MY HUSBAND and I are avid fans of video games. Our love for certain titles have turned into obsession.

Whenever stuck at a seemingly impassable point, Rob scours one gaming forum after another on the Internet, until he finds a solution that works. My tactic is just to play the game for all it?s worth, trying to get past every single required battle, then going for tougher optional ones later.

Rob?s titles include Fallout, Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption and Dead Space (which is so freaky, I dare not even open the case).

Mine include Final Fantasy XIII, Heavenly Sword, Super Mario Galaxy and Bioshock (1 and 2). We both also play on portable devices, which include the iPhone and PSP (mine is candy apple red with God of War?s Kratos on it).

Role-playing

All these titles are role-playing games.

I can?t remember the very first time I held a joystick in my hand. It must have been sometime in the late 1970s or early ?80s with the arrival of Atari and a game called Pong. The objective was to win a virtual game of ping-pong.

I did get my own Atari unit, but didn?t play it very much, as I got computer programming games that I couldn?t really understand.

Fast forward to 1991, New York City. A friend of mine lent me a used Nintendo system as well as the very first Super Mario game. After each performance of ?Miss Saigon,? I?d wash up and sit in front of the TV as my mother slept, playing for hours and hours.

The next system I tried was a Nintendo64. Starfox was the game of choice which I played over and over again. My personality is such that I needed (not wanted, but needed) to perfect each battle and get every possible achievement I could get. I don?t know how many late nights I spent doing just that.

And now, it?s 2011 and I?m married to a gamer?someone who understands the compulsion to hold a controller and navigate through an imaginary world that holds gun-toting zombies (or splicers in the world of Rapture), a war-mongering princess-kidnapper named Bowzer, gain an aeon (or eidolon) called Bahamut, traverse the wild, wild west, obliterate aliens on a space ship and ride a chocobo through an open field.

Means of escape

You probably wonder what the attraction is to the video game that makes millions upon millions of pimply-faced teenagers, hot sexy women, 30-something yuppies, housewives and kids go positively crazy.

First off, it?s a means of escape. I found it to be a particularly effective diversion following a night at work?in this case, ?Les Miserables.? Most nights playing Fantine would turn me into a complete emotional wreck, unable to turn off dark thoughts that would cloud my mind. All I needed to do was turn on the console and lay back.

The game of choice: Bioshock. Those who have played it know that it can turn ugly and violent. But it seemed a good metaphor for what was going on inside my head: swinging a wrench at the face of what should no longer be alive?well, for this night anyway. I?d have to resurrect something ugly for the next performance the following day.

Second, the scenic designs are mind-blowing! Rob reminds me to look everywhere, check everything out. You can stare at constellations, an ornate ceiling, gorgeous landscapes or the cobblestones beneath your feet. I need to remind myself to ?smell the roses? once in a while, not focusing only on the end goal, but on the journey there.

And lastly, on a personal note, there will always be something in the game I can relate to. I like it when a game forces me to reevaluate what?s going on in life. It?s far more than being merely a two-dimensional battle between good and evil.

I do find myself at times wanting to escape in this artful, dazzling world when I?m disappointed and depressed with reality. That said, seeing the realized imaginings of a few wonderful artists in a video game inspires me to face the real world again with renewed vigor.

Shameless plug

The Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mangaawit, under the guidance of its president Ogie Alcasid, in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, is staging ?Balik Ka Bayani,? a concert on April 14 at Araneta Coliseum to benefit displaced overseas Filipino workers from countries like Japan and Libya. Performers include Ogie, Gary Valenciano, The CompanY, Christian Bautista, Jamie Rivera and yours truly. Tickets are available at Ticketnet and at the venue. See you there!