My Video Game History, Part 3: Community Building

2007 – Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

My brother and I actually played Guitar Hero II since our cousins owned it, although we would come to own this one and we both got the somewhat rarer Kramer guitar controllers that we proceeded to decorate with the provided stickers.

We also wound up playing this with friends, sometimes using our own console or on our friends’ since they owned it. Regardless, this was my first true rhythm gaming experience on my own, and I’d revisit it on occasion but put it down after a while until I started playing Rock Band in college (more on that later), and while I still have yet to beat the solo campaign on my own, I found that this game in particular remains one of the more difficult ones in the series but is at least a little more fair compared to the previous entry (which I also wound up playing a little more seriously in college).

Of course, the legend of TTFAF spawned from this game due to its initial inclusion as a bonus track, and I remember looking up the videos of Full Combos done by bots as well as fake videos of beating the song on expert (including one of a guy who jammed out on a tennis racket that I can’t find anymore). Obviously it’s been done to death by the most talented players these days, but one can’t help but marvel just how crazy people can be with chasing perfection (it happened with Jordan in Guitar Hero II as well).

2008 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl

I still look back at this game fondly because I was playing it nearly every Friday from my sophomore year of high school onward as I joined the newly-formed video game club. There were always the occasional tournaments but we had so much fun playing against each other for an hour during lunch (our meeting time).

What’s so good was that we’d learn each other’s playstyles and we even had our own lore with how we played. My friend Jon hated boxes because he once got smashed with one and lost a match because of it. My friend Bogart liked trolling us by playing on Spear Pillar while screaming, “IT’S JUST AN ILLUSION!!!” My friend Zac liked trolling us by selecting Summit so that we’d all get a chance to get eaten by the fish. Then there was me, the only one allowed to spam-camp.

I think it’s necessary to talk about the “story” mode Subspace Emissary, because it was a nonsensical, fun way to enjoy the characters. I like going back to playing it just for funsies. Melee’s All-Star and Adventure modes are nostalgic for sure, but I have a special attachment to Subspace Emissary. There’s Fox and Falco coming to Diddy’s rescue, Snake’s disguise being found, as well as Link pointing to Ganondorf of the real danger (hinting that there’s more things to worry about). Again, I find so much enjoyment with this that it’s a great way to experience the game.

Then there’s Project M. That’s another Pandora’s Box.

2008 – Sengoku Musou 2 Moushouden (Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends)

This game, similar to how Dynasty Warriors was for me, got me interested in Japanese history. Sure, I had some vague knowledge thanks to Onimusha 3 taking place during this same time period, but that covers a specific event: Samurai Warriors covers an entire period, the Warring States period (hinted at in the Japanese title, “Sengoku”).

It’s funny enough that I got introduced to the characters in the crossover title Musou Orochi (Warriors Orochi), but this title really got me hooked. Looking into the characters. Studying the battles. There was a lot of historical content just sitting there and I spent hours indulging myself.

Much like with how I made a project on the Coalition against Dong Zhuo during the Three Kingdoms period, I made a report on Tokugawa Ieyasu and the successes he made that allowed him to unify Japan and keep his legacy through his shogunate. I even impressed my teachers at Japanese school thanks to my knowledge of the battles and just general showing off of Kanji prowess.

As for the gameplay itself, it’s what the Warriors series does best – mindless killing but with a flare of strategy. There’s the characters that look like they destroy that end up fulfilling that when they level enemy troops. There’s also the characters that seem like joke ones but wind up being surprising tanks. I must reiterate that this series is not for everyone, but it’s one that means a lot to me.

There’s also an HD version for PS3 out there that I hope to acquire down the road. We didn’t have the Japanese copy of Samurai Warriors 2 so we couldn’t get to enjoy all of the content, so maybe when I have the remaster I can finally properly enjoy this awesome title.

2008 – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

I freaking love this game.

