Bitmob.com

The Wii lacks that one addictive ingredient that helps gamers pop the previously completed games back in: achievements.

Although most of us could care less, Kinectimals, is going to outsell, surprise, and surpass our expectations. This virtual pet game that Microsoft announced at E3 this year will allow kids to train and play with up to 20 different cats, which reminds of me of another recent trend that made millions in the past few years: Webkinz.

The FPS (first-person shooter) has been my go-to ever since I reemerged into the gaming world. Once I figured out the concept behind the controls, I was hooked. The controls transfer easily from game to game, and I eat up every title I can. Late nights countered with a restful late wake-up were the cherry on the sundae of my weekends. This turned into a week night addiction that started to reshape my level of awareness throughout the day. I'd get the sleepy shakes. You know, the shakes that happen in the middle of the afternoon when you trick yourself into playing one last game for three hours straight. Or do you?

There's a time for everything. When I'm grungy, I shower. When I get the shakes, I drink. When my stomach grumbles, I eat. And when I damn well feel like it, I game -- most of the time. It's this last one that I have some trouble with. For me, gaming can lead to looming guilt, set in motion by a few different scenarios.

I have a simple, straightforward question: Are we taking games too seriously?

Motion technology has caught on, and Microsoft and Sony will be joining the ranks with Nintendo later this year. For many core gamers, this is an anxiety-ridden time. But do our nostalgia-laden souls really need worry?

PAX wasn't all fun and games this weekend. With upcoming game releases, panels, and live podcasts, PAX East was a hit with attendees; a hit that required a massive amount of patience. The Hynes Convention Center is a bulky building placed in the center of Boston that held 60,000 plus gamers and fans this year. The problem wasn't in the size of the building though, it was the size of the crowd.

Lately, I feel I'm living two different lives. On one hand I have my gaming buddies, the ones that I can nerd out with over Bioshock 2's release or argue about if Fallout: New Vegas will be using the V.A.T.S system they previously donned in Fallout 3. It's countered with another group of friends that have no idea what the hell I'd be talking about

A gamer's experience with racism over online gaming. Is he himself ignorant, however?

Game developers Pete Wanat and Kellee Santiago discuss the state of video games with N'Gai Croal at the Festival of Arts and Ideas.