First, I would like to establish why I would volunteer to take part in a blog about video games. Let’s just say I grew up in a remote area where I would consider a neighbor anyone who was within a 2 mile radius. So, when I was tired of exploring the outdoors with my siblings or it was too dark or to cold outside, video games were really the only other option. Oh and no, we didn’t have cable.

I first started gaming in 1988 on an Atari 2600 enjoying the typical classics like “Tanks” and “Pac-Man”. A few years later I discovered the NES overdosing on “Super Mario/Duck Hunt” and many others along the way.

Now we are somewhere between the years ’92 and ’94. I have been playing “Sonic the Hedgehog” on the Sega Genesis but will be quickly sidetracked by the discovery of arguably the best FPS of all time “Wolfenstein 3D”. Wolfenstein 3D would set the pace for games from “Doom” to “Duke Nuke’em” with it’s first person view, 3D’esq environment and endless carnage. I now confess to you that I spent hours a day, days a week and probably weeks out of a year glued to a little 32-bit box monitor hooked up to a ’93 IBM killing Nazi’s. I honestly don’t know how I didn’t die from the copious amounts of caffeine and sugar I consumed from drinking gallons of Mountain Dew and being in a constant immobile state.

The Genesis would get its fair share of usage always staying in my interest by releasing a decent game here and their like Aladdin and Castlevania and then big hits like the Mortal Kombat and Sonic sequels. But as the years progressed I became more and more interested in PC games.

In 1995 my parents would again pony up the cash to feed my growing addiction by upgrading the current video card in our already brand new computer so that I could play the game “Bioforge”. Bioforge was a first of its kind 3rd person action/adventure, puzzle solving and moral testing onslaught. I would then move on to games like Warcraft, Starcraft, Half-Life, Max Payne and Hitman.

Along with my progression of PC game play we also were lucky enough to get one of the coveted N64’s for Christmas of ’96. I think everyone remembers the success of “Mario 64”. By 2001 I was a weathered video game veteran and was in complete control of my domain when the GameCube was released. Now, I had fallen into a set routine of divvying up my time between PC and Console gaming. I was in my element, no one could touch me, friends and family alike would fall under my deadly accuracy in “Goldeneye” and be bashed into oblivion by Link in “Super Smash Bros.” and “Super Smash Bros. Melee”.

Then quite abruptly it all ended. Cold Turkey, no Consoles, no PC. At best I played on my console sporadically from ’02 to ‘06 and it would be years before I would lay my fingers on another keyboard for the pleasure of gaming. I am now back on the wagon and going strong. A lot has changed since ’02 and I have been taking full advantage of that. I am not nearly as heavy a user as I used to be but with my age and experience I have gained patience and the ability to find only the really good games. That, reader, is what I plan to share with you here. I won’t waste your time with reviews of bad games unless I feel they need an honorable mention. The blogs that I will be writing will be of games that I feel are the cream of the crop. IF you are still reading thank you for your time and enjoy.

Best,
neoeon