LEGO my game controller!

I am not much of a video game player. I used to have a Nintendo when I was a kid, and I'll play some games on the computer, but honestly, I don't really like many video games. J, on the other hand, does like video games. He likes pretty much all kinds of games, but especially the "puzzle" games where you have to complete tasks in order to move on. Unfortunately, most of those games are the kind I hate the most - the ones like Grand Theft Auto that involve a lot of blood, guts, gore, and cussing (both from the game and J).

Every once in awhile a new "dumb" game will come out that J thinks I might like, and if he thinks he might be interested, too, he'll get it. So far his collection of games includes close to fifty games, ranging from PlayStation 1 to PlayStation 3. He's been collecting and buying games for about eight and a half years...so though it sounds like a lot of games, it's really not that many compared to what a lot of my students have! Of those fifty, there are only five that I'm even remotely interested in playing. Of those five, two of them were purchased in the last three weeks.

I like Simpson's Road Rage - you are a taxi driver and you have to pick up different characters and get them to their destination within a time limit. I like this one because you actually get bonus points if you suck and run into stuff! My favorite character to play is Marge in her big 'ol SUV. Or sometimes Lisa in her little electric powered car. J is still better than I am at this game, but I have fun nonetheless.




I like Jeopardy - I know a lot of random, bizarre trivia and can usually win this one. Especially if we get word or literature categories. If we get history or war categories, then J kicks my hiney every time. Overall, it's pretty fun.



I also like Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. Again, I'm not very good, but it's a lot of fun. I don't like a lot of the songs because I'm not into hard rock, but there are a few songs I like. J plays the songs I hate for me (because he IS into hard rock and likes most of the songs in the game), and we are both on a pretty level playing field. Read: we both suck equally at this game! But it's fun, nonetheless. We are still on the easy level of difficulty. I thought we were pretty good until my friend's daughters came over and brought one of their friends with them. Lauren is about twelve, and makes J and I look like idiots when she plays. It was humbling and a little embarrassing. If they ever come out with a Guitar Hero: Legends of Country, I'll kick some major butt! I LOVE country music!



The last two games I like are probably my favorites out of the whole bunch. I'm actually surprised that I like them, too, because they sound really dumb and I didn't like the movies they were based on: LEGOS Star Wars and LEGOS Indiana Jones.




I don't know why I don't like the Indiana Jones movies, but I don't. J does. He owns the first three on dvd - I may even have been the one to give them to him...we can't remember. I should probably rewatch them and see if I like them now as an adult. Actually, I think I only ever saw the first one, and skipped the next two because I didn't like the first one that much. Who knows. J and I went and saw the new one, The Crystal Skull, and I thought it was okay, but I didn't like it that much. Because of all the hype, I was expecting so much more. Maybe I'm crazy. I didn't hate it, but I just didn't think it was all that good. When J told me he thought I would like the LEGOS Indiana Jones video game, I thought he was nuts. But, because I like to do stuff with him, I said I would try it. Trust me, there are way more fun things I like to do with J than play video games...like bike rides, going to movies, etc. Keep your mind out of the gutter!!



Turns out J was right: I love this game!! It's a ton of fun. Basically, you are replaying the events that happen in the movies, but you are LEGO versions of the characters. At the start of every level, there's a short scene from the movies reenacted by LEGO characters. One of the things I like the most about the game is that two characters play at the same time, and you are not competing against each other, you are working together to do different tasks. J likes it because it's like the "puzzle" games he loves best, and I like it that he can't beat me...he has to depend on me in order to do some of the things we have to do to complete a level! We played for two hours the first time we put the game in! I was shocked. I normally can't sit that long playing a game, but the time passed so fast, I hardly registered it!

I also don't really like any of the Star Wars movies. In fact, I had never seen them, not one of them, and the last one was about due in the theaters. A few of my friends thought it was a travesty that I had not seen them, and brought the first five on dvd over to my house and we had a Star Wars marathon one weekend. We went the following weekend to see the last one in the theater. We debated about what order to watch them in, and decided on the order they came out in the theaters was best so I could have the same experience as the rest of the world. J loves Star Wars, so he watched with us. He's loved Star Wars since he was a kid - don't let him tell you otherwise. (This picture was in his local newspaper when he was a kid. He was in the same grade as the other boy...he was freaky tall even then!)



I drove J and my friends insane asking about fifty bazillion questions as we watched the movies. I was confused, and I thought they were dumb. I just didn't like them that much. The one I liked the best was the very last one that came out, technically the third movie, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. For people who like the series, that's usually the movie they liked the least. Go figure. When I saw that movie, though, everything sort of clicked for me and I understood it all finally. But, I didn't like Indiana Jones, and I like the game. I like it so much, in fact, that I am the one who suggested to J last night that we go get the LEGOS Star Wars game, too. I figured that it doesn't matter if I don't like the movies as long as I like the game, right?





I like LEGOS Indiana Jones better than LEGOS Star Wars, but I would highly suggest either game for anyone who sort of likes video games, but isn't a huge fan. Or if you want a game your kids have to play together. They are rated E for Everyone, but there is cartoon violence. Two huge thumbs up!