As a Director of this fine site, I'd like to welcome the newest addition to the RFGen staff, Crabmaster2000! He will be joining the ranks of the RFG staff as a Blog Writer, which means he'll be gracing the front page of RFGeneration more often. He will be writing about the 'Unloved' games that most of us pass by as well as giving a description of the current month's "Off The Shelf" game, which was also a creation of his.
So, fellow members, take the time to congratulate Crabmaster2000, he certainly deserves it! And remember to keep it on Channel 4 to read his and all the wonderful blog posts on THE Classic and Modern Video Games Database!
I don't know about you, but I tend to be rather ritualistic when preparing for a serious gaming session. Just like setting the table for dinner, everything has to be set just so prior to my indulgence. Preparation is paramount in order to fully enjoy my upcoming virtual experience. Yes, I admit that my OCD tendencies might have some bearing on the extremely structured routine I follow. I would like to believe I am not an island and that all of us gamers share certain 'peccadilloes' in this regard.
Anyway, the following details some of my required groundwork prior to firing up the system and getting lost in the worlds of Oblivion. Items are listed in the order that they are executed.
Hunt & Gather
The right selection and quantities of munchies and beverages are critical for any gaming tour of duty. You can't expect to give it your all while working on an empty tank - you will need to visit the refueling station every now and again to replenish the reserves.
When it comes to munchies, I personally avoid anything that can either 'crumb' or that I can indent my fingerprint upon. The last thing I need is a controller pasted with chocolate residue and lighted 'flavored' with potato chip salt. Also, any food that requires delivery utensils of any kind (i.e. fork) is forbidden in my sick world. Slim Jims fit the bill for me: easy to eat, the correct portion size, no mess at all - the perfect combination (and taste pretty good too). Low maintenance is a key here in choosing my favorite rations.
Regarding fluids, I have been on a continued quest since 1995 to find a suitable replacement for my ultimate gaming beverage of choice - Gatorade Ice Tea. This drink had it all - excellent flavor, generous portion size (32 oz.) and provided immediate refreshment. I am a HUGE ice tea fan, but not so much of the aftereffects endured while deeply entrenched in my game. The continual runs to the john to pay back the piper gets old quick. I didn't have to consume great quantities of Gatorade Ice Tea to get the best of both worlds (ice tea flavor and personal rehydration). Gatorade Frost Glacial Freeze is now my weapon of choice, but I still dearly miss long lost gaming friend.
Eliminate Human Contact
Alone time is always optimal when getting involved with the latest release or a cherished classic by oneself. There is a time for sharing our passion with our family and loved ones, but during a focused gaming session is not one of them. The last thing I want to hear, in one simple word, is anything. I have a task at hand forthcoming and human interaction will distract me from my primary mission - mastering the awaiting challenge ahead.
At times this is a pothole that can not be easily avoided. Family and loved ones always take precedence, that is a given. But on the rare occasion when you have the crib to yourself, you must be prepared to act decisively. GAMING DEFCON 1 actions need to be immediately enacted. In other words, my cell phone ringer gets switched to 'Emergency' and 'I Won The Lotto' modes - all others get the dreaded voicemail. Yes, I agree that this may be a little extreme. Tell me I am wrong that you aren't peeved to no end when your buddy calls to shoot the breeze when you are smack in the middle of a mob of henchman and fighting for your virtual life.
Don the Garb
Just like the virtual warrior I am about to become, armor selection is paramount. Comfort is obviously the key with old baggy clothing usually fitting the bill. For me, I prefer layering to a degree to give me some flexibility. My 4 Star Suit of choice is a pair of those cheap woven sleep pants from Target, wool socks, a Haines T-Shirt (have to love the no-tags) and my Mr. Rodgers sweater. Propping my baseball cap on the melon and I am ready to go.
Adjust Atmospheric Conditions
Proper alignment of your gaming cockpit is a must. Any serious gamer already has this already in place in their Room of Doom, but still this is something that can never be overlooked and should be addressed.
Seating is critical and I, like most, have my own special gaming chair – a high-back swivel desk chair with an accompanying plush ottoman to rest the dogs. It provides ease of movement along with the proper support for both my arms and neck (especially needed in those marathon sessions). Personally, I can not stand gaming while having my keister planted on a couch. I grant you that the sofa is perfectly suited for co-op play and catching the game on a Sunday afternoon, but not so much for extended game play. As for a loveseat, forget it. To this very day I truly have no idea what its function is. I have vowed never to own one.
