The Gift that Shaped my Life.

The scene is Christmas. The year is 1991. A 5 and 7 year old dance excitedly around a small tree as their mom hands them a large, grey wrapped present. Warmly clad in 90s attire, they tear at the wrapping to reveal a brand new Nintendo Entertainment System complete with Mario Bros./Duck Hunt. The two children screech with delight. They had played a Nintendo at daycare, you see, so they knew the depth of this treasure. The mom hands out two smaller gifts, one to each squealing girl, who then rip them open in unison. Both packages contain NES games; one is revealed to be the The Little Mermaid, the other is Barbie. They stand proud on that cold December night, armed with games and a thirst to play. For that 5 year old, the thirst has never been quenched.

 

My sister and me about to open a bomb shell.

As you might have guessed, that 5 year old was me. Is me! I am still that 5 year old. Sort of. You know what I mean. Nintendo has been my jam, my one true love, for nearly my entire life. I still have that NES! It even still works since I replaced the PIN connector inside of it. It sits proudly on display along with my SNES, GameCube, N64, Wii, Wii U, Gameboy, Gameboy SP, and my variety of DS systems.

When I tell people that we had Mario, Barbie, and The Little Mermaid for our NES they usually laugh and remark on the "girlie" games. The truth is that The Little Mermaid was a solid adventure title with plenty of challenges and level diversity. The day that we finally defeated Ursula was a proud one, and I honestly think it's the first game that I ever finished. Barbie, on the other hand, is the game of demons and monsters. Whoever designed it didn't like children and wanted to watch them suffer. It was a platformer with timed puzzles and was hard. as hell. We never did beat that one! I'll never forget the shopping mall level with its random bits of flying clothing that would pelt you to death. Sometimes I think about going back and giving it one last chance, and then I think, "Not today."

 

I wish we still had the original boxes.

I remember playing a lot of Duck Hunt. Somewhere, somehow, we acquired two additional Zappers. Two of them sit on my shelf and the third is in a box. I can still hear the twangy clack of the trigger pull and see the dog giggling. I also have fond memories of my grandma playing it with us. She'd sit very still on the couch, hike her glasses up to her forehead and press the butt of the Zapper up to her eye and take careful aim. She was no slouch!



When we got our hands on Super Mario Bros. 3 we abandoned all other games. My sister and I played it straight into the ground but never actually beat it. I know the first three worlds well, and if we were having a particularly good day then we would grace worlds 4 and 5 with our presence! But, those were rare occurrences. Being the younger child I always had to be Luigi. I hated that for the longest time, but eventually grew to develop a kindred connection with the green dressed brother. Nowadays whenever I play Mario games with other people I'm player 1 because I own the console, and consequently I'm Mario. I like him just fine, but I do miss being Player 2.

 

My sister on her 8th birthday.

With the release of virtual consoles for the Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and the re-releases of NES games on the GBA, it's certainly not difficult to get old school kicks fulfilled and satisfied. I have all of the NES/SNES Mario games on GBA and a few of them on my Wii and it's great. Really! But, nothing beats the fuzzy *ponk* of turning on an old tube TV, sitting on the floor, blowing hard into a cartridge, and holding my breath in hopes that the little red power button on the Nintendo won't simply flash on and off. Even the hard, angular controller digging into my palms is comforting, combined with the squeaking twist of indestructible plastic as I push harder in an attempt to jump higher and go faster. Excuse me, I have some games to go and play.



What are your NES stories?



-MJ

 

This article is inspired by the NEStalgia prompt from Gamerwife!

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Diablo: The Series (Part Three)

Diablo III, as mentioned before, sparked quite the change in my life when it was announced. My good friend Andy to move halfway across the state just to live with me so we could play Diablo II constantly until the III was released. There's a cruel irony in the fact that III was not released for quite some time (YEARS) after the announcement, and the fact that not once did we play Diablo II. Damn. The things you do when you're impassioned.

 

For more information on the ominous release date, see here. Source!

