Changing Gears… Again

For as long as I’ve been a PC gamer, I’ve spent about equal time hating it as I have loving it.

I really wish I could just let it go – pick up an Xbox 360 and never look back.

That was me, 4 months ago. 2 nights ago – Thursday, March 9 2006, I kicked the habit. First thing Friday morning, I went out and bought a 360 and have been playing the shit out Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter all weekend and couldn’t be happier!

I have many beefs with PC gaming, which is no secret. But the big one that hurts the most is the cost associated with it. I simply can’t afford to do a complete overhaul every year and a half or so and the penalty for saving your pennies is too great to put myself through any longer. I auctioned off some of my most recent purchases – Star War Empire at War, The Battle for Middle-earth 2, Need for Speed Most Wanted and Battlefield 2. Yes, Battlefield 2. I bought it the day it came out and managed to swing one of the limited DVD version. I’ve loved the entire Battlefield series and Battlefield 2 is no exception. Unfortunately, it didn’t feel the same and gave me nothing but grief every time I tried to play it. Ironic, that the series I’ve loved so much for the past few years is the very straw that broke the camel’s back – what the shit does that mean, anyway?

I know what some of you are thinking – “Didn’t you just get that new 7800?” Sure did. Turns out BFG (manufacturer of both video cards I own) have a lifetime warranty on their products. I shipped my 6600 GT back to them today and should receive it back within a week or so – repaired or replaced. I’m gonna go back to that and sell off the 7800. I’m hanging onto all the games that performed well on my current system and will surely continue to play them. But for the time being, I won’t be picking up any new PC games. I’m not even going to demo games. I’ve really had enough tweaking settings and watching my framerate until I find the playable settings. From now on – it’s put the disc in and play for this guy. However, I will make an exception for expansions of games I already own. Like the Half-Life 2 episodes, etc.

Hopefully in a couple years I’ll find myself in a different situation where I’m able to drop a few grand on a new gaming rig every couple years. But until then, I’m retiring my trusty mouse and keyboard for a controller.