No set up is complete without the proper gaming side table. This should be large enough to shoulder your rations and remote, but cheap so you don't have to worry about using a coaster for your beverage. No need to spend a million dollars on these either - you can snag one from Wal-Mart for $4. My lady friend rather hates them since the molded plastic table does not fit in at all with the rest of my decor. Hmmm.... perfectly coordinated furnishings or a functional piece of equipment? Sorry honey, you'll have to live with them.
Last thing to do is to set the lighting low, close all vertical blinds and get into cave-mode.
Assemble the Mascots
This is basically all about our support group that accompanies us on our gaming adventure. Most of us have one, whether it be a favorite lid for our dome or a funky pair of slippers. For me it is all about my 'gaming blankie'.
I have to admit that I was rather relieved at the reaction when I shared this personal fact about myself in a previous article. To much of my surprise, I found that most could relate, sometimes first hand, and shared some form of this 'mascot' tendency. One person had a sock puppet that always stuck by his side, for another it was a 60 ounce glass stein for his beverages. Whatever the case, they need to be ready and available to join your efforts.
Game On!!! (?)
A fistful of Slim Jims and a cool Gatorade sit next to me on my $4 table. My 'pleather' desk chair creaks a bit but welcomes back my ever-widening bum as I plop down into position. My freshly laundered 'gaming blankie' is draped loosely across my legs. Nothing left to do except to get it on!!
I press the center button on my Xbox 360 controller and eagerly await the system screen to begin my assault on the lands of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Nothing. Hmmm.... I press it again, somehow expecting a different result. Still nothing.
If only I would have remembered to get batteries for my controller!!!
These are a few of my pecadilloes - what are yours?
I have always been intrigued by video gaming systems, beginning with my first experience with my Uncle Glenn's Atari PONG system at the tender age of 7. I was a gaming panhandler during my early years until my father told me in 1979 that he had decided to take the plunge. I remember my heart racing with excitement!
Would he choose the Atari 2600 that seemed to catapult my buddy P-Man into demigod status overnight once he got one? Or maybe the Magnavox Odyssey 2 that was the showstopper at my cousins house the Christmas prior? Either way, I knew I couldn't lose.
The day finally arrived when my pops entered our humble abode with the fruits of his efforts - the Texas Instrument TI-99/4A!
Wait a second.... a TI-what??? What was he thinking??? More importantly, what was this thing that looked like an electric typewriter???
The TI-99/4A was a personal computer hybrid that was released in 1979 (as the TI-99/4) by electronics heavyweight Texas Instruments. This is widely considered to be the first 16-bit personal computer to be available to the general public in this genre and was very advanced for the time period. This hardware debuted at a retail price of $1,200 - and that was a lot of pesos back then (and now for that matter). The glorified, shiny silver casing sports an odd 'ramp' leading up to the recessed cartridge slot. I used the term 'hybrid' earlier since the TI-99/4A primarily utilizes propriety cartridges for its software (around 300 total titles). An optional joystick was available, but do yourself a favor and stick to the keyboard for navigation - the TI version is squirrelly as hell and more sensitive than a rug burn on your kneecap. Better yet, splurge for the Atari 2600 controller adaptor and really live large ($5).
A very nice thing about this beast is that it connects directly to your TV and doesn't require an external monitor. Another interesting fact is that there was an optional Voice Synthesis module for use with games - and you could teach the system how to talk! It also supported a plethora of add-ons including a thermal printer, cassette deck (for recording/saving/playing programs) amongst others. Check out a fully loaded TI-99/4A below:
I won't be detailing the specific hardware information in this article - Wikipedia and dedicated fan sites can provide that much better than I. I will say that Texas Instruments introduced many innovations with this model, some which are common to this very day and will be summarized in the conclusion of this writing. My intent in this writing is to share the gaming experience, so let's get to it!
When firing up this hardware, you are presented with a Texas Instruments home screen. After pressing any key, a text driven menu is displayed to allow your choice of entering into BASIC mode (yes, this baby was programmable) or starting the inserted game cartridge. Let the games begin....
This was the first game that accompanied our TI-99/4 back in the day. It is rough by all standards to be honest. You had a selection of 4 plays for offense/defense and you had to be sneaky quick to rifle through them quickly and set your formation so your opponent wouldn't catch you locking 'in'. After your virtual gridirons (football helmets) are aligned, there is nothing really else to do but to click a button and watch the play unfold - you had no control of your warriors. This was still a blast with my buddy Drago and we still reminisce at times about him uttering "The Bomb" when I was set in my "Goal Line" defense in a 3rd and 2 situation. You can guess the outcome of that scenario - Drago 7, Marriott_Guy 0.
