While we're waiting

for more updates on the basement (coming this sunday - I promise) I figured I'd talk about one of my hobbies. Video Games. Yes, I'm a 30 year old video game player. My first system was an Atari 2600 with authentic fake wood trim that my brother and I received for christmas back in 1983. Currently I have a Playstation 2 and a Sega Dreamcast. I gave a Nintendo 64 to a friend of mine in Saskatchewan... or is it Alberta? It's Lloydminster - that strange town on the border between both provinces. I also gave a Playstation 1 to kids of our friends. They still use it apparently. Not sure about the N64.

The video game library I have for my PS2 is small. My sole reason for getting a PS2 (thanks to Marla who actually bought it for me as a surprise) was for the Gran Turismo series of games. I have 2 3 and 4. I had the first one but it went with the PS1 I gave away. It's a great way to drive cars I could never afford and speeds I would never survive if I crashed =)

My friend Scott knows about another game series that I play (occasionally now): Dance Dance Revolution. I can only imagine the hilarity in seeing my 265 lbs try to grove on a small dance pad. It's a fun game though and great for get-togethers where alcohol may or may not be served.

Just yesterday I splurged on Tourist Trophy for the PS2. It's a motorcycle racing game from the creators of Gran Turismo, so I knew it would be well done. Graphics are great, sound and control are great. The only downside is that there are only a maximum of four bikes (including yours) on a track at any one time and some courses (such as Nurburgring) are one bike time trials only. I won't get into a full review here, but a quick google search will get a number of them if you so desire.

Here are some pictures from my first night playing:

And here's a picture of my "setup." The Logitech Driving Force Pro (saweet!) is for playing Gran Turismo and ToCA Race Driver 3. The TV is a 52" RCA HDTV we got for free a couple months back.