World of Warcraft

So I just recently started playing World of Warcraft again because of the new patch. So far I'm really not liking the patch mainly because of the talent changes. I feel it leaves little room for variation and style in your talents. I always liked the fact that I could sacrifice a few points here or there to get different talents I wanted. Now I am forced to spec into only one main tree? What happened to hybrids? I LOVED to play with my UA/Revenge spec on my Warrior. I loved having a hybrid assassination/subtlety spec for my Rogue. Now it is impossible! Blizzard is simplifying all the classes into ONLY 3 specs and it is just plain bland.

 (The new talent menu for Warriors)

Early Memories of Gaming pt. 5

Another favorite Nintendo 64 game of mine...Starfox 64! I absolutely loved this game! It combined a cool story with great graphics, controls, and the addictive properties of a "high score" game. You played as the hero Fox McCloud along with friends Falco, Slippy, and Peppy. The goal was to progress through different planets in the galaxy that are covered with baddies sent by the evil Andross! The game was essentially a 3d version of the 2d side-scrolling aerial combat games like Galaga.

(Their heads would follow your cursor if you moved it)

This game actually took a good amount of skill and effort to 100% complete because a lot of the levels were only unlocked through gaining a really high amount of kills. I did love that you had the choice to play through different planets throughout the galaxy and could take many different paths to get to the final boss. AND there was even a hard mode version of the boss if you took a harder path (BRAINS).

(The complete planet map)

 

I loved the asteroid field! It had so many targets to get really high scores and I LOVED the feeling when you managed to navigate through the warp circles and unlocked the secret zone. Each planet had a unique boss fight that challenged a player's reaction time and their ability to read "tells." The hardest boss fight for me was fighting the hard mode version of Wolf's team. This was right before you fought hard mode Andross. You basically had to do it alone because they would wipe out your friend within the first 20 seconds of the fight.

(Hard Mode Wolf)

This game was incredibly fun and challenging at the same time. Getting a medal for every level was a true accomplishment for any Starfox fan. If you haven't gotten a chance to try it, you can always get it on Wii Virtual console and get addicted to this amazing game!

Early Memories of Gaming pt. 4

All of the Mario games were greatly influential in me becoming a gamer. One of the best Mario games I have ever played is Super Mario 64. This game is most definitely the best game for Nintendo 64. You got to play the character you know and love, Mario, in an entirely 3D environment! I loved every part of this game was I was a kid and even today I still play it for fun and nostalgia.

                                     (The Cartridge)

 

For its time, Super Mario 64 had AMAZING graphics. Everything was crisp and vibrant. When you saw Bowser for the first time in the game you thought "Wow! He's HUGE!" Each level had different landscapes and textures that made them truly unique. At one point you were swimming in quicksand in the desert and before you know it, you're dodging fireballs and trying to stay away from the lava.

(BOWSER)

My favorite level was Boo's Haunted House. Knowing that a ghost could pop out of any wall and kill you always kept me on edge. The level was always full of surprises! I know I jumped out of my seat the first time I walked near a piano. Overall the haunted house was easy enough to not get enraged but hard enough to always keep me on my toes and challenged.

(Boo's Haunted House)

Super Mario 64's clean controls, beautiful graphics, and fun, challenging game play kept me enthralled for all 120 stars (By the way, I FREAKED out in excitement when somebody told me about Yoshi :D). I've spent countless hours playing this work of art and it is easily one of the most memorable games from my childhood.

 

Early Memories of Gaming pt. 3

I love playing old school arcade games. I have this yellow cartridge for the NES that has 52 arcade games such as Tetris, Galaxian, Galaga, and Super Mario and I've spent so many hours playing it. Even though I was really young when I played it the most, it was still really fun because almost all of the games were incredibly simple.

Circus Charlie was one of my favorite games on the cartridge. You played as a small clown that would perform circus acts like bouncing on balls and jumping lions through flaming hoops. It was all timing based. The silly animations combined with the goofy circus concept and the AMAZING circus music made one incredible arcade game.

 (Circus Charlie riding his lion through fiery obstacles)

Another great game on the cartridge was Balloon Fight! You could play this game in co-op, versus, or single player. Basically you controlled a man that was lifted off of the air by balloons and  your enemies were all hovering around you attempting to pop your balloons and make you fall to your death. The goal was to pop the enemies balloons by running into them (it sort of worked like Mario where the person on bottom got hurt) and stay alive as long as possible. Have you ever played a game that was so intense that your own body would move with your character and you would jerk around and flail your legs while you play? Balloon Fight was exactly like that, especially when you were playing with a friend. I would always be swaying back and forth with my little airborne character, standing up when I got higher up, and ducking down when my character was going down. Balloon Fight was my first ever multiplayer experience.

