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After my last update of A8 game finds I was talking to a member about how to find games and there really should be a list of what games would be worth the money for a starter collector and those on a budget. I was linked to one down by SingleBanana on Atari 2600 games and thought that is a great idea. I was doing the Back in the day segments that were to highlight a great game each week but doing one like this will help those looking for games on ebay or craigslist know whats worth playing without breaking the bank So with that said heres my whats what on the Atari 8 bit line of systems.
How did I manage to pick out this list of 25 games? Well, over the last 26 years Ive played many different titles some have been easy to play from day 1, others have been a learning process and even others I still don't have a clue how the game is played. I took the best Ive played from the first two and compiled them in no particular order into the list below. For as the top 3 over $15 games please keep in mind some of the titles will be very hard to locate if you can and could run you ( at least on ebay ) upwards of $100+ ( Mr. TNT and Mogul Maniac [even though I gave you a nice simple cheap way out of this title])
For as how do I find what I find to add to my collection; that would be determination and a lot of hunting online. In the wild you will find very little in the way of Atari 8 bit items. Ebay , Amazon, Craigslist and Atari Age would be a start for finding games and systems forsale that you can add and start a collection with. I was thinking of tossing in prices but the way people like to mark things up and lower prices later on ebay I figured it'd be best to leave them off the page here.
These titles are an opinion list from me. Feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and comments on the titles here and what you would suggest to others.
A8Scooter's Top 25 Bang for the Buck Games for the Atari 8 Bit Computer Line
Should be had for $15 or less ea.
Hardball - A fun baseball game with alot of controls to keep you feeling your in charge of the game
Pole Position - A arcade Classic that is well ported to the 8 bit line.
River Raid - Activision Atari 2600 classic that reminds me of Blue Max that you will also find on this list. Simple controls and a challenging game field.
Centipede - Shooting at a centipede shootingout mushrooms along the way. Good times.
Blue Max - WWI flight shooter. Add to the fun the idea that each time you beat the game you get a different rank and score, will bring you back for more.
Donkey Kong - An all time arcade classic + introduction of Mario and the Princess = AWESOME!
Pacman - Just because its Pacman.
Miner 2049er - Another addictive game that you need to step on every inch of the floor and destroy your enemies. Great fun.
Pitstop - This game is similar to Pole Position but if you came across this online before Pole Position I would say pick it up and give it a go. Alot of fun as well.
David's Midnight Magic - For a pinball game this is quite entertaining. What it lacks in sound you make up for in fun. To me this is a worth the trade off.
Frogger - Frogs crossing the street , this classic will not disappoint
Missile Command - This shootem title is alot of fun and can be played 1 player or 2 player. People who have an XEGS will find this game built into the system if you disconnect the Keyboard.
Decathlon - This activision title is alot of fun and will challange you and your friends. The only down side is it will wear out your controller.
Pitfall - For those who loved this title the first go on the 2600 will surely enjoy this port over.
Galaxian - This is another game that is fun as heck to play. Shooting at rows of aliens is always a good time.
Super Breakout - Breaking tiles with a small ball. YES sign me up!
One On One Basketball - DJ vs. Larry Bird. True one on one action, play to 21 or a set number. Then go out there and break the back board ( Seriously you can ).
Bug Hunt - This pack in game for the XEGS is a good shooting game. Shooting bugs that got into the tv screen is always a good idea.
BallBlazer - Ah yes Between the cool start up intro screens and the fact you race around with the ball trying to shoot it between 2 goals. This is new addition to my collection has been nothing but fun.
QIX - A maze game that you have to cut parts off the screen. Fun and a must own.
Joust- Anytime you get to ride an ostrich, joust then pick up eggs to prevent more birds from developing. My kinda game.
Space Invaders - Yep another one of the best arcade classics ported over beautifully to the A8 line.
Choplifter! - Saving American POWs. Need I say any more into why this game rocks.
Cavern of Mars - A side scrolling ship game that is a blast to play.
BASIC - On the Atari 400 you dont have one and yes this isnt a game but some cassette games will require you to have this in the cartridge slot so you can play the games. So consider this an investment cart to future gaming. ( You could go and buy an XL or XE with BASIC built in too. )
3 games that run over $15 but would be wortha go.
MR TNT - Heres an interesting and forgotten title I hear little about. From what Ive played of it you eat up the lines on the board but try not to leave yourself in a dead end. This game gets addicting fast.
Bounty Bob Strikes Back - The sequel to the Miner 2049er title. The fun continues with more levels and more enemies.
Mogul Maniac - Skiing game for the Atari 8 bit line. Even though this is a Disk based game a hand ful exist on cartridge and that would run you over 15.00 to get one. Skiing is fun on the Atari 8 bit line.
Another Tuesday is here and that means another back in time trip for you my blog followers.
This week I decided to go back to another one of those Atari arcade classics that has become the staple to American video gamingness. Pole Position.
RX8034 - Pole Position Atari Inc. (c) 1983 ( Re-released in 1987 )
I could remember playing this in the arcades in the early 90's ( while they were still around ), the local pizza places, and at the local YMCA in the summer time before that got replaced with OutRun. ( which off hand is my other most favorite racing arcade game).
This 1 player game allows you to pick your track, pick the number of laps you want to race and then pits you against the track for your qualifying run. You have a time limit to qualify and in the race. However in the race you get extensions for each lap you complete.
Things you need to watch out for include other cars , track signs and the grass ( even though your wont go boom, you will slow down and well yeah you have that time thing to worry about ).
Scoring is quite strait forward the better you qualify the more of a bonus you get all the way to 20,000 pts for the pole. At the end of the race you get extra points for each second you have left on the clock and for each car you passed in the race you get a 50 pt bonus.
The only thing this game really misses out on is a shot of victory lane once you finish the race. I would personally recommend this to anyone with an A8 system that loves racing games. Pitstop is a good game that is similar to this title but when it comes down to the real deal Pole Position is where its at.
This game was fun to play in arcade and the fun was brought to your game room now with this 8-Bit version.
I hope everyone who participated in June's Community Playthrough enjoyed the 16-bit Disney games we played. Puzzling and platforming through those was loads of fun!
July is fast approaching and that means the RFGen community will be playing through another game together. Wildbil52 hinted that it would be a super game for the seventh month and we'd like to congratulate Duke.Togo for correctly guessing Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars as the next Community Playthrough game!
Those who want to join can head over to this thread for more info.
