What game got you into gaming?

Do you remember the first time you ever played a game, the graphics were amazing, the gameplay was astounding and you were in the moment. Whether it was an all out brawl in a split screen game of Mario Kart or an intense session of Pong they all bring back their own great nostalgia. Now when I was younger I used to go over to my friend's place and we would play Mario Kart on his Super Nintendo, I thought this was the best thing ever and an absolute blast but I'll admit this was not when I decided to become a gamer.

In fact it didn't come until the first time I played Perfect Dark, a first person shooter game with aliens, split-screen multiplayer, co-op and amazing graphics. At the time I thought I was playing Crysis in terms of graphics and the game play was revolutionary. I remember versing my brother and bots in games of death match, using the guns that could shoot through walls and the pistol with a rifle scope. It wasn't til this point when I fully realized the true potential of gaming and it would definitely be in my opinion the game that I can safely say made me the gamer I am today. After playing the game for years, I went through the stages of owning a Nintendo 64, Game Cube and even a Wii. Nintendo ran in the blood and both Mario, Metroid and all the great Nintendo IP's were amazing an fun.

Sadly enough the Wii couldn't quite live up to its amazing predecessors, because in many ways it felt like a gimmick. There were still some really good games released including Zelda: Skysword and Super Mario Galaxy but in a generation so defined by HD graphics and an over flooded market of first person shooters trying to imitate Call of Duty my move to Xbox was soon to come. It was a great move as I discovered games like Halo 3, Mass Effect and many more. But I can't shake the feeling that Nintendo is in some serious trouble this generation. They are already behind in processing power and now more than ever there has been an increase in children and younger audiences playing multiplayer first person shooter games like Halo and COD.

Now I am not saying that you can blame Halo or COD for this, in fact it is clearly bad parenting but this really is starting to hurt Nintendo considering they could be considered as the console for the whole family. Hopefully this year at E3 the announcement of some new games will give them the edge they need as the head into the battle for next-gen. I would hate to see such a great company that my gaming roots came from come to an end like this.

Anyway, that is enough talking from me, what game got you into gaming? Any interesting stories?