A Bit of Bugs: Worms Armageddon

Despite the fact that the principle and play of this game was pretty basic, it still merits a mention as one of the better "old school" games in the memories of myself and fellow players. You could play it as a single player campaign, single player "deathmatch" mode (which essentially was a challenge against the computer, or as a local or online multiplayer. Because of that I think that this game was (and still is) especially versatile in the grand scheme of gaming.

A Bit of Space: Phantasy Star Online

The Phantasy Star Online series was one of my first introductions to the genre of MMORPG, and it's strange to think that it was released over a decade ago. I remember watching my boyfriend at the time play and being curious about how the whole thing worked, and then once I started playing on my own being so sucked in to the plot, world, and playing online with others that I couldn't stop. PSO was integral to my life as a gamer, and I'm sure many others. After the break you, too, can check out my musings on this awesome series, and partake in the happy remembrance yourself.

A Bit of Marvel: Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer has been claimed, by many, to have been one of the more difficult releases for NES. This is primarily because the main character, Silver Surfer from Marvel Comics, was squishy as all get out and would die after a single hit, no matter what the enemy he was facing. While this may have been frustrating for many players, it was the g-dang NES—I don't really know what you guys were expecting. Also, it is apparently now retailing for close to $125, which obviously speaks to its stellar quality. :]

A Bit of ANNIVERSARY: Doom

For those of you not in the know, recently the 20th anniversary of the release of Doom happened. Doom has a large hand to play in the growth of video game culture: it started as shareware, essentially founded the First Person Shooter genre, and successfully started a multiplayer system. While it has been followed up by two additional games (Doom 2 and 3), Doom was the original and, in my eyes at least, the best. You know what, don't even let my review skew your perception of the game if you haven't played it yet. Go check it out here. For those of you that have played it and want some of that good nostalgia, or for those who prefer to have their games SPOILED check after the break.

A Bit of Crossover: Learning to play Magic the Gathering

For a long time I have wanted to learn how to play Magic. In grade school, the only kids that played it were some of the nerdier boys and when I tried to ask them to explain it to me they never really wanted to. Instead, I joined up with local Pokemon leagues, and spent my weekends playing the Pokemon trading card game with my sisters, friends, and competitors at our local comic book store The Annex.

A Bit of Link: First Impressions of A Link Between Worlds

Jerry bought me both Pokemon Y and A Link Between Worlds for my birthday this year and that means he gets husband of the year award. Couple that with Walt's awesome gift of a sweet wireless gaming headset and I am fully kitted out (expect for a mouse, which I somehow kill with the frequency that most people kill their rodent namesakes). While I haven't yet gotten through Pokemon Y, and what I have has been pretty similar to Pokemon X but with different Pokemon, Link Between Worlds is a great refreshment from the other more recent Zelda games (like Windwaker). Here are some of my first impressions:

A Bit of Courage: Why I Want to Become a Streamed Gamer

The other day after tagging a post on Twitter about my blog, I decided that I wanted to see who else out there was using the hashtag #GirlGamer. I figured, if anything, I could find some new blogs to read and new women with similar interests to myself to talk to. Instead what I found was a plethora of Twitch streams with petitions against them to be banned for inappropriate content. Now, I am no stranger to the almost naked female form in gaming, nor am I someone who is really bothered by it, but this took it to a whole new level.