The Daily Dose: Pokémon B&W 2

Pokémon Black & White 2 is going to be released in In North America on October 7th and Europe on October 12th. In its first week of sale in Japan on June 23rd. The game has already sold more than 1.5 million copies.

It seems that Nintendo have decided to break away from their standard colour choices for sequels and this time decided to go for a numerical title. Hopefully this means that these games will end up being much more than just the typical merge of its predecessors.

This is looking to be true as the game is actually set two years after the end of Black & White. So players will once again revisit the region of Unova, but this time with the addition of an altered world and story. Hopefully we will get sucked back into the addiction crazed madness of one of Nintendo's most loved RPG series. Which of course includes the traditional gameplay we have come to know and love. Having to capture as many of the little critters as you can lay your shiny Poké balls on, and then getting attacked by every trainer that you happen to look at the wrong way.

In addition to these new titles Nintendo will also be releasing an update to Pokédex 3D as well as a new 3DS app for all Pokémon lovers. Pokédex 3D Pro will feature "information not only for Pokémon from the Unova region, but for every Pokémon in the history of the series," this includes extras that will allow you to sort, compare and rank the entries you have managed to store.

Pokémon Dream Radar will take advantage of the 3DS camera, motion control and augmented reality technology, allowing players to catch Pokémon by running wildly around their house, work or park and shooting a beam (Why a beam?). These Pokémon can then be transferred to your game, much like the use of the tamagotchi style Pokéwalker packaged with Heartgold and Soulsilver. It's a shame it will not also utilise the 3DS pedometer like those devices as well. I liked going for walks with my Squirtle and gaining new Pokémon on my journeys that actually took place outside of the house.

Just make sure you don't launch your 3DS across the room as if it's a Poké ball with this new app. I think you might end up losing a lot more than you will catch. Your poor handheld probably gets enough abuse every time a blue shell obliterates your perfect races in Mario Kart 7 anyway.

I'm still not 100% sure if I will be paying out the cash for this new adventure. I am a huge fan of the series, but after forking out so much for my 3DS already I am getting a little fed up that Nintendo will not be releasing a Pokémon game specifically tailored to the new handheld yet. Perhaps the more I get to see of the game the more I'll end up wanting it.

The full anime trailer below certainly got me excited at the idea of playing through another Pokémon game again. I haven't watched the T.V series in years, but if they decided to make it something a bit more like this, then I might just have to start watching again. (Hit the 'CC' button for subs, but they're not needed anyway. The Dynasty Warriors style soundtrack will keep you entertained.)

Let's just hope this new outing in the Pokémon series ends up being as enjoyable as the previous titles.
For more information on Black & White 2 visit the official webpage.

The Daily Dose: Flames and Rainbows

Meet the Pyro is now available, and Valve certainly don't know how to disappoint. Delve into the sick and twisted mind of the raving masked arsonist. Listen to the fears of the other classes as they twitch and squirm at the mere thought that 'that thing!' might be somewhere close by. Heavy, spy or scout. No matter who they are they all live in fear of the pyro's presence, and so they should!

"One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask...what dreams of chronic and sustained cruelty" The Spy.

Now you can finally go behind the mask and discover what makes the pyro the thing it has become. Don't come crying to me if it's mind is just too much for you to handle, because once you've "watched it, you can't unwatch it!" Enjoy.

I like to think that's what goes through my mind every time I zone out from the rest of the world and just play games. Ahh bliss, the pyro is a thing after my own heart. Now I just need the flamethrower. *Twisted sideways grin*

The Daily Dose: Guild Wars 2 is on its way!

The Guild Wars 2 release date was officially announced yesterday. It will be available from Tuesday, August 28th and pre-purchasers will be getting a 3-day headstart on the 25th. I couldn't be more excited. In fact, I think I may have had to excuse myself to the bathroom when I heard the news.

