AKA DevilDog77
New member
Throughout our lives, there was some pivotal moment that truly made us a gamer, be it the systems our families bestowed to us on birthdays and holidays, the individual games, or just gathering with friends in the early years, what I like to call the dial up age when internet gaming had not quite taken off. Be it these tales of the past or something a little more personal, something inside these pixels and dialogue made us tick, so lets look at some of the earlier games.
Mario Kart. Need more be said? Taking the timeless "Super Mario" franchise and turning it into a racing game not only targeted the original side scrollers, but also the racing genre of gamers, broadening their income and gamer experience so much that the franchise is still active and enjoyed today, the older games in the series certainly bringing nostalgia to those of us who grew up with the iconic banana leaving shell shooting classic. Compared to the later versions, it is my own personal opinion that the classic games hold up to the legacy they left, and the newer ones bring something new to the table, something that although isn't as nostalgic as the Nintendo 64 Classic, but certainly gives it a fresh breath of air, a new take on a timeless game.
Speaking of Nintendo 64, who could forget Super Smash Bros? The simple idea of taking characters from different games and pitting them against each other certainly wasn't new, but this is the game that brought it into the spotlight, bringing the possibilities of Link fighting Samus, or Mario facing off against Kirby, such odd pairs and combinations that the possibilities are endless. The newer games bring even more characters, such as Solid Snake (Metal Gear) and even rumors of an appearance of Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy 7) are questionable in my eyes, but I do see the need to bring new ideas and characters into the competition, or we run the risk of just playing the same game over and over with better graphics. Who wants that?
And broadening a past point, lets move on to a PlayStation classic- Final Fantasy, and where better to speculate than the number that revolutionized the series than Final Fantasy 7. In this PlayStation game, the player takes control of Cloud Strife, a merc who is recently out of the Shinra SOLDIER group, and is hired by a group named AVALANCHE dedicated to bringing Shinra down. Along the course of the game, Cloud, as well as the player, becomes more and more invested into the game, an evil demigod and questions of who Cloud truly is arise, leaving the player in suspense until the final strike of Omnislash. Moving to today, the Final Fantasy series has tried hard to recreate the magic of seven, but with little success in my eyes. Although they have released two prequels and a movie based on Cloud, there have been no games that burst like Cloud's initial journey into the lifestream. Perhaps it's time for a PS3 or PS4 remake?
And now, the X-Box. Although some of the older gamers here may not find it as nostalgic, but to myself, the X-Box had a special place in my childhood when I opened it on Christmas day. Why not review the soul reason the X-Box made it this far? Lets dive into "Halo". When Halo was first introduced it was a free game that came with the console, along with one other. Halo immediately became a hit, with a play style like DOOM and a story like Aliens, the player finds them self as Master Chief Petty Officer, a SPARTAN who is bred for combat and built for war. Although laughable now, the graphics at the time for Halo were astounding and I truly felt as though I was fighting the covenant, from the first break of the cryotube to the explosion of The Autumn, Halo kept the players gripped by telling a story, a story of war, betrayals, fear, fallen leaders, and new hope. A groundbreaking success as it was, I was not surprised that many sequels came out, and as a Halo fan I have to say I am disappointed, most notably in Halo 4. Halo 4 is basically Call of Duty: Master Chief Ops, where abilities and play style mimic the franchise so closely, I am sure the only thing that prevented a law suit was the aliens. But, I can understand why some people might like the new Halo, and I will admit the sprint option is very handy and I use it myself. Maybe I'm just a relic who wants to engage the Flood and blow up a UNSC ship. Thank you for your time, and I hope I helped you remember some classics that you may have forgot about in the excitement of the holiday season, and Merry Christmas everyone, or as Link in Super Smash Bros might say, HEUH!
Nick Bailey, AKA DevilDog77
Mario Kart. Need more be said? Taking the timeless "Super Mario" franchise and turning it into a racing game not only targeted the original side scrollers, but also the racing genre of gamers, broadening their income and gamer experience so much that the franchise is still active and enjoyed today, the older games in the series certainly bringing nostalgia to those of us who grew up with the iconic banana leaving shell shooting classic. Compared to the later versions, it is my own personal opinion that the classic games hold up to the legacy they left, and the newer ones bring something new to the table, something that although isn't as nostalgic as the Nintendo 64 Classic, but certainly gives it a fresh breath of air, a new take on a timeless game.
Speaking of Nintendo 64, who could forget Super Smash Bros? The simple idea of taking characters from different games and pitting them against each other certainly wasn't new, but this is the game that brought it into the spotlight, bringing the possibilities of Link fighting Samus, or Mario facing off against Kirby, such odd pairs and combinations that the possibilities are endless. The newer games bring even more characters, such as Solid Snake (Metal Gear) and even rumors of an appearance of Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy 7) are questionable in my eyes, but I do see the need to bring new ideas and characters into the competition, or we run the risk of just playing the same game over and over with better graphics. Who wants that?
And broadening a past point, lets move on to a PlayStation classic- Final Fantasy, and where better to speculate than the number that revolutionized the series than Final Fantasy 7. In this PlayStation game, the player takes control of Cloud Strife, a merc who is recently out of the Shinra SOLDIER group, and is hired by a group named AVALANCHE dedicated to bringing Shinra down. Along the course of the game, Cloud, as well as the player, becomes more and more invested into the game, an evil demigod and questions of who Cloud truly is arise, leaving the player in suspense until the final strike of Omnislash. Moving to today, the Final Fantasy series has tried hard to recreate the magic of seven, but with little success in my eyes. Although they have released two prequels and a movie based on Cloud, there have been no games that burst like Cloud's initial journey into the lifestream. Perhaps it's time for a PS3 or PS4 remake?
And now, the X-Box. Although some of the older gamers here may not find it as nostalgic, but to myself, the X-Box had a special place in my childhood when I opened it on Christmas day. Why not review the soul reason the X-Box made it this far? Lets dive into "Halo". When Halo was first introduced it was a free game that came with the console, along with one other. Halo immediately became a hit, with a play style like DOOM and a story like Aliens, the player finds them self as Master Chief Petty Officer, a SPARTAN who is bred for combat and built for war. Although laughable now, the graphics at the time for Halo were astounding and I truly felt as though I was fighting the covenant, from the first break of the cryotube to the explosion of The Autumn, Halo kept the players gripped by telling a story, a story of war, betrayals, fear, fallen leaders, and new hope. A groundbreaking success as it was, I was not surprised that many sequels came out, and as a Halo fan I have to say I am disappointed, most notably in Halo 4. Halo 4 is basically Call of Duty: Master Chief Ops, where abilities and play style mimic the franchise so closely, I am sure the only thing that prevented a law suit was the aliens. But, I can understand why some people might like the new Halo, and I will admit the sprint option is very handy and I use it myself. Maybe I'm just a relic who wants to engage the Flood and blow up a UNSC ship. Thank you for your time, and I hope I helped you remember some classics that you may have forgot about in the excitement of the holiday season, and Merry Christmas everyone, or as Link in Super Smash Bros might say, HEUH!
Nick Bailey, AKA DevilDog77
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