I have been thinking about this a lot over the last couple of years. I've been gaming since I was little, my dad had a ZX81 and we played Horace and the Spiders together and I got my C64 when I was 5/6 and played games on that; Bubble Bobble, Creatures 2, Mayhem in Monsterland etc. Then we got a megadrive with Sonic 2 when we got older, and an N64 after that. I've always been interested in gaming, it's something I really love.

My problem is that, basically, I'm shit at them. I have mostly played RPGs, and then mostly turn-based Japanese ones(Final Fantasy, Grandia, Shadow Hearts etc) or hack-n-slash. Lately I'm a sucker for falling block puzzles but I'm not fantastic at those either. All single player. Mulitplayer is something that has generally passed me by, and as gaming becomes more multiplayer focused I feel like I'm falling further and further behind. Random xbox live matches are too impersonal, and playing against people I know just makes me feel embarrassed and annoyed when I lose.

It's not just that though. Most of my game money goes on the PSN/XBLA titles, or retro remakes. It's very rarely I buy a new boxed game on or near release. I feel like I've hit some kind of peak age and only the past is any good. I know this isn't true, that there is as much creativity in the industry as there has always been if you seek it out. This is why I have stayed as interested as I have. Maybe I should just sit down with an FPS, get a 12-pack of Red Bull and play it until I'm good.