. home . interests . video games .
I enjoy video games in my free time. I collect vintage
Atari 2600 games and enjoy the new games of the
Wii. I own an Atari 2600 (VCS),
original Nintendo NES, Nintendo SNES, Sega Genesis,
Sony Playstation, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo GameBoy Advance,
Nintendo N64, Sega GameGear, Sega DreamCast, Atari Jaguar, and the Nintendo Wii.
NEW! I built an arcade cabinet to run MAME, a popular
arcade emulation program.
Check it out here.
NEW! I wrote a front-end for xmame using XUL. This is a very light and simple front-end for use with only up/down arrows and one button (suitable for an arcade cabinet with a joystick, for example). It's called mozMAME.
Best games of all time
- Metroid Prime (Nintendo/Retro, 2002, GC)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (Nintendo, 1992, SNES)
- Metroid (Nintendo, 1986, NES)
- Galaga (Namco, 1981)
- Boxing (Activision, 1981, Atari 2600)
Nintendo Wii
The Wii was released on November 17, 2006. It features a new controller which uses spatial positioning and rotation to interact with video games in a competely new way. The new Zelda game (Twilight Princess) has received some of the highest game review scores ever, and promises to be a fantastic game. The Wii also features a virtual console that can emulate older systems such as the original NES, the SNES, and the N64. On the Wii you can go online and buy games for a few bucks a piece.
Links
Nintendo GameCube
The Nintendo GameCube was released on November 18, 2001, and retails for $199. The machine brings gameplay to a new level as Nintendo expands its palette. Launch titles include Star Wars Rogue Leader, Super Monkey Ball, and Luigi's Mansion. The GameCube features a small DVD-style disc, new controller, and is available in several different colors. Current favourite game: Metroid Prime.
Links
Nintendo N64
The N64 was released in September of 1996 at a price of US$250. It was the first truly 3D gaming system. With a graphics hardware subsystem developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc, it was a powerful machine featuring hardware-rendered 3D environments. Mario 64 was a ground-breaking event in gaming titles. Nintendo had some problems with third-party support in the second year of the N64, but the library of games available is solid; Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Zelda: Majora's Mask, Mario 64, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye, and a host of Star Wars titles. Favourite game: Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Links
Nintendo SNES
The SNES was introduced in 1991. It was the 16-bit rival to
the Sega Genesis, and was the platform I played the most often.
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past is an amazing game,
and is on my top-five list of all time great
games. With the advent of emulators, I've been playing a lot
of SNES games on my Linux PC (even complete with a SNES controller
hooked up as the joystick interface). Current favorite: Super
Metroid.
Links
Nintendo NES
The NES was released in August 1985. With amazing 8-bit graphics (256 possible colors!), it was the system that every kid had to have. The game library has over 700 titles and includes classics such as Super Mario Bros, Zelda, and Metroid.
Links
Atari 2600
The Atari VCS (later renamed 2600) was introduced for the Christmas season in 1977. Featuring a powerful 1.19 MHz Motorola processor and a custom graphics chip called 'Stella', the machine debuted at $249.95. The system never really took off until Space Invaders, which had people buying the system just to play that game. Later saw Pac-Man as the killer app that caused the Atari 2600 to go on to make Atari $5 billion in revenue. Favourite game: Activision's Boxing.
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