Hey You Kids: Get Off My Console!

Let’s just get this out of the way first:  I’m old. 

Commercials don’t try to sell me things anymore, and I don’t know a lot of people that TMZ interviews.  I know Jay-Z is a singer, but couldn’t tell you the name of one of his songs; he’s married to Beyoncé, right?  My wife told me that. I remember Beyoncé from Destiny’s Child. 

And, yes, I have a wife.  I’ve been married since 1996, probably before some of you were born.  You don’t want to know when I graduated high school…

I remember when it cost a quarter to play video games.  I loved Centipede and was blown away when Millipede came along—the graphics were amazing.  I played Tron (the original) and still remember the patterns for winning the light cycle levels. 

I still remember Ms. Pac Man patterns. 

However, even though I’m old, I still play video games almost every day.  And no, I’m not talking about Angry Birds or Bejeweled or Tetris (which I used to play on my original Game Boy with the pea soup-colored screen, back in the day).  I play all the latest games for the PS3, and until recently the 360 (damn RRD). 

I know I’m not so old that I’m a novelty in the gaming world, but at just shy of 50 I am intimately familiar with Bioshock (both parts) and can’t wait to get my hands on Infinite.   I loved Infamous, Uncharted, Fallout, Saints Row, and their sequels.  You name it and I’ve probably played it, or at least know about it.  Borderlands?  I didn’t like killing the same enemies over and over, but part two was fun.  The Orange Box?  Multiple play-throughs, and damn it Valve hurry up with the next part.   Dark Souls, Portal 2, Killzone, Dead Space?  Yes, yes and yes.

I’ve played games since I first picked up an Atari 2600 controller at a friend’s house, but I started in earnest when I got a PS1.  (My father-in-law thought my wife would enjoy it because she used to play Frogger as a kid, but I was the one that got hooked.)  I remember playing the Crash Bandicoot games (including CTR), all the Syphon Filter sequels, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro.  I can still remember the music from Crash 1 levels—remember Hog Wild?

So why this blog?

Think of this as a way of looking at games through experienced eyes.  How the industry has evolved since the days of Myst, where a point-and-click adventure was as new of a concept as games on CD-ROM.

Think of this as the ramblings of an old man clinging to his youth, using games as a cocktail after a long work day.

If nothing else, think of this as a chance for me to write about my favorite pastime.