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As everyone seems to be talking about the future in terms of videogames, I thought it would be a good idea to go back to where it all began, the first moments when we all started to play videogames. Heres mine.
The earliest moment I have of playing computer games was back in the dark ages of Christmas 1986, when I was just 5 years old. My parents gave me a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, which now is considered to be one of the first computers. I dont think I knew how to say computer at the time, let alone use one. It was a pretty simply system, tape deck to load games(does everyone remember how long that used to take!) keyboard and leads to plug it into the TV and power. Me and my dad spent a very long time trying to work out how the bloody thing worked, and we finally managed to do so, even though I had to wait 30 minutes to play my first game, which to be honest felt like a ice age, but I didnt mind.( I do remember though saying on many occasion "Dad is it ready yet!!) The first game I remember playing was asteroids, and I got many an hour I spent happily playing it, until the damn thing went out in a blaze of glory, and a massive burn on the living room carpet to boot. Tp replace it, my parents then bought me a Atari ST, which didnt seem to be as good. I do remember playing the football management sims on it for many an hour(until the tape chewed!!!) as well as a track and field game, which me and my mates played happily many a time. However, instead of tapping buttons we had to waggle a joystick, which in some cases not only made us get red hands, but also made us look completely stupid.
That began to gain inches and inches of dust when I was bought a NES, which was about 10 years ago. I played Mario for the first time on that. Then the SNES came along, when I tried RPGS, namely Zelda for the first time(I spent weeks trying to buy that game!). I then, 5 years ago, bought a Playstation, which at the time wasnt my first choice because at the time I was obcessed with Nintendo but I couldnt be bothered to wait an ice age for it to come out, so I asked for that instead(but I did buy an N64 eventually!). Now here, 14 years of playing computer games, and can still play them like the best of us. Now theres mine, whats your earliest videogaming memory?
The earliest moment I have of playing computer games was back in the dark ages of Christmas 1986, when I was just 5 years old. My parents gave me a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, which now is considered to be one of the first computers. I dont think I knew how to say computer at the time, let alone use one. It was a pretty simply system, tape deck to load games(does everyone remember how long that used to take!) keyboard and leads to plug it into the TV and power. Me and my dad spent a very long time trying to work out how the bloody thing worked, and we finally managed to do so, even though I had to wait 30 minutes to play my first game, which to be honest felt like a ice age, but I didnt mind.( I do remember though saying on many occasion "Dad is it ready yet!!) The first game I remember playing was asteroids, and I got many an hour I spent happily playing it, until the damn thing went out in a blaze of glory, and a massive burn on the living room carpet to boot. Tp replace it, my parents then bought me a Atari ST, which didnt seem to be as good. I do remember playing the football management sims on it for many an hour(until the tape chewed!!!) as well as a track and field game, which me and my mates played happily many a time. However, instead of tapping buttons we had to waggle a joystick, which in some cases not only made us get red hands, but also made us look completely stupid.
That began to gain inches and inches of dust when I was bought a NES, which was about 10 years ago. I played Mario for the first time on that. Then the SNES came along, when I tried RPGS, namely Zelda for the first time(I spent weeks trying to buy that game!). I then, 5 years ago, bought a Playstation, which at the time wasnt my first choice because at the time I was obcessed with Nintendo but I couldnt be bothered to wait an ice age for it to come out, so I asked for that instead(but I did buy an N64 eventually!). Now here, 14 years of playing computer games, and can still play them like the best of us. Now theres mine, whats your earliest videogaming memory?
My first computer was an Amstrad CPC 464, which at the time (about 1986/87) was the next step forward from the ZX Spectrum, but not even half as successfull. We had loads of free games with it and these were some of the first that I had ever played. There was one called The Galactic Plague, which was basically just Space Invaders which I became instantly addicted to. Harrier Attack was great, with its four colours displayed at once, it gave you the chance to go bombing over Germany. After a while the games got better displaying up to eight colours at a time. One of which was called Total Eclipse, which was one of the first 3-D games I had ever played. I cannot remember what the hell it was about now, but it kept me hooked for weeks. Like the Spectrum these games came on cassetes and took a while to load, the longest taking about 45 minutes. This computer lasted us for years, we must have gone through about ten joysticks.
Then after that eventually one Christmas my parents bought me an Amiga 500. This at the time was the best thing ever. Had it for well over four years and over 150 games. The best being SWOS, Cannon Fodder, Flashback, but the earlier memories were of Lotus Challenge, Bart vs the Space Mutants, Football Kid, California Games and Elite.
