The Tops

I love video games. I always have, from the time my sister first handed me the controller and let me take charge of Mario the Plumber.... those mushrooms and duck shells were awesome. Not having money to throw around when I was little, my experience with gaming was little to none... until I started dating my husband. He introduced me to the finer points of Microsoft's monster machine and I was hooked.

Here are my all-time-favorite games:

Halo (pick one): The reason I love this game? Pure nostalgia. It was the first game I truly cared about, talked about, knew the specs about. Master Chief is one of the greatest characters in video game history. My husband still beats me just about every time, on any map, but it's fun anyway.
A great memory? My college roommate Alyse and I, sitting for hours on the couch, playing co-op Halo and singing Elton John/Tim Rice's "Aida" soundtrack at the top of our lungs.

Elder Scolls (pick one): It's just so damn epic! Especially with the latest installment, Oblivion, the power to just walk or swim anywhere is unbelievably awesome. The map is gigantic and it truly is a world of its own. One of those games where you pick up the controller in the morning and then, you blink a few times and realize that it's 10:00 at night.
A great memory? Morrowind is the first game I ever played on Xbox. I was utterly fascinated at the "life" Blake had fashioned for his main character, the houses, the friends, it was unreal.

COD (pick one): I *heart* this franchise. It's one of the pinnacles of first person shooters. I now know weaponry of WWII from these games. And don't even get me started on COD4: Modern Warfare! I almost wet myself the first time I played that. Just kidding. It was exciting, though.
A great memory? "Death From Above" where you're manning the AC-130 ... aaammmmaaazing. That is one of my favorite video game missions ever!

Bioshock: Not only were the mechanics wonderful, but the city of Rapture in all its faded, creepy, art-deco glory was breathtaking... and did I mention creepy? It was truly a new concept, which is something that's hard to come by nowadays in gaming.
A great memory? Well, not so great memory. I know Bioshock isn't a horror game, but my nerves would be absolutely frayed after I played because the Big Daddies and Splicers freaked me out.

Fable 2: The first Fable was the very definition of "orgasmic letdown." The second one? Made up for it in freakin' spades!!!! I mean, come on, that pet dog was adorable. The way your character's physical appearance matched whether you did good or evil? I loved it.

Runners Up:
Assassin's Creed: SO innovative. Can't wait to see more.
GTA 4: Loved the story-line, but could do without the b*tches and ho's mentality
Mass Effect: Kind of weak in a few points, but a really awesome indication of where RPG's are going. The amount of side-quests and planets to discover is stunning.
Guitar Hero (pick one): mind-numbing, finger-numbing fun
Duck Hunt: To think, that little plastic red gun and pixelated ducks used to be classified as "video game violence"