About two years ago (at least I think it was two at this point…it’s all been a blur), Fizz approached me on-line and asked if I would be interested in working with him in building a new on-line achievement/trophy based community. After years of peddling my works to a rather ungrateful crowd at a website that remain nameless, and which the meer visit out of desperation finds me slamming my head against the keyboard meer moments in, it was easy to answer with one simple word: “Yes.” Joining us on this venture was Sidedish, who we both have conversed with many times in the past on various grinds and achievement whoring sessions. Originally, the site was video based, centralized on Youtube while the site itself was being built, and when it did, the floodgates began to open. We had plenty of aspiring dreams, some of which haven’t come to fruition yet, but that hasn’t stopped us from trying our hardest to reach them.

But, in the same way, I’ve come to put a good deal of time into this site. And, with that, I definitely would not have played half the craptastic titles I’ve played on the years of working here honestly. We’ve lost a number of writers for whatever reasons it may be at the time, whether petty or a tragic life altering problem, but the site persevered, and with that came a bit of an increase in work load. This was fine by me, but when the finances ran dry, roads were rocky for me as well. I can’t tell you how many times I had to sell and repurchase my Xbox 360 to make ends meet. Did you know I had a PlayStation 3 at one point too and a small library of Blu-Rays this horrible economy caused me to sell off? Did you know I had a Nintendo Wii that I needed to pawn just to get enough gas to get to work for three days and didn’t have the money to get it back? Did you know I have a Nintendo 3DS and two titles out of the other five I had and didn’t even get to play just to be able to buy groceries for the two nights prior to my paycheck because I ran out of ramen?

I bet you didn’t… Writing for this site has proven to be pretty costly, and when it comes to monetary issues, none of us are strangers to it. Sometimes the site is slammed with plenty of reviews at once, and sometimes it grinds to a halt for a while. But, this is something we are all passionate and dedicated about, so we do our best. And in this process, we all take something away from the struggles we have to go through. The most recent for me was the end of 2011. One of the reasons I pick up Arcade titles and do guides for them more so than retail is because they’re cheap. $10 a title isn’t bad, though this $15 each new game is highway robbery, having convinced myself $60 for retail equals 1000 gamerscore points so $10 for 200 is not too far off. This doesn’t add up or make sense with the price hike.

But, with that being said, here I am still buying, acquiring, and writing. Recently I picked up Amy and didn’t even really play it much. The same for Resident Evil 4 and the slew of other Arcade titles I grabbed. But, thanks to this site and my trying to keep up, I found a new urge to continue gaming. Honestly, most of the games seem like the same idea or general foundation over and over. Another Call of Duty title here (literally), another God of War clone, oh look another Halo, Guitar Hero, Mass Effect, Gears of War spin-off/rip-off! My how I love playing the same freakin’ game over and over and paying full price each and every freakin’ time. It really keeps my yin and yang in balance, and my surplus of Xbox 360 controllers in short supply.

And amid the chaos of clone after clone, I still manage to come across unique gems. Yes, I’ll venture into the craptastic Arcade game world a lot. Why? Because much of those horrible games are a breath of fresh air. A lot of you may have hated the retail Alone in the Dark reboot, but I loved every second of it because of its faults and old-school game design we don’t see every day over and over, and Amy is showing similar positive signs that make me want to break it out more and more. And with some of the classics being ported over in HD, I have become even more ecstatic. I just recently finished off Rayman Origins with my fiancée and can safely say I was addicted for five days straight, finishing up things we couldn’t achievement together. At this time I’m drowning myself in the Final Fantasy XIII world with the game’s sequel despite my loathing the first quite a bit, and have become addicted to this again. I also just picked up Soul Calibur V and love its fluid game play and familiar controls from Soul Calibur IV, but with new additions that make it a more unique title (because honestly how much more unique a fighter can you have outside of what the Mortal Kombat reboot gave gamers). I’m looking forward to The Darkness II despite never getting too into the first, and I even want to delve into Halo: Anniversay because, believe it or not, I liked the first one.

So what have I taken away from all of my experiences here? A fresh start on gaming. If it weren’t for this site, my enthusiasm for new games would have died out ages ago. I’m loving The Simpsons Arcade, I’m anxious to finally get my hands on ScaryGirl. I want the Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill HD remakes as soon as possible because I love these games and how much these pioneering titles did for games today. And oh, so many more titles coming I want to get my grubby mitts on. And with my bill situation just about straightened out, and an income tax check due by the end of the month, I’m sure I’ll be able to pick up some of these titles and more, tear into them, and help other achievement addicts unlock them and their respectable trophies as easily as possible so they can enjoy the game without a completionist urge hanging over their heads.

Yes, I rambled off a few titles that rebooted franchises or are remakes of classics, but that’s the point. These games aren’t passing themselves off as a new franchise or a a simple cheap cash-in on what’s popular today. These are the classics, the reasons your beloved larger titles exist. Solid game play, excellent stories, great controls, and a replay value that is undeniable. These games took risks and by doing that either made it into the mainstream or didn’t. Today’s mainstream successes simply don’t take the same risks, playing it safe to pander to legions of fans that wouldn’t know originality if it bit them in the face…

With all of that being brought into account, the end of 2011 showed me something special indeed: I like gaming. Working with Fizz, Sidedish, and all the others on this site in the past, present, and even the future, has reinstilled my faith in the world of gaming. In a way it sparked my creativity once more, and has restrained some of my hostility by letting me be a hero or villain I cannot be in reality. And it makes me feel good about my work here when I see its popularity rise, and read positive comments about my work, as well as the other writers on staff. As for my wallet, well…

It couldn’t feel emptier than it does right now…