(Photo by Tim Static)

Last week, gaming lost another great place.

It wasn't an arcade. It wasn't a store. In fact, there wasn't anything related to video games as part of the place at all. But many gamers hold it in a high place for what it had played host to over the years.

MoMo's was just outside the campus area of Ohio State. A kind of modern Asian hangout that offered karaoke rooms, billiards, four lanes of bowling, a kitchen offering various Japanese and Korean dishes and a popular selection of bubble tea.

Along with all this, MoMo's also had a large amount of floor space, something that local gamers realized would be ideal for tournaments. Fighting game fans Fugee and Ghaleon saw MoMo's as the ideal place to hold their annual Seasons Beatings tournament, which became of the biggest gaming tournaments in the midwest. And of all the games played, none was more important that Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It was here that some of the best players came to compete, and where the world was introduced to "Mango Sentinals" and the "Curleh Mustache." SB would soon attract the attention of world champions, would host duels between top-tier players and even grudge matches where thousands of dollars was on the line.

MoMo's would also end up becoming the home for the city's own weekly fighting game night. After being in apartments and bar basements, fighting game players were happy to have such a place to play every Wednesday night. From casual tournaments, experimenting with new games and even trying your luck with older, infamous titles.

When the owners announced that they would be closing, local gamers gathered for the last Wednesday night to say goodbye the only way appropriate: tournaments and lots of playing. Old games were brought out, current favorites were contested, and a good time was held by all.

It was a great place for many reasons. An end of a era for fighting game fans.

The way I figure it, based on my memories and checking release dates, today marks 30 years since I was introduced to gaming.

That, up there is the big gift that awaited me along with my brother and sister on Christmas morning, 1981. The Atari Video Computer System. It wasn't called the 2600 just yet. Sitting on the floor was the big, colorful box surrounded by several cartridges, or "tapes" as my uninformed four-year-old self called them. While there were several games we got that day, the ones that stand out are perhaps the very first video games I ever played: Combat and Space Invaders. I want to say Space Invaders came first, but I can't be sure. I'm not too sure what the other games we got that day were, but I know Warlords was one of them.

Anyway, over the next few years other games would follow. Adventure, Missile Command, Freeway, Berserk, Kaboom!, Demons to Diamonds, Air Sea Battle, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and so many more. With the amount of love and attention I gave to the games, it was clear that gaming was going to be a serious part of my life. Me and that woodgrain box hooked up to the old "portable" TV in the den.

Even during the dark days of the Crash, I still played. Sad that the world had seemed to have forgotten gaming, but perhaps hoping that things would improve. And they did. The moment I saw the first new 2600 commercial in 1987, I was ecstatic. Games were back on the shelves! There were even new titles! Things were good again! I would endlessly pester my parents to take me to the stores to check out the selection of re-released games that were once again in stock.

Naturally, that only lasted so long, and eventually I ended up getting a NES like everyone else. But the 2600 was still there, and I would still play it from time to time. Hell, I remember when the first 99 cent stores appeared some twenty years ago, and even they had leftover 2600 games.

The system was not without its problems. I can remember it being taken in for repairs once, for what I don't know. Joysticks fell apart and were replaced. The AV selector was phased out. Power cords went fast. But it's still here, and it still works. Never would I have considered selling it or giving it away, it was just that important to me.

With the appearance of used game stores and the benefit of a stable income, I've been able to fulfill some old dreams and pick up copies of games I only read about or played at other peoples houses... not to mention pick up games that my sister took around 1993 to play on her then-boyfriend's Colecovision. Kinda funny how playing some of those titles fire up old memories. I played Flag Capture, and the sounds made me think of the hot dogs and fries from Superdawg that would be brought over to my cousin's house.

So many memories. And to think that its been 30 years now.

Just something to put out there for now, but later on I'll be posting another blog entry that's a bit more profound... if you can call it that.

Anyway, enjoy the holiday.

Was it just pure morbid curiosity? Was it the long wait? Was it the fact that it was now under $10?

Everything said about this game... it's all true. The lacking gameplay, the reliance on checkpoint saves, the dodgy engine, the awful jokes, the lack of innovation... everything.

Ever single NPC I come across fills me with disgust. I really wish I could punch or shoot each and every one of them. I mean, once I got to the infamous hive level, I couldn't be offended since my apathy overpowered any other emotion I could feel at that point.

I once read that bad comedy is effectively anti-entertainment. That holds so true here. Playing this game is like walking through one of those awful parody movies that the film industry keeps excreting year after year.

But in the end, I only have myself to blame. What's worse, there's an overwhelming feeling that if I don't finish it then I'm only somehow cheating myself and the 14 year wait.

Don't be like me. Even if they start giving it away for free.

In the end I'm not going to call it the worst game of all time, or even for just this year. But I will hold it up as an example of how a game shouldn't be.

Video link since that part is missing now.

What? You think I forgot?

Over the weekend here in Columbus was NerdPow!, a dedicated video game convention. The con itself was rather small, taking up only several of the basement rooms at the Hyatt Regency, everything else was taken up by a disturbing, pedophile-attracting cheerleading tournament.



However, they managed to use the space quite well. The main hall was filled with actual arcade machines; mostly music titles, but there was also Gunblade NY, a NeoGeo cab, and a Japanese style cab fitted with a modded PS2. Everything was free to play, and playing Gunblade NY with both guns at once does bring back memories.



There was also the console game room, which was filled with mostly fighters. I took the chance to put down fliers for the local fighting game night (every Wednesday night from 6:00 to 12:00 at Momo2, located in the University City Center, next to the Ohio State University).



However, one of the big things I wanted to see was the dealers room. While one can't expect too much from a small, first year convention, I did keep my eyes open for any deals. And I did see them, thanks to Arcade Legacy and their fine selection of well-priced Super Famicom games.



So, I picked up Beasts & Blades, an isometric strategy RPG; Yu-Yu Hakusho 2: Kakutou no Sho, a fighter based off the manga/anime series; and yes, Shin Megami Tensei

I can only hope that in the future that the show gets better and that they advertise it more. A friend of mine there expressed his disappointment at such a small turnout for such an impressive setup.