I hated this game to be honest, but I would be remiss not to include it since everyone that has owned or experienced the TI-99/4A has been subjected to this sick form of torture know as Alpiner. First off, what is even remotely fun about climbing a virtual mountain and dodging a deluge of rockslides that look like ginormous piles of horse dung? Nothing, in my humble opinion. Secondly, my 'hero' flickers so bad that after playing for more than a few minutes I start to feel like some of those afflicted souls in the movie The Happening - I just want to take a running start and take a dive off of a tall building. Thinking about it now, that would be a more pleasant outcome to be honest than playing this pig for any extended period of time.
This was not a bad clone at all of Space Invaders. Game play was flicker free and fast. The sound effects were much better than the Atari 2600 version. This game had to be displayed in this article to give you a comparison for the era.
This is a classic must-have for any TI owner. It is basically a Scrambler clone, but it is well done and features great voice synthesis work during game play. Sound effects in general are excellent, but most importantly this game is a BLAST!
Another classic TI game, this time by a third party developer, TigerVision. I am not a huge fan of this game, but this game does demonstrate the advancement in game technology due to TI's loosening their stance on external software development and embracing willing partners rather than attempting to have a virtual monopoly on all software development for the TI-99/4A.
The two videos above are provided in this article to demonstrate how far the development had gone towards the end of this system's life. Both are excellent translations and truly display the possibilities of the TI-99/4A.
Though initially disappointed with my father's purchase at the time, I quickly grew to really respect and enjoy this system immensely, even to this day. You can now score one of these systems on the cheap - say around $20 or so. I recommend giving one of these a shot - this retro 'hybrid' is a low capital investment with a high rate of 'fun' return.
I told you this was going to be a monthly thing, and I wasn't lying. I may lie to my grandmother, but never to RFGen members. So here is another RFG Thanks, this time for September of course.
In September we had 3 members submit over 100 entries, those members are ga5ket, ApolloBoy, and TigerHandheld1989. A huge thanks goes out to these members. But we can't forget all the members that made less submissions that are just as important to the database. Rounding out the top ten submitters for September 2009 we have Duke.Togo, NES_Rules, itatton, Sirgin, Donkey Kong Kid, OatBob, and Darth Sidious.
Of course, without a very dedicated approval team, all those submissions would just sit in queue forever, so I'd also like to thank the staff members that approved the most submissions last month. With 100+ approvals we have ga5ket, NES_Rules, and ApolloBoy.
Thanks again for all the contributions everyone has made in the past, each one is truly appreciated. Now let's try to get even more this month!
Firing up a cherished classic or the latest next-gen release is always a pleasure, regardless of when we can set aside free time to indulge in our passion. That is a given. But what are truly are the best conditions that we enjoy for gaming?
The following lists a few of my favorites.
During a Storm
Who doesn't love firing up the console when the heavens open up and Mother Nature unleashes her fury? Whether it be a darkened sky caused by a May rain squall or a complete white-out during a December blizzard, there is just something that screams out "Let the Games Begin!" to even the least passionate of players. Hearing your windows being repeatedly pelted by the outside elements is like a mating call from your favorite system - you just can't deny 'her'.
Adverse weather conditions also offer the perfect gaming environment. The cave-like feeling that is created is optimum for hunkering down in front of the big screen and setting your warrior loose to wreck some havoc. The games, for whatever reason, seem to almost look better during a storm! Granted the darkened exterior has a great deal to do with this, but there is something more to this phenomenon that I can not fully place my finger upon.
The best part of gaming during a storm is the multitude of excuses that are Express Mailed directly to you. During these turbulent times gamers do not have to strictly rely upon their creativity in generating reasons to their loved ones for game time allotment - bad weather gives us the grounds we need and all are defensible. Exterior\yard responsibilities? Covered (for obvious reasons). Interior\house projects? Covered (would you really make me go out in this weather to get paint?). The only catch here is to ensure that you plan ahead and have your gaming food and beverage rations on hand prior to the storm hitting. They will be mad as hell if you are man enough to brave the elements to hunt and gather for some Slim Jims and Power Ade but balk at going shopping with them.
After the Speakeasy
My 'party like a rock star' days are definitely behind me, but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy a tall cold one every now and again with my buds. Friday night is usually our 'Boys are Back in Town' evening when this occurs since Saturday is designated as 'date night' with our respective honey. After catching up on real life activities (a.k.a. round table venting session), we move on to more interesting subject matter - video games! The usual course of reminiscing, chest-beating and other caveman talk ensues and we are finally ready to blow out of our local watering hole and get to some gaming. They know the routine well and love it - my icebox will be stockpiled with "personality juice", late night munchies aplenty and at least four classic systems hooked up and ready to go.
