Treit and True:

Your Valentine and Games

As the army of 1,500 GamerchiX can attest, girls are gaming a lot more these days. That should mean you don't have to sneak off to the other room for a couple of hours to get in some Gears of War® while your girlfriend watches a movie. Just in case your baby is not a gamer, though, here are a few simple suggestions on how to combine your sweetie and your favorite pastime on Valentine's Day.

A game with a story goes a long way.

Story Driven
My buddy Aaron used to play The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® for untold hours, and his wife gave him only one caveat for his playtime: She had to be there to watch. Though she didn't usually play herself, they were engrossed in the story together, and she didn't want to miss a moment of his travels and travails in Tamriel.

Find a game with a narrative that strikes a spark with your loved one, and before you know it, game time is together time, and that's a beautiful bonus for any gamer.

Casual Competition
The classic turn-off for any non-gamer is being dragged into a game only to be frustrated by a complicated control scheme. There's a simple solution. Find a common ground with something you can both understand.

Xbox Live® Arcade is chock full of games that are simple to pick up and highly addictive. Games like Zuma® Deluxe, Bejeweled® 2, and Lumines™ Live! are perfect for introducing a casual gamer. There's nothing better than trying to tackle each other's high scores, especially when non-gamers don't feel at a disadvantage.

Honey, I beat your high score!

Much Love for Piñata
Though Xbox Live Arcade is brimming with quality options, no Xbox 360™ game appeals so well to both sexes as Viva Piñata™. Build your garden, romance your piñatas, and discover trick after trick as you properly care for your colorful and tasty charges.

Even better, you can simultaneously run two gardens and swap and share new piñatas with each other, so you can both feel like you're contributing to each other's experience while still building bragging rights over who discovered what first.

Pick a Genre
Imagine my surprise when I kept going on and on about the gore-infested Gears of War the other day, only to discover that my love thought it sounded cool! Upon reflection though, it made perfect sense. She loves horror movies, and a game like Gears provides the same sensations of shock and terror as you tear through enemies with your chainsaw and desperately try to evade the Locust.

The ultimate introduction to full fledged gaming.

Ask yourself what kind of movies your darling likes, and try to find a game that fits the bill. Is she a science fiction fan? Perhaps BioWare's upcoming Mass Effect™ will strike a chord. Is she into romantic comedies? Try a taste of The Sims™ 2.

Multi-Tasking Console
Remember, your Xbox 360 is more than just a game machine, and by building your entire home entertainment experience around the sleek white console, you can make it more accessible. For example:

• Use it to stream music from your PC to your stereo.
• Create slideshows with soundtracks of pictures from a recent trip.
• Introduce your love to the Xbox Live Video Marketplace for catching up on a missed episode of a favorite show, or even downloading the latest movies in HD!
• Video chat with the Xbox Live Vision Camera as a more interesting and fun way to reach friends and family.

Video games and Xbox 360 can and should be used as a way to bring you and your beloved together. Gone are the days where gaming was relegated to the bedroom or the basement as a solitary experience, so find a way to enjoy your favorite hobby with the one you love the most.

P.S. I love you Tina Arguelles! Happy Valentines Day!

Article by Ryan Treit