Hey there friends, I’m Charlie. I’ve been lurking about the forums here pretty much since the site launched, and I’ve been looking for a chance to get involved here. I heard the Games section was hiring, and I thought “Hey, finally I have a chance to put all that nerditude to good use!” However, when I was applying to write for the Games section here, I wasn’t sure of what to write about, since I’m not exactly experienced in too many modern games.
Not that I’m out of touch – as a college student I’m obligated to dedicate time every day to Guitar Hero and Halo, regardless of my workload – but, as the years go by, I’m finding my self more and more disenchanted with newer games, and more inclined to play classics, either on the old systems themselves or as collections on Gamecube, PS2, or Gameboy.
I grew up with those games. They’re hard to give up. I’ve owned almost every system since the NES, and I made friends with someone who had whatever system I didn’t, mostly, but not completely, so I can play it (my friend with the Virtual Boy being the only exception). So, I’ve been around, and I’ve noticed a distinct difference how much I enjoy newer games as they each come out.
It’s a common complaint. Some people find that while games these days are increasing in graphical beauty and hands-on gameplay, the plots and storylines would make Barbara Kingsolver say “What kind of crap is this?” (Read The Bean Trees, you’ll understand that reference (hint: it sucks donkey balls)). Some of the best games ever created were developed 15 years ago, back when they only had 8 bit graphics and 25 colors to work with.
Therefore, in light of my disenchantment with modern games and everlasting love for classic games, I’ll talk about those and my experiences with them: the goods and bads, highs and lows, and hopefully entertain and instill a sense of nostalgia in you.
So, next week, we’ll begin. I figure it’s an introductory column; we need an introductory game, right? So, we’ll start with the games I started out with all those years ago, and that everyone knows, the Super Mario Bros. series.
And by the way, feel free to leave any requests for games to be discussed or comments in the forums or in an email: cuseownsu429@yahoo.com.