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GEEKED for GAMES
I never really considered myself to be a serious video game enthusiast. I played my fair share of video games but I was never a “gamer,” I was always one who gravitated more towards collecting sports cards. I guess they are both equally nerdy, but I was a young kid so it doesn’t matter.
Over the years I have seen video games consume kids. Destroy lives. Kids have become so engrossed in a game that they forget who they are. But I suppose we have all had moments like that.
Anyways, I was at the gym today and I saw a commercial on TV for the release of NCAA Football 2009. Game looked sweet…real sweet. And the release date was July 15th…tomorrow. Instantly I had the urge to go out and buy it, only I was forgetting two things.
One, I was broke, and two I left my XBOX up at school.
Screwed.
But it got me thinking and I started to reminisce about the old days when I used to play video games and what were some of the games I enjoyed.
I remember the first time I played video games was when I was in daycare, so think of a young me in about the second or third grade. The system we had at La Petite Academy (my daycare…a fancy name for a real dump) was what we referred to as “regular Nintendo” and “Super Nintendo.”
Ahhh the battles that were waged over the two controllers. We used to have sign-up sheets for thirty minute intervals on each system. The intervals were later cut down to fifteen minutes because so many kids wanted to play. And let me tell you, elementary school kids can be ruthless when it comes to the things they will do to get on the list to play.
For regular Nintendo and Super Nintendo the best games were Duck Hunt, Super Mario Brothers, Super Tecmo Bowl, NBA Jam, Contra and Donkey Kong. My top three favorite out of those are definitely #1 Super Tecmo Bowl , #2 NBA Jam and #3 Contra. I remember sleeping over at friends houses just to play those games because I was never afforded with the luxury of owning a system.
The games were really a pain though. I know we all remember playing for too long and the system freezing. Or having to blow into the bottom of the cartridge to get it to work.
Then came the next generation of games. Sega Genesis. Seriousssss stuff.
I remember when La Petite brought in the Sega Genesis…they couldn’t get kids off it. The only games we had were Sonic the Hedgehog, NHL Pro Hockey and PGA Tour Golf. I Fell in love with the latter two. Another bonus for me was that my next door neighbor at the time had the system so I could always go to his house and enjoy it too.
Then came out Nintendo 64 and the world was in awe.
I got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas of 1996. I was ecstatic. I got one game with it--Wayne Gretzky’s 3-D Hockey. LOVED IT. When I saved up enough money I bought NFL Quarterback Club 1998...a game that was years before its time. I remember how much I loved simulating drafts and drafting my own players and teams and playing a season with them.
But then for Nintendo 64 I found my niche. NBA Hangtime…quite possibly one of the best games ever made.
I was a boss in NBA Hangtime…straight up. Dunks, half-court shots, steals…you name it I was the man at that game. I did it all and I always won. I loved that game so much.
Other memorable (for better or worse) N64 games…Kobe Bryant Courtside, Fox Sports College Hoops ‘99, NFL Blitz and Ken Griffey Jr Baseball to name a few.
And last but not least was probably one of the most short-lived was Sega Dreamcast. It was really a system before it’s time. The only game I ever played for it was NBA 2K but it was a great game. Great graphics, great gameplay…but people just weren’t diggin the Dreamcast…they were more into the Playstation’s and XBOX’s.
I was mostly a sports game guy. Aside from Contra and Mario and a few others I wasn’t down with the whole role playing games. I always have and always will be a sports guy who thrives off competition.
But those are the systems I long for. Like many things, they don’t make em’ like they used to. NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Sega, and Dreamcast…the memories…the many memories.
-David
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