After reading an article about how the holiday season has directly impacted the ‘me gift’ market, I have found that I cannot keep my mouth shut. Sure, it is more important to give than to receive and there are many more people in need than ever before, but… well… what do I get?
The holiday shopping season for consumers has always included a ‘special something’ for the shopper to even the playing field of selflessness and I see no reason why an ailing economy on the verge of depression should change things.
A recent article in Game Informer magazine focused heavily on the finest Gamecube games which is a step in the right direction but still you’re talking real money there. I suggest taking it one step further and buying a Nintendo 64.
Crazy you say?
I maintain that while the N64 system is not up to par with the new generation of online multi-super-bit game systems that allow you to connect with teenagers across the globe eager to own your ass in a game of Rainbow Six, it still delivers the goods.
Even if only for a week, the N64 is a fantastic budget fun machine.
A refurbished system and a pair of controller may set you back a maximum $25 and from there the sky’s the limit!
May I recommend a few choice games that will turn your ice-covered den into a funtastic arcade! For games, start with the essentials:
James Bond in Goldeneye-
One of the best shooters ever on any home console system. Sure, the graphics are primitive but the gameplay is downright addictive. I recall fondly the days that my college buddies and I would enjoy an entire evening of ‘Bond’-ing over this game in the multi-player levels. The trip-mines are key in my opinion. What a surprise that the game has aged far more gracefully than the film itself.
Starfox-
One of the all time best flight simulators, I am also quite fond of the talking animals angle that this game revels in. A franchise that still ranks high in the gaming industry, the N64 game has to be the best of the lot.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire-
The dark time for Star Wars fans also ended up being its most inventive as this cross-market explosion hit gamers, comic fans, and toy collectors all at once! A thrilling tale that takes place during the proper trilogy rather than the CGI-fest that followed it, this remains one of my favorite Star Wars experiments. The game itself is full of great moments from ‘threading the needle’ on Tatooine on a speeder bike to fighting IG-88 on a junk planet.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron-
One of the N64′s many exclusive games, I have long heard of the love for this game and it is well-founded. Long before Battlefront and other vast games that span the entire franchise of Star Wars mythology this game stuck to its guns and took gamers for a wild ride through the best moments in the best of the Star Wars films.
Turok-
Dinosaurs and shooters have never been mixed this well. Turok is one of the last games to stretch the shooter dynamic to embrace new ideas and what a hit it was! Surprisingly later expansions have left gamers cold, but this version still holds up as a fantastic cartridge of joy sure to please the most grudgeful gamer.
At roughly $5 a pop you can set yourself and a friend up for at least a week to a month (depending on how bad the season gets) of solid fun that you will not regret. If you really feel left out, you can hook it up to a VCR and play old VHS tapes at the same time to turn it into a multimedia system but I think you’ll find that the N64 is more fun that you’d think.
So beat the system and look to the past for your fun.
You’ll be glad that you did.
