- Pronouns
- She/Her
I personally think that no era has been quite like the early 00's. Between the infamous "PS360Wii" era, with its shiny HD graphics, online gaming, indie revolution and plastic accessories, and the genre-defining revolution of 3D, we have this funky inbetweener that hummed and vibrated with a unique kind of energy.
We had Sony at the top of the world, and all that came with it in the form of the shovelests of shovelware, but also the hottest of hits. Tekken brought the punches, Gran Turismo brought the wheels, and Kojima brought the hype. We had Nintendo and their pink cube, kiddie-stamped by the public, yet with their own brand of offbeat, unique games, some considered masterful today. And last but not least, there was the one-two punch of Sega exiting consoles, (?) and Microsoft entering the console business. (?!) Who would've thought? But the shiny green Xbox brought a killer app no one saw coming in Halo: Combat Evolved.
This was the true advent of the internet after its modem infancy, and the proper dawn of forums. Grand Theft Auto wasn't a 100 million seller, but a cause of moral panic. "Indie" was a music genre. It was a special time. One that I, at least, look back on with a mix of amusement, exasperation and fondness.
___
Nintendo's new console, the GameCube, was a follow-up that might've not been the revolution that was the N64, but it had some very impressive games that were both odd, unique and technically sound. (I was personally blown away by the fact that the stormtroopers in Rogue Squadron had spaces between their fingers - THIS IS NEXT GEN HOLY SHIT) Perhaps most legendary of the earlier games was Super Smash Bros. Melee, a fighting game that is still being avidly played today, even in tournaments.
___
And.. following along the waters of the glorious lead-up to the console was a controversy that shook the very foundations of gaming: The Wind Waker. New graphics, so called "cel-shading" and a more colourful aesthetic was enough to make red sparks fly, magazine owners type furious headlines and forum members - including one of my earliest forum friends - cry real, actual, tears.
___
Away from Nintendo, then, Xbox was proven to be a formidable console, when Halo: Combat Evolved was met with widespread acclaim. A for the time precise, complete and polished shooter, it paved the way for FPS on consoles, and the series would later be key to Microsoft's pioneering Xbox Live.
___
But not everything worth experiencing was combat and loud bangs during the early 00's. Standing out in the middle was a shy, silent and modest adventure about a boy with horns. Ico was something special, it was a game where the controller vibrated when you held someone's hands. This was a game that really tugged at your heartstrings.
___
Half-Life 2 was another milestone releasing during this time. With its revolutionary physics engine, and lifelike characters - I remember Alyx becoming something of a new standard according to many - it reached a sort of peak in critical acclaim, and for good reason. It's a classic as timeless as any.
___
And we had Army Men. 25 of them.
___
Sega's beautiful swan song, the Dreamcast, started the decade by sorrowfully fizzling out, but with a legacy that remains today, a console with an array of games looked upon today with varying degrees of fondness.
___
Nintendo also lended their hero of heroes, Link, to Soul Calibur 2. Fuck, this was pure hype to see in magazines. I personally wasn't too into non-Smash fighting games at the time, but I wanted to play the game so bad.
___
Back when E3 was all about the conferences, the sweaty, crowded floors, and sites reporting in on greasy hamburgers and long lines, we got some pretty hype reactions, screenshots and trailers to chew on. And an unforgettable moment of E3 came from this era, with the man behind Metal Gear Solid dropping the trailer to the sequel - Son's of Liberty - a trailer that drummed up so much hype that people bought Kojima's Zone of the Enders in droves - just for the demo of Sons of Liberty.
___
Then, of course, towards the middle of the decade, a certain someone's body was ready.
___
And following that, Nintendo, in 2004, dropped a trailer that was so ecstatic, generated so much anticipation and excitement, that it is today a legend of its own, the origin of reaction videos, showcasing vast fields, an impending army, a shield clashing with arrows, and a fire-spewing beast ...
Link had grown up.
