Games & Gadgets

Over the last year or so of writing Pushing Buttons, I've made a few friends who've made it possible for us to run a column every week. I welcome anyone who has a game console and a gift for competent sentence construction. It's hard to keep up with all the latest gaming trends, since there are so many games for different people.

I'd like to take some time out this week and introduce you to some of the columnists who will be contributing regularly to this column. There's no profit in it for them, but I guess they get a kick out of it. It sure helps me.

John Dietrich has been on the sports desk for the last year and regularly reviews Wii games. His brand loyalty borders on insanity. But he'll enjoy that version of "Grand Theft Auto" when it comes out on the Wii, thanks.

Chris Pittman works in the online department of The Anniston Star and handles Xbox 360 and Wii games. He's put in a few columns so far and is always asking when I'd like more. (Always, Chris. Always.)

Anthony Cochran is our connection to the high-school crowd; the Munford High School senior contacted me out of the blue one day and wrote a column. Then he wrote another. I thought, "This guy may be interested in doing this on a semi-regular basis." Thankfully, that's one of my assumptions that turned out to be true.

All of these guys have access to the blog and the Gamefly account. As for me, I'll continue to write about Wii and PlayStation 3 games that catch my interest. I'll also throw in some technology-oriented columns and explore topics related to my favorite past time.

That's the lineup, subject to change if we get more talented people on board.

You can now resume your regularly scheduled column.

"WoW" marriage

Not many men can say they started playing "World of Warcraft" to be closer to their wives. Most of the ones I know have to log off when their spouses come home. I'm usually pressured to log on.

I've played "WoW" off and on for the last few years but never could get into it. My wife Katrina picked it up and now runs raid groups with her level 70 character. She also made a priest character to level up with me and my friend Tim. Sometimes we start playing and I wonder where my weekend went.

We all converse on headsets using this program called Ventrilo. When Katrina plays "WoW," I'm hesitant to get in her way. She's highly competitive, often fighting with me for the items monsters drop when we kill them. She also scolds me for the way I play my Warlock.

That's not something most husbands can say, either.

But I find that most of the time, as in real life, she's right on the money. My weekends are a lot busier these days. My Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 are starting to feel neglected, however.