I’m an avid video games player.
But I’m not an addict. I used to play heavily when I was younger. Nowadays, with a job, more, ah, jobs and impending fatherhood, my play hours have been reduced to virtually nil. Nevertheless, when I have time to spare I do play video games.
I was introduced to video games back in the 80s with Galaga in a gaming console that looked like a miniature arcade box complete with joystick and a ‘FIRE’ button. Then there was the ever-addictive Game N Watch, the precursor of handheld gaming devices. Then, I moved up to the Family Computer with such games as Super Mario Bros, Double Dribble, Double Dragon and Twin Bees. Much later, my neighbor received a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) which introduced me to stuff like Kid Icarus, Duck Hunt and Legend of Zelda. In high school, I was introduced to the personal computer. The PC interested me not because of WordStar or Dbase or Turbo-Pascal but because of the possibility of video-gaming. I remember fondly how we badgered our computer-class teacher to allow us to play Digger whenever we finished our class early.
After SNES and FamiCom I don’t think I’ve used any other console. I was hooked to the PC especially when DOS-based games such as Prince of Persia and Raptor became available for 486s in the mid-90s. As technology improved, the games improved as well and up to now, I still prefer to play video games on the PC and have not bothered to look gaming consoles such as the Playstations, the XBOX, and the slew of handhelds such as the GameBoys, GameCubes, et al. I do however confess an interest in getting my hands on a PSP which promises to bring on hours of gaming fun especially during travels and out-of-town trips.
So, what are your favorite video games regardless of platform? Here’s my list:
Double Dragon (FamiCom)
Legend of Zelda (SNES)
Kid Icarus (SNES)
Commando (SNES/FamiCom)
Battle City (FamiCom)
The original Bricks/Tetris Game
Lode Runner (PC)
Apeiron (Mac)
Conflict (PC)
Jeopardy (DOS-based PC)
Family Feud (DOS-based PC)
Raptor (PC)
And here are more modern PC games I continue to play:
Nox
Diablo (honest to goodness hack and slash game)
Freedom Force (comic buffs like me will like this)
Septerra Core
Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale (the epic games)
Duke Nukem (fun!!!)
Neverwinter Nights
Grand Theft Auto 3: Liberty City and Vice City (really love the concept of this game)
NBA Live by EA Games (I play my best sports here)
The Sims 1 and 2 plus Expansion Packs (where I unleash my control-freak symptoms)
Dungeon Keeper 2 (great evil and twisted game)
SimCity 4
Seven Kingdoms
Warcraft
Freedom Fighter (this one is a great game but quite short)
However, of all the games I’ve ever played, my favorite video game is probably Zeus: Master of Olympus, the city-building game developed by Impression Games wherein through a series of goals, you are the architect who will spell the success or failure of a Greek civilization.
Despite being 2D, the game is immersive and I’ve found myself playing it over and over again. When I got my new PC which runs an XP OS late last year, I found out there was a problem with running Zeus on it. I thought my run with this game had ended but yesterday, while whiling away the time, I did some search in some games forums and the moderator at the Sierra games forum gave a sound advice on how to make Zeus run on an XP.
The solution was so simple, just had to make the exe file of the game to run in Windows 98 mode. I re-installed the game last night and voila, the game started up and ran perfectly! Now, I just need the time to start playing this great game again.
For those players who are unable to run their games, check out this site and you may just find the solution you need to play Zeus once again.
