PixlBit

Well this was when the Internet was in its infancy, and finding release dates and ratings and other info on games was harder to look up.  So I often called or went in to that store to find out information for the first couple of years of reviewing games for the newspaper.  One employee at EB Games in particular was very helpful to me.  Of course, my friends always teased me and said I had a crush on her, but I'll plead the fifth on that one.  But regardless, she was very helpful.

Whew, well at least you played Pac-Man.

Well these collections had about 9 arcade games each, and the rest were 2600 titles.

Yeah I don't think many games on the 2600 have held up well.  Except Activision's 2600 games.  Many of those are still fun.  My favorite is Pressure Cooker.

No Pac-Man?

Planet Robobot was great, but I actually liked Triple Deluxe slighty more.

I loved the A Boy and His Blob remake.  The ending was awesome!  I've met David Crane, the creator of the original game (and Pitfall), twice.

I've been to lots of video game concerts.  Some played a variety of game songs, like Video Games Live, while others focused on one game series, like Final Fantasy or Zelda.  I loved it when they recreated the opera scene from FF6 at one concert.  That was a dream come true!

When the first Phoenix Wright game came out, I didn't think I would like it.  I mean, how fun could a game about being a lawyer actually be?  But when I heard the game was getting rare, I went out and bought it and gave it a try.  And I've been hooked ever since.  In fact, the Phoenix Wright series is my favorite game series on the old DS.

Another game I didn't think I would like as much as I did was SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash on the NEO GEO Pocket Color.  I ended up liking that game more than Pokemon!

Well I bet I've probably played as many games as you.  But then, I've been reviewing games for more than 20 years and have been playing them since I can remember.

I don't put games on 'hard' difficulty, as I don't have time for that kind of frustration.  I don't know if you would call me good at video games.  I certainly won't be winning any fighting game tournaments or FPS deathmatches.  But there are many games that I can hold my own at.  Like for instance, I bet you can't beat me at Super Pac-Man!

I think one thing I am good at is figuring out and catching on to a game and getting the hang of it pretty quickly.  There have been lots of times where I'm demoing a game at a convention like E3 or PAX, and the PR professional showing me the game gets surprised on how fast I catch on to whatever game they're showing me.  It even happened a few times at the PAX South I went to a couple of weeks ago.  When they ask what my secret is, I just tell them it's years of experience.

Well I was in college in Austin from 1995 to 1999, so maybe I did go to that store when I lived there.  I don't remember the name of the mall it was in.  I do know I went to EB Games a lot in a mall in Austin as well.  There was one employee there who was very nice and was really hepful to me in my first couple of years of being a game reviewer.  So thank you, Tess, wherever you are....