first (last?) post

Just acknowledged my age and joined the forum here at 2old2play. Been looking for a group of individuals whose reasons for playing videogames (online at any rate) mirror those of my own. Well....you look good onscreen anyhow and I hope not to find too many hidden arseholes who play far too much Halo and speak about getting their next achievement point like its the be all and end all of their sad little lives.

My worst experience of xbox live was a game of Halo 2. I have never been back since. An American got me so angry I actually swore down my microphone and realised then that I had lost all pretence of dignity. I realised that this was not playing. This was not fun. This was, simply, shit.

I loved Halo. It was the game that revealed what videogaming could be about. I couldn't wait for the next stage, the next scene, the next world to unfold. That's always been my main reason for playing games. Much like a child at Disneyworld, its the hyper-realism, the RGB colours, the mad inventive worlds and the constant excitement of wanting to find out what's around the next corner. Its not about finishing games even - I've only finished two games in my relatively short gaming life. One was Halo.

I reckon the growth of the multiplayer and the stress many put upon it as the "future" of gaming has led many of us to forget the simple pleasures of simply playing and exploring. I have spent many a session of multiplayer wishing I was fishing in Animal Crossing or exploring in Splinter Cell....and usually it was because the people I was playing with were too concerned about being good than having fun.

That said, I have had some of the best times with a few good mates playing co-op Summit Strike or Six. Usually with a few beers in me and while we all laugh like hyenas when one of us - once again - blows the head off a teammate (and not always by accident).