Don’t buy that game, they said. You won’t like it, they said.

For years I let people tell me which games I should spend my hard-earned money on. I listened to other people when they told me not to play a game because I assumed they knew that I liked.

While they were probably just trying to prevent me from disappointment, sometimes it’s important to just listen to your heart and play what you want to play.

I was told that I would not like Red Dead Redemption, so I never bought it…until last year, that is. I listened to my heart and bought it, despite my friends telling me that I was making a mistake.

Red Dead Redemption is now one of my favorite games of all time; I even played through Undead Nightmare.

My advice to gamers everywhere is to step out of your comfort zone and try new games. If you never try anything new, you may miss out on some incredible gaming experiences.

If I never tried anything new, I’d still be playing Wii. I grew up only owning Nintendo consoles and handhelds because I was satisfied with them. I never had a Dreamcast (I don’t think I’m alone on that one) or a PlayStation. I think I am the only gamer my age that didn’t grow up with a PS2. I was perfectly happy with my Wii until a realized something kind of important: it doesn’t have very many good games.

I took a brave step when I decided to purchase (well, ask for) a PlayStation 3 for my 17th birthday. I had never owned a PlayStation console before, so when I first started playing PS3, I was really bad. It took me forever to get used to the controller. Once I realized how many good games I had been missing out on when I only owned a Wii, I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to get a “real” console. The PS3 also made me realize that my childhood would have been even better if I had stepped out of my comfort zone and tried a new system.

I grew up with Mario, and completely missed out on Sonic. I was so afraid to try new games when I was younger that I never even played a Zelda game, despite owning Nintendo consoles. It is one of my biggest regrets, because even if I play Zelda now, I won’t get to experience the nostalgia that all of my friends feel when they play.

Aside from trying new games, it is also important to give games you say you “couldn’t get into” a second chance. Some of my favorite games are games that I hated the first time I tried them.

Is there a game you think you may like, but people are telling you that it’s “not your kind of game?” Or, is there a game you tried and said you “just couldn’t get into?” Why not take a chance and play it? It may just end up being your favorite game of all time.