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Hello, everyone. Like many of you, I was pretty excited to see the Genre restructuring project when it was announced here on RFG. Once I got a look, I was a little worried. The Genre that contains many of my favorite games, the Space Sim genre, was absent. Suggestions and points proved fruitless and I was rebuffed. It seemed that the Vehicular Combat genre was destined to hold my beloved Space Sim games, no matter how strongly I felt about it. Once stopped and thought about the situation a bit more, I realized I may have been too hasty. Why don't you sit down for a moment. Pull up a chair, and I'll explain where I stand: Why the Space Sim doesn't work well as a genre, and why I think there should be a bit more clarity.
From this point on I could blab on about early Star Trek games and even Space Wars, but instead I'd like to focus on the two roots of the Space Sim genre, which are Star Raiders and Elite.
Star Raiders was originally released for the Atari 8-bit in 1979. You piloted a ship, the Atarian fighter, as you attempt to destroy the Zylon fleets before they destroy your space stations. The ship is controlled from the first-person for combat and hyperspace jumps, and you can switch to a grid map to help navigate between different points. All you have to do is hyperspace jump from sector to sector, destroying Zylon ships as you go. The game is fun and very straightforward, and is still very playable (even on the original Atari 8-bit).
While the influence can be felt more on the NES title, Star Voyager, than any other game, the influence can be seen in the LucasArts space combat games (X Wing, Tie Fighter), the main Wing Commander series, and Starlancer. The focus of such games have always action-oriented, though story elements and character development began creeping in during the early nineties, even as the original "exploration" elements were taken out. Was this the right decision? Probably not, in my opinion, but it certainly helped refine the genre.
So while these games are still generically referred to as Space Sim games (sometimes as a Space Combat Sim), they would fit quite neatly in the Vehicular Combat genre (maybe under a Space genre, given that so many of them take place in outer space).
Elite, considered by some to be the first real example of a modern space sim, was released for the BBC Micro and Electron in 1984. While the game had plenty of stuff to blow up, you could also trade items (the manual often refers to your ship as a trading vessel) and engage in illegal activities, such as piracy. There are a total of 8 galaxies, 256 planets located in each galaxy to travel to, each with their own space station (and each randomly generated). While there is a main story (which in some cases requires you to literally go looking for it), there are also many other side missions and things to do. You can even skim fuel from the surface of a star!
From there things branched off. Unlike the games that where influenced by Star Raiders, there are many games in this genre that are not played from the first-person, but rather from a top-down view. Games such as Sundog, Starflight, and Star Control II, follow this trend. There are also hybrid games such as Space Rogue. Later titles include Wing Commander: Privateer, the Freelancer series, the X series, the Evochron series, and many more. Games such as the Battlecruiser series, Universal Combat, and Dark Star One share some trading elements from Elite, but tend to be more combat related that the others.
Games from this branch also tend to be referred to as Space Sim games, but are usually tagged with something like Trade, or Exploration. Me, I think the Sandbox is a little bit more accurate, given that freedom of movement and actions are a big part of what you can do (similar to the GTA and Elder Scrolls games).
Now, for those that are willing to endure it, I would like to share my personal journey through the Space Sim genre. The games included are only games that I have played, and following each synopsis I include what subgenre of Vehicular Combat I think it belongs in: Vehicular Combat (Space) or Vehicular Combat (Sandbox).
Game: Star Voyager Platform: NES Year Played: 1990
Star Voyager was the first game I rented, and my first experience with a non-Nintendo created game on the NES. To those taking notes you'll notice this game bears a very strong resemblance Star Raider (featured above), though certain functions had to be simplified for the NES controller (for the better, in my opinion). Regardless of that, the game, without a manual, is pretty much impenetrable, and even with guidance it can seem a little too abstract. You fly around through space, doing hyperspace jumps from area to area, fighting enemies while you search for upgrades to your shields and weapons. Not much, but still fun. On a personal level, this was the game that got me into space sim games. (Thanks for the vid, Crab)
Game: Star Trek Platform: Arcade Year Played: 1990
This was the first title I sought out after my experience with Star Voyager (at a local arcade called Red Baron). Oddly enough it was very similar to Star Voyager, though it was very limited in scope (though it takes nothing from the game itself). The vector graphics are great, however, though it certainly helped that I was a big Star Trek fan. The game? You fly around in space, blowing up Klingons with vector phasers. Good stuff.
Game: Star Control II Platform: DOS Year Played: 1992
While this game does have a versus combat mode, the main mode is very much a sandbox title. You follow a human survivor as he gathers up allies to battle the hated Ur-Quan Empire, explore a massive starmap filled to the brim with planets, converse with strange aliens, mine and sell materials, land on planets, and do a bit of ship combat as you progress. That part is particularly fun, as there are more than ten ships to fly (each representing a particular race), with each ship having a primary and secondary attack option. What sucked is that my friend who owned Star Control II would never let me play the sandbox mode unless I could beat him in the versus mode (extremely rare). Nonetheless, this only fueled my fire to go further down the rabbit hole. Great game. (Skip to 3:13 for the gameplay)
Game: Wing Commander Platform: SNES Year Played: 1993
In the past this game was called a space sim, though later reclassified as a space combat sim. It follows the exploit of a group of combat pilots aboard the space carrier Tiger's Claw during the Kilrathi Wars. While the focus of the game is on space combat, there is quite a bit of story in between missions, allowing you to talk with many your fellow pilots as well as take a few turns on the combat sim machine. While some compain that the SNES version is dumbed down from the original PC title, I found the simplification of the controls refreshing and much more playable.
Game: Starflight Platform: Genesis Year Played: 1994
A heavily enhanced port of a DOS game released in 1986, Starflight is arguably the most influential game for the Space sim genre outside of Elite. You hire and train a crew, take control of a derelict space ship from the future, and are tasked with saving the galaxy. Ahead of you thousands of planets and hundreds of thousands of planets, most of which can be landed on. From that point the choice is yours: Do you want to pursue the ends to the story? There are clues. Mine for precious minerals to upgrade your ship and lander? They are out there for the taking. My last time playing it I mined, upgraded my ship, loaded up with fuel and went off to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
A ton of fun (and the reason I bought a Genesis!). A game that I still like to play every year or so and still manage to get a ton of play out of.
Game: Universal Combat Platform: PC Year Played: 2004
Starflight managed to tide me over for almost a decade, but at some point I was hungry for more. Not just any sim would do, I needed something where I could explore, mine, trade, and fight (if necessary). A bit of research and I was pointed to a sale at Gamestop for two games promising the deliver.
Focusing on the advertisement, you will find the game promises multiple careers, stories, ships, and a large galaxy with over 1000 points of interest. Explore, mine, trade, and shoot at stuff. You can even land on a planet, set your mining vehicle on auto, and just run around like a goof and shoot at stuff. You can also pilot a massive battlecruiser and attack space stations. Sounds great, right? There is one tiny problem. The game is almost impenetrable from a gamer standpoint. The foldout Quick Reference chart, which contains a massive amount of information, must be memorized if you are even to fly from planet to planet. The HUD contains a massive amount of information, requires a military-level mindset to even begin to tackle. Don't know what the PEP is or why the light is flashing red instead of orange? You'll have to know to play the damn game. But that isn't even the games greatest sin, in my eyes. While options exist to explore, mine, and trade, there simply is no reason to do so, as all there is to do is to fly around, land on stuff, look at stuff, and then piss off an attacking ship and die. I hate this game.
Game: X Series (X2, X3, Terran Conflict, Albion Prelude) Platform: PC Year Played: 2005-Current
This series is the reason I am writing this article. I stumbled across X2 on by accident on a Target clearance rack, and the rest was history. At first glance this title series might be mistaken for a combat sim with story elements (similar to Wing Commander), but once you start playing (and understanding the game) you start to see different. While there is a story (and in some cases more than one), the real meat-and-potatoes of this game is in the freedom. Want to trade? There is a massive economy and scores of different items to trade with, from wheat and energy cells to illegal items (drugs and slaves). Explore? There are over two hundred sectors, connected by jumpgates, some with hidden ships out in the fringes. Be a police officer? Get a police license (each of the five races has one) and patrol sectors, earning reward money for blowing up pirates and exposing smugglers. You can make money just transporting people across sectors (with the right ship setup). Later on you can assemble entire fleets of ships, organize and hire pilots to do trading runs automatically for you (my main games has nine traders, all doing runs simultaneously), buy and run space stations, and in later games build your own home base and complexes. This is one of the few series that I will buy on day one of release, confident that I will be satisfied.
Currently I am immersing myself in PC games, from the old to the more modern. Among them are a ton of great looking space sim games, many of which would fall into the "Sandbox" subgenre that I am polling for. Games such as Sundog, Space Rouge, Wing Commander: Privateer, and Evochron Mercenary are intriguing sandbox-style space games, while DarkStar One and FreeSpace are great Vehicular Combat games.
Super Mario, a name we all know and love...Has he ever disappointed us? Nope. However, even our friendly neighborhood Plumber has skeletons in his closet. Today, I'm here to tell you the story of the Mario Game that could have been. This is the story of...

