I worked at a high school for a few years too myself. I'm sure this skill of yours comes in very handy for your students. Especially as they are teenagers who are impressionable. Remembering my teenage days, I was always more receptive to teachers who actually took the time to get to know me even a little bit eg: Ask how my weekend was etc

The small things matter. Final Fantasy IX expressed that too. I really liked Vivi.

@demon-returns said:

For me

Shenmue - Nowadays when someone plays this game they probably won't understand what the hype was about because other games have copied upon the open world formula and even improved on it and expanded on it etc

But yourself in the shoes of someone playing this game back when it first came out and just how awesome it was. I also have to say that my lobe for this game also had a lot to do with the fact that I LOVE martial arts and that opening cut scene seeing Lan Di using some authentic kung fu had me literally busting walnuts in my pants.

MGS 2 - So I had already played the first game and loved it but this one's production values, music and everything else carried it to the next level. Again it's another one of those games where you had to have played it during it's time to have a greater appreciation for it. I would've put MGS 3 here because I ended up liking it over 2 but 3 wasn't as much eye opening as 2 was just because 2 blazed the path for 3.

Dark Souls - Some back story.... I had bought Demon's Souls and never played it for about a year and then bought Dark Souls and never played it either, mainly due to backlogs of games I was playing at the time more so than anything. One day I tried to play Demon's Souls and got obliterated withing a few minutes of the game and I said **** that I have way too many other games I have waiting to be played for me to waste time on this garbage hard game. One day my sis was chilling in room and I said to her "hey why don't you try this game ad I put in Dark Souls for her just laughs and giggles to see her get wasted and for whatever reason watching her play was an eye opener for me. That same night after she left I gave it a try and an addiction was born. I'd play the game for 3-4 hours get tired and turn the system off only to realize a few minutes later I have nothing else more fun to do so I'd turn the game on for another 2-3 hours and play. Needless to say I finished the game and went on to Demon's Souls immediately having some experience now ;-)

honorable mentions goes out to - Fall Out New Vegas, God of War 2, Final Fantasy 10, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Shadow of the Colossus

I remember people hyping up Shenmue (still never played it:p) but I remember reading somewhere that it was one of the most expensive games ever for its time.

I was actually debating between putting MGS2 in here over GTA SA but ultimately chose GTA due to the vast amount of content. MGS2 was my first MGS game and I remember being so entertained by the cutscenes, I was more excited to watch them at times than actually play lol. I remember making popcorn to watch the nearly 2 hour long end game cutscene.

You won't be disappointed with either game. The Witcher 3 is in my top 10 games of all time. Recently completed it after over 240hours of gameplay. FFXV is great if you like western RPGS like The witcher 3. It isn't a typical Final Fantasy game but it is a good game. Don't let fanboys deter you from it.

Red Dead Redemption 2 looks fantastic. It is a day one purchase for me (I rarely ever purchase day one) but I know R* will deliver as they always do.

I am excited for Kingdom Hearts 3 early next year and The Last of us 2. I hope they both come out in 2019. After that, this generation can begin to wind down and i'll be content:)

The friends you made through playing Halo, have you been able to meet them in real life? Also mind sharing why you stopped playing SP games?

I 1000% agree about the pure positive mindset. A lot of what we deal with is in the head. If you have a positive outlook it really does help. Also the losses part. I like to think of losses as lessons. A chance to improve. I used to be a sore winner when younger, i thought I was hot s*it in Fifa and was a badass. I finally met someone who played me 4 times in a row at a gaming tournament and i got smacked silly hahahaha. I licked my wounds and instead of thinking I know it all, I asked him for tips on how to improve and we actually ended up becoming good friends.

Gaming has done so much for me.

Why? What have they done for you?

Most of us have been gaming long enough to have our favorite games/ best genres and favorite characters. It is safe to say if you are here posting about games, you are passionate about gaming and it has helped shape who you are today.

I saw a great video today on the topic Here and it really got me thinking of games that define me. They don't necessarily have to be your favorite games. They just need to be games that shaped your gaming style and had a significant impact on your life.

