As a buyer, I’m surrounded by a myriad of game choices, and each one has about 30 seconds to capture my attention. The easiest way to hook me is with a snappy name. At ICHEG, I see thousands of games every year, but these titles are the ones that stuck with me:
Ninjabread Man: My current favorite is a 
platformer for the PlayStation 2, Wii, and PC. I love gingerbread men, both to decorate for the holidays or to sing silly songs about. Now add a bandana, a couple katana swords, and an angry face prepared with frosting. Sight unseen, this game sounds good enough to eat!
The Chickenator: This game isn’t just fun to play, it’s fun to say! To win, all I have to do is shoot lots of chickens. But if playing it means I get to share the title with friends over and over again, I plan to play forever. I wonder if I could work this name into my own job title. Shannon, Cataloger and CHICKENATOR!
If It Moves, Shoot It!: Some titles don’t clarify the game’s content. And then there are titles like this one for the PC, which is refreshingly simplistic. It’s a shooter. Things move. Blast them. Sounds good to me!
The Typing of the Dead: It’s always nice to see educational games like Math Blasters and Reader Rabbit getting some love, but it must be hard to put a clever spin on learning how to type. Now, if you toss in some zombies, then I’m game for a typing lesson. Hilarity ensues when the only way I can kill my enemies is by typing quickly and accurately. I wish my teachers had used this back in school!
Panic Restaurant: I love to eat, so a game about food definitely catches my eye. While my favorite restaurant will always be one found at the End of the Universe, Panic Restaurant sounds like a place I’d like to visit! In this NES game, I help Chef Cookie battle evil monsters with kitchen utensils to take back control of my restaurant. Who doesn’t like a good food fight now and then?
Attack of the Mutant Camels: Generally speaking, I’m fairly immune to anything with “mutant” in the title, thanks to the teenaged turtles of the same variety. But camels? That’s definitely a new one for me! When I first saw this title, my mind started to spin. Did they have extra humps? Did they change color to radioactive green or blue? Any super powers? Turns out these Atari and Commodore 64 camels are yellow and shoot fireballs from their mouths, so I wasn’t too far off!
Those are some of my favorites. What game titles have stuck with you over the years? Share your stories with us!