My Game Console Memories

Over the course of my life I've owned several different gaming consoles and each one represents great gaming memories as well as specific moments in my life. I decided it be cool to take a look back at my personal gaming history and the games that consumed my life for days and days.



The first console I ever owned was a nintendo entertainment system. I didn't own many games and ended up playing the packed in game super mario bros. While i never could get passed world 8 as a kid I loved the challenge and the secrets such as warp tubs and hidden power ups. Even after 20 plus years I still get the mario brothers theme stuck in my head.

NES: Super Mario Bros
Notable mentions: Super Mario 3, Mega Man 2, Duck Hunt, Blaster Master, Skate or Die

 I never owned a super nintendo but i was lucky enough to have an awesome aunt who had one at her house and so whenever I'd go up for the weekend I'd play it constantly with her and my uncle and those memories have stuck with me to this day. She had both Super Mario World and Mario All Stars which I played everyday for hours.

SNES: Super Mario World
Notable Mentions: Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:Turtles in Time, Super Mario Kart, Mario All-stars




















I grew up with an original gameboy and had the entire accessory kit including magnifying glass for the screen and a light to play in the dark (kids have it easy these days). So many of these great games I still own, but few really consumed me as much as metroid 2. I remember looking at the box art of samus and having no clue what the game was about, but knowing I had to play it. At 7 years old it was probably a little too advanced for me

Game Boy: Metroid 2
Notable Mentions: Tetris, Mario Land 2, Star Wars, Pokemon Red and Yellow



I never owned a nintendo 64 but i came close. My mom knew a guy who could get us one along with a lot of great games for super cheap only problem was I had to wait til he got one in. i even bought mario kart 64 in preparation. While that never really materialized (see below)  I remember renting I had several friends who owned N64's so I was able to play hundreds of hours at their houses. Nothing compared to goldeneye multiplayer. I recently purchased an n64 at a local pawn shop and the first game I bought was goldeneye, while it hasn't aged very well when compared to the great fps of today the nostalgia came flooding back to me. one of my favorite games of all time.

N64: Goldeneye
Notable Mentions: Star Fox 64, Star Wars: Episode 1: Racer, Mario Kart 64, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Super Smash Brothers



Instead of getting a n64 as my parents originally planned I ended up with a  playstation instead. My mom's friend said they had just gotten in a playstation and they would give me a dozen or so games and controllers at a huge discount. Considereing the most games i had at one time was about five I couldn't resist. t always wonder how my gaming life would be different had i gotten a n64. would i have bought a gamecube instead of a ps2? Would I even still be playing games to this day? What really distinguished the playstation to the nintendo 64 was how many mature games were a lot more prevalent as was music, cg cutscenes. metal gear solid was the prime example of that. It was the first game I ever played that felt like a hollywood action movie. it had it all including cutscenes, voice acting and set piece moments. It showed me what goes could be as a artistic medium and kept me playing games.

Playstation: metal gear solid 
Notable Mentions: crash bandicoot, resident evil, final fantasy 7, tony hawk, tekken 2, wwf: smack down 2:know your role



The playstation 2 was one of the greatest consoles of all time. Not only did we get two amazing metal gear games, tony hawk, and my favorite rpg of all time. we also got the grand theft auto series. I played vice city more than any game if only for the reason to mess around in the world. I evenfinisehd the story mode which didn't happen in gta3 for several years after. even today i'd say it's my favorite game in the series.

 Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto:Vice City  Notable mentions: Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3,
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, SSX, Timesplitters, Final Fantasy 10, Jak & Daxter,




LAN parties cemented this game at the top of my list. My buddies would set up TVs in separate rooms so we could play 16-player team deathmatch for hours. If it wasn't for games like Halo I probably would've never given the xbox a chance. Now it's become one of my favorite consoles ever.

Xbox: halo 2
Notable Mentions: Halo, Fable, Prince of Persia, Amped, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

After I had a gameboy pocket I left portable gaming for severals years until the nintendo ds. I couldn't resist playing a new mario brothers game with the same classic gameplay on a portable system. The dual screens lend themselves to streamlining the experiences with the bottom being used as a map and menu which frees the top screen from clutter. Much like most of nintendo consoles however I found myself playing mostly first party titles.

Nintendo DS: New Super Mario Bros Notable Mentions: Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Chrono Trigger, Mario & Luigi:Partners in Time




While I enjoyed my PSP I will say that it never lived up to the hype of a portable game system with graphics comparable to a ps2. There just weren't enough games for me to sink my teeth in! plus the promise of mud ended up being completely empty. I do remember playing and enjoying the hell out of crisis core (the prequel to final fantasy 7) as well as god of war.

PSP crisis core:final fantasy 7 Notable Mentions: God of War:Chains of Olympus,
Daxter

Update: My Gaming Backlog

As any gamer can tell you it takes a lot of time to finish most any game (save for the recent call of duty games). They can take dozens of hours to finish and we don't always have whole days to dedicate to gaming (especially with a full time job and school). This usually results in a backlog of unfinished games that can be quite daunting. Which is why I decided to dedicate time in the summer to finishing off as much of my backlog as possible and sharing my thoughts on each game as I finish them! I'll be updating this page regularly so check back! Also do you have any games in your backlog? share them!