Super Mario's Wacky Worlds was to be developed for the Philips CD-i by a company called NovaLogic. It was to be the sequel to Super Mario World. Developers Silas Warner and John Brooks were drafted as the game's designers, and worked 24 hours a day for two weeks on the game, finishing only a part of one level to present to Nintendo. Their meeting with the Nintendo developers came at 8:00 AM on a Friday morning, and they had their short part of the game on a disc four hours before this. Nintendo was very much impressed at the two men's job, but because of poor CD-i sales was forced to cancel the game. This ended the CD-i career of Warner, who had expected Nintendo's exact reaction, however other developers such as lead artist Nina Stanley stayed with the project.
So what became of this game? It was unfinished and ultimately never released. Well, officially, anyway. There is a Prototype ISO floating around the Web that can be played, but it is far from a complete game. Anyway, after this game was cancelled, we got this...

That's Hotel Mario, also for the CD-i. It's a Puzzle Game with some platforming elements. The general goal in each stage is to close all the doors on every floor. However, various enemies will interfere and reopen them at times. Elevators are needed to travel between floors. It can be quite difficult at times, even to the point where it would become un-fun to the casual gamer. Anyway, this game is generally not accepted by Mario Fans, or Nintendo for that matter, despite it being a decent game.
Well, that's all. Thanks for reading!
"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the House, not a Gamer was stirring...Not even Izret."
Redd: Pfffft. Yeah, right! We're all gaming tonight!
Izret: Hey Redd, remember last year? You told us the story of how you saved Christmas of '98 with your Power Glove.
Slackur: ...What?
Bickman: It's true. He told this hour-long story where he supposedly saved Christmas one year with his Power Glove.
Zagnorch: Like I said, that never happened.
Redd: Yes, it did! Hell, I've got a Million Stories!
Zagnorch: Okay, smart-ass. Tell us another one.
Bickman: Oh, this oughta be good. 
Redd: Alright...this is the story of how Coleco defeated Atari and Fairchild and went on to become the leading Video Game Company in the world. It all started when--
Zagnorch: WHOA! Wait a damn minute! That never happened!
Redd: Yes it did! Let me finish!
Zagnorch: (Grumbles)
Redd: See, back in 2001, I found this old Machine that lets one travel to different universes. I used it, and ended up in a universe much like ours, except here, Coleco was the leading company. Not just in the US, but the whole world.
Bickman: ......Are you high?
Redd: Shut up and listen. See, while I was in this universe, I found an old book detailing Coleco's rise to power. Here's what I read: It started when Atari jumped into the Market with Pong for the 2600. It was a huge success. It sold out quite fast. At this point, a company called Fairchild jumped in with they're Channel F Console. It was also successful, and a fierce clash between Atari and Fairchild erupted. No one could maintain a definite lead. After about 2 years, Coleco showed up and entered into the clash with they're own Console, the ColecoVision. They licensed Donkey Kong, and it sold out in no time. With this, Fairchild gave up and left the battle. However, Atari wouldn't be knocked down that easily. They knew they needed a game to defeat the Arcade-Perfect Port of Donkey Kong, so they developed a plan...That plan was to create Two Video Games: One based off of E.T., and one that was a Port of the Arcade-Hit, Pac-Man. What could possibly go wrong, Atari said to themselves. Within a mere month, Atari unleashed Pac-Man and E.T. to widespread hatred. Atari was collapsing, and Coleco saw this as an opening. They went to Namco, and claimed they could create a Port of Pac-Man that would make Namco millions. The CEO of Namco was skeptical to say the least, but he agreed, and gave Coleco a chance. Two months later, Coleco released they're version of Pac-Man. It was they're biggest hit, and people absolutely loved it, quickly tossing aside Atari's Pac-Man for Coleco's. Coleco and Namco made more money than they thought they would, and Coleco went on to create more great games, many of them original. Atari was defeated, and could do nothing to stop Coleco. It was almost like they fell off the face of the earth. By 2004, Atari was forgotten by everyone. Nintendo tried to compete with Coleco at one point, but failed when Coleco unveiled they're newest system, which also had Arcade-Perfect Ports. No one could stand up to Coleco, and as such, Coleco just kept making more consoles, up to the point where they're name was synonymous with Video Games in general. And that, my friends, is how Coleco conquered the world of gaming. 
Zagnorch: What...the...hell...
Slackur: Dude, that was painful to listen to...
Bickman: Try picturing it.
(Laugh track)
Redd: Hey, you guys asked me to tell a story, so I did. You mad?
Izret: Yes.
Slackur: And what did ANY of that have to do with Christmas?
Redd: Well, it happened during December of 2001, so...yeah...
Bickman: Your crazy.
Redd: Thank you, I try.
Bickman: (Sigh)
Redd: Anyway, from all of us here at RF Generation, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! 
The End.
 Quick! Look over on the right side of your screen, we have exactly 45,000 screenshots in the Database! For those of you reading this in the future when we have more than 45000 screenshots, sorry, but you missed one of the great milestones of your life, better luck next time. Seriously though, 45,000 screenshots is a lot of screenshots, and they were all submitted by members just like you. So thanks to all of you who have submitted one or more of those 45000 screenshots, without you, we wouldn't be here. And a special thanks to member Aeroc, for not only submitting lucky number 45,000 but for also submitting what seems like another 20,000 or so screenshots over the years. Really though, this guy has over 11,000 images credited to him in our DB.
