The Family that Plays Together
A funny scene played out recently at my house. Sue and I had our two grandchildren at the house, babysitting until our daughter got home from work. Cody and I were playing a game on my new Playstation3, Sierra was playing a learning game on her Leapster and Sue was playing “Brain Age” on her new Nintendo DS. As I’ve said before, I’ve always loved playing video games. Sue hasn’t been the devotee that I’ve been but still enjoyed playing the occasional game on our old Atari or Intellivision. And she’s generally been supportive of my “childish” pursuit. But I have to admit I was a bit surprised when she listed a Nintendo DS system at the top of her Christmas wish list. She had been reading about the benefits of a game called “Brain Age” and how it is being used among older people to maintain their mental agility (not that Sue is old!)
So I was happy to get it for her for Christmas. Little did I know that I would be getting a Playstation3 (also known as a PS3). I had such little hope of getting one that I hadn’t even dared put it on my Christmas list. I was especially intrigued with the high definition sports games that seemed so life-like. On one basketball game you can see the sweat glistening on the players’ faces! But, lo and behold, Christmas came and I had my PS3 and a couple of games.
Almost every evening since Christmas Sue and I have sat in our family room playing our respective games. The fact that the writer’s strike has reduced the number of watchable television programs has made more time for game-playing. When Sue said that after playing “Brain Age” for awhile she needed to unwind with a “fun” game, I went out and bought her “Super Mario Brothers” which she is also enjoying. Of course, when Sierra stops by, that’s the first thing she wants to play we well.
I bought a basketball game and an Indiana Jones-type adventure game called “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” which I have enjoyed immensely. The graphics on this game are absolutely unreal – actually, they’re so realistic you think you’re watching a movie. The characters and the environment are amazingly detailed and life-like – the grass and the leaves on the trees all move individually! I was playing the game one night when Sue finished her game and put her Nintendo away. Thinking we were going to watch a show, I told her I’d put my game on hold in a minute. But she said, “No, I want to watch you play your game – it’s like watching a movie and I want to see how it ends.”
So, it’s kind of funny. Here we are, two “older” adults who enjoy playing video games. Oh, and there’s another advantage we’ve discovered. When we’re playing video games, we don’t have our hands free to snack! So we may actually wind up losing some weight and getting healthier. An unexpected benefit!
Blessings,
Steve