It's been over five years since ArenaNet announced that they would be starting the project back in 2007, and what an amazing accomplishment the game seems to have turned out to be. In the final couple of months leading up to its release ArenaNet have stated that they will be spending all their "remaining time optimizing, polishing, and balancing the game." We will even be lucky enough to get one last chance to help them do this; the last Beta Weekend has also been announced for July 20-22.

It's great to finally get a solid release date, I just wish they hadn't decided to put it right at the end of the bloody school summer holidays. I get a glorious six weeks off work and only in the last few days will I get to spend it finally getting to play GW2, why couldn't ArenaNet have just let me binge on it all summer long?

Well at least I might get to enjoy the sun now (if there is any), rather than hiss at it every time the breeze twitches the curtains. Screen-glare; bane of my life.

The Daily Dose: Team Fortress 2, Pyromania

It's been a while since I sunk my axe into a good ol' game of Team Fortress 2, but today's news from valve spurred me on to take up my flamethrower once more. We will finally get to 'Meet the Pyro' this coming Wednesday, and to celebrate Valve are announcing the 'Pyromania' countdown.

There isn't many other games where I can chase down other players, setting them alight in a blaze of flaming glory whilst cackling wildly when their character shrieks in pain yelling 'FIRE! FIRE!' only then to pull out a shotgun or batter them to death with an axe for good measure. This, of course is the kindly way to end their miserable suffering existence.

Yes I am one of those annoying feckers who loves to play a pyro; hunting spies, blowing players off cliffs and hiding round corners is all in a rounds work for me. Well at least it was for a very long time.

Ever since I started playing TF2 I had always been pulled towards the pyro class. In every other FPS I had played up to that point, I had always chosen to be the cool calculating sniper a.k.a dirty camper. I wanted to take the complete opposite approach with TF2, so I decided on the most in-your-face class I could possibly be. At first I was awful, I lost count of the amount of times I died as I ran in just holding down the mouse button like a complete muggins. Don't get me wrong it was still fun, but my K/D ratio left me extremely infuriated by the end of the game.

I found myself gravitating towards the sniper time and again, desperate to get out of the line of fire and to just be able go for a headshot spree. But I stuck at it, and learned that I could play the Pyro not so much in-your-face but more burning-yo-ass! Finding ways behind the enemy team is the most enjoyable thing when playing a pyro, especially if you pull it off well.

Seeing how many of the enemy team you could have burning at once before they notice you is still just as hilarious to me today as it was when I started playing. It's such a satisfying sight; almost like a beautiful bonfire made up of dancing pixies who just happen to be burning to death. I think you have to be a special kind of psychopath to appreciate the inner workings of the pyro.

It's been a long time coming, and I'm looking forward to see how Valve finally portray the true nature of the pyro. Will we get to see it's face? Is it actually a guy or a girl? All may be revealed on the 27th June. Plus TF2 players will also be receiving "Doomsday" a "new map with a brand new game mode that lets you relive one of the darkest days in TF history." It will even include a number of new achievements for you to go for.

"Flame on!"

Guild Wars 2: Micro-Transactions and Gems

Guild Wars 2 will be launching completely subscription free this year, and one of the points that I didn't get to talk about in my review was how micro-transactions work within the game.

I'm normally in support of subscription based MMOs, because I have always lived by my '£ an hour' philosophy when it comes to games. To sum it up; if a game costs me £30 I expect it to last me at least 30 hours worth of playtime. This doesn't necessarily mean that the main story has to last that long. But that the game needs to be engaging enough to hold my attention, or has enough additional content to keep my playing. (This philosophy works out pretty well as far as Steam deals are concerned.)

So when it comes to MMOs, paying £8 a month for something I enjoy playing on a daily basis and getting hours and hours worth of playtime from, meant that the subscription never really bothered me. In fact, I was getting a lot for more game time for my money, especially when compared to other games.