CCAG (Cleveland's Classic Console & Arcade Gaming Show) 2013 has now come and gone.
http://www.ccagshow.com/
And wow, I just have so much to say. First, the non-mushy stuff you care about;
And since I'm a terrible photographer using a tablet camera, here's the breakdown.
Bomberman Inflatable Bomb
Pac-Man Fever Vinyl
Bally Astrocade:
-Bally Pin (CIB)
-Grand Prix/Demolition Derby (CIB)
-Galactic Invasion (CIB)
-Basic w/ built in Audio Interface (CIB)
-Space Fortress
-Multicart
PC:
King's Quest VII (CIB)
X-Com Apocalypse (CB)
3DO:
Who Shot Johnny Rock (CI)
PS2:
Commandos 2
NES:
Sweet Home (repro)
Summer Carnival '92 Raging Fire Recca (repro)
PC Engine CD:
Vasteel (CIB)
Space Adventure II (CIB)
Super Famicom:
Battle Dodge Ball II
Retro Gamer Issues 104-108
Xbox:
Stake: Fortune Hunter (CIB)
Genesis:
Twinke Tale (repro) (CB)
Pulseman (repro)(CB)
Command Control TI 99 Joystick Adapter (CIB)
SNES
Bahamut Lagoon (repro)
BS Legend of Zelda (repro)
Virtual Boy:
Virtual Pro Yakyu '95
Colecovision:
Root Beer Tapper
Congo Bongo
Facemaker
A26
Ladybug (CI) (Homebrew)
Dungeon (CI) (Homebrew)
SSSnake (CI)
Space Combat
Outer Space
Pooyan
Pressure Cooker
Crash Dive
Summer Games
Sea Hawk (CIB)
Off the Wall (CIB)
PSX:
Zero Divide (CIB)
A52:
Gorf
Mountain King
Space Shuttle
Robotron 2084
Pitfall!
GBA:
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Jaguar:
Defender 2000
DS:
Game and Watch Collection 2 (sealed, though not for long!)
Famicom:
Volguard II
Hector '87
Uchuu Keibitai SDF
Saturn:
Winter Heat (CIB)
Nintendo Power Dynowarz Poster/River City Ransom Map
Dissidia Final Fantasy Soundtrack Excerpt CD
Zaxxon Milton Bradley Board Game, one complete and one missing pieces
Interesting notes:
The A26 Dungeon and Ladybug carts were our first Chinese Auction win, from seven years attending. Funny enough, my beloved and I were going back and forth about where some of our tickets went when our winning number was called. XD
It was only a year or two ago that we took a real interest in repros. In fact, it was largely our own Crabmaster turning me onto a Summer Carnival '92 Recca, and Redd McKnight selling me a Mother Famicom translation repro that got me started. Seeing as how I'm a gamer before a collector, and I have no working knowledge of Japanese, some of these repros fit my interests perfectly, such as Sweet Home and Bahamut Lagoon. At the right price, I much prefer them over PC emulation. I even picked up another Recca because of a label and cart variation (not that I hunt down variants per se, but now that Recca is a personal favorite I like having a backup.) The BS Zelda is a particularly neat find, because it compiles the Satellaview Zelda chapters together into a complete game. Now I'm looking for an F-Zero Grand Prix cart!
There were many Famicom and Super Famicom games for sale, with the ability to demo them. The Famicom titles I picked up were shmups that impressed me, especially Uchuu Keibitai SDF. If I get enough time, I'd enjoy putting up some reviews.
I hear Zero Divide is pretty good, but I actually bought it CIB for a dollar to play the Tiny Phalanx unlockable. 
Now, every CCAG my beloved likes to use the advantage of our favorite gaming event taking place the same week as Father's Day. She's always on the lookout for that cool find that she can surprise me with as a Father's Day present, and boy does she succeed. Our AES, some rare NES games, and cool Saturn or Dreamcast finds are a few examples of collection gifts she's found over the years.
Its become an interesting tradition; we get in and she asks what direction I'm going; she goes the opposite and we do our initial scouring run on either side, to meet somewhere in the middle. That way we cover as much ground as possible as soon as the doors are open, and there's a good chance she'll find a cool Father's Day gift to sneak away before I see it. This year was no different.
We met up about 45 minutes later, and she had that frown that spoke before she did; no real finds yet. At least, not that would qualify for what she wanted.
And finally we come to the Bally Astrocade. An older gentleman had a table with a few refurbished systems, and he was selling them for very good prices. Near the end of the day he only had one left, and I was very tempted, but I had spent quite a bit. Not as much as I brought, but enough to make me more conservative.
My beloved saw me chatting with this fellow, Mr. Ken, and came over to check things out. I started explaining about how impressed I was with the system, and how games like Gunfight were more complex and had better graphics than I expected. And of course, it was a system we didn't have, which always interests us.
She kind of nodded, and after a few minutes, pulled me away. She was torn; I certainly seemed interested, but she's never heard me mention the Bally before. Other finds she had confidence in because we'd chat about a Neo Geo or holes in our favorite system libraries. I never owned a Bally Astrocade, never knew anyone who had, and never really mentioned it until now. Sure, its a system we don't have, but...
That wasn't enough. She looks at me directly, with her 'this is important' body language, and explains that the Fathers Day Gift thing is not just about finding more video game stuff. I stay at home with the kids; I take care of them and our home. She tells me that she's not just seeking a gift of something I'd like, another trinket for the pile. In this annual moment, she seeks to honor me; to do more than show appreciation for the father of our children. She tells me that she looks to find or do something that displays a deeper respect and kindness for who I am to her, and that often translates to tracking down something that proves she knows me, really listens to my interests, and doesn't just look for something pricey that we don't have. Would she be honoring me with something she's never heard me mention during my lengthy, excited conversations about video games?
I'm taken aback; I know this wonderful woman better than anyone, and we've been married for almost a decade and a half; and yet she still stuns me.
Mr. Ken, the older gentleman with the Bally table, apparently has better hearing than his age may suggest. He's a very kind soul, and I've known him from previous years at the convention. He's been gaming since the literal beginning of the hobby, and some of his work is in the multicart he sells with the system. We have more than games in common; during previous conversations we've realized we're fellow musicians and believers in Christ.
Mr. Ken leans toward us a bit, and his finger brushes the handmade wooden cross I wear as it dangles over my chest. His soft eyes smile as he says that what we should do, as we already know, is to step outside a just give a prayer about it. He'll be here. We both nod and accept his sage wisdom.