So now that we have 45000 screenshots, its only 5000 until we get to the really incredible 50,000 mark, why not help us reach that a little sooner and start submitting some screenshots? We're not super picky, you can use an emulator (just don't ask us where to find one or the ROMs, we can't tell you that), or use a video capture device on the real hardware, you can even set up a camera and take a photo of your TV screen, as long as its a good quality, we'll be glad to add it to the DB.
I ran out of baked goods, so here's Bob Barker instead. And don't forget about the quest to finish all these milestones by the end of the year. We're half way there, and we have 11 days to finish the other three.
70,000 games45,000 screenshots- 90,000 scans - 1410 to go
- 3000 Collectors on our site (the number of people who have something listed in their collection) - 108 to go
- 5000 hardware entries - 44 to go
5000 members (number of people actively registered on the site/forum)
I am a child of the 90's, a love child. This was the age of Mode-7, Blast Processing, 3D, Playstation, and encompasses the rise and fall of Sega. So let's take a look at as many Christmas commercials from the 90's as we can possibly fit on our monitor.
Nintendo What exemplifies the early 90's more than the constant playground war of Nintendo vs. Sega? So it makes perfect sense for retailers to pick one side of the other in this argument or face everybody's wrath!
http://www.youtube.com/v/SRUoFu4k8bU&rel=0 Gee, would you look at the time? I missed the memo that I must write in rhyme! When it comes to your games, Sears has them all days. In the front or the back, come buy your new cartridge pack, and play the kiosk in store to curb your hunger for more.
Seriously, Sears kicked ass in the 90's for gamers. What the hell happened?
http://www.youtube.com/v/h1xK11PE5jI&rel=0 This is just amazing, if there is one piece of media that makes me remember what it was like being a kid in the 90's it is this right here. Entitlement of youth, grungy attitudes, snarky remarks, and a desire to sit down and play video games. I like how the rhyme goes, "South Park will be fine," as if they're just settling for it. "Yeah I'll take it, but I really wanted Mystical Ninja you dumbass parents!"
http://www.youtube.com/v/O-aAkvcEDXA&rel=0 A nice, generational war, of course. Then as soon as the douchey 90's teens find out that grandpa likes to roll with some Tetris they decide that old folk aren't bad. If grandpa's hearing aid worked he might learn that Tetris was made by a dirty Communist!
Sega So those were some pretty entertaining commercials from Nintendo's side of the ring. But does Sega always do what Nintendon't? Can they top the Big N and encourage people to buy any of the 3 systems they released in the 90's? How about the add-ons?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhCzhwVCH6g Sega advertising at its finest, if you want your kid to be the cool kid on the block then go out and buy him a Sega Genesis for Christmas, then every kid in the city will want a piece of that Blast Processing action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkw2L1AVt5I As a constant follower of Midget Wrestling this is one of the quickest ways to grab my attention, and they have good taste in video games since they just made a ton of money selling the game to Sega, somehow.
Ok, now let's move away from North America for a moment and take a look at what Sega brought out for their Japanese commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Meaqy5J6UQ This may very well be the greatest thing I have ever laid eyes on. I am going to perpetuate the story of Segata Sanshiro as Santa Claus to my children, citing this commercial as definitive proof. If you're unfamiliar with Segata Sanshiro and why he helped the Saturn dominate the Japanese sales charts then just check out this playlist. http://www.youtube.com/pl...S4LrAZ_n-uf5p6jRW9gx4qcFP
Word of warning, the American Saturn commercials are weird as all hell, and incredibly frightening in some cases. Search at your own risk.
Sony A newcomer on the scene of home video game hardware in the mid 90's, Sony and their Playstation quickly rose to global dominance and kept its grip firm for over a decade. Is it because their commercials were great?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OThA36kQ9Po Yes, yes they were. Oh that sound and the PS logo really take me back, excuse me while I nostalgia-gasm all over my room. Again, this commercial shows what the 90's was all about, trying to find your own voice, going against the grain, and supporting Bill Clinton.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q-dBUsLmMM What's awesome about this commercial is that everything the singers say about Crash Bandicoot: Warped is 100% factual. This is one of the greatest parodies of a Christmas carol I've ever heard, I might start singing it this year. I feel bad for Canadians though, $50 for a new PS1 game and its already $10 off? Man, you guys will hate when I say brand new PS1 games in the States were $40. What was the exchange rate in 1998? Tell me Crabby!
Let's head back to the Land of the Rising Sun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz9bp9ZB4T0 Crash Bandicoot and PaRappa walk up to a random guy bearing Christmas gifts, just another thing to add to my list of things to experience before I die. Cosplayers, make this happen!
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eZcV1UuUzI Kick! Punch! its all in the mind.
Well that about does it for the nostalgic video game Christmas commercials. I will be going on a small hiatus until 2013 rolls around. Until then, please share if you've enjoyed this post and my others, comment with feedback, and hit that follow button on the sidebar. SirPsycho out!
After fighting with the stomach flu for nearly two weeks, I finally felt well enough to go out hunting for games again with Nick (niceguy1283).
Starting off this blog of mindless drivel is a few loose carts I picked up from Duke.Togo earlier in the month. Metroid (yellow label), and Double Dragon II on the NES. Sonic and Knuckles for Genesis, Tetris and Dr. Mario for SNES, and Mario Kart 64.

