Playstation Generation

I've been a gamer since I was very little. My first memory of playing on a console was my cousin's NES with Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt and Tetris. I became addicted to Tetris and later had a Gameboy to indulge this further, even to the point of every time I closed my eyes I could see the blocks falling, making lines, and eliminating rows.

My first console was a Commodore 64, for those not old enough to remember these they came with tape decks, a keyboard and a joystick in order to play.  Clunky and often crashing, it was not the best for a gamer.  When I was about 14/15 I got a Playstation (it wasn't called a PS One back then as it was the first of a generation of consoles) and this began the ultimate love affair with the consoles, including games like Crash Bandicoot, Mortal Kombat and Wipeout 3.

Wipeout 3 holds such amazing memories for me, the soundtrack was excellent, just as I was getting into dance and trance.  My favourite track has been chosen for this blog, and as I listen to it I can still hear the female voiceover of:

Mine

Mine

Plasma

Contender eliminated

If you know, you know. 

After being a loyal patron of Playstation for so long, a relationship with a Xbox aficionado brought about some conflicting emotions.  Yes, most games are available on all platforms, but there's a feeling of "cheating" when you switch consoles. By playing the the 360 I was introduced to a game, that is only available on the Xbox franchise - Fable.  Widely considered one of the best British games, is mixes RPG openworld with in-game challenges, such as Tower of Fortune.  The undeniably hilarious British wit, with voice acting from the likes of Stephen Fry (my absolute favourite character - Reaver), make the game one of a kind.  I've looked for years for another game that offers the same level of enjoyment as the Fable games, but have never been able to come up with one.

I'm back with a Playstation 4 these days, after a long break due to work and study, gaming can take over and I never really had the time.  When lockdown came I had to find ways to fill my time.  There wasn't really any games out that I thought I would be interested in, but I love the Jurassic Park/World films and there was a simulator game out that allowed you to design your own park and release your own dinosaurs.  I was never any good at simulator games, I always killed my Sims family, but thought I would give it a go.  I really got into it and without realising, not only had I spent an eight hour stint playing, I'd also completely forgot about my tinnitus during that time.  The Jurassic Park score is very soothing and helped to mask the static.  

Along with many others, I was all for the Cyberpunk2077 hype.  On the face of it it seemed to be one of the coolest games to be released in years, an for me, it was.  For all of the reported problems, I only ever noticed a couple of bugs and glitches, and none of these interfered with my experience of the game.  The only problem is that some of the voiceovers/score tend to be at a frequency that irritates my tinnitus.  I've just about completed the game - something I hardly ever do, but then was browsing the Playstation sale and came across a game, I've heard of many times, at an exceptionally cheap price - Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.

I've known about these games for a while, but never really given them a go.  I like the Ancient Greek gods, monsters and myths, so it seemed like a good fit.  I've really got into it, so has my partner, the story line is amazing and the musical score is another one that serves to mask my tinnitus.  I'm not even halfway through the game yet and already looking forward to playing others in the series.