COD4: MW2

For those of you who immediately know what I'm referring to, then you now know that I'm a giant video game dork. For those of you who have played this game... you will definitely appreciate this unnecessary ramble. So I'm sitting here, in my living room, and one of my roommates is currently playing MW2 online... and I'm still fascinated by the game, even though I'm just watching it.

So... My here's my question: Why are we men obsessed with this game? Seriously - when you break it down, all we're doing is running around a fabricated "warzone" with a freaking gun and shooting anything that moves on our screen. After months and months of playing this game for hours a day it still beckons to me. Here's the thing: you rarely win, you're more often then not frustrated than pleased (as my roommate slams his fist down into the couch screaming "god dammit!" after having just received the blunt end of a magnum bullet to his "avatar's" head) and the game is pretty darn repetitive. Run, shoot, die. Run, shoot, die. Run... shoot... die. So what is it about this game that keeps us coming back for more?

Is it the satisfying "click" you hear when your bullet pierces through the body of your opponent who's potentially sitting on the other side of the world? Is it the numbers that pop up on screen arcade style confirming that you've killed your sworn enemy? Is it the thrill of the chase to get those 5,6,7,8 or even 15 kills in a row without dying, hence unlocking those ridiculous killstreak rewards like manned bombs, helicopters, airstrikes or even dropping a freaking nuke? Is it the satisfying feeling of being at the top of the kill list at the end of the game proving to everyone else that they are your weak underling and that you own their face????

Oh, there's another "god dammit" emanating from the couch.

I mean granted, the graphics are re-tartedly sick... the game play is flawless and smooth and the music and sound effects are unbelievable. But at the end of the day... it's a video game. 13 year olds talk smack to you when they kill you... and there's nothing my 24 year old ass can do about it except take it and shake my head in embarrassment...

K. Now that I've typed all this... I think I'm going to go get blown up and begin screaming unnecessary obscenities at my TV screen for the next hour. GRENAADDDAAA!!!!