This is hands-down the best first-person shooter I’ve played and it’s not even close. I will be playing Halo down the road but I think what this game means to me is what a lot of my friends feel for Halo. I didn’t get to play Halo thanks to not owning an X-Box. I was also late to the PS3, but this was one of the first titles that I played and I was enamored.

The game’s plot to me is a perfect example of creating a nice, suspenseful, realistic story that hits the right story beats at the right time while also having a vague sense of self-awareness. It knows when to have fun and knows when to be serious.

I remember feeling genuine shock experiencing this part of the story for the first time. There was an underlying sense of terror. I think this moment was brilliantly done and excellently placed, and I gained even more appreciation from watching a video several years later by Noah Caldwell-Gervais (link here). My friend from college sent it to me since he knew of how much I enjoyed the sequel to this game and I remember we had discussed the Call of Duty series as a whole during our countless conversations. In the 2-hour long video, Caldwell-Gervais talks about the single-player campaigns of the CoD series from the inaugural entry to Advanced Warfare, analyzing the story beats and his own general thoughts. On Modern Warfare, he spends great length talking about the climactic moment in Shock and Awe and the general impact it had, and I’ll give a general summary here. Consider that this game was released in 2007 in the heat of the War in Iraq. Anti-war sentiment had been growing. Our troops were fighting in the Middle East in a war that seemed pointless (and one that was also completely unlawful and illegal). Then consider this game, which takes place in the near future in a near-identical location, and this happens. We thought we were doing good but we were uniformed and consequently fell into a trap. It really struck a chord with audiences, myself included.

As for additional material, I love playing the Arcade Mode as it’s a unique way to experience the single-player campaign. It’s interesting that some of the levels are designed that achieving high scores is virtually impossible, while others allow for scoring fests. And then there’s the level “Heat” where completing the bonus streak is so routine that the score for that level alone is incredibly inflated. It’s absolute mayhem.

Here’s another thing: I didn’t really know much about PlayStation Online until late 2010, maybe, and by then I had already moved on from this game, so I only came back to this one in late 2015 or so, possibly early 2016 to see what the online multiplayer was like. I remember playing it once and feeling so lost that I decided it wasn’t for me. Once I formally revisited the online multiplayer, I found it so gosh darn charming for its inherent simplicity. No choices for killstreaks: everyone gets the same ones. Grenade indicators are a symbol of death. Flashbangs are a mystery for the user. Last Stand still stinks. The matchmaking system sucks. Teams are incredibly unbalanced. It also doesn’t help that I found that I am the most skilled with this multiplayer compared to the ones in other CoD games. It’s an interesting love-hate relationship that I can only play it in bursts.

After much consideration, this game became my favorite much like many other fans. My thoughts on the CoD series as a whole also changed thanks to that video plus my own changing experiences: CoD 4 was lightning in a bottle. It created a high for the series such that Activision has been chasing it but has yet to even reach. Sure, sales have gone up, but actual audience ratings have declined since, most notably beginning with the eighth title (Modern Warfare 3). No game in the series will ever be as polished as this one. None will ever be well-received by critics AND audiences alike.

2009 – Grand Theft Auto IV

I don’t think I’ve played a Grand Theft Auto game with a story as engaging as this one’s.

My first experience with this game came from my brother’s friend who introduced us to Star Wars: Battlefront (by this point his dad and step-mom had become close family friends so we saw each other rather often), and he showed us the first moments of Niko Bellic in Liberty City. Was it as ridiculous as Liberty City Stories? Possibly more. In the end, the story present is surprisingly well-crafted on its own and especially so when combined with the expansion games The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Is it annoying to be in the middle of driving to a mission only to be called for an activity? Yes. That’s why I don’t come back to this game often. But even then, it’s worth sucking it up just to experience a fun story. Niko coming to terms with his thirst for revenge. Roman vowing to be better and eventually enjoying success. Little Jacob being that reliable friend that everyone wishes for. Dwayne learning that he should try to enjoy his second chance. I just love these characters!

