All the great ones... introduce themselves

Tuesday 20 May 2008

12 years ago, a small boy, with whispy blonde hair, and greyish blue eyes sat on his parents bed, and eagerly opened his birthday presents. A look of boyish wonder spread across his face as he peeled the neatly sealed wrapping paper off of a small 8x6 parcel to reveal the hallowed 'Nintendo' symbol that would steal hours of his life from then on. As he continued to tear the paper from the box, he realised he was now the proud owner of a 'Game Boy Pocket'. His very first games console. It was that Game Boy Pocket that began my (I was that small boy for the slower witted of you) love affection with computer games.

The next console I was destined to own was the great SNES. I say great because even though it was soon to be succeeded by the N64, it still held true all the greatness of what I, even now, associate with Nintendo gaming. Cartridges, power buttons that weren't buttons, reset buttons that were buttons, but, most importantly, that overwhelming sense that you had bought a console that had been built for love of the game, rather than for love of money. I'm sure people will agree with me when I say that this last factor made all the games that little sweeter... Even if it is completely naive and untrue.

The SNES paved the way for an exciting period: Nintendo at its peak. Nothing was more thrilling to see Nintendo soar so high over the opposition with simplicity. Four controllers. A joystick. The Z button. A console with design, rather than just a grey box case. Goldeneye. The N64 didn't just scream for unrequited love, it deserved it. For me, the N64 was, is, and will always be, the very embodiment of gaming.

However, my flirtation with Nintendo was soon to flutter away as I began to grow up... well, who am I kidding? That wasn't the reason at all. It's cos Nintendo released the Gamecube. I bought the console, and enjoyed the controller, but not the console, and not the games. When the controller's all you're interested in then the console probably isn't worth the 120 GBP you fork out to buy it. That is one hell of an expensive controller. Most importantly, what the fuck did they do with the cartridges? I know that cartridges were no longer a feasible idea, but still, what now was stopping me from buying the up and coming powerhouse?

Microsoft. Ah, the wonders of being able to throw money at a problem until it gets eroded into a perfectly formed Windows symbol. The Xbox just took gaming to a whole new level for me. The console was fair, really it had no advancements over the PS2, except perhaps the original Halo. But what it did have was Xbox Live. Above all other things, this made me fall in love with Microsoft, and even to forgive them for Windows 98. Xbox Live, even today, is the best online gaming system in existence. Midtown Madness was my first real Live game, and this taught me the wonders of being 'good' at a game. 'Good' to me no longer meant being able to complete single player, 'good' meant to be able to whiz around the map on Hunter in my Lotus Esprit V8 and win. Every time. 'Good' on Rainbow Six 3 meant the people that sat in one place (affectionately known as campers) and take out the entire opposition team in a game of Survival without so much as pulling a trigger. 'Good' on Halo 2 meant getting to Level 50. But not just getting there, being able to stay there. In a nutshell, Xbox Live taught me that 'good' is to be better than everyone else.

But three cores, and one 20 gig HDD later, I'm still not better than everyone else. The 360 brings with it new challenges. Those people that get 45 kills a game in Call of Duty 4, yet another Nurburgring on PGR 4, expert on Guitar Hero. Gaming for me is not the same as it was for that small boy opening his Game Boy all those years ago. It's no longer about fun, it's about pushing the limits of your intellectual capabilities. Gaming is now about the accuracy of fingers, and the snapness of your reactions. It's about speed and intelligence. Gaming is about thinking outside of the (x)box and out-thinking those on the other end of the copper wire. And gaming is better than ever.

Hi, I'm random dave, a new contributor at www.dw-gaming.net.

Labels: New Author, Original

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Article Posted: Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 13:44.
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