Here's the very early days when I had a Acorn BBC:
I remember when I was very young and this was the first decent game I played. It's name was Repton and the basis of the game was to play as a green dude who collected diamonds while avoiding rocks. It was quite tricky, especially considering I was very young but I loved it. The game spawned many sequels such as Repton 2,3 and Repton: thru time.
The Amiga was a quality computer. Everyone I knew had about 300 games. There was so much choice of games.
The best game on the Amiga had to be Sensible World of Soccer. It had to be every football fans dream, with endless amounts of teams and players. It combined great gameplay with easy but great managerial controls. I remember playing my first demo of this and being totally addicted, which eventually ended up in me playing the full game for months on end.
The PC comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes and brands. Their life span isn't very long as the chips are always improving.
Championship Manager has had many incarnations. It originally started on the Amiga but excelled on the PC versions with endless amounts of stats and managerial options. Really addictive and great to play multi-player.
The NES was the first games console I played on. This was the console that got Nintendo to the top. 8 bit graphics, funny little rectangle joypads, and a light gun for the Duck Hunt game.
Super Mario Bros 3 was an absolute classic of a game. I remember the adverts when this came out with all the people around the world chanting "Mario". It featured in a film called "the Wizard" where a boy had to play it versus other players to be crowned ultimate gamer. The game was cool. It combined the other Mario games but went further with new abilities for Mario to let him fly and stuff. This was the first Mario with a world map and it was also packed with secrets like the walt whistles. Bowser returned as the end boss, but this time he had his kids along as the end of world bosses.
The Game Boy is the king of hand helds. It has seen many different shapes in it's time but the quality of it's games has stayed the same: very good.
I think every Zelda game is top notch, but Links Awakening is one of the best. Music is quality, gameplay excellent as you battle through dungeons and different lands finally ending up with a showdown with Ganon.
The Super NES has to be the best console of all time. So many great games. Graphics were lush and the Nintendo tunes were great. All the great games came out for this little beauty.
Super Mario World was another classic Mario title which somehow even bettered Mario 3. Again using the world map it had great graphics, loads and loads of levels, secrets and also Yoshi was introduced for the first time to add to the fun.
Donkey Kong still looks good to this day. Excellent graphics and great 2 player fun as Donkey and Diddy battle through the various worlds fighting King K.Rools' army. I always remember the water levels being gorgeous and the music throughout the game being top notch. The best though had to be the mine cart levels. Quality!!
Super Mario Kart was an instant classic as it took the normal racer, added weapons for more fun, included the well known nintendo characters and levels. Then if that wasn't enough the cherry on top had to be the battle mode.
A link to the past was the daddy of all Zelda games as the hero Link battled through yet more dungeons and landscapes against the evil Ganon. I liked the way in this game where you could warp between the dark and light worlds. Warping at certain points opened up previously unaccessible areas.
There was so much hype about the N64 when it was first released. I personally thought it was a great computer which should have lived longer, but I also thought that most of the designers didn't take advantage of the graphical quality of the console. Mario was stunning but there were too many Playstation looking games. On a good note there was a lot of quality games for this console still and the 4 player fun was unbeatable.
I remember all the skiving off sixth form I spent playing 4 player battles on this beauty. This game had it all: great single player, unbeatable multi player and you could be Bond how cool? It revolutionized Doom games with the added objectives in each level which were harder depending on the difficulty level. Loads of replay value and plenty of crazy cheats and stuff to keep you going for months on end.
When Mario 64 was first screened on Bad Influence in, I think 1996 I couldn't believe how good it looked. It blew everything away, bringing the classic Mario story into a 3D world. It carried the N64 by itself for a long time when the console was first released. The aim of the game was to collect stars to progress through the game to eventually show down with the olde enemy Bowser. The worlds were great which saw Mario battling through: Deserts, Lava levels and Ghost houses. In the end I did find this game rather easy, but it is a true classic and thoroughly deserves to be on this page.
International Superstar Soccer was great on the SNES, but even better on the N64. It had a great arcade feel to it, and lots of playability and lastability. The only things that spoilt it were the dodgy commentating and the fake player names. You had multiple game options which included: World League, International Cup and Scenario mode. Create a player was also there to keep you going also. The best part though had to be thrashing your mates 9-0 with Brazil. A great stress reliever!!
The Gamecube seems to be heading for an early exit like the N64, but again I think it is a great little console with so much potential. Some great games again, also with a lot of quality titles in the pipeline.