YELLOW CAR

2009 – Golden Sun + Golden Sun: The Lost Age

I remember my cousins playing this title and knowing a few things about it, like how the end boss of the first game is a nightmare. Then I started watching videos and I wound up finding general enjoyment. It’s gotten to a point where I know what my final arsenal is and what my overall path is as I go through BOTH games.

Up until recently, I didn’t really think of these games as “top” games. Then I recently played through these two games again and I came to realize just how good these games truly were. I recalled how I was always recommending them to friends and was often lumping praise. I always liked these games a lot and didn’t have much criticism aside from the long cutscenes with long dialogue, but even then those exchanges between characters are so engaging because I came to care about them with how brilliantly crafted the story is. I regard these games as a two-fold because Lost Age’s beginning coincides with the end of Golden Sun, and the stories together create one giant arc that is so well put together. I don’t want to spoil too much, but there is a major plot twist that is interestingly hinted at throughout Lost Age. Also, I do recommend that while Lost Age has double the content in my opinion, it’s necessary to play Golden Sun first.

The gameplay itself is very engaging for those who are accustomed to playing turn-based RPGs like Final Fantasy (which I ironically have not played any title from). A lot can determine your party’s turn in battle, and the different classes the characters can switch to offer a different way to play the game. I think the weapon forging in Lost Age opened a TON of customization options and it’s something I didn’t really appreciate until my recent replay of the game.

I think my biggest praise is to both the graphics and score. This game is beautiful on the Game Boy Advance, with many of the animations being stellar quality for a handheld console. The music is also on another level, and it may be my favorite video game score ever. The Venus Lighthouse music is a fan-favorite, as is the theme for the Elemental Stars. An underrated track is the town theme for Imil (post-Mercury Lighthouse) and Suhalla, which sets up a nice, cozy atmosphere.

When will Golden Sun rise again?

2009 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

I remember the hype surrounding this game. Then we got the game and promptly were having fun.

This is the first (and thus far only) game in the series where I beat the Veteran campaign (highest difficulty). I remember feeling genuine satisfaction from it. Then I did so again in college for the video game club. I remember my friends watching me go through it and they were impressed that I pulled it off. I even went for all the laptops (and I still remember where a vast majority of them are).

Does the story hold up? Mostly. Again, the most controversial mission (No Russian) is part of why it’s shaky. Seeing an airport massacre where civilians are razed down in machine gun fire? Unsettling. Being able to participate in it? …honestly distasteful. Caldwell-Gervais put it as a poorly-conceived level with a serious point. There are for sure definite consequences of the events in the level that set up the spiral in the campaign, but simply skipping over this mission (which was patched in shortly after release) is the way to go. There’s no need to play it and it’s best thought of as a noticeable blip in an otherwise good follow-up.

This was also the game that I played online multiplayer for the first time. I got pretty good at a few points, even pulling off the “Tactical Nuke” twice, both without the Hardline perk. I even remember whiteboy7thst’s “World’s Fastest Nuke” video. I’ve largely resigned myself since those days to playing more or less for fun and not getting caught up in the competition, especially since aim-bots are still a problem and OMA noob-tubers being the dirtiest players to ever walk the face of the MW2 multiplayer scene (exception given to whiteboy for his record). But those E-drops are so fun to pull off. IT’S RAINING CRATES!

2010 – Plants vs. Zombies

I initially laughed off this game. I was first exposed to it doing an internship at City of Hope National Medical Center where one of my uncles was an oncologist at the time. My fellow interns were playing and I was like, “there’s no way I’ll get into this” since they were all addicted. Then they gave it to me and I got suckered in.

I remember developing strategies and looking them up online just so I could set personal records for Survival: Endless. There were the minigames that were absolutely challenging. I have a lot of fun memories of this game. The game itself is incredibly charming for a tower defense game with the adorable designs as well as the corny, cringy puns. The Squash literally squashes zombies. The Wall-nut acts as a wall to stall zombies. The Cherry Bomb is an exploding cherry bunch. The Jalapeno is an exploding chili pepper. The Blover blows fog away.

