A Gamer’s New Year’s Resolutions

 

I’m sure we’re all familiar with the concept of the New Year’s resolution. It’s a promise we make to ourselves to eat better, be more outgoing or clean out the garage once in a while. More often than not, though, these promises end up broken and forgotten, and our lives continue their inevitable spiral into dust.

In light of this truth, I figured we gamers could use a set of resolutions that we can actually stick to.

Play more games. As tempting as it is to finish your sixth prestige in Black Ops, maybe you could use a little variety in your life. Try Bad Company’s Vietnam expansion!

Play less games. On the other hand, maybe you’ve been spreading yourself too thin. You really don’t have to play every single new release that hits the market. Maybe you could even finish a game once in a while.

Finish your pile of shame. It’s been stacking up for years. All it would really take is a little concentration – oh, and a few months of no sleep, work or human interactions.

Forget about your pile of shame. You have another option, though – just forget about it. Don’t sweep it under the rug any longer. Donate those unplayed and unopened games to Good Will, sell them on eBay, or just give them to your friends. It might feel like you’re ripping your own soul in half, but trust me, it’s not that big a deal.

Seek out unique experiences. It’s easy to ignore every game that Spike TV doesn’t nominate for Game of the Year, but you’re really doing yourself a disservice. There are thousands of great games that slip under the industry’s radar. They’re not part of an established franchise, they aren’t accompanied by pushy marketing, and they’re often not available at a physical retail level. Sometimes they really are worth seeking out, though.

Be nicer online. Being a jerk online is tempting, but that shroud of anonymity can’t hide you from the Karma Wizard. And he’s definitely watching. Be nicer online, or he’ll make your new Xbox melt – again.

So as we creep one year closer to the impending apocalypse, maybe we can try to pick one of these to stick to. Or maybe not, since we’re all going to die in a year anyway. Did I miss anything?