Once back at my 'crib' (yes - old guy here trying to be 'fly'), we bust out the crowd favorites and begin the controller assault. Previously consumed cocktails are not helping our technical prowess - this is mediocre at best to start with and this statistic decreases by at least 5% per the hour (remember - full ammo in the fridge). To be honest this just adds to the experience when we make some dumb move or have to eat some crow after a misfired bit of trash talk. The laughter just doesn't stop until we all just dead tired and have no other option to crash for the night.
Side Note: Our lady friends are cool with this monthly "Gamers Night" (sleepover) at my house. Heck, we even get breakfast made in the morning for all of us! All of this does come at a price though - primping sessions for all of them at the local salon (we are making out on this deal I think).
Waking Up at 2 AM
Ever try to sneak in a power nap after a long day and end up waking up in the middle of the night? Wide eyed and wired after your 6 hour hibernation, there is always the comfort of your system to work off some energy. You more than likely have the entire gaming room to yourself, no worries about friends calling and pretty much free of all responsibilities (no one can expect you to be truly productive at 2 AM, can they??).
Regardless if I have to work the next day or not, I feel pumped at the fact that I will have approximately 4 hours of uninterrupted gaming before the world begins to awaken. This is a conscious choice. I know at the end of the 'real' day that I will probably be pretty wiped out after having this ultra-early gaming session. Nonetheless, once I hear that whir of my console firing up and after my eyes adjust to the artificial light of my television, I know it will be well worth it.
Side note: Having your favorite gaming 'blankie' during this time is a must. Let's be honest - most of us have retained this dependency from infancy. For those who have not, you don't know what you are missing.
On 'Sick' Days
Isn't odd that when you feel under the weather and are not able to go to school or work, you can somehow muster the inner strength for a good, long gaming session? Nuff said.
These are a few of my favorite gaming times - what are yours?
A special thanks to Dave and his community at the Video Game Critic for the inspiration for this article.
Over the years I've dabbled on and off with emulation of one sort or another, but I've always found it a bit unsatisfying, I much prefer the real thing. With this in mind I decided that I'd like to try my hand at a MAME cabinet. The first obstacle I had to overcome was my better half. I though about sounding her out about it, getting her playing some of the games and seeing how it went, but I decided that the direct approach was best so I just blurted it out one night. The reception I got was a bit lukewarm, so I thought I'd leave it for a while and try again in a few weeks. The next day I was working at home and I got a call from my wife - the local Stock & Cheques store had a cheap 17 inch LCD monitor in, and was it what I wanted? Bargain! So off I went and brought it home. With that blessing I was able to formulate some kind of a plan for what I wanted. A full upright cabinet was way too much to go for, we simply don't have space, but a cocktail style one could replace the table in the games room.
Initial Construction The first thing to do was decide how big I wanted the cabinet to be. I knew where it needed to fit within the games room, so that gave me the maximum width, the depth came from the height of the monitor plus a bit to make the proportions of the top look decent. The basic cutting and screwing took me about 4 hours. It's built from 12mm MDF in a bid to keep costs and weight down.
Monitor Mount The plan was to have the top rest on the sides of the cabinet, so it could be simply lifted off for access to the monitor and other electronics within the cabinet. I built a frame to hold the monitor which could be slid around on the X & Y axes to allow me to position the monitor correctly within its window.
Games - in action! With all the basic connected up it was time for a first test. All worked well, although the lack of a proper control panel was quite a disappointment. This is it playing Space Invaders, which seemed fitting for a first game.
Top Cover At this point I added a nice trim to the inner and outer edges of the top, and fitted a plastic top. The lack of the latter was beginning to worry me as it left the monitor face up and exposed.
Parts I ordered all the control parts from the nice people at Gremlin Solutions. They had an eBay shop, and good photos and descriptions of all the things I needed, which made the whole ordering a breeze. I'd love to order some of their arcade cabs too, they look soooo nice, alas the money they want is out of my league. And I'd have to explain to the wife where we're going to put them, because just one would look stupid wouldn't it?
Control Panel The width of the cabinet determined the size of the control panel I'd be able to have. I didn't want controls at each end because it's much more fun actually being side by side with your opponent. The basic framework and installation of the buttons was pretty straightforward; unfortunately I made a mistake with the P2 Start button and I couldn't fit it where I'd originally planned as it's blocked by the P2 joystick, so I needed to cut a new front section and re-drill it. That problem aside the controls looked and felt great.
Control Electronics I'd got no end of PSX-USB adaptors kicking around, and with the extreme cheapness of third party PS1 controllers I thought they'd be ideal to use as the basis for each of the controller boards that I needed to build. The first thing that I had to do was lightly remove some of the protective cover from each of the PCBs, which was easily done with a small file. Each of the buttons would require 2 wires, so these were soldered directly to the exposed copper.
