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GoozerNation Arcade
Eric's Articles
Claptrap's New Robot Revolution Impressions
Last Airbender: Shyamalan Falls Short
White Knight Chronicles Review
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ipp's Top 5 Current Favorite Flash Games
Eric Ippolito aka Sykora727
Hello, my name is Eric Ippolito. I live in Dallas, Texas but am currently finishing up my degree here in Indianapolis. I attend a small Christian college and will be getting my degree in Business Marketing in May. I have been in marketing for about three years now and love it. One of my interests in particular is Drawing. I used to really be into sketching when I was a kid, but then I kind of got bored with drawing my friends and doing realism. But then, just a few years ago, I got into drawing Anime for fun. It was a change of pace and I have learned a lot just from that style. Right now I've been doing more creative realism digital drawing and love it. I have so many areas that I need to improve on, but I'm taking it as I go and having fun. Another big interest I have, before I get into gaming, is Dallas Stars Hockey. As a child, my dad took my siblings and I to see them when they first arrived in Big D in 1993. I've been watching them ever since, through thick and thin.
Alright, well, let's talk about gaming! My first gaming experience was playing my family's Atari way back in the 80's. I can remember my favorite Atari game being some food fighting game (simplicity at its finest). After that, the fun really started when my brother got a regular Nintendo for Christmas one year. As with most people, my first game was Mario. I still remember all those nights playing Mario and these Bible games (which were incredibly hard!) that my mom would buy, and getting sent to bed when I refused to die, letting anyone else have a chance to play. My mom would usually make these brown sugar muffins and her, my brother and I would play the Nintendo for hours. So many good memories back then. The best memory was probably playing Contra with my brother, which developed in me a deep appreciation for co-op games. Least favorite? Getting schooled by my brother at RBI Baseball for the regular Nintendo. My favorite old school titles are probably Mario 3 (NES), Kirby Super Star (SNES), Shadows of the Empire (N64), Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64), and Starfox (NES & 64). My least favorite old game? Probably LoLo (3 was it?) for the NES, hardest game ever.
Over the years, I have played on many consoles including the Atari, NES, SNES, N64, Gameboy, PS1, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, et cetera. These are in addition to having many gaming computers. My favorite console to date is probably the PS2. There are just so many excellent titles on the platform that I have come to love. Some of my favorites are: Final Fantasy X and XII, Kingdom Hearts I and II, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Gran Turismo 3, Ghost Recon, and Every Ratchet & Clank game produced for the PS2. There are just so many great games for the PS2. Of those mentioned, my favorite one is probably Kingdom Hearts II. I was skeptical at first with all the Disney characters, but soon began to see why the title had so many fans. It's just a great game with excellent and deep characters, and it has a pretty amazing plot line as well. I have played KHII through several times, spending more hours each time than the last.
As for the computer, my first real experience in PC gaming (besides SkiFree), was at about age 9. Around this time, three of the best games to date had come out: Descent, Doom and Quake. Luckily for me, my friend's dad was a computer programmer and beta tester, and he had several computers linked together and we could play pretty much any game at the time. My instant favorite was Descent. I became hooked on the real 3-dimensional environment and excellent sound effects. I have followed the series up to Descent 3 when tragically, in 1999, the third title did not meet anticipated sales, and Descent was shut down. The games that I love for the PC also include Dark Forces, Age of Empires, Red Alert, and America's Army.
Overall, gaming has been fun so far, and I'm always excited when new developments hit the industry. I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the gaming industry, and helping make it better than it ever has been before. I'm really enthused to be here at GoozerNation and am having a good time so far.
