Back In The Day
I think I am at the point where I am old enough now to say "back in the day." Anyway here I am about to pass out and I am feeling curiously nostalgic.
About Video Games, as opposed to ranking the various games I've played over the years. Since I've been told I do not play enough video games to be able to judge.
I will list them by the decade played followed by a small description of why this game is memorable to me.
1990s -
Super Mario Brothers for the Nintendo Entertainment System - This a no brainer everyone who bought a nintendo played Mario. I remember being in an apartment in Arizona playing this daily. I remember it was my little brother's turn and in order to get more time on the game. I sang a lullaby to get him to sleep and lose his turn. It worked and I eventually beat Mario by singing my brother to sleep whenever he wanted to play.
Zelda - This game was difficult for me I couldn't figure out where to go, how to get to Ganon and at some point I just gave up. This was the first Zelda and it was completely isometric the second Zelda ended up being a both a top down game and a side scroller. I never beat the second one either. The third one for Super Nintendo was a far better structured game. It was beatable as long as you spent the time required to beat it.
Sim City 2000 - This game was my first real gaming addiction. I would go to my friend's house and this would be all I would do. At that time I seriously had no interest other then building a city and getting the much desired Arcos. At some point when we bought a Pentium 90 I was finally able to play it on my own machine. My friend and I didn't talk for a long time.
Doom - Ahhh yes, this was actually installed in my science class in the 6th grade. It was funny no one really cared about what the science teacher wanted from them. All they wanted to do was play Doom. This is when Alt Tab made it easy to avoid doing work at all. Granted on windows 3.11 it took forever to alt tab back and forth but Walt was so aloof he rarely payed attention to what was going on. I admit I indulged in the Doom fad myself. I was only able to beat the game with the cheats.
Final Fantasy III (US) or VI (Japan) - Not only did it have great gameplay, but the story itself kept me interested. At about the halfway point in the dark world I could not get off the Island. Later my friend (the same one with Sim City 2000) had a save game at the end and I killed off Kefka.
Pilot Wings (SNES) - Maybe I liked this game because it was ridiculously hard. I would rent this game at Video To Go for five dollars for a week. I really must have had terrible business sense as a kid. I must have rented the game every week for a year. It would have saved my grandparents at the least $50 to buy it.
Tie Fighter Deluxe Edition - When I played this I swore I would beat the game. I bought the strategy guide beat it but never was able to complete every objective in the campaigns. I went through 3 joysticks playing this game. I still think there has not been a Star Wars Space Simulator that has matched it since.
Star Trek 25th Anniversary and Star Trek Judgement Rites - These were adventure games, you'd either be on the ground on an away mission with a linear set of things to accomplish or in a battle on the bridge of the Enterprise. Most of the cast from the original series returned to do the voice overs in game. I beat both of them with the strategy guides. I have many memories of hearing, "No effect, No effect, No effect." Over and over again.
Diablo - Started a PC Gaming revolution, again same story a friend had it and I played over his house just to level my warrior whenever I was over. When I bought the game eventually we stopped hanging out. Everything about Diablo was so intense, the levels, the monsters, the town of tristram itself and the weaponry. I eventually beat the game by the overused duped Staff of Apocalypse. I am sure there are plenty of dupes still going on to anyone that still plays.
War Craft 2: Tides Of War - I never really played this in multiplayer because at the time even on an ISDN line this game had high latency. Besides no one really played on Battle.net back then. I enjoyed the campaign but never completely finished it for Humans or Orcs.
Star Wars Rebel Assault 1 & 2 - Kind of a mix between a space simulator and an FMV. I went through a few joysticks on these games too. At the time the graphics and the cinematics were unmatched. I enjoyed playing both of them and they were both easily beatable.
The Logical Journey of The Zoombinis - I don't know exactly how I wound up with this game but it was addictive. Basically its like Lemmings but there are numbers, letters, and all kinds of weird little mini games that made it interesting. Though the game technically wasn't beatable you'd get a score for how many Zoombinis you got across the map. I miss this game a lot.
Spaceship Warlock - This game was only available on the Mac. It was an adventure game, I actually played the game when my brother was having his back surgery. I would play this game in the Ronald Mcdonald house he was staying at. I figured out eventually that the game would activate certain events based on keywords. All I had to do was look in the directory where the keywords were and I figured out what did what. I regret not having the time to completely finish this game.
Golgo 13 - A very bizarre side scroller, I think it was supposed to be along the lines of James Bond or something. I couldn't get past the second level. Piece of shit if you ask me.
Dark Forces - The Star Wars equivalent of Doom I remember seeing the Super Storm Trooper for the first time I had fun shooting the shit out of that sprite as they were called then.
Super Mario 64 - The most advanced game of its time. Truly addicted till I finally mastered the game with the strategy guide.
Golden Eye 007 - Another breakthrough in FPS' I remember planting remote mines all over the place and blowing them up with the whole screen shaking, killing everyone in its path. Odd Job, good times.
