I have been a PC gamer ever since my grandfather showed me a chess game where the characters truly attacked each other, Battle Chess. PCs have been a big part of my life as for now I want to be an IT tech but I am not talking about my future job I am talking about my current gaming predicament. When I lived in South Africa I never had the money to get all the great consoles like the NES or the SNES and had to deal playing on my computer. I played the greats like Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Star-Craft and my all time favorite the Half-Life series. My only issue was the only computer that I could play these games on were about 400 miles away from me and I could only see them once a month. Then one fateful Christmas I was given a Playstation console, oh what a joyous day this was. I rushed downstairs to try it and fell in love with it, but it was my second love, the PC still was still making the breakfast for me in the morning while the Playstation was dressed in it's scantily clad lingerie being my devil on the shoulder.








Finally instead of traveling 400 miles to my games, my other home got a computer strong enough to run Half-Life and Starcraft, what a great day this was, I was on that computer as much as possible (only weekends and when parents weren't home). I was always on the PC playing games. I loved my PC, I loved getting a new game and trying it out, especially when Playstation games were extremely expensive in my country compared to the PC games. When I finally made the trip to move to America I lost my console thanks to different voltages and had to have something to calm my addiction. Well in the first weeks we came to America we got a PC and I was hooked again, but I had no Half-LIfe and I had to wait till we got a video card for christmas present till I could play Black and White. Well after I had my fun I got Diablo...and this changed everything.I was hooked, running around as my sorc rushing people through the game it was just madness and I loved every bit of. But I had to keep it quiet from my Christian parents since even if you press escape it shows the good old pentagram. Then my birthday came around and I got my Ps2. Woo happiness I had been wanting one ever since the rich kid in Africa had one and I finally had my very own. It became my new mistress but I still always came home to my PC.






Then came a time when I built my first computer, oh such a great experience this was my ultimate gaming computer so I could run all my top games without a problem, oh did I love it so much that my ps2 just became a DVD player I was buying games left and right since I had my own job. I could buy any game I wanted and it would run without a problem. Doom 3? Hell Yeah, Half-Life 2? Psh no problem. I was hooked, it was cocaine I needed to stay up till 4 in the morning playing these amazing games. And my poor naked Ps2 was gathering dust, growing decrepid while my sexy PC was bringing me cheese and bacon rolls in bed. Oh Yeah.






While in college my PC died on me and I had to brush off the dust on my Ps2, now this was not the cocaine my PC was giving me but it quelled the shakes. Then I found a new high paying job and it was time to get that PC up and going again, I went out and bought her some new clothes, got a little plastic surgery, I am sorry I meant a new case some new innards and she was good to go, she was the dominant one in the bedroom. And I played her like I have never played before, Crysis? Oh yeah High Settings baby and she purred like a kitten. The Ps3 was out by then I knew I wanted one but $600 was a hefty price tag even though my computer was about $400 more I had a lot more usage for it. But I was earning the big money but to shell out so much for a console, it hurt badly but I paid the price and got my console with a new game and it was fun but it was the $100 console on the corner compared to the high paying PC up in the bedroom. I was not hooked just yet. I was still up in the bedroom playing with my PC. I think the issue with this was I wanted to play on an HDTV but the only Tv that was HD was my parents. And then I moved out and bought my own 52 inch HD TV and hooked up my console to it and life came into my PS3. But the PC cried out to me, "BioShock is waiting for you. So is left 4 dead, and so is a non buggy Half-Life, I know you want me." And wanted her, I did. My Ps3 became my Ps2 it was my DVD player with the occasional exclusives coming to it that I would play and finish and be back to my PC.





Then this stupid little thing came out, this awful PC killing "thing" came out (see below).





And the PC started to power down, it wasn't showing it's blue light as often any more, the fans were not blowing as they used to and my electrical bill was coming down. These "trophies" gave me a reason to buy Ps3 games that were on the PC, I wanted them, I wanted to show I was the best, I wanted to show all my friends look at my giant e-(bad word) and I am better than you with all my platinums. I knew I wanted these badly and my PC was crying, "I have a mouse and keyboard" and I yelled back with a slap "But no trophies." I was hooked I mean if a game didn't come with trophies I honestly didn't want to get it, I felt that it was a crappy game I wanted those trophies, I didn't want to get Rock band 2 because the trophies were too hard but the real girl in my life loved her Rock Band so I had to survive and get this game and have a crappy 2% trophies achieved for this game. But I was hooked to trophies, I love them they sold me. How sad is that? A little indicator to say you have got a trophy has turned me into a console gamer. I look at my PC while typing this and not a tear comes to my eye I yell what do you have that my Ps3 does not and it whimpers "Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3." But I shook my head and said "Not yet." Maybe one day when these two games come out my PC will become a Phoenix and be reborn but not yet, definitely not yet. I know that when Episode 3 comes out for Half-life I will be getting that on the PC and on my console just because it is my favorite series.



It's very sad to look at my PC, I really do want to play games on this, but something that will stroke my ego with trophies is just more appealing, I don't see how this could change anything but it does. I tried to throw in some old games into my PC but I just got bored in ten minutes. I throw in some old games on my PS3 to get those extra trophies and I am loving it. Seriously I got the 10,000 kills on resistance 2 that's how hooked I am into my trophies. My lady in my house hated that game after I was done but I told her to look at that platinum and love it.



Oh my PC how sad it is to part with you. You will still be my workstation for important parts but you won't be the gaming PC that I once had.

Good bye sweet prince.