I should also mention that I still get a laugh over owning an older version of this game that has the original design of the Dancing Zombie. It should come as no surprise as to what the inspiration was, and the estate of that inspiration apparently complained such that a redesign was necessary despite the original one being present before June 25, 2009. Funny how the almanac entry reads, “Any resemblance between Dancing Zombie and persons living or dead is purely coincidental.” Even more so, it enters the lawn moonwalking.

2010 – Call of Duty: Black Ops

Dang. This game is just so gosh darn ridiculous. From the opening of the campaign, you knew you were in for a ride as you’re strapped in an electric chair that could be use- wait… actually used to torture your player character. Yikes! There was an inherent tone with the campaign in that it indulged on its violence: overplaying it for the sake of hamming it up. What was most important, though, was that there was a sense that it knew how dumb it was.

Much like the previous title I did play the online multiplayer. There was also a time where I was routinely mowing down opponents and getting high killstreaks. But that time has since passed because I came to realize that the mechanics are super technical and that it is a massive time investment to master them. Once you are out of practice, your skills will atrophy and it will take another lifetime just to get remotely close to where you were. What doesn’t help is that god-mode players will show up to ruin everyone’s fun, which is why I don’t really touch it anymore.

Then there’s the Zombies mode. This was probably my gateway to YouTube’s video game content. I watched so many videos of channels playing the maps doing various high round challenges and solving the easter eggs, with NGTZombies being my #1 channel for Zombies content (I originally watched from the mother channel NextGenTactics before NGTZombies was formed). I gradually learned the meta from the countless videos I watched and putting it into practice, but then I eventually developed my own separate strategies to adapt to my playstyle. I’ve spent countless hours just hopping on PSN and just playing round after round with random players. It’s gotten to a point where most often I end up with the most points scored when all of us die.

This game is now a decade old and I’m starting to feel old. But damn do I still love it.

THE NUMBERS, MASON! WHAT DO THEY MEAN?!

2011 – Rock Band 3

This game allowed me to make lifelong friends, no joke.

I remember a short clip of my cousin playing Rock Band 1 and that was my first memory of the series. Then she and her sister (the same cousins whom we grew up with) got Rock Band 2 for the Wii and we played it a couple times when we’d visit. Then I got to college and I found myself playing Rock Band 3 at the video game club (officially the Game Development Club, or GDC). I went back every Saturday for Saturday Night Gaming (which all of us called “SNG” for short) just to play for a bit, and eventually, I would stay for the whole night and aid in the clean-up to store the equipment back in the office. And then I’d join the events board to help plan events. I was spending more time with the admins. We’d play Cards Against Humanity after midnight. There was also the planning for “Costume! Dance! Party!” for every Saturday night the week of Halloween where I was on ticket duty every year (starting sophomore year). The after party for that was a viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. These interactions have blossomed into relationships that have left a definite mark on me. I had friends in high school for sure, but the friends I made at GDC form a core for me and are the first group that I’d consider “close”. It’s gotten to a point where I’d attend vacations with them on occasion. I’ve also seen two of my really good friends, Spenser and Megan, get engaged and I attended the engagement party. I was slated to attend their wedding. Then the pandemic hit, and while they have since had a smaller ceremony, I do look forward to the bigger one because I’m really happy for them and wish the best for them.

As for Rock Band meta, I walked into college being able to play Guitar on Medium difficulty with a flare of Hard. By the time I graduated, I was amongst the club’s best guitarists/bassists, routinely playing Expert difficulty. Sophomore year was where I felt I got the most growth thanks to completing a streak of SNG’s with at least one FC on Expert (most often on bass). Sure, by the time junior year rolled around, the streak broke, but I was happy that it was over because it meant I could just play and have fun while still developing my skill.

