But at the same time, he has been a bane to my gaming hobby.
You see, my boy has a sixth sense. Instead of seeing ghosts, he has an uncanny ability to know when I'm playing video games. It doesn't matter if he's awake or asleep. I can't get in more than 15 minutes or so of gaming before he starts in with his crying. I don't know how he does it. And while I know my wife could take over completely for a few hours, I also don't want to feel like I'm pawning off my kid to her so I can shoot some people on Borderlands 2. Which by the way, I just made it through the game two weeks ago after playing it since release day. That's how much he has held me back from gaming.
However, I have found a savior to my gaming. Handhelds. I still don't get a lot of time in with them, but it's far easier to play with one hand using my 3DS than it is my PS3 controller. I can sit down and play with it while we watch cartoons, and don't even ask how much time I've put into it while sitting on the pot. I finally have a need for a handheld system that I haven't needed since I was in middle school. I still can't play it while we drive to the grocery store since I tend to be the chauffeur for everyone, but I have found myself putting more time into games like Pushmo, VVVVV, and more recently The World Ends With You. Which by the way, the three of those games are AMAZING.
So what's the point of this post? Well, since I haven't made one since September, part of it was just to show this blog isn't completely dead. As if anyone really reads it in the first place. The second was to tell those current and future parents out there that gaming isn't dead once a child comes into your life. Yes, console games can be a tad more difficult to work into your day. As much as I used to play to midnight or 1am while my wife was asleep, this little man wears me out. I'm lucky to make it past 10pm now. But I do wake up early on the weekends and get a few hours in each day, but otherwise, it has fallen by the wayside.
Handhelds are fantastic for not only kids, but for parents too. Don't dismiss them. I have never fully appreciated my handhelds the way I do now. The games are never as flashy as console games, but there are plenty of great games that I have played that I never would have had my lil man not been born. Do yourself a favor and pick one up. Vita, DS, 3DS, doesn't matter. Despite what people say, there are games out there on all systems (the Vita gets picked on for it's games, but that's a future post...) and many are worth experiencing. While I don't get the itch to play it when I have my console available, I find myself using it while I'm cooking dinner, rocking the baby to sleep, going to the bathroom, and if the wife reads in bed on her Kindle, I can play my 3DS.
But the third reason I made this post...to post pictures of the kid. How can I not? Just look at him! His cuteness makes me melt.
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