There it was. Tucked behind a cracked copy of Madden 06 sat Gears of War . The cover art—Marcus Fenix looking like a walking tank—promised a world of gritty survival.
It was 2007. The "New Releases" rack was a wall of legends: Halo 3 , BioShock , Mass Effect . Leo navigated the aisles like a scout, passing the wall of tube TVs and the clicking demo kiosks. He wasn’t looking for the new stuff, though; he was headed for the "Pre-Owned" bin, the bargain hunter’s gold mine.
Leo handed over his cash, the heavy clink of the disc inside the case sounding like a winning slot machine. He sprinted to his beat-up sedan, the Best Buy sign glowing in his rearview mirror.
"Finding what you need?" a blue-shirted employee asked, appearing like a ghost from the shadows of the refrigerator aisle.
Ten minutes later, the ritual began. The iconic "whoosh" of the Xbox 360 dashboard, the tray sliding shut with a mechanical snap, and the green ring of light glowing like a beacon. As the chainsaw bayonet revved on his speakers, the rest of the world faded. For Leo, the weekend had officially started.
The employee grinned. "If you want to spend the next forty-eight hours straight on your couch? Yeah. It’s the best."