After clearing our heads from the humid, human-packed convention center, we have a moment of genuine connection over each-other and our shared interests. And we do pray, not expecting an answer over a toy purchase, but a request for our hearts to be as they should and for our stewardship to be honoring.
When we return inside, Mr. Ken was still there of course, literally coaxing each passerby to smile. He turns and waves to us as we approach. He sells us the system, a multicart, and a compilation of software on four CD-Roms (including everything from games to an entire disc of chiptunes) with instructions on how to load them from a normal CD player, through a data cable, and into the BASIC cart he gives us with the system. He tosses in a free game. He sells the whole setup for far less than the prices he has on his table. Then he tells me he hopes our own marriage is as wonderful as his, 38 and 3/4 years before she passed. He still has a twinkle in his eyes as he talks about her.
I realize Mr. Ken and I have even more in common; we both recognized our own 'gaming' holy grails.
It was the best CCAG yet.
Update on my attempt for the complete N64 collection Boxed with manuals.
I started this journey with 12 boxed games and then I did my first ever online transaction for a Video game after collecting since 2002. That title was NBA Jam 99 and I bought it on Feb 12th 2013. Then when I did my last update in april I was currently at 77 boxed games. Since then I have made a big jump.
I am now rocking 160 different boxed N64 titles out of the 296 released for the system in America. Over half way and loving it.
While I do have a handful of the titles out of the way I only have a few of the expensive titles. Clayfighter Sculptors cut is by far the highest valued CIB game for the system currently and will probably stay that way for a while. I also ended up getting a sealed copy of Blitz Special Edition and Hydro Thunder which is nice to have. The few titles I have right here range from $90 dollars and up currently which make them some of the more expensive titles in the N64 library in there complete form.
According to Nintendo Age, this is actually the rarest item for the N64 with a rarity of 9/10. It is also now the most expensive item in my whole Video Game collection. Three manuals by them self have just sold for over $1000 dollars each on eBay, which might actually make them the most expensive manual out there across any system but I honestly do not know if that is true. 
During my last post I had 2 shelfs displaying my collection but since then I got my other two shelfs in the mail and I now have my complete game collection minus my sealed game collection displayed. 
This will however be my last post for a while on getting these N64 games. It is now getting to the point where the titles are not showing up as often or the ones that are available are in to poor of condition for me to want to add it to my collection. But to end this on a good note, I have more then enough duplicates that I would love to trade or sell to some other collectors on the page if anyone is interested.
All these titles have the games in them but only a select handful have the manual. I can give you better photos and detail about the item if you are interested.
All these titles are just empty N64 boxes.
These our the titles I am currently looking for. But please only in CIB form. I now have a ton of duplicates because of finding the box and manual by it self is so low I had to rebuy alot of stuff in it's complete form. If you are trying to get loose cartridge games you can look under my profile as well and only the games that show duplicates are the cartridge games I have for sale or trade. None of my duplicate box games are reflected on Rfgeneration.
Aerogauge
Aidyn Chronicles
All-Star Baseball 2000
All-Star Baseball 2001
All-Star Tennis 99
Asteroids Hyper
Automobili Lamborghini
Banjo-Kazooie
Bass Masters 2000
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
BattleTanx
Battle Zone: Rise of the Black Dogs
Beetle Adventure Racing
Big Mountain 2000
Blues Brothers 2000
Bomberman 64: Second Attack
Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling
Buck Bumble
Bust A Move 99
Bust A Move 2
Castlevania Legacy of Darkness
California Speed
Chameleon Twist 2
Chameleon Twist
Charlie Blast's Territory
Cyber Tiger
Daikatana
Dark Rift
Destruction Derby (Game and Manual Only)
Disney's Toy Story 2
Donald Duck's Going Quakers
Dual Heroes
Elmo's Number Journey
F-1 Pole Position
FIFA 99
Fighter's Destiny 2
Fighting Force 64
Flying Dragon
Fox Sports College Hoops '99
Gex 3 Deep Cover Gecko
Geomon's Great Adventure
GT 64 Championship Edition
Harvest Moon
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hexen
Iggy's Recking Balls
In Fisherman Bass Hunter 64
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
International Superstar Soccer 64
International Superstar Soccer '98
International Superstar Soccer 2000
International Track and Field 2000
Jeopardy!
Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest
Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards
Knife Edge Nose Gunner
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside 2
Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask
LEGO Racers
Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers
Madden NFL 2000
Madden NFL '99
Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
Mario Golf
Mia Hamm Soccer 64
Mike Piazza's StrikeZone
Milo's Astro Lanes
MLBPA Bottom of the 9th
Monaco Grand Prix
Monster Truck Madness
Multi Racing Championship (MRC)
Mystical Ninja Starring Geomon
NBA In The Zone 2000
NBA Jam 2000
NBA Showtime
NFL Blitz 2001
NFL Quarterback Club 2001
NHL Breakaway 99
NNL Blades of Steel 98
Offroad Challenge
Olympic Hockey Nagano 98
Penny Racers
PGA European Tour
PilotWings 64
Pokemon Puzzle League
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
Quest 64
Rally Challenge 2000
Rat Attack
Razor Freestyle Scooter
Ridge Racer 64
Road Rash
Roadsters
Rocket Robot on Wheels
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Rush 2049
SCARS
Scooby Doo: Classic Creep Capers
Shadow Man
Snowboard Kids 1
Snowboard Kids 2
Space Invaders
Space Station: Silicon Valley
Starshot Space Circus Fever
Star Solder: Vanishing Earth
Starcraft 64 (Game and Manual Only)
Stunt Racer 64
Supercross 2000
Superman
Tom and Jerry: Fists of Furry
Tonic Trouble
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Top Gear Hyper-Bike
Top Gear Rally 1
Top Gear Rally 2
Transformers Beast Wars
Turok 3 Shadow of Oblivion
Twisted Edge Snowboarding
Vigilante 8: Second Offensive
Virtual Chess 64
Virtual Pool 64
V-Rally 99
WCW Backstage Assault
WCW vs NWO: Nitro
Wetrix
Winback
Worms Armageddon
World Driver Championship
Yoshi's Story
Episode 15.5 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=12105
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Bil and Duke travelled to Philadelphia for the TooManyGames convention to present a live (and much shorter) version of the Collectorcast. We discuss scores from the show as well as convention collecting tips.
We were excited to meet some of you there, and for those that want the experience the YouTube version includes video.