Next we have the focus of my latest spending spree, I've been wanting one for a while and finally managed to pick up a Sega Saturn.

Managed to find a few games for the Saturn... Virtua Fighter 2, Sonic 3D Blast, Road Rash, Tomb Raider, Sonic Jam, Virtua Cop (not for resale), Daytona USA (not for resale), and another copy of Virtua fighter 2, but in the not for resale paper sleeve.

Other things I came across were Mach Rider for NES, Final Fantasy: Charlies Angels er.. X-2 for PS2, Gameshark lite for Dreamcast, and a CIB copy of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
First off I have beaten one more game since last time. That game was Overlord. It's possibly the only RTS game on the NES, I could be mistaken, but I really can't think of another. RTS games don't have the best track record on consoles. I thought Overlord did a fantastic job and keeping the real time pace going though, very fluid. Pretty cool title that I'm sure not many have spent much time on. Definitely try it out if you're looking for something a bit different for your NES.

Now onto my plea for help 
If you were a member here around this time last year you might remember I challenged myself to beating 100 NES games over 100 days. Well I had so much fun doing it that I thought I'd do it all over again! Seeing as I've beaten well over 200 games on the system since October 2011 it would be far to easy to just simply beat 100 games again. So here is the twist, none of the 100 games can be something I've beaten since October 2011. It has to be 100 "new" games.
So here is what I need from you guys. Take a look at the 2 lists below. This first list is the games I've already done and that are not eligible for my new list of 100 games. The list below that is the games I plan to tackle during this challenge so far. I'd like to pad the list a bit more so if you know of any titles that are relatively short or easy that do not appear on either list, please let me know about it. I'm looking for games that: have infinite continues (even if they are challenging), Games that can be completed in less than 2 hours once you know what to do, games that might be a bit on the long side but are fairly simple to finish, games with low highscores or not many levels to loop, or games that use passwords or saves after each level/zone, MUST BE A LICENSED GAME. If you know of a game that fits one or more of those criteria please comment or PM me with the name of it. Hopefully I'll own a copy 
Beaten Since Oct.8th /100
(click on a title to see the video)
Super Mario Bros Super Mario Bros 2 Super Mario Bros 3 Mega Man Mega Man 2 Mega Man 3 Mega Man 4 Mega Man 5 Mega Man 6 Castlevania Adventures in the Magic Kingdom Duck Tales Duck Tales 2 Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 Felix the Cat Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout Ren and Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$ Double Dragon Contra Super C Contra Force Power Blade Power Blade 2 Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus Metal Storm Journey to Silius Air Fortress Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blaster Master Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes 2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 Legendary Wings BreakThru Commando Guerrilla War World Games Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular Caveman Games DK Classics Jaws Ninja Gaiden Where's Waldo? Bonk's Adventure Panic Restaurant Bubble Bobble 2 Dr. Mario Bubble Bobble MC Kids Batman Circus Caper Roller Games Widget Tiny Toon Adventures Tiny Toon Adventures 2 The Jetsons The Little Mermaid Monster in my Pocket Gremlins 2 Kirby's Adventure Kickle Cubicle Kung Fu Yo! Noid Xexyz Puss 'N Boots: Pero's Great Adventure Wall Street Kid The Karate Kid Archon Golf Super Dodgeball Super Spike V'Ball Jakcie Chan's Action Kung Fu The Three Stooges Ice Hockey Tecmo Bowl Track & Field Mario Bros NARC North and South Barbie Battle Chess The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World The Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak Snow Brothers Little Samson Sky Shark Ninja Gaiden II Mike Tyson's Punch Out The Simpsons: Bart Meets Radioactive Man StarTropics Little Nemo: The Dream Master River City Ransom StarTropics 2: Zoda's Revenge The Jungle Book Castlevania III Dracula's Curse Mario is Missing Blades of Steel Hogan's Alley Wild Gunman Burger Time Silver Surfer Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom Double Dragon II: The Revenge Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones Ghosts n Goblins Tetris Pro Wrestling Gradius Zanac Adventure Island Karnov Trojan Excitebike Baseball Spy Hunter Adventure Island II Tennis Battletoads Shadowgate Battletoads/Double Dragon Pinball Quest Section Z Godzilla Hydlide Marble Madness Back to the Future Darkman Terminator 2 Robocop Total Recall Predator Robocop 2 Robocop 3 Hudson Hawk Home Alone Home Alone 2 Batman Returns Ghostbusters II Ghostbusters Die Hard A Nightmare on Elm Street The Krion Conquest Adventures of Dino Riki Ultima: Exodus Legacy of the Wizard Ultima: Quest of the Avatar Darkwing Duck Ultima: Warriors of Destiny Legends of the Diamond Pro Sports Hockey Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball Yoshi's Cookie Kick Master Zombie Nation Stadium Events Super Jeopardy! Joust Yoshi Dance Aerobics Adventures of Bayou Billy Pipe Dreams Ski or Die Werewolf: The Last Warrior Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants City Connection American