It was the summer of 2001…

…when I bought my first PS2. I remember purchasing it at the local EB Games in Monterey with a copy of Fantavision, beaming with contentment all the way home. Then I played the game and wound up in the bathroom with a curtain cord around my neck wondering if the shower rod could take my weight.

Yeah… It’s that bad.

They weren’t all like that though. I remember a few golden oldies like The first Tenchu, Red Faction and Tony Hawk.

That’s why I’m going back to playing some of the classics. In the above picture I’ve listed the games that I want to play on my new/old system. Some for the memories and some for the fact that they must be played (mostly because their sequels are on the way). I know the games above cover both PS1 & 2, so I’ve got two generations of games to play.

Anybody got any suggestions. Any games I shouldn’t bother with?

Reformat the Planet: Blip Fest Documentary is A Winner

I’ll most likely never live in New York (thanks C.H.U.D.s ), but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to go there some time. Especially around the X-Mas season so I can ice skate at the Rockefeller, eat a slice of pizza in Times Square, contract a few venereal diseases, and go to the Blip Festival. Sadly, the closest I’ll probably get is watching this documentary made by Paul Owens

I read it was a free watch for the next week on pitchforkTV (a site that earns it’s own mention by being the next best thing to television) so I started watching it last night. Is it any good? Does it represent the scene in a positive way? Is the first image in the movie of a big, buff, black cowboy wearing a jockey strap slapping Al Pacino in the face? Click below to find out!

My Faves: 5 Best Franchise Reboots

This week I’m publishing a three-part series concerning franchise reboots (you know, when a series gets “reinvigorated”/”reinvented” rather than work on a new IP). Here are what I consider the five worst reboots, followed below by the five best reboots, and finally five games that could use a sequel.

These are the ones that got it right. And honestly, to create a stellar game is probably really hard work; but to create a stellar game that stays true to something made a long time ago has probably got to be even harder. So my hat’s off to the following:

My Gripes: 5 Worst Franchise Reboots

This week I’m publishing a three-part series concerning franchise reboots (you know, when a series gets “reinvigorated”/”reinvented” rather than work on a new IP). Below are what I consider the five worst reboots, followed by the five best reboots, and finally five games that could use a sequel.

Franchise reboots are nothing new to popular culture – just look at this summer’s movie release listing. Video games in particular have had a huge amount of franchise reboots (not to mention video games based on movie franchise reboots, too). For the most part, they do an okay job, but sometimes they fail miserably.

There are some franchises I don’t even want to get into, like the Frogger, Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat and Sonic games, which have just become progressively worse to the point of joke status.

Retrograde!: Earthworm Jim

Since emulating copyrighted software is illegal, and I don’t do it, let’s pretend I just got a Sega Genesis Emulator.

In order to celebrate and usher in a new era for classic gaming editorials on this site, I’m going to review my favorite game for the console; Earthworm Jim.

Remember levels like New Junk City or Snot a Problem? Yeah, me too. Remember COW LAUNCHED!!! or how Jim would say “Guh-Roovy!”? As the only kid on the block with a Sega, this was my marquee title. No one else had it, and it drew a crowd. It didn’t have the stark realism of Streets of Rage, or the wholesomeness of Toe Jam & Earl, and I think that is why it most appealed to the average 10 year old boy.

Date Night

Mark, take this down. You and I will spend one night playing through the recently-released-on-VC River City Ransom (RCR) sometime in the near future. It’s one of the the most beloved beat-em-ups in the NES library, and a contender for best NES game on many people’s lists. Its RPG-style leveling and two-player gameplay seem to make it the perfect one-nighter, and at $5, we can’t go wrong.

Granted, I think some other game that came out the other day may be a bit more involving; but I personally never played through all of RCR, and I have a feeling you haven’t either, so let’s make it happen. Besides, I already bought it.

Tyler, you’re more than welcome to fly out and watch.

Cheapskate: Yobo FC Twin

While perusing eBay for the current top-loading NES used prices, I came across the Yobo FC Twin. It’s a top-loading console that plays NES and SNES games. See, look:

Under Construction: I’m doing it

I’m building an arcade cabinet. A Defender upright arcade cabinet, to be precise.

I’ve always wanted to have an old school arcade game in my house since I saw “Big” and now I have the tools, the time and the wherewithal to actually construct a MAME cabinet. But, don’t expect this to be a quick, overnight operation. I expect a difficulty and pain as I put saw to wood, and hammer to thumb. I’m going to provide quick snippets and status updates through the site as the project comes along. Expect photos soon.

Retrograde: Bad Dudes

Bad Dudes
1988
Data East

Some games were created using a template akin to other, more popular games and for the most part these copies fail due to the absence of original style and an over all unwillingness to go in a different direction. Bad Dudes is one of these games. But time has worked a miracle for the game; like John Travolta, it was so lame it became cool again.

Congressional Medal of Awesome

Presented for conspicuous gallantry in the face of the forces of Dr. Wiley, Mother Brain and Bowzer. This commendation recognizes the actions of said individual; and their ability to rise above and beyond…. you get it.

Isn’t this thing cool? The only problem with owning it is that once you actually put it on, you seal your fate as one of the biggest nerds of all time.

Oh, and btw, there’s more on the way as part of supermandolini’s commemorative pin line “Console Wars”. God bless you DIYers… I salute you.

Why I love video game music

The 8 bit era of video game music is a fond time period for most of the people who currently play video games. If you are still playing today, you have a favorite game song. It was the point in gaming history where the music of the game added significantly to the emotion of playing the game. Would I have liked Bionic Commando as much if when I began my first mission the stark bombed out environments didn’t match the military snare beat pushing me though the world? Most likely I would not, because the music primed me mentally to play the rest of the game. This is what happened when actual musicians began actually writing actual music for games, instead of the code writers who made the game adding it as an afterthought.