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| Not me, but close enough |
From the time I was born until the present day I have been
gaming. I mean really, I was practically given a controller at birth. I can’t
remember a time when I wasn’t enjoying video games in my life and I don’t ever
expect it to go away. It’s part of who I am. And in this time of play there
have been many a games that have graced my path through life. Some have
impacted me more than others and every once and a while I go back and play
through them. Whether for nostalgia’s sake or just for the fun of it, those
games are a blast every time I play them. Within recent years there have been a
huge lack of games that have made that lasting impact on me. I don’t think it’s
just because I’ve gotten older and more mature, but I think it’s just the lack
of quality and originality that’s being put into these more current/mainstream
games.
To start, I’m a Nintendo/PC guy. The NES was the first
console my family owned and I can’t deny that it is my favorite console. I have
grown so very fond of that piece of hardware over the years even as newer and
beefier consoles have rolled out. I still own one to this day (as to it being
the original I owned, I don’t know, but I’d like to think it is) and it’s still
kickin’ it 23 years later! Iconic legends like Mario, Link, Samus and Donkey
Kong all came out of this era along with so many more. To me, these legends
mean more to me than some real people. If they disappeared I think I would feel
a void in my being. Like some had been deleted from who I am and I don’t know
if I would be able to replace it because they mean that much to me. It’s sad,
but oh so true. Video games have had that big of an impact on me that if one of
video games’ most loved characters left I would probably go nuts and throw a
tantrum of confusion.
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Kinda like this, just not knowing whether to shove a splinter up my finger nail or to slam a book on my pinky toe. That kind of confusion. |
I’ve always said video games are analogous to a good book,
cartoon, TV show or movie and I still hold true to that statement. What would
happen if, out of nowhere, Harry Potter never existed? What about Darth Vader? The
Simpsons? I’d even go as far as, dare I say it, Mickey Mouse? These icons of
our life have been engraved into what our society is today. I’ve never met
someone that has never heard of the The Lord of the Rings. Never. Now has
everyone read the books? Nope. Now I’m going out on a limb here and say that
over 80% of the people that have heard about the books or have seen the movies
have never actually read the story. I’m one of them, and yet everyone knows
about the little hairy-foot boy who had to take the ring that made you
invisible to the volcano to be destroyed. That kind of, “Oh yeah, everyone
knows about that, who doesn’t?”, kind of stuff is what I’m talking about. If
Mario never was a part of my life, it’s like all of that stuff was never a part
of anyone’s life. Boom. Take it!....Ok, well you don’t have to, but just think
about it for a sec.
That’s a long description to help people understand the
scope at what I’m talking about here. This is a big deal for me. Now let’s
proceed to what I’m trying to get at.
Video games are awesome. Pure and simple like peanut butter
and jelly, just awesome stuff. It’s what I do to release myself from the day to
day stuff and delve into a different world for a bit. Not that I don’t like
this world we live in, but that it’s fun to imagine a world slightly different
than our own. Imagination, I feel, is key to living an enjoyable life. It’s one
of life’s greatest treasures and one of our minds greatest tools. In a video game
you can use your imagination to its full potential. I remember being a young
lad playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and thinking, “Man it would be awesome
to be a turtle that fights bad guys with a nun chuck, while eating pizza!” No
way in heck would that be something I just thought about if I would’ve just
stuck to playing with some dirt outside. I mean that’s some pretty cool stuff!
And I was 4!...maybe 5! Still, after so many years, that imagination has stuck
with me. As video games have gotten better looking due to graphic improvements
and have gotten larger as consoles and PC’s have become more powerful, the
immersiveness (not a word) of video games have only enhanced that imagination.
The past couple of months have been a trial and error period
with some games I’ve played. I don’t remember it being this hard to find a game
I liked back in the day, but it’s been difficult. Some I’ve stuck with for the
story and others have become a quick fix for some fun. But what has been the
most enjoyable out of all of these has been a game that many have called an utter
failure due to the disgusting amount of bugs and problems found within it. It’s
been panned by others as being too cliché of the RPG genre and it has also been
called a sellout to the casual gamer. In all honesty, I love this game. I have
seen nothing but pure geniusness put into this game and I have never had a dull
moment. This game is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
What this game has done for me is similar to games of the
past. It has somewhat of an Ocarina of Time/Halo CE/ Splinter Cell/ Metroid
Prime/ Mario 64 and, which is a given, Morrowind feel to it. It’s just pure
game playing bliss. The soundtrack alone can put you into a joyful baby coma. I
just get swept away by its moving melodies and haunting Nordic chants. The first
time you step out into the world of Skyrim the screen melts your brains
capacity to believe. “Can a game be this beautiful?” your eyes ask and your brain
responds, “Si señor”…well at least mine does, it’s bilingual. I wish I
could describe in a written form how amazing this game is. It would take me
days to explain the intricacies of what makes this game so enjoyable to play.
Really it’s the little things that pop out at me as being a masterpiece. I’m
one that pays attention to the little details of games and this game takes the
cake. The cake of “OH MY LANTA THIS GAME IS BEAUTIFUL!! LOOK AT THAT BUTTERFLY,
IT HAS ITTY BITTY DESIGNS ON IT THAT LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!”. It’s a great cake
indeed. Real talk though, this game is great. I hope everyone can play this
game that likes to be alive.
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| This is what it feels like to play Skyrim when dragons appear. You just gotta book it brah! |
I know I said that I’m a Nintendo guy and explained to you
what those Nintendo characters mean to me, but I also said I was a PC guy.
There are some magnificent games on the PC that have done to me what Nintendo
has done to me. Skyrim is one of those games. It being a more current game also makes this even more important. I said at the beginning that there is a lack of quality games in the gaming market and there definitely is. In my book of video game
greatness though, Skyrim is easily in the top 10. Will I spit out those other top 10 at
this time, nopers, but I will in the future. This post was just to get my
creative juices going and to show that I kinda like video games. Would some
people say I’m obsessed, most likely. Do I think I am, nah. The stereotypical
gamer doesn’t really line up with who I am. I play for enjoyment, imagination,
for the untainted happiness of what my childhood consisted of. It’s that pure
joy that brings me back to gaming. To me it’s a perfect blend of all things pertaining
to entertainment. I would never put it in front of my own relationships with
the people I love, but I would never bury it and let it rot like a forgotten
carton of cottage cheese in the back of a backup refrigerator in a musty
garage. Like I said it’s part of me and every now and again another fire is lit
within me to continue playing and Skyrim has done just that.
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| Fur reals, play it |
“Forget that it’s a video game, that this is an entertainment
experience of virtually unlimited possibilities. Where it’s there for you to take
it where you want to go and as you do those things it will surprise you and
reward you for what you’re doing.” – Todd Howard on the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-
<!--[endif]-->I’ll probably talk more about my experiences
with Skyrim in the future. This is just a, how I feel about Skyrim and games in
general, spiel. Thought I should just get my ramblings out now before I forget
them!