Nevertheless, I was excited about the new entry in the series. The first two adventures were glorious and I couldn't wait to see what the next would bring. Since I was consciously paying attention to the gaming market at this point, my excitement grew at every new announcement of a character, every tiny hint at what you would encounter, and seeing what the gameplay would look like, along with how the game would function.

 

"This isn't where I parked my car." Source!

I was extremely happy when I got beta access and got to experience the look and feel of the game itself. The first impression was as good as it could have been. The game looked beautiful, felt solid, and scratched that itch to go demon hunting. Sadly, my personal computer did not have what it took to run the game (according to Blizzard, anyway) so I could only experience the beta on Rachel's laptop, leaving me frantically devising how I would build up my computer by the anticipated release date.  It was around this time that I discovered Blizzard was considering a console release, something which was done for the first Diablo, but not with much success. There was a lot of confusion and cautious attitude surrounding the idea, but I was quite optimistic. If they could pull off a solid console release, it would save me the trouble of having to deal with 'roiding out my PC. Call me what you will, I still prefer my consoles to a mouse and keyboard, save for a few select titles.

 

What would a preorder be without a perk?

Release day came, and I picked my copy up for my PS3 on my way to work. I could practically feel the fires of Hell emanating from the case, which was locked in the console of my truck at work, in a parking lot about 500 feet away from me. I was burning (heh) to play this game, and I couldn't wait til I was off work to slap it in my PS3, wait an hour for it to install, and eventually give it a shot. Once all of the waiting was over, boy, did it pay off. Funnily enough, the console release was actually better-received than the PC release because it was apparently much more polished. The game was essentially rebuilt to accommodate for a controller instead of a keyboard, and the play experience was drastically different. Certainly a change-up from the PC being the master race in every shape and form. Hell, I would have enjoyed it anyway, but knowing I made a good choice by picking it up for my console made it much sweeter.

Welcome back, couch co-op. Source!

I got to play co-op online with my friend TJ, who also picked it up that day. We stayed up pretty late roaming the lands and leveling our characters, preparing ourselves for whatever onslaught the future would hold. Over the next few days, however, I was busy with other things, leaving TJ to play by himself and complete the game almost twice. This left me in the dust and with almost no hope of catching up, but it certainly didn't deter me from logging in and playing whenever I could.

Here's what TJ was doing while I was stuck at work. Source!

It's a toss-up between fortunate and unfortunate circumstance that I haven't been able to delve into Diablo III nearly as much as I desire to. On the one hand, I have limited experience and love what I have played so far. A lot of people were displeased with Diablo III because they felt it was too short and didn't have enough content. I feel like taking the game at a snail's pace gives more opportunity to really soak in the experience; to appreciate the game and all it has to offer. On the other hand, I'm left behind. I don't know many people who play on the PS3 in the first place, and at this point, most people have already moved on to other titles. Maybe I'll get a bit of a play bump when the expansion comes out later on. Still looking forward!

 

At least I don't have to keep starting over like the guys on Hardcore. Source!

My bottom line about the game is that it is straight up lovely, and I can tell even if I haven't finished it. The graphics are gorgeous, the gameplay is smooth and fun, and the story is fantastic. I wouldn't expect anything else from the brilliant minds at Blizzard. If you have to take something away from here, let it be this: not every game needs to be a speed run. Slow down. Enjoy it more. Take some time to appreciate what you are playing. Quit beating everything before me so I actually have a chance to play with someone.

 

That game came out months ago, loser.

And so, the trio of articles revolving around the dark lord Diablo comes to a close. Hopefully, my writings have been informative or entertaining in some capacity. Have something in particular you liked or didn't like? Something you can relate to? Leave a comment!

-Zach

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Games and Consoles

My collection of video game based photography. Many of these ideas began as college projects!

-MJ

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Waiting for a Wii U.

Let's talk a little bit about why those of us who are Wii U-less should be OK with this situation. First, in light of news that over seven thousand units were stolen from a warehouse in Seattle, it will be difficult for a lot of people to even get their hands on one. Second, the game selection is very modest even though it does boast some games worth owning. Third, the wait time can allow people to get first-person information from friends/forums that won't contain paid enthusiasm. $300/$350 is a lot to drop down if the console in question doesn't have games we want to play, and even more money if we're not sure we even like the features.

