A History of Computer Games Part Four: My Personal gaming history

My first memory of playing a computer game… I must have been age of 4 or 5 and massive fan of the Star Wars films. If I wasn’t watching the films I would be in my uncle’s room which was in my Dads basement and I would be pretending to be a Rebel Pilot. He would let me sit on his bed with cushions around me to make a make-shift cockpit, whilst wearing my uncles RAF Helmet (which was massive for me). Playing Star Wars: Rebel Assault II on his PlayStation. This was without a doubt the most memorable game for me. It was the ultimate pretend play and the closest I could get to being in the star wars films. I must have looked like a small alien with a massive head and I never got passed the first mission until two years later but this was the best thing ever for child who wished and dreamed of having adventures in the Star Wars universe. I also loved the cut scenes acted out with real actors that used props and costumes from the original films.

 

At my Mums we had a PlayStation but I wasn't allowed to have my own games and could only play the games my Mum and Step-Dad had brought. Which consisted of two games, Fifa 99 which I found very boring and only won if I ran the ball into my own goal and then switch teams at the end and then there was Pandemonium. Pandemonium was an awesome game for me at the age of 6, as the game had simple controls which mainly consisted of move and jump. I loved the opening scene and would spend hours not getting past the first level.

 

The first PlayStation Game I personally owned was one of the best Christmas presents given to me by anyone…Star Wars: Demolitions! I think must have played that game all Christmas morning. I love that I play/drive around as some of the most awesome and iconic characters/vehicles from Star Wars. Such as Boba Fett, one of Star Wars most feared bounty hunters and the AT-ST from Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi and Luke’s speeder from the New Hope. Furthermore I loved the video clips you could unlock for each character which explain their back story. This was every child Stars Wars dream… or I hope it is, so I don’t seem weird.

  

I saved up money with a year’s worth of pocket money, birthday money, Christmas money and any other money I could get my hands on and brought my first console and games… the PlayStation 2 and Star Wars: Jedi Star Fighter and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter! Star Wars: Jedi Star allowed me to re-live my inner 5/6 year old Star Wars nerd… but without my uncles RAF helmet. Over time I began to collect a number of games such as Star Wars: Battlefront 1 and 2, Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Episode III, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Star Wars: Jedi Star Fighter, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and then Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup which allowed me to play out my childhood dreams of playing Quidditch, and Ratchet and Clank 1/2/3/4.

  

When I saw the trailer for Star Wars: Republic Commando after see Star Wars: the Clone Wars I think I had a nerd celebration and all most passed out. However no matter how much I wanted to buy an Xbox so that I could play Star Wars: Republic Commando, I could never afford it at the age of 12. But I was still able to play it at my friend’s house. However the only problem was that the game’s campaign was single player and the offline split scene multiplayer got very boring after one game. So we always went back to Star Wars: Battlefront 1/2.

 

Also at the age of 12 I began to get into PC gaming when I brought my first laptop, and it began with World of Warcraft. Yes I played/play and love World of Warcraft however even though I loved to play WoW, I can happily say that over the 8 years I played World of Warcraft I never played it solidly for more than two months. I never brought the expansions until after they had been out for two years and hit the level cap until this year. I only really got into it when I moved into my girlfriend’s house and she took an interest in the game.

My love of PC games grew when Star Wars: The Old Republic came out which combined two of my greatest loves… World of Warcraft and Star Wars!! SWTOR is my most loved and played PC game… I have spent many hours playing it on my own or with my girlfriend and will continue too for many more.

 

In the Future I can’t wait to play Elder Scrolls Online which will expand my love of MMO games. It will also allow me to indulge in my new and recent love of the Elder Scrolls lore which came from playing the amazing and awesome Skyrim. I can’t wait to get my teeth into the beta and become a part of and help the development of the game.