By now you guys know that I'm big into gaming, I write it about it most of the time. But where do my credentials come in? What makes me feel I'm a valid person to talk about gaming in general? Well I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane and list a bit of my gamer background.
The early 1980's really introduced me to gaming, I was young yet I can still remember playing Pong back when Pong was one of the few games in town. It wasn't long before an Atari 2600 was introduced to the house and after that the 7800. Many a day was spent playing F1 Pole Position and Pacman, not to mention tons of other games like Space Invaders, Breakout, Missile Command and Donkey Kong. I was hooked at a young age and it's a lust that's never worn out.
In the Mid 80's the NES hit the market, and my love affair with "The Legend of Zelda", Metroid and Kid Icarus began. Contra, and Battletoads where there as well, as was that other evil game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (remember the Dam level?). I never was a major Mario fan, and I'm still not but I will say Super Mario Bros. 2 was my favorite of the series and still is. No hopping through pipes to find out your princess is in another castle.
As the decade closed out I found new games to capture my attention, I still don't know how many quarters I dropped into that old Altered Beast cabinet at the local arcade, or any of the countless other machines that crossed my path.
Into the 90's and the introduction of the SNES, I can't count how many titles I enjoyed on this system. And don't forget the quality Arcade systems that came around the same time. Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and what I feel is the golden age of the Final Fantasy series.
The real big game changer for my Gaming experience happened in 1998 when I was introduced to Ultima Online. A buddy of mine was playing it and I asked him what it was, since I was due to make a deployment soon I waited until after my discharge to acquire a copy and in 1999 I began my online adventures. I haven't looked back, since 1999 I've mainly invested my time in PC gaming. And while my resume isn't as long as some PC Gamers it is full of quality.
From 1999 to present for the PC I can name numerous titles. Diablo, UO, EQ, Diablo II, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights (1 and 2), Atlantica Online, SWTOR, Civilization, The Sims and many, many others. PC games offer an experience unlike most console games, where a Console isn't upgradable I can upgrade my PC every few years, or build a new one and keep up with cutting edge technology, and here's the difference, PC Games almost always have no issues with backwards compatibility. I can play Diablo II today just like I did the day it was released, go ahead slap a PSX disk in your PS3 see how well that works for ya. Sure some of the older games like Dark Sun: Shattered Lands or Menzobarranzan have issues, but DOSBox quickly handles them.
In 2011 I purchased a Nintendo Wii, I use it mainly for streaming Netflix, but there are a few titles I really enjoy. Most of the "Lego" games like Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, as well as new additions to long lasting franchises like the Legend of Zelda titles released for the Wii. But for me PC gaming is still much more fun and economical than consoles, and for the future I can't see that changing.
As we continue to catch up with the future, I'll continue playing games, and I'll continue looking to broaden my experiences in both Online and Standalone titles. I hope everyone reading this does the same.
The early 1980's really introduced me to gaming, I was young yet I can still remember playing Pong back when Pong was one of the few games in town. It wasn't long before an Atari 2600 was introduced to the house and after that the 7800. Many a day was spent playing F1 Pole Position and Pacman, not to mention tons of other games like Space Invaders, Breakout, Missile Command and Donkey Kong. I was hooked at a young age and it's a lust that's never worn out.
In the Mid 80's the NES hit the market, and my love affair with "The Legend of Zelda", Metroid and Kid Icarus began. Contra, and Battletoads where there as well, as was that other evil game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (remember the Dam level?). I never was a major Mario fan, and I'm still not but I will say Super Mario Bros. 2 was my favorite of the series and still is. No hopping through pipes to find out your princess is in another castle.
As the decade closed out I found new games to capture my attention, I still don't know how many quarters I dropped into that old Altered Beast cabinet at the local arcade, or any of the countless other machines that crossed my path.
Into the 90's and the introduction of the SNES, I can't count how many titles I enjoyed on this system. And don't forget the quality Arcade systems that came around the same time. Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and what I feel is the golden age of the Final Fantasy series.
The real big game changer for my Gaming experience happened in 1998 when I was introduced to Ultima Online. A buddy of mine was playing it and I asked him what it was, since I was due to make a deployment soon I waited until after my discharge to acquire a copy and in 1999 I began my online adventures. I haven't looked back, since 1999 I've mainly invested my time in PC gaming. And while my resume isn't as long as some PC Gamers it is full of quality.
From 1999 to present for the PC I can name numerous titles. Diablo, UO, EQ, Diablo II, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights (1 and 2), Atlantica Online, SWTOR, Civilization, The Sims and many, many others. PC games offer an experience unlike most console games, where a Console isn't upgradable I can upgrade my PC every few years, or build a new one and keep up with cutting edge technology, and here's the difference, PC Games almost always have no issues with backwards compatibility. I can play Diablo II today just like I did the day it was released, go ahead slap a PSX disk in your PS3 see how well that works for ya. Sure some of the older games like Dark Sun: Shattered Lands or Menzobarranzan have issues, but DOSBox quickly handles them.
In 2011 I purchased a Nintendo Wii, I use it mainly for streaming Netflix, but there are a few titles I really enjoy. Most of the "Lego" games like Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, as well as new additions to long lasting franchises like the Legend of Zelda titles released for the Wii. But for me PC gaming is still much more fun and economical than consoles, and for the future I can't see that changing.
As we continue to catch up with the future, I'll continue playing games, and I'll continue looking to broaden my experiences in both Online and Standalone titles. I hope everyone reading this does the same.
