In a time before, before the juggernaut of savings and convenience that Steam is, before you simply had to slot in your components, before you could just download a mod, and have it work; I played pc games. I try not to imbibe the heady drug that is nostalgia, but its hard to look upon those days in the mid to late 90s when i played counter strike until the world was nothing but dust and magnum sniper rifles to me, i commanded and sometimes conquered, looted from el diablo, and devoured the worst the “tom clancy” name had to offer, and loved every pixelated, clunky second of it.
That was until i found myself in a GI joe modded server of CS and suddenly this mystical machine that brought me so much joy, simply broke. Even today i couldn't tell you if it was the countless CS mods i installed or perhaps the constant stream of AOL keys and NETscape CDs my mother fed it. Being ignorant of all things electronic, i believe we just threw it away. As in, tossed the tower in the trash. In my defense i'm about 11 or 12 at this point.
What took the place of that apparently fairly high end rig, was a cow pelt patterned gateway box, knowing what i know today, i doubt it even had a video card, as even those garbage delta force games were nigh unplayable. even considering i could play them we had moved and the internet had taken a hit, now i was lucky to play a crap space ghost coast to coast flash game. So i turned to the original playstation that had been collecting dust, and amassing one hell of a back catalogue while i wasn't looking. I could strategize in real time, nor shoot in first person, but i could race cars, and i kinda liked cars for some reason at this point. perhaps because i hadn't driven one yet, discovering what a hassle they actually are.
Onward to PS2, eventually, nabbing the xbox and realizing, wait this thing can play shooters pretty damn well. Maybe it actually is the stick layout, but i rediscovered one of my favorite genres, thus prompting me to switch teams and get the 360 fairly early, a first for me, typically i wait for a drop. Hard to believe that was in 2005, and i am still playing that system. Well not that system, i have gone through several.
Interestingly it was the 360 that made me realize i needed a PC again. Halo wars, and supreme commander while decent console RTS games, just made me want to turtle for real. This wasn't the first time i'd thought about it, but this was the first time i actually looked into what it would cost to build a rig myself. Even if i could afford it, i could never justify paying $2,000+ on a new computer. Around $900, split into several piecemeal purchases though? yea, i could make that work. It turned out to be an easy and fun experience, there is something to hunting for deals, and doing research. Also to delayed gratification, getting a graphics card you can't use for another month or two is rough at first, but once i got this bad boy running, it was glorious.
So here i am, over 10 years later, playing counter strike again...turns out i'm terrible at it. I assume a lot of people never stopped playing it, so i don't feel too bad about it. besides there are so many other games to play i don't really even want to play CS. Over the past 2 months i have purchased 37 games, and spent probably the equivalent of 5 or 6 full games. maybe much less. I honestly feel bad about it at times, if this is how everyone uses steam, how do developers make money?
I am simply overwhelmed by my options, being a primarily console gamer for so long teaches you to play one or two games at a time. both because of cost and convenience, when you're paying $64.79 for every game you don't buy 37 every two months. You also dont have the option of just quitting out and switching to another game like some crazed taste tester. It sounds so trivial but actually getting a disc out of a tray and replacing it with another IS a limiting factor.
Not only that but apparently games are free now? Or you can just sell your game before its done at a discount. This new MMO Neverwinter is a perfect example. A game that would have represented an investment of at least $60 plus a $15 fee for the next month, is now completely free, and thats one thing, but the game is actually good, this coming from someone who despises MMOs. Being an adult sucks, and we all know this, but never has my lack of time slapped me in the face as much as when i look at my list of games, none of which i have finished.
In my defense, when are you really “finished” with sins of a solar empire, or Natural selection 2?
Despite my ever growing back-log, im interested in stuff i missed, if anyone has suggestions, let me know.
If your interested in joining my strange exciting journey back into the fold, join me-
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