I'm a 27 year old gamer living in western North Carolina. I've been playing steadily since I was 5 years old and had a C64. In the years when I was too poor to afford a console, I'd make do with subscriptions of EGM, Nintendo Power, Gamepro, etc. I learned to enjoy reading about games as much as playing them (thus my liking of Destructoid).

I've owned pretty much every console at one point, but I'm not a collector. I usually sell consoles to afford new ones. The only thing I have collected were magazines and comics.

I can remember a time when I thought home gaming would never catch on, and that gaming would always take place in an arcade.

I can remember a time when I thought all games were supposed to be the best thing ever, and there was no such thing as a 'bad game'.

I can remember when that changed (after getting the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for Christmas and hating it).

I can remember when video games first started being played online, and also thinking it would never catch on.

Top Fives for various things as I can recall (not in any order):

C64 games:

1.) Popeye
2.) Kane
3.) Summer Games
4.) Grog
5.) Zaxxon

Arcade games:

1.) The Simpsons: Arcade
2.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
3.) Street Fighter 2
4.) Afterburner
5.) Chase H.Q.

NES games:

1.) Legend of Zelda
2.) Super Mario Bros.
3.) Mega Man 3
4.) Mike Tyson's PunchOut!!
5.) Battletoads

Genesis games:

1.) Eternal Champions
2.) Sonic the Hedgehog 2
3.) Sonic Spinball
4.) Ecco the Dolphin
5.) Strider

Super Nintendo games:

1.) Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
2.) Final Fantasy III (VI)
3.) Pilotwings
4.) Super Metroid
5.) Chrono Trigger

Pre-2000 PC games:

1.) Half-life
2.) Duke Nukem 3D
3.) Tie Fighter
4.) Mechwarrior 2
5.) Grim Fandango

Playstation games:

1.) Metal Gear Solid
2.) Twisted Metal
3.) Chrono Cross
4.) Final Fantasy VII
5.) Final Fantasy VIII

Gameboy games:

1.) Super Mario Land
2.) Super Mario Land 2
3.) Metroid 2
4.) Tetris
5.) Dr. Mario

Nintendo 64 games

1.) Mario Kart 64
2.) Super Mario 64
3.) Ocarina of Time
4.) Goldeneye 007
5.) Perfect Dark