Saturday, October 15, 2011

Where Has All My Game Time Gone?

When I was a kid, not sure how old I was, 3-7 years, there was always very little on my mind. In fact there was only 2 things on my mind. Arthur snacks, and Game time. The latter was from when I would watch the old PBS Kids show, Arthur, at 3:30. One time my mom gave me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at that time, and I designated it as my "Arthur Snack" and began looking forward to it everyday. Good times. Speaking of times, the former, Game Time, was how long I would get to play my video games. Vectorman and Sonic games on the Sega genesis, the pinball games on Computers,etc. I always wanted more Game Time, and would always ask my mom, "Mom can I have more g-a-m-e-t-i-m-e please?"she would always laugh and grant me 15 more minutes.

Before I continue, I want you to know i'm definitely not going to launch into some rambling speech about how games of yesteryear are better than games of this year,blah blah blah... (Although I do have to say every Bomberman game released for the super nintendo is much better than the newer ones of today. Dont believe me? go play one on a Zsnes emulator, than play one for the nintendo 64, than one on the gamecube or xbox. It will be clear which game is the victor.) Okay moving on.

Im 18 now, and am allowed to have all the Game Time I please, although some games have changed, for instance, the game i played most,Sonic 2, is now Call Of Duty:Modern Warfare 2. Earlier today, I started thinking about my games of today, and realized something. Although I do occasionally play Cod MW2, most of my games are played on portable devices.

I bought an iPod Touch when I was 17, and almost loved it. I say 'almost' because i loved all of the apps for it, but hated the small screen, when I saw the iPad, that was it. I wanted it primarily for gaming, and just recently treated myself to one, along with an Acer Iconia tablet.

Most of my gaming over the last few weeks has been done on both these tablets. I realized the primary reason is price. While im not a big fan of racing games, others like them, and I like a few of them. As great as racing games look on the Xbox 360, now they look great on the iPad too. Now there's no reason for me to buy a $19.99 or $29.99 game for my xbox, when I can get one for $1-$5.99 for the iPad. The same logic occurs with a personal favorite genre of mine, FPS games, or action games in general. I was able to buy the game N.O.V.A 2 for $.99 it has great graphics, and runs fine. Sure it uses touch controls, and while I do mind them slightly, i'm fine with them when the game is that much cheaper. Samurai 2:Vengeance is another high quality slasher type game, for only $2.99. Another great game I got for free is Contract Killer with high graphics, fluid gameplay, and a price tag of $0.00, its a great game.

This may sound like its all about the iPad, but the Acer tablet has been just as active on the gaming front. for $.99 I bought the game Caligo Chaser, a full fledged rpg, with great graphics,fluid gameplay, quests, skills, items to equip, everything. There were several full featured free games. Angry Birds, a nice time killer for adults and kids alike, all 3 versions for free. Another game is called Galaxy On Fire, it has extremely good graphics and fluid gameplay, and was also free. Third blade, another free game made by the same app developers who made Caligo Chaser, Another is Colosseum, a side scrolling beat 'em up type game. Although very repetitive, still alot of fun, with all kinds of weapons, and enemies to face, for only $.99

So when I tell my mom or sister, im gonna buy this or that app for up to $9.99(the maximum price I will pay for a game on the iPad.) and they say, "thats way to much for an app." from now on I'll respond, "its not an app, its a video game."

Sent from my iPad