My History of Video Games

During my youth, I played quite a few video games. I remember the 8-bit Nintendo. I played Super Mario for hours on end. While I never beat the game until my freshman year in college, I loved playing it. The other game that I thoroughly enjoyed was Spy Hunter. It was intense and I played it so much that the pixels - or whatever it was - ended up getting screwed up. I'd play it for hours without being able to see what was really going on.

Next came the Super Nintendo. Again, hours playing Super Mario World. It was this game that I finally got far enough into the game to be excited with the opportunity to "beat it." Then along came my sister who erased the game. To this day, my neighbors claim they heard me screaming.

However, Super Nintendo was the system that introduced sports games to me. I would play Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition for hours creating teams (usually the Vikings). I would play Extra Innings against a friend of mine for hours playing usually as The Surfers, or E1. Next would come the Donkey Kong trilogy which had everything a gamer could hope for. Never again did I have a game that I called "my own" like those four/five games.

Nintendo 64 was great and all, I had Mario Kart 64 that I could destroy anyone in. I had Goldeneye that I played quite a bit but never felt like a pro. The system was great (I still take it out and play occassionally) but didn't stand-out as great as the Super Nintendo.

I dabbled with the Gamecube and Xbox. But never got into that generation of systems. But then along came the Wii and motion sensor controls. Like most, my first impression came on the fabled Wii Sports. It seemed like I had found my system and game. I played it religiously for several weeks. Then grew tired of it and had to find the next "obsession." I found it in Guitar Hero.

For years, I refused to play my sister's version on Playstation. She bought the PS2 after the PS3 was released. She bought it solely for Guitar Hero 2. I thought it was a waste of her money and didn't approve of it (I still haven't played GH on a Playstation). But then I played it on Wii and fell in love. What a great game.

That game was good for several months and once again, I needed a fix. Other than Wii Sports, I hadn't played a sports game yet for the Wii. I tried MLB Power Pros and loved it, but it didn't work for me. I needed something more. Then I found the GLORIOUS MLB 2k8.

The pitching is easy with a flick of the wrist and the hitting is challenging with the swing of the remote. But it's coming along nicely. The graphics aren't spectacular, but the gameplay is enthrawling. I haven't yet stopped playing it.

Then came news of Mario Kart and Wii Fit. With a $50 rebate (THANKS AMAZON!!), I decided to pre-order both Mario Kart and Wii Fit. Kart comes first followed by the Japanese sensation (and soon to be American sensation). I'm more looking forward to Kart as I haven't played any version since the N64 and am ready to once again...destroy my opponents.