Comic Meets Gadgets: Oh how I should have been a plumber

Posted March 7, 2006 at 08:26 PM by XXDave Rubin

Section: Gaming, Features, Columns

‘CMG’ is a column about a comics quest to conquer the tech world. Dave Rubin contributes ‘CMG’ to Gadgetell weekly. Read more of Dave’s musing at The Daily Dave.

Nintendo, which seems to have one mission these days, to end my gaming career, has just put another nail in my coffin. It’s new game, “Trauma Center: Under the Knife”, for the portable DS system, allows you to perform various medical procedures on patients. It’s actually a first in video games, a game where you are trying to save people, not kill them. Despite that lofty goal, I can assure you that my patience for saving the patient’s would be rather low. And my rate of yelling at the screen would be rather high.

Anyway, video games seem to always want to be more and more real, but a game where you play a doctor? What’s part two of this game going to be about? You get sued for malpractice because you rushed the operation so you could make your tee time? Then you have to become a virtual lawyer and defend yourself? Someone really needs to tell Nintendo to get back to making games about plumbers who eat mushrooms.

Oh, how I should’ve been a plumber.

Dave Rubin is a comedian and writer who has pitched shows to HBO, Showtime and Comedy Central. His cable access show, “The Anti Show” was secretly shot at NBC studios in New York. Dave lives with his gold fish, Fritz. Read more of Dave’s musing at The Daily Dave.