4/29/08
Now that Grand Theft Auto 4 has been released, you're probably expecting me to go on some long, obnoxious rant about the game being exactly the same as the half dozen that came before it, that the graphics still look clumsy and robotic despite the next-generation polish, and that you might as well use your empty skull as a flowerpot if you'd even consider purchasing it.
I'm not going to do that, though. The fact is, people are going to buy this game regardless of what I think of it. The only thing I can do is offer an oasis from the avalanche of Rockstar-fueled hype on other gaming sites. To that end, I'm adding a handful of reviews to the Atari 5200 page, and working on an update to Fighter's Misery that should be worth the (long, looooong) wait. It's coverage that's 100% retro, and 0% Grand Theft Auto!
4/25/08
There's been a lot of discussion lately about what makes a video game a video game. Epic Megagames is convinced that the secret ingredient is progressively realistic visuals. Bioware thinks that narrative is that defining characteristic. However, neither of those elements were important in the early 1980's, when games first found a mainstream audience. Back then, storyline was a quaint novelty, and graphics were merely functional; simple icons meant to represent concrete objects. This leads me to ask... shouldn't the sole determining factor of a video game be the game itself?
On a related note, I wish companies like Epic and Bioware would spend less time trying to find ways to invalidate the Wii as a game system and more time supporting it. Bioware claims that the Wii isn't powerful enough to offer a deep storyline in its games (conveniently forgetting the Infocom adventure games that managed to do it on far less capable hardware), and Epic doesn't even bother with an explanation, instead cutting the Wii in half with a chainsaw at industry events. Come on, guys. It's been nearly two years, and the fad prediction hasn't panned out. The Wii is the current industry leader, and will remain that way for some time; possibly for the remainder of the console cycle. If you want your companies to remain financially healthy and culturally relevant, you need to swallow your pride and hop aboard the Wii train before it leaves you behind.
Anyway... the Awesome NES page has been updated. This time, we're covering all the Es, ranging from Elevator Action to Excitebike. Also, be sure to try Eliminator Boat Duel if you ever get the chance! You probably missed it the first time around, but it's never too late to see what you've been missing!
4/17/08
Dragons are the stars of the show in this installment of Awesome NES. We've covered the first three games in the venerable Dragon Warrior (or is it Dragon Quest...?) series, along with Dragon Fighter, Dragon Power, and "Smells Like" Dragon Spirit. Oh yeah, there's also Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, but you don't want that.
Speaking of the good old NES, River City Ransom is finally being released on the American Virtual Console service, along with the loose NES conversion of Double Dragon and the much-maligned Renegade. I see this game get kicked around by other gamers and I still don't understand why... it doesn't have the impact of Technos' other Kunio games, but it's perfectly playable and a great deal better than its Western-designed "sequel." Target: Renegade... yeesh!
One last thing before I go. Japanese Wii owners can now play their favorite Virtual Console titles with a Super NES controller, the way nature intended! The replica controller plugs into the bottom of the Wiimote and looks just like the real thing, without any unusually shaped buttons (cue the picture of Hori's digital controller for the GameCube). It's a step in the right direction, but what I'd really like to see is a six button Sega Genesis controller; one that could connect to the bottom of the Wii without any pesky cables to get in the way of the action. Throw in Thrustmaster's mapping feature and you've got yourself the ultimate controller for this or any other game system!
4/10/08
Here's the good news. Sony is finally aware that a homebrew community exists for the PSP. The bad news is, they don't seem particularly enthused about it. I'm detecting just a hint of passive-aggressive behavior in a survey they recently published on the Internet...
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Don't worry, Sony! Since I bought my Asus EEE, I haven't hacked my PSP in months! Heck, I haven't even used it in months!
Anyway, I know what you're here for, so I'll just move out of the way and let you sink your teeth into the latest Awesome NES update. This time, we're covering that game where a big, hairy ape with a nasty temper climbs a tower. Then after the Die Hard review, we'll spend some time with the Donkey Kong series.
4/06/08
Open wide, folks! Here comes another heaping helping of Awesome NES! This time, we've diving deep into the Ds with a serious case of Deja Vu, as well as a seriously watered down translation of Stargate and Demon Sword's Kage, a serious contender for Olympic gold in the high jump event.
After some discussion with the NES fans on Jeremy Parish's GameSpite web site, I've been thinking of reformatting these pages to make them a little easier to manage. As it stands now, the sidebar on every page has to be updated in order to keep the layout consistent and make navigation easy for the reader. This will be a fantastic pain in the butt when I've cracked one hundred pages, forcing me to consider designs that will be more convenient for both my readers and myself.
Right now, I'm experimenting with frames. You'll find the fruit of my labor here. The problem with this design is that it varies wildly depending on the user's screen resolution. There's way too much empty space on my laptop, while a friend with a standard CRT can't seem to fit the whole page on his screen without scrolling. I'm trying to make the pages more consistent, not less, so maybe I'll pass on that idea. In all honesty, I've never been all that crazy about frames, anyway!
So now, I'm leaning toward either cascading style sheets or a database. I just need to find the time to learn the latter, and build the former. Using a database would be especially handy, as the data could be transferred to a number of different designs with little difficulty, and would make comprehensive searches a breeze. Need to look up a game by its release date, or by its developer? Just pick the desired criteria from a drop down list, hit the search button, and that information is dropped right in your lap!
All right, enough about the NES. I've got some darned good news about another system in my collection, the Amiga CD32 (mine didn't come with a giant video game playing brain... guess that was an optional feature!). After two frustrating years of trying to bring this console to life, I've finally roused it from its eternal sleep with a hacked PC power supply. Sadly, I don't have anything to play on the machine aside from a bunch of music albums and the appropriately named Disposable Hero.
However, even without much hands-on experience with the CD32, I can still say that I like the system's charmingly simple interface and its case design, a head-on collision between classic Commodore ugly and the sleek futuristic style of game consoles from the early 1990's. I'll probably be even more impressed with it once I've spent some time playing its games (I mean good games, not Disposable Hero).