SNES), Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mousetrap, Mr. Do!, Ms. Pac-Man, Myst, N, NARC (ARC), NARC (NES), NBA Jam (ARC), Neverhood, NHL 95, Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden II, Ninja Gaiden III, Ninja Kid, Nobunaga's Ambition, Okami, One Must Fall 2097, One on one: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird, Operation Wolf, Oregon Trail, Othello, Out of This World, Out Run, P.O.W.: Prisoners of War, Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Paperboy, Parachute, PaRappa the Rapper (PS1), Patapon, Peggle, Pengo, Perfect Dark, Phantasy Star, Pharaoh: Queen of the Nile: Cleopatra, Pilotwings, Pinball, Pinball Construction Set, Pipe Dream, Pit Fighter (ARC), Pit Fighter (SNES), Pitfall, Plaque Attack, PlayChoice-10, Point Blank, Pokémon Blue, Polaris, Pole Position, Police Quest: SWAT, Pong, Popeye, Populous, Portal, Power Blade, Pressure Cooker, Primal Rage (ARC), Primal Rage (SNES), Prince of Persia (DOS), Prince of Persia (PS3), Pro Wrestling, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Q-Bert, Qix, Quake II, Quake: Mission Pack 1 & 2, QuakeLive, Quartet, Rad Racer, Rainbow Islands, Rambo, Rampage (ARC), Rampage (NES), Rampart (NES), Ranma ½: Hard Battle, Raptor: Call of the Shadows, RBI Baseball, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2, Redneck Rampage, Renegade, Resident Evil 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Ring King, Rise 2: Resurrection, Rise of the Robots, Rise of the Triad, Risk, Rival Turf!, River City Ransom, River Raid, Robowarrior, Rocketeer, Rolling Thunder (ARC), Rolling Thunder (NES), Rolling Thunder 2, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Rush'n'Attack, Rygar (ARC), Rygar (NES), Sam & Max Hit the Road, Samurai Shodown, Samurai Shodown II, Samurai Shodown III, Samurai Shodown IV, Samurai Shodown V, Sanitarium, Sargon, Scorched Earth, Seicross, Shadow of the Colossus, Shadow Warrior, Shadowgate, Shanghai, Shatter, Shinobi, Silent Scope, Silver Surfer, SimCity, SimCity 2000, SimEarth, Simpsons, Simpsons: Bart vs. The Space Mutants, Sims, Skate or Die 2, Skate or Die!, Skeet Shoot, Ski or Die, Skiing, Smash TV, Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle, SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, Snoopy and the Red Baron, Snow Bros., Solitaire, Solstice, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, SonSon, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Soul Blade (PS1), Soul Edge, Soulcalbur II, Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur III (ARC), Soulcalibur III (PS2), Soulcalibur IV, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, Space Ace, Space Harrier, Space Invaders, Space Invaders Extreme, Space Quest IV, Spear of Destiny: Mission 2 & 3, Spelunker, Spider Man, Spider Solitaire, Spiderman X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, Spider-Man: The Video Game, Splatterhouse, Spy Hunter (ARC), Spy vs. Spy, Spy vs. Spy II: The Island Caper, Star Fox, Star Wars Dark Forces, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Star Wars Yoda Stories, StarCraft: Brood War, Starship Titanic, StarTropics, Stellar 7, Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter II (ARC), Street Fighter II (SNES), Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition, Street Fighter III, Street Fighter III: Second Impact, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Street Fighter IV, Streets of Rage, Strider (ARC), Strider (NES), Strife, Strip Poker, Stunts, Summer Games, Super Adventure Island, Super Bomberman, Super Buster Bros., Super C, Super Castlevania IV, Super Dodge Ball (Neo Geo), Super Dodge Ball (NES), Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, Super Ghouls n Ghosts, Super Glove Ball, Super Godzilla, Super Mario 64, Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario Land, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Super Off Road, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Super R-Type, Super Spike V'Ball, Super Star Wars, Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Tennis, Superman (2600), Superman (ARC), Swashbuckler, Syndicate, Taboo: The Sixth Sense, Tag Team Wrestling, Tank Wars!, Tapper, Tecmo Bowl, Tecmo Super Bowl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ARC), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (ARC), Tekken, Tekken 2, Tekken 3, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Tennis, Terminator: Rampage, Tetris & Dr. Mario, Tetris (GB), Tetris (NES), Tetris (TENGEN), Tetrisphere, Three Stooges, Time Crisis, Time Crisis 2, Time Killers, Time Lord, Tiny Toon Adventures, Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, Toki, Tomb Raider, Toobin', Top Gear, Top Gun, Total Carnage, Town & Country Surf Designs, Toys: Let the Toy Wars Begin, Track & Field (NES), Track & Field (old), Trivial Pursuit, Trog, Trojan (ARC), Trojan (NES), Ultima III:Exodus, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, Ultimate Doom, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Unreal, Urban Champion, Video Pinball, Vigilante, Vindicators, Virtua Cop, Virtua Cop 2, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter 3, Virtua Fighter 5, Virtua Fighter IV: Evolution, Virtual On, Virtual Pool, Volleyball, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, WarGods, Whac-a-Mole, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Where's Waldo?, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Wild Gunman, Willow (ARC), Willow (NES), Winter Games, Wipeout (PS1), Wipeout 64, Wipeout HD Fury, Wipeout Pulse, Wipeout Pure, Wizardry, Wizards & Warriors, Wolfenstein 3D, Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, World Class Track Meet, World Games, WWF Royal Rumble, WWF Wrestlemania (ARC), WWF Wrestlemania (NES), X-Men (ARC), X-Men (GEN), X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, X-Men: Children of the Atom, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, You Don't Know Jack, You Don't Know Jack 2, You Don't Know Jack 3, You Don't Know Jack 4: The Ride, You Don't Know Jack 5th Dementia, Ys: The Vanished Omens, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Zeus: Master of Olympus; Poseidon: Master of Atlantis, Zork