In no particular order, here are my 3 games that defined who I am as a gamer:

1. Final Fantasy 10

Its my avatar:P Final Fantasy 10 was my first Final Fantasy and is the game that made me realise that I will ALWAYS be a gamer.

I got it really late (2005) and actually got it by accident since I was short of 10 euro to afford another game and it was available for dirt cheap 10 euros.

From the music (To Zanarkand) to the gameplay strategies to the story, it all resonated with me so much. I could relate with Tidus and his parental issues I could relate with Wakka dealing with your faith being tested, I could relate with Yuna and feeling the pressure of the world on you. As a 12-13 year old, this was mind blowing to me that games could do this.

My brother who isn't much of a gamer (Plays sports games & GTA mostly) got so into watching me play the game, he would actually tell me not to continue the story until we both were at home and we would play till the early hours of the morning. He was brains behind my battle strategies (Oh Gosh I remember how relieved we were when we beat Seymour on Mt Gagazet!) I played the game all summer (200 hours +) and when the end credits rolled, I shed a tear and knew for sure, I would be a gamer for as long as they keep making games.

2. Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

The game that got me into online gaming.

I had played online games before (My first one was SOCOM Fireteam Bravo on PSP) but COD4 is when I realised the joy that online gaming could bring. I was never a huge shooter fan. I would play the odd one here and there but in the holiday season 2007 I had enough money saved up for one game (Uncharted 1 or this) I decided this would give me more value for money since it is online and I am so glad I made that choice.

The ranking system was addictive. Seeing my perks unlock and seeing how it made me more effective online than others who did not have them and Clan wars.

I was in a clan with people I met in the game (some of them I still chat with to this day) and it was exciting to chat with real people and do some major damage whilst having each other's backs.

My parents used to think I was mad for having a conversation in the room by myself and even threatened to take my PS3 away until I proved that I was actually chatting with real people online LMAO!

I played COD4 so much that I play it till this day. Never got into the other COD games that much but this one made me realise online gaming can be extremely entertaining.

3. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS FOLLOW THE DAMN TRAIN CJ!"

People to this day still quote so many lines from this game, it is clear the social impact it had on many gamers lives.

This was my first GTA game. I had only heard about it in passing so I went in with no expectations.

I hadn't played a Sandbox open world game so being given so much freedom to go around and do whatever I wanted to do was a great surprise. I think out of all the GTA games released, this one easily has the most amount of content crammed into the Single Player. I beat the game over 10 times over the years on various platforms and I STILL find new stuff I missed on subsequent playthroughs. Wanna just drive around? Sure. You wanna have gang shootouts? Have at it. Wanna just do the story missions and skip everything else? Your game, your rules.

As a fan of hip-hop & rap music, I loved driving around listening to Radio Los Santos & WCTR. The story was entertaining throughout. (San Fierro is my favorite city) The characters are memorable (Who doesn't know Big Smoke lol) The missions were the most varied in a GTA game and I loved how NPCs would react to you if you were buff or fat. I felt like I was in a real world for 2004 game standards and my love affair with R* has just grown throughout the years.

So those are my 3 games that I'd say define who I am as a gamer. What would you say yours are?

Still going to get it. Loved KH1-2 & Birth by sleep. Story isn't that hard to follow. If you play Metal Gear Solid games, you'll be fine with understanding the kind of plot going on.

The gap between releases is ridiculous though. I was in just starting middle school when KH2 came out. Now I'm a fully grown man with an apartment and job. If I didn't love Final Fantasy & Disney, I would have abandoned this a long time ago.

Final Fantasy 7 is still very playable in its PS1 form. Not sure why the obsession with remaking it.

When one resorts to insults, it usually means they have lost the argument. You aren't fooling anyone.

Even on my base 500GB PS4, I rarely ever find myself running out of space. I can install 7-9 games at a time easily and I only ever play a maximum of 3 games at a time.

500GB is plenty for me. Idk how people can play 4-10 games at a time giving it their attention.

There are spiderman games on the xbox already. Thread & Boycott fail.