GameInformer

It all began under the bed sheets.

Borrowing my friend's Gameboy with Pokemon Red, I played into the heart of the night, eyes strained, thumbs raw.

I would have loved that Nintendo be my first video game experience and this would have been a great way to start out my bio, but it's simply out of order.

I used to spend a lot of time and Grandma's house, which meant, TV, Lego's, cookies, food whenever we wanted, couldn't be more spoiled (At my mom's we were not). Then, one day, while strolling the aisles of Toy's R' Us, my brother and I saw it. The Sega Genesis.

Henceforth, my video game hobby began. Vectorman, Toejam & Earl, Sonic I, II, Knuckles, III, Desert Strike, the titles kept rushing in. The constant struggle to beat the next game became an addiction. Then, I bought a Sega CD.

What made me pickup Sega CD? It looked new! It was an add-on so it was on the cheap. There were two games, the included Tomcat Alley and Power Rangers in the bin next to the glass cases. Suspiciously, Power Rangers was THE ONLY game in the bin. But being the confident 8 year old that I was, I figured that a new console add-on would have more games eventually. I was wrong.

Sega CD turned out to be a complete flop and was on a massive decline when I bought it. The next time I went to the store to find some games, everything branded Sega CD had disappeared.Waste of money, waste of time. I got nothing for it when I sold it along with my Genesis at Babbages. Sadly.

One weekend, I went over to a buddy’s one day to experience a new system. More advanced than my boombox made by the same company, better graphics than my Genesis and faster than my computer, I discovered the Sony PlayStation! NO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT SALLY PSONE ROUNDER THAN YOUR CEREAL BOWL BOY! I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BRICK WITH SIDE LOUVERS AND BUTTONS THAT TAKE A MAN TO PRESS THEM DOWN.

Graphics never had steps like this with previous consoles. Computers and consoles had pretty similar graphic capabilities at the time. A step like this was absolutely phenomenal and I didn’t know the half of it. My next Toys ‘R’ Us run had me playing Crash Bandicoot. This was power button on.

Coolboarders 2, Yaggi, Gran Turismo, Special Stage Endurance, Dodge Vipers, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy you name it, played the heck out of them. My brother and I bought PlayStation magazine and reveled in the demo discs. Those demos alone convinced me to buy Final Fantasy VIII and the tactical melodrama Metal Gear Solid, arguably the most advanced games of the generation.

Interestingly enough, this is also the time I bought two gameboys. Only one game series existed for my gameboys. Pokemon Pokemon Pokemon. I don't know why I played those games so much but I did. I borrowed the red version from my buddy and played late into the night for months. Ultimately playing through the first two games led me to Pokemon Yellow. There was a special feature with Pokemon Yellow. It was compatible with Pokemon Stadium.

I could now have my pokemon, in 3D, battling other pokemon with better graphics! Of course the story wasn't there but I think you could use the N64 as an emulator. There was also Pokemon Snap, the virtual tour of the pokemon world. Maybe worth a rent. I bought an N64, almost 2 years after the PlayStation.

I did not take the glorious path to the Nintendo 64, an air of familiarity for most people. Although the likes of Mario and Zelda on SNES were what most people were playing before the "PlayStation Generation", I was playing computer games like Doom, Dark Forces, and Full Throttle. I also had a mother that thought TV would rot my brain. C'est la vie. What lackluster Nintendo beginning I had turned into my early multiplayer binges.

Quake II, Super Smash Bros., Mario Cart. My FPS multiplayer experience began with Quake II. The BFG stirring the night with it's eerie charge up. Even though it was only a four player game, the maps were dark, unknown, and full of scares. Oh what fun adolescents may have.

**Until Next Time**