Girls Should Pick Up and Press Start!

By Marcus Jones / VOX Staff

Photo illustration by DeAndre' Brittingham / VOX Staff

Girls, at some point you’ve watched us guys play video games for hours on end. At first, you’re amazed that we could spend so much time and energy sitting in one position, our fingers tapping, flicking and mashing buttons on the controllers while we concentrate on the only thing in the room that matters to us at the moment — the TV. And then the reality sets in that we could spend the whole day like this.

At this point, you might suddenly blurt out in exasperation, “What is it with you and your friends having to get so glued to these dumb old games?” Unfortunately, that’s the wrong question to ask us. You see, video games are very important to us: They’re our escape from life’s problems — much like you like to go shopping. They help us wind down and get rid of some stress.

The question you should be asking us is: “Can I play?” That will make us sit up and pay attention. Every guy dreams about having a girlfriend (or just a friend who’s a girl) who’s into playing video games. And I bet if you actually sat down and learned how to play a couple games, you’d not only learn to like game, but also you might better understand why it’s so important to guys.

Now, it may be true that most girls won’t want to jump in and play some over-the-top macho game. But there are plenty of games that are filled with drama — we know you like drama. Believe it or not, guys like a little drama, too, but mainly the kind that’s interspersed with a good dose of action.

A good example of a games that would appeal to both girls and guys is “Max Payne” — where the hero has to redeem his innocence back from being framed for murder. The game is a basic shooter but with good acting and story development. Any one of the “Final Fantasy” games is another example of a game I think girls could get into. They are mixture of fantasy quests and anime, with even some romantic plot lines thrown in. Two-player games are ideal so you can feel like you’re working together to solve a mystery or kick some good-old-fashion butt.

During the process, who knows, you might even get to know each other better than you could have imagined. If you don’t like it, well, then at least you tried — and maybe you can get him to try something you like next time.

Marcus is a junior at Tri-Cities High.