Recently I learned that I will be travelling from my home town of Kingston, Ontario to go work at my company's USA branch in Houston, Texas for about two months. After hearing about the length of the trip the first thing on my packing list was my 360. I couldn't imagine two months without being able to do some rally racing or solve crimes in '40's L.A. Sitting in a hotel room at nights without the chatter of friends and family would seem impossible if I didn't have a chance to whisk myself away to a world where I can get shot, push X to respawn and head back into the battle. But the question I ask myself is that have I become dependent on games? Or have games just become such a large form of entertainment that playing games every night is the same as if you were to sit and watch an hour of CSI? I guess it depends on who you ask, but for me I like being able to have some control of my journey through a story and feel the competition of others, rather than sit and watch a screen. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy television shows as well, but the competitive nature that builds inside when your playing Black Ops online, or trying to beat your friends best times in Hot Pursuit is something that reminds me of playing real sports. Trying to be so precise to shave that half-second off you lap time can feel the same as timing the cut in your route so that you can receive the perfect pass. For me, that feeling of trying to best your opponent is something I will not be able to experience through sport in a Houston hotel room, but I will be able to let bullets fly and tires squeal as I try to make that perfect move.