Diablo 2 - Though a leap ahead in gameplay, the graphics to me actually seem worse then the first one. I played this game for close to 7 years. When the update to 1.10 came out I invested a few months in acquiring a Faith Grand Matron Bow for my Amazon. I was happy that day, after all how many Amazons have a Paladin aura active on them to enhance your weapon?
Final Fantasy 7 - Though disliked by some Final Fantasy fans. I think this was the coolest one out of all of them. Granted the graphics are shit now but back then it was amazing. I'll never forget Shinra or the big city you start in. The game had this gritty feel to it, again though if it weren't for the strategy guide I probably would have never beat the game.
Mortal Combat - Baraka, spikes, finish him...Nuff' said.
Star Fox - There were three different paths to winning the game all of them led to the same boss but I always took the easiest route to win.
2000 -
Counter Strike - I played for 2-3 years straight from day to night. My favorite map had to be AS_Gasworks. It was apparently an old half life or Team Fortress map that was adapted to CS. I always enjoyed playing the VIP. Basically you are equipped with a USP 45. and your team mates are supposed to protect you till you reach the exit point. In one game I was completely alone and there were five other players against me. I stood on the ladder that comes out of the sewage and popped some caps right in the head of the two guys that were following me. Somehow managed to avoid the other 3 and made it to the exit point. Good times!
World of Warcraft - Thinking how much time was wasted playing this I will never go back. Infact I'd have to say I'd rather spend my time in a gay bar with a bunch of dudes then go back to whoring in WOW.
Grand Theft Auto 3 - Made for greatness. I love a rainy nights, I love a rainy nights!
Ragnarok Online Beta - I had fun when it came out I even made two friends for a time. One of them was a guy who kept saying his name was "Neo." The other was a girl "Vivre" from Indonesia. She ended up being a bitch and married "Neo" in game. I stopped playing soon after.
Shogun: Total War - Best TBS and RTS I have ever played.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Stunning in graphics, but difficult to master.
Hearts of Iron 1-3 - Its an RTS but historical. World War II was never portrayed any better then these games.
2010 - 2011 -
Star Craft 2 - For an RTS its fun. Its like WOW Crack though.
Left For Dead 2 - Killing zombies with an assortment of arms. Too fun not to play.
League of Legends - Was introduced into this game by a girl. It seems more and more girls are becoming gamers these days. I do feel that though the aesthetic of most games now has improved ten fold. The actual quality of gameplay has dropped in recent years.
I don't know maybe its just me, but I'd like to play Golden Eye 007 right about now.
About Video Games, as opposed to ranking the various games I've played over the years. Since I've been told I do not play enough video games to be able to judge.
I will list them by the decade played followed by a small description of why this game is memorable to me.
1990s -
Super Mario Brothers for the Nintendo Entertainment System - This a no brainer everyone who bought a nintendo played Mario. I remember being in an apartment in Arizona playing this daily. I remember it was my little brother's turn and in order to get more time on the game. I sang a lullaby to get him to sleep and lose his turn. It worked and I eventually beat Mario by singing my brother to sleep whenever he wanted to play.
Zelda - This game was difficult for me I couldn't figure out where to go, how to get to Ganon and at some point I just gave up. This was the first Zelda and it was completely isometric the second Zelda ended up being a both a top down game and a side scroller. I never beat the second one either. The third one for Super Nintendo was a far better structured game. It was beatable as long as you spent the time required to beat it.
Sim City 2000 - This game was my first real gaming addiction. I would go to my friend's house and this would be all I would do. At that time I seriously had no interest other then building a city and getting the much desired Arcos. At some point when we bought a Pentium 90 I was finally able to play it on my own machine. My friend and I didn't talk for a long time.
Doom - Ahhh yes, this was actually installed in my science class in the 6th grade. It was funny no one really cared about what the science teacher wanted from them. All they wanted to do was play Doom. This is when Alt Tab made it easy to avoid doing work at all. Granted on windows 3.11 it took forever to alt tab back and forth but Walt was so aloof he rarely payed attention to what was going on. I admit I indulged in the Doom fad myself. I was only able to beat the game with the cheats.
Final Fantasy III (US) or VI (Japan) - Not only did it have great gameplay, but the story itself kept me interested. At about the halfway point in the dark world I could not get off the Island. Later my friend (the same one with Sim City 2000) had a save game at the end and I killed off Kefka.
Pilot Wings (SNES) - Maybe I liked this game because it was ridiculously hard. I would rent this game at Video To Go for five dollars for a week. I really must have had terrible business sense as a kid. I must have rented the game every week for a year. It would have saved my grandparents at the least $50 to buy it.
Tie Fighter Deluxe Edition - When I played this I swore I would beat the game. I bought the strategy guide beat it but never was able to complete every objective in the campaigns. I went through 3 joysticks playing this game. I still think there has not been a Star Wars Space Simulator that has matched it since.