CAUTION: The Collectorcast does not accept responsibility for damage to your vision from viewing the YouTube version. Cast your eyes on us at your own risk.
Due to the feedback of several members, and a little bit of common sense, we are trying something new with the Keep an Eye Out For Me board.
The old board was a moderately successful idea at first but once the thread grew to 10+ pages with a different post for each user, it became unwieldy to access in the field while hunting for other members.
The new Keep an Eye Out For Me is a child board in the Collection Connection area http://www.rfgeneration.c...orum/index.php?board=12.0
There is now a different thread for each major system. Once you post the items you are looking for with a bounty, myself or another staff member will update the thread and delete your post so that the thread is very clean and made up of just a few posts with everyone's list combined.
If you want to check it out, head over to the new board and read the READ ME FIRST thread.
Please PM me with comments, suggestions, ideas, etc.
Even if you know nothing about it, you probably already know if you'd like Lollipop Chainsaw by looking at its cover. If you can answer a question as simple as "would you enjoy playing the role of a high school cheerleader who must rid her town of zombies with the aid of a chainsaw and her decapitated boyfriend's head?" then you can clearly decide if this game was developed for you or not. And for me it was a no-brainer for a very long time before the cover art had even been released.
Suda51 has certainly become a favorite developer of mine this generation. Though I arrived to the party rather late - though I did play a bit of Killer7 years ago now, it wasn't until the 2011 PlayStation 3 re-release of No More Heroes that I started playing close attention to Goichi Suda and his Grasshopper Manufacture. In fact I've since investigated much more of his work. And though the half-dozen or so Suda games I've played have all been really intriguing, Lollipop Chainsaw is probably my favorite at this point. However instead of just talking about the game itself, I thought I'd talk about its parts. That is to say, while No More Heroes felt like Suda's Kill Bill with its plot and themes; Lollipop Chainsaw is more along the lines of his own original work in the vein of Tarantino's mixtape-approach to creation.
The first piece of the puzzle is James Gunn. Gunn wrote much of the dialogue, and it really shows. For those unfamiliar, Gunn is responsible for fun but morbid films as diverse as Slither, the Scooby-Doo reboot, the Dawn of the Dead remake and perhaps most importantly, Tromeo & Juliet. Yes, although Lollipop Chainsaw had a pretty decent budget there was a definitely a lot of Troma spirit in there. Be it the humor of Juliet (ooh, I just noticed the name!) saying that her friends considered her dad a "DILF," or any number of low-browish jokes that seem to stradle the line between 'fun' and 'offensive.' One of the lines that actually made me laugh out loud was when Nick, the decapitated head looks up at the final boss and says that yesterday he had stubbed his toe and thought to himself 'man, this is the worst day ever.' And (presumably) Gunn's taste in horror and b-movies finds its way into the script as well with references to everything from George Romero and Lucio Fulci in abundance.
Speaking of movies, I think it's safe to assume that there's at least an inkling of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in there. That said, early screens of the game could have certainly worried folks that this would be too much a rip-off of Buffy. Thankfully the game has so much of its own personality that it's also miles away. Sure Juliet is the pretty cheerleader doing all the dirty work, but it's also far more gory and vulgar. In a sense it's a bit like taking the best ideas from Buffy and combining them with the schlock of Oneechanbara and coming up with a game that's better than any game in either of those franchises.
Retro gaming itself is also a strong influence on the final product. In one of the absolute best stretches of the game it becomes overly apparent that this is a game made by folks who grew up loving games. Indeed, Fulci's Arcade will find you hopping from cab to cab playing bits of the level based on classic arcade titles such as Pac-Man, Elevator Action and Breakout. It's an aesthetically incredible section that never falls into the trap of "being retro to be retro," and instead just feels like a very natural part of the gameplay wrapped up in wonderful homage.
And much like a Tarantino movie there's layer upon layer further to be discussed. I could spend time on the wonderful soundtrack mixing new bands I've never heard of with a score by Mindless Self Indulgence and a bevy of interesting licensed material from the classic "Lollipop" or cheerleader-associated "Hey Mickey" or girl-with-edge "Cherry Bomb." It's all so perfect. Or we could get into the No More Heroes-ish fondness for subarban samurai with the introduction of Juliet's sensei. We could wax philosophical about the symbolism of Juliet's boyfriend being reduced to just a head that she carries and controls at all times or the boss battle where misogynistic words are literally a weapon used against Juliet. Hell, we could ponder the design decision of making the final action in the game a simple and unchallenged Quick Time Event.
And perhaps that's what makes Lollipop Chainsaw so great. As brief as it is, and as shallow as it may appear to outsiders, actually experiencing it is exploring a whole world of awesome shit that you want to experience again and discuss with others who have as well. And for that I say bravo.
Here is another game that I find dear to my heart ... Big Five Software's Miner 2049er. Released in 1983, this is the first installment of the Bounty Bob series. In this game you need to defeat the monsters in each level with tools that are provided to you and be able to step on each section of the floor. You are able to jump from one area to another but be-careful, if you fall you will go splat. ( which is kinda cool just the same ).
For the collectors of this system this title provides 3 different label variations ( blue picture, silver text and blue text labels) along with 2 manual variations (one states this is for the 400/800 and another stating its for the 400/800/1200) .
Even though I have never beaten this game it is greatly addictive since it's premise is so simple that you would think " I got this no problem", but like any well made game you realize its easier said than done.
This is one title I would highly recommend to the Atari 8 bit community. Although this review might be short for this title, if you play this game I can assure you that your amount of time enjoying this game will be much longer and intense.
Stayed tune to see what games from the way back I pull out and rediscover. Feel free to comment and make any gaming suggestions. Your game suggest might just make it to the next review. Email to Braves1545@aol.com Subject: Moment In Time
Rock beats scissor. Scissor beats paper. Paper beats rock.
This is how simple the Dead or Alive concept is. And yet, it's seriously one of the deepest fighters I've ever played. Sure you can mash, like many other games. And there's no doubt you can have a good time mashing. But if you want to really get good you must understand the game. And to understand the game, you must understand "the triangle system," or roshambo. In Dead or Alive it works like this: strike beats throw. Throw beats grab. And grab beats strike. But the deepness comes from how you utilize all these. You see, "strike" is another word for punch or kick. And all of these punches, kicks, throws and blocks can be executed high, low or medium. It gets tricky. No wait, actually a better word is frantic. Because frantic is the word to use when you're talking about a fighting game where matches rarely make it to a minute in length. I mean to be honest in DOA5 even after you've saved a bulk of the data to the HDD to minimize load-times, the loading is still likely to be longer than your fights. But if you're a fan of the series, this is a thing of beauty. You know that each fight should be an amazing rush of blood to the head erupting in a violent ballet of well executed moves that are less chance than the roshambo of Alex Kidd's world.
