Mike Miller

As the semester comes to an end and finals week approaches, we find ourselves with more “free time” to participate in activities like video games.

Everyone knows that Halo has taken over the gaming world; however, I am not an avid Xbox gamer. Play Station 2 is my console of choice. Madden, NBA Live, NHL ? you name it. I enjoy playing any sport title.

I’m sure I have lost many female readers by now, because I don’t know of many women who enjoy playing video games. Video games are like a hobby to guys. It could almost be said that video games are to guys what makeup is to girls.

Madden football is not really known for the annoying commentary, but known for how competitive it can get when you play against friends.

I like to play around and create a player myself. You could make it really unfair and just put yourself at the top rating for all of the skills, or you could make it somewhat realistic.

I have had some pretty crazy experiences playing sports video games, and Madden has taken its fair share. I always seem to get upset in some way, shape or form because something doesn’t go right. I seem to throw a lot of interceptions, and the artificial intelligence of my own team is just ridiculous.

Madden is not so much my game; however, NBA Live is more my game. If anyone wants to try and take me on, they are more than welcome. When I play, I am usually the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets or the Cleveland Cavaliers. To be the Phoenix Suns is like being the All-Star team, and the San Antonio Spurs are the best team in the league. I recently played LeBron James versus Kobe Bryant. Well, in reality, it was Cavaliers versus Los Angeles Lakers, but Kobe dropped 104 points in one game and made 17 three pointers. Who are we kidding? That will obviously never happen in real life, but there is definitely a fine line between the virtual gaming world and the real world.

Another note about the Lakers: they drafted a 17-year old high school player in last year’s draft. Where were you when you were 17? Andrew Bynum of St. Joseph’s High School in New Jersey was experiencing the NBA at 17. He recently turned 18, but let’s be real here, the kid is on a video game and played professional basketball before he could vote!

Video game hockey is an entirely different story. There seems to be a couple ways always to score. I have found that going around the net and shooting a wrist-shot is the easiest. One-timers are another promising way to score.

The hockey games I have played in are always really close. I had one game that was so intense it seemed like it would never end. When it finally did, neither of us knew what happened.

So during the next two weeks, if you’re not studying, doing homework or partying, chances are you are probably playing video games of some sort. You might be watching a movie or something, but for the most part, video games seem to occupy a lot of the time between finals.

#1.884540:51327780.jpg:mikegray_tc.jpg:Mike Miller, Ball Talk:Ty Carlson