My Gaming History

I can't remember how old I was when I experienced my first video game but I do remember being given my first console, the Commodore 64. It was Christmas day, I was given a carrier bag full of cassettes which I thought were music at the time but my dad explained that they were games. I recognised ones like Garfield and Ghostbusters as I watched them on TV. When it came to setting up the console and loading the games I had no idea whatsoever so it was up to my dad to do it for me.

How weird was it to load the games though? Didn't you have to rewind the tape and press play and record? It didn't always work for me and took a while. Batman on the C64 rarely worked for me. However they were fun and a brand new experience to me when they did work.

One set I had was the Dizzy collection. Anybody remember that? Dizzy was a little egg with red gloves and boots and starred in his own adventures such as Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy Land Dizzy and Wonderland Dizzy. There were a couple more games but I never finished any of them. In fact I can't remember if I completed any C64 games! Think I have a new challenge this year...

Of course the C64 introduced me to the fantastic Bubble Bobble! Who didn't enjoy that game? I was very happy when they released the game in a future collection for the PS2. 

It wasn't all cassettes mind. I had one cartridge that fitted into the back of the Commodore which played straight away! Happy days.

The joystick wasn't the best to use either especially compared to today's standards. I can't remember using the keyboard much to play games although imagine I did.  

I was very happy when I had my second console the NES. Why? I no longer had to load tapes, just place a cartridge into the machine and power on! Hey Presto!

My first ever NES game like many people was Super Mario Bros. The one that came with Duck Hunt. I used to cheat at Duck Hunt, I'd press my gun against the screen. No ducks would escape me! It's ok though, I wouldn't even dream of cheating at a game these days, it takes all the fun out of it!

I then enjoyed such games as Bucky O'hare, Ducktales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Double Dragon, Darkwing Duck and more! In those days I didn't care about any reviews of the games, if I liked what I saw I'd ask my parents to buy it for me. Those were the days.

Mario Golf was one game I really enjoyed. My friends and I enjoyed many countless hours playing that. If you want to know more about it check out my previous post on it:

Mario Golf

My 3rd console was the Sega Mega Drive. When I think of the Mega Drive I don't think of Sonic the Hedgehog, I think of Streets of Rage! That game was great and one I will play

on occasion. Don't get me wrong though, Sonic was amazing too! I also had Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Micro Machines and Worms to name but a few! I had less Mega Drive games than I did NES but that was fine. Soon I would turn my hand to PC gaming.

MDK was one of the first PC games I played as well as two Goosebumps titles, Age Of Empires and Worms 2. There were many more but the main one for me was The Curse Of Monkey Island and I'm sure many of you would agree that it is a legend of a game! That was the first MI game I played and shortly after I picked up the first two. 3 headed monkey madness!! I really enjoyed the limited edition games they brought out for The Secret of Monkey Island and LeChuck's revenge!

I also bought Final Fantasy 7 for the PC and it would always start to play then freeze on me. I was rubbish with specifications and always bought things that wouldn't run on my computer. I was young ok? I know better now but only use my laptop for emulators and Mame arcade games. Due to not being able to play FF7 I persuaded my dad to buy me a Playstation so I wouldn't have to install the game.

So with the Playstation I was then able to enjoy FF7 in all its glory! Best decision I ever made was buying it off my friend in school. The Playstation also introduced me to the WWF games (ok WWE, calm down) and I continued to buy them yearly except the past two years. Metal Gear Solid, FF8, FF9, Driver, Tomb Raider and Resident Evil were among a few classics for me. It was great to experience games after the PC that loaded up straight away and the graphics for the time were great.

After owning the Playstation it wasn't long until I upgraded to the PS2. I owned more games on the PS2 than the PS1 and enjoyed such titles as FFX, Max Payne, Rogue Galaxy, Kingdom Hearts, Grand Theft Auto, Dragon Quest, Bully, more Resident Evil and Tomb Raider although I felt the quality of the latter two start to dwindle by now. 

When the PS3 was released I decided I wasn't going to buy it for a few months as I still had some PS2 games to finish but became too excited and went out and bought it the next week! You could definitely see the change in graphics and for the first time you could add your friends and play with them online. That's when I discovered Call Of Duty and became addicted to the online play. The hours would fly by! I don't play it as much as I used to as I just have too many games to play. One of my favourite games on the PS3 is Portal 2. GlaDos and cake! That's one game I want to replay. From Assassin's Creed to Borderlands to L.A Noire to Mass Effect to Red Dead Redemption to the revamped Tomb Raider and Uncharted, gaming took a huge leap with the PS3 and there are too many great games released to list them all. 

Now I actually bought the Wii for my dad for his birthday. No self interest was involved I assure you! I'm just an awesome son! Really... This was the first console I used with a motion detector controller and at the time that was quite cool and something brand new to me. I was never very good at baseball on Wii Sports mind. I bought a few games for the Wii but have hardly touched them besides the great Super Smash Bros Brawl and Donkey Kong Country returns! The system was worth buying just for those two games alone. I might upgrade to the Wii U one day.

Somewhere between these last couple of consoles I purchased a DS and much like the Wii I have only played a handful of the games I have for it. My most notable titles on the DS are the Ace Attourney series, Castlevania, Super Mario Bros and Scribblenauts. Although I do have a Zelda and some Final Fantasy titles I am yet to play. I know! Shock horror! 

I think I have lost the order of when I purchased these consoles but I bought the PSP for one reason- Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. Obviously nothing will beat FF7 on the PS1 but if any spinoff games are released or even films for that matter than I am there and this was one game I enjoyed which is a prequel to the best RPG out there. I have little games for the PSP but it has it's own uses such as a library full of old NES and Mega Drive titles perhaps ;)  

I also purchased a SNES a few years ago to play Donkey Kong Country although I can see myself getting rid of it now with the virtual console games available to download. DKC was one of my favourite games as a kid and I often played it over my friends house.

Finally but certainly not least my friends suggested I buy a 3DS and I did so if not for Zelda alone. A Link Between Worlds was a great game and one of only two 3DS games as of writing this but I am planning on buying a few more. Fire Emblem Awakening is the other :)

The next console on my list? Well that would have to be the mighty PS4! Xbox? What is this xbox you speak of?

If anyone can recommend a few good 3DS titles then please drop me a line ;)