Long has the DOA series been dismissed as just visual fluff. And to a certain degree that's understandable. I mean to be fair the developers spent more time on the physics of breasts than most others spend on their fighting engine. But throughout the progression of the series we've seen an arcade fighter come into its own. A definite high point was Dead or Alive 2 released on Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. And although subsequent releases - namely DOA 4 - would blow it away visually and roster-wise, it's hard to cast any stones against the second installment.
And I suppose before I go on I should just admit my bias. I am a big fan of the DOA series. I mean, I'm not a big 3D fighting fan. But I enjoy some Tekken. I think the SoulCalibur series is fun and worth your dollars. But DOA is what really grabs me. It's visceral, yet strangely brainy. But not overly brainy - nope, I'm a guy who enjoys the dumbness of the movie adaptation.
And I've spent a half-dozen hours this past week devoted to Dead or Alive 5. Specifically, the Story Mode. And this is exactly why I'm raving about this game. The Story Mode is actually one of the most impressive doses of fan-service I've ever seen injected into the single player mode of a fighting game. Normally, you get an Arcade Mode. So what's that? Fight a bunch of dudes, win the game. Easy right? Twenty minutes? This was basically an entire movie full of ridiculous plot twists, stupid dialogue and insane scenes. To note: for a moment I was upset that I thought a major character was dead only to find out it was a clone I saw slain; at one point Tina declares she is running for governor; and at one point Kasumi visits Antarctica wearing... well, very little.
Dead or Alive 5 is a game so good that it actually renders its predecessors unnecessary. You've got an overwhelmingly awesome single player mode - one that will unlock countless extras including characters from Virtua Fighter. You've got a solid 2-player mode via local or online. You've got a roster that is impressive as hell. You've got stunning visuals that put the preceding games to shame (which is saying something when graphics have been so important to the series). Really, this is a game I strongly urge all fighting fans this generation to run out and add to their collections. Now.
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Posted on Jun 13th 2013 at 07:46:50 PM by ( noiseredux) Posted under PSP |
I have considered myself a fan of the Final Fantasy series since right around the time that the very first game hit Western shores. Though in my fuzzy memories I can't quite recall if it was Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior that was my first RPG experience, I'm guessing it was the former since that's the series I ultimately felt more connected to over the years. To elaborate, I'd at least call myself more than just a casual fan of the series. I've played nearly every numbered installment - including sequels. I've played many of the spin-off's (Adventure, all three Legend games, Crystal Chronicles, Tactics, Tactics Advanced, Mystic Quest, etc). Hell, in many cases I've even played multiple ports of the same game - for example this first game which I've experienced on NES, GBA and PS1 before picking up this PSP port. And yet here comes the shocker: I've never actually finished a Final Fantasy game. Seriously. Two decades or so of playing these games and I had never watched the credits roll on a single one of them.
Whereas some gamers seem to feel a certain compulsion to beat every game they play, I've never really been that way myself. When I know I've got limited time for gaming to fit within my life, that means that I'll generally play a game for as long as it keeps me enthralled, and it's time to move on to something else when that something else successful grabs my attention away. Never once have I felt cheated though. It's just realistic to realize that in many cases RPG's are just too vast for me to see through to the end. Most recently I picked up Final Fantasy XIII-2, not long after launch and paying less-than, but close to retail. Did I finish the game? Nope. Sadly though that one had to do with losing a bunch of PS3 saves. At any rate, while I never got through XIII-2, I did enjoy the ten or so hours I spent with it. In that case how could I be upset? To me, I felt justified spending $4 per hour for a game that I enjoyed playing for ten hours. At the end of the day isn't a video game supposed to entertain us?
Oh gosh, I've certainly gotten off track here haven't I? Well the point of all this was to say that even though these are my feelings on such things as 'value' and desired game-length and so on, I also realized that while a fifteenth proper numbered installment to the series has been announced, I've still never seen the end of any of them. And maybe it was time to change that. Sure I could cherry pick. Maybe I could finally see what happens after Shinra Tower in VII (I've stopped there three times since the game's release)? Maybe I could finally decide if I really prefer IV to VI? Maybe I could finally give VIII and XII a much fairer chance than I have in the past? Nah. It seemed like the natural thing to do would be to just start back at the beginning.
The original Final Fantasy has been re-released many times over the years. And as stated earlier, I have played many of these different takes on the game. The PSP version seems about as deluxe as you can get. Not only is it easily the prettiest version of the game graphically, but the PSP's wonderful widescreen really accentuates the visuals. Add to this the fact that there were now many impressive cut-scenes to help progress the story as well. Along the same lines the game now has a wonderful CD-quality soundtrack in portable form thanks to the UMD media. Other additions beyond the superficial overhaul include some extra dungeons that I personally spent very little time investigating.
As I started the game up I decided to go with the default roster of classes: a knight, a thief, a white mage and a black mage. Sure customization and strategy is great - but for some strange reason I'm sometimes a fan of just sticking to the default and seeing how a game feels if you don't tinker with a thing. Overall, I found the party sufficient. My knight and thief handled the dirty work physically, the black mage was there to unload some brutal magic on bosses, and the white mage did her best to keep us all alive. In fact the party was so sufficient that I actually had very little problem advancing for the entire twelve hours it took me to get up to the final boss, Chaos. I did very little grinding up to that point. I was mostly only equipping items, weapons and armor that I found in dungeons or won from battles. And really my mages (well, now wizards) had only a handful of magic spells to work with.
The Chaos battle did not go well. And after a half-dozen or so failed attempts I admitted to myself that it was time to backtrack out of Chaos Tower, go back to all the towns and start spending money on hardcore magic and weaponry. And why not? I had maxed out my gil by the end of the game. I told you I was stingey about spending.
As I made my way back up Chaos Tower an hour and a half later, I started thinking back on my quest. Here it was, my first RPG and twenty years later I was finally making a solid effort to see the story come to a close. Oh, how many times over the years had a slain Garland with a level 3 or 5 party and then watched those beautiful opening credits roll? But never once had I seen the end credits. All those years I had gone missing out on so much of the awesome middle game. I hadn't even been aware there were mermaids in this game all those years. But now I was progressing from one floor to the next in Chaos Tower now. My party was all above level 50. We had weapons like the Excalibur and the Marumasa. Heck, even my black mage was killing most enemies in that final dungeon with a single hit.
