Wow it's been almost 6 months since the last blog. I'd do it more regularly but I play too many games for that. :)
And I haven't really posted all the stuff I promised in the first one. I might some day though.
In the meanwhile, I've been wanting to post some answers to a couple of the questions I've received from other users here, maybe shed some light on things. Fair warning: I get preachy, so brace yourself. If you find my answers upsetting, deal with it.
Q: How do you own so many games?!
A: I own about 1000 games, some of which aren't listed on gamespot I'm afraid. I started buying in the late 80's, when they were comparatively cheaper (sometimes much cheaper). If you do the maths it turns out I've spent somewhere around $15,000 (in today's currently). Over a period of around twenty five years, that really doesn't make an awful lot of money to spend on a beloved hobby (comes out to about $600 a year). Just think about how many people blow twice as much on heroin or cocaine or even cigarettes. Or, yeah, beer and cars for the mild-mannered.
Q: Why do you only own PC games?
A: A quick look at the list will show that I favour adventures, classic role playing games and strategy games. For the majority of their existence, these games were often designed primarily for the PC. I've never been a major fan of platformers and shooters, so buying a console was really just a waste of money as far as I was concerned. Plus, in the "olden" days (which weren't so long ago), any game that came out on consoles first was eventually ported to the PC if it was any good, so I was sure to encounter them at one point or another. I believe that's still true today, despite the massive hype around consoles. I have yet to find myself moaning that a game I really wanted to play was not available on the PC. So yeah, I never really had a reason to buy a console.
I did have a Game Gear at some point though. Played it with a non-compatible AC adapter which had to be taped to the device to keep it running. Eventually the screen gave out, and that was pretty much the end of my relationship with the non-PC culture.
Q: Why do you rate so many games with "9.5" and "9.0"? Surely you're exaggerating.
A: This is a much more complex question, so I'll break it into several parts.
1) I only bought games I thought I'd like, or heard were really good. Fortunately I had/have many friends who played PC games and whose opinions I respected. In addition, during the 90's I was subscribed to a local games magazine which gave very good reviews and suggestions about which games to buy, so it was easy to figure out what I wanted to buy next. The result is that I like the vast majority of the games I own, and I'm not just saying that because I had to pay for them :P . There are quite a few bad apples, of course... Sad waste of money.
2) The vast majority of games on my list were made during the 90's, when there were tons of very good games around. Sure, there was tons of crap out there (although not as much as today), but it mostly flooded the console market, not the PC market, so I never really had to deal with low-quality clones clogging up my collection. Very little "trial-and-error" consumerism was required. Also you need to remember that the vast majority of clones belong to the action/platformer genre because that's just simpler to make. I almost never play either of those genres - unless I hear very good reviewsabout them, in which case they're probably the good ones. Call of Duty 4 is a good example of a successful foray into first-person-shooter territory - which I don't regret one bit.
3) I try to judge games in the context of the time they were released; in fact I think any good reviewer who talks about older games should do the same thing, otherwise he's applying an unfair bias. Some of the games on my list look downright ugly compared to the multi-million dollar stuff that we've got nowadays, but is nonetheless superior in gameplay or story or plain fun to the masses of repetitive games on shelves today. Games that stand out, are interesting and fun, and especially those that have yet to be matched in their own genre get high scores. Music and atmosphere go a long way with me, too. If while rating a game I think "oh man I'm so going to replay that right now", that's super bonus points right there.
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So that's my answers to Frequently Asked Questions. You can comment if you like, even if you disagree. Try to keep the flaming to a minimum. PC enthusiasts are urged to voice their own opinions/experiences with all the above.