Now the main issue I've been having lately is with MMOs like SWTOR. I currently have no drive whatsoever to pay my subscription (I'll spare you the reasons why). But at the same time, I would still like the option to be able to jump on and play with the friends that are currently sticking with it. It would be nice to be able to join them on occasion for 'dailies' or just to help out, even though in the long run I don't feel like I can commit fully to the game.

In this case the subscription plan just does not work in my favour. So I feel barred from a game that I have already paid for because I don't want to fork out the extra money to receive game-time I won't utilise. Now on the flip side we have Free 2 Play / Sub free  MMOs. Originally I was very wary of these. I had always worried that all they did was allow players who were spending the most money 'overwhelming godliness' over their gaming space, creating extremely unbalanced play for others who wouldn't want to spend as much.

True many games have done this in the past, but these days it seems that the use of micro-transactions are that much more of a viable solution. It was my experience with GW2 that really enforced my opinion on this.

Pimp cat.

“… it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who spend time.” (Mike O’Brien, president of ArenaNet)

Mike O'Brien pretty much cleared up all my worries back in March when I first read that quote on the GW2 blog. But when I got to see it for myself, I was glad that this wasn't just going to be another empty promise from a game developer. Micro-transactions in GW2 work in a way that opens the game up just that little bit more to make it worthwhile, but not enough to ruin another players experience.

Gems are the currency used for micro-transactions and they can be bought for real funds or in-game gold. So if you're somebody who is pretty handy with your auctions or just likes farming gold, you will never have to pay another penny. You can also do this in the reverse, so goodbye to gold sellers in GW2 (I hope.)

All you have to do is open a window in game, add gems to your account and choose from the many unique, quirky or helpful items that will then be granted instantly to your character. They range from one hour experience, damage or karma boosts to funny civilian gear to wear around town, extra dyes for your gear or pots that can turn you into any random creature.

My Mini wasn't so mini...

Among my favourite items you could buy, were packs of Minis. These were pets you could collect for your character that weren't account bound and the packs could even contain doubles. Well... I was hooked on them almost immediately, I like pets anyway in MMOs but being able to swap doubles and show off rares with my guild over the beta weekend just made things worse (MUST COLLECT THEM ALL!). These could even be sold on the auction house to avid collectors, which would normally go for a tidy profit for the rarer ones.

Lastly there where items such as the Box o'fun. You could place this in a highly populated area of the world and every player could click on it. They would then receive a random transformation ranging from huge, turning invisible, being able to shoot off fireworks to just exploding and flying backwards. It created such a simple yet fun break from the game, and made for some interesting chat among the players who were brought together by it.

I had a great time messing around with the Gem store. So if this is what the future of micro-transactions in MMOs will be, then I happily welcome them with open arms.

LEGO Legend of Zelda, could become a reality

Over at LEGO Cuuso a Legend of Zelda concept design has reached over 10,000 supporters.

Now it has the chance to actually become a reality. It will be sent to the "LEGO Jury" for consideration and if they deem the concept worthy of success and that it would be possible to manufacture, we could have ourselves one of the greatest LEGO sets ever! Ok I'm being a little bit biased, I'm LoZ fanboy after all. Still this certainly would be a great thing to see on the shelves of any LEGO store.

It was through LEGO Cuuso that the recent Minecraft LEGO concept was approved and is now available for pre-order. (I may have to get my hands on at some point as the idea of having real life Minecraft blocks is pretty incredible.)

I have to say that LEGO have been extremely fortunate with Cuuso. Not only has it become a hub for talented individuals to have the chance to get their ideas created, but LEGO will now have a steady stream of new ideas pouring in to mull over, and completely free of charge.

One of Ocarina of Time's most memorable moments... IN LEGO!

I really hope the LoZ concept goes through and that Nintendo will approve it's production. I would certainly be one of the first to have little LEGO LoZ figures covering my desk. I already thought that my LEGO Bobafett key-chain was cool enough, but having Link with a Master sword certainly tops it for me.

