Video Games

Ever since I was a toddler I could remember playing video games with my siblings. The first gaming console that I ever laid my prepubescent hands on was the first PlayStation. This was one of my most beloved consoles, as it was my introduction to the gaming world. The games are still fun to play and bring back childhood memories. One of my most cherished games is a game known as Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. In this game you were a tiny purple dragon named Spyro with horns that could breath fire. He was accompanied by a firefly named Sparx. I loved this game so much that I would run around fast pretending I was Spyro. Another game that I hold dear to my being is a game known as Crash Team Racing. In this game you were racing against other players in the Crash Bandicoot universe, and it is quite similar to Mario Kart, although I prefer Crash Team Racing due to the nostalgia factor. As time moved on, my brother and I received a new console, called the PlayStation 2. There were so many great games on this system such as Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Destroy All Humans. My all time favorite PlayStation 2 game will have to be the first Star Wars: Battlefront. All of these games were before I knew the luxuries of online gaming, but all of that would change during the Christmas of 2008. During that holiday, my brother and I received the Xbox 360 as a gift, a gift that I would cherish for years. Along with the console, we received Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Gears of War 2, and Grand Theft Auto IV. This was my first introduction to online gaming. My favorite game of all time that I received was Halo 3, and that still remains true to this day even after 9 years has passed. I would play split-screen with my brother and we would play online together. I spent a huge chunk of my middle-school years playing Halo 3 online with my friends. Also due to the internet, I met many interesting people and friends that I would game with on a daily basis. The Xbox 360 was a great console for its time, offering outstanding titles that would revolutionize modern gaming. I would enjoy the luxuries of this console until about 2014, when I received the Xbox One as a Christmas gift. While this one did not come with as many games, I still played it just as frequently. One of my favorite games that I got with the console was Halo: The Master Chief Collection. I say this because the Halo franchise was one of my favorite gaming franchises, and this game was all 4 Halo games on one disc. It included Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. A few other outstanding games for the Xbox One that I enjoy is Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and Gears of War 4. Throughout my gaming journey, one system that I always wanted to game on was the computer, otherwise known as PC. I was unable to do so due to my desktop computer being far out of date. I was barely able to run a game from 1998 known as Half-Life, which is pretty sad for a computer that my family got in 2006. It wasn't until recently, in 2016, that I would finally be able to experience PC gaming first hand, instead of going over to my friends house to use his computer. PC gaming has definitely become the ultimate gaming machine in my eyes. During the December winter break between semesters, I put over 150 hours into a game called Left 4 Dead 2. I used to play this game quite frequently on the Xbox 360, but it did not feel right. In the PC version there are so many more options to enhance your game play. You can add mods, you can team-chat on the side of the screen, and you can get maps for free, whereas on the Xbox you had to pay for extra maps. Games that really grab my attention on the PC aside from Left 4 Dead 2 are Team Fortress 2, Garry's Mod, Portal, Portal 2, and Half-Life 2. Video games are a large part of my upbringing, and they are vital to who I am as a person.