Then after that eventually one Christmas my parents bought me an Amiga 500. This at the time was the best thing ever. Had it for well over four years and over 150 games. The best being SWOS, Cannon Fodder, Flashback, but the earlier memories were of Lotus Challenge, Bart vs the Space Mutants, Football Kid, California Games and Elite.
Wow!! that must have been some fight, what did he do to the controller??
In my younger and more reckless days (god I sound old!!!) I flung many a controller across the room in frustration (not to mention the odd cartridge and once evn my Gameboy) and I never managed to break any of them. They are made pretty robust so how did he manage to break it.
In my younger and more reckless days (god I sound old!!!) I flung many a controller across the room in frustration (not to mention the odd cartridge and once evn my Gameboy) and I never managed to break any of them. They are made pretty robust so how did he manage to break it.
This is my earliest and worst memory.
It was chritmas day i think in 1992 and me and my brother recieved a Super nintendo from my parents. We had been looking forward to it for months. Anyway we got 2 games Super Mario, and Super Soccer. You can probbally guess what happened, i wanted to play on Super Soccer and my brother wanted to play on mario and we got in a fight about who should play first and stupidly enough my brother broke the only controller we had with the console and we had to wait until January to get a new one because all the shops were shut.
It was chritmas day i think in 1992 and me and my brother recieved a Super nintendo from my parents. We had been looking forward to it for months. Anyway we got 2 games Super Mario, and Super Soccer. You can probbally guess what happened, i wanted to play on Super Soccer and my brother wanted to play on mario and we got in a fight about who should play first and stupidly enough my brother broke the only controller we had with the console and we had to wait until January to get a new one because all the shops were shut.
When I was but a small boy, knee high to a grasshopper, many moons ago, I remember a cousin had an Atari 2600. I think he was playing River Raid. Anyway I got an Atari for Xmas, and had games like Combat, Breatout, Pacman, MsPacman, Jungle Hunt, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Eventually it was replaced with an Acorn Electron, but I won't continue with all of the systems I've had again.
Eventually it was replaced with an Acorn Electron, but I won't continue with all of the systems I've had again.
When I was about 3-4 years old, I used to play Sonic the hedgehog on the Mega Drive when we went to toys R us.
I only actually got a computer when I was six. An amiga 500+. It was great...
... well it WAS great!
I only actually got a computer when I was six. An amiga 500+. It was great...
... well it WAS great!
I remember playing my first game on an Atari VCS. It was a tank game and it was very addictive at the time, I guess because there was nothing like it at the time. It wasn't mine but a friend's up the road and he had Smurfs, space invaders and the brilliant Xevious. In those days I wished I had a games machine, but my parents thought I was too young.
Later on my older brother was lucky enough to get a Spectrum and he had lots of games like Cosmic Kanga and Horace goes Skiing for me to play on. One game in particular stays in my mind. It was called Ye Ar Kung Fu and was the best 2 player fighting game around at the time. It had some really funny characters and sound effects.
I was lucky when my brother actually let me play on the computer though, most of the time he kept me off of his computers until he got an Atari ST, and then we used to play gauntlet 2 a lot and Super Hang on. Now I have a Dreamcast and my PC and I love playing them both, but how far we have come from those early days!
Later on my older brother was lucky enough to get a Spectrum and he had lots of games like Cosmic Kanga and Horace goes Skiing for me to play on. One game in particular stays in my mind. It was called Ye Ar Kung Fu and was the best 2 player fighting game around at the time. It had some really funny characters and sound effects.
I was lucky when my brother actually let me play on the computer though, most of the time he kept me off of his computers until he got an Atari ST, and then we used to play gauntlet 2 a lot and Super Hang on. Now I have a Dreamcast and my PC and I love playing them both, but how far we have come from those early days!
My first memory of playing a computer game, was in about '91 when I was six. I would have been in the 2nd year of infants, and living in Lecieste (I don't anymore though). I remember one of my friends coming into scool once really exited, coz her brother had a computer game or something like that. I went over to her house one day, and played on it. he didn't have many games on it, and I only remember playing something that resembles Pac-man, and then thats it, my memory goes blank untill a few days later at scool when we were making salt-dough shapes?!?!
You are going to wish you had never started this I reckon!! I first remember playing a game on the Spectrum called "Xenomorphs" or something along those lines. It was sort of like pac man and if you were hit by the alien dudes a tombstone with RIP on it appeared. I must have been about 10 so that would make it 1986.
