Good Old Days . . . revisted

Last weekend it was all about the Good Old Days. We played older games. We caught up with old friends. And I think we all had a good time. I know I did. It started with Star Wars Battlefront . . . or maybe it was Gears of War 2. I can't remember which came first because I was having so much fun I lost all track of time.

Now that a death sentence has been placed on Star Wars Battlefront we've been trying to get a night together where all the old regulars (and some new friends we dragged along) met up for some friendly and high spirited fun in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. It was a blast to play again with Cleelost, DEWbird and others. Some of which I haven't played with since the original Xbox days. Some of which use their Xbox 360 as a DVD player more than a game console. It was easy to slip into old habits and familiar strategies while at the same time discovering new moves and friends along the way. In my opinion a good game should never have an expiration date put on it. There will always be people willing to play.

After (or maybe that was before) Battlefront there was Gears of War 2. With really not that much arm twisting we were able to convince Evil Ric to repurchase the game and get back into the multiplayer. It was a little rough trying to remember which button would reload your weapon, or how to run, after a couple of Call of Duty games, but we eventually got the swing of things and started to get our grove back. The second night of Gears was even better than the first. There were still those frustrating moments but I think there were more good memories than bad for most of us.

It was really nice to play again with G Sneaka. Our paths have crossed occasionally but I still long for those old Battlefront days and hours upon hours of nightly play with the same group of great guys. And that got me thinking.

When Star Wars Battlefront came out I think we played that game for 5-6 hours a night . . . every night. We never got tired of it. We never wanted to play anything else. Once the Xbox 360 came out we did start losing a few of the regulars as they spent time on their new system. But they always came back to Battlefront. And then Gears of War came along. We spent 4-5 hours a night, (we all started to feel our age and realized we needed to get some sleep at night) every night, playing that game. Then Gears of War 2 came out and the process repeated itself. These games kept us together and were played relentlessly. And since then it hasn't been the same.

All the people on my friend's list have fractured out into other games. Nothing was coming out that held everyone's attention for very long. Even games like Modern Warfare 2, a great game, but after 4 and a half months we all decided we would rather play Battlefront or Gears than another night of that game. I started to wonder if there would ever be another game that would galvanize the old gang back into playing 3-4 hours a night (still getting older) every night, every day of the year. . . FOR YEARS! Battlefront and Gears (both versions) had that impact but there doesn't seem to be anything out there now (or coming soon) that appears to promise that.

So until that game comes (probably Star Wars Battlefront 3) I guess I'll have to face the fact that sometimes the only time I'll play with old friends is when we become nostalgic and put in those old games. While we've only got a couple of weeks left for Battlefront lets hope that both Gears games have a longer life span . . . or another really good game comes out that will unite old friends with new memories. A Gamer Girl can dream, can't she?