What a long, strange trip it’s been…

In the spring of 2007, I was bored. Things were very slow at my daily office grind. I had a pile of games at home for which I didn’t have walkthroughs (yes, they’re a crutch, but I was gaming crippled at the time and needed them to get around), so I started scanning my favorite sites for the info that I needed.

And it was this which brought me to Avault.

I had been visiting the Adrenaline Vault for years for all kinds of gaming info, but mostly for the reviews. No other site that I frequented had the depth of information about games that Avault had. I hadn’t been back for awhile, so I was somewhat shocked to discover that the site had been dark. But I was equally delighted to discover that one of my all-time favorite gaming sites was looking for writers for the relaunch.

I was late jumping into the blogging pool, but I did have a few posts on other sites, and since they were my only game-related writing samples (I’d been writing capsule descriptions of movies for many years), I linked them to an email and sent it off, not really expecting to get chosen. After all, what hardcore gamer doesn’t dream of the chance to be part of the industry? To have their opinions broadcast to the world in something more substantial than a blog post? And perhaps to meet some of the industry’s movers and shakers and talk games with them? I was a music major with no journalism background (freelancing for the local newspaper’s sports department as a teen doesn’t count), so I figured my chances of being selected as being rather short…

…until June 22, 2007, when my first Avault review was published (Shadowrun for the PC; I gave it a 3-star review and was accused of being in the back pocket of Microsoft by my first commenter—how’s that for the start of a new career?). I’ve contributed 30 more reviews since then, and I remember bits and pieces of all of them, but what I remember most is that my experiences so far have allowed me to become a much more well-rounded gamer. Of the games I’ve reviewed, I probably wouldn’t have even considered buying a number of them for myself, and it’s even less likely that I would’ve branched out into the world of console gaming, being a dedicated PC gamer for most of my adult life. And I certainly wouldn’t have spent $400 on a PS3, but I’m glad I did (launch title Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the most entertaining game I’ve ever played; those of you with PS3s should run out immediately and buy it, and the rest of you should find someone who has it and make them your best friend).

As of this writing, Avault is on the verge of publishing its 200th review since the relaunch. We’ve covered two industry events. Avault podcast host Turks and I are making plans to attend this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles in June, from which we will be providing you with first-hand impressions of the biggest circus in gaming. And we’ve completely redesigned the site. I’d say Avault is back. Perhaps not quite as it was, but in some ways better than ever.

Here’s hoping that strange trip never ends…