Monday, July 26, 2010
More Than Nostalgia
Just got Wonder Boy III for SEGA Master System and AMOK for DOS/Windows... I'd never played the former, and now I'm wishing I had; it's so very much better than the second Wonder Boy/first Monster World game! I can't wait to take the time to really get into this one. As for AMOK, it was a favourite of mine back in the day, but I never could find the PC version. I snagged the Saturn version not too long ago, but playing it at 800x600 in 16-bit colour with a keyboard is the way to do it; even considering that I had to dust-off my Windows 98 SE machine (300MHz Pentium II, 196MB of PC66 RAM, and a 32MB AGP ATi Rage Fury) to get it running :) Both games hold-up incredibly well today!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
3D Glasses!
I watched Coraline in 3D on Blu-Ray... The effect was pretty cool, but the colours sucked.
Anyway, I also picked-up a pair of SegaScope 3-D glasses along with Blade Eagle 3-D, Maze Hunter 3-D, Missile Defense 3-D, Poseidon Wars 3-D, and Zaxxon 3-D. The first adaptor card I got (used to connect the glasses to the system) was faulty, but the second one worked fine. The effect is novel and the games're pretty creative, but I did notice a few issues. The most glaring problem I ran into was with Blade Eagle 3-D, where there appeared to be two ship sprites when your ship descends; it looked like a focus issue, though I suppose it may be intentional... Which would be weird. Anyway, moving on, when I play light-gun games I tend to close one eye to help my aim, but doing so in Missile Defense 3-D negates the 3D effect. Regardless, I'm pretty impressed with the technology, and the games aren't bad. Now to track-down the three remaining 3D titles...
Anyway, I also picked-up a pair of SegaScope 3-D glasses along with Blade Eagle 3-D, Maze Hunter 3-D, Missile Defense 3-D, Poseidon Wars 3-D, and Zaxxon 3-D. The first adaptor card I got (used to connect the glasses to the system) was faulty, but the second one worked fine. The effect is novel and the games're pretty creative, but I did notice a few issues. The most glaring problem I ran into was with Blade Eagle 3-D, where there appeared to be two ship sprites when your ship descends; it looked like a focus issue, though I suppose it may be intentional... Which would be weird. Anyway, moving on, when I play light-gun games I tend to close one eye to help my aim, but doing so in Missile Defense 3-D negates the 3D effect. Regardless, I'm pretty impressed with the technology, and the games aren't bad. Now to track-down the three remaining 3D titles...
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Awake
I snagged a copy of Alan Wake for $50 yesterday (it's still hovering around $70 at most stores), and put Prince Of Persia on hold while I checked-out the first chapter. So far, so good; Alan Wake may just be a survival-horror game that I can stand! I haven't completed a survival-horror game since Resident Evil 2...
Oh, and after winning the first seven games of the first round of the playoffs in NHL 07, the game declared my team to be the Stanley Cup champions... And then the first round continued with two more games. Ergh.
Oh, and after winning the first seven games of the first round of the playoffs in NHL 07, the game declared my team to be the Stanley Cup champions... And then the first round continued with two more games. Ergh.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Going Back
I really dug the first Kirby game when it was released on Game Boy, but didn't really follow the series beyond that. I've been collecting the major Kirby games since, but really only got back into them today, when there was a huge blackout in my area. I ploughed through Dream Land, and am well into Dream Land 2... Only eight or so more Kirby titles to go! :)
Oh, and I defeated the boss in Wario Land: Shake-It! Then, in true Wario fashion, a bunch of secret levels were made available. I'll get back to them some day, I'm sure. Everyone who complained that the game was too short clearly didn't bother with all of the challenges and secret levels. Shake It! is definitely a worthwhile Wii investment.
Finally, I borrowed Way Of The Warrior and DOOM for 3DO from a friend after he found his Goldstar 3DO in his basement. Way Of The Warrior is every bit as ridiculous as I remember hearing it was back when it first came out, and also exceedingly difficult to play. It does have some really nice touches (graphics, music, secrets), and after doing some research on the title, I uncovered what looks to be an impressively deep fighting game... But I'm not quite ready to dedicate that much time to it just yet. DOOM, on the other hand, is just as awful as I'd heard. The 3DO port is barely playable, and the only redeeming qualities are the killer CD soundtrack and the ability to strafe using the shoulder buttons. Avoid.
Oh, and I defeated the boss in Wario Land: Shake-It! Then, in true Wario fashion, a bunch of secret levels were made available. I'll get back to them some day, I'm sure. Everyone who complained that the game was too short clearly didn't bother with all of the challenges and secret levels. Shake It! is definitely a worthwhile Wii investment.
