How video games changed my life

I've always considered myself a bit of a nerd. Ever since I can remember, I was interested in all of the "weird" things.

I used to run around and chase classmates with plastic fangs saying I was a vampire, or sometimes I'd quote random movies and television shows.

I played with weird toys and loved watching strange movies like "Beetlejuice," my favorite movie.

The most important thing I enjoyed and loved as a child is something I still treasure today -- video games. The Nintendo Entertainment System came into my life when I was just a toddler and it changed my whole outlook on life.

I have been a fan of video games since I held the Nintendo Zapper in my little hands and hunted ducks while an evil dog laughed in the background.

I became obsessed with Mario and Luigi. I was always eager to save Princess Toadstool and I was willing to bounce on any Goomba or Koopa in my way.

For my third birthday, my mother baked me a cake and decorated it with Mario characters and bought me a big Mario doll as well. According to her, when I unwrapped Mario, I shook violently and squealed like a mouse. I also did this when I got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas, when I got a Nintendo GameCube and when I was given a Nintendo Wii.

If you haven't guessed, I'm more of a Nintendo geek than anything else.

That doesn't mean I won't give PlayStation or the Xbox a try, but because I've grown up with Nintendo, I'm biased.

The reason I love Nintendo is not just because its characters were the closest things I had to friends, but the creativity and work put into its games.

As much as I love hearing Toad say, "Your princess is in another castle," I also really enjoy playing Ocarina of Time.

That game was nonstop challenges and sometimes I thought I could never beat it.

When I finally sealed away evil forever using the Master Sword, it was as if I had just saved the world from a giant dinosaur-laser-fight. I was the Hero of Time; the world was peaceful again.

Today, there are three main companies in video games, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

All of them have certain strengths and weaknesses when being compared to each other. Xbox has the "Red Ring of Death," PlayStation has internet problems and Nintendo didn't make the Wii DVD or HD compatible.

However, the only thing that matters to me is the quality of the game.

It doesn't matter what Super Mario Bros. looks like as long as it's fun and gives me what I want in a game.

Nintendo always makes gaming fun and exciting for people of any age group.

This is why I'm a big fan of Nintendo and video games in general. I will stay this way for many, many years.