Video Games are fun. I’m not about to say that they are not. I’ve grown up playing them and I couldn’t imagine a world without them. But with the oppressive winter the Midwest has been seeing, it’s given me a few ideas as to what exactly gamers could be doing outside of playing video games. Hopefully, come spring you just might take me up on at least one of my ideas. If nothing else go ahead and open a window once it warms up a little since I’m sure being snowed in all winter hasn’t helped the smell at all and a breeze wouldn’t kill you. Here is the list of the top 10 things to do when you're not playing video games or in your free time.
10. Cooking: I’ve said this before that everyone, regardless of video game skill level, needs to know how to cook. This is just common sense. You’re going to get tired of the Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, Pizza, Chinese Food, McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC rotation eventually or you’ll just run out of money. In the meantime, it’s probably a good idea to invest in some skill so that one day when you buy a carton of eggs, you can do more that just hard boil them. For those of you thinking that you’re mom, dad, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife will do all the cooking, how about you get off your butt and give it a shot, just once? Practice makes perfect. I’m sure you didn’t score a headshot on a grunt the first time you tried. Everyone was a n00b once and whether or not we like to believe that Ramen and Easy Mac are two different portions of the food pyramid, they’re not unfortunately. So, get to the grocery store, learn the different between a pot and pan and invest in a skill that’ll last a lot longer than being able to effectively spawn camp. After all, man can’t live on Ramen alone.
9. Read a book: You wouldn’t believe the amount of flak I’ve garnered amongst friends for this statement. There are some who believe that books have become antediluvian since they read enough in video games. While this is a good point, especially in epic role-playing games, I wonder how often they actually read the text before running on towards the next battle. Sure, Halo, Gears of War and other games have some pretty impressive stories, but reading never hurts if for no other reason than it can expand your horizon beyond what you already may have known about the game universe or any other topic for that matter. For those not in the know, there are books about the Halo and Gears universe and believe it or not, they’re pretty damn well written. I’m not trying to sound like an after school special, but by reading a book once a week, on just about anything will help broaden your horizon and make you a bit better-rounded than just a gamer. My usual recommendation is take the genre of games you like and look into the books. Halo and Gears fan? Check out science-fiction by Asimov, Heinlein or Vonnegut. Sports fan? There are plenty of great autobiographies by athletes like Jordan, Gretzky and Walter Payton, just to name a few. If you dig Rock Band or Guitar Hero there’s hundred of awesome books about artists like Nikki Sixx, Marilyn Manson, and The Beatles. I’m not saying stop playing games and read, but it wouldn’t kill you once in awhile.
8. Learn to Play an Instrument: As much as I loved playing video games growing up, I took to music quite well and it’s consistently remained a big part of my life. After playing the violin for several years I began to explore the drums as well as the guitar and have since fallen in love with both. While I still make time for video games, I do the same for music. I hate to break it to everyone who thinks that musical talent and skill at Rock Band or Guitar Hero are connected in some mysterious way, but it’s not. The skill doesn’t translate because at the end of the day, playing six strings and pressing four buttons will never, ever be comparable by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, there are some people who can do it, but that is ultimately taking their skill of dexterity into account. Moreover, you can go to concerts and have an entirely new appreciation of the music when you see an artist on stage playing. Most importantly though, some of the most fun I’ve had has been playing Rock Band with friends and at the same time, I’ve had about the same great times learning to play an instrument. While creating music in a digital space will always be satisfying to some degree, nothing comes close to strumming a guitar and putting together your first chord. It’s kind of like riding a bike, except with your fingers. And to those of you who just want to learn to play for the sake of picking up chicks with an acoustic version of John Mayer’s Your Body is a Wonderland, get off my article. Now.
This feature top 10 list continues on the next page, please click below to reveal the next couple things to do when you're not playing games.
Follow our official PlanetXbox360.com Twitter account, by clicking here for updates hourly, 24/7 - 365 days a year. We also started an YouTube page where all the new trailers/gameplay videos will be posted within minutes of release, check it out and subscribe by clicking here.