I was then bought a Commodore 64 which was pretty crap but I did enjoy playing Double Dragon on it and Microprose soccer. God the loading times in those tape days were a knightmare. You would sit and wait for half an hour while coloured bars flashed across the screen and horrible noises eminated from the TV. The after all the wait the bloody thing would probably crash anyway and you would have to start all over again.
Next I bought a NES and a Master System. I thought that the games on these were awesome. Double Dragon and the Mario games on the NES were class and the Shinobi and Sonic games on the master system ate up hours of my time.
Next I went to a computer show in London and while I was there I bought a Japanese Megadrive with ESWAT and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. I was blown away by the graphics, sound and gameplay and those were only the rubbishy release games. I played that Genesis to death over the next few years (Streets of Rage, Sonic, Shinobi, oh the memories the memories!!)
Then one day I was reading CVG and I saw a preview of the next big thing the SNES. They had some shots of StreetFighter 2 on it and I was sold. I loved StreetFighter 2 and I immediately rushed out and ordered an American SNES from an importer. Marioland on the SNES was amazing (one of the best games of all time) and I also loved Zelda, Final Fight, StreetFighter 2 turbo and so many other games my memory fails me.
I then made the following mistakes. 1) I bought a 3DO which although it had some great games and brilliant graphics, cost me an arm and a leg and died pretty quickly. 2) I bought an Atari Jaguar (against my better judgement as I had already been burnt by Atari when I bought a Lynx)which had some good games but hardly any 3rd party support and died even quicker than the 3DO.
After this I went to University and as a poor student I could not find the money for games (even though I really wanted too) and I never purchased a Playstation. At the time I was also a diehard Nintendo fan so when I saw Goldeneye on the N64 I was sold on the system. This is the only purchase I regret, as although Goldeneye was a brilliant game, except for Mario and Zelda nothing else on the 64 was really my sort of thing. I lost my faith in Nintendo a bit and although it has been restored after playing many Playstation games when I worked in an EB over Christmas 2 years ago I was won over to the Sony cause.
I have my PS2 ordered and I cant wait to get my hands on it.
Over the years I have also owned pretty much every handheld. I had a Japanese Gameboy when they were first released, an Atari Lynx (waste of money),a Sega Gamegear and eventually a colour gameboy. I currently own a PC and Half-Life, FIFA 99 and I am now looking forward, as a full time bread winner, to being able to buy games for my PS2 and not having to sell them in order to buy others. Oh happy days.
I am not and have never been rich. I have funded my gaming through the years by selling old games and systems to fund new ones (and a bit of work).
Anyway, sorry to be a bore. But I have always loved computer games and I always will.
I was then bought a Commodore 64 which was pretty crap but I did enjoy playing Double Dragon on it and Microprose soccer. God the loading times in those tape days were a knightmare. You would sit and wait for half an hour while coloured bars flashed across the screen and horrible noises eminated from the TV. The after all the wait the bloody thing would probably crash anyway and you would have to start all over again.
Next I bought a NES and a Master System. I thought that the games on these were awesome. Double Dragon and the Mario games on the NES were class and the Shinobi and Sonic games on the master system ate up hours of my time.
Next I went to a computer show in London and while I was there I bought a Japanese Megadrive with ESWAT and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. I was blown away by the graphics, sound and gameplay and those were only the rubbishy release games. I played that Genesis to death over the next few years (Streets of Rage, Sonic, Shinobi, oh the memories the memories!!)
Then one day I was reading CVG and I saw a preview of the next big thing the SNES. They had some shots of StreetFighter 2 on it and I was sold. I loved StreetFighter 2 and I immediately rushed out and ordered an American SNES from an importer. Marioland on the SNES was amazing (one of the best games of all time) and I also loved Zelda, Final Fight, StreetFighter 2 turbo and so many other games my memory fails me.
I then made the following mistakes. 1) I bought a 3DO which although it had some great games and brilliant graphics, cost me an arm and a leg and died pretty quickly. 2) I bought an Atari Jaguar (against my better judgement as I had already been burnt by Atari when I bought a Lynx)which had some good games but hardly any 3rd party support and died even quicker than the 3DO.
