Dota: the end of an era
GAMING has been (and still is) a huge part of my life. Notwithstanding the fact that I find it relaxing, it also presents an outlet for the occassional stress I feel by taking my mind off to a far away place - I never said it was peaceful, actually it's rather violent there :D - at least for a few hours. Upon my mind's return, I'm happy, content and usually at peace. Name it, odds are I played it (well not all, maybe the early ones only). In my 24th year on this earth, as I try to mature and take life seriously, I commemorate the games/modules which have been played a part so huge in my life.
1. Game and Watch
I really have no idea why they called it that. For the clueless, these are the small handheld gizmos which usually have 2-4 buttons for playing. They're rather monotous and one does get bored quite easily(well back then they were hot and cool - ironic, isn't it?).
2. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Not familiar to your ears/eyes? Haha they're more popularly known as the Family Computer(I can just hear the ohs and the ahs). This is probably the module which served as the springboard for lots of our favorite games of all time. Mario, Megaman, Ninja Turtles, Double Dragon, even Metal Gear started with the Family Computer (betcha didn't know that). I had 3 of these, they usually break when school starts.
3. SUPER Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) / SEGA
I'm not sure if they operate on the same platform (or the same KB rating, but I learned of the existence of these 2 modules just about the same time. Technically I never owned an SNES, my cousin Winston and other friends did. But I did spend a significant amount of time playing this module. This also introduced me to the great world of RPG (role-playing games). These are games where you play the part of the hero, undertaking adventures and venturing to the deep unknowns of some great alternate world your character lives in. Games I played include the Dragon Ball series, Super Mario series, Chrono Trigger (the holy grail of RPGs), among others. For Sega, the only game I recall playing was Dragon Ball, Golden Axe and Michael Jackson(?) spacewalker or moonwalker. Haha didn't really pay that much attention to it.
4. Sony Playstation
The memory of the first time I saw a playstation for real is still fresh inmy mind. I went to a friend's house, his brother just came in from a recent trip to HK. He brought home a PS. The first game I ever saw on PS was Street Fighter Zero. Of course I was familiar with the game, since it originated way back in the NES days. But it was different, with the more complex controllers and the new breed of characters. This module paved the way to quite possibly the 2 best games of all time: Final Fantasy VII and RESIDENT EVIL series. These 2 games would dominate my gaming pleasure for quite some time. Not that I took that long to finish the game, but the storyline captivated me like no other.
5. The PC, part 1
I know that PCs were here since way before the first Family Computer came out, but I got a PC only the summer before college. The PC would revolutionize the way I play games up to the present. It did so by introducing the emulator, a software which replaced the hardware modules I use to play other games (such as the NES, SNES, etc.). It's like a software version of all the previous modules mentioned here. But I forgot to include something first, before the PC.
4.5 The Arcade
I never really owned an arcade - but I sure as hell would've loved to - I used to play it after school; almost everyday. I recall afternoons at Bowlodrome,it's a small place near my house with an "arcade". Popular games include Street Fighter, Xmen: Children of the Atom, Marvel super heroes and the other add-ons they put on that game.
5. The PC, part 2
Okay going back, the PC also introduced a vast array of games I would come to love. It started with the Counterstrike craze back in high school. I played the game because of peer pressure (tado ka Jax!), but deep inside I think I wanted to see what the fuzz was all about anyway. I played the game until early college, where my Xavier friends introduced me to C&C: Red Alert 2. I would go back to playing counterstrike for a term then take up late night chatting as a replacement hobby (but that's another story). The next game that would catch me eye would be Warcraft III, then DOTA (which is sort of a sub-game of WCIII).
As of present, I am retiring my Dota-addictedness. It doesn't mean I won't play the game anymore, it just means I will just play whenever there's a "calling", say reunions. No longer will I crave playing the game. Crap, I hate growing up.
1. Game and Watch
I really have no idea why they called it that. For the clueless, these are the small handheld gizmos which usually have 2-4 buttons for playing. They're rather monotous and one does get bored quite easily(well back then they were hot and cool - ironic, isn't it?).
2. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Not familiar to your ears/eyes? Haha they're more popularly known as the Family Computer(I can just hear the ohs and the ahs). This is probably the module which served as the springboard for lots of our favorite games of all time. Mario, Megaman, Ninja Turtles, Double Dragon, even Metal Gear started with the Family Computer (betcha didn't know that). I had 3 of these, they usually break when school starts.
3. SUPER Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) / SEGA
I'm not sure if they operate on the same platform (or the same KB rating, but I learned of the existence of these 2 modules just about the same time. Technically I never owned an SNES, my cousin Winston and other friends did. But I did spend a significant amount of time playing this module. This also introduced me to the great world of RPG (role-playing games). These are games where you play the part of the hero, undertaking adventures and venturing to the deep unknowns of some great alternate world your character lives in. Games I played include the Dragon Ball series, Super Mario series, Chrono Trigger (the holy grail of RPGs), among others. For Sega, the only game I recall playing was Dragon Ball, Golden Axe and Michael Jackson(?) spacewalker or moonwalker. Haha didn't really pay that much attention to it.
4. Sony Playstation
The memory of the first time I saw a playstation for real is still fresh inmy mind. I went to a friend's house, his brother just came in from a recent trip to HK. He brought home a PS. The first game I ever saw on PS was Street Fighter Zero. Of course I was familiar with the game, since it originated way back in the NES days. But it was different, with the more complex controllers and the new breed of characters. This module paved the way to quite possibly the 2 best games of all time: Final Fantasy VII and RESIDENT EVIL series. These 2 games would dominate my gaming pleasure for quite some time. Not that I took that long to finish the game, but the storyline captivated me like no other.
5. The PC, part 1
I know that PCs were here since way before the first Family Computer came out, but I got a PC only the summer before college. The PC would revolutionize the way I play games up to the present. It did so by introducing the emulator, a software which replaced the hardware modules I use to play other games (such as the NES, SNES, etc.). It's like a software version of all the previous modules mentioned here. But I forgot to include something first, before the PC.
4.5 The Arcade
I never really owned an arcade - but I sure as hell would've loved to - I used to play it after school; almost everyday. I recall afternoons at Bowlodrome,it's a small place near my house with an "arcade". Popular games include Street Fighter, Xmen: Children of the Atom, Marvel super heroes and the other add-ons they put on that game.
5. The PC, part 2
Okay going back, the PC also introduced a vast array of games I would come to love. It started with the Counterstrike craze back in high school. I played the game because of peer pressure (tado ka Jax!), but deep inside I think I wanted to see what the fuzz was all about anyway. I played the game until early college, where my Xavier friends introduced me to C&C: Red Alert 2. I would go back to playing counterstrike for a term then take up late night chatting as a replacement hobby (but that's another story). The next game that would catch me eye would be Warcraft III, then DOTA (which is sort of a sub-game of WCIII).
As of present, I am retiring my Dota-addictedness. It doesn't mean I won't play the game anymore, it just means I will just play whenever there's a "calling", say reunions. No longer will I crave playing the game. Crap, I hate growing up.