Gladiators Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge 720 Athletic World Super Team Games Romance of the Three Kingdoms Gumshoe Bases Loaded The Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt Kings of the Beach The Blues Brothers Volley Ball Lode Runner 3D World Runner Twin Eagle Dragon's Lair The Adventures of Rad Gravity Break Time: The National Pool Tour Bases Loaded II Rainbow Islands Conquest of the Crystal Palace Peter Pan And The Pirates Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon Strike Slalom Wrath of the Black Manta Race America Treasure Master Krusty's Fun House King's Knight Mighty Bomb Jack Bases Loaded 3 Castelian Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll Dirty Harry Conan Cobra Triangle Spider Man Return of the Sinister Six Tag Team Wrestling Eliminator Boat Duel Galaxy 5000 George Foreman's KO Boxing Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge Thunder & Lightning Heavy Shreddin' Flying Warriors Rocket Ranger Roger Clemens MVP Baseball Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure Destination Earthstar Street Cop Short Order/Eggsplode Star Voyageur Days of Thunder Laser Invasion Silent Service Back to the Future 2 & 3 Overlord
2013 100 in 100 List
Color A Dinosaur Taboo Amagon Galaga Bo Jackson Baseball 10 Yard Fight Bugs Bunny Castle Craze Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune Vanna White Wheel of Fortune Family Wheel of Fortune Junior Trog Super Off-Road RBI Baseball Magmax Popeye Chessmaster Jackyl Fisher Price I can Remember Baseball Sim 1.000 Monopoly Jeopardy 25th Anniversary Jeopardy Jeopardy Jr Fisher Price Perfect Fit Remote Control Double Dare Hollywood Squares John Elway's Quarterback Xenophobe Millipede Sesame Street 123 Sesame Street ABC Sesame Street Big Bird's Hide & Speak Tiger-Heli Pictionary Anticipation Platoon Classic Concentration Balloon Fighter WWF Wrestlemania Challenge Pinball Jack Nicklaus's Greatest 18 Holes Winter Games Touchdown Fever Urban Champion Spy vs. Spy Life Force Bucky O'Hare Gotcha Wayne Gretzky Hockey Double Dribble Orb-3D Blue Marlin Tailspin Astyanax Tom & Jerry Silkworm Arch Rivals Gun Nac Castle of Dragon Gyruss Mickey Letterland Mickey Numberland Major League Baseball Space Shuttle Project Crash 'n the Boys Joe & Mac Spot Twin Cobra Track & Field II Rocky & Bullwinkle Win, Lose or Draw Hoops Base Wars Whomp 'em NES Play Action Football Heavy Barrel TMNT Tournament Fighters MUSCLE Hatris Magic Johnson's Fast Break Family Fued Defender II Cyberball Qix Karate Champ Bandai Golf Dragon Fighter Othello Time Lord Wrecking Crew NFL Football Shooting Range Nintendo World Cup Soccer Flintstones Dino & Hoppy Soccer POW Rush 'n Attack Kabuki Quantum Fighter Captain Planet Dr.Chaos Captain America & The Avengers The Punisher X-Men Wolverine Totally Rad Incredible Crash Test Dummies Zen Intergalactic Ninja
The Challenge begins January 1st at 00:00 and end on April 10th at 23:59. Wish me luck!
At #6 on my Top 10 pinball machine countdown is none other than William's Monster Bash. Monster Bash is the total package, great gameplay and great theme. I can actually remember growing up and watching the old black and white Universal Monster movies on late night television, dressing up as Dracula year after year for Halloween (you know, when kids use to dress up as monsters), and who can forget 1987's Monster Squad, which I saw in the theater.
The classic monster theme is further entwined with, and enhanced by, a rock n' roll theme. The purpose the game is to collect all of the band members, Dracula, The Creature, Frankenstein's Monster, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolfman, and The Mummy, by hitting specific shots on the playfield, and putting the band together for one big MONSTER BASH! The Creature joins after repeated shots to the left saucer, Frankenstein's Monster by hitting the left stand up targets under the Monster's table, Bride of Frankenstein by traveling down the left and right ramps, The Wolfman by shooting the right and left loops, The Mummy by hitting the pop bumpers and lighting the right scoop, and Dracula by completing the right stand-up targets and lighting D-R-A-C-U-L-A. Completion/Collection of each character starts that character's mode and lights specific shots on the playfield for additional scoring bonuses; modes can be stacked.
While assembling the band, you can also work to collect each monster's instrument by shooting the ball into the Mosh Pit. Instruments can also be collected by finishing each associated monster's mode. Once all six instruments are collected, "Monsters of Rock" mode lights for additional scoring. The "Mosh Multi-ball" feature can also be lit by ripping the center spinner 6 times.
Monster Bash is a fun, loud, and exciting pin. The call outs are some of the funniest out there and are integrated well with the shots and objectives. Another of those high priced pins due to it's popularity (in the Top 5 on most pinball enthusiast's lists), Monster Bash is rarely found now on location, but it can't hurt to check out your area: http://pinside.com/pinball/map/where-to-play. However, if you do run across one out there, be sure to throw in some quarters and enjoy. Wolfman certainly has nards, and so does this pin!
Well, I'm halfway through my Top 10, so here is a recap of my picks:
#10 - High Speed #9 - Banzai Run #8 - Attack From Mars #7 - Diner #6 - Monster Bash
Say tuned......
Greetings from Terra!
