I Like to Play Video Games. Sometimes.

I have a very on-again/off-again love affair with Video Games.

When I was but a wee lad, my father had the Magnavox Odyssey 2. If my brother and I were very good, we had supervised play sessions with that system, playing games like Pickaxe Pete, or Speedway/Spinout/Cryptologic. However, we had more fun playing out doors, or playing with our GI Joe, Star Wars, and/or Transformers toys. Sure, we'd occasionally see an Atari at a friends house, but from what I recall, it never made a lasting impression.



Moving on, there was the Christmas that we got the Nintendo Master System. This was the big box with the controllers, the light gun, the R.O.B., and Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, and Gyromite. Gyromite just sucked, and Duck Hunt got boring when we realized that we couldn't shoot the dog, and if we shot in the upper right hand corner of the TV screen, we'd hit all the ducks. Super Mario Brothers was fun, but it got frustrating. Same with all of the other games, it was fun until you hit a certain point, and then it just got frustrating. Like trying to land on the aircraft carrier in Top Gun, or trying to do ANYTHING in Ghostbusters. I also ended up with a Game Boy, which was really cool because it had actual games on it! However, after a while, it ended up the same way: It was no longer fun, it was frustrating.

I skipped a lot until the late 90's. I never had a Sega, didn't mess with the Super Nintendo, and consoles like the Turbografix 16 and anything Atari were not something we had any interest in. I remember when the Nintendo 64 was released because I was already really into Star Wars, and the Shadows of the Empire game tie-in looked awesome, but I never had the urge to blow the money on it at that time.

Then, in 1998, I had a co-worker at Big Entertainment talking about not having any money, and that he wasn't getting anything at the pawn shop for his Playstation. I offered to take it off his hands for twice what the shop was offering, which was still a deal in my eyes. I got that, two controllers, a memory card, and I THINK a game or two. This is what got me back on the road to gaming.

After Big Entertainment went out of business, one of my job offers was for Electronics Boutique. When you are surrounded by games, gamers, and gamer culture, it's hard not to get into it. While there, I ended up with more games for the Playstation, a Nintendo 64, and a Sega Dreamcast. It was during this time that I actually played a game to completion. Rogue Squadron for the N64. Then, in 2000, before the release of the PS2 and the X-Box, I was gone, and so was buying new systems.

Moving to 2005, so started a new gig as a video game department supervisor for Fry's Electronics. In the past five years, I had picked up a Nintendo Gamecube and eventually a PS2, but working at Fry's was more about the paycheck then new games. I ended up with a Playstation Portable on release to show at work, and my wife ended up with an X-Box 360 for Christmas when they couldn't find a Wii, but that was it.

Currently, we're stilling with the Wii and the 360 attached to the TV, and I'm missing the cables for the PS2. An Odyssey 2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast are in storage. The Wii gathers dust, and for the most part, the X-Box 360 is a Netflix machine, or it was until X-Box Live Gold ran out. We have many good games for it, like Batman: Arkham City, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, and YourShape Fitness for the Kinect, but they don't get used much.

However, I'm getting back into the swing after picking up the Mass Effect trilogy. I had been spending some time with Fallout: New Vegas the past few weeks, but Mass Effect? Last week, I put in a full work week on that game. So, this week, I'm taking a rest. The only game I'm putting in that system between now and Friday is YourShape Fitness, because if I HAVE to play 40 hours in a week on a game, I'd rather it be that one.

We'll see how long this run lasts. In the meantime, I think I'll be adding Video Game impressions to the Geeking in Indiana blog. Look for my thoughts on Mass Effect on Wednesday.

Yeah, I'm whoring out another blog on here. So sue me.

Til next Tuesday!
Tony