So, over the past few weeks there have doubtless been a huge amount of important steps forwards in the world of gaming, some good games released, and doubtless some exciting news or other.

I however have been privy to absolutely none of this.

Any why is that you ask? Should you not be scouring all manner of game newspapers and websites for inspiration for this very column?

And the answer of course is a hearty yes.

However, these past few weeks have been totally kicking my ass work-wise. We’ve had auditors in and the daily cavity searches and constant requests for more information has basically meant that by the time I’ve (finally) left in the evening, I’m far too tired and shagged out to do anything other than lay on my couch, eat bad food, and try to find some way to relax.

Now when I’m in this kind of state I will not, out of respect for the makers, actually play any kind of new game, mostly because I know that I’ll be in pretty much no fit state to actually enjoy it, or to judge it accurately. It would be deeply unfair for me to blast a game that on later play is great; simply because at the time I played it, I was only one step up from being a drooling mongoloid.

And trust me, it was a very small step.

What I do play at times like this though are the old favourites, games I’ve played hundreds of times before, games that are basically comforting.

Yes folks, here you have it, the videogame as a metaphor for a teddy-bear.

Generally speaking right now what this leads to is marathon sessions of Fifa 09, and the Resident Evil games, all of which I’ve played to completion many times over. I know every storyline twist on Resi, and can merrily just watch the ball bouncing back and forth of Fifa.

Obviously, as a reasonably well educated fellow, and someone who has a reasonable level of self awareness I’m perfectly well aware of the fact that I’m really just using these games to avoid having to confront the stresses of my day, and that they block out and prevent me actually having to think.

And frankly, I’m 100% happy with that. I don’t want reality all the time, occasionally I want to be able to drift away into a world of fantasy, and I thank anyone who cares to listen that video-games give me that opportunity.