Star Trek 25th Anniversary and Star Trek Judgement Rites - These were adventure games, you'd either be on the ground on an away mission with a linear set of things to accomplish or in a battle on the bridge of the Enterprise. Most of the cast from the original series returned to do the voice overs in game. I beat both of them with the strategy guides. I have many memories of hearing, "No effect, No effect, No effect." Over and over again.
Diablo - Started a PC Gaming revolution, again same story a friend had it and I played over his house just to level my warrior whenever I was over. When I bought the game eventually we stopped hanging out. Everything about Diablo was so intense, the levels, the monsters, the town of tristram itself and the weaponry. I eventually beat the game by the overused duped Staff of Apocalypse. I am sure there are plenty of dupes still going on to anyone that still plays.
War Craft 2: Tides Of War - I never really played this in multiplayer because at the time even on an ISDN line this game had high latency. Besides no one really played on Battle.net back then. I enjoyed the campaign but never completely finished it for Humans or Orcs.
Star Wars Rebel Assault 1 & 2 - Kind of a mix between a space simulator and an FMV. I went through a few joysticks on these games too. At the time the graphics and the cinematics were unmatched. I enjoyed playing both of them and they were both easily beatable.
The Logical Journey of The Zoombinis - I don't know exactly how I wound up with this game but it was addictive. Basically its like Lemmings but there are numbers, letters, and all kinds of weird little mini games that made it interesting. Though the game technically wasn't beatable you'd get a score for how many Zoombinis you got across the map. I miss this game a lot.
Spaceship Warlock - This game was only available on the Mac. It was an adventure game, I actually played the game when my brother was having his back surgery. I would play this game in the Ronald Mcdonald house he was staying at. I figured out eventually that the game would activate certain events based on keywords. All I had to do was look in the directory where the keywords were and I figured out what did what. I regret not having the time to completely finish this game.
Golgo 13 - A very bizarre side scroller, I think it was supposed to be along the lines of James Bond or something. I couldn't get past the second level. Piece of shit if you ask me.
Dark Forces - The Star Wars equivalent of Doom I remember seeing the Super Storm Trooper for the first time I had fun shooting the shit out of that sprite as they were called then.
Super Mario 64 - The most advanced game of its time. Truly addicted till I finally mastered the game with the strategy guide.
Golden Eye 007 - Another breakthrough in FPS' I remember planting remote mines all over the place and blowing them up with the whole screen shaking, killing everyone in its path. Odd Job, good times.
Diablo 2 - Though a leap ahead in gameplay, the graphics to me actually seem worse then the first one. I played this game for close to 7 years. When the update to 1.10 came out I invested a few months in acquiring a Faith Grand Matron Bow for my Amazon. I was happy that day, after all how many Amazons have a Paladin aura active on them to enhance your weapon?
Final Fantasy 7 - Though disliked by some Final Fantasy fans. I think this was the coolest one out of all of them. Granted the graphics are shit now but back then it was amazing. I'll never forget Shinra or the big city you start in. The game had this gritty feel to it, again though if it weren't for the strategy guide I probably would have never beat the game.
Mortal Combat - Baraka, spikes, finish him...Nuff' said.
Star Fox - There were three different paths to winning the game all of them led to the same boss but I always took the easiest route to win.
2000 -
Counter Strike - I played for 2-3 years straight from day to night. My favorite map had to be AS_Gasworks. It was apparently an old half life or Team Fortress map that was adapted to CS. I always enjoyed playing the VIP. Basically you are equipped with a USP 45. and your team mates are supposed to protect you till you reach the exit point. In one game I was completely alone and there were five other players against me. I stood on the ladder that comes out of the sewage and popped some caps right in the head of the two guys that were following me. Somehow managed to avoid the other 3 and made it to the exit point. Good times!
World of Warcraft - Thinking how much time was wasted playing this I will never go back. Infact I'd have to say I'd rather spend my time in a gay bar with a bunch of dudes then go back to whoring in WOW.
Grand Theft Auto 3 - Made for greatness. I love a rainy nights, I love a rainy nights!
Ragnarok Online Beta - I had fun when it came out I even made two friends for a time. One of them was a guy who kept saying his name was "Neo." The other was a girl "Vivre" from Indonesia. She ended up being a bitch and married "Neo" in game. I stopped playing soon after.
Shogun: Total War - Best TBS and RTS I have ever played.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Stunning in graphics, but difficult to master.
Hearts of Iron 1-3 - Its an RTS but historical. World War II was never portrayed any better then these games.
2010 - 2011 -
Star Craft 2 - For an RTS its fun. Its like WOW Crack though.
Left For Dead 2 - Killing zombies with an assortment of arms. Too fun not to play.
League of Legends - Was introduced into this game by a girl. It seems more and more girls are becoming gamers these days. I do feel that though the aesthetic of most games now has improved ten fold. The actual quality of gameplay has dropped in recent years.
I don't know maybe its just me, but I'd like to play Golden Eye 007 right about now.
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