Man, I can’t remember the last time I had the weekend off from work. To tell you the truth it feels… strange. Already a third of the day as I’ve been sleeping until just a few minutes ago. I’ve been really tired folks. Ever since the holidays, the usual grind has seen a slight change instead of parking my rear end at my home office, it’s parked in front of TV playing games. And it may come as no surprise, but the gaming sessions have been exclusively on 360.

For two weeks, it was all about Gears of War — which by now so many of you have recognized is one of the best titles on the console hands down. In the beginning, I was getting my ass handed to me during multiplayer sessions. For some reason, I couldn’t take people down with the shotgun to save my life; which of course, let to tragic reward of losing my own. Fast forward to the present and these days I can tall with confidence and hold my own. My most memorable highlight happened during an multiplayer session in “Execution”. First team to five wins the set. The first three matches were a blur, but the outcome was the same: my team was losing!!! It wasn’t difficult to figure why we were getting stomped… we lacked a successful strategy and above all, no one was communicating. That’s when I decided it was time to take charge.

“Ok guys, we’re down 4 - 0! We need to change things up and above all focus on sticking together.”

(The final round ensues and both teams spam on the map)

“Alright… here’s the deal. Two of you run to Boomshot and one of you follow me up to the Sniper rifle. Covering fire for whomever is bringing up the rear…. ok??? Go!!!”

Surprisingly, everyone on the team took heed of the orders and followed them to the letter. We took down two players on the Cog team within seconds and eventually managed to take out the others minutes later. Our first victory was secured, but it wasn’t over yet. Given the success of the last match, I took charge as Captain and issued another order which led to another victory… and another…. and another… and another. We came back from a disappointing 4 losses in a row to tie the set 4 - 4. My team was pumped; more confident and it was EXACTLY the type of energy we needed in order to emerge as the champions. The opposing team were shocked needless to say and I knew full well that although we won the last 4 rounds in a row, they were going to do everything they could to prevent us from taking the final round.

“This is it guys… let’s change it up a bit… ALL of us are rushing down the sniper tower. I’ll provide covering fire. The rest of you charge up those steps. Aggressive, AGGRESSIVE! GOGOGO!”

And aggressive they were… the Cogs saw fit to take their stand in the region where the Boomshot was located, which made it perfect for us to hold our ground at the atop of where we secured the Sniper Rifle. They attempted to flank us and aggressively overpower us but my guys refused their access. Unfortunately, they lost their lives in the battle and it left me as the sole survivor on the team against an enemy whose location was unknown to me. One good sniper shot could end it all, but I was inexperienced with the rifle. I wasn’t prepared to take that risk with such a weapon — the shotgun was my best chance at victory. It felt like time was standing still. My enemy was hoping I’d do something reckless; anything stupid to make it easy for him to end the match. But I wasn’t giving him that satisfaction. I knew the best way to end this was to get one or two good shots off with Active Reload. No more waiting… it needs to end now. Eventually he revealed his position and I rushed in for the kill. He armed his pistol and went for the headshot, I strafed every bullet with my weapon ready to fire. This is it man… this is where it ends…

BANG; BANG, you’re dead!

I killed him!!!! We cheered while the opposing team unanimously chanted “nice job…” And to think, all it took was a bit of leadership and a lot of faith! Is there a moral to this story? Not really, but such a statement holds true in many aspects of our lives. One thing is for sure, I know that my destiny is to lead, not to follow.