I was gonna do some garage-sale'ing this last Saturday, but due to poor weather conditions, I knew there would be few prospects. Instead, I decided to do a thrift crawl all the way down to Gilroy-- the garlic capital of the world, as it were-- and hit a few hiking trails down there while I was at it.
My first Goodwill stop yielded two wrapped Super Mario 3D Land posters for $0.99 each. Not much to be sure, but a decent start.
Next up was the Morgan Hill Goodwill which, until recently, I'd pretty much given up on due to its extortionate asking prices. But over the last couple months, I've been pleasantly surprised by not only the things I've found there, but also the asking prices. Sadly, the only thing the place yielded this day was a Laser Line CD storage tower for $3.99. Ever since my PS1 game collection went into triple figures, I needed something in which to store my displaced Dreamcast, TG16, and PC titles, and this should fit the bill. Now I just need to rearrange a few things to make room for it somewhere...
Up next was a nearby Target, where I answered the call of nature, washed my hands, and grabbed the Target-exclusive Skylanders Giants lightcore triple pack on special for $19.99.
On to the Gilroy Goodwill, which yielded what I thought would be the deal of the day: a CIB Kingdom Hearts Re:coded DS game for $2.99. However, when I opened the case up, it contained...
...a copy of Eragon instead.
But, I figured what the hell, and bought it anyway. I'm willing to give Eragon a shot, and I'm confident I can find a Re:coded card somewhere to make it complete. Lemons into lemonade and all that.
Then it was on to the Gilroy Salvation Army store... where I have NEVER found any games, game hardware, or accessories worth buying, EVER. Some times it was due to high asking prices, but usually it was because of a total lack of anything. Today, however, was far different-- not only did the place have a small cache of games in which I was interested, there was a half-off sale in effect. So I picked up the following CIB PS2 titles, normally priced at $3.49 each, for just $1.75 a pop:
- Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
- Secret Agent Clank
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- Super Bust-A-Move
- Jak and Daxter
- Sega Gt 2002 / JSRF double feature for Xbox
But the big pickups were a couple PS2 GunCon bundles that had red-bar price tags on them. At the Salvation Army nearest me, this type of tag indicates that the item is considered a collectible, and is not subject to any kind of discount, even on sale days. I lamented this fact to the cashier, who replied that the Gilroy store didn't share that policy, and even the "collectible" stuff was on sale! So I asked him to free those bad boys from the display case. I gave 'em a look, liked what I saw, and threw 'em on the ring-up pile. And that's how I picked up the Vampire Night and Time Crisis 3 GunCon2 bundles for just $6.25 each.
My final grab of the day was at a newly-opened Savers, which had a sealed copy of Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy for PS2 for $1.99. The place also had a few DS titles for $1.99 each that I would have bought, had they actually had any cards in them. Somebody's gotta tell the Savers folks that they should probably do the same thing most of the local Goodwills do, and keep all the game discs and cards in a binder under the checkout counter. But hey, I'm just a customer, what do I know?
On Sunday, I did a relatively short thrift-crawl on the way home from work. The first stop yielded the biggest Target-salvage cache of Wii U titles yet: 2 copies of New Super Mario Bros. U for $29.99 each, ZombiU for $24.99, and Rabbids Land for $24.99. Although I've never had an interest in the whole zombie deal, ZombiU appealed to me with its "Unique Death Mechanic", where "If you die, you wake up to play an entirely new character who is another survivor in the same terrifying position," according to a blurb on the Amazon.com product page. I also read that you can kill your zombified former self and get your stuff back. No, I don't know why I find this particular aspect of the game appealing, but at least Im willing to give it a shot.
My last stop yielded a Target-salvage Mario Kart 7 for $14.99.
TL;DR Sidebar:
My big miscellaneous pick-up of the weekend: a Tomy Pop-Out Pirate set for $1.99. As you can see, Japan comes up with some pretty offbeat NON-video games, too.
The weekend's biggest crack-smoking moment: the new Savers pricing loose NES carts at $9.99 each. While there were a couple titles I'd have loved to add to my stack, none of 'em were even remotely worth a sawbuck. And with a no-exchange policy in effect on them, I wouldn't have been able to return them if they didn't work properly.
The weekend's biggest "I'll Pass" item: a Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition fight stick for the PS3.
Although I'm not into fighting games, I thought this bad boy looked pretty sweet, and was in surprisingly good condition. I dug how you could open it up, and store stuff inside it. Well, not a lot of stuff, just a little stuff. Stuff like some illicit substance* to help take the edge off when you're playing. But, I don't own a working PS3, so who knows if it worked properly. Also, the $40 asking price seemed a wee bit steep to me, especially seeing as how it didn't come with the game. Oh well, its not like there aren't other great finds out there for me to discover...
...and tell you all about.
Until then...
...'Late
*Illicit outside of Washington and Colorado that is.