We also developed our own non-written “rules”. After discovering it by accident, one of my close friends Sam (who is, by the way, the friend who showed me the video by Caldwell-Gervais) would do dolphin cries during Rock Lobster (although we did not choose the song too often because it was meant to surprise people as it did me). No one was really allowed to play TTFAF (Sam would take a break and leave the room since he hated the song). We’d also deliberately scroll over all the Green Day songs thanks to it taking up a significant chunk of our already ginormous list of songs. If we wanted to piss off Spenser, we’d play Jessie’s Girl. Spenser would also sing the “doo-doo-doo” parts in Hungry Like the Wolf at an obnoxiously high pitch during the rare occasions we’d select it. When playing Don’t Get Fooled Again, I’d do Pete Townshend’s windmill motion when strumming long notes, and then after finishing the song, I’d wave the guitar controller as if to smash it to pieces like Townshend would ACTUALLY do to most of his guitars during live performances. There was also Killing in the Name, where we’d yell, “MOTHER!!!” in a gyst to the censors present in the Rock Band series despite rapping the rest of the song uncensored.

Most importantly, though, we’d also start ending every night with Gay Bar by Electric Six, which led to the saying, “SNG goes from 7 (PM) to Gay Bar”, which would also lead to the CDP saying, “CDP (Costume! Dance! Party!) goes from 7 to Time Warp (the song from the Rocky Horror Picture Show)”. Eventually when we got BEER!! by Psychostick, and we’d incorporate as the penultimate song for every SNG.

Other traditions also spawned from things like this. There was playing Whip It by Devo and then following it up immediately by Jerk it Out by The Caesars, as Chuck, one of my other friends in the club, would mention that the order was necessary because the other way around, it’s messy (LOL). Sometimes we’d also preface the two songs with Business Time by Flight of the Conchords to really drive home the theme. Oh, how mature we were.

On the last SNG of my freshman year, the Rock Band room was unusually barren, and with just enough people to sustain a band, Spenser and I along with two others decided to just randomly play all of the hard songs with a near-failing drum set, a guitar controller for bass, and a keyboard for the guitar. All with No-Fail Mode OFF (we usually had it on so people could enjoy playing). One of the guys dubbed the playlist as “OOOOOOOOOOHIO” (the spelling could be a little off). This memory led to Sam (who was NOT present for OOOOOOOOOOHIO), Spenser, and I developing a sequel playlist “OHIO 2” for the final SNG of our senior year that was actually “do-able”. We nearly failed multiple times. I barely kept the band alive at the very end of Peace Sells. In Constant Motion, I deliberately held onto overdrive so I could save Spenser after the solo. After running to the hills, we could just laugh it all off by ending it by walking on sunshine.

Our group also had an oddball fascination with one of the available characters in the game, Moosejaw Boudreau. For whatever reason, we thought of some hair-brained idea of “cloning” him, i.e. making custom characters that look identical to Moosejaw. By the time we actually got around to doing it, we had the necessary wardrobe outfits to make it happen. First, however, we needed to create the eventual names of the new “clones”. The first was quite easy: Jawmoose. The next two, however, took a little longer. Matt, a suitemate of myself and Sam, came up with the third one: Joosemaw. Sam would come up with the final one: “Maasejow”, which he dubbed as being the “Scandinavian” cousin. Thus, we had our band of Boudreaus: Moosejaw, Jawmoose, Joosemaw, and Maasejow, the Scandinavian cousin. LOL.

Playing Rock Band every weekend led me to getting a Squier J Bass in January 2014. I knew how to play piano thanks to playing about 4 years with a tutor, then I picked up the Yangqin (Chinese Dulcimer) for seven years with another tutor. This time with the bass, I’ve been learning how to play various songs on my own. Sure, I had learned a bit of Guitar in 8th grade (which affects my playstyle as I am exclusively a pick-player), although I didn’t really know how to read anything for bass when I first picked it up. I don’t expect to compose anything, but I do wish to learn how to play a majority of the songs that I was playing those Saturday nights. I’d say I’m most proud of picking up Five Magics by Megadeth (for the most part), as it’s now my favorite metal song ever.

