It’s that time of the school year when papers pile up, midterms are hovering above, and caffeine runs dry. Fall break passed away so fast, and all you can think of is “Where did it go?” You sit in your living room battling all these forces and stress out. What do you do when all these add up and your stress level skyrockets?
Some students turn to Netflix; however that’s not for everyone. How can you remain sane without having to put too much effort into relieving the stress? That’s simple. Videogames! Yes, there is the split opinion about videogames and their negative effect. But what videogame you play is up to you. Some people simply enjoy playing games such as the old platform Crazy Taxy, while others may enjoy Need for Speed or Black Ops. Getting your stress out in an imaginary world for twenty minutes before facing reality again may be just what you need.
When you grab the controller, you are no longer thinking of the work pressing you. The attention is now focused on what to play, and what you need to do next. Whenever my friend is stressed, she plays Crazy Taxy. For her, the rush of the game, along with the missions that need to be accomplished, help get her mind off of her stress and transfers her into another world where the only worry is to get a customer to the designated location. It is also a fairly simple game as you follow an arrow to the designated location. However the rush she experiences helps her forget about everything else.
Another student, Kim, says she plays Zombies when she is bored or when she needs to get away from homework. The game slowly intensifies, and gives her enough time to get used to the pace. She focuses on rebuilding and trying to survive, and as time passes, she is in full survival mode and forgetting all other problems.
Videogames can become fairly intense sessions. I was in my kitchen one Friday afternoon cooking while my roommates were in the living room unwinding from a long week, when all of a sudden I was started and jumped three feet sideways. They were playing a videogame and squealed worse than a group twelve year olds at a One Direction concert and yanked the controllers out of the PS3 console.
When the topic of videogames arises, everyone has a different opinion as to what games are the best, and why. However the case, there are some games that have lasted through the ages of changing consoles, and some that are new but have gained popularity fairly quickly. Here is my short list that I have gathered (includes all sequels):
Legend of Zelda
Skyrim
Super Mario
Tetris
Minecraft
Black Ops
Grand Theft Auto
Final Fantasy
Pokemon
Assassins Creed
Pacman
So whenever you feel like you need a break, you have had a long day, or you are bored, video games are always a simple outlet to unwind and have a great time.