As it became clear that the C64 was at the end of it's life I faced something of a conundrum. At that time the logical choice was the Commodore Amiga, the 16-bit powerhouse that Commodore had developed to replace the C64. The problem was that was 17 and had other interests outside of gaming and the last thing I wanted was to be bogged down using a computer. Most of my friends were playing on consoles at this time and the Sega Mega Drive (Or Genesis as it was known in the USA) was the console of choice. However the Amiga had plenty of amazing games and was a proper computer as opposed to just a console.
In the end I opted for the Mega Drive first. There was a great library of games available for it and the multiplayer aspect was a real selling point for me. I didn't abandon the idea of getting an Amiga, but merely shelved it until I had enough money to buy one. It turned out to be a great idea. The Mega Drive was a great piece of kit and I got many hours of fun out of it. There were many fantastic games that I got to play but more importantly, and for the first time since I got the VIC 20, a games console became my lead gaming format. Even when I got the Amiga about 18 months later it was destined to play second fiddle to the Mega Drive.
The Amiga will always be remembered by me for one game. Sensible World of Soccer. For many years this remained my most favorite football game. There were other great games as well and for a while it led the way when it came to flight sims and point and click adventures until the PC market really started to take off.
The problem with the Amiga was that by the time I had purchased it, it's basic architecture was nearly 7 years old. There had been many re-incarnations of it since it was launched but it was essentially the same. Commodore did try and address this with the Amiga A1200 which I also owned which was a 32-bit machine but it was too late. By that time the PC was starting to become more versatile and more people were going out and buying one for use in the home. The A1200 was never really fully exploited to it's full potential by game developers who by that time had thrown their lot in with consoles and the PC leaving the Amiga market high and dry.
As the Mega Drive soldiered on, the Amiga vanished as Commodore folded and even after a brief re-appearance when Escom bought the rights to the technology, it's day in the sun was over. I enjoyed many great hours with the Amiga, playing brilliant games for it, but sadly I missed out on many years enjoyment by the time I got one.
As I said, I continued to play on the Mega Drive. When Nintendo launched the more powerful SNES, Sega decided to try and pro-long the life of the Mega Drive until their next console was ready for launch. The launched the Mega CD and the 32X addons. I got the 32X so I could play Doom though it turned out to be a waste of money. Despite the fact that it essentially was supposed to turn the Mega Drive into a 32 bit console it lack any real power to stand up with genuine 32 Bit machines. Also everyone knew that the CD ROM based Saturn was on it's way so it did seem like a waste of time.
I only ended up with a handful of games for it and spent most my time still playing the standard 16 bit ones.
My next console delivered one of my favorite of all time. The Sony Playstation.
The Playstation was perfect for me at the time. Sony took the decision to market the console at those with disposable income as opposed to kids which had always been the perceived logic. It worked. There were more games targeted at the adult audience and also titles aimed at people who liked to go out clubbing.
I remember being blown away by the 3D graphics when I first got the Playstation. Games like Wipeout, Ridge Racer and a decent version of Doom barely left the CD ROM drive. However it was games like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider as well as the influx of RPG games from Japan that went onto to define the console for me. Say what you like about Sony, but the Playstation brought the gaming industry into the modern age and set about the attitude that it was no longer just a thing for kids.
The inclusion of the CD ROM drive also meant that the console could stream some fantastic music as well. I can remember playing for hours on the Playstation. More so than any console up to that point it had games that captured my imagination.
I never regretted not opting to buy the Saturn. After getting my finger burnt with the 32X I decided I wanted to try something different. I am not saying that the Saturn was a bad console, it wasn't. However it was simply not the console for me and I never regretted it.
As is always the case, technology waits for no one. As I was comfortable with the Playstation, Nintendo released a 64 bit console called the N64. It was a fantastic console and again provided me with many hours of fun. The graphics were fantastic and I always remember the first time I started playing Mario 64. It was one of those seminal moments in gaming. To date it remains one of my favorite games of all time.
Although Nintendo didn't intentionally set out to do so, the N64 also saw some more mature titles come to it like Turok. It is a testimony to the console that one of the first things I did when I got the Wii was to start downloading classic N64 games so I could play them again.
Next up in the final part. Console threesomes!
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