Some Wii U features weren't available on day one. I need to know more.

My hands-on experience at PAX this summer told me that I absolutely want to own a Wii U. But the only game I'd even buy at the moment is New Super Mario Bros. U. My game collections are usually quite modest, but even I'd prefer a larger selection out of the gate. Even though Mario is an excellent title, it doesn't represent the range and capabilities of the system. Nintendo touts such innovation regarding the game pad, so I want a game that'll really show it off.

Since the Wii U boasts more online and multi-player features, I also want to wait until more people also own a system. I'm not a big online gamer, but that's generally because I don't care for playing with strangers. Waiting for my buddies to also be in a financial position to pick up a Wii U ensures more robust fun for all of us.

Wii U offers up 'multi-player gaming sessions', but are genres other than FPSes in the works?

Lastly, and I think a lot of people can probably relate to this, I have so many other games to be playing right now. Adding an entirely new system to the mix would just be detrimental to the piles of "money" I already have in my house. Maybe every time I finish a game that I've been putting off I can put five or ten dollars into a Wii U fund jar? That'd serve the multi-purpose of saving and finishing more games in my library! I like the sound of this.

Are you waiting for more titles before buying a Wii U?

-MJ

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Couldn't Get a Wii U? Here Are Day-Brightening Alternatives!

If you're a member of the sad masses that are not currently in possession of a Wii U, then welcome! Grab a cookie and a seat. I'd really love to own one and dive into every little thing that Nintendo has on offer, but limited funds makes that a non-reality.

I am so jealous of the dedicated line-waiters at the Nintendo World Store. Source.

Instead of moping about and looking at pictures of purchased Wii Us online I decided to come up with a list of things to do instead of said-moping. Here they are!

1. Play a mobile game on a touchscreen phone/iPad while pointing it at my Wii and pretending it's a Wii U.

2. Watch gameplay videos of New Super Mario Bros. Wii U while holding a Wii remote to pretend that I'm controlling the game.

3. Print out an image of a Wii U and take a photo of it to brag to the internet that I have one in order to make myself feel included.

4. Give people fake account codes and tell them to "add me."

5. Spend all day in a Best Buy playing the display model and hissing at other patrons if they try to take a turn.

Add in a few crying children and uncomfortable employees, then you'll

have the spitting image of me right now. Source.

Or, instead of engaging in all of those amazing activities I guess I'll just play Paper Mario: Sticker Star and remind myself that things aren't actually that bad.

How many of you lucky folks were able to buy a Wii U yesterday? I'd love to hear some first-hand stories from owners!

-MJ

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Retro Gaming Made Easy with Plug and Play Systems

Who out there has an old gaming system, but can't get it to work? I have a large collection of old systems and, while they're in working shape, the issue I face is in obtaining a compatible TV set. The large flat screens and projectors of today just can't cut it. For those with the desire to game and the cash to spend, these systems from Gametronex are well suited to solve that problem.

And it comes in a portable version! Source.

The SEGA system includes such classics as Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Ecco, and of course Sonic the Hedgehog. Eighty games in all are just waiting for your anxious hands to play. The consoles are plug and play, so they go directly into a television set with a traditional AV cable. The SEGA even has a cartridge slot, so it can play most (but not all) of your existing games.

Gametronex has an impressive collection touching on the Atari, Super Nintendo, and more, as well as replacement cables for retro consoles. The prices seem reasonable for the product that is being offered, and they're great packages for new and seasoned gamers alike.

I can't find anywhere on the site that says if the products are... legitimate or not. If you know what I mean. I have no doubt that they function just fine, though. I'd like to get my hands on a few of these, that way I can keep my old school systems on the mantel and keep my house looking classy. I can't even count the number of compliments I get from door-to-door salespeople and handymen, so don't even get me started! (Is the sarcasm obvious? I'm still learning)

-MJ

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