The Wind Waker is my third Zelda game on this page. They're just so damn good. I think this will be replaced eventually as the best game for the Cube. It's a brilliant game with amazing graphics, that follows the story on brilliantly. I just thought it was a tad easy. Plenty of things to do in this game though as the young hero sets sail around the world visiting various islands trying to find items to help him battle the evil Gannondorf. The Pictograph is a brilliant addition to this version as you can take photos of all the games cast and have models made of them on a certain island.
The Megadrive was another classic, which just lost out to the Super Nes. Excellent arcade games combined with Segas' great home game making. Sega had a more serious look to their games which a lot of people preferred to Nintendos cute approach.
Sonic 2 was a massive game. The first was good but this kicked ass. Faster, better looking and 2 player!! Dr.Robotnik returned to create another army of robots to try stop Sonic regaining the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic fought his way through the levels to eventually fight Metal Sonic and then Giant Robotnik. The 2 player race and bonus stage modes were cool and definitely the coolest thing was when you collected all the chaos emeralds and Sonic changed into Super Sonic.
The Sega Saturn was the first big console to flop. It still had a decent selection of games. It would probably have sold ok if it had been released about a year before the Playstation instead of only a few months.
Nights was surprisingly a brilliant original game when it came out. It was a bit weird but the main jist of the game was to fly around the levels making sure you got through the rings to gain bigger scores. The graphics were really funky and cool.
Sega finally went out of the computer market after the Dreamcast flopped, but again it was a console with a lot of potential, great graphics and some damn good games. It was also the first console to offer online gaming which was excellent.
Shenmue is one of the most complex and realistic games I've played. You control Ryo Hazuki as he searches for his fathers killer. It's like a kung fu movie as you learn new moves to help you fight the various baddies. The good thing about this game was that you could do it at your own pace, with lots of distractions e.g. the arcade or the collectable toys. The highlight had to be the 70 man fight in the harbour which was cool. If you knew some good moves you could kick serious ass.
When the original Playstation was released it went down a storm and blew the two big guns: Sega and Nintendo out of the way and took over the console market. It outlived newer and stronger computers and only stepped aside for its sequel the PS2. All the companies worked for it meaning loads of games, and choice for gamers. Quantity over quality for most games but there were some great games to choose from.
Metal Gear Solid has to be my favourite game of all time. Great stealth action, excellent baddies such as Raven and Psycho Mantis, and top notch acting and stroyline. Action all the way as you battle to stop the terrorist group FOXHOUND from launching Metal Gear. Lots of twists and great touches make this game exceptional to most video games.
Final Fantasy 7 is the absolute daddy of RPG's. The storyline is amazing as you control an ex SOLDIER member named Cloud who has an uncertain past. He joins a rebel group called Avalanche, and they do their best to mess the Shinras' plans up. You eventually leave the first city of Midgar to try and rescue the dying Earth, battling big monsters along the way. This game has to have the best baddie ever in Sephiroth who is absolutely brick hard. The actions great as you can control various characters with different styles, which you can customize as you go on through the game. Lots of hidden stuff to be found and months of gameplay to be had here.
The PS2 is the ruler of consoles these days, but good games have dried up for it recently, giving the Gamecube and Xbox ground to catch up. The PS2 upgraded all the PSX owners to decent graphics after the original started to look a bit dated. The DVD player built in is brilliant, and the backwards compatability is an excellent idea to keep the fans on Sonys side.
Grand Theft Auto 3 was ground breaking when it came out. It was great as you could do anything you wanted or stick to the missions depending on your mood. Vice City was like the polished shine to GTA with better visuals, another great story and better vehicles such as the helicopters and motorbikes. Another great inclusion was the eighties classics included in the game on the various radio stations which gave the game that extra feel. What could be better than doing a drive-by on some local homies while riding your Harley-Davison listening to Grand Master Flash?
Pro Evolution Soccer is by far the best footie game going. The only things it lacks is: a pair of decent commentators, real leagues and official licensing. The game play is amazing as you can choose to play one of the many international cups or you can test your abilities in the Master League. This is where the game excels past others as you take control of one of the worlds top teams and try and make them the best side around. You do this by assembling a team of superstar players while avoiding running out of points, which keep your team running. Every part of this game is great: the passing, shooting, free kicks, skills and even player looks and individual celebrations. Every footie fan needs this game!!
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