Video Games (and another top 10)

An unemployed jackass who just spent the last few days blogging about his favorite movies shouldn't be allowed into Best Buy. There should be rules to protect me against myself.

I went in to pick up the new Splinter Cell game on Friday, and I came back with 8 DVDs too. They always have those specials where they bundle 3 movies together for $20 and I can't resist buying a movie I like for $10 or less, so I go nuts.

I don't play video game very much, but I occassionally get really into one. I bought an XBox a few years ago specifically to play the first Splinter Cell game (the 3rd just came out). I bought a few other games, but couldn't really get into them and never touch them now. Until Friday, I hadn't even played a game on my 55" HDTV that I bought in July.

I bought an N64, in 2002 I believe, just to play Bond. I didn't even buy another game except for Perfect Dark, which was a quasi-sequel to Goldeneye. Bond had an amazing multiplayer game that we played way too much in college, and I got way too good at it. MarioKart was fun too.

My parents never bought me a video game system, but how I managed to get a Nintendo is an amusing story. In 5th grade, our teacher made us all enter a writing contest. I don't remember what I wrote about, but I managed to win it, and the prize was a gift certificate to Walden Books. I took it to a Walden Software store and redeemed it for a Nintendo system and Super Mario 3, completely defeating the spirit of the contest. I ended up with a lot of games for that system, since they were pretty cheap by the time I got it.

This introduces another top list - my favorite video games from my limited video game experience.

Top 10 favorite video games:

1.) Goldeneye 007 - N64 - The facility cheat code, 4 player grenade launchers in the complex, Oddjob, Plithy comebacks. SILLY!
2.) Super Mario Brothers 3 - original Nintendo - Each Mario game was different enough to count them all separately. The hammer suit was awesome. Warp Whistles, P-wings, disappearing behind the white blocks. Money.
3.) Splinter Cell - XBox - Each of these games is almost the same, so they all count together. These games are amazingly realistic. Sam Fisher is a badass.
4.) MarioKart - N64 - Jumping the walls in the level I called "dirt farm" and pissing everyone off was sweet.
5.) Contra - original Nintendo - Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, (B, A, Select), Start
6.) Madden Football - Playstation 2 - The only sports video game I've ever really liked. Whatever version we played in college, I used to use the Broncos, and there was a Hail Mary pass that I always had Greise throw to easy Ed McCaffery that was unstoppable. Erm used to get so pissed about it.
7.) Zelda - original Nintendo, N64 - I know there were lots of these games, but I've only played 3 of them. The first one for the original Nintendo, and the 2 for N64. I always said the whole point of Zelda is to avoid being annoyed. Especially in the N64 versions with all the magical music and the pony and whatnot, everything was so annoying, yet still completely addictive. I never bought these games, so I must have borrowed them from someone.
8.) Halo - XBox - The multiplayer is very very cool. Single player sucked.
9.) Perfect Dark - N64 - They tried to make a sequel to Bond. Props on the effort, but next time don't use stupid looking aliens as the enemies instead of Russians. I don't care if you don't have the rights to the Bond names any more, just use generic looking spies and call the hero Jim Bondsworth or something. I'm only putting this on the list to emphasize how awesome the first one was.
10.) Super Mario Brothers 2 - original Nintendo - This game was just so damn weird, but it was fun.