Make sure you check out the site, and even vote for any of the other concepts you like. You never know, your votes could make it happen.

The Daily Dose: Mass Effect 3 Extended DLC

Today Bioware finally announced the release date for Mass Effect 3's extended ending DLC. Coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 as a free download from Tuesday, 26th June.

I was among the many fans of the Mass Effect series that were disappointed by the lacklustre finale to the game. As much as I enjoyed the concept of the 'synthesis' ending, I still couldn't help but feel as though a void needed to be filled, that there were just too many unanswered questions and plot holes that needed to be tied up and addressed properly. 

Some real choices that were genuinely effected by what you had done across all three titles wouldn't have gone amiss either.

I'm pleased that Bioware have taken the time to listen to their fans. Not that they were given much of a choice; with all the charity fundraising, cupcake sending protests going on across the internet. Even a lawsuit stating that Bioware had used false advertising was pushed for. In all, it's been a manic few months for Bioware and EA and it's nice to finally see things settle down. 

Well... I guess that now all depends on exactly what the DLC content is like. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there with their torches and pitch forks at the ready, and they can be a scary bunch. 

Good luck Bioware!

For more detailed information on the DLC visit the Mass Effect 3 website. 

"Salt with your game... sir?"

I've always wanted to be good artist, really I did. I took Art at GCSE and Graphics for A-levels. The countless anime series' I've watched over the years, comic books I read and the incredible concept art I saw for games and movies on a daily basis. These all made me want to create things like the ones I saw. If just for one day I could produce pieces of art or draw an anime, comic book or game characters as good as them.

A friend of mine (who is also an unfairly good artist) sends me a link to these videos. I sat grudgingly amazed that someone can actually create something like this and then just rub it away, because If you gave me a piece of tracing paper, the original image and a pen. I still wouldn't be able to create an image better than this guy can... with salt.

Guess I better just stick with writing, at least I can do that. Sort of.

The Daily Dose: Final Fantasy VII, Back to PC?

Final Fantasy VII has been rumoured to be making a return to the PC today, but it seems it could be something a little bit more than just the original game in this particular re-release.

A link from Google Cache was sent to Joystiq containing information on a website that had been recently registered under the domain name FinalFantasyVIIPC.com. Using a whois search reveals the site is owned by Square-Enix and is even registered under CEO Yoichi Wada's name. 

The site supposedly housed a wealth of information featuring a number of details that could possibly be taken as Micro-transactions, which would be offered alongside the game. Just a few of the things on offer could be achievements, cloud saves (hehe) and *spits on floor* a "character booster" allowing players to increase their HP, MP, XP and even receive items.

Cloud: "It's all good Sephy, I'll just boost up to be as awesome as you!"

Sephiroth: "Fml ..."

/rant I can't possibly understand why this would ever be a considered a good idea, especially for use in an RPG that bases such a large investment in the satisfaction of building your team. So that Cloud can then Omni-Slash a boss apart who is crucial to your emotional investment to the game. (You know the bit I mean.) Where is the tension in trying to beat a boss you can just face roll over... seriously. 

But now apparently today's generation of gamers need to be so spoon fed that at "the simple click of a button" you are left to "enjoy your adventure." What possible enjoyment could someone get by just sailing through a Final Fantasy game. Yes the story is incredible in FF7, but you may as well just go sit through a 'watch me play' of the entire game for all the enjoyment your going to get out of it. At least you won't have to pay the £7.99 they may be offering it at then. /endrant

Aside from this, it's the chance of seeing possible graphical mods being developed for FF7, that make it an incredibly exciting prospect. Players have been asking for a remake for a long time, and this could be the closest chance they get. Or... this could just be one elaborate hoax, what do you think?

Guild Wars 2 Beta Review Up!

It's been a long time coming, and pretty much the main reason why I haven't posted a single thing in days.

