The weekly round table: My epic gaming moment

Jeremy tells FPS Doug about his epic gaming moment via Pure Pwnage

If you play games long enough you will eventually have an epic gaming moment. Maybe it is finishing a game in a single sitting, getting the high score on a local arcade cabinet, or just beating that Cuphead tutorial you couldn't pass. In this piece myself and some of the Geek Getaway Staff will go over an epic gaming moment from their lives.

Anita Mann
As the youngest staff member of The Geek Getaway, my epic gaming moment isn't going to be as awesome as some of the others but I'm still proud of it. I used to play Call of Duty Black Ops II with my father and brothers almost every day during the summer. I was always last when we played free for all and it became something of a running joke that when I managed to kill someone that person was given a ton of flak. Well, after practicing for days while they were at work I finally managed to win a game! It is true that they never underestimated me again and so I was never able to win another round but I was no longer always in last place.

TonyTGD
My most epic gaming moment happened when I was attending college. At my school there was an activity center in the basement with several arcade machines. I was hands down the best Tekken Tag Tournament player at the school, or at least among the people who came to the activity center. After a while people would avoid getting on the machine if I was in the activity center. Everyone except a guy people called Ice Pick. They called him that because he was really white and looked like Vanilla Ice but he hated Vanilla Ice, so they called him something that kills ice. Yeah, it was a stupid nickname but I swear it was true.

Anyways, Ice Pick was a real piece of work. He was the kind of guy who would brag about his skill, despite being a mediocre gamer, would crowd the arcade cabinet for advantage, and call any tactics "cheap" if they defeated him. He was every gamer bro stereotype rolled in to one douche package. One day Ice Pick was on the Tekken Tag Tournament machine bragging about being the best because he was beating scrubs left and right. Having fifty cents on me I jumped on the machine and for the next thirty minutes I completely owned Ice Pick. I was beating him so thoroughly that I didn't even lose a single round in that thirsty minutes.

Now, the story could end there and it would be a great moment but things were just starting. Ice Pick was bitching that I was playing cheap and I admit this was kind of pissing me off. Now, the X-Men Vs Street Fighter arcade cabinet was right next to the Tekken Tag Tournament one and people were playing on that machine as I was whipping Ice Pick's ass in Tekken Tag Tournament. I still don't know why I put my money in the X-Men Vs Street Fighter machine but I did and for the next hour I was playing both games and beating everyone who challenged me. I was no longer winning every round but in that hour I never gave up a single match on either machine. After that moment no one doubted who was the best player on either machine was and I couldn't find anyone to play me on either machine.

RangoTheMerc
My most epic gaming moment came in 2014 when Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS came out. As a Smash fan since 1999, I always dreamed of making it big in tournaments. When Brawl came out and introduced online play, I set my sights high. I picked up Ike, grinded ranked ladders, and looked for local tournaments. Alas, my dream was cut short. Not only was I not living up to my potential, but I ended up becoming disillusioned with the game's meta.

When Smash 4 came out, it felt like a breath of fresh air. New roster, new balance, new mechanics, and a fix to what was wrong in Brawl. I took this opportunity to grind ladders once again and become the best WiFi player I could be. In a city without a Smash scene (at the time), it was the best I could do.

I hit my stride when I was challenged on ranked by none other than ZeRo. ZeRo is considered the #3 best Brawl player in the world and would become Smash 4's best player. Needless to say, he had won his share of national tournaments. At E3 2014 ZeRo won the Smash Invitational, which was long before he created his legacy. So, what chance did some WiFi Warrior like myself have against him? Didn't matter since I had all the confidence in the world backing me up.

Two rounds later, I emerged victorious with Ike. His Bowser and Fox both went down as I won an official, ranked match against this legendary player. People began commenting on my profile in droves. On AllisBrawl (later Nintendodojo, before it was taken down), we played ladder matches and our score displayed on our profile. Moreover, ZeRo was streaming the match, explaining why people could see it.

Knowing that I'd taken down this international Smash champion, I became motivated instantly to become the best tournament player I could be. After all the years I spent playing Smash, with items and all stages, I knew it was time to start playing for real. My win against ZeRo propelled me into my Smash tournament career. In the process, I beat several top-ranking players and hit the high placing of #4 in my state of Georgia. Despite not living in the Atlanta area, I had the drive, passion, and skill to carry me through tough opponents. Furthermore, I went to local venues and discussed hosting tournaments. Through our communication and promotion, the Smash scene in Augusta, GA was born. And we've been going strong for over 5 years.

There you have, some epic gaming moments from the Geek Getaway staff. What was your epic gaming moment? Feel free to share in the comment section and, as always, share this article if you think it is worthy of being shared.