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X-4:
All I wanted for Xmas
Maybe
it was the 3,478 hints I left for my wife. The little post-it notes on
the bathroom mirror, attached to the television remote, on the front
door, the minivan's steering wheel. But I felt real confident bounding
out of bed Christmas morning that I would indeed find the object of my
Christmas desires under the tree: an Xbox.
Still, I couldn't be totally sure. When Christmas Day finally arrived, I
ran out of my bedroom, careful not to push aside my kids too hard
beating them to the yuletide tree. What we saw lying beneath was a
mountainous wall of gift-wrapped goodies. Gazing carefully around, I
spied upon my present pile. Judging by their size, a few could be an
Xbox. Then again, they also possibly could be an extra-large sweater
from Wal-Mart or a new Bob Vila workbench from Sears. But first, one by
one the kids got to open their presents. I don't know, my wife has this
thing about how Christmas is for the kids, how it's their time to enjoy
the opening of presents. Go figure. Finally, after what seemed like an
eternity (I do have four children, after
all) it was my turn to unwrap gifts. My wife handed me an azure
paper-wrapped box first. A very large azure paper-wrapped box. Heavy,
too. Could it be? A furious flurry of flying wrapping paper floating
through the air finally cleared for me to see - YES! - it was an Xbox!
Guess my wife got the hint, huh? Along with my Xbox was a copy of Dead
or Alive 3. What better way to enjoy the peaceful, serene sentimentality
of the holiday season than with a healthy dose of playing a fighting
game?
The hardest part of Christmas 2001 was I had to wait a few hours to
actually set up my treasured Microsoft machine. Being the man of the
house comes with certain obligations. One of those is spending
inordinate amounts of time opening and constructing large quantities of
your children's Christmas gifts.
I'm convinced that the head honchos of the packaging department of major
toy manufacturers spend their entire Christmas Day heartily and
demonically laughing while envisioning the misery inflicted upon
millions of unprepared fathers across North America struggling to unbind
those damn plastic tie-thingies that connect each and every
waiting-to-be-liberated toy to their cardboard enclosures. Also a real
blast is the what-seem-like-harmless-but-what-turn-out-to-be-insane
projects of building
Barbie houses or putting together 40-foot racecar tracks.
After those fun activities were finally finished and each child found a
little spot to nestle in and acquaint themselves with their favorite
gift, it was at last my turn to introduce myself to my new best friend.
Opening the container, I carefully slid the Xbox out and started the
process of connecting it to my television set. With the final plugging
of the power cord into the surge protector, I opened the Xbox's CD
drawer, placed the game into place, closed it, and was introduced by way
of Dead or Alive 3 to the most beautiful graphics I have ever seen on a
home console. The game
played brilliantly too. It brought tears to my eyes realizing I had
reached videogaming nirvana. The Xbox has brought the perfect
combination of what makes home console, PC, and arcade gaming so fun
together in one magnificent package.
Okay, I realize I'm overly gushing here and maybe the Xbox wasn't what
every gamer was hoping for this past Christmas. I know there were plenty
of PS2's, GameCubes, GameBoy Advances, or PCs that brought many a
deliriously happy smile to faces throughout the land early Christmas
morning. And I hope each and every one of those lucky recipients enjoys
their gaming experiences, I really do. I am not one of those who get
into rival system bashing. Hey, if Sony or Nintendo's latest gaming
goodies are what you enjoy, so much the better for you. We're all part
of one huge gaming community, folks. But for me, it certainly was a
very, merry Xmas 2001. I look forward to spending many long and
sleepless nights with Xbox controller in hand. Now, where's that notepad
I had a minute ago? It's never too early to start an (Xbox) Christmas
wish list for this year. (Let's' see, where do I start? Unreal
Championship, Gunvalkyrie, Jet Set Radio Future, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
3, House of the Dead 3, Sega GT 2002. . .)
By Lee Cieniawa
Next month: Super X-Bowl
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