July 8th is Video Game Day, not to be confused with September 12th, which is National Video Game Day, and in honor of Video Game Day I will be talking about some of my all time favorite video games.
First a little history of how I got into video games. My dad brought home the Atari along with Pac-Man and Asteroids when I was 5 years old (yes, we got the Atari in the house late), up until that point I could only play video games via arcades at pizza joints and my dad's bodega. I know we had other games for the Atari but those are the 2 that I remember the most. My dad bought every system that came out after that. I was able to watch the evolution of video games and I am grateful for it.
My 1st love is Pac-Man. It's the earliest game I remember playing, I remember hearing about people competing to get the highest score in Pac-Man and I wanted to be apart of that... until I found out the score and I knew I could never do that, but it was fun to try and pretend. Sometimes I find myself trying for the high score and then I die a million times.
My Atari Pac-Man Games
My husband got me an Arcade 1UP Pac-Man for Mother's Day and it's perfect.
After Pac-Man Super Mario Bros. is a very close second. Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo was so much fun of course I played second player with my dad and I was terrible, but I had fun. The game that officially captured my heart is Super Mario Bros. 3. Any chance I get I download it, Wii, WiiU, and the Switch. I got the Nintendo Mini because it came with Super Mario Bros. 3! I can't speed run this game, I still forget all layouts of each board, but man do I still laugh... and yell when playing this game.
The 1st system I had that was all my own was the Playstation. Man you want to talk about great games?! Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Mortal Kombat, and of course Final Fantasy VII; but for me one of the standout games of the Playstation is Wild Arms! I loved the story, the music, the characters, everyone I have talked to about this game as loved it too. I was able to download it on my Vita and replay it, still a great game.
I was able to get the hard copy again at a convention and I was beyond excited.
I have always loved handhelds they are so great and because I lived in the city I had something to do on the bus or train, even now when I travel I still have my handhelds. Although I have a Vita I don't necessarily have a favorite game on that system but I do have favorites on the PSP and the DS. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth and Super Princess Peach kept me entertained many commutes and lunch breaks. It was fun to play as Princess Peach and save Mario for once. And Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth was both fun and challenging, I check my PS4 every now and again to see if it's been added to the store I keep hoping one day it will be there.
When it comes to video games nothing beats a good jump scare, while I am the 1st to admit I am a chicken and a scaredy cat when it comes to anything horror related I can't help to fall in love with scary games. Everything from Resident Evil series to Outlast is in my collection of games, but my all time favorite series are Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. While I do not have the 1st Fatal Frame I do have most of the Silent Hill series. I took the picture of the Silent Hill 1-4 (and Origins) but I have Homecoming and Downpour, I also have Fatal Frame II Director's Cut on the Xbox. These games came out at the dawn of surround sound and let me tell you it added on to the intensity of these games.
A more recent series that got me started in co-op playing online and eventually multiplayer is the Gears of War series. I had gotten and Xbox 360 late in the game and when I asked what games to get with it I was told over and over again to get Gears of War and so I did. I played with my husband, best friend at the time, and we stayed up late getting through the game. I had so much fun, and then Gears of War 2 game out with Horde Mode and we played with close friends. We all stayed up all night trying to get to Wave 50 and conquer it. Finally at 3 AM we beat it, what a rush! The other games were good (well Judgement is up for debate) and they each hold a place in my gaming life because of the people I have played with, the laughter, the memories we have built over those games is second to none. I still have the originals games of course, the special edition systems, controllers, steal cases, Cog tags, lancers, figures, etc. Gears will be at the top of my favorites list always.
Well these are just some of my top favorite games. I do have a lot more that fall under all of these but I just wanted to give you a glimpse of some that are at the very top. What are some of your all time favorite games? I would love to know!
Happy Video Game Day everyone!