What are your special memories of the 00's? Were you a member of any forum? Where were you when Sega winded down? What was your favorite console, and why? What did you (or do you) think of Nintendo during this era?
We had Sony at the top of the world, and all that came with it in the form of the shovelests of shovelware, but also the hottest of hits. Tekken brought the punches, Gran Turismo brought the wheels, and Kojima brought the hype. We had Nintendo and their pink cube, kiddie-stamped by the public, yet with their own brand of offbeat, unique games, some considered masterful today. And last but not least, there was the one-two punch of Sega exiting consoles, (?) and Microsoft entering the console business. (?!) Who would've thought? But the shiny green Xbox brought a killer app no one saw coming in Halo: Combat Evolved.
This was the true advent of the internet after its modem infancy, and the proper dawn of forums. Grand Theft Auto wasn't a 100 million seller, but a cause of moral panic. "Indie" was a music genre. It was a special time. One that I, at least, look back on with a mix of amusement, exasperation and fondness.
___
Nintendo's new console, the GameCube, was a follow-up that might've not been the revolution that was the N64, but it had some very impressive games that were both odd, unique and technically sound. (I was personally blown away by the fact that the stormtroopers in Rogue Squadron had spaces between their fingers - THIS IS NEXT GEN HOLY SHIT) Perhaps most legendary of the earlier games was Super Smash Bros. Melee, a fighting game that is still being avidly played today, even in tournaments.
___
And.. following along the waters of the glorious lead-up to the console was a controversy that shook the very foundations of gaming: The Wind Waker. New graphics, so called "cel-shading" and a more colourful aesthetic was enough to make red sparks fly, magazine owners type furious headlines and forum members - including one of my earliest forum friends - cry real, actual, tears.
___
Away from Nintendo, then, Xbox was proven to be a formidable console, when Halo: Combat Evolved was met with widespread acclaim. A for the time precise, complete and polished shooter, it paved the way for FPS on consoles, and the series would later be key to Microsoft's pioneering Xbox Live.
___
But not everything worth experiencing was combat and loud bangs during the early 00's. Standing out in the middle was a shy, silent and modest adventure about a boy with horns. Ico was something special, it was a game where the controller vibrated when you held someone's hands. This was a game that really tugged at your heartstrings.
___
Half-Life 2 was another milestone releasing during this time. With its revolutionary physics engine, and lifelike characters - I remember Alyx becoming something of a new standard according to many - it reached a sort of peak in critical acclaim, and for good reason. It's a classic as timeless as any.
___
And we had Army Men. 25 of them.
___
Sega's beautiful swan song, the Dreamcast, started the decade by sorrowfully fizzling out, but with a legacy that remains today, a console with an array of games looked upon today with varying degrees of fondness.
___
Nintendo also lended their hero of heroes, Link, to Soul Calibur 2. Fuck, this was pure hype to see in magazines. I personally wasn't too into non-Smash fighting games at the time, but I wanted to play the game so bad.
___
Back when E3 was all about the conferences, the sweaty, crowded floors, and sites reporting in on greasy hamburgers and long lines, we got some pretty hype reactions, screenshots and trailers to chew on. And an unforgettable moment of E3 came from this era, with the man behind Metal Gear Solid dropping the trailer to the sequel - Son's of Liberty - a trailer that drummed up so much hype that people bought Kojima's Zone of the Enders in droves - just for the demo of Sons of Liberty.
___
Then, of course, towards the middle of the decade, a certain someone's body was ready.
___
And following that, Nintendo, in 2004, dropped a trailer that was so ecstatic, generated so much anticipation and excitement, that it is today a legend of its own, the origin of reaction videos, showcasing vast fields, an impending army, a shield clashing with arrows, and a fire-spewing beast ...
Link had grown up.
What are your special memories of the 00's? Were you a member of any forum? Where were you when Sega winded down? What was your favorite console, and why? What did you (or do you) think of Nintendo during this era?