[It's time for another Monthly Musing -- the monthly community blog theme that provides readers with a chance to get their articles and discussions printed on the frontpage. -- CTZ] 

Just about a month ago, I got together with my friends for the first time in quite a while for a night of Starcraft. I remember getting that game when it first came out, along with Brood War, and while I was never obsessed with it, I absolutely loved it. I'm way more of a futuristic-setting type of person than something that takes place in the past, so it seemed perfect for me.

There was just one problem -- I. Was. Horrible. I still am. I don't think I've ever won a single game of Starcraft or Warcraft on my own in my entire life. The only way I can even come close to winning is when I'm part of a team of people who have been playing for years, and who specialize in the strategy genre. It doesn't matter what game in the genre it is, I can't seem to win. Or come even close to winning, for that matter. In fact, I've never even finished any of the single-player Starcraft campaigns to this day.

[It's time for another Monthly Musing -- the monthly community blog theme that provides readers with a chance to get their articles and discussions printed on the frontpage. -- CTZ]   

I've been playing videogames for quite a long time. At first, it was nothing more than getting a game, beating said game, and then moving on to the next one. As I grew to understand and appreciate games as more than just things to pass the time, I started to pay attention to the storylines, the universes, and the backstories that were presented to me. It would be nearly impossible to list all of the games that exist with amazing worlds and stories, but out of all of them, none come even close to the world -- the universe -- created in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The Zelda series is arguably the most recognizable group of games in the history of the industry, and I personally attribute that fame to the unfathomable amount of information and backstory present in and outside of each experience. bout.

[Editor's note: pedrovay2003 talks about the Sonic the Hedgehog comics for his contribution to March's Expanded Universe Monthly Music topic. -- CTZ]

When you think of comic books, what character do you think of right away? Superman? Batman? Or are you like my friend ShadowkatRegn and have Spider-Man pop into your mind? These are just a few of famous comic book characters that have shaped the childhoods of so many people, but I tend to think of a different character -- A character who was as big a part of my own childhood as Spider-Man and Batman ever were. That character is Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic was given his own comic book series by Archie Comics way back in 1993. When I strolled into that comic book store in New York way back then, I almost soiled myself when my brother showed me that second issue of the Sonic comic. For the next bunch of years, I collected the comics, and when I stopped buying them, I had (and still have) over a hundred issues, in order. But the real question here is, what pulled me into that comic book universe so much? What did the comics have that the games didn't? Well, the short answer to that question is "a story." The Genesis games didn't have much of a story -- Robotnik (not Eggman) was doing bad things. Stop him. That was pretty much it. It would be a huge understatement to say that the comics expanded on that. 

[Editor's note: pedrovay2003 tells us what started his affair for June's Monthly Musings topic. -- CTZ] 

pedrovay2003's note: This is NOT an attempt to steal dvddesign's idea. I have been wanting to do this all day today, but I had to work and just barely got to my computer. I loved his blog, and it made me feel the rush of my childhood coming back to me, for which I thoroughly thank him. Besides, I wanted to talk more about Duck Hunt than Mario.

You kids today and your fancy graphics, your 3D games, and your dual-joysticks. Back in my day, when Pluto was a planet and we had real games, there was Super Mario Bros, the platformer that started it all. The fat plumber brought videogames back into the world, but not alone --- He had his legion of gun-fodder ducks and his demon-possessed bloodhound to give him a hand. Oh, and Luigi, too.  I started playing this dual-game game when I was 2-years-old, and I've been gaming ever since.

[Editor's note: pedrovay2003 takes a look at the old school games that all three major consoles offer as part of the ongoing Monthly Musings theme. -- CTZ] 

It's no secret that downloadable games are popular right now. Each one of the three major consoles has a downloadable game service (well, the Wii will once WiiWare gets launched), but in addition to that, all three consoles also have downloadable games from the past. It's a given that consoles can't be completely backwards compatible, so downloadable versions of those older games can be quite convenient if it means you don't have to keep all of your old consoles. However, if it's not done right, downloadable games can just be a waste of time and money.

Let's take a look at the options, shall we?