Here's the backlog list

Starcraft 2
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Darksiders:
Gears of War 3 I finally finished it up on Saturday and my overall review is...It's good but not great. The graphics and gameplay are as polished as can be, but I've never been much for the Gears storyline and the often bland settings. Up until the end of the game I would've given the game (story and all) a average 7.5, but there are some really cool twists at the end that kept me intrigued and I ended up enjoying where it took me. Grade 8.5 out of 10 
Halo Reach
Metal Gear Solid Collection
Ico/Shadow of the Colossus Collection
God of War Origins Collection
Beyond Good and Evil
Jak and Daxter Collection
Sly Cooper Collection
Deadly Premonition
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Resident Evil 4
Braid
Infamous: Festival of Blood This game made me realize how much fun I had with the non downloadable infamous games. While I loved the vampire theme and the ability to do whatever you want in the game with no karma system or consequences...It made me wish I was playing Infamous 2 because of the limitations of it being a downloadable game. Not much in terms of extra content to keep you playing but it is fun to change into a cloud of bats to get places at lightening speed. 8 out of 10 

Trials Evolution: One of the Biggest Surprises of the Year

One of my favorite games back in junior high and high school was Tony Hawk. I loved how I could just spend hours playing with friends trying to get all the objectives and high scores while also trying to beat the clock. The gameplay was so fun that it never got old going through the same levels over and over. I've personally felt that these games have been noticeably absent (and missed) this generation and it's a . Thankfully I found an xbox live arcade game called Trials Evolution to fill the void Tony Hawk left. The gameplay is relatively simple..drive your motorcycle all the way to the finish line as fast as you can, but it ends up getting more challenging (and fun).  You are continually earning gold medals to unlock new stages and compete with friends times. Here's a video from Game Informer to give you some idea of how the game works. If I had to give it a rating I'd be giving it a 9 out of 10. It's seriously one of the greatest games I've played this generation and if your longing for the days of tony hawk check it out!

My Top Ten Games of 2011

1. Batman Arkham City


I'm actually pretty surprised that this game was on the top of my 2011 list. I originally was somewhat skeptical in how Rocksteady would make an open world batman game that could capture the spirit of Batman like the seclusion I felt while playing their masterpiece Arkham City. I loved the story of the first game and I worried they wouldn't be able to have that same focus on storytelling while making a bigger experience. I'm happy to say I was wrong and they created one of the most engrossing games I've ever played. There's nothing like flying through the streets of Gotham as batman and fighting a huge gallery of Batman's greatest foes. If you have any interest in a fun action adventure game or if your a big fan of Batman you owe it to yourself to check this game out!

2. Portal 2


The original Portal was one of my favorite games of all time. I loved that it focused on inventive puzzles rather than just being another run of the mill first person shooter. Portal 2 proved that the formula of the first had enough to offer not only a worthy sequel but one that builds on the first one in many meaningful ways. Including more complex puzzles and absolutely brilliant co-op. If your looking for a game that offers something different from anything on the market this is the game for you.

3.Uncharted 3


I've been a fan of the Uncharted series since its inception. I love the feeling of playing a big budget summer movie that only the Uncharted games can deliver. Uncharted 3 continues this trend with some of the best set pieces I've seen in a Video Game and the characters I've grown to love. The writing and story are top notch and leave you on the edge of your seat!

4.Skyrim

Many people would have Skyrim as their top game of the year, but I found myself reluctant to do so. While I absolutely love the environments and the vast amount of stuff to do; I absolutely couldn't stand some of the bugs I encountered while playing. Some left my ps3 frozen forcing me to unplug my system and restarting. I literally felt afraid to explore without saving every couple of minutes because I didn't want it to freeze my PlayStation and thus losing hours of progress. Nonetheless It's still an amazing experience and luckily with some of the updates Bethesda has released to fix bugs its still one game I can't help but go back to again and again. I am dragon born!!!

5.Rayman Origins

This is easily the most surprising game on my list. I didn't know a thing about it before I decided to play it but I urge all who read this to check it out. It's easily the most beautiful game I've ever played (seriously you need to see this game in motion) and a great 2D platformer. Add in four player co-op and you have one of the best recipes for a great Friday night!

6.Assassins Creed Revelations

Probably the weakest entry in the Assassins Creed series, I still thoroughly enjoyed AC:Revelations. While I thought it didn't really innovate in terms of gameplay and the additions weren't necessarily a good thing (I'm looking at you tower defense!) the formula that made me love the past games still kept me enthralled. Couple that up with some awesome story reveals and a cliffhanger ending and you get a game any fan of the Assassins Creed franchise shouldn't miss (especially with Assassins creed 3 coming this fall).

7.Littlebigplanet 2


If i had to describe Littlebigplanet in one phrase it would be "limitless creativity". It's a game that's more about creating and experiencing others creations than actually winning. You can create your own levels and even your own games and share them online with millions of people. You can make a shooter, racer, 2D platformer, the possibilities are limitless. There are so far about 1 billion user created levels in Littlebigplanet 2. That's more levels than you could play in an entire year!

8.Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D


I never had the opportunity to play through the original "Ocarina of Time" when it first came out back in 1998. I didn't have a N64 so I had to watch my cousin and friends play through it. It's always been one of those titles that I knew I NEEDED to play at some point in the future. Once they announced that a remake was coming for the Nintendo 3DS I knew I needed to play it. I bought a 3DS just to play it and I can safely say I wasn't disappointed.

9.Super Mario 3D land


I don't know if there's much more I can say other than its a Mario game. I found myself literally struggling to put it down once I started playing. It blends together 2D/3D Mario games to create a very fun and unique experience that you can only get on the 3DS. While I'm not a fan of 3D in general I actually found myself using the 3D the entire time I played it. Truly a great reason to own a 3DS.

10.Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3


While I feel shooter fatigue setting in with a new Call of Duty releasing every year I feel like Modern Warfare 3 is still arguably the best shooter that came out all of last year. The story is like a full blown summer popcorn movie with loads of set piece moments and the multiplayer is as polished as it's ever been. It's hard to hate on something that's so well made.