Finally, I borrowed Way Of The Warrior and DOOM for 3DO from a friend after he found his Goldstar 3DO in his basement. Way Of The Warrior is every bit as ridiculous as I remember hearing it was back when it first came out, and also exceedingly difficult to play. It does have some really nice touches (graphics, music, secrets), and after doing some research on the title, I uncovered what looks to be an impressively deep fighting game... But I'm not quite ready to dedicate that much time to it just yet. DOOM, on the other hand, is just as awful as I'd heard. The 3DO port is barely playable, and the only redeeming qualities are the killer CD soundtrack and the ability to strafe using the shoulder buttons. Avoid.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Oldschool Heat
I'm having a lot of fun with Atari Karts on Jaguar. I often see it described as a Super Mario Kart clone, but it really is a very different game. While they are both kart racers, Nintendo's offering demands a balance of driving and combat whereas Atari Karts focuses almost exclusively on the former. Bonuses and hazards in Atari Karts affect your own kart (speed, handling, tires, etc...); the only offensive pick-up in the game reverses your opponent's steering, and is exclusive to multiplayer races.
I've also read numerous complaints about Atari Karts' graphics, but I suspect that many critics forget just how blocky the graphics in Mario Kart are. Atari Karts runs at a much higher resolution than the Super Nintendo game, and features some clever scaling tricks to achieve hills and jumps throughout many of its tracks. Another misguided complaint I've often seen is that the Jaguar game is too easy, but races become genuinely challenging by the mid-point of the race season... Perhaps those critics didn't play for very long ;)
There are some legitimate issues with Atari Karts (like the unnatural bumper-car physics, and how some obstacles are flat on the track and can blend-in to the road), but all of them are minor and don't significantly detract from the fun to be had. Quite simply, Atari Karts is a driver's kart racer with a gentle learning curve and some of the most impressive sprite-scaling graphics of its generation.
I bought BIT.TRIP RUNNER on WiiWare, and it's a great combination of delightfully frustrating gameplay, catchy and interactive music, and fantastic '80s-inspired visuals. Get it.
I've also finally taken the time to explore the free Windows version of Cave Story, and it's sublime; I'll definitely be grabbing the WiiWare remake and really digging into this one.
Oh, and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is really good too! It's a new twist on the shoot-'em-up genre from Treasure; that right there should be enough to sell you on it.
Before I move on from the Wii, I should note that I've made it to the final battle of Wario Land: Shake It!, and it's... Annoying. It's not actually that bad, but it's definitely gonna take some practice.
Finally, do you remember when I thought my PC was overheating because of the weather, and so I took the side off my case? Turns-out it was actually the increased voltage required to get my DDR3-2000 RAM running at 2000MHz that was affecting my CPU. I've been messaging back and forth with a technician from the RAM manufacturer, but we've had no luck yet... In the meantime, all is stable at DDR3-1600 speeds.
I've also read numerous complaints about Atari Karts' graphics, but I suspect that many critics forget just how blocky the graphics in Mario Kart are. Atari Karts runs at a much higher resolution than the Super Nintendo game, and features some clever scaling tricks to achieve hills and jumps throughout many of its tracks. Another misguided complaint I've often seen is that the Jaguar game is too easy, but races become genuinely challenging by the mid-point of the race season... Perhaps those critics didn't play for very long ;)
There are some legitimate issues with Atari Karts (like the unnatural bumper-car physics, and how some obstacles are flat on the track and can blend-in to the road), but all of them are minor and don't significantly detract from the fun to be had. Quite simply, Atari Karts is a driver's kart racer with a gentle learning curve and some of the most impressive sprite-scaling graphics of its generation.
I bought BIT.TRIP RUNNER on WiiWare, and it's a great combination of delightfully frustrating gameplay, catchy and interactive music, and fantastic '80s-inspired visuals. Get it.
I've also finally taken the time to explore the free Windows version of Cave Story, and it's sublime; I'll definitely be grabbing the WiiWare remake and really digging into this one.
Oh, and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is really good too! It's a new twist on the shoot-'em-up genre from Treasure; that right there should be enough to sell you on it.
Before I move on from the Wii, I should note that I've made it to the final battle of Wario Land: Shake It!, and it's... Annoying. It's not actually that bad, but it's definitely gonna take some practice.
Finally, do you remember when I thought my PC was overheating because of the weather, and so I took the side off my case? Turns-out it was actually the increased voltage required to get my DDR3-2000 RAM running at 2000MHz that was affecting my CPU. I've been messaging back and forth with a technician from the RAM manufacturer, but we've had no luck yet... In the meantime, all is stable at DDR3-1600 speeds.
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