The Autumn of 2003
Posted: September 29th, 2018, 5:05 pm
For me, this is a time that I'll never forget. I think a lot of it had to do with the Cubs. I'm sure most of us know what happened with Bartman (Though Rizzo almost suffered the same fate the other night), but it was quite the fun season. I went to so many games, and really couldn't believe it was over. October turned into November, Thanksgiving came and went, December began. And I was still in denial. I still thought that there were more games left to be played. Was this way until November 2016 .
I also ordered a book called "Double Your Dating" by David DeAngelo, a book my wife and I still joke about to this day. It had rather peculiar advice, but some of it was good, like his "Cocky and Funny" ideas. In fact, I first started talking to my wife around this time, and don't laugh, but we met off of AOL. All of the guys were telling her how pretty she was, but I was saying different things, and this seemed to have piqued her interest. Ten years later, we were at the altar.
But it took awhile for us to meet. And so I'd spend many nights wishing I had a date, though often times I actually would. I seemed to enjoy getting high a lot too. There was this smoke shop I remember would sell these flavored blunt wraps. My favorite was pineapple. I'd go outside, smoke a blunt, then come back in to watch American Pie or Animal House. Or even some Indiana Jones. And there were a few games I played around then too.
Given that this was such a memorable time in my life, I decided to play a few games from that era.
First thing I did was I went outside with a cigar and whiskey because I'm between jobs, and one must remain clean at such times. Wasn't a blunt, but man a glass of Jameson and a cigar will get you feeling mighty good! Watched a few clips of Animal House and American Pie on my phone, then I went inside.
Back then I played on a Sony Trinitron, but I recently found my component cables for my Gamecube, and I wanted to use the surround sound. I bought these things like twelve years ago for fifty bucks, now I'm seeing them on Amazon for a whopping $380! But man, do they improve the picture even better than the Framemeister would.
I also ordered SCART cables, and Amazon said they're coming tomorrow. Supposedly this is the best picture, and the Framemeister supports it. Anyway, I played a few games:
Metroid Prime
Who could forget this memorable game? I'm always chirping about how it's the best surround sound game I have ever played, and my opinion has not changed. This game never gets old no matter how many times I play it. But I remember my friends would like this game, while I was hooked on the original Metroid you got to play, I think if you connected a completed Metroid Fusion game. I forget how you unlocked that.
Much as I enjoyed finding the "Secret Worlds" in the original, I enjoyed finding them in this game. Most you need the double-jump for, and it's interesting getting "out of bounds" in these games. Plus, the whole game has this calming, halcyonic effect on me, one which is enhanced by the ever-precious surround-sound.
Weird too, I remember getting sick playing Metroid Prime back in 2003, but I played this for well over an hour last night and felt fine. Must be the whiskey.
All Star Baseball 2004
Years ago, Critic had a gripes article that I thought was hilarious. One thing he mentioned was how sports games always were always a year ahead, for some reason. Makes sense for the NBA; when someone mentions the 1993 season, I think 1992-1993. But in NFL, if you ask me who won the Super Bowl in 1985, I'm saying the Bears, even though the big game took place on January 26th, 1986. And MLB, well, that just makes no sense! Even if you include spring training, it starts in February, and nowadays goes into early November. So there's no reason to call it 2004 when it's based on the 2003 season.
That said, it really was a cool game! One disheartening thing was how it illustrates how little progress has actually been made. I had about as much fun playing as I do a game of MLB: The Show 18. The graphics are pretty good, though you don't get the lively crowds that you get in modern games. Whoop dee do! The gameplay was fun, and I remember guys like Sosa, Alou, and Kenny Lofton. Ultimately my starter, Shawn Estes, got rocked, and I lost 13-10. Oh, and they had a quick-count feature!
Madden 2004
If EA never made another good football game, I would be perfectly fine and dandy with this. Only problem is, the Bears stunk that year. Well, 7-9 I guess isn't terrible, but it wasn't enough to save head coach Dick Jauron's job. Fortunately it helped clear the way for Lovie Smith, and why they let him go after a 10-6 season is beyond me.
I actually played this more in the early parts of 2004, but I had it around this time. I like how defense seems to be played properly, and the game actually feels a little more natural than Madden 19. The graphics were pretty good to. As for me, I seem to have gotten a lot better at this, and discovered some interception-factory plays out of the 46 normal formation. I won 56-14.
Mario Kart Double Dash
I still give Mario Kart 64 the nod as the better stoner game, but I enjoy Double Dash a little more. Now I am an absolute beast with Bowser Jr. and Diddy Kong with those huge bananas! I like to put them right by all the jumps, getting me some monster leads on some courses. Plus, unlike Mario Kart 64, they don't have that rubberband AI. I always like the wacky graphics, music, and sound effects. To this day, I play this quite often.
That's about all I had time for since my wife had a honey-do list for me. But often when I play these games, it brings back memories not so much of the game itself, but moreso the way things were around the time I'd play them. I've come a long way, buying a townhouse, getting married, having two cars. All the nights I didn't have a date, and now I have a gorgeous woman I'm married to who I love so much. Not a bad cook, either!
