Nov 2008

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When I started on my 12-year journey on the Singapore education train in primary school, I was your typical bookworm. I mugged everyday, I scored well in exams, and needless to say I had a nerdy haircut. If you know me, go dig up an old photo of me and you will shocked by the big difference now.

But inside that 8, 9 year old nerd was a playful boy. I remember when Funan the IT Mall still had LAN shops, I would stand outside and peer into the glass window, watching teenagers killing one another in CounterStrike. I wanted to join them, I wanted to be a gun-totting counter-terrorist hero as well. But I was brought up in a strict family whose parents successfully barred their son from owning video games for at least 4 years. So my childhood consisted of playing tag in school and toy cars at home, while most of my friends were rearing Pokemons on their Gameboys and knew what “B-4-2″ meant.

My first game was in Primary 5 and I still remember it clearly, partly because of the tragic way the disc was broken by my Dad ( I won’t tell you the reason why ). Force 21 was a game by Redstorm Entertainment ( now under Ubisoft ) which puts the player in control of a small army of military vehicles, either American or Chinese, and defeat the enemy. It’s pretty much like a third-person shooter but you control a vehicle instead of a character. It was this moment that I lost my gaming virginity.

Fast forward 7 years and I’ve arrived at the final destination on the education train, well sort of since I’ve still got University to worry about but that’s in another 2 years’ time. I’m finally free from lecture notes and tutorials and tests, but having waited so long for this moment, I just can’t appreciate my newfound freedom more than the usual short breaks I had in the past. I feel kind of weird – without school it seems like I have lost a certain sense of direction in my life.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve always been playing games, sometimes even when I shouldn’t be doing so. However this time there’s no unfinished homework or upcoming tests to haunt me. This time I can safely play knowing that my parents won’t even nag at me about wasting my holiday. ( Actually they still are ’cause they want me to find a job, which i am! ) So in order to make my gaming experience more fruitful, I’ve set up this blog not only to share with you the joys and pains of gaming, but also help you make a well-informed purchasing decision based on a gamer’s point of view.

Many reviews these days aren’t reliable anymore since reviewers are being courted by game publishers to give high scores. I’m not saying that you can’t trust such reviews anymore – I’m just advising you to take whatever you read with a pinch of salt. I just aim to give a more honest second opinion because like you, I feel the pinch of forking out money to pay for games, while game journalists out there get their copies for free. Games these days are not cheap, averaging at least $60 for a PC game ( gone are those days when a PC game cost less than $40 ) and to be letdown by mediocre gameplay and graphics etc is a feeling which definitely sucks.

This is only the beginning of something great, and as we are nearing the end of November there’s only so much I can say for now. Hopefully my long-awaited Xbox 360 and a copy of Endwar will arrive early next month so that I really commence my gaming and review spree. In the meantime do check out some reviews of awesome food here as I spend my time waiting for the 360..erm..eating! I’m always up for company so feel free to organize a makan session and recommend me your favourite eatery!

Till we meet again in December!

mortifiedpenguin