Lunsh Break. Take a break and snack on some games.

The first games I remember were on a computer that had an integrated surge protection unit with an anti-static contact built into the frame. I had no idea how to use a computer until at the age of six I was taught how to jump over aliens in Commander Keen and to kick Nazis in the face in Castle Wolfenstein, before stealing all of their hidden treasures. Fast forward through seventeen more years of Command and Conquers, Quakes, Dooms, Mechwarriors, Dark Forceses, and Timesplitterseses (how DO you pluralize those?) and yeah, some patterns emerge. I like first person shooters. There’s more to me than that though…maybe.

My childhood, right there.

One of my personal qualities not related to gaming is that I have a weakness for ill-advised adventures in the desert. I can still connect this back to the subject at hand as the most excited I have been about a game in a very long time was in the lead-up to Uncharted 3.

My gaming pedigree may be rich, but even so there are plenty of games that I just plain never got around to. I’ve prepared a list of some of these as a way to continue introducing myself. The list that follows is absolutely not exhaustive.

• Shadow of the Colossus/Ico: How could I not have played these? The answer is: “somehow”
• Final Fantasy: Not a single one.
• Toe Jam and Earl: I played this for a few minutes once but never had an snes growing up. People seem to like it.
• Grand Theft Auto III: What’s more surprising, this or Final Fantasy?
• Earthbound: There must be something right about this game. I have a friend who recently marathoned through a ROM of this on his phone on a drive from South Carolina to Texas. He and his brother took turns.
• Jet Set Radio Future: I’m just curious about this one.

I’ll end my list there for now. There’s a very good chance that gamers reading this are now frothing about how essential it is that I play one or another of these. If so, good. I chose the titles on that list specifically to illustrate my curiosity at never having experienced them. Everyone who might consider themselves a gamer has these experiences that they hold close. I still jump every time a friend’s phone goes off with that Metal Gear Solid alert sound.These games and more like them have apparently had a large impact on many people, and I hope to try to play catch-up at some point.

Tags: Thomas