Gamer

Micah loves to play video games on his PS2. He desperately wants me to play with him and enjoy it as much as he does, but I just can't get down with most of what's out there to play. I don't like shoot-'em-up games, I don't like anything that's too chatty (like pausing every five minutes to talk to some elf or tree that will warn me about something in an infuriatingly vague way) and if I have to learn more than five moves to be successful, chances are I'm going to give up on my first try.

Prince of Persia was the first PS2 game that I could really get into. The Prince can run along walls, swing and jump from poles like a gymnast, climb a wall by stabbing his sword into metal plates, walk along skinny beams, and jump great distances. Now that is fun. I let Micah do most of the fighting scenes until he realized he didn't get to do any of the fun platforming stuff and then I had to start sharing. There are three games in the PoP series, and we've completed all three together. Awww.

Because I'm so extremely picky about what video games I'll even try, I've completely frustrated Micah. He tries to convince me I'll like The Suffering even though I know I won't simply by the title. He tries to show me how very funny Psychonauts is, but to me it's all chatter, no action. If I wanted to watch funny animation I'd rent Nemo or flip to Adult Swim. He just doesn't understand my gamer needs, which were developed on a Gameboy back before games went 3-D.

Until yesterday. Wanna know what I did for four hours last night? Played Tetris. Yep. Go ahead and swoon with jealousy. TetrisWorld, to be exact, courtesy of Micah and a Game Stop employee who told Micah how very lucky he was to obtain a copy. They've expanded basic Tetris so you can play up to 4-player arcade mode, or choose story mode which requires increasingly better play to make different landscapes come to life.

People. The joy is no longer only in the hands of Nintendo owners.

Tetris and I go way, way back. It came free with the Gameboy I got when I was ten, and playing Tetris once on my cousin's big screen tv (which, come on - to a ten-year-old it might as well have been the whole wall) is still one of my favorite memories. Crazy how a giveaway game can cause such an international crush. I didn't know anyone in fifth through eighth grades that couldn't play the shit outta some Tetris. The Gameboy era was the heyday of my video gamer experience. I've gotten to the end of only one game all by myself - Super Mario Land - and I could do it faster than my brother. I don't recall ever beating Tetris which probably means I never did. I have been given a second chance.

Because you know what? I'm fucking good, better than I remember. Know what else? Micah had never played Tetris before last night. I don't even know how that's possible considering he was consistently the top scorer on the local 7-11's Ms. Pacman by age eight. Watching Micah play Tetris is a gall-dang RIOT. He totally and completely sucks. He really likes to watch me play, though, which I must admit feels great. He is marveling at MY game play? Micah? The one who endures 30-minute showdowns with the biggest, baddest video game villians and comes out victorious every time?

Nope. He can't play Tetris. We both had a massive laugh attack at his expense last night, laughed harder than we have in months, and I'm glad he can find humor in his own incapabilities. However, I don't expect this to be the case for long. Because of the cold weather he isn't working today and he has nine solid hours in which to develop some talent without me "helping" over his shoulder. I predict he'll make great strides today, and by the weekend it'll finally be a competitive experience. We'll see.

My husband, he knows just what it takes to make me happy. And yes, you can play Tetris the next time you come over. You know you want to.