Hello everyone. It's Saturday night where I am, and tonight I am finally getting some gaming done. I have started this thread because it's a bit of a milestone for me: October 25, 2013. I wanted to create this thread last night, but had to go to this silly Halloween party instead.

So instead of 5 years, this thread is 5 years and 1 day. What the heck am I talking about?

It's my anniversary!

ON October 24th, 2008, I was sitting at home, rather bored. I was looking through my collection of PS2 games. Tomb Raider: Revelation? Done that. I already beat it. Resident Evil: 4? Makes me sick. Literally, the 1st-person hand which is shown on the screen is always moving around a little bit, and this game made me feel kinda ill, even after just 10 minutes of playing.

So I was stuck. I didn't feel like playing with any of my games on that night. What to do?

I realized I had finally saved a nice chunk of money, after going back to my old job. I thought "hey maybe I should make the next leap, and get a PS3 tonight," I had enough money in the bank that I could easily do this. So I wondered which games were on PS3. If I could find a good game, a game I knew I would like, I'm gonna go for it.

I went on a website called http://www.gamerevolution.com It's got a variety of writers, and the reviews they write are often lively and amusing. Went to the PS3 section, and started with the 'As'.

A. No games were out under the letter A back then (Assassin's Creed may have been out in 2008, but there wasn't a review for this game.

I moved to the letter B. Then C. D. E. F. G. H. I J K L M N O P Q R S T

T. Hmm. What's this? http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion. What kind of a wacked-out name is that? Hmm. Well it got an "A" rating (ratings go from A for best to F for worst), and it's also an RPG. But how GOOD is it? I've played plenty of "RPG's" on PS2, folks. Some of them were good (some Final Fantasies, Champions of Norrath, Baldur's Gate: DA), others tolerable (Crusaders of Might and Magic, Legends of Dragoon, Bard's Tale), and others downright svcked. Like Drakengard. *shudders*

But after reading the first few sentences of the Oblivion review, I was already hooked. Here's an example

....Like most advlt geeks reared on Dungeons and Dragons, I often find myself a bit disconnected when faced with the endless waves of Japanese RPGs that have taken over the genre. Every time I find myself in the shoes of yet another spiky-haired protagonist with a mysterious past and a sword the size of a telephone pole, I wonder where all the role-playing has gone.

THIS. This entire paragraph. It's exactly the way I felt about a lot of the games I had played in the past, especially a lot of the JRPGs. While I enjoyed some of these, I in fact did at many points 'wonder where all the role-playing has gone? ' In the games I grew up with, it was easy to make a character, and then 'flesh-out' this character with imagination and personality. This isn't so easy to do if we're limited to just a few in-game character choices.

I read further, how it described the ability to not just make, but also customize, our own character.

This is where you begin, but other than the vision of a tormented Emperor, who exactly are you? That, like much of Oblivion, is entirely up to you ..... But even when deciding your career path, Oblivion gives you nearly unlimited options. If you don't feel comfortable with any of the twenty-one initial classes, you can actually make your own by simply picking some primary skills to define your character, and off you go

I liked reading stuff like this...for years I had been limited to whatever pre-designed characters the devs of other games had come up with. In Oblivion, it sounds more like I'll be able to utilize my OWN ideas.

.... I don't think I managed to get through the entire review. It must have been about 8pm, I am guessing, and I began to wonder if I'd be able to make it to the closest mall in time. So that's what happened. I rushed out of my house, got into my Little Red Corolla, and drove drove drove! Got to the mall, which was packed with people, found a GameStop, and bought it all on the spot: TES: 4 and a PS3.

Those first few hours were a blur, but I'll talk about them later. For now I want to celebrate! 5 Years and One Day of TES 4: Oblivion. Let's rock.

Congrats

That said, I rather enjoyed Drakengard and the upcoming Drakengard 3 for the PS3 is probably my most anticipated game of 2014

Happy anniversary, Rene! You didn't just get a game, you got a community of new friends. Here's hoping you'll still be having fun and be around for another five years and one day!

Happy anniversary!

Let's hope for another five years, eh?

Thank you all! Thank you Shelly Mars, Freddo, and Berret. Yes, you are right, this online community is just awesome. I didn't join until Spring or Summer of 2009 I think, so yeah, it's been a fun ride.

Freddo: hmm, maybe it wasn't Drakengard. I remember buying some game with dragons in it, but the graphics were so horrible I immediately returned it on the same night.

Anyways, we have plenty of Halloween-style refreshments available for my anniversary party. Sweet potato pie, onion rolls, uncooked cookie dough you name it! Enjoy folks. I am glad you are here.

I think when I first joined you were still in Renee Gade 1!

Screw The Notebook, this is the most beautiful love story ever told!