An introduction of parks.

I have invaded the internets. My name is Tripp Page and, baby, I am here to stay.
http://www.xanga.com/atypicalemoname Learn about me. Love me. Become me.

And now a few of my favorite games [Editor's Note: I swear there won't be a lot of these list posts in the future, but while everyone is still getting acclimated and more people are joining, I figured "Why not?" After all, it's a pretty good way to get to know someone, right? Anyway, enjoy Tripp's favorite cakes]:

Lumines - PSP

Imagine crack or something equally addictive. Got it? Fantasic my child. Now take all those addictive qualities and place them in a simple block puzzle game. Behold, Lumines.

Lumines was a launch title for Sony's now sinking handheld, the PSP (Playstation Portable). Unlike the other launch titles which were ports of PS1 and PS2 games, Lumines was a brand new world.

Q Entertainment ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_entertainment ) are the demi-gods that brought us Lumines. Q took the very simple idea of clearing rows of blocks as they fall (much like Tetris) and expanded upon it in an almost revolutionary way.
Step one: Add a fantastic soundtrack filled with songs that our hemisphere has yet to ever hear.
Step two: Make everything that falls a simple square that has four little squares within it, each of the four blocks being one of two colors depending on the level (or skin as the game calls them).
Step three: The way you go about clearning blocks is by making a 4X4 square where each of the 4 blocks within it is the same color.
Step four: Make every action you make within the game affect the music you hear.

This is pure gameplay bliss. This IS the perfect video game minus its odd habit of trying to delete your save when you come out of sleep mode on the PSP.

Puzzle perfection.

I can recall days of laying on my bed and starting this game up. Then, like a blink of an eye, 5 hours have passed.


Final Fantasy Tactics - PSX (The first playstation)

*This is where the epic music starts. And let me tell you, it does not stop

Final Fantasy Tatics is a turn based/grid based Stratgey RPG. If you do not play video games this statement might not mean a lot to you. In that case, think of it as a very complicated game of chess with a story line.

I am frozen in place trying to type because all I can do is think of better times when I could stay at home and play this game. The gameplay was so solid. FFT used the ever popular Job system present in many Final Fantasy games. The idea is simple. For example: You could pick that Guy A is a Warrior. Then from then on out, Guy A develops and learns skills that a Warrior would use. But let's say Guy A isn't working out for you as a Warrior, no biggie. Now you can just go back and change Guy A into a Mage, Healer, Summoner, Archer, Lancer or one of many other things. I suppose I could delve into the gameplay even more, but I'd rather move onto something more complicated.

The story. I am going to steal the entry from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy/Final_Fantasy_Tactics#Plot , because the story of this game has an insane amount of depth and craziness to it.

"The plot revolves around the Lion War, a war of succession modelled after the Wars of the Roses. The war erupts when King Omdoria of Ivalice dies without leaving a clear heir to the throne. In the ensuing power vacuum, two powerful nobles, Prince Larg, the brother of the widowed Queen Ruvelia, and Prince Goltana, the late king's cousin, put forward rival candidates. When Goltana coronates the king's adopted daughter, Ovelia, Larg declares war on behalf of his candidate, Orinas, the king's infant son. Although political alliances were difficult to place in this violent period, it seems that Larg had the support of the knights and supporters of the royal family, whereas Goltana had the support of the senate and other nobles.

Against this backdrop, the game relates the personal story of Ramza Beoulve, the youngest son of an aristocratic nobleman and war hero, and his best friend Delita Hyral, who was taken in at a very young age by Ramza's family. Ramza and Delita are caught in the turmoil of the Lion War, and Ramza must choose between his conscience and his duty, while Delita grapples with the issue of achieving and maintaining autonomy despite his lower class status. The plot thickens when it is later revealed that some party conspired to start the Lion War and was manipulating it to their benefit. The Zodiac Stones, twelve mysterious & ancient stones, were related to this conspiracy."

This, my friends, is the Cliff Notes version. The character development in this game rivals anything that whore James Joyce could conjour up (for starters, FFT is enjoyable. Burn). The last scene in the game (Don't worry, I won't spoil it) involves a graveyard and a few of the characters from the story. I was young when I beat this game (perhaps a junior in high school), and I didn't really understand the whole of the story, but I do know that I teared up during that scene.

This may just be the greatest RPG (role playing game) ever made.


Legend of Zelda: A link to the Past - (SNES, GBA)

I have a confession. I have never once in my life beaten this game. Before you get all hater on me, let me explain.