Not too long ago I blogged about enjoying Fighting Vipers. As such I jumped at the opportunity, when I had the chance to acquire its spin-off sequel. Fighters Megamix is a mash-up of both Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter 2. At least that's what I thought it was. But apparently it's a whole lot more.
Let's start from the beginning. Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter 2 are both pretty similar games. At least as far as a game engine and appearance goes. So of course this makes for a pretty easy combo deal. You take your eleven Fighting Vipers characters and eleven Virtua Fighter 2 characters, put em together and call it a day. Sure there's some differences as far as physics go between the two games -- but you can even pick which physics engine you want to go with. And each game uses a similar three-button layout, so it's not like you have to learn one fighting style if you're only familiar with the other.

So when I first started playing Megamix, I really felt a bit underwhelmed. It just felt to me like Fighting Vipers with double the roster. Not that that's a bad thing of course. But it didn't feel like this amazing new game either. But I was in for a bit of a surprise still.
The single-player mode of Megamix is broken down into various courses. The courses are vaguely themed -- such as playing only Vipers or only females. In each course you'll be fighting through six fighters and then unlocking a hidden boss. This is where things start to get awesome. You see once a hidden boss is unlocked and beaten, they are then also added to the roster. When all is said and done you've got over thirty characters to choose from which is a huge jump from the original Fighting Vipers.

It's not just the fact that there are so many unlockable characters that's impressive here though. It's the sheer over-the-top fan service of them that's mind-blowing. You'll get an alternate version of Fighting Vipers' Candy, the Virtua Fighter Kids' version of Akira, along with cameos from Virtua Cop 2, Sonic The Fighters and even Daytona USA. Yes. You read that correctly. You see by the time you make it through the ninth course you'll fight the final boss of the game -- the Hornet car from Daytona USA. This is exactly the kind of insanely ridiculousness that earned Sega so many die hard fans.
My only real complaint about Fighters Megamix is a small one. There is a bit of slowdown that wasn't present in Fighting Vipers. However this only seems to occur on a few particular stages, so it's not a game-breaking deal. But when you take into consideration all the excellent unlockables plus the fact that each of the nine courses save your completion time, there is a huge amount of replayability here. Definitely a highly recommended 3D fighter for the Saturn.
The 80's were a much simpler time for video gaming, especially the earlier you go. The same can be said for the advertisements for said video games and their consoles. Since we're getting so close the holiday that most exemplifies consumerism and capitalism, let's take a look at what some video game manufacturers and/or retailers aired during commercial breaks and give them a quick analysis.
Atari These early commercials were just as cliched as other commercials at the time, and as simple as the games they were advertising, maybe a sign of American advertisers and their constant safe bet of mass market appeal.
http://www.youtube.com/wa...mbedded&v=eSIvLIdV2Oo Oh man, I'm so sorry. I fell asleep watching this because of BOREDOM.
http://www.youtube.com/wa...mbedded&v=9VkCdrpVvmU These Atari commercials would be so much more entertaining with Billy Mays. "HI BILLY MAYS HERE AND YOU SHOULD BUY ATARI 2600 VIDEO GAMES! CHECK OUT STAR RAIDERS, SWORDQUEST, MS. PAC-MAN AND OTHERS AT PAY N'SAVE TO GET CRAZY CHRISTMAS DEALS! IF YOU GO SHOPPING TODAY YOU'LL RECEIVE A BOTTLE OF ORANGE GLO FOR FREE!
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!
http://www.youtube.com/wa...mbedded&v=o8JtRmnISUg We agreed to never speak of this incident again! No seriously I am contractually obligated to never mention ET for the Atari 2600 ever. Screw the contract, this is the most hellish, torturing commercial for any Atari fan that could possibly exist. They should have buried the commercials in the desert with the games! That said its still a boring as hell advert.
Colecovision
http://www.youtube.com/wa...mbedded&v=uhuJIW2_uG0 Come buy a Colecovision and a bunch of random games from Hills for your lovely Christmas. Also buy Atari and Intellivision games because we love to namedrop and we need to LIQUIDATE EVERYTHING FOR THE HOLIDAYS WHOOOO!
Nintendo When Nintendo stormed onto the scene the Wild West days of the 70's and early 80's was over. There was a new sheriff in town and they weren't going to let anybody rustle their cattle.
http://www.youtube.com/wa...mbedded&v=oGxPQ1Hglu8 Hi, I'm Target and I paid Aretha Franklin a lot of money to sing a little jingle and appear in this Nintendo commercial. SHOP HERE PLEASE! That said this is much better than the early 80's fare, Aretha Franklin and her amazing voice keeps my attention and really puts me in the Christmas spirit. I like this one a lot.
http://www.youtube.com/wa...mbedded&v=jFRPrqgGA_M Oh man if I was a kid in the late 80's, instead of being an infant when this commercial came out, I would have made my parents buy so much Pepsi. In fact I should have a new endorsement contract coming out since I ended the other one.

