This Gaming Life - TT

This Gaming Life.

...and so it all falls into place.

TT


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1 of 15 Missile Command (Arcade) I’d go home at night and think about how to get better at it. I’d lie in bed, shut my eyes, and see missiles coming down the insides of my eyelids. There were no strategy guides or Internet sites to read up on how to get better – it was man against machine, and this machine was different. Hell, every game was different. Relentless streams of missiles, smart bombs, planes, noises, sirens – all coming at you in random patterns. And the way the closing screen of Armageddon screamed ‘THE END’ sent shivers down my spine. In 1984, I lived in constant fear of the world ending at any moment anyway, so this only added to the curiosity". {WoTR - issue 28}. For me, this was and still is 'The One.'




2 of 15 Hungry Horace (ZX Spectrum) The first game I played on my Spectrum, indeed, my first introduction to gaming at home. Oddly, I never played my first "machine" on a colour telly - odd that my parents could afford a top of the range Spectrum from Uncle Clive, but couldn't splash out on a colour TV. Hours and hours and hours of my formative years were spent huddled up in my bedroom, with my Spectrum and black and white portable. Not a care in the world. Interesting that my first steps into games were very solitary...




3 of 15 Invader From Space (Handheld) This cost me a black eye. Kim Wong was his name, and his Chinese parents were loaded, and he came to school with every new gadget going. I couldn't help myself, it was sat there on the side while he played table tennis -Grandstand's "Invader From Space". I switched it on and shot one invader I think, when out of nowhere, he caught me with a right hook straight to the face. I had a massive shiner for a week or two. It was worth it. I did it for the cause.




4 of 15 Sonic The Hedgehog (Megadrive) You can't deny the gameplay of the first Sonic game. This one captivated me through my first months of working in the big wide world. I'd go to this big souless office, push paper around and smile at people all day, and all the time I was thinking about how I was going to replay the game through differently and try to get a perfect score when I got back home. I guess it was escapism from the horrors of fending for myself.




5 of 15 Half Life 1 (PC) No other game (inlcuding HL2) has got close to this in terms of immersion. I lost six months of my life to this game, and can still lie in bed at night, close my eyes and walk through the entire game in my head. You can't share Half Life. It's yours and yours alone.




6 of 15 Super Mario 64 (N64) Just magic. The magnificent Super mario 64. The only game ever to make me smile when I first loaded it up - not had that before or since. I would attest that this is the biggest advance that gaming has taken in the last 20 years. And it still is the best platformer ever. And my mates at the time agreed - they all came round to marvel at the new console from Japan, and we tried to translate the text but couldn't. My ex partner would be in bed at 10.30. The lads and me would stay up all night, in our work suits playing through this, and go to work the next morning in the same clothes. Fucking hardcore I was. Fucking hardcore...




7 of 15 Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) The missus and I completed GTAIII during the nine months leading up to the birth of our first son. Imagine if you will my girlfriend resting a PS2 joypad on her pregnant belly, while shooting lots of triads in the face on screen. Wrong. Ace, but wrong. She'll kill me if she reads this. The lad has turned out alright though.




8 of 15 Nuon (Enhanced DVD Player) I like the Nuon as a games machine. Whist I missed it first time round, the wonders of Ebay have meant that I could rediscover this gem of a machine. You can count the number of games for it on one hand, and the number of decent ones on two fingers. But something about it is quite magical. My ownership of the Nuon really defines my adult gaming life - its niche, unique and very special. Because you're not lost in a sea of hi-res and noise, you can discover the finer points of each game. Love it.




9 of 15 Biomotor Unitron (Neo Geo Pocket Colour) Best handheld game bar none. In my previous job I had to do a lot of corporate hospitality, which is bollocks in itself. When it was cricket, Biomotor Unitron got me through some long hot afternoons at Edgebaston believe me. Paid to play my Neo Geo Pocket. Bonus!




10 of 15 Jumping Flash (PS1) I never really appreciated Japanese culture until I played this quirky game on import. This was the game that made me travel to Japan and check it out for myself. I just had to recreate the game by taking a picture of my feet hanging over the edge of Tokyo Tower looking down. And I did.




11 of 15 PGA Tour Golf 2 (Sega Megadrive) Really fond memories of hours of multiplayer madness with Pete (what is he doing now?) on our megadrives. We exchanged so much money over this game - it was usually a pound a hole, and we must have played thousands of the bastards. Perfect balance, controls and gameplay. I wonder how it stacks up now?




12 of 15 Pilotwings 64 (N64) Yeah I know there were others, but Pilotwings on the N64 was the first game where I really appreciated freedom and huge "levels" with the added bonus of no loading times (there's a lot to be said for cartridges you know). You could spend hours just flying around relaxing and checking out the scenery. It was like having your very own flying machine. I'll be downloading this one when the Revolution appears.




13 of 15 Ummm TT can't count.




14 of 15 Well... TT still can't count.




15 of 15 Okay. And Pilotwings really is that dull.

This is my gaming life.

Cheers,
TT
February 2005