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Many things get stirred into the pot that make a person who they are. And when I began thinking about the constants that have made me smile throughout my years I was reminded of that which has spiced up my spirits and seasoned my soul - Computer gaming - I love it, I really do. But to be clear I'm not an addict, I don't play to be competitive, I'm not socially inept, it's never been about status, I work full time, I'm not violent, I don't often get the munchies and I moved out of my folks a long time ago.

Quite simply, I really enjoy playing computer games. They make me smile :)

Now there have been quite a few gaming platforms in my life over years, I never had them all, just the ones I really wanted, and below I have listed each platform in the order I owned them with (after much thought and internal arguments) my favorite games on each.

Intellivision

The first console in the home I can remember, I must have been about 5

Game of note:

Sorry no name, but it came with a beautiful fold out map to make up for the fact that the graphics were so basic, all I remember is that the main character was green and he had a sword with which you fought skeletons - Awesome

Commodore 64

From memory, my Dad really enjoyed playing Ghost n Goblins in the arcade, when he saw you could play it on a C64 he bought one there and then. We went home set it up together and played for hours - My passion for games was born with this console. Commodore 64 Mk2 When my Mk1 finally gave out after years of servitude I couldn't see anything on the market that I wanted, yes SEGA & Nintendo were on the market but I wasn't interested... yes I was an odd boy, so I went in for round 2

Games of note:

(This list could go on, I had a C64 for over 8 years. 8 happy tape loading years, so here are a few of the titles that took up much of my time)

Gauntlet - Father like son, I played this game in the arcade and was blown away. As soon as a port to C64 was out, I played it on and off for years, thinking of it still makes me smile.

Turrican 1&2

Daley Thompsons Decathlonn- Probably the only time the whole family played on the C64 together

Californian games

Creatures 1&2 - Best looking C64 platform games made

Son of Blagger

Myth

International Karate+

Barbarian

Spy vs Spy

Rick dangerous

Atari Lynx

A true Lynx fanboy, I loved everything about this console even though Gameboy walked all over it in terms of sales, the hardware was ace and could out perform any other 8bit console on the market at the time and it was a handheld!

Games of note:

Gates of Zendicon - A basic side scrolling shooter that I still play, looks great, sounds wicked, organic looking and very rewarding

Zybots - A true arcade port, the closest thing to 3D gaming at the time, and again, the music was toe tapping stuff

Dracula he undead - Rubbish name but a great atmospheric point and click role-playing game

Amiga 1200

The first (and only) thing I bought with my first ever paycheck! Happy happy days, commodore at it's finest. I was so sad when they folded :(

Games of Note:

Flashback

Alien breed series

Worms - The Directors cut

Cannon fodder - War has never been so much fun

Settlers

Chaos engine

Another world - Such a great looking game, very cinematic indeed

Monkey island series - needs no introduction

Lure of the temptress

Mega drive with Mega CD

Bought this on a whim, I was in a shop that had a clearance sale and the price was so low! It never got my full attention, but I had some fun with it.

Games of note:

Mickey Mania - Favorite Mega CD game, ticked all the box's, Disney's finest for sure

Ren & Stimpy

Earthworm Jim

Aladdin

Playstation

A new boy on the market and what a mighty fine console it was too. It still amazes me what they managed to squeeze out of the little grey box

Games of note:

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - Every knows Lara Croft. But did you know she was originally called Laura Croft? Until Eidos discovered that many Americans couldn'y pronounce Laura - lol

Buggy - the best soundtrack!

