Usually I hate this time of year. I’m talking about that time period where the release of new games slows to a trickle, where the only new games available are titles I could care less about playing. Games still do get sent to me via Gamefly, but I normally try them out and then send them back in one day.

I ended up lowering my Gamefly account to a one game plan as a result, and the way things are looking, the next game that will head my way will be Deus Ex…I hope.

But still, the slow period makes me want to play something different. I wouldn’t care what it is, just as long as it’s something new or something I had not played in a long time.

Remember when I went through this last year, and as a result, I ended up purchasing a Sega Dreamcast and playing it nonstop until the fall rush started? Looks like this year it is history repeating itself, but only a much earlier generation. For a long time I wanted to get a classic gaming console that I have longed for, well, for a very long time. A console so advanced for its time that as an Atari 2600 owner I was jealous of one of my mother’s friends who owned one. That system was the ColecoVision.

I’ve seen many posted on eBay, and even went as far as picking one up at a previous MAGFest, but it was bought by someone else before I could get money from the ATM. Finally, last week I was able to get a working system from a friend of mine for only $30; a little more than what I spent for the Dreamcast last year, but still well worth it. The price was for the system and 11 game carts: a majority of them being arcade classics, something the system was best known for doing well.

Of course, getting a classic system meant that not everything could be perfect. I know a lot of classic NES owners had issues with the console reading game carts properly. And yes, that includes the tradition of blowing onto the cart slot and on the game carts themselves in order to get it to work. Yes I had to do the same thing with the ColecoVision games that I bought with my system. I might even have to look into getting a cleaning kit to get everything as good as new.

But that’s not the only thing I want to get renewed. I forgot how no matter how good the games are on a system, even the ColecoVision, they are only as good as the accompanying controller. And yes, the ColecoVision controller was a pain to use, and it still is today. Prolonged use makes my wrist scream out in agony.

But thankfully, I noticed the system has the same 9-pin controller port as the Atari 2600/7800 and the Sega Genesis, two systems that had excellent controllers. I might have to look into getting them next.

But then again, the ColecoVision had an expansion module that allowed it to play Atari 2600 carts, so getting a 2600 would be redundant. Looks like I’ll be getting a Sega Genesis control then.

Ah, the good ol’ days of classic gaming. THIS is what I miss that the current generation can not provide me.

Currently Playing: You didn’t read the commentary, did you?

Waiting For: Deus Ex-Human Revolution (360)