 Stay tuned later this week to see what happened when the 90's came into being.
Hey everyone yesterday was a busy day for me other than the fact that I was up for more than 24 hours I did quite a bit of hunting and picked up my first Craigslist pick up from a guy who is actually a member on here! The other day I was browsing Craigslist and I found an ad, emailed the owner and he sent me an email back so on Friday I paid him $25.00 for a two big boxes of Sega Genesis Boxes and Manuals. There were a few doubles but I actually needed most of them. The rest will be for sale on here so keep an eye out or email me if your interested. The pictures will be described this time because this blog is photo heavy and two of the pictures are of Genesis boxes that are for sale. So please read the description. Then on Friday I went and got rid of some more movies because I wanted to pick up some more games and guides with my brother. First we went to CD Tradpepost to get rid of the movies and I picked up a couple of nice PS1 games that I have been wanting for a while. Then we went on to Ben's Gaming to get rid of some more movies and I picked up a CIB Yoshi, few manuals and Final Fantasy VII PS1 Sampler Disc. (Keep in mind everything from each store will be described and listed). Then we went on to Half Price Books and I picked up a few strategy guides and some cheap mangas that are video game themed. Then we went onto the first Gamers and we didn't pick up anything especially since they moved everything around again. Then we went to a place where our indoor flea market moved to and saw nothing but some toys that looked nice and some baseball cards we didn't pick up anything there. Then we moved on to the Second Gamers and I found a few more PS1 games and few Atari 2600 games one being He-Man INTV version! Then we stopped by Best Buy on the way home and my brother picked up Assassin's Creed III for PS VITA. Today I received my Free Christmas/Birthday Gift from Zag!!! Thanks again!! I am already playing Battleship its awesome! Also my brother said thanks for the Nerf Gun after I shot him with it!!! haha Such big kids at heart. Also yesterday we stopped at BAM and picked up the last issue of Nintendo Power we are opening this one and waiting on the other one to be shipped.
So here is the run down then the pictures. *CD Tradepost - -Alone in the Dark - One Eyed Jack's Revenge - $6.99 -Dino Crisis - $1.50 - better condition than the one that was priced at $6.99 *Ben's Gaming -Yoshi - NES - CIB - $7.00 ---Manuals & Final Fantasy PS1 Sampler Disc all $0.50 to $1.00 -Ms. Pac-Man Special Color Edition - GBC -Nascar 2000 - GBC -Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing - GB -Frogger - GBC -Joe & Mac - SNES -Pokemon Colosseum - GC
*Half Price Books -Dot Hack//Mutation Part 2 - $5.00 -Dot Hack//Outbreak Part 3 - $7.00 -Suikoden IV - $7.00 -Suikoden IV Art Book - $7.00 -Devil May Cry 3 Volume 1 - $1.00 -Devil May Cry 3 Volume 2- $1.00
*Gamers - Second Location -Basketball Atari 2600 - Sears Telegames - $0.95 -Joust - Atari 2600 - $0.95 -Masters of the Universe - Atari 2600 - White Label - $0.95 -Reggie Jackson Baseball - SMS - CIB - $3.95 -Air Combat - Long Clear Box - CIB - $2.95 -3D Baseball - $4.95 -Gallop Racer - $4.95
*Best Buy -Assassin's Creed III: Liberation - $25.00
So here are the pictures I'll start with the Genesis stuff first - Thanks again Jim.
Picture 1 - These are just the boxes they were all packed in.

Picture 2 - These are ones that I needed to make my cart only complete.

Picture 3 - These are ones I AM KEEPING.

Picture 4 - These are ones I AM KEEPING PART 2

Picture 5 - These are for sale - some have the manuals and some do not if interested please message me.

Picture 6 - Also for sale.

Picture 7 - Hunting part 1 - None for sale.

Picture 8 - Hunting part 2- None for sale

Picture 9 - Hunt part 3 - Not for sale.

Picture 10 - Gift from Zag.

PLEASE COMMENT!
After finishing the major maintenance issues on Fathom (still working on the knocker, the tilt, and need to replace two light canisters), I decided to take care of some of the more cosmetic features of the machine. The overwhelming majority of pinball machines, even those produced today, are lit with your average incandescent bulb. However, with the more recent production of LED lighting, there are many in the hobby that like to "bling" out their toys with LEDs. LEDs provide a much brighter, longer-lasting, more energy efficient, and in some cases, cooler (temperature wise) alternative to incandescents.
Though my Dracula has LEDs in it, I was a bit weary of putting LEDs in my more classic Fathom machine. I think it's hard not think about the integrity of the machine with older pins and some collectors even feel that LEDs in older machines are off-putting. I'm not one of those guys. I like a machine to look nice and bright and if I can run it cooler and more energy-efficeint, then by all means count me in. Besides, it looks cool as hell. I should also add that LEDs are great for older machines with backglass because not only does it make them brighter, but the lower temperatures of the bulbs keep the paint from flaking.
I received an order of lights last night for my machine and a Data East Batman I am working on for a co-worker (pics of that to maybe come later***UPDATE: see pics below) and decided to go ahead and begin putting them in. Luckily, older games like Fathom have no ramps or crazy plastics to remove to get to the lights; however, the old 555 size sockets are super tight and my hands are extremely cut up and sore this morning from merely changing bulbs.....
Anyway here are some pics:
BEFORE
AFTER
Also, I am restoring my 1988 Williams Taxi machine at this time as well. My good friend decided that he would help me out and actually offered to repaint and clearcoat my playfield, put on new decals, and sand down current and replace some inserts. This is really tough and tedious work, but I think it turned out really well (still waiting for some warm days to clearcoat). I am forever indebted to my friend for such great work and super pleased with how it came out. Here are some before and after pics:
BEFORE
AFTER
Here are some follow-up pics of the Batman machine that I put LEDs in last night. Turned out pretty good.
Hey guys! I am back! I am so sorry I was gone so long! Between working 2 jobs, going to school for my Doctorate full time, working on my certifications full time, and dealing with autoimmune issues, I was...well.. not able to get online much. I plan on adding new things once I am back into the swing of things!
- Gerri
Headline says it all. We are doing a major overhaul of the genres and subgenres. I had alluded to a top secret project a few days ago(a week? more?) in the Unrelated Thoughts thread.
Staff members and VIP have already gotten to say what they think about it. It is now open to the general populace to tell us what they think. Please keep in mind just because you think something should be a subgenre or genre does NOT mean it will happen. But if you do not make any suggestions obviously nothing will change JRPG/WRPG for example WILL NOT be subgenres.(You're welcome Sirgin and SirPsycho.)
Discussion is here.
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