Double Check Before Buying Used Game Systems

Being a single 38-year-old father of a 13-year-old is quite the challenge, but my son, Jared, has made it far too easy for me. He was the poster child of a good child. He never got into trouble, excelled at every subject in school, and had a passion for the classical guitar. Of course, just like any other kid, he would do something wrong, but he was always honest with me. He would tell me what he did, and he would always seem legitimately sorry for his actions.

That is why I was browsing through craigslist looking for an Xbox One. I knew he wanted one, but it was far too expensive for me to buy. I could barely keep up with the bills, but I checked for a decent deal every night before I went to bed.

Four days ago, I came across a new ad placed for an Xbox One with 4 games for just $75. When I clicked on the ad I saw that an enraged mother was selling her son’s game system because he failed in all of his classes. After checking the time and seeing that it was 8:30 pm I called the number that was on the bottom of the post.

10 minutes later, we agreed to meet at my house at 10 am the next day to make the transaction. Before she hung up the phone she said, “I just want you to know something. My son. He is a smart kid. He is a really good boy, but ever since he got that stupid system he started getting obsessed over a game. I don’t really know which one, but just monitor your son.” I hung up the phone with an uneasy feeling, but I knew that my son was different. He deserved it.

When my son came home from school he screamed out in joy when he saw me hooking up his new Xbox up to the tv. He ran up and gave me a hug and sat right next to me while I connected the HDMI cable to the system. I handed the controller to Jared and he started looking through the games. Once he picked out some sort of car racing game I got up and started getting dinner ready. By the time I put together the last chicken taco I turned around to call out to Jared to come in, but I saw he was already sitting on his chair. The whole entire meal Jared thanked me for getting him the Xbox and about how his first couple races went. When we finished dinner he got up and walked into his room.

After I cleared out the dishes and washed them, I walked upstairs to my room and when I passed by his room I checked in his room and saw that he was closing up his school notebook and picking up his guitar. I had to get up early for a meeting the next morning so I fell asleep as soon as I walked into the room to the sound of my son strumming out Fur Elise.

The next couple of days went by smoothly. My son would come home, play on the Xbox for about 1 to 2 hours, eat dinner with me, and then do his homework and practice his guitar before going to bed.

Two days ago, everything changed. My son looked through his games, but after a couple of seconds he started going through the menu on the Xbox. I told myself to make sure I had some new games before next week.

I made chicken soup that night, but when I was done making it my son was not sitting in front of the dinner table like he always was. After I called out to him 3 times without a response I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

He was completely fixated on a game I haven’t seen him play before.

It was just a yellow ball on the far right corner of the screen. There were smaller gray balls flying towards the yellow ball that I guess you tried to avoid. I tapped on Jared’s shoulder, but he ignored me and kept playing the game.

He never did this before so I just took his dinner out to the living room and placed it next to him. I told him to eat it whenever he felt like it.

I never really worried about him. He always did the right thing. The next day was Saturday too, so I decided to let him play the game for as long as he wanted. After I finished my dinner I gave Jared a kiss on the forehead and walked to my room. I was used to falling asleep to the sound of his music, but the fast paced rhythmic tapping on his controller slowly guided me to sleep.

I woke up at 5 am yesterday morning. The first thing I noticed was that I could still hear the sound of tapping. The second thing I noticed was that the tapping was completely in rhythm. Not a single tap was out of the beat that filled the otherwise silent house. I got out of bed and walked downstairs.

Jared was still sitting in front of the tv. I tapped on him several times, but he did not take his eyes off of the screen. I looked him in the eyes to get his attention, but the glazed look in his eyes made me start to panic. His eyes were a solid green. It wasn’t the lighting or anything on the screen. His eyes were solid green. Without any hesitation, I grabbed the controller out of his hands and started to drag him to his room. He screamed and tried to get out of my grip, but I didn’t loosen my grip until he was in his room.

Through his tears and his screaming, he crawled to his bed and fell asleep.

Curious, I went downstairs and picked up the controller. It was on the start menu so I just clicked on the option that said, “Start New Game.”

I played it one time.

Just once, but it is taking all of my willpower to not play it again. I know it’s not good. It’s called “Desires Unknown.” If you happen to come across the game please do not play it.

It has taken up almost all of my thoughts.

What does the game do?

When you start the game you are the dot on the far right side. Not just a pixelated version of you. No. A real life version of you.

The gray dots that fly towards you?

Everything that you ever wanted.

The first couple of dots were my favorite foods. Lasagna, steak, roast beef, and spaghetti, but as the dots progressed, it soon became my son graduating from an Ivy League college, my wife surviving past the first 3 hours of Jared’s birth and the promotion that would allow me to spend more time with Jared without having to worry about finances. It took me everything to avoid all of the temptations, but I’m afraid to play again.