Editor's note: Rachel's back with another round of entertaining game-related stories from her college days. I particularly like the first one. And for the record, Cable isn't "cheap." He's "top-tier." That's an important distinction. -James
A little while ago, I wrote a post reminiscing about my college gaming days. Here are even more of the games that helped make my college experience great.
This is a great game to play with drunk people. I quickly learned that when you're hosting a party, it is best to make sure that everyone has something to do other than drink. It is also helpful if that distraction is loud, colorful, and shiny. Enter Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
Seriously, if you start playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 with a group of drunk people, the game will instantly mesmerize them. The control scheme is simple enough that folks with even the most diminished motor skills can perform amazing feats.
One of the last parties I had in my apartment happened suddenly without any real planning on my part. I was a little panicked because I had no food or drink, and I was trying to find a way to run to the store, but my friends wouldn’t let me leave. Instead, we sent out a a group in search of provisions while my friends to me told fire up Marvel vs Capcom 2 and relax.
Appreciatively, I did just that, and in the process I blew everyone’s minds by getting out my joystick. For the rest of the evening, the joystick provided a continuing source of amusement. I don’t think most of my friends realized that such things exist. To them, having an arcade joystick seemed like a strange throwback rather than the best way to play fighting games.
Things quickly got loud as we played game after game, but here are some of the best comments -- preserved in phone texts -- of the night:
“Use the liney wavy gun! It can’t be defeated!” (This is a reference to Cable's rather cheap projectiles.)
“Roll the thumb! Crazy shit will happen!”
“YESSSH! Juggernaught made you his bitch!”
During the spring quarter of my junior year, my PS3 broke. By the time exams rolled around, I was stressed and game-deprived. I told myself that once I finished all of my final papers I would buy Plants vs. Zombies.
The moment I finished my last exam, I did just that, and I camped out at my kitchen counter. I don't usually enjoy tower-defense games, but in that first sitting, I played for three hours. The game turned out to be the perfect stress reliever because it occupied my brain and made me laugh.
When I came home for the summer a week later, Plants vs. Zombies still had me addicted, which led to my mom trying the game. Mom loved it as much as I did, and we played from the time we got home until bedtime. One night, it got so bad that my dad came home from work and found that the two of us had lost track of time and had forgotten to start dinner.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Back in high school, two of my friends and I started a tradition were we take a big shopping trip immediately after we finish a school year. In high school we bought CDs, games, DVDs, and clothes we didn't really need. Now that we've gotten older, the trip has become about more practical items such as bathroom rugs, kitchen tools, and business-appropriate attire.
In the summer before my junior year, my friends and I were sitting in a coffee shop depressed that we hadn't bought anything "fun". My friend Claire pointed out a giant Solid Snake standee in a GameStop across the street.
Claire had been urging me to buy Metal Gear Solid 4 for weeks, but I kept hesitating because I was feeling strapped for cash. But because of all the money I had just spent outfitting my new apartment, I felt like spending a little more wouldn't make much of a difference and I caved.
Claire, myself, and our other friend Jenny ventured across the street to GameStop, and I began to hesitate again about spending money. That brief hesitation was all the encouragement the manager needed to come over and talk my ear off. I’m clueless, so ten minutes passed before it occurred to me that he was flirting with me. Glancing over my shoulder I noticed the girl at the checkout counter was snickering while exchanging looks with my friends. Loving every minute of my discomfort, Claire and Jenny abandoned me as I repeatedly tried and failed to checkout. Finally, after thirty minutes, I exited GameStop. I still periodically get teased about that guy.
Metal Gear Solid 4 must encourage flirtation because a little over two years later, one of the first things my soon-to-be boyfriend and I did was play it through.
Dorm life inevitably results in bizarre social situations. One afternoon, I was killing time with Heavenly Sword before a friend of mine was supposed to come over to play MLB 07: The Show. So when there was a knock at the door, I thought my friend had arrived early. Instead, it was a guy who had had a major crush on my roommate for weeks. He asked where Amy was, and I told him truthfully that she had gone to work and wouldn't be back for at least another three hours. I assumed that he would leave after I told him this, but he looked at me with the most pathetic puppy-dog eyes I had ever seen.
An awkward pause of several seconds occurred before I realized he wasn’t going anywhere. I was still holding my PS3 controller in my hand, so I held it up and said, “I was killing ninja. Would you like to kill ninja, too?”
He required no further encouragement and immediately sat down in front of my TV. He began gleefully hacking his way through scores of enemies. Soon my friend Nick showed up, and we all started taking turns playing. Apparently, we were loud; my friend Carolyn wandered over to see what was going on, and I soon had six or seven people packed in my tiny room. I eventually ducked out to exchange a few dining hall meals for snacks, and when I returned, I practically had a party on my hands.
By the time Amy got back from work, everyone was crowded around the TV just as I was about to beat the final boss. Amy was initially confused, but like the good roommate she was, she rolled with it and joined in the revelry.
Looking over my collection, I realize I probably have even more stories. I might I’ll be back for part three. Who knows?
