Im not the kind of gamer that has a whole heck of a lot of brand loyalty. I have a lot of systems and games, and within my collection I have a bunch of series from a slew of developers. BUT I have never based my preference on anything else other then my enjoyment of the game. But recently I have notice that many of the games that I loved when I was younger and some games I enjoy that are coming out today have come from the same source, Konami. It surprised me that I have become a loyal customer of one gaming company without really even knowing it. SO without further hot wind from me, here is my top 5 list of Konami games.

5) Rocket Knight Adventures (GEN)- I played this on the Genesis as a kid, over and over again. I loved it. I didn't realize that it was popular enough to become a downloadable game, but alas, Rocket Knight is out there again (I think just on Xbox360). So I dusted off the 16 bit game and have started playing this bad boy once more. If you haven't played it here are the basics- you're a possum with a jetpack and a sword. Your objective; kill pigs.Pretty great game, sequel is called Sparkster also good. Educate yourself.

4) Castlevania(NES)- Just a classic. If you had an NES you probably played this. It's a great game, great imagery and music. Takes all the classic horror movie motifs and wraps them up in brutal 8-bit goodness. This is one of Konami earliest and best games. It was even released as an NES CLASSIC on the Gameboy Advance. Hard as the hell, no pun intended. Get it and sit down, strap in and beat this sucka.

3) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES)- If you had a Super Nintendo and you didn't play this game consider yourself an abused child. This was (and still is) a fantastic title. Arcade style beat'em up. I still play though this with the same buddy that I played it with over 10 years ago. Call it nostalgia, but I can't say anything bad about this game, for what it is, it is the best.

2) Tiny Toon Adventures: Busters Hidden Treasure (GEN)- This was my favorite game as a kid. I think it falls below the radar a bit. Not a "ground breaking" game. There is a lot of copying the game does from other franchises (Mario and the like) but it hit home with me as a youngster. I still play it and think it's a great game. If you watched the cartoon and you have a genesis, go on eBay and buy a copy of this unknown gem for around 5 bills. IT ROCKS.

1) Metal Gear Solid (GC,PS1,PS2,PS3) – I have to lump the entire series together because to me they represent equal parts of a great series. This is possibly my favorite set of video games ever, and arguably one of the best series ever to be brought to any console. Lets go down the line…MSG, Classic. MSG2, well, a lot of gamers give MGS2 a bad rap, but "come-on", it re-defined the line between gaming and cinematic experience. I still play it today. Twin Snakes on GC, was a great way to relive the PS1 Classic. MSG 3, expanded the MSG story with the intro of Big Boss, and continued using the great game play and story telling that had become indicative of the series. MGS4 was just supreme. THE BEST! (if you're into that kind of thing)…(I left out the MXS stuff because I never played, the NES games were not really MG, and Portable ops and Peace Maker, are good, but not great)

My 2 cents

Stan

My nice new (well, slightly used) X box 360 got a 3 light error. Major bummer. SO now I have to send it back to the jokers that sold it to me, so they canfix it. Man this sticks, I was going to start playing Alan Wake!...irony 101, I have a NES thats 25+ years old and it still plays games.

My PS3 broke…Which is a bummer, but it was an older 40gig and I wanted to pick up the metal gear solid limited version anyway HA. BUT I did pick myself up an Xbox 360 and a copy of Halo 3 and Fable 2 and I must say that the system is impressive. Not because of the graphics or controls, but because its just a fun system to play with. I know, I'm gushing. But for someone who used there PS3 mainly as a DVD player because I typically only play older game consoles its surprising to be surprised by a newer system. I don't want to say that I was anti-Xbox, because I was not, but PS3 was definitely my first choice, Now I must say that I like them both in different ways (sort of in the way I like Genesis and SNES in different ways). It might be in my head but I believe that games on the Xbox seem a little brighter. Ah well….game on!

Today I was playing The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS, not a bad diddy. Its a fun game with fun graphics, fun dialog. BUT I feel that all this "fun" stuff, although entertaining, is taking us away from the greatest Zelda games that have come out. Don't get me wrong I don't want to return my copies of Hourglass or spirit tracks, they are great games. BUT when will the seriousness of the best Zelda games show up on the DS? I know that this dead horse has been beaten to death but I am going to pick up the stick anyway. there are so many threads around the Internet about a Nintendo creating Ocarina of Time for the DS; these are of coarse rumors, but WHY?! I did backflips when they released the origanal Zelda games on the Gameboy Advance. You pay for games right? ME TOO. Would you buy OOT for the DS....I know I would. OK lets say they don't port to the DS (which they won't). Why not create a more Epic game for the DS? I want a more serious adventure at my figure tips. Dead horse pummeled.

Hey You, At this point I am typing to no one, but you need to start somewhere, and I suppose this is my starting point on this website. My name is Stan. I am actually a Hockey blogger and insider (no joke), I tend to link my posts through Facebook and on that page I deliver hockey facts and videos. The truth is I love the sport and I love to write about it....SOOO why get on GameSpot? Well the answers is simple, I love video games too; that and I can only write about hockey for so much of the year. I am a big gamer, mostly "vintage" stuff, but a bunch of the newer games. My hope is that I can deliver to you my take on my favorite old games and my thoughts on some of the new titles. Check me out here and if you're into hockey Friend me on face book (Stan Lords), join me and over 1000 other hockey fans in some constructive arguing. (shameless plug, sorry there will be no more of that) Cheers Stan