Day 7 - My Favorite Fighting Game

I don't play fighting games, but this one deserves a mention. No explanation is needed.

Mortal Kombat

Day 6 - My Favorite Intro/Teaser/Trailer

Ok this one has three categories, so I'm going to do 3 different videos.

1. Favorite intro



The Brian Dawkins Madden speech. The whole speech is here:



I mean, I know I'm not an athlete. But I remember intense pre-game moments (yeah, it was high school basketball, and no, I probably didn't actually get in the game) but sports video games are for fat, out of shape guys like me with two surgically reconstructed knees to live vicariously through our favorite teams. And that speech is just freaking awesome.

2. Favorite teaser



The Ron Pearlman "War...war never changes..." gets me every time. I love the way the old, feel good music is set to the wasteland too.

3. Favorite trailer



Another Madden one. This is just a freaking cool commercial period. Plus Ray Lewis kills people.

Day 5 - My Favorite Console Game

Hmm. This one seems a bit redundant...I've already done my favorite game ever, and I've done my favorite PC game...so...with it being said that Fallout 3 is my favorite game of all time, for my favorite console game, I'll go with the game that got me into RPGs in the first place...

Final Fantasy VII



I still really like this game today. I'd love to see what could be done with it with fully updated graphics and all, say on PS3 or XBOX 360. But it's still OK on the original Playstation. It's an all around great game, and it was the only game of the Final Fantasy series I was really able to get into. This one will probably appear in the list a few more times.

Day 4 - My Favorite PC Game

Starcraft



This one is not even close. Favorite computer game of all time.

Day 3 - My Favorite Arcade Game

NFL Blitz



I was never really big into arcade games, but this game (both on the arcade and on Nintendo 64) is the one game that I was always reasonably confident I would win at. There were a handful of others I liked, but this is the one arcade game I'll still stop to play whenever given the chance.

Day 2 - My Favorite Game Ever

Ok, I know it's only been a few hours since the last post, but it's technically the next day and I'm super excited about this challenge. So I'm tackling day 2 now.

Like the last category, several games could have made the cut. I could probably make a case for all of these games being my favorite. Final Fantasy VII, Goldeneye, and Ocarina of Time all get some mention, but these two games sparked an interest in franchises I wasn't that into when I picked them up. These games win simply based on how much time I've spent playing them. So, my favorite games of all time are...

1. Fallout 3



I bought this game on a whim during finals of fall semester my last year at Ole Miss. I didn't actually have any finals...maybe one...and it was like Thursday of exam week. So I went to Wal-Mart, saw that this was the game of the year or whatever, and bought it. I stayed up playing it all night the first night, and I've played all the way through it at least 5 times, as well as bought all the expansions and played the crap out of them, too. Just something about being on your own post-nuclear apocalypse and surviving is awesome.

2. EA Sports NCAA Football



I wasn't always the sports fan I am today. A big part of why I became such is the NCAA Football series. The first one I bought for myself was NCAA Football 2006, with Desmond Howard on the cover. I've bought it every year since.

Day 1 - The FIrst game that got you hooked on gaming

There are a handful of good options here. I started off with the NES and also had a Sega Genesis, and a couple of games got me started. So, before I get to THE game, a few honorable mentions. These are in no particular order:

1. The Legend of Zelda - NES



I don't know if I actually had this game (I think I did...) but I know my cousin had it, and somebody I know, though I can't remember, had the original gold cartridge. I didn't really know what I was doing and I never actually beat it, but this was one of the first games I remember loving. It's also a precursor to the game that got me hooked.

2. Super Mario 64 - N64

One of the first Nintendo 64 games, this game was freaking awesome. I never really was quite sure what the story was (besides the princess getting kidnapped and Mario having to save her) but this game was just awesome.

3. Goldeneye 007 - N64

This was my first foray into FPS games, and man...it was awesome. We spent hours upon hours playing the multiplayer, which was the coolest thing about it. I remember in 7th grade or so the way to trash talk people was to say you were better at Goldeneye than they were. And then of course you'd play and the winner would have bragging rights forever. I probably would have put Perfect Dark here, because we played that a lot more, but Goldeneye was the first. But Goldeneye was awesome.

4. Final Fantasy VII - Playstation

This was the first RPG I ever played, and I was obsessed. I've played through it several times, and it never gets old, even if the graphics are a little (OK, a lot) outdated by now. Still though, awesome game, great story, and it takes a looooooong time to beat. Vincent Valentine is still one of my all-time favorite video game characters.