I've played this game a lot. A lot as in the number of peanuts in the jar a lot. One easter while in high school I even pleaded with my parents to get me a then-dying Super Nintendo system just so I could play this game.

I do not know why I have yet to beat this game, but boy I have played the first 8 or so hours of this game so many times (see a lot).

Wind Waker (GC), Ocarina of Time (N64, GC), Minish Cap (GBA), Twilight Princess (Wii, GC). These are also Zelda games that everyone should play

If you are unfamiler with the Zelda series, consider this the end of our friendship.


Super Smash Brothers Melee - GC (Gamecube)

If that doesn't look like fun, you have no soul.

SSBM is a Nintendo-made four player fighting game staring every main Nintendo character ever. One of the greatest joys in life is saying you beat up Gannon with Pikachu. Simple to play, hard to master.

SSBM is a fun game when playing by yourself or with another, much like any game really. Then, oh then, let me tell you about the days when SSBM took on a life of its own.

High school. Ian's house. Ian, his brother Frank, Frank's friend, and me.

We made it to where we each had 99 lives to ensure we had a epic match on our hands. Believe me, we did. It was here I saw Ian punch his brother Frank in the face. If that isn't epic, I don't know what is. Oh boy, the yelling, the pizza we ate, the times we had, and the joy SSBM brought us. Wow.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - (Arcade)

Oh...I need a fresh pair of pants. Just look at that. Magic.

As the title suggests, this is a fighting game involving the characters from the Marvel Universe and the Capcom games. If you know what Marvel and Capcom is, then I will give you a second to let you take in this feeling.

This is the best 2D fighting game ever made (next to SSBM). Sure, the people will say Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo or the Guility Gear games. I agree, those are good games, but nothing, NOTHING, will ever compare to being at 5% health with Spider-Man, getting that single web swing that knocks Ken's life down to just under 50%. Then, switching Spider-Man out for Iron Man with a full power gauge and letting loose his Cannon super move to win the match. That is the omega feeling.

Geometry Wars - (Xbox 360)

It's like someone mixed Tron, Asteriods, and sex. Then made it into a game.

First thing you need to do is hook up your Xbox 360 to the internet. Then you need to pony up $5 to buy this game from the Live Arcade service on Xbox Live. And now...

You are a ship. You are contained in a rectangle. You start with three lives and three bombs. Good luck.

Controls: Left analog stick moves your ship. Right analog stick shoots in what ever direction you point it. Right and left trigger activates your bomb which clears the screen. The further you get in the game points wise, the more bombs you can obtain. Your weapon will switch between a spread and a powershot, as well. Now, try to break 100k during your first 30 minutes of play to keep your dignity.

As I said, this is a $5 game. The Xbox 360 is a $400 console. I am not ashamed to say that the sole reason I purchased a Xbox 360 is to play this game (without even playing it before). I still feel that it was a just cause.

Did I mention the Xbox 360 lets you stream music from your PC? Did I mention you can play said music while playing Geometry Wars? Well there you go. It turns into a chill like experience only topped by Lumines.


Final Fantasy VII - PSX

And there it is. One of the saddest moments of my life.

Final Fantasy 7 was the first RPG I was old enough to not take for granted. (Re-Reading this sentence, it seems to not convey the point I wish to give.)

I honestly cannot put into words how much this game means to me. I played well over 200 hours of this game before I ever reached high school and that number only keeps growing.

This game was 3 discs long. 3 discs! It was beyond me at that point in time to even think the idea that a game would not fit on a CD. My mind was ever so blown.

When someone says "video games" somewhere in my mind this game pops up and I smile.


World Of Warcraft - PC

Oh what a year it was.

From June 05 to August 06 my life was this game. I have over 50 days play time, as in, 1,200 hours of playtime. Insane, yes. Worth it, yes.

http://ctprofiles.net/1522204 this link will take you to a page displaying my main character if you are interested.

It seems like only yesterday that my week went like this:
Monday-20 Man Raids/PvP (each of these events taking no less than 5 hours)
Tuesday-MC 40 man raid (this ran from about 6pm-1am)
Wensday-Bwl 40 man raid (same as above in terms of time)
Thursday- Finish up any 40 man raid or start AQ40
Friday- 20 Man raids/Pvp
Saturday- ZG/Pvp
Sunday- Onyixa 40 man raid

Those are just the main events of the day, if I wasn't sleeping, at school, or working, I could be found playing World Of Warcraft. There was just something about playing with thousands of real people all at the same time online. As lame as it sounds, friendships were made through that game that I still have today.

