Still A Video Gamer At Heart

If you have been reading this blog since the beginning, then you may have noticed that I occasionally write about games. The majority of the gaming posts seem to be about online games that I mostly play at Facebook. But recently, a company called Man Crates contacted me and got me thinking of my start as a gamer. If you don't know them, they're a cool company that creates wacky gifts, including a gift card encased in concrete! I remember actually playing pinball as a kid while my old man drank beer at the local tavern on Saturdays. This was Kansas in the 1970s and before arcades exploded locally. When someone finally opened a local arcade, I went after school and squandered a few hard earned quarters on the various arcade games including pinball. The arcade was usually packed so I mostly watched others play. I remember that Asteroids, Pac-Man and Space Invaders were big back then.

My younger sister and I were surprised when we got an Atari console with a Space Invaders game cartridge as a shared Christmas present in 1980 or 1981 (a few years before that we got an EZ Bake Oven). Of course, we fought over who got to play first. I remember that it had two paddles and two joysticks. There may have been other games with the console or they came separate. I do remember getting Asteroids, Breakout and Pac-Man, which my sister was so much better than I at playing. We got a few more games for the Atari console but most of them are lost in my memory at the moment.

A few short years later, we upgraded to the Nintendo Entertainment System and it blew Atari away. We got the NES console as another shared Christmas present along with Duck Hunt and Super Mario Brothers. I admit that I loved shooting that dog more than the ducks. While I enjoyed Super Mario Brothers, my sister was a much better player. We picked up a few more games for the NES including The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Finally, these were games that I could play and I spent many hours doing so.

Our local arcade closed up in the mid to late 1980s and became a video store. The only places to find video games was at the local various convenience stores (there were actually about seven at one time) and the two pizza places (Pizza Hut and Big Cheese Pizza). I remember my favorite arcade game at this time was Kung Fu Fighter and my friends were all trying to beat each other. I wasn't great at the beginning but I spent countless quarters and time getting better. Then without warning, the local convenience stores got rid of their arcade machines. We rented a few video games from them but they usually didn't work or didn't have the instructions so we stopped.

I can't remember when exactly we got the Super Nintendo console but I'm thinking it was another shared Christmas present to my sister and I from our Mother (our parents had been divorced for several years at this point). I remember staying up countless nights playing Final Fantasy III and IV on it. Cheetos were my snacks of choice while I drank either Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew or Pepsi. I was big into Dungeons and Dragons so these fantasy types of video games were more my style.

I have to put in a good word for Game Genie here. For those who don't know, it was a cheat system that first came out in 1990 that attached to the game cartridge. I picked one up for the NES and was able to actually complete and enjoy the video games that were frustrating me like Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Brothers. It was fun to be invincible and have endless lives. I later picked one up for the Super NES so we could complete Super Mario Brothers 3. I don't remember ever actually finishing any video game before getting a Game Genie.

After the SNES, I got a Playstation console for my birthday along with a Spider-Man game. That was the only game I got for that system. My younger sister got more games for it and more or less took it over. I ended up playing games on the computer mostly the SimCity and WarCraft series. Since then she has gotten the GameBoy, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS systems. She still plays her DS games while I play the Facebook games. While she still likes to play the Mario games on occasion, she has switched to mostly puzzle games. I hate playing the hand held games for the controls and screens are way too small for me.

While I haven't played any computer games for the past few years, I still play online games on Facebook mostly House of Fun slots, Hit It Rich slots and Nords: Heroes of the North. I greatly enjoyed playing Superhero City but then it got dropped. I played FarmVille but grew bored with it fast and I played Candy Crush for a while before I got stuck on a level. I wish Game Genie would come back with codes for Facebook games.

Yes, I do feel old after writing this post and sharing my memories about the various video game systems and games that I have had through the years. Maybe it's because I just realized that I will be turning fifty-one one month from today.

2008 Halloween Countdown 19 Bonus: Werewolf By Five Man Electrical Band

In the mid-1970s, I received an 8 track titled Heavy Hits and one of the songs that quickly became my favorite was Werewolf performed by the Five Man Electrical Band (the other song was Things Get A Little Easier, Once You Understand by Think). The song was orginally released in Canada in March 1974 and was the last single to chart for them. The 8 track cassette and player are long gone but I can enjoy the song once again thanks to YouTube. Not only am I posting the video but also the lyrics.

Werewolf performed by the Five Man Electrical Band
Werewolf
Performed by Five Man Electrical Band (1974)

Momma said “There’s something weird ‘bout Billy
I looked in his room, his bed wasn’t slept in at all last night
But Papa said “Ah, now Momma don’t you go talking silly
He’s just a young boy, he’s just sowing his wild oats and that’s aright”
But momma said “No, something real strange ‘bout my Billy
Farmer down the road said he lost a few of his sheep last night
I know he’s my own flesh and blood but he makes my blood run chilly
‘Cause I saw from my window and he was on the hill just screaming at the moonlight”

Is it any wonder
We hate to see the sun go down
And is it any wonder
We hate to see the full moon coming ‘round

So Papa said “I guess there’s only one thing to do ‘bout Billy
Hand me down my gun son and bring along that silver dinner bell”
But Momma said “Papa I beg you don’t kill him
‘Cause I just couldn’t bear to think about my baby in hell”
He went down to the blacksmith got him out of bed and said
“Get your fire hot
Oh shut up your shutters close down the doors, we’re gonna need all the heat you got
‘Cause I want you to melt my silver bell down to a single shot
I got a job to do and I got to get it done before the sun comes up”

So is it any wonder
That we hate to see the sun go down

Then we heard a shot and I said “Papa got him”
Then we heard a scream and Momma smiled and said “Betcha Billy got him”
But when I lifted up my eyes there was Papa in the doorway staring at the floor
And my big brother Billy never did come home no more

Now is it any wonder
We hate to see the sun go down
And is it any wonder
We to see the full moon coming ‘round

Supervan And Superman

The following picture features my Supervan diecast car made by Corgi Jr in 1978 that I played with as a kid. There are some dents and dings caused by my playing with it inside and outside (my Batmobile is in even worse shape). The Superman action figure is from the Justice League Unlimited line that I found at a thrift store.

Happy Birthday, Superman

Today is Superman's 70th birthday according to E. Nelson Bridwell. I will answer a few questions posted by Brian Cronin in honor of Superman’s birthday:

1. What is your first memory involving Superman?

A Superman comic book was one of the first comic books that I ever received for the first time when I got my tonsils out.

2. What was the first Superman comic book you read?

I really don't remember but it had to be in the early 1970s. Sadly, I don't have the majority of comic books that I had when I was a kid. At the time, I didn't keep a list of my comic collection.

3. What is your FAVORITE Superman story, whether it be comic, movie, TV series or cartoon?

My favorite Superman story was "Superman 2001" featured in Superman. I actually had to give up my original copy but I remembered the story vividly. I did manage to find another copy in a comic book store several years later.

4. When you think of Superman, which artist’s take on him do you normally see in your head? Shuster? Boring? Plastino? Swan? Adams? Byrne? Jurgens?

I always think of Curt Swan's Superman from the 1970s since that is when I was getting comics almost every week.

5. Which of the actors who have played Superman did you like the best as Superman?

I would have to say Christopher Reeve is my favorite Superman actor for he really did make me believe that a man can fly.