With the release of halo 3 just around the corner, and people on the internet now cowering away from fan-boys fighting an unnecessary war of words about what console whoops the other around the backside with a damp towel. Its because of those reasons that I have decided that I should write my first editorial about what it is like to be a fan boy and a brief journey of the inside of a fan boys mind. Also, hopefully, I will make you see them in a less harsh light than you probably already do. I myself am a fan-boy of a few things like Metal Gear Solid and Star Wars so I am going to describe what it was like for me when I first went to see Revenge of the Sith in the cinema and when I first played Metal Gear Solid 3. Both are very vivid memories so I promise you the following accounts are not exaggerated. These are honest feelings! When I first saw Revenge of the Sith I was on holiday in the south of England and was annoyed because I missed its premier. I still talked to my parents, as I did not want to make them feel guilty because I missed it. However, to my surprise, they took me to the local cinema to watch it the day after release. When going in I felt like I was five years old again, barely suppressing the urge to start making the infamous Darth Vader breathing noise or bursting out in chorus with a few bars of the theme tune and was fidgety until the movie started. Then when the 20th century fox symbol came up, I remember that I had a weird feeling in my guts, it was the strangest feeling I had ever had. It made my chest so tight that I clasped down on the arms of the seat, nearly tearing through the fabric. All the way through the movie, I thought I was in heaven, no jar-jar, amazing fight scenes and the fact that I finally got something that came close to the original trilogy just gave me such a feeling that if it were not for the fact that I was so engrossed in the movie, I would have fainted. I came out of the cinema jumping up and down bickering about how fantastic the movie was and all about my favourite scenes. I remember making my parents embarrassed. So much so that my dad said to a passer by that started giggling 'thank god its all over' before I retorted 'Its not over, there are two different television series to come.' Both of their faces were a picture! When I bought Metal Gear Solid 3, I was panicking. The game was not on the shelf in my local store and I was not amused as I had my eyes on it only the day before and I had earned the money that day by trading in a copy of the Xbox version of Cars. Therefore, in a last minute hope, before I could feel any more upset with myself for not buying it sooner or angry with the guy who I thought must have bought it, I asked if they had any in stock. I was so pleased to find that they had just removed it from the shelf because it was not selling! So I purchased it immediately, ousted my little brother off of the playstation and delicately, with a feeling that was a mix of relish and victory, I took the game out of the case and held it up to the light inspecting the disc for scratches. It was flawless. I remember thinking that angels must have forged the disc. I nearly changed that completely when I put the disc in the playstation though as my hand was shaking so much with anticipation that I nearly scratched it beyond repair without playing it at all. Moreover, when I started playing that game it was like hugging a sibling that I had not seen for years, a feeling of a burning love and relief for seeing it again. I picked up the slight control tweaks immediately and I learned all the differences from metal gear solid 2 in minutes. Many people complain about a bad camera and too intelligent AI in the game but I did not notice. I completed my first time through the game in a matter of hours, my feelings of determination to complete it and my love for the storyline compelling me to go on without stopping. When I completed it though I felt suddenly hollow. I realised I needed more metal gear solid so I started to play the series back to back! Now for the explanation of why fan-boys get so defensive over such remarkably small comments. Being a fan boy is a form of stress relief, just like smacking a pillow until your lounge is smothered in feathers or going to some form of yoga class. This stress relief, however, means you do not have to tire yourself only to find that you have only bottled it up for another dose of smacking the living snot out of more pillows. This stress relief is where you can come home from a stressful day at work or school and can watch or play that one thing that you think is extra special. The one thing that gives you an extremely warm feeling on the inside and as you play or watch it you can just feel all the stress literally melt away replacing it with incredibly strong emotions, whether it be happiness or a sudden feeling of sheer depression (But that might be because the game is so dreadfully bad). Its for that reason that makes them get angry when you say something about you not liking a particular game or movie, you are literally telling them that they are enjoying something, relieving their stress on something that you are telling them only an idiot would enjoy. That is when they go defensive and that is when fan-boyism starts to ruin the enjoyment of a good discussion about a particular game in places like the gamespot forums. It is not because they enjoy it but it is because they feel hurt and upset and they want to spread their views on why their opinion is right not wrong and that the console they own or the movie they like is not the wrong choice. Fan-boys should not be hated the way that they are, they should be pitied to a certain degree. I hope this view into the world of the fan-boy helps you understand them a little bit more, and I also hope that you don't pelt the queue for halo 3 with rotten tomatoes! And if I have not persuaded you to pity the fan-boy cause then I will gladly listen to anybody that thinks along contradictory lines! Just leave a comment!