GameInformer

My name's Anthony, and I'm a game-aholic.

"Hi, Anthony!"

My birthday is October 26th, 1990.  I first started playing video games when I was very young.  My parents had an NES with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt that I played a ton of.  My mom even used to play Mario with me.  I had an original Game Boy (long live the Gray Brick!), which is how I became obsessed with Tetris, an obsession that continues to this day.

For my 7th birthday I received a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, and Wave Race 64.  Before long I was playing titles like Pokemon Snap (such a classic) and Super Smash Bros.

On PSX I became a fan of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon when Naughty Dog and Insomniac were still at the helms of those franchises.  Crash: Warped and Spyro 3 were the best games in those series, in my opinion.

Game Boy Advance was the first time I experienced both Metroid (with Metroid: Fusion) and the Castlevania series.  Circle of the Moon was great, but the far superior Harmony of Dissonance and, especially, Aria of Sorrow were what really drew me in.  I am as huge a fan of the Metroid-vania formula as any other person these days

 The first RPG I ever played was Golden Sun on GBA.  The storytelling and characters drew me in, and I loved the strategy of turn-based battles.  The sense of acquiring new gear, leveling up, and getting strong was such a rewarding process, as well.  Golden Sun, and its sequel The Lost Age, introduced me to my now-favorite genre of games.  I picked up the GBA remakes of Breath of Fire I and II, which I loved for their weird but pretty epic tales.  I played all of the Final Fantasy ports on GBA (1&2, IV, V, and VI), and took my love of the genre, and series, to the PS2.

Final Fantasy X and XII were such amazing experiences.  PS2 also saw the release of another favorite franchise of mine, Kingdom Hearts.  I have loyally devoured every unique entry in that series as well.  Of course, who could forget the debut of Kratos in God of War I & 2; that entire franchise, even the PSP titles, has provided so many epic water-cooler moments that I have shared with my friends.

On GameCube I had my first experience with The Legend of Zelda.  I got Ocarina of Time as a bonus for pre-ordering Wind Waker at Wal-Mart, and fell in love with the game instantly.  Wind Waker was a great title as well, and has since become my favorite GameCube game.  Other great titles on GameCube, for me, were Luigi's Mansion, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Mario Sunshine, and, of course, Metroid Prime 1 and 2.

Nintendo DS had some of the best games of all time on it.  The biggest surprise was getting a remake of Chrono Trigger, a game I had never played but had always wanted to.  Since beating the game (twice), it has become one of my all-time favorites without a doubt.  Finally getting a stateside version of Final Fantasy III was a thrill, and I adored titles like Nostalgia, the Mario and Luigi series, and the DS Castlevania games.  Probably the best DS game, though, came late in the handheld's life cycle when Atlus released Radiant Historia.  Anyone that hasn't played that game needs to check it out, it is simply unforgettable.

This brings me to current generation.  Wii has definitely been disappointing, but the few great games it has are truly great.  The two Zelda titles (Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword) are the console's best games, hands-down.  Both Super Mario Galaxy games, Xenoblade Chronicles, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid Prime 3, Metroid: Other M (I liked it), 

I never had an original Xbox, but when the Xbox 360 came out I shared one of those with my two brothers, and on it I played Halo 1 &2 and Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2. I also played Mass Effect when it first released, and Bioshock (which I later re-purchased on PS3). I finally got a 360 of my own this past Christmas, and caught up on the Gears of War trilogy, as well as the plethora of amazing DLG's on XBLA, such as Shadow Complex, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, and Bastion.  I also downloaded Minecraft and am having a lot of fun with that as well.

PS3 is my system of choice.  On it I have enjoyed God of War, Fallout 3, Batman Arkham Asylum and City, finished the Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age 1 & 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Portal 2, and inFamous 1 & 2, just to name a few.

I continue to be amazed at what the video game industry has to offer its consumers.  The Nintendo 3DS was a very welcome addition to my gaming arsenal, and I eagerly await a price drop on the Vita so I can pick one of those up as well.  I feel that video games are not just a hobby, but are very truly a way of life, and anyone who is as passionate about games as I am can assuredly attest to that fact.  Some of the greatest storytelling moments I have ever experienced have come from video games, and some of the most intense emotions I have ever felt from entertainment media have absolutely come from video games.

Currently, I am enrolled at Monmouth University in New Jersey, where I major in Political Science and am on the football team.  Going to college definitely reinvigorated my love for games, because as anyone who has been there will tell you, there can be a lot of free time.  I'll be starting my senior year this fall, with plans to attend law school after that.

I have been an avid reader of GI for quite some time now, but have only recently decided to become an active contributor to this website.  It has been said before many times, but I will definitely repeat it here: there is no better community of diehard game fans anywhere else on the internet than right here at GI; let's get after it everyone.