Metal Gear Sucker

Welp, today I pre-ordered a game for the Playstation 3: a videogame console that I don’t own and probably won’t own for two years. I’m talking, of course, about a little game called Metal Gear Solid 4: the final chapter in a game series I’ve been hopelessly following for years. Why did I spend money on a game I won’t be able to play?

The trouble all started when I dropped by my local GameStop.

I had heard that pre-orders for the new Metal Gear Solid would come with a bonus DVD: Metal Gear Saga, Vol. 2 (I got Vol. 1 when I bought MGS3: Subsistence). I went to the counter and asked whether they still had copies of the DVD. I honestly believed they would not – other stores had long since sold out. But no, the clerks told me that they did have a couple copies left. They pulled one out and set it on the counter, tempting me. Still I hesitated. Then two words crossed their lips that left me powerless to resist: “art book.” Pre-orders would also come with a special MGS4 art book. Before I knew it, my wallet was in one hand, the special DVD was in the other, and – left with no third hand – the receipt was sandwiched firmly between my lips. I felt like a dog, heeling to the call of my master: Hideo Kojima.

Honestly, I’m just a hopeless geek.