So once more we faced Chaos with narry a worry in mind. Among us four we had nearly every spell in the game including protection spells, and spells that would make us move faster or hit harder. We had a spell that would not only revive a fallen character, but refill his HP completely. We carried 99 potions, hi-potions, ethers and phoenix downs with us. Chaos didn't stand a chance.
You better believe that the internal speakers in my PSP were tested that night as I blasted the end-score that played over the closing credits. I saved my game and took the UMD out and realized that for the first time a Final Fantasy game to me wasn't just about enjoying the journey while it lasted until my eventual detour. For the first time I stuck with it until I reached my destination. And though that final few hours dealing with Chaos and grinding infuriated me, I realize it was my own stubbornness about spending gil and powering myself up that put me in that position.
And I also realize this: as much as I prefer console gaming, there's no doubt that playing this on a PSP made it far more likely I'd finish. The ability to save anywhere, and pick it up later and continue immediately at the exact spot I left off meant I continued far more often. Any bit of progression could be made with even a spare 20 minutes while half-watching TV. So to that I must conclude that although I've played nearly every version of this game to be released in the US, I'll plan to make my way through II, III and IV via their PSP ports as well.
The next generation of consoles is upon us. PS4 and XBox One will make their way into living rooms across the world this holiday season. We now know what to look forward to and we're buzzing with excitement. The games we will soon be playing, the heroes we will be meeting, the experiences we will be sharing; all this wonder and adventure await. Without looking at what games lie on the horizon and focusing only on E3, we all know it: Sony stole the show at this year's press conference. No DRM, offline compatible, acceptance of used games. This is all great news for gamers and now that the two giants have put their chips on the table it comes down to us. Who will we side with? Who will come out victorious?
Of course I'm ready to vote with my dollars, but a question burns in my mind. What will the next generation bring with respect to Role Playing games? No doubt we will see graphical advances, more frantic battles, and temples so realistic you'd think you're actually there. But what about the stories to be told? The lessons to be learned? The emotional bonds to be formed?
What I'm really asking is will future RPGs make me care about what's going on within the worlds they present? To put this into perspective I am emotionally invested in Ni No Kuni's , Oliver because I feel his love for his mother echoes my love for mine, but I don't really feel like I will gain anything from seeing his story through to the end. Oliver seems to be a likable young boy, one with manners, respect, and a level head. But his friends are not as deep, and they appear to be merely tagging along for the ride. I mean their stakes in the journey aren't as compelling as Oliver's. On the other hand, I felt driven to guide Tidus and his companions to the conclusion of Final Fantasy X. Tidus needed Yuna and her guardians just as much they needed him. They completed each other and together they completed the story. It was a perfectly symbiotic relationship that created a masterpiece video game.
Like a novel, a game must follow a satisfying narrative arc if it is to be worth our time. During gameplay and cutscenes which the player has earned the gamer has to learn about the hero's motivations and, upon the end credits, have made a connection to the cast and story. Film can accomplish this in two hours while some games fail to do so over forty hours. RPGs must use their medium expertly to convey their messages clearly and succinctly or they will fall by the way side. If the audience is intelligent enough they will glean from the story, the message needn't be shoved in our faces. Setting, conflict, and drama will be lost if they're shallow or gratuitous. I will still gladly enter a fantastical realm of monsters and magic but it must have meaning. Summoning fierce deities will still be fun, however I want to earn this power instead of receiving it as a means to continue the plot. I want a juicy steak with my gravy. The upcoming RPGs must deliver on this or else their fate simply doesn't look promising. If an Action-Adventure set in an fungal virus infected apocalypse promises more of an emotional roller coaster ride, RPG developers have to shift gears to avoid becoming cliche romps through beast riddled caverns.
I've saved the world from hell-bent rivals hundreds of times. Now I want to look inside so as to make sense of the outside. Rescuing a character from a descent into madness or teaching the faithless heroine to be able to love will be enthralling. A demonic backdrop would still work. The monsters confronted during gameplay would be physical representations of the protagonist's inner turmoil. If we must continue to analyze the world around us consider defeating an alien race which would in turn teach of the dangers of misanthropy or a tainted moral compass. That would make for a wonderful story.
The oral tradition is a characteristic trait of humans. We need stories as they are the vessels used to relay culture, values, beliefs, and morals. The genre is by its very nature conducive to story-telling and as such I know these kinds of games can very well be the modern equivalent of Aesop's fables. Inasmuch I believe these games need to be thought provoking in order to earn their place among the greats - to stand the test of time. They need to be significant if they intend to be relevant. It's been twenty years since Secret of Mana hit the SNES and it's still relevant today. We're still discussing Final Fantasy VII after sixteen years. We will look back on Dragon's Dogma with as much admiration in five years time? Perhaps the Mass Effect trilogy will be the exception, but those are only three games from a vast console library. Will the Role Playing games of the early 2000s be as essential as those of the early 1990s?
I accept that the halcyon days of RPGs ended long ago, but could there be a resurgence of great games just beyond the horizon? Will Noctis (Final Fantasy XV) or the hero of Capcom's yet-to-be-named game make their way into our psyche? It's time RPGs break the shackles they put around their wrists and take note from other video game genres, even film and literature. The future leaves us with many questions but that is to be expected. We should not fear the unknown, nor should we tread these uncharted waters with hesitation. Embrace the wonderment that is set to grace our TVs. Should we be disappointed, remember that we have two power weapons at our disposal. They are our voices and our wallets. I won't go so far as to say the future of gaming, and RPGs in particular, is bleak but it is uncertain. Uncertainty, though, is exciting. Just like coming home to a surprise party, loading the next epic journey could be just what we wanted.
Playing Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms, the Brittania campaign. I have primarily Welsh ancestry so decided to see what I can do since you can control them vying for continued independence against England's sword. You can also play as Scotland (and get a badass free army when William Wallace enters the history books).
Chapter 1: Llywelyn The Great
With Wales you start off with Llywelyn the Great, basically the Welsh cultural equivalent to William Wallace. He is an insane general in the early game, and his heir Prince Dafydd is not far behind. Beating the English with Llywelyn early on gives the Welsh immense pride and you get small free armies that pop up around the countryside. I built 2 extra big armies with these initial free troops. One was lead by Prince Dafydd, and the other a young 2 star general I wanted to give some experience to named Ieuan of Clynnog Fawr. Llywelyn's veteran troops continued their march South, Dafydd began conquering to the East, then turned to the North, and Ieuan marched Eastward to Oxford.
