Comment by Tim

3/30/2005 @ 11:37 am

This further confirms my belief that video games are unfairly snubbed as being a less worthy form of entertainment than movies or books or even television. Video games can have more impact on a person than any other medium because it combines music, visuals and stories with the addition of giving you control of the characters. Those other media are passive forms of entertainment and while they may be thought provoking, they certainly don’t require problem solving. For example, Knights of the Old Republic was far superior to Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2 in it’s story and even it’s acting. On top of this, it gave me the reigns to decide how the story would end. Along the way it required me to solve problems and make moral decisions that affected the characters around me. It gripped me emotionally and psychologically in ways a movie never could.

I bet everyone here has a game that you feel is a part of you; that affected and maybe even shaped you as a person.

For me, that game is Pro Bass Fishing 2003.

Comment by Jeff

3/30/2005 @ 1:28 pm

Mine is Duck Hunt.

Comment by Ryan

3/30/2005 @ 9:51 pm

No doubt about it, Goonies II (with Metroid for NES being a close second).

Comment by MikeGray

3/30/2005 @ 10:42 pm

Contra.

Comment by Dan

3/31/2005 @ 10:00 am

Are the rest of you guys forever ingrained with “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start” as well?

Gyromite taught me that robots will never rise up and overthrow humanity unless they get much better at spinning and moving gyroscopes. I’ve slept like a baby ever since.

Comment by Tim

3/31/2005 @ 11:36 am

I was only kidding about Pro Bass Fishing.

Mine would probably be Chronotrigger.

Comment by Chris

3/31/2005 @ 3:33 pm

Liar. I’ve seen you fish for bass. I bet you’re feeling the itch to tie lures right now.

Comment by Ryan

3/31/2005 @ 7:11 pm

Now Contra. That was some good stuff. I liked the lightning gun the best and the in between levels where you had to shoot the targets. Time to fire up the ROM.

Comment by squee

3/31/2005 @ 10:58 pm

Boluderdash construction kit, Blue maxx, Adventure for atari 2600,
Raid over moscow, archon. My whole life is but a series of gaming experiences stringed together.

Comment by Tim

4/1/2005 @ 11:54 am

My tombstone:

“Timothy D Franklin
(05/18/75 - 10/31/2075)

Completed Games:

XBOX
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance
Everything or Nothing
Fable
Halo
Halo 2
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Simpsons: Hit and Run
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

PC / Mac
Beyond Good and Evil
Blade Runner
Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
Day of the Tentacle
Death Gate
Doom 1 & 2
Escape from Monkey Island
Full Throttle
Ghost Recon
Grim Fandango
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Jedi Knight: The Mysteries of the Sith
Jedi Outcast
King’s Quest 4
Lemmings
Max Payne
Myst
No One Lives Forever
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
Quake 2
Quest For Glory 1 & 3
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Sam and Max Hit the Road
Syberia
The Dig
The Longest Journey
The Neverhood
The Secret of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island
Unreal
Warcraft
Warcraft 3

NINTENDO / SUPER NINTENDO
Arch Rivals
Bionic Commando
Chronotrigger
Contra
Double Dragon
Dragon Warrior
Duck Tales
Final Fantasy Legend 1 & 2 (Gameboy)
Ghosts and Goblins
Goonies 2
Jackal
Karnov
Lost Vikings 2
Mega Man 2
Mega Man X
Metroid
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden 2
Pro Wrestling
Rampage
Robin Hood: Prince of Theives
Secret of Mana
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Land (Gameboy)
Super Mario World
Super Punch-Out!!
Super Star Wars
Techmo Super Bowl
Top Gun
Zelda
Zelda 2
Zelda: A link to the past

Atari 2600
Asteroids
Ice Hockey
Ghostbusters
River Raid
Starmaster
Yars Revenge

SEGA GENESIS
Sonic The Hedgehog

ARCADE
Aliens
Bad Dudes
Double Dragon
Golden Axe
TMNT…….”

Comment by Ryan

4/1/2005 @ 3:12 pm

that engraver’s gonna hate you.

Comment by Jeff

4/1/2005 @ 3:21 pm

Damn, Jason, Blue Max? Archon? I’m getting veklempt.

Comment by Steve

4/1/2005 @ 4:05 pm

Be sure to have some space leftover for the games you finish between now and when you turn 100 years old.

Comment by Dan

4/1/2005 @ 4:08 pm

Apparently Tim has beaten his last game for the next 70 years.

The mourners will gather around and cry, “He peaked so early! Swore off gaming forever after Halo2. Such a tragedy.”

Comment by Dan

4/1/2005 @ 4:09 pm

Damn you, Steve. Beat me by 3 minutes.

Comment by Steve

4/1/2005 @ 4:21 pm

Heh, that’s ok, your answer was better.

Comment by Tim

4/1/2005 @ 5:14 pm

I left the elipses at the end to indicate future gaming. I have to leave room for when I finish Knight Rider don’t I?

Then again, I’d probably be perfectly happy if I could only play the games on that list from now until I die. Yars Revenge should keep me occupied for at least a decade.

Comment by Jeff

4/2/2005 @ 1:16 am

Can you actually complete Yars Revenge?

Comment by Tim

4/2/2005 @ 9:55 am

The games that have no ending I considered them beaten if I flipped the score or flipped the color scheme. In Yars Revenge I got to the point where the board flipped back to it’s original configuration only ten times faster.

With Ice Hockey I figured beating the computer 25 - 0 was good enough to go on my tombstone.