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The Decision

It's 2020, the year of Covid and craziness.  Everything is closed, visiting with friends verboten.   I was reading a lot earlier in the year, watching some shows, but for an undisclosed "health reason" reading is becoming less viable, and the shows are wearisome.   

So I decided to try my hand at a video game. In years past I enjoyed playing Marathon, Unreal Tournament, Battlefield 2142.  Those games are long gone, but there must be something more modern.  Battlefield 1 looks cool and is only $10.   It's very pretty, but the network play is lame.  Players just pointlessly run around willy-nilly. 

A bit of internet research finds two better candidates: Squad and Escape from Tarkov.   Squad looks good and teamwork is important. But upon reflection I realize that I can't play a game that requires talking on a microphone - my family - we are all working, studying or sleeping within earshot always, because Covid.  So I begin looking at Escape from Tarkov.

I watched a video on YouTube of some gamer "jumping in" to Tarkov. He scanned the confusing starting inventory - an assault rifle, some handguns. A shitload of bandages.   He nervously sets aside the assault rifle and equips with just a pistol for his first venture.  The game loads and...woah - his first mistake was made already - he had selected 03:00 for the start time and that's 3AM, not 3PM. It's night and pitch black. He stumbles around in the dark around for a few minutes, looks at the silhouettes of some buildings, shots crack out, and he's dead.   For some reason, I decide, yes, this is the game for me. 

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