But my Guild Wars 2 Beta review is finally up! I can't get over how long it actually took me to finish it, and I still can't believe I didn't quite cover everything I had originally planned, because it just got ridiculously long. Personally I just blame ArenaNet for making a game that I just have far too much to talk about. It's just unfair. Anyway for those who read it, enjoy!

The Daily Dose: Swtor server transfers finally open

It's about damn time too!

Well after what feels like forever, my guildies and I have finally been able to move off our graveyard of a server on Swtor. With patch 1.2  released back on April 12th we had hoped it would revitalise our initial enthusiasm for our new MMO home. Many of us would sit and grind PvP or our daily quests, while we patiently waited for it's release, it really did feel like something to look forward to. 

So the day came 1.2 was out and we had our new toys too play with. Which lasted about all of a week till we once again felt pretty burnt out and tired of the game. The problem? Our server was virtually void of players, you could hear a Jawa shit drop in the fleet. One minute we were happily Op'ing away, making progress, battering glow stick wielding hippies in the face and the next; most of our guild just seemed to start fading away. Or perhaps someone left a air lock open, because it certainly vacuumed up pretty much all of the sever population.

"Poopty peupty pants!"

The main issue being; that on release Bioware created a vast amount of servers to withstand the onslaught of eager hyped players that poured onto the game. As is natural with any MMO the servers began to stabilise over time, the "core subscribed player base" happily continued to enjoy the game whilst others left to go onto adventures in other games, or perhaps back to the ones they haven't been able to escape for six long years! The "core" all climbed to max level, gradually they got bored, tired of waiting... yada yada yada, you know the story.

So in the end we were left with a Death Star load of servers, with only a chunk of players scattered across most of them, and no server transfers in sight. Bioware even went as far as giving us a free months worth of subscription, obviously to make up for the wait, but that went completely to waste. I have just transferred my characters but I am only left with 2 days worth of game time to play with.

So we have now moved onto a server that had over 300 players in the fleet last night, incredible. I really do hope this makes the difference, because now I have to live with a damn " í " or " ú " in all my character names seeing as they were all claimed on this server already. * Punches keyboard repeatedly*  

The Daily Dose: My E3 top 3

Now I know it's been a little while since E3, so I'm sure many of you will be thinking this is all old news. But as a newly founded games blogger, I feel it would be incredibly wrong of me to let one of the biggest gaming events of the year go by without making a single post about it. It would wouldn't it?

So here is my top three must see games to watch out for from E3.
(That really wasn't meant to rhyme that much, I swear.)

The Last of Us (Naughty Dog) -

The Last of Us I was rather sceptical of to begin with; like all 'good' E3 videos they are normally scripted and played to near perfection during their live demo. When I originally watched this video I did so it with this in mind. I felt it was impressive, but as far as I was concerned it looked like Uncharted with some lovely graphical tweaks and a side kick. That was until I heard about the "Balance of power AI" featured in the game.

Basically if the AI does what it says on the tin, then the game should be an incredible experience. What we are seeing in the video is AI that "will react realistically to whatever situation your combat style forces them into." Supposedly none of what we see in the video is scripted, and watching the video again after reading this, I was in awe. 

BEYOND: Two Souls (Quantic Dream) -

From the developers of Heavy Rain comes Beyond: Two Souls. To be honest I was pretty much sold from the moment they mentioned who the developers were. Strong story, decisions and actions that change the way a game progresses are a major selling point for me, and Heavy Rain was one of the best examples of this.

Ellen Page takes the lead role, and it's pretty tough not realising it's her in the video, which speaks wonders for the graphics engine being used, I mean look at that sweat! The mannerisms and facial animations of the character models look incredible and in a game that is going to be centred around 'emotional challenges' this is going to be a key factor to a player's immersion.

It's an amazing achievement to have a brief pause in a game, which you can read more into a character's expression than the dialogue could ever tell you.


Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal)  -

Desmond has finally been given his own game set in the near future... I kid. No this isn't another Assassins Creed  but the elements and visuals will certainly have you feeling as if you have stepped back into the animus.

You play as Aiden Pearce; a world class hacker. By using what looks like an extremely elegant smart phone you have the ability to hack into the lives and systems of everything around you. Your enemies outstanding loans, their criminal records, the fact that they are HIV positive, this guy can find out about it all and use it as a weapon.

Once again I found this to be another visually stunning game, that takes note of all the realistic little details. It's the subtle things that make the biggest difference, the character placing his hands in his pockets in the rain and the way in which his coat moves in time with the pace that he runs. Well apart from the fact that he doesn't actually push a door open, just kind of opens it with his face. (A friend pointed this out and now it bugs the hell out of me.)

However Watch Dogs looks set to be a very unique and interesting addition to the gaming market, and seems to portray how; in a world of ever growing media there are people with the power to control and manipulate it as they see fit.

    ______________________________

Now I apologise in advance if my selection comes across as PlayStation biased, the ridiculous thing is that I don't personally own a PlayStation 3 console. So it seems I may be forking out some extra cash if these games never make it to PC. (Or if they ever decide to remake FF7 as a PS3 exclusive, then I will just throw them my money.)

Streetpass: It's a lonely world out there for a 3DS owner.

As an avid Ninty fan I was one of the crazed bunch that jumped onto the 3DS bandwagon right from the off. How much of a fan do you ask? Well to sum it up, I was lucky enough to be invited to a Nintendo pre-release event, only to find out that I wasn't going able to see the 3D images it produced. Apparently it seems I lack stereoscopic vision or some such. I died a little inside.

Yes I know I'm mad, but I had to play Ocarina of Time 3D. Of course Nintendo then release a limited edition Zelda console, and at a heavily reduced price...I died a little inside at that too. One of my biggest gripes with the 3DS at the moment is it's StreetPass feature. For those of you that don't know, the 3DS can swap info such as your Mii and game data as you pass another 3DS owner, required that they have their wireless turned on and that they are close enough.

If only the world was really full of stick people carrying a 3DS.

Now the missus and I have been trying desperately to collect puzzle pieces that can be received from other 3DS owners on StreetPass (It's simple but addictive). Do you have any idea how hard it is to bump into another person with a 3DS, let alone one with their wireless turned on? I think my grand total for one day is three, just three! Even then it was when I walked through London during the Jubilee celebrations. Oh, and to top it all off not a single bloody one of them had a puzzle piece I needed.

To make things worse the 3DS has Play Coins that you can collect, but there is a daily limit of 10 coins which can be hoarded, unless like me you have already used them all by the next day. These can then be spent on a number of different little features, such as backgrounds for Letter Box a.k.a Swapnote in the U.S, heroes for StreetPass Quest (don't even get me started on that though), and extra AR Games.

 I wish this little green light would appear more often.

Now here is where my biggest frustration lies; if you can't meet anyone via StreetPass this is your only option to get hold of puzzle pieces. They cost 2 coins per random puzzle piece and you can get doubles...a lot of doubles that have no use whatsoever apart from making you want to throw your 3DS across the room. I even got a StreetPass accomplishment (god knows why they call it that) for "three identical Puzzle Swap pieces in a row with Play Coins!" Yay...Nintendo might as well have laughed in my face with that one.

It's a shame to see such a brilliant feature go to waste; especially as it's always quite an exciting moment to notice that green blinking light letting you know you've come across another 3DS owner. Unfortunately, for the time being it seems that I'll only get to see a green glow when it's my girlfriend's 3DS sat next to me, and she has all the same damn pieces.

The Daily Dose: Hawken

With such titles as Armored Core, MechWarrior and Zone of the Enders HD all being released this year, it's a pleasure to see yet another addition to the list of giant mech piloting games, which seem to be raining down destruction across all platforms lately.

