That new game smell!

I can relate to how you used to anticipate games so much. My dad used to let us rent games instead of buying them, and a trip to Hollywood Video was an all-day event.

It was very rare for me to buy a game I had never tried. I had to be pretty confident before I made a purchase. When I was 12, my friends older sister worked at our local game rental store (Lucky me, we had a store that put Video Games on a higher priority list than movies, so the selection was great) and she would always let me rent games for free and put them on her account. So I had easy access to most games long before I decided to buy them or not. Before that, when it was my folks buying me games, we'd still generally rent them before a purchase. The only time I didn't rent before buying was when I was buying a used game for 20 bucks. And there just wasn't the same, rip through the plastic feeling there... since there was no plastic, and usually no box or instructions. =(

I like watching the demo reel or cinematic that plays before you get to the main menu. The first few times I play a new game I always watch it which really pisses off my mates.

I try to learn as little as possible about games that I buy. Learning about all of the cool sights and features in a game from some trailer or screenshot just lessen the impact when you see it in the game. Unfortunately, ignorance causes a lot of risk when 50 bucks is at stake.

The more excitement I have for a game, the more I try to shield myself from spoilers. I'll even go so far as to avoid the related forums once the release date approaches, just so I can avoid unmarked spoilers.

Even though I do recognise the feeling and can recall my enjoyment with certain games for the N64 at the time, that feeling was short lived, since even then most of the games were rubbish. After having mistakenly bought a couple of games I deemed interesting but were really bad, I never really bought a game ever again without having played it first or having at least heard positive feedback. Thank God for demo's, even while misleading and/or inaccurate from time to time, they at least give some insight. What was that saying again, 'never judge a book by it's cover'?

Most of the time, I 've done a fair bit of looking aorund before I get the game. But I do remember when I would be in ebgames for an hour, reading the backs of all the game cases, and carefully narrowring down my selection.

I some times spend up to two hours finding a game because I rarely get to buy new ones. I'll grab certain ones and walk around with them and see if I want something that's better. After I get home I usually flip through the booklet, watch the opening movie before the menu, then go through the options.

"Most of the time, I 've done a fair bit of looking aorund before I get the game. But I do remember when I would be in ebgames for an hour, reading the backs of all the game cases, and carefully narrowring down my selection."
I did this same thing only with blockbuster, nobody liked going with me cause it would take me 2 hours to rent 1 game.

What was that saying again, 'never judge a book by it's cover'?

But that's what the cover is for! It tells you exactly what's inside the book!

@danielrbischoff

That was gonna be my smart-ass reply, PRESS START!