When I was but a wee lad, I found great joy in my Atari 2600, NES, Commodore 64, and more. When my grandmother sent me a SEGA Genesis bundled with Sonic the Hedgehog for my ninth birthday, I became a SEGA man. I still owned and played other consoles and platforms, but my heart and soul belonged to a little blue fuzzball in red hightops. Even to this day, if I have to choose between playing the original Sonic the Hedgehog or playing Super Mario Bros., I will almost unerringly choose to play Sonic the Hedgehog. This is the depth of my fandom. With this in mind, you can understand my despair through years of atrocious Sonic games (with, to be fair, one or two emeralds in the rough), and my sheer elation during the leadup to Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Read the full story

I love my iPhone. I love the fact that I have a jailbroken iPhone. Why? Because I can get super sweet ringtones like the ones I’m about to tell you about. Read the full story

I know what you’re thinking… a game review for something on Facebook? YES! A game review for something on Facebook! Let me assure you, it will all make sense once you finish reading this review.

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STARTROPICS

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Mario Mario is one of the most recognizable characters in video game history.  Of course, after 25 years of working the pipes, it would be terribly disappointing for him if he wasn’t at the top of the game.  Though he started off closer to 30 years ago by the name of “Jumpman” in the Donkey Kong arcade game, his real claim to fame started in 1985 when Super Mario Bros. was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Read the full story

For awhile now, hacks on classic games have been really popular. Some are downright genius, whereas others are for laughs. Super Mario Bros. Crossover is the latest project by Jay Pavlina, founder of a production company called Exploding Rabbit, and easily falls into the aforementioned genius category. Read the full story

I know that in the past I’ve mentioned how a video game almost killed me as a child. No, it wasn’t thrown at my head, nor was I physically beat by somebody wielding a NES controller. It’s actually a little more complicated than that, so let me take you back in time to when I was a little girl… Read the full story

At some point in life, everybody considers getting a tattoo whether they want to admit it or not. Some go through with it, while others choose not to for various reasons. Read the full story

Last Tuesday, for my birthday, I whipped out my NES and played a beloved game from my childhood, Crystalis. At first I was pretty scared to pop it in, because what if I didn’t feel the same way about it anymore? What if the gameplay or story was too simplistic for my current gaming tastes? What if I don’t enjoy it, and those memories are ruined?

As a little girl, I slept in the same bed as my Grandmother, and would sneak out of it every midnight to go into the extra bedroom that housed my NES. Then, until I had to start getting ready for elementary school, I’d play Crystalis on very low volume so I wouldn’t wake anybody up. I did that for weeks until I eventually beat it. When I played Crystalis last week, it was as if those 20+ years inbetween never happened. I remembered where everything was, I remembered the names of characters and cities, and I even remembered what to do. The only thing that I found different was how short the game felt, but I’m a lot older now, my gaming skills have gotten better over time, and since I knew where everything was, I was able to move through the game faster than when I was a child. Some games are timeless like Contra, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Toe Jam & Earl, Super Mario series, and many more, but what about the titles that fail to stand the test of time?

Sure, gaming graphics have changed, but we all know that no matter how visually gorgeous something is, everything else about it can be complete shit. The same goes for the opposite too. Take Final Fantasy VII for example: its graphics at the time were below what the PlayStation console was able to handle, but to this day it’s constantly lauded as the best in the entire franchise. While I strongly disagree with that opinion, it’s a solid case of how, regardless of graphics, gamers can still find a game completely enjoyable well into the future. Gameplay and controls have changed too, but so have the controllers. Is this really a plus? With the original NES controller, you had a d-pad, start/select buttons, and the A/B buttons to perform actions. Nowadays, gamers have to factor in a d-pad, two analog joysticks, left and right triggers, left and right bumper buttons, start/select buttons, four action buttons, and sometimes there is even a home button. Compare the controls for Super Mario on NES, or even SNES, to what is required for Super Mario Galaxy, and it’s insane. Sometimes keeping it simple really pays off.

The music has changed drastically. In our youthful days, MIDI tracks were all the rage, but now we are given some really amazing soundtracks, and also the option of listening to our own music when gaming (Sidenote: Back in the day, I would sometimes pop in a cassette or listen to the radio when playing a game, so it’s nice to see how that has evolved. A prominent memory I have is playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at a neighbors house and hearing Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine for the very first time). Gamers who owned a Sega Genesis should remember the funky soundtrack from Toe Jam & Earl, and NES owners can probably sing every single Super Mario track ever made. Right now I have the theme song to Legend of Zelda in my head, and that will forever be a classic tune.

What hasn’t changed much are the stories. We are still playing adventure games, still playing shooters, and still escaping into elaborate worlds where we are constantly saving the day. Granted, some stories are better than others, but it’s pretty much the same. As children we assumed the roles of Mario, and were tasked with rescuing the Princess from the evil Bowser. For some reason, and 20+ years later, Princess Peach keeps neglecting to hire herself a bodyguard, and Bowser still hasn’t learned his lesson. We have seen some big twists like how Samus Aran was really a female, Aeris getting killed by Sephiroth, and finding out that in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic you were actually Revan. Obviously there are so many more moments that could be listed, but those are the main ones that popped into my head right now.

With Crystalis, I really lucked out because it’s a game that I will always love, and will always find enjoyable. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for all games. So readers, I ask you this: are your fond gaming memories only because of your childhood nostalgia, or were we just given some really amazing games back then?

Check out some classic NES and Genesis games for old times sake. How many do you remember?:

- Me

Lindsey and I were up very late a few nights ago, and we noticed something on the Sci-Fi channel called “WCG Ultimate Gamer”.  Both of us being avid gamers, this piqued our curiosity, and we switched over.  What we saw was a re-run of the first episode of WCG Ultimate Gamer, a “reality” competition show with video game challenges.  It’s a very interesting show, and the subject matter is being handled very well (although neither of us are fond of the female presenter).  The “real-life” challenges are fun to watch, as are the “isolation” challenges.  The face-off elimination at the end of each show is also very entertaining.  Of course, with any “reality” competition type show like this, they all live in the same house, so a portion of each episode is dedicated to drama and conflict between the gamers involved (shock!).  However, while the conflict and drama (see how I switched it up there?) can have an effect on the elimination portion of the show, it generally takes a backseat to the gaming and the competition, which I find to be very nice.

Now, Lindsey and I have played video games all our lives.  I remember as a child playing Airlock, Tanks, Frogger, Pitfall, Pac-Man, Breakout, Pong, and more on the Atari 2600 my parents received as a wedding gift way back when.  Lindsey got her first NES when she was 5, and loved it.  Both of us continued purchasing new systems as they came out, always looking forward to the next great game.  Lindsey, however, outpaced me in the field of online play (something I never really got into).  In her experience with online gaming via Xbox Live, as well as her attendance of MLG events and tournaments, she became very familiar with many of the great “pro” gamers and top contenders.  Imagine her surprise when she saw one of her very good friends from that scene as one of the competitors on WCG Ultimate Gamer (Robert, aka Prodigy X)?  Then imagine her surprise when she saw someone she despised (MrsViolence), and someone she disliked (Athena) on the show as well (the despised one was sent home when she lost the Virtua Fighter 5 elimination face-off).  It’s always fun to see people you know on TV.  It’s even more fun when they’re someone you don’t like and you can watch them fail in front of millions of people.

-Because I said so