More men rose to the cause of war in the countryside, and English resistance was weak to the overwhelming rise of Welsh pride and might. These new men were used as the basis of the garrisons for the conquered English towns, being some of the best early Welsh units.
Llywelyn conquered Cornwall and raised his banner in the region before passing on due to a mysterious illness.
Chapter 2: King Dafydd's Rule Begins
Dafydd was crowned new King of Wales, and Welsh expansion soon began to halt temporarily. Dafydd, showing that he was more than a conqueror, began a nationwide focus on building up the infrastructure of the vast lands he now ruled. Everything from Cornwall in the South, to Oxford in the East, to Cumberland in the North was under Welsh dominion. Prince Edward of England soon departed for the Ninth Crusade, giving King Dafydd time to accomplish his goal of building defenses and expanding the economies of his new lands.
Wales and Scotland announce an alliance. William Wallace emerges and induces fright in the remaining English and Norwegian lords of the North. King Dafydd feels his position continue to strengthen, and turns his attention to building up a navy. Welsh fleets soon dominate the Irish sea and blockade the remaining English ports in Ireland. However, Edward returned from his Crusade and is crowned King Edward I. The new king begins planning to retake lands that are now in King Dafydd's hands, and has a big army of Knights Templar at his back.
Chapter 3: The Battle of Kingsroad
The inevitable battle happens on the road between Chester and Lancaster. King Dafydd surprises King Edward, and has extra reinforcements from the North. The Welsh and English army stare each other down while Dafydd places his reinforcements on his right flank, angling them towards Edward's forces. Edward finally moves, English longbowmen and Templar crossbows running in range of the Welsh archers. The Welsh advantage in arrows created some chaos in the English army, and most of the longbows and half the crossbows were lost in the first large skirmish.
King Dafydd then executes the second part of his skirmish plan, marching his two units of javelin skirmishers towards Edward's weakened front line. With the added javelins the archers march forward, getting in range of the rest of the English army now. Both flanks begin to cave in for Edward. Dafydd realizes he is outnumbered on horse, and the heavy armor on the rest of Edward's Templar forces shows him that his arrows will be less effective. So he begins the charge.
Most of the Welsh infantry is lightly armored, and Dafydd knew that many would die to defend their new lands. He uses his weaker melee units to do as much damage to King Edward's line as possible, keeping his own heavy infantry back for the moment. The rangers used the rest of their ammo during the melee, but most of the Welsh melee was cut down and routed. It looked like Edward could still come out on top, but he was still outnumbered, and the English cavalry superiority was now evened out.
The final Welsh charge began. The rangers pulling out their melee weapons now. Dafydd used his numbers to run his remaining infantry around the remaining English, surrounding Edward's forces, using his remaining heavy infantry as the anchor of the final charge. Edward keeps his final guards outside of the Welsh circle, and charges into the rear of a Welsh archer. Edward soon found Dafydd's own cavalry smashing into his rear flank. King Dafydd then slew King Edward in a one on one melee. The very few remaining English soldiers instantly surrendered. The battle had largely been even. 700 Welsh fell in the Battle of Kings. But they took an equal number of English with them, more importantly, powerful Templar units. The largest victory that day was felling King Edward, which left King Dafydd of Wales the undisputed power of the region.
Chapter 4: The Sack of York
After the dust settled from the Battle of Kingsroad Lord Ieuan began to mobilize once more. In a rather memorable battle against the English Lord Edward Dangerfyld, Lord Ieuan ordered his catapult to open fire on the English line. The first stone that the catapult fired smashed into Lord Edward, killing him instantly. Lord Edward was the first casualty of this skirmish for Oxford. Lord Ieuan emerged victorious and kept the fortified center under Welsh control.
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After Lord Ieuan's victory King Dafydd began to mobilize for a force of his own and marched on the English stronghold of York. With Edward out of the way and his defensive lines holding it was time to strike! The Welsh king's forces broke through the border defenses and took York with little trouble, sacking the rich haven in the process.
Chapter 5: The English Marches
Even with King Edward dead the English did not give up on their goal to take back control and conquer the Welsh. Small strike teams penetrated into Welsh territory, being beaten away from Oxford continually by Lord Ieuan. A young English Lord Alan Hayway almost made it to ancestral Welsh borders, from before the marches of Llywelyn. Lord Alan was stopped by a young Welsh Lord Meilir Idwal, and a battle occurred near Shrewsbury Castle. Lord Alan fought valiantly but the Welsh lines held and the English noble fell in battle.
Every Lord the English sent to take back their cities from the Welsh fell in battle, it was a true slaughter. More men fell to King Dafydd's sword as they tried to retake York. Another English Lord, Walter of Glastonbury, began a siege of the Welsh garrison at Gloucester. The Welsh Lord in charge of the defenses was Tiernan of Bangor. Both lords fell in battle, and Gloucester remained under Welsh dominion.
Chapter 6: Ieuan the Honorable
While King Dafydd recovered from the Siege and Sacking of York, Lord Ieuan finally managed to march South and take Winchester from English control. The two pronged assault of English land from King Dafydd and his loyal vassal Lord Ieuan the Honourable of Clynnog Fawr, was resoundingly successful, and English domination of the British Isles was slowly slipping away from the English crown.
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Before Lord Ieuan could fully recover from his conquest of Winchester he found himself besieged by an English army. Despite the battle Ieuan still had the larger overall force and managed a successful defense, keeping Winchester under the rule of Wales.
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Lord Ieuan's defense was considered a piece of tactical genius and risk. Ieuan charged his own cavalry out and took out England's catapult men to open the battle. He then used England's own battering ram to protect his skirmishers. By the time England's melee units made it to the Welsh line they were under arrow and javelin fire, and would retreat quickly.
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Chapter 7: Politics of The British Isles
King Dafydd managed to strengthen his alliance to the northern Scots by marrying off his daughter and gaining the devotion of the young Scottish Lord Cormac Bell. Bell's trip to Wales has been delayed due to Scottish military movement towards the South.
Cormac the Unfortunate
The English King William was in a precarious position since the fall of York. King Dafydd's conquest of York left him trapped just to the North at Newcastle, with almost no backup. Surrounded by Scots to the North and the army of King Dafydd to his South, and the garrison of Cumberland to his West, the King of England was forced to wait for reinforcements.
