Wednesday 18 December 2013

Stranger in a Strange Land - Enthusiastic Tourist


Today we headed off to Game Masters at the Powerhouse - we'd been to both Game On and Game Masters in Melbourne, so we knew what to expect. The kids went off exploring, and I played merrily, both with them from time to time and by myself.

Let me tell you, I had a ball. I was on an absolute giggly high after two and a half hours of playing. 

Now Gamers, don't bother to correct me on terminology - I'm 107 and won't change my phraseology to fit in. So just have a laugh at my expense.

Interesting highlights for me:

1. Discovery of 'Elevator Action'. This game is AWESOME. I kept going back to it again and again. Why did they outmode that one? For non-gamers, it's not nearly as pervy as it sounds.

2. The old Atari Xevious is way harder than any game they make today. It's impossible. (and given it was unused most of the time, I don't think I'm alone in this assessment)

3. The GameMaster pong is like pong on crack - it's totally amped up, but still Pong, so old ladies like me will still like it, but young people like all the 'references'.

4. My Moves like Jagger is "Flawless" and my Wild Ones dance routine is "really tight". I just wanted to say that because I'm old and co-ordination is not my strong suit. So IN YOUR FACE everybody that was laughing.

5. A little girl under my supervision did SingStar with another little girl to a Pink song, which we realised midway through was about heroin addiction and then the other mother and I franticly tried to shut it down (but only succeeded to make it louder). Game designers - you need to include an emergency stop button for old people that can't use those handsets. Just letting you know....

6. I would rather listen to Vanilla Ice than Katy Perry - and that's saying something.
(I won't elaborate, but if you head to Game Masters, you'll understand soon enough)

7. My favourites of all, are still, and always were Sega Rally and the motor bike one. But I should wear a longer dress if I'm climbing on and off a motorbike. It's not a good look. I scared a few kids.

8. Fruit Ninja is hilarious to watch. People are sticking their tongues out and jumping about. Make sure you check that out...

9. The no photo rule is stupid. See point 8.

10. Big thank you to the Powerhouse for including entry in the membership - it is brilliant to know we can pop back many times over the holidays. They also have a membership special on, so if you think you will go to Game Masters more than once, consider signing up for the year. This is not a sponsored post - I just love being a member of the Powerhouse (added bonus of discounts at the Observatory and free entry into Questacon - you'd be mad not to consider it!)

I'm really beginning to enjoy this gaming lark, and the standing on the fringes looking on, is no longer ideal. It's time to join in, or at least give it a wholehearted burl. If I can have a euphoric blast on these retro games, I'm sure I can enjoy something a little newer. Or at least give it a go. As you may or may not remember, I added playing Assassin's Creed to the Torschlusspanik List, back when I decided I was ready to travel to this Strange Land, instead of sitting in uninformed judgment. I've done nothing in a year, but I will try to knock this off the list over the holidays. Though I may need some help with that stupid handset...


4 comments:

  1. That sounds MAJORLY fun. I want to go. I love how you do all the things. I'm going to take the girls before the holidays are out. Thanks for drawing it to my attention!

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  2. That sounds awesome! My Granny still has my Uncles Sega and it was the first game console my cousins and I learnt to use. I still works too but you have to blow out the cartridges pretty frequently (who knows if that even works!).

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  3. I am crap at playing games these days, but I so enjoyed the nintendo and the play station when my son was younger. I think I hogged it too often maybe!

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  4. You really are one of a kind aren't you Lydia?! I used to love Sonic the Hedgehog back some 25 years ago, when it took HOURS to get all those rings etc!!

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