Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Yes, But Does It Have Literary Merit?

My boys were begging me to buy the new "Halo: Reach" game for the X-Box their uncle had just given them.

All I'd heard about the "Halo" games was bad, bad, bad. Bad premise. Bad violence. Bad language.

But I checked it out anyway. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. A new "team" approach. Great graphics. For around 60 bucks.

The economics weren't an issue. Dominic said he'd pitch in $15, and a $20 gift card came with the purchase, so I'd really only fork over $35.

Like everything else that comes through our door, though, I wanted the game to have some kind of literary merit.

We bought it.

"Play with us," the boys then begged, after they'd "tried it out" for a couple of hours.

I did the usual Mom Thing: "I'll just watch you guys play."

Nope, they wanted me to play.

So there I was, sitting on the edge of the sofa, controller in hand, bumping my character -- Noble One?-- into a rock over and over and over.

"Mommy, follow me," Dominic told me.

I couldn't find him. I just kept running, er, jumping my guy into rocks and water and over bridges.

"Mommy, you're shooting me," Dominic said as kindly as he could. "Now you're just running into a wall. And why is your night vision on? And why are you throwing granades at yourself?"

Okay, this "Halo," it has absolutely no literary merit. But I can't tell you how long and hard we all laughed at my "skills."

7 comments:

Jana said...

Some things are just for fun, too, aren't they? My favorite computer game is plants vs. zombies. No value, but I sure love it!

DL Curran said...

Jennie, I could so picture that! Maybe it's because I fully expect to have a similar experience in a few years... when my two hit the gaming stage. LOL Thanks for the head's up! ;)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

LOL. I can just picture you. We score HUGE brownie points with our kids when we're willing to do stuff like that. My boys LOVE Halo. :-)

Suzanne Young said...

Haha! This totally sounds like me. I bet they loved you playing with them, too.

Hope you're good! You should email me sometime! :-)

Angela said...

It sounds like your gaming skills are about as developed as my own. At least you had a good laugh.

Elana Johnson said...

Dude, I just tried to get this game today, and it was sold out. :( Maybe another store.

DL Curran said...

Jennie - I left an award for you on my blog. :)