Tag: game boy

Gamer for Life

On By Michel McDonaldIn Computer, Games, PS Vita, PS4, PSPLeave a comment

Video Games over the years

When I was going through the garage in December to bring the Christmas boxes in the house, I came across our old Atari 2600, so I brought it in and sat it on our dining room table. I brought it in because I wanted to see if it actually worked, and naturally, I couldn’t find the power plug, so that’s a no. So I dusted it off so I could take a picture so I could tell you this story.

I was born in 1970, and the Atari 2600 came out in the late 70’s. My step father bought one, but kept it attached to the living room TV and wouldn’t let anyone play with it, so it sat there doing nothing. We would go to our cousins who had an Atari 5200, which in my opinion was way superior. Eventually in 1983 my step father put it in my bedroom, which was a walk in closet. Being “in the closet” took on a whole new literal meaning.

That was a decision I bet my parents would regret because I became unhealthily addicted to Pac-Man. Every level was the same exact level, the grid never changed. Here is how the game looked and sounded.

Moving right along…

We moved away from our apartment in 1984 to my aunts house in Simi Valley, and my beloved Atari was put in storage and I never saw it again. My cousins would eventually get a Nintendo Entertainment System, and they were 3 kids who all fought over it, and I wasn’t about to get into that fight because it was THEIR system, not mine. I decided that I didn’t really want to have anything more to do with video games until we were stable, so I didn’t want to play. They invited me to play Popeye, and I tried it once, but I didn’t care to invest my energy because I never knew if/when we would move away and I would have it taken away from me.

We did move away and into trailer parks where I played video games at their consoles in game rooms with quarters. I also had a little digital game that could fit into my pocket called Epoch Man that I enjoyed. I also had a Pac-Man watch with a joystick, so as far as I was concerned, I was set.

When I was 22 years old I got a Sega Game Gear with my 2nd boyfriend. We both bought them and we each had our own games. When he eventually broke up with me and I had to leave my apartment because I lost my job and didn’t even have money for food, I sold it at a pawn shop for a measly $20 for the entire package, including a case, several games and a TV tuner. That’s why I don’t have a picture.

When I was 24 years old I got a Nintendo Game Boy, which I still have with 1 game. We were always too broke for food and cigarettes for me, so every time we needed money, one game had to make a sacrifice, which is probably why I hoard games now lol. The Game Boy in its case along with a external battery that clips on to your belt as well as a cleaner disk is pictured above.

Some time in the early 2000’s, I had a website from a hosting company that gave me the option of selling web hosting to people. People would pay me the full price, and I would make a small profit every month. One of the hosting customers asked me if he could pay me for his hosting by selling me his Nintendo 64, and I said yes because I had always wanted one of those. I had a couple of games, but I did eventually sell it several years ago on eBay because I needed the money. It was fun playing it though.

I had played computer video games on my Apple //e in 1990-1992 when I had to sell that system. The one game I really had was King’s Quest 4 The Perils of Rosella. When I bought my computer in 1997, I found several Sierra game collections and bought them. I also played The Sims in 2000 and then in 2002 I started playing EverQuest and I played that for 6 years until 2008, which brings me to the PlayStation years.

In 2007 I bought a PlayStation Portable, aka PSP. I bought and still have 32 physical game UMD’s, and I don’t even know how many game downloads. I played that game so much that the power button barely turns it on anymore, and when it does turn on, the stick doesn’t work because when I try to go right, my character says “F you! I’m going left.”

In 2015 my partner bought me a PlayStation 4 for Christmas. I had asked for a PlayStation 3 because I thought it would be less expensive, but he insisted that if he was going to buy me a game system, he was going to buy brand new, not used, and it might as well be the most current system. Hey, I’m OK with pre-owned at Game Stop. Then I broke my leg in December 2016 and couldn’t play with my PS4  because I couldn’t sit straight up, so he took me to Game Stop in my wheelchair to buy me a PS Vita, which they had to order for me to be delivered to our house via UPS. I haven’t played with the PS Vita as much as I played with my PSP, but I do still play with it when I am not in my bedroom, which is where I play with my PS4 daily.

So that’s about it. That is my video game history. I have always been a gamer since I was a kid, and I will always be a gamer until the day I die.

By the way, the Atari 2600 you see in the picture above is NOT the same one from my childhood. My partner had that when we met.

Also note that I have also played video games on my smart phones over the years as well as my Nook HD+.

New PSP Games

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling, Games, PSPLeave a comment

Castlevania EyePet Jak & Daxter Secret Agent Clank

I’ve been having fun riding the bicycle in the patio with my new bicycle trainer. I’ve been listening to music with my Dell DJ, but it gets boring just sitting there in the same room looking at the same thing, which is a door and a bunch of junk lol. If the patio were cleaned up and there were furniture to look at then it might be more pleasant, but I’m sure I’d get bored of looking at that too.

Yesterday when I was riding on the bicycle, I decided I would bring out my PSP and play a new game that I recently bought at a pawn shop that was closing. I rode the bicycle for 36 minutes while playing and it seemed like time flew by. I would have kept going past 36 minutes if it weren’t for the fact that my butt became numb because of the way I was sitting. I have an Ergo bicycle seat, so I really should be holding on to the handlebars to stay upright. Playing with the PSP kind of moved me in an awkward position, so my butt became numb lol. I’m going to buy a new seat next time I go to Target. They have the beach cruiser seats which is probably more comfortable anyway.