(Not a very good position to be in for our balloon buddy)

Last, but certainly not least, we have Galaxian! Galaxian is one of those fixed airplane shooter game that was set in space with alien invaders called the (you guessed it) Galaxians! In the game, waves of aliens would come down and shoot at you and the waves would get progressively faster and more aggressive. The goal here is the highest score possible. I was much more of a Galaxian fan than a Galaga fan, probably because of the fact that my whole family liked it. I remember doing a sort of king of the hill competition with my two older cousins and my aunt to see who could get the highest score. I loved Galaxian because it was a good test of strategy, game sense, and reflexes all bundled into one game. Best of all, the sound effects were so good that I would still be able to pick them out of a crowd (of sounds?).

 

(PEWPEW!)

These are some of my most favorite arcade games of all time and come with a lot of good memories. What are some of your favorite games of the past?

Happy Gaming!

Early Memories of Gaming pt. 2

The very first console game I played growing up was Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. My parents (especially my dad) were really into technology and were interested in the early forms of the internet and gaming consoles. They managed to buy a NES for themselves and fell in LOVE with it. I remember them telling me how they would fight over who's turn it would be and what game they played. Eventually I got old enough to sort of understand the game and the controller, so I started playing (when my parents gave me a turn that is).

(The Title Screen of my favorite game)

If you've ever played any of the Mario games, you'll know that they all have secrets in them. Sometimes hidden 1-UPs, sometimes hidden levels or other items. Super Mario Bros. 3 was no exception. I was mystified by how many secrets my parents knew about the game and I felt so cool knowing them. It turns out that my parents would actually discuss Mario secrets with some of their adult friends and some of the neighbors. The biggest secret of them all, of course, was the Flute. These flutes could let you warp ahead to the other zones...and if you got 2 flutes, you could go straight to World 8!

(The Warp Zone after using a flute)

(The start of World 8)

I would always get through World 1 while gathering the two flutes and then warp straight to World 8 and feel like a total baller even though I could never get past the World 8 levels. Nowadays, I have Super Mario Bros. 3 on my Wii Virtual Console and occasionally speed-run through it in about half an hour. Super Mario Bros. 3 was my first and still my favorite video game of all time.

Early Memories of Gaming

I'm not exactly sure what was my very first gaming experience but I know that one of my first games was Mario Teaches Typing. I was always intrigued by the computer and played all the educational games my parents supplied. I remember games like Putt Putt Saves the Zoo where you played a talking car who had to help find all the lost zoo animals.

My all time favorite educational computer game was Gizmos and Gadgets. This game was AWESOME! You had to run around collecting vehicle parts so that you could assemble the fastest vehicle possible to win a race. In order to get into different areas you had to solve the puzzle doors. The puzzles required all kinds of different things such as configuring electric currents, determining the type of energy (mechanical, chemical, etc.), and even arranging magnets in different patterns. You also learned about the different parts of cars and planes when you assembled all of your parts. Oh and did I mention...you had to do all of this while avoiding evil monkeys who try to steal your parts? Fun stuff!

Another great game was The Incredible Machine. In this game you had to accomplish a simple task such as "get the ball in the basket" by using an assortment of items. You could use pulleys, conveyor belts, bowling balls, and even hamster wheels. I loved the game because there were always different ways to solve each puzzle and the only limit was your imagination.

Problem solving games are by far some of my most favorite games because I love the feeling when you sit down and think about a problem...and then it hits you...GOT IT!

My First Post!

Hello everybody! My name is Brunix. I'm 18 years old and have been gaming for as long as I can remember. I am currently a freshman in college and am working towards a degree in Computer Science. I'm a huge fan of Blizzard games and have played them since Warcraft II Tides of Darkness. I've played World of Warcraft since a couple months after release BUT I am currently taking a break while I get settled into college. I will most definitely be back once Cataclysm hits! In the meantime, I am playing an old favorite from my childhood...Runescape! I also play a good amount of Starcraft II and follow the Starcraft pro scene. This blog will mainly be focused on reminiscing on all of my old experiences in gaming and will be a place for all my new experiences as well.

Happy Gaming!