Hawken is an FPS that throws you into the cockpit of your very own, completely customizable mech. The game will be releasing as multiplayer-only, but the best thing is that it is completely free-to-play. So if propulsion jets, rail guns and rockets are your thing, make sure to check out the extended gameplay trailer from Machinima below.

The open beta is scheduled to start on 12/12 of this year.

Seriously though...who doesn't enjoy ripping through twisted metal, while propelling themselves violently across a battlefield?

Flowers? Chocolates? Nah...Gym badges!

What more could a girl ask for, right?

I ordered this amazing little set for the missus a few weeks back, it arrived much quicker than expected and I couldn't have been more pleased. Especially at seeing her face when I showed them to her. They really did look the part, and had amazing quality to match.

Now all I have to do is find somewhere that could make an awesome case so she can show them off, to prove she really is a true Poké masta!

If you fancy getting hold of these yourself...well your just going to have to beat the eight gym leaders aren't you? Or you could just be sneaky like me and head on over to Sanshee and get them to send you the ones they smuggled out from Kanto, for a fair price.

Let me know if you find a good case to show them off in!

The Daily Dose: Majora's Mask, Fake Trailer?

Now this is something I would love to see happen.

But if anything, I would expect Nintendo to create a remake of Majora's Mask in much the same way as the 3DS' Ocarina of Time. There has been no talk at Nintendo's E3 conference to suggest this could be legitimate.

Although in an interview with IGN, Miyamoto spoke about the idea of any further Zelda remakes. " We haven't quite decided yet, whether we're going to do A Link to the Past, because there's also the possibility of doing a remake of Majora's Mask."

Perhaps the video might not be official, but there may be a hope of a remake after all, and alongside so many other fake Zelda videos I've seen previously, this is by far one of the most enjoyable and nostalgic.

And my god does the happy mask shop owner still creep me out...

Guild Wars 2 Beta

The second Guild Wars 2 Beta weekend has come and gone, and what an amazing gaming experience it has been. I've stayed completely glued to my PC screen and if the withdrawal symptoms aren't already bad enough, it's just going to get worse. Soon I'll start writing up my review and that means I have to relive it all over again by poring over my screenies. 

'Hi I'm Asmo, and I'm an addict.'

Back when he was still cool.

Gaming is an addiction to me; something I’m sure my mother hoped desperately I would grow out of. I used to wake her up to the loud sounding DUNK of our old Sony television that we had in the living room. Every morning at 4am I’d creep slowly downstairs, just to get in those extra couple of hours before primary school on my N64. I got yelled at a lot for doing that (amongst other things.) Know wonder she still hates me when I'm gaming.

It all started with my Dad's SEGA Megadrive. I still remember it sitting in a side cupboard collecting dust, the irony being that it was actually my Mum that had bought it for his birthday a year or so before. I never remember him playing it, I just knew it was there, and It looked so pretty!

So that was how my addiction began, watching that little blue blur race across the screen  for as long as I could hog the one T.V we had in the house. When I wasn't playing I'd even create little plasticine balls and roll them across the table thinking they were Sonic. I would also try putting spikes on it occasionally, but it didn't really look authentic. (I never was that great at arts and crafts)

My biggest love, as I mentioned before, was my N64. It was the first console that I was ever bought, although I'm pretty sure my Dad had actually got it for himself, but at least he had the decency to call it my birthday present right? So there I was, a copy of Mario 64 and as far as I was concerned the greatest machine that I had ever owned in my life.

I'll never forgot the first time I watched Lakitu the Koopa swoop down on his cloud around Peach's castle to bother Mario with his terrible camera angles. My Dad informing me that these 'Are the most amazing graphics he had ever seen.' I was still kind of sad at that point that my Dad had sold the Megadrive to put the money towards the N64, but I did forgive him...eventually.

These days I stick mostly to my PC gaming, but I will always be a console gamer at heart.