July 15, 2005 5:40 PM BST
I love Atari's "Adventure." That was the first console game that I fell in love with, and the reason I wanted an Atari 2600. I've played that and Zelda more than any other games. After the industry crashed in the early 1980s, I didn't play games for my first couple of years in college (which was a good thing). Then, when Nintendo came out with Zelda for the NES, it had the same affect on me as Adventure, and I bought a console and never looked back. By the way, I have the Atari Anthology disc for the Playstation 2, which includes Adventure. I also have the Adventure ROM file for a 2600 emulator on my PC.
Heather, I completely understand what you're saying about violence in the modern console releases, but I'm one of the adults who thoroughly enjoy both violence and competition in video games. They aren't right for children, but, for me, it's fun to do things in a game world that I would never even want to do in reality. In 1992, Mortal Kombat was the first high-profile game that introduced unnecessarily (but cool) extreme and graphic violence, and in more recent times, Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2 - 2001) changed the whole gaming landscape, by allowing players the freedom to commit violent acts that have absolutely nothing to do with game play. Also, foul language and explicit sexuality have become standard elements in these games. As an adult, I can enjoy such games just as I enjoy novels or movies that contain those elements, without being encouraged to emulate them. Unfortunately, too many children and teenagers are being influenced by these games, so I'm all for strict measures to restrict sales to adults only. The games might not encourage kids to become murderers, but they can certainly influence their attitudes toward social interaction.
On the other hand, there are some very cute G-rated games that still offer fierce competition, such as the series based on the Mario and Crash Bandicoot characters. The kart racing games are my favorite (recently... Mario Kart: Double Dash, Crash Team Racing, & Crash Nitro Kart). All of the characters are adorable, living in bright happy surroundings, but the actual competition is cut-throat! LOL Bomberman is another great competitive game, especially if you have four players. A lot of the modern sports series, like Madden Football, are also suitable for all ages, while still offering solid competition.
Anyway, single-player adventure games are still my favorites. I recently finished Resident Evil 4, and have started Silent Hill 4. Those are often classified as "horror-survival," but they're still adventure games. The next big one is Zelda: Twilight Princess, which should be out around Thanksgiving for the Nintendo Game Cube.
Sometimes, though, it's relaxing to sit back and play Galaga or Galaxian for a while.