There’s no denying how much of an impact this game has had on my life. There’s no doubt I wouldn’t be here without it.

2012 – Musou Orochi Z

I mentioned Musou Orochi earlier and I found out on this title because it combined that game with its direct sequel and made them prettier since both were on PS2 and this was a PS3 title. I liked Musou Orochi a fair amount, but upon playing this title, I really wondered why they didn’t just release THIS game in the first place.

A major complaint I remember about Musou Orochi: Maou Sairin (Warriors Orochi 2) was the game’s absurdly short length. When I played the game’s story mode, I understood why. Even the original’s story was pretty short. This opened my eyes to Koei’s questionable marketing and pricing of its titles.

I will say, though, I played this quite a bit in college and I do enjoy it. I even devised parties to tackle the story modes. I’ll visit it on occasion since it does break up what I’m usually playing anyway.

2012 – Pokémon: Heart Gold Version/Pokémon Soul Silver Version

Because of how much Gen II Pokémon had an impact on me, I knew I had to pick up the remakes when they were announced.

It’s safe to say that I really enjoyed them and find them to be the best remakes that I have played. I did eventually get to Fire Red and Leaf Green on emulator and find them to be competent, these ones just mean a little more to me.

The new takes on the tracks are stunning. The main Kanto route theme sounds so bright. The contrast between Ecruteak and Cianwood’s themes is fascinating even though they were the same in the original games. Then there’s the new track that plays when the Kimono Girls summon the legendary birds. SO. F***ING. GOOD.

Gameplay wise they also cleaned up the speed even more from Platinum (which I played on emulator). To me, this was peak Gen IV. Battles were also engaging and offered a fair challenge. Additionally, because of its status as a remake, old battles now had a new take and I had an appreciation for it.

Overall, just really solid stuff here.

2014 – Metroid Prime

I still find it crazy that it took until senior year of college for me to play this legendary title.

Because my suitemates all brought various consoles and games, I found this game in that stash of sorts and I decided to just pick this up because I remember seeing the title. Sam, who was among my suitemates, urged me to play it. Slowly but surely I began to play through the game and on occasion Sam would watch. In the opening sequence on the Space Pirate frigate, I accidentally backed myself into an elevator I just rode trying to lock onto a missile turret (I hated those things) that just landed a hit on me and Sam laughed his head off.

Needless to say, I found the experience to be incredibly immersive. There’s very little plot that’s just shoved in your face, rather the exploration of the game’s areas leads you to hints of what’s actually going on. This is very much a “throw the player in with next-to-nothing and see them figure it out”. I actually find that to be a charming aspect of this game. Usually I like a lot of plot-driven games, but there isn’t a lot in actuality with Metroid Prime, and it makes for quite the unique adventures.

The game’s mechanics took a little getting used to but I figured them out eventually. There was also a gradual challenge that I appreciated. With every new tool, a newer foe would come along for you to test it on. The bosses were also incredibly challenging, such that aside from the Parasite Queen intro boss, it always took me three tries to win. Omega Pirate stands out to me because most often I’d get frustrated with losing a boss fight, but with this one I found a lot of fun even while failing. Funnily enough, that rule-of-thumb for three tries on every boss largely stood true when I played Zero Mission the summer after I graduated from college (the exceptions being Ridley, whom I one-shot, and Mecha Ridley, whom it took five or six tries).

The game’s score blew me away. I found the music for Magmoor Caverns to be deep, dark, and intense to match the mood of the area. The music for Phendrana Drifts is nice and cool while its variation in Phendrana Depths is my preferred one. Then there’s the crashed space frigate. I remember going through the area and coming to recognize it was the introductory area, just underwater, but once the music started playing, I was hooked. I still love listening to this track on occasion and just allow my mind to blank. It’s so soothing and calming to the soul.

If I could ever play this title again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.