Explaining My Gaming

by Hayden Flanders

So in my debut article, which, was about myself, I didn’t write a lot about one of my favorite past-times.  That past time is video games.

I’ve been playing video games since I was really young, can’t remember how old to be exact.  It all started with the Super Nintendo over at my grandparents’ house.  My Grandma, or grandpa, and I would play Super Mario Bros. all the time, they taught me everything I know, or, knew, about that game.  There were a few other games, but that was the most memorable one.

As the years progressed, so did the games, my grandparents, and my family, had Nintendo 64 systems.  I played that system like it was going out of style.  It’s home to my FAVORITE game of All-Time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  I played that a lot, beat it several times.  Donkey Kong 64, Banjo Kazooie, and Banjo Tooie are the other three games I spent most of my time playing, each offering me more fun than I ever imagined possible in a video game.  I played Donkey Kong 64 more times than I can count, each time as much, or more fun as the last.

The Nintendo 64 was shortly passed by the Nintendo Gamecube, the Playstation 2, and the Xbox.  My gaming ways began to change with those 3 systems.  I still own a Gamecube and Playstation 2, and still occasionally play them.  The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are what kept my attention on the Gamecube, while Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom Hearts 2 really had me playing the PS2 much more often.

I can’t forget the handheld systems of course, the Game Boy line.  I was especially obsessed with the “Pokemon,” “Golden Sun” and “Megaman Battle Network” series of games for the Game Boy systems.

Now-a-days, my attention is focused solely on my Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS, but I’m not as hardcore of a gamer as I used to be.  Now I have a life filled with work, and attending school here at Mid-Plains.  Not to mention, I’ve discovered that I’m not really very good at PLAYING the games, my friends have shown me just how bad I really am.  I can remember things from games; maps, storylines, secrets, etc. like the back of my hand, and guide my friends through them, but when I play them myself, I’m not very good.

All-in-all, I just enjoy playing video games, it helps take my mind off of stressful situations, or gets me “out of the real world” and in to another realm where other things are possible, depending on the game I’m choosing to play of course.  It really helps that I have something I enjoy that helps me with that.  Football, and sports help me with that as well, but video games are a childhood enjoyment that I hope will never die.