What Gaming Christmas Means To Me

Merry Christmas everyone. As we prepare to see our families this year, in-person or virtually, we reflect on the year or years that have passed and memories flood in with great discussions at the dinner table, family we have not seen in a long time, and of course the gifts left under the Christmas Tree for us to unwrap that morning, or on Christmas Eve depending on your culture. As I get ready to open all my gifts tomorrow, I wanted to reflect on the best gaming presents I received over my 3 decades of video game history.

December 1999. 

I remember Crash Bandicoot 3 being one of the main games I played throughout the year after releasing in 1998. My Playstation was on every day with Crash, WWF Attitude, and many more games. But there was that itch missing. I had never owned a Nintendo console up to this point, with my only other console being  a Sega Genesis. That all changed that Christmas when, to my surprise, I became the meme that I am sure everyone else was.

When that Clear Green Nintendo 64 showed up underneath the wrapping with one of my favorite platformers of all time in Donkey Kong 64, I was ecstatic. When I was a kid, it felt like Donkey Kong 64 had infinite replay value because of that “Just One More” condition that all collect-a-thons had. All the Golden Bananas, power-ups, levels, characters, smaller bananas, weapons were all over the place and man it was just a rush to perfect each world map to the fullest. Also that DK Rap at the beginning of the game was the stuff of legend, and still is to this day. 

Everyone was Green with envy for this!

December 2001

The next generation of consoles, at the time, dropped into stores throughout 2000 and 2001. Playstation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube hit the market and it felt like the future was now. New technologies distinct to each console were the biggest things in gaming, pushing how we played and experienced games at the time. 

Well, also at the time, money was a definite issue for me and the family so the price of a console going into the holidays was also important. So $200 for one of the best consoles for multi-player was a no-brainer. The Nintendo Gamecube was my intro to this generation of consoles and one of its best games was my first: Super Smash Bros Melee!!!

So glad this never happened to me in a game…..ever!

Unlocking characters, trophies, awards, and everything else in this game was a dream. So much content was loaded into this game, which took the formula of Smash 64 and made it so fluid and concise. To this day, even with the large cast and refined mechanics of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, competitors still crave Melee at tournaments and conventions all around the world. When you hear the immortal words “No Items, Fox Only, Final Destination” you know you have made a larger impact across the gaming and internet space.

Nintendo really defined my Christmas years when I was younger and their amazing first-party titles always hit big, so much so that looking at some of the most requested gifts over the last few years, Nintendo Switches and their first-party games, especially Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, always lead the sales charts. The Big N are amazing at releasing highly sought after titles each year, especially as the holidays approach and 2021 is no different, with Metroid Dread and Mario Party Superstars leading the way. 

Enjoy your holiday season this year. Let me know what you plan to pick up or do end up getting for Christmas in the comments below.

#JUSTICEFORRATCHET

 One week ago, on December 9th, 2021, The Game Awards went live to give out their best-of awards to the world of gaming and to show recognition to the accomplishments of the industry at large. While the show was 75% commercials and announcements, dampening the experience that was meant to highlight the best of gaming in 2021 and instead make it E3 2.0, it was still a decent show overall. However, Ya Boy Ed has a major gripe with the awards show overall. One of the top 3 games of 2021 got no love whatsoever from the fans or critics on the selection committee and that was Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

Ratchet is upset looking for his awards and found none.

Game of the Year - It Takes Two Won

Best Game Direction - Deathloop Won

Best Art Direction - Deathloop Won

Best Audio Design - Forza Horizon 5 Won

Innovation in Accessibility - Forza Horizon 5 Won

Best Action/Adventure - Metroid Dread Won

So, you mean to tell me that out of these 6 awards, Ratchet and Clank was not the best game in one of them? Well, let's summarize each category and make the case for Ratchet and Clank winning.

There is an argument that Rift Apart should not win Best Action/Adventure because it was just another Ratchet and Clank game. Well, Metroid Dread, while a great game, technically is another Metroid game if you want to get specific about it. 

It is hard to argue one side or the other on Innovation so I will give Forza and the other nominees credit for bringing gaming to the larger masses. However, crediting Forza for their car sound effects does not seem worthy to be the best in Audio Design overall for the year. Ratchet and Clank's 3D audio, especially when using the new Pulse Headset, gave the unique sounds throughout the game an even more immersive feel as well. 

I am very appreciative of a game using a retro-style art like Deathloop did, which gave it the win, but when did we go back to a world where shooters relying on shades of brown are back in style. This is not Gears of War again, right? Ratchet and Clank used nearly all of the 256-color palette and then some to make each planet you visit in the game and each character pop out, especially when visiting the first neo-futuristic planet. Also, switching between each art palette in an instant using the power of the console is a plus.

Well, who would have thought people screaming with guns could be great art and creativity?

This will be the hardest, as Best Game Direction is defined as "Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design" and I believe Ratchet and Clank meets the winning criteria. An amazing story told through the eyes of two dimensional-counterpart Lombaxes looking to fix the dimensional vortex while also learning about their place in the universe through self-doubt and life-altering, even life-questioning, events. That's not even covering the amazing design of the rift hopping, which uses the power of the hardware to its limit with seamless terrain changes throughout the game at lightning speed without any stutter in the gameplay. Based on what you see here, does this sound more appealing than a game about shooting enemies in an infinite time loop?

With all of these pieces in place, it can only be fitting that Ratchet and Clank should have been 2021's Game of the Year at The Game Awards. While there are still multiple awards up for grabs, like individual press outlets and large panels like DICE and SXSW still undecided, the biggest injustice happened here and until the ball drops to ring in 2022, #justiceforratchet will be on my mind throughout this month.

Wait, IGN just gave their Game of the Year award to Forza Horizon 5?? Well, that's a whole different injustice altogether.

Welcome to Gamerdelphia!

Hello all and welcome to Gamerdelphia. 

Ya Boy Ed will guide you through the many stops in our wonderful gaming city. 

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