After this I went to University and as a poor student I could not find the money for games (even though I really wanted too) and I never purchased a Playstation. At the time I was also a diehard Nintendo fan so when I saw Goldeneye on the N64 I was sold on the system. This is the only purchase I regret, as although Goldeneye was a brilliant game, except for Mario and Zelda nothing else on the 64 was really my sort of thing. I lost my faith in Nintendo a bit and although it has been restored after playing many Playstation games when I worked in an EB over Christmas 2 years ago I was won over to the Sony cause.
I have my PS2 ordered and I cant wait to get my hands on it.
Over the years I have also owned pretty much every handheld. I had a Japanese Gameboy when they were first released, an Atari Lynx (waste of money),a Sega Gamegear and eventually a colour gameboy. I currently own a PC and Half-Life, FIFA 99 and I am now looking forward, as a full time bread winner, to being able to buy games for my PS2 and not having to sell them in order to buy others. Oh happy days.
I am not and have never been rich. I have funded my gaming through the years by selling old games and systems to fund new ones (and a bit of work).
Anyway, sorry to be a bore. But I have always loved computer games and I always will.
As everyone seems to be talking about the future in terms of videogames, I thought it would be a good idea to go back to where it all began, the first moments when we all started to play videogames. Heres mine.
The earliest moment I have of playing computer games was back in the dark ages of Christmas 1986, when I was just 5 years old. My parents gave me a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, which now is considered to be one of the first computers. I dont think I knew how to say computer at the time, let alone use one. It was a pretty simply system, tape deck to load games(does everyone remember how long that used to take!) keyboard and leads to plug it into the TV and power. Me and my dad spent a very long time trying to work out how the bloody thing worked, and we finally managed to do so, even though I had to wait 30 minutes to play my first game, which to be honest felt like a ice age, but I didnt mind.( I do remember though saying on many occasion "Dad is it ready yet!!) The first game I remember playing was asteroids, and I got many an hour I spent happily playing it, until the damn thing went out in a blaze of glory, and a massive burn on the living room carpet to boot. Tp replace it, my parents then bought me a Atari ST, which didnt seem to be as good. I do remember playing the football management sims on it for many an hour(until the tape chewed!!!) as well as a track and field game, which me and my mates played happily many a time. However, instead of tapping buttons we had to waggle a joystick, which in some cases not only made us get red hands, but also made us look completely stupid.
That began to gain inches and inches of dust when I was bought a NES, which was about 10 years ago. I played Mario for the first time on that. Then the SNES came along, when I tried RPGS, namely Zelda for the first time(I spent weeks trying to buy that game!). I then, 5 years ago, bought a Playstation, which at the time wasnt my first choice because at the time I was obcessed with Nintendo but I couldnt be bothered to wait an ice age for it to come out, so I asked for that instead(but I did buy an N64 eventually!). Now here, 14 years of playing computer games, and can still play them like the best of us. Now theres mine, whats your earliest videogaming memory?
The earliest moment I have of playing computer games was back in the dark ages of Christmas 1986, when I was just 5 years old. My parents gave me a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, which now is considered to be one of the first computers. I dont think I knew how to say computer at the time, let alone use one. It was a pretty simply system, tape deck to load games(does everyone remember how long that used to take!) keyboard and leads to plug it into the TV and power. Me and my dad spent a very long time trying to work out how the bloody thing worked, and we finally managed to do so, even though I had to wait 30 minutes to play my first game, which to be honest felt like a ice age, but I didnt mind.( I do remember though saying on many occasion "Dad is it ready yet!!) The first game I remember playing was asteroids, and I got many an hour I spent happily playing it, until the damn thing went out in a blaze of glory, and a massive burn on the living room carpet to boot. Tp replace it, my parents then bought me a Atari ST, which didnt seem to be as good. I do remember playing the football management sims on it for many an hour(until the tape chewed!!!) as well as a track and field game, which me and my mates played happily many a time. However, instead of tapping buttons we had to waggle a joystick, which in some cases not only made us get red hands, but also made us look completely stupid.
That began to gain inches and inches of dust when I was bought a NES, which was about 10 years ago. I played Mario for the first time on that. Then the SNES came along, when I tried RPGS, namely Zelda for the first time(I spent weeks trying to buy that game!). I then, 5 years ago, bought a Playstation, which at the time wasnt my first choice because at the time I was obcessed with Nintendo but I couldnt be bothered to wait an ice age for it to come out, so I asked for that instead(but I did buy an N64 eventually!). Now here, 14 years of playing computer games, and can still play them like the best of us. Now theres mine, whats your earliest videogaming memory?