The Return of the King

So according to this it has been 13 days since I last updated. My excuse is that I've been working. 'What about weekends?' Asked the friend who I was on the phone with on whether or not I'd updated my blog, to which I had no witty comeback.

WORK, the great panacea, has been in equal amounts fun and tedious. Actual work is balanced out by me doing Creative Things, which don't count as work because the hours pass by quik. I drink cold Milo and type a lot, run things to and fro from the various departments and participate in the gargantuan e-mail threads that have been running through my days.

Currently the only thing I dislike about work is the journey, both ways. It sucks. It should not take three hours off my life to travel every day. Tis unreasonable. The good news is no one really cares if you're in by nine or not, and most people aren't, this being the creative industry.

I have recently played through the very very good World In Conflict, a very very good video for which you absolutely positively 100% must watch here. The game is permeated by cinema-like qualities, including and up to impeccable acting from each of the characters and solid writing to back it up.

It doesn't hurt that it has possibly the prettiest nuclear explosions ever.



The crux of the game is that you control a very small number of units (never exceeding 12 or thereabouts) in a theater of operations where several other allied commanders assist you in one of many specialized 'roles', either infantry, air, armor, or support. Most battles will be fought in towns and cities, like shown in the video above, and a major feature of the game is the ability to call in off-map support aid, such as paratroopers, artillery barrages, airstrikes, and the aforementioned nukes, which is so difficult to obtain that you're practically cackling with glee as you order the strike upon your unsuspecting enemy.

The first time I dropped the bomb, it was in the middle of downtown Seattle in a simulated skirmish against the AI. I had my back against the wall, and ordered the attack straight into the space needle where a huge concentration of enemy forces were clumped. I watched as the missile came, seemingly from nowhere, and the blinding flash of light heralded the destruction of everything beneath, leveling the city and turning everything in its gigantic blast radius to smoke and mushroom cloud ash.

Victory for me, as my tanks rolled in to claim the ground, but as my troops navigated the massive ruins left by the blast, I came to the sobering realization. I'd nuked Seattle. It seems really silly to have moral conflicts over a strategic decision in a videogame, but downtown was dust, and the iconic Space Needle rubble.

Note to prospective mates; the author does not approve of the wholesale destruction of major american cities, nor does he condone or accept this act in any way. The author is actually a kind, compassionate individual who loves rabbits and likes to propose his affectations in flowers.