Just got 'World's Greatest Dad!' on Critter Crunch. Awesome!

So, I was pretty much going to get Critter Crunch all along. I'm ready for a new puzzle game. It looks cute. It has received good reviews. It's made by a Canadian company (woot!). I tried the demo and liked it. I even beat a couple of people online. So, yeah, I was going to get the game anyway. But, if there had been any doubt left in my mind, a single, ridiculously silly detail closed the deal. Among Critter Crunch's trophies is a silver trophy called: World's Greatest Dad. When I saw that, I was sold.

Now, I know that unlocking that trophy has absolutely no bearing on what kind of real-life father I am to my son, and I make no claims to be the World's Greatest Dad (I'm happy enough to be an occasionally competent dad), but I think I was pleased by this connector, tiny as it is, between my identity as a gamer and my identity as a father.

Now that my little guy is almost 10 months old, and I have confirmed that I do not have to abandon gaming just because I'm suddenly responsible for the health and upbringing of an entire other human being, I have been thinking about how to bring him up in a gaming household. What kind of structure will/should I provide for him? (I am assuming, of course, that he will be a gamer too. There is a chance that he has inherited the genes from his mom that leave her wholly unimpressed by video games… she doesn't even play casual games! [I'm not complaining though—I have her full blessing to indulge my own gaming habit.])

I wonder: when (if?) he starts gaming, should I limit how much he plays? Or when he plays? Should I hide the T for Teen and M for Mature games? Should I set the parental control lock on my PS3? Or will these measures simply pique his interest and encourage him to find sneaky workarounds, like playing at friends' houses or cracking the parental control? Should I just leave the M for Mature games lying around, but make it clear that they aren't for him to play? Should I only play these games after he's in bed? Should I go a step further and not bring these games into the house to begin with? (Can I survive the next 10 years playing only E for Everyone games? Sounds like a mild form of hell.) Or should I be entirely laissez-faire and just trust him, in his defenseless and premature state, to do/know what's right for himself, knowing that games like GTAIV and Manhunt are just lying in wait to fall into his impressionable hands to be completely misunderstood by him?

I'm torn.

I mean, my parents were pretty liberal with me (I was the youngest of three after all) and I turned out just fine… arguably. I was watching movies like Conan the Barbarian and Porky's when I was seven. I was playing Mortal Kombat and Doom every chance I had when I was 15. I've pretty much played what I wanted, when I wanted, and I do not believe myself to be either a) sociopathic or b) addicted to video games in any socially-debilitating sense. Nor do I think that all that movie watching and video game playing damaged any of my imaginative capacity growing up. (I did, however, suffer from nightmares steadily for several years when I was young, but I think that had more to do with an unfortunate incident involving a Kermit the Frog puppet than any movies I watched or video games I played.)

On the other hand, I feel it's my responsibility as a father to control, to whatever degree I can, what my child experiences. I mean, I just can't imagine letting little dude, when he's four years old, play God of War or Bioshock and just be all meh about it.

Where is the line? Where lies the balance? I guess this is just something that I will have to play by ear as I go along. If dude seems fine making wise decisions on his own, I should just leave him to it. If it's clear that he needs boundaries and guidance, I will have to be there to give him those things. (And if I screw it up… I can just have another kid and try again! [Ha ha?])

Seriously, though. Part of me is concerned about these things… but another part of me is excited. Excited to have a live-in gaming buddy. To play Critter Crunch with. And LittleBigPlanet. Heck, even Street Fighter. And WipEout. And…