The Irish tribes were knocking on the doors of English control of Ireland as well, having an army just outside of Dublin, where English trade was blocked by the dominant Welsh fleets of the area. A complete Celtic pincer was pushing the Norman nobility of England aside, and re-establishing dominance.
Rhys the Spy lands in Ireland
A rebellion of English lords was also spotted by King Dafydd's agents just outside Dublin as well, making both the Irish and rebel armies direct threats to the English stronghold.
Chapter 8: A King Deserted
King Dafydd left his post at York to chase down William's reinforcements, lead by the English Lord Aston Courtnay. Now Dafydd's army was much more balanced, having a large cavalry presence, as well as plenty of melee and his typical collection of archers and skirmishers.
Lord Aston stood little chance, his own bodyguard was ravaged early in the battle. Dafydd's cavalry sealed the battle by charging into the rear of the English infantry during the melee. King Dafydd broke away from the cavalry battle to take out the men using Lord Aston's catapults. The left flank of the King of Wales had almost collapsed by the time the cavalry fighting was over, but the crash of Welsh cavalry in their rear flank broke them instantly.
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King William was now alone, with little to protect him, and the mighty Welsh King on his doorstep.
Chapter 9: The Siege of Newcastle
After the battle King Dafydd took an abandoned English fort near the border to Newcastle, resting before marching towards Newcastle Upon Tyne, where King William was trapped. The Welsh king quickly opened siege to the final English stronghold in the North.
The Celtic Alliance ft. Cormac the Unfortunate
There was an English garrison to the North of Newcastle in a fort on the border to Scotland, which was besieged by a large Scottish force. King Dafydd took this opportunity to begin his assault on the King of England. With the Scots to the North Dafydd was confident in his position.
Chapter 10: Newcastle Falls
King Dafydd opened the battle by pushing his siege ram and tower to the walls, knocking the gate down and storming the walls. The battle of Newcastle's walls did not last long, with the veteran Welsh force triumphant. Many of the Welsh men with ladders were Dafydd's rangers, so he held them back until his melee was on the walls, then charged them forward and let them take positions to open fire once on the walls.
All of these movements were successful, and Dafydd looked to be well on his way to easily capturing Newcastle and killing his second King of England. However, once on the walls Dafydd felt the ground begin to shake. William's siege weapons had opened fire, but were hitting the buildings of Newcastle at first. The poor church would lose its tower and catch flame.
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King William fell in battle while fleeing, being claimed by Welsh arrows. However, King Dafydd fell just after watching the King of England fall, to a flaming boulder launched by one of William's catapults, dying instantly along with a few of his men.
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The Welsh forces proceeded to victory, then began to mourn their fallen King.
RX8084 - Hardball!
(c) 1987 Atari Corp.
 
 
 
When talking about baseball games that allow to control your team what do you think of ? Maybe MLB The Show? Perhaps the Triple Play for Genesis or Suepr Bases Loaded for SNES? How about VR Baseball or MLB for the Playstation series? Well which ever game you come to mind I bet they owe alot of their gaming ideas to the game Hardball!.
Made by Accolade in 1985 and released by Atari for the 8-Bit series in 1987 this game has it all. When you plug the cart in and start it up you have a basic black screen with white text and you might be thinking this is gonna be lack luster at best. Never judge a cart by its intro screen. Pressing start will open up a world of choices that will make your head spin. Before I dive into that first I need to say something about the music. Even on the Atari computers the music brings the sound of baseball into your living room, right down to the chanting music you would hear mid inning during a rally.
On to the choices you can make. Starting at the intro screen you select being the home or away team. Set if player 1 or 2 is which team ( red is player 1, blue is player 2 ). You can set up which team the computer will be in 1 player action. Hey if your an American league fan, why not add more fun and scroll down and play some DH baseball. Or you can play National League style and let the pitcher hit. Once you get this all sorted out your off to manage your team, you can replace hitters, change the batting order around some, change the position of your players. Your in control. Same for your pitchers pick who you want to start if you don't like the default setting. Check out the realistic stats , it will allow you to pick who will be your better choice for at the plate.
Controls are strait forwards each pitcher has 4 pitches from fastball! fastball curve ball off speed, slider. have fun thinking how to get the batter out. And on the batting end your directional arrows will allow you to pick how you want to swing to hit the ball away inside up or down in the zone.
Ever had a game where nothing is going right? You've burned through 90% of your pitching staff and your not getting the job done? Call in a 3rd basemen to pitch ( all his pitches say Fat Pitch) but heck you can be a positional player and pitch. ( Hey didn't the Yankees do that before a few times just for fun?? ).
This game brings it all to the gamer and still leaves room for more fun with any extra innings you might have to play. Personally Ive never had to play more than 21 innings in a game but it's good to know the game will just keep on going.
I know this has more pictures than in the past reviews but this game has so much going on and menus that are easy and almost fun to use that I wanted you to have the full experience before going out there and buying a copy for yourself.
Like always if there is an Atari 8-bit Computer cart game you would like to see featured on this Blog feel free to send me a message to my inbox or email me direct at Braves1545@aol.com.
RX8089 - Desert Falcon
(c) 1988 Atari Corp.
Here is an interesting title from Atari Corp. in 1988 called Desert Falcon. Kinda an obvious name for what it is ( I was expecting something military air fighter game with a title like this, but I would be wrong). I'm not sure which desert this game is suppose to be set in but by the characters you fight in the game I would say Egypt would be a safe bet.
You are a bird flying around being shot at by other flying objects. You do have the ability to shoot back at the flying objects as you go along. Starting with 4 lives you take to the air to defeat obstacles in your way. If you recall my Blue Max write up you may remember comments about how it was impressive scrolling from southwest to northeast, and this game is similar in that respect ( even though not as a major degree).
As you play you can also land and walk around picking up objects along the way called "Hieros". For the game you are looking to find 3 of them. One of the interesting objects you need to shoot and defeat is a Spinx cat statue that comes alive. Even though your are taking on the Spinx the flying objects coming at you still comes in waves. After you defeat the Spinx, there is a bonus level that you can pick up items within a 20 second time limit between levels.
Overall this is an interesting game that might not be as graphically amazing as other titles but it holds its own in game play. The adding of walking around picking up objects brings something extra to the game that makes the whole game more challenging.
Here's a youtube video of the game play
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