Speaking of Golden Eye, it’s interesting being on the outside of nostalgia isn’t it? I didn’t play Golden Eye back in it’s heyday, but was introduced to it in college since everyone I met had played it as a kid. All I could think when playing was “This was fun?”. :)

The catch to these nostalgic feelings is that they can cloud your memory of a less-than stellar game. I have replayed several older games with my wife and some of these “beloved classics” just don’t measure up over time. Playing Goldeneye for the first time since college was a huge shock after years of playing on a twin-stick controller. For a first-person shooter that ate up piles of time during high school, I can barely stand to play this dinosaur today.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I hate these older games or that my happy memories are any less valid. It simply means my tastes have changed over time and no amount of rose-colored glasses (or rose-colored liquor) will change that fact.

I really like how nostalgia affects my gaming, mainly because I have so many good gaming memories. And they tend to be so much more clear and easier for me to recall than just any old memories. I’d say that most of my present gaming ventures have been (and will continue to be) affected by my gaming past.