I have a page on my website for all of my PSP games. These 4 games in particular are EyePet, which I bought specifically because I wanted the camera lol. I know it’s stupid because I have a good camera on my cell phone, and I have a good video camera that takes pictures, so why would I need a camera on my PSP? Well, considering it’s only $13 and it comes with a game, I thought it was worth the price, and I want to buy all of the accessories and games that I can before they stop selling them.

I bought Secret Agent Clank because I love the Ratchet and Clank games. I have one of them and I loved it, but I haven’t played it in such a long time that I have no idea what I’m doing. I bought Jak and Daxter because I love the Daxter game that came with my PSP. I have always wanted to play this one. Castlevania is a game I’ve wanted to play for a long time. It’s not the same as the other cool PSP games like the Daxter and Clank games, it’s like a side-scroller you would see with Nintendo and Sega games. I actually love side-scroller games.

PSP_Real_View_V-Screen

This is a PSP Real View V-Screen Depth Enhancer. It acts as a case for your PSP, and when you open it, you can pull down a magnifying glass that makes your game bigger, and it is supposed to add 3D to your 2D game. I watched a YouTube video to see how it works, but the reviews weren’t so great. I bought it anyway because like I said about the camera, I want to buy all the accessories and games that I can before they stop selling them. I want to experience everything I can before I can’t anymore.

I had something similar to this for my Game Boy, but it wasn’t a case, it just slid over the top of the game boy and you could see a bigger screen, it also had a light. It didn’t turn my 2D game into a 3D game, but from what the video reviews said on YouTube, neither does this lol. I really don’t care too much about that. It was only $5.29 with free shipping. You can’t beat that.

I have more games in my PSP Games Wishlist on Amazon. Of course, Sony Online Entertainment stopped making new games for the PSP because they are focusing more on the PS Vita which has a smaller game stick rather than a UMD Universal Media Disc. So much for it being universal. They also have downloadable games in the Playstation Store that I can buy, but unfortunately my new WiFi Cable Modem uses a specific security that my PSP cannot connect to, so that has totally screwed up my ability to ever connect to my WiFi again. No more browsing the PlayStation store for games and no more browsing websites, not that I needed to, and no more using Skype.

These games and the Real View V-Screen Depth Enhancer will arrive either this Friday or Saturday, or in the middle of next week. I really look forward to the Jak and Daxter game. I have so many games now, but I haven’t finished all of them because I get bored with them. Maybe I will put it on my bucket list to actually finish a game that I started to get some kind of closure on each game. That would be nice lol.

WizOrb PSP Mini

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, PSPLeave a comment

wizorb_titlescreen

I have been spending a lot of my time lately either resting in bed, getting a shiatsu massage or a vibrating massage because of the chronic pain that I have been suffering in my back lately.  I say lately, but I have had Degenerative Disc Disease for a few years now, or longer, I only found out a few years ago from an MRI that I had it because of my shoulder pain.  I have actually been suffering chronic pain for a long time, but it comes and goes and this time it seems like it doesn’t want to go because I have been in constant pain for the last couple of weeks.

Because I’ve been spending a lot of time resting my back, I have been wishing I had a more mobile computer than my Chromebook which doesn’t seem to want to be used anymore since it disconnects from my WiFi as soon as I start typing.  I have many devices that I can use besides my desktop and my Chromebook, but they don’t load websites as well.

My cell phone is, as I like to call it a dumb phone, since it’s not a smart phone.  I would love to buy an android phone from Virgin Mobile so I can do all of my internet stuff while laying in bed, but since I don’t have one, I figured I would go onto the MediaGo Sony Store to see what new game I can download for my PSP.  I had $2.09 available in my account, so I figured I’d find something around that price, and I found WizOrb in the Mini section for $1.99.  That should keep me busy since it’s a new game I’ve never played before.

I loaded the game and played the first bit of it and was a little confused because it basically looks like I’m playing pong, but with better graphics lol.  Speaking of the graphics, it reminds me of The Legend of Zelda for my old Game Boy from 1994, except in color.  It’s like Link’s Awakening to Pong.

That’s just my first impression, I haven’t really gotten to know the game yet so I can’t really form an opinion of the game until I get really into it.  I do look forward to playing it though because it does look like a ton of fun, even though it’s a PSP Mini lol.

I will come back and blog about how much fun I am having when I get to play it more.

Update: This game is really hard lol.  I give them props for difficulty, even at normal pace.

Games for PSP

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, PSPLeave a comment

We went to the mall today to pay for Chips Sears card and he decided he was going to buy me a game. I kept refusing but we ended up going to the Game Stop and buying a game but we came home and I played it and it was so lame. We are going to return it tomorrow.

I’ve been looking for a game that is similar to Tetris that we can play on the PSP but there are none. Or are there? I found on Amazon.com a game called “Sega Genesis Collection” and it has 28 Sega Genesis games including Sonic the Hedgehog and Columns which is what I had when I had the Sega Game Gear.

Columns is Sega’s version of Tetris which is a little different but it works. The other 26 games sound cool, I’ve never played them so it will give me a chance to see what they were like. It’s cool that there are 28 games on 1 UMD so I don’t have to keep switching the UMD’s. It’s gonna be awesome. And Darrin will finally have a game that he can play. He doesn’t get into all the games but when I got my Game Boy 14 years ago he loved playing Tetris.