Do you guys agree? I'd be curious to hear some of your memories and games you played around this time.
I also ordered a book called "Double Your Dating" by David DeAngelo, a book my wife and I still joke about to this day. It had rather peculiar advice, but some of it was good, like his "Cocky and Funny" ideas. In fact, I first started talking to my wife around this time, and don't laugh, but we met off of AOL. All of the guys were telling her how pretty she was, but I was saying different things, and this seemed to have piqued her interest. Ten years later, we were at the altar.
But it took awhile for us to meet. And so I'd spend many nights wishing I had a date, though often times I actually would. I seemed to enjoy getting high a lot too. There was this smoke shop I remember would sell these flavored blunt wraps. My favorite was pineapple. I'd go outside, smoke a blunt, then come back in to watch American Pie or Animal House. Or even some Indiana Jones. And there were a few games I played around then too.
Given that this was such a memorable time in my life, I decided to play a few games from that era.
First thing I did was I went outside with a cigar and whiskey because I'm between jobs, and one must remain clean at such times. Wasn't a blunt, but man a glass of Jameson and a cigar will get you feeling mighty good! Watched a few clips of Animal House and American Pie on my phone, then I went inside.
Back then I played on a Sony Trinitron, but I recently found my component cables for my Gamecube, and I wanted to use the surround sound. I bought these things like twelve years ago for fifty bucks, now I'm seeing them on Amazon for a whopping $380! But man, do they improve the picture even better than the Framemeister would.
I also ordered SCART cables, and Amazon said they're coming tomorrow. Supposedly this is the best picture, and the Framemeister supports it. Anyway, I played a few games:
Metroid Prime
Who could forget this memorable game? I'm always chirping about how it's the best surround sound game I have ever played, and my opinion has not changed. This game never gets old no matter how many times I play it. But I remember my friends would like this game, while I was hooked on the original Metroid you got to play, I think if you connected a completed Metroid Fusion game. I forget how you unlocked that.
Much as I enjoyed finding the "Secret Worlds" in the original, I enjoyed finding them in this game. Most you need the double-jump for, and it's interesting getting "out of bounds" in these games. Plus, the whole game has this calming, halcyonic effect on me, one which is enhanced by the ever-precious surround-sound.
Weird too, I remember getting sick playing Metroid Prime back in 2003, but I played this for well over an hour last night and felt fine. Must be the whiskey.
All Star Baseball 2004
Years ago, Critic had a gripes article that I thought was hilarious. One thing he mentioned was how sports games always were always a year ahead, for some reason. Makes sense for the NBA; when someone mentions the 1993 season, I think 1992-1993. But in NFL, if you ask me who won the Super Bowl in 1985, I'm saying the Bears, even though the big game took place on January 26th, 1986. And MLB, well, that just makes no sense! Even if you include spring training, it starts in February, and nowadays goes into early November. So there's no reason to call it 2004 when it's based on the 2003 season.
That said, it really was a cool game! One disheartening thing was how it illustrates how little progress has actually been made. I had about as much fun playing as I do a game of MLB: The Show 18. The graphics are pretty good, though you don't get the lively crowds that you get in modern games. Whoop dee do! The gameplay was fun, and I remember guys like Sosa, Alou, and Kenny Lofton. Ultimately my starter, Shawn Estes, got rocked, and I lost 13-10. Oh, and they had a quick-count feature!
Madden 2004
If EA never made another good football game, I would be perfectly fine and dandy with this. Only problem is, the Bears stunk that year. Well, 7-9 I guess isn't terrible, but it wasn't enough to save head coach Dick Jauron's job. Fortunately it helped clear the way for Lovie Smith, and why they let him go after a 10-6 season is beyond me.
I actually played this more in the early parts of 2004, but I had it around this time. I like how defense seems to be played properly, and the game actually feels a little more natural than Madden 19. The graphics were pretty good to. As for me, I seem to have gotten a lot better at this, and discovered some interception-factory plays out of the 46 normal formation. I won 56-14.
Mario Kart Double Dash
I still give Mario Kart 64 the nod as the better stoner game, but I enjoy Double Dash a little more. Now I am an absolute beast with Bowser Jr. and Diddy Kong with those huge bananas! I like to put them right by all the jumps, getting me some monster leads on some courses. Plus, unlike Mario Kart 64, they don't have that rubberband AI. I always like the wacky graphics, music, and sound effects. To this day, I play this quite often.
That's about all I had time for since my wife had a honey-do list for me. But often when I play these games, it brings back memories not so much of the game itself, but moreso the way things were around the time I'd play them. I've come a long way, buying a townhouse, getting married, having two cars. All the nights I didn't have a date, and now I have a gorgeous woman I'm married to who I love so much. Not a bad cook, either!
Do you guys agree? I'd be curious to hear some of your memories and games you played around this time.