Final fantasy VIII - For when playing through crappy graphics to see jaw dropping cut scenes seemed important :)

Nightmare Creatures

Driver 2 - Me and Mike, hours of fun

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - I lost myself in this game, it was like playing the main character from a greek tragedy that happen to be a scorned dead undead vampire... you need to play this game - fact

Resident Evil series - Hours of life lost, yes it was totally worth it

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus - So cute yet taxingly difficult game

Gameboy Pocket

Another buy on a whim whilst on holiday in Tunisia

Only had one game cartridge best game on it was Super Mario Bros 2 - Not as good a my Lynx

Powermac 9600

Not a true gaming platform, but still managed to steal days of my life with gaming

Game of note:

Diablo 2 + Lord of destruction - a cross mac, pc online gaming environment which meant Darren and I could go quest for better weapons in repetitive but oh so fun dungeon crawls

Nintendo 64

Whilst everyone was going Playstation 2 I got an N64 just before they stopped selling em. Totally made the right choice

Games of note:

Golden Eye - Of course

Perfect Dark - The unofficial sequel to Rare's Golden eye (N64 cult classic) No bond this time and set in the future, this FPS had atmosphere, charm and a story line you wanted to explore - Great stuff

Conkers Bad Fur Day - Another offering from Rare, this time featuring a foul mouthed hungover red squirrel, lots of laugh out loud comedy with some of the best film parodies in gaming history

Powermac G4

Again not a traditional gaming platform I know, but there where some great games

Games of note:

Deus Ex - a great looking game that made you think hard when you leveled up. There were so many ways to improve your character but you couldn't do them all

Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption - A great games where you play a righteous vampire - what could be better?

xbox

Still nothing had come out to challenge the PS2, until Microsoft announced its game child. Sporting a silly name and hiding inside a big black box - console gaming had never been to social. With many games supporting system link, console lan parties became common place and much beer & pizza was consumed

Games of note:

Halo - Just what we had all been waiting for - absolute fun game

Project Zero - there were quite a few survival horror games out there but this was positively the best nightmare inducing, don't play on your own game around. I loved it.

Psychonauts - one of the last games made for xbox and it is one of the best polished games I have ever played.

Second sight

Hitman - I so want them to make another one of these

Starwars: Knights of the old republic

GTA series - needs no introduction

Elderscrolls Morrowind - WOW what an amazing game, I can't believe they managed this on an xbox, weeks lost to a single game, I still dig this out from time to time

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

Rainbow six 3

Nokia Ngage QD

Yes it was rubbish, but I still love this phone, it was so versatile and strangely cute

Games of note:

The Elderscrolls travels: Shadowkey

Pathway to Glory

Tomb Raider

xbox 360

My current gaming platform of choice, still loving games that come out on this platform and I'm very curious as to what the future holds

Games of note:

Elderscrolls Oblivion - I'm so happy they stuck with console releases, this game demands exploration and totally sucks you in to it's beautiful fantasy environments

Fallout 3 - From the makers of Oblivion, it's much the same principle but set in a future with some neat game dynamic changes. A must have.

Rainbow six Vegas 2 - A great game with awesome multiplayer components. Terrorist hunt kicks arse

Bioshock - more atmosphere inducing than the devil letting out a hearty laugh. A game to love

Condemned - one of the earliest xbox 360 releases and still a favorite, was so nasty in places I found myself turning away from the screen :)

Gameboy Micro

Yet another whim, buts its just so dam pretty!

Games of note:

Can't think of any - lol - did I mention it was pretty?

PSP

The timing of this purchase was bad, it's a great console which I would have used a LOT more if I hadn't got an iPhone

Games of note:

Dungeons and dragons: Tactics - need I say more?

Hot Pixel - A collection of the most random games, true genius made my a mad man

iPhone

A legacy from my Apple Store days, the good old iPhone - how do people manage without them?

Games of note:

Pocket God - continually added to, this sweet little games only purpose is to amuse you and it works every time

Stick wars - a real sucker for anything stick men related, I was positively surprised when this turned out to a great little game

Top Gun - Who can resist those classic 80's tunes, oh and there's planes to blow up too

iFighter - the closest thing to playing 1942 on a phone, that is certainly a very good thing

And so many apps that are not really games but insist upon your attention and love to make you smile :)

I would just like to thank all my gaming devices for entertaining me all these years, may some things never changes !

Out of curiosity what is/was your favorite gaming platform? I would have to say mine was the C64

Thanks for reading