5. Starcraft - PC



This and Final Fantasy VII are like 2a and 2b for my favorite game of all time. We spent hours playing this online and talked about it at school all the time (I was in 8th and 9th grade...didn't have a lot else going on). There's really not much to say other than...this game is awesome. I still play it sometimes and Starcraft II was amazing as well.

But, finally, the game that got me hooked...

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64



This game was just awesome. I played the crap out of it and want to play it again. It was the first game that I wanted to get 100% of everything (all the gold spiders, growing the plants, finding the masks, etc.) and I did. I mean, just an awesome game all around. One of the best ever, in my opinion, and definitely the one that got me hooked.

So...there's day 1. I'm a nerd.

30 Day Video Game Challenge

I did the 30 day song challenge on Facebook, but I thought this might be a little too dorky to put out there on FB. I'm a gamer, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, so I'm going to do this here. This is the list:

30 Day Gamers Challenge

Day 01 - The first game that got you hooked on gaming

Day 02 - Your Favourite Game Ever

Day 03 - Your Favourite Arcade Game

Day 04 - Your Favourite PC Game

Day 05 - Your Favourite Console Game

Day 06 - Your Favourite Game Intro/Teaser/Trailer

Day 07 - Your Favourite Fighting Game

Day 08 - Your Favourite Third Person Game

Day 09 - Your Favourite Console

Day 10 - Your Favourite FPS Game

Day 11 - Your Favourite Game Soundtrack

Day 12 - Your Favourite Survival Horror

Day 13 - Your Favourite Driving Game

Day 14 - Your Favourite Hand Held System

Day 15 - Your Favourite Game Character

Day 16 - Your Favourite Shoot Em Up

Day 17 - Your Favourite Online Game

Day 18 - Your Favourite Hand Held Game

Day 19 - Your Favourite RPG

Day 20 - Your Favourite Facebook Game

Day 21 - Your Favourite Simulation Game

Day 22 - Your Favourite Puzzle Game

Day 23 - Your Favourite Free Game

Day 24 - Your Favourite Sports Game

Day 25 - Your Favourite Music/Family/Social Game

Day 26 - Your Favourite Side scrolling Beat em up

Day 27 - Your Favourite Platform Game

Day 28 - What game would you like to see made into a movie

Day 29 - Name the most over rated game

Day 30 - What’s the next big game your most looking forward to

So, the Westboro folks are coming to town...

By now I'm sure you're aware that the Westboro Baptist Church folks are coming to town to protest a marine's funeral. I've seen a lot of people saying a lot of different things about them, and it's hard to not join in the criticism and it's even harder to not want to see them get their teeth kicked in. But while reading up on them some (they have several websites that say God hates...well...everyone except for them...) I was reminded of a passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in Heaven. For He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:44-48

The WBC guys are persecuting everyone. So what's the proper response? Pray for them and love them. I mean, it's easy to get caught up in getting mad and wanting to fight and yell and scream and do whatever, but the most powerful thing you and I can do is to pray - pray for the family of the fallen marine, pray for the safety of our soldiers caught in war, and pray for the members of Westboro Baptist Church.

Right now, it seems like we're in such a time where people are caught up in the extremes of God's character. You have people on one side saying that God is love and there is no divine punishment and this and that is OK. Then you have people on the other side that are saying that God is judge and full of wrath and he hates everyone and everything. The truth is in the middle - yes, God is love, but yes, God is also a just God (along with several other qualities).

So, next time you see them on TV or in person or whatever, remember that Fred Phelps and his family (who make up about 80% of the WBC congregation) are sinners in need of grace just like the rest of us.

So, yes. Protest their message. Protest their methods. But remember - love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It is completely justified to be angry and hurt over this, but remember this, as well:

Be angry, but do not sin.
Ephesians 4:26

I hate that this is happening. I hate that the name of God (notice these folks never talk about Jesus...) is being invoked in this message of hate. But those folks need Christ like the rest of us.

Just some thoughts.

Brandon, Mississippi

I don't want this blog to become my "dear diary" complaining page. That's not at all what I want - I typically try to write insightful things that might inspire the one person who stumbles upon this every so often.

But, I need to vent.

I HATE BRANDON.

One of my major struggles right now is being OK with where God has me. I thought I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, but due to circumstances beyond my control, that light is flickering. I know God has a plan in all of this, and the original situation may very well work out the way it felt like it originally might, but the thought that getting out might not happen as soon as I had hoped is pretty crushing.

This place is like a solitary confinement sentence.

I can't handle it much longer.