The Most Influential Games of My Time.

Ah memory lane, a quant little place I like to visit whenever I eat nachos and cola, a place filled with good and bad times, loves and losses, countless hours spent trying to beat Dr. Robotnik or the four armed Goro and much more. My case this run through is one that touches on the good times, which revolves around video games, no surprise there. Today I want to list the most influential games that have ever been that have made me the gamer I am today. It took a lot of strolling down memory lane to bring back to memory all the great games I've played and all the glory that was held from the stories that came with them. This list is not in any order by the way, its just a collection of titles.

THE LIST
1.Number uno goes to a game that I used to say that I'd never play. A game that, to me at the time, seemed stupid, redundant. Before I was exposed to a Final Fantasy, I was exposed to the long enduring Pokemon Blue. The GameBoy was as beasty then as it still is today, and it's collection of Pokemon titles has mated and spawned iteration after iteration. But for me, Pokemon Blue set the tone for me to grow attached to rpg's for years to come. The collecting, not just of the Pokemon, but of the items, the journey through the world set on a little 2" x 2.5" screen, the badges, the collecting of all 8 was a sure sign in link up battles that u were a force to be wreckoned with. Try to to see it from a 14 years pov, there was a certain prestige to saying u had all eight badges when it came time to rumble against anyone who had link cables a GameBoy and a copy of blue or red. I miss that.

2.There once was title that came out maaany years ago called The Toxic Avengers, OMG this game was ree diiq you lus. But it was fun ridiculous. Beating mutated enemies as a mutated freak itself using everything from mole to projectiles was bananas at the time, but it translated the combat well for a side scroller.

3.Do you remember True Lies the game? I do. I loved that game so much as a kid. The sales of it may not have helped it but I as happy I got it. The Guvanator was only part of the reason I wanted my mother to buy it for me. The gameplay, while semi-top down, was awesome. Running through a dinner banquet, skiing in the snow, and shooting goons as u go. With a diverse array of weaponry that turned enemies into bloody puddles of "Dang u just got shot the heck up", Its a classic to me still, and the ending is still as corny as it is great, the whole "your fired" shtik just makes me wanna talk in my AhNold voice from this blog on, I think I will.

4.MOOORRTALL KOOOMBAAAT! As if u didn't know this was coming up next or in the near numbers. I'm talking about the one game that revolutionized fighting games as we know it. Sum would say that's debatable, and i agree, it is, but Mortal Kombat itself changed the whole presentation of fighting in a game with its unheard of violence packed uppercuts, its spearheaded throat puncturing, heart ripping, Reptile finding shenanegans. I miss the days of arcady goodness as crowds from all around flooded these wallet killing courtyards testing their might and testing there girlfriends patience. It was a game that spawned a legion of followers that, even as Midway is no more, still love this franchise. I should know, I am one of them.

5.Gram Turismo..... Nuff said. I mean really do I need to add more gas to this already bloated beast of simulated goodness? For anyone who's ever had a PS, a PS2 or even a PS3 and has never heard it or played this game or its series for that matter, let me tell u that your missing out on a gem. A series that was usually felt to be just a little too serious for the casual gamer, Gran Turismo is deserving of a look and play for all. The shear number of cars, the customizing, the competition that the CPU gives players is rivaled by few today.

6.Where's a good plumber when u need one huh? Call Nintendo, they got the right guy for all ur interdimensional goomba and koopa outbreaks. With the game that pushed me off that ledge into the sea of gaming as I know it. Nothing was better than running 2D jumping, stomping, flashing bright colors and offing king koopa at the end to get the girl. To bad the movie made me stop playing mario games for like 10 years after.

7.Let me end this list right with "THE" game that solidified my desire to game everyday for the rest of my natural life is...... Want for it........"cue Jenova theme music", Final Fantasy 7. This game is the epitome of awesome and a time burner, even 13 years later today. The adventure of Cloud Strife and gang is perhaps the most relevant in the entire series. Maybe its the spikey hair, the giant broadsword, the dilussion of being someone else and losing who you are. The tale of a powerful supersoldier turned maniacal powerful supersoldier who is at constant odds with a grunt who is taking on the mantle of another real supersoldier, thus begins a cult classic adored for generations.

Final Thoughts:
I know my list is short, and believe me it was easy to condense. Number 7 was tied between FF7 and Metal Gear Solid. Needless to say however this 7 is the sole reason I play games to this day, I am a gamer of the past 20 years and I've played more than I've listed, but I stick to these as the fuel for burning desire to game. A LOT. Who knows, I may end up posting the rest later in another blog, till then, smell my list and tell me yours.