Wiring The other end I crimped spade connector fittings to, which makes for a good fit to the controls without being permanent. It also allows me to unclip everything from the controls later, to make painting an easier task.
Assembly At this point I decided to make some modifications to the top. I wasn't happy about the viewable angle of the LCD screen I was using, so I fitted some mounting brackets to the underside of the top, added hinges and props, and now the whole thing is angled so that it's much easier to see what's on screen. Lowering the props allows me to level the top and use it as a table again when I'm not playing games on it
Paint I'd decided some months ago about the colour scheme I was going to use, and I'd settled on gloss black with pale blue trim. It needed to be easy on the eye, and as the games room isn't huge, not too garish. It took 3 coats of the black to get it to the level of finish that I wanted, but the end result was certainly worth it. The picture here shows it with the top folded flat.
Ready to Play And here it is with the top in position and ready to go.
To get to this stage took me a little under 10 months, which is way too long, and I could have cut the time down tremendously if I'd not lost motivation part way through the project. It took a pending visit from one of my friends to actually get me to get my ass in gear, and since then I've cracked on a-pace. I've still got more to do; I want to build some add-on controls for games that don't support a joystick directly, such as Temptest which needs a spinner, and Marble Madness which uses a trackball. Both of these have arcade parts that are readily available, but they're very expensive, so I've built prototypes from mice and pc trackballs that I've got in the spares bin. Next up is to get them into matching boxes and add paint.
Last week I said that I would be making this a bi-weekly thing unless I had an amazing weekend for the rest of the season. And this was an amazing weekend, so here it is just one week after the last installment.
It seems weird highlighting a game that had a Player's Choice release and is based off of a hugely popular Nintendo character, but many people seem to look past this game. While Wario World definitely doesn't live up to the high standards of the 3D Mario Platforming games (which it would no doubt be compared to), it rightly deserves its own spotlight.
The graphics really aren't anything to write home about, but the overall art style makes up for that. The levels and characters are all brightly colored and vibrant (Carnival theme, jungle theme) or dark and gloomy (Ancient Egypt theme) when appropriate. Everything has a rounded slightly cartoonish look to it which suits Wario as a character. Sure he is a villain, but his reputation is as a comical villain so it works nicely.
The game is played almost in a 2D fashion. The camera is fixed on the side so it has a side-scroller feel to it, but at the same time you have some 3D depth to move around in. And the level design it really great! Along with your standard "reach the finish" goal of most platformers there is an excellent mix of fighting, exploring and puzzle solving. And it wouldn't be a true Wario title with out a little treasure hunting and mini-gaming thrown in for good measure. If you're one that finds typical platformers too repetitive you may enjoy this title more as it breaks up the platforming with the other styles of gameplay, although they are still very platforming based.
Now my (and many others) main gripe with this game is the length. Even if you're going for the perfect file with all treasures you probably won't spend more than 10-12 hours on this game. Just a straight ol' run through will probably net you around 7 hours of game time for a first playthrough.
If you're looking for a slightly unusual platformer with many little quirks thrown in this is probably the title for you. Or if you're just looking for a fun, cheap game to kill an afternoon or two with this would definitely do the trick. Looking for something with a lot of depth that you can really sink your teeth into... keep looking. For everything Wario World is it is wonderful.
Every video game enthusiast absolutely loves adding a new title or system to their collection. Whether it be a treasure that has been extremely elusive or simply an anticipated release for a current gen system. We love them all and experience a certain rush with any new addition to our respective "Hero's Chest". On the flipside, a boatload of irritants accompany your new conquests of war. Some of these are akin to mosquito bites while others can truly suck the life right out of your soul. The following lists a few of my 'favorites'.
Storing Boxes
I am definitely a CIB fanatic when it comes to video game hardware collecting. That being said, I absolutely hate going through the arduous task of storing system boxes once they are displayed in my collection.
First there is the simple fact that 90% of us do not have unlimited space to devote to our hobby. When I first began collecting, I thought that it would be cool to be able to present every original box with its respective system as a part of my presentation (hence basically relieving myself of this storage issue). This was great in theory but not so much when my collection began to quickly outgrow the physical constraints of my Room of Doom. A secondary space needed to be allocated, but not just any closet to toss the boxes in and forget about them. I need room to maneuver for my biggest annoyance - box rotation.
Even with the Star Trek Deflector Shield activated (aka monster bubble wrap), the pure combined weight of mounded system cartons will eventually crush even the sturdiest of these retail packagings. In lieu of using the 'box-in-a-box' method for preservation (