It's hard to believe that I've been doing this feature for well over a year now. July 18th 2007 was the date I published the first entry in this feature (Vol.1 Racing Games). Even harder to believe that I've managed to stretch out the most popular or expected genres this long without using them all up. So I thought this time around I'd spoil myself and write a List 'em for my top 5 favorite platforming games of all time.
Now I admit that I had some difficulty in choosing my top 5. Not only because there are so many good platformers out there, but also because sometimes the line blurs on what does and doesn't make a platforming type of game. Rastan is a sword swinging platformer/action adventure of a sort, Contra could be argued as a platformer along with being a side scrolling shooter. So I narrowed it down to games of dexterity with minimal graphic violence and a small amount of puzzle solving or exploration. Of course interpretation is in the eye of the beholder, so feel free to list whatever you feel you think a platformer is and as always, as many or as few as you wish.
Yes that's right, it's time to "gather ye around the fireplace" and swap stories of powerups, gigantic bosses and bonus stages. Or maybe just big rocks you destroyed. You know, asteroids and those types of things.
Shmups, specifically spaceship based ones, have a long and illustrious history. From games like Spacewar! in 1962, to Galaga Legions and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, we've had the pleasure of playing these games for 46 years. Imagine that, in four years Shmups will be celebrating their Golden Anniversary!
With 2008 being another big year for Shmups with games like 1942: Joint Strike, Aces of the Galaxy, Galaga Legions, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Ikaruga (re-release), Space Invaders Extreme, Thunder Force VI, shumps seem to have started yet another re-birth for new systems. Not to mention the dozens of great indie-made ones and even those that can be found on our very own Arcade here at RF Generation!
So as usual, feel free to share your list of favorite shmups or your criticisms of them for everyone else to read and comment on. This is and has always been, a group feature! Without further ado, here's my top 5 space shmups in no particular order:
For those of you who haven't seen these videos yet, here's a trio of great performances from artist Guillaume Reymond and his GAME OVER Project. These are stop motion videos of popular classic games by using people in an auditorium with colour coded t-shirts. You can find more of these via Youtube, or through the groups official website at: http://www.notsonoisy.com/gameover/
I highly recommend the Space Invaders video as well, excellent choreography and a surprisingly accurate interpretation. Below is the Tetris video, enjoy!
It's been a long time since I had used eBay. It's been even longer since the last time the Game Gear got any attention. A year and a half ago when I unloaded a third of my collection which were all loose cartridges, the small GG collection I had was among them. I made a promise to myself that I'd start hunting for CIB GG games and rebuild a modest selection. At that time there were several auctions of a select few GG games that were brand new, all Majesco reprinted ones from 2000. Usually a couple dozens auctions at a time and in groups of 3, 6 or more. I had always meant to grab one but it kept getting pushed aside for something else instead. Time passed, those auctions long gone and I prompty forgot about the system for a while.
Fast forward a year and a half later while browsing eBay on a whim, I came across two more of these auctions, both from the same seller. The one I got which is above, and a nine game one which differed by not having the Foreman for Real title. Not only did it jump me from zero to ten games for my GG instantly, it helped me sort out the Game Gear section of the RFGeneration.com games database. It cost me $30 shipping included for these ten new sealed games, I would've been happy to pay that for half of them in this condition. Auctions like these remind me of why I started using eBay in the first place, and the convenience and fun of online shopping. It doesn't beat legwork and hands-on, but you rarely find stuff like this in the wild, at least in my neck of the woods.
I haven't played them all yet, but I'm a huge Super Battletank fan, and the Ms. Pac-Man is an excellent port, one of the best I've played outside of the DS version of Namco Museum.
There was a time seven or eight years ago, when PC gaming occupied most of my leisure time. Windows ME was new, USB controllers were taking over from game port ones and optical mice were replacing ball. All in all it was a great period for PC gaming technology as precision and accuracy was better than ever.
During those early years of the Millennium, the rigorous demands of the games I had played, in particular Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, killed many joysticks from many different brands. It seemed like every month I was returning a broken stick back to the store I bought it from. I always took good care of them but they just couldn't take the hard use. Plastic buttons snapping, broken levers, sometimes the drivers just simply sucked. It was a widespread problem that was quite common for players of that particular game. My favored tool of attrition at the time being the Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 and the Logitech Wingman Extreme series.
Then one day as I was returning yet another broken stick, a shiny gold and black monster was sitting on the shelf in the Saitek selection, catching my eye and begging to be held. I had never really seriously looked at a Saitek before and that should speak volumes for it's first impressions.
Here are three videos courtesy of GameTrailers.com, showcasing the gameplay of the Wii Sports sequel Wii Sports Resort. Included in these three are the sword dueling, jetski and frisbee gameplay clips. The sword dueling uses the new WiiMotion Plus add-on, to enhance gameplay and bring the Wii closer to a true 1:1 experience.
Special note of interest to those of you who are big fans of Wave Race, as this is touted to be the spiritual successor to that franchise and besides using your Miis, is supposed to be a deeper and more intuitive game.
Wii Sports Resort is expected to be released in Spring 2009 and it has been indicated that it will include as many as 10 different games in the compilation.
According to an interview with Electronic Arts president John Riccitiello, BioWare and LucasArts have teamed up for a Knights of the Old Republic MMO aimed exclusively at the PC market. A market EA analysts expect to grow from 33% currently to 50% of the total gaming marketshare by 2011.
"Increasingly, people are going to be talking about direct-to-customer in our business," said Riccitiello. "I think we'll be talking about it louder than most."
No details have been revealed about the game or it's release date, but EA is expected to use this as one if it's major products to appeal to foreign markets in particular the growing Chinese gaming industry. I just hope they include a single player game as well. Robbing us of KOTOR III is just cruel, making it online only, well that would be just bloody sadistic.
So yesterday in the midst of the Microsoft Press Conference, The Track list for Rock Band 2 was unveiled. While only a few names were mentioned and the screen too small for most public viewers who watched the conference to see the list, staff at Kotaku who were in attendance kindly posted the list on their site. Besides the fact that the 360 version has the capability to download the entire original game's song list into the 2nd game seamlessly, every song in this huge list is a master track!!. So here's the list, enjoy!
For those of you who have a bit of time to kill this week and want to be "in the know" here are the dates and times for the three main press conferences by Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft:
Microsoft: Monday July 14th, 10:30AM Pacific time (1:30PM Eastern).
Nintendo: Tuesday July 15th, 9:00AM Pacific (12:00PM Eastern).
Sony: Tuesday July 15th, 11:30AM Pacific (2:30PM Eastern).
As for where you can watch it or catch up with the latest minute by minute, here's a few websites you can stream it live:
IGN.com - Free low res stream from IGN, requires a minor download to view it. IGN Insider subscribers have access to a high res version G4TV.com - Live stream commercial free, also available on the television channel of the same name. Gamespot - Live stream plus other coverage.
If video isn't your thing, here's a few sites who will be live blogging it (updating their post every few minutes as the conference goes on):
Keep it tuned to Channel 3 this week as we bring you thoughts, impressions and hopefully other goodies from the shadow of the giant otherwise known as E3 2008.
It's kind of ironic that a little over a year since my first blog post here at RF Generation, that I'd be blogging about another Space Invaders game. As you may or may not know, 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Space Invaders in the arcades back in 1978.
To commemorate this milestone, Taito, now owned by Square-Enix, released Space Invaders Extreme for both the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP roughly 3 weeks ago. A re-imagined game in the same sense as Pac-Man CE, that has a mixture of the old gameplay and new modes and elements common by today's standards.
Now et me get the bad stuff out of the way first. There aren't any sound options for turning down the music or sound effects (which are both good mind you). The Ad Hoc multiplayer mode is really simple and not all that feature rich. That's it, that's all the bad I have to say about this game!
The first thing I'll mention I like about this game is it's price. $19.99 is a great value for any game new and this one is no exception. Since the DS has such tiny controls for my hands, I decided to opt for the PSP version instead. It's also my preferred choice because of the bigger screen.
One of the best features of this game are the changes made to the gameplay. Now I like Space Invaders in all it's revisions and spinoffs, but that's not to say that it can't change while maintaining it's identity and heritage. Taito did a great job of keeping the core game intact while adding such things as powerups, boss battles, bonus stages and colour coded enemies and UFOs. In some ways, this game reminds me of a Galaga/Xevious/Space Invaders mashup with all it's parts and pieces of added gameplay elements. The boss battles are cool because they showcase the pixelated form of the aliens on a larger scale as well as adding a bit of strategy as to how each one needs to be beaten.
Control is simple and you won't get cramped thumbs trying to be everywhere at once on the screen. Graphics are crisp and colourful and there is an option to turn the background effects on or off if you find them too distracting. If you do those effects are replaced by a colourful background that doesn't move.
Difficulty is on a more steady curve and those who may not be pros at shooters or twitch/reflex types of games will still be able to enjoy it and survive for 10-15 minutes at a time. In other words it's equally suited both as a short diversion as well as a marathon high score challenge. Also as you play you'll unlock Stages which you can always go back to later on and rack up more high scores.
I think Taito did an amazing job in re-invigorating an old game for it's third decade of play. This has to be among the most addictive, simple and enjoyable games on the PSP system and one of my favorite games of the year so far. As far as this wave of retro remakes is concerned, Space Invaders Extreme sits very high on the quality list and sticks to it's roots while adding something new at the same time. A feat not easy to accomplish when you have 3 generations of gamers to try to appeal to!
Now before I get to my review, I want to say that I bought this game at a bargain bin price a month or so ago because my instincts told me it wasn’t a full price kind of game. Although late to the party in terms of writing a review (4 1/2 months after release) I can honestly say I’ve beaten it and have experienced all four player classes. This game has gotten a bit of a bad rap by the gaming press and much of it undeservedly so.
Now as many of you know, I’m a sucker for WRPGs (Western RPGs). That’s a bit of a stereotype I’m afraid but it has since taken root and is generally used on a wide scale to describe these type of games. A WRPG is basically a sword & sorcery type role playing game, usually developed by a European or North American company, and has plenty of Dungeons & Dragons or Tolkien inspired elements to it.
This game is a port of the 2006 PC Dark Messiah title and is more simplified and altered to better match the console experience. You have four player classes (Fighter, Archer, Mage & Assassin) and have no real customization of your character other than the equipment you choose to use. Leveling up is linear and since there is no respawn of enemies, it’s carefully spread out throughout the game.
Gameplay if I was to formulate an analogy, would be something like a cross between Thief, Tomb Raider and Oblivion. The combat is pretty straight forward, the controls work well and the platforming aspect of it using the rope bow can be very challenging and rewarding. It let’s you explore and challenge yourself on a scale I wish more games would offer. This exploration is a combination of acrobatics, skill and puzzle solving and is one of the best virtues of this game.
This would be what I’d call a “Lite” RPG, where one could argue this to be a “action RPG” or an “unsophisticated dungeon crawler”. There’s even a bit of humor in the game from time to time to keep the dark story in check. The story itself is pretty simple and really unimportant, and there are two different endings to the game for you to explore as well as a few in-game story paths you can follow.
The sounds & voice acting is generally well done, the graphics look a bit dated but still work well for the type of game and considering it’s a 2 year old port. There are a couple minor bugs but nothing game breaking or overly aggravating. You can expect a solid 20 hour game give or take a few hours depending on how you play it and the multiplayer is simple, mindless fun.
If you can find this game for $20 or less and would enjoy a “Lite” RPG, or a simple game with a fun laid back single player, I recommend this game wholeheartedley. Few instances in gaming does a “Jack of all trades, Master of none” type of title work out so well. Just don’t spend a lot of money on it hoping to get your WRPG fix until Fallout 3 or the Two Worlds sequel comes out.
Yes that's right, it's time to "gather ye around the fireplace" and swap stories of powerups, gigantic bosses and bonus stages. Or maybe just big rocks you destroyed. You know, asteroids and those types of things.
There was a time seven or eight years ago, when PC gaming occupied most of my leisure time. Windows ME was new, USB controllers were taking over from game port ones and optical mice were replacing ball. All in all it was a great period for PC gaming technology as precision and accuracy was better than ever.
According to an interview with Electronic Arts president John Riccitiello, BioWare and LucasArts have teamed up for a Knights of the Old Republic MMO aimed exclusively at the PC market. A market EA analysts expect to grow from 33% currently to 50% of the total gaming marketshare by 2011.
Now before I get to my review, I want to say that I bought this game at a bargain bin price a month or so ago because my instincts told me it wasn’t a full price kind of game. Although late to the party in terms of writing a review (4 1/2 months after release) I can honestly say I’ve beaten it and have experienced all four player classes. This game has gotten a bit of a bad rap by the gaming press and much of it undeservedly so.