It also helped that I was awesome at this game. I rocked other people and rocked them hard.

Bye WoW, if I drank, now would be the time when I would poor a little out for you.

Final Fantasy 12 - PS2
Top 5 epic images the world will ever know.

This game was released this past Halloween. I didn't even want it. I played a demo over the summer and hated it, so decided that I did not want to be bothered with spending $50 for a game I really didn't want.

As the day passed I checked two websites back and forth, www.gamerankings.com and the forums of www.penny-arcade.com where I have been a member since 2003. FF12 was being held as, well, sex +4 basically. Not a soul on the internet had a unkind word to say about the game. I tried my best, but I couldn't help it, I went to www.gametrailers.com and watched the most recent trailer for the game.

I felt like a man again. I went out that friday against my better judgment and threw down money for the collectors edition of FF12 and the strategy guide.

Within a week and a half of owning the game I played just under 30 hours of it. Yum.

As of right now I am stuck on a boss right at 30 hours. Mandragoras or whatever they are called are whores. Whores.

(WOOT. FREE HOT CHOCOLATE COMING MY WAY.)

I have not been this captivated with a game since I first started to play World Of Warcraft. Believe me, that statement holds a lot of weight.


Half-Life 2 - PC

HL2 is a first person shooter from Valve and a sequel to what many say is the best PC game of all time, Half-Life.

These days I don't really beat video games. Matter of fact, I don't even really play them as much as I used to. I buy a game and play 3 or so hours and never touch it again. A sad story, I know.

This was almost the fate with HL2. I bought it, played about 8 hours of it then just stopped. One day a friend of mine came over asking if he could see HL2 because he heard how awesome it was. I am a good friend. I then did not leave my chair until I had that game beaten. Best first person shooter of all time. Quite a claim, I know.

First, Half-Life 2 is a scary game at times. Second, I get scared very easily. Third, my roomate Joey and Danny each watched me play it (they get scared to, Joey as much as me). Fourth, we were also joined by Angela and Lessa (I swear I don't think I have ever spelled her name right). Of course, since they are girls, they were only slightly less scared than me and Joey. That week was a milestone in my video game playing life. I felt like a star athlete with devoted fans who would scream every step of the way with me. Attention, girlfriend: If you can find it within yourself to watch me play video games and honestly enjoy watching my play, you will find yourself in full control of my lips. Hot yes?

Halo - Xbox

Everyone knows what this game is.

Halo was, and still is Microsoft's Xbox bread and butter. Uttering the word will bring forth thousands of people.

Freshman year of college. Dorm room.

A friend of mine owned an Xbox. I made fun of him. I mean, really, the Xbox was so big, the controller was the size of a formidable bear. It was too easy. One day he was like, "have you ever even played Halo?"

The truth was no, but I would not go down without a fight.

I told him I had played it and it sucked (not true). Then I asked him if he ever owned a PS2. He said he had, but it broke over the summer (true). So here was the challenge. We would trade systems. He had my PS2 for a month and I had his Xbox for a month.

That month will from here on out be known as the month of Halo. The single player grabbed me by the balls I held ever so dear. But oh...that was not the best part.

So in the ACU dorms you have the internet. The Xbox has a ethernet port. Plug up said Xbox to the internet and you are now connected with every other Xbox on campus. Being able to turn on my Xbox at ANY point during the day and play against 15 other people was nothing short of amazing.

There is a good chance this is why I failed math for the first time. I am fine with this.

After the end of the month, I then did something foolish for which I will always regret. I traded in my PS2 and every PSX and PS2 game I owned for an Xbox, Halo, and some other games and things. (Don't cry for me, I recived a PS2 that christmas after begging my parents and have since re-bought the games I missed).

For the records. Halo 2's single player is better than Halo 1's. But Halo's mulitplayer will always beat out Halo'2s in my book. My book of facts.

Counter-Strike Source - PC

7 months of my life, 5 hours a day.

First person shooter that was online only. You picked terrorist or counter-terrorist. You bought guns. You killed members of the other team. If you died you waited till the round was over then you repeated.

I had a girlfriend during the last month of my Counter-Strike life (the next game I found was World Of Warcraft). She often became overcome with much anger because she wanted to make out and I wanted to play Counter-Strike. I think this is all that needs to be said about this wonderful game.


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This was stolen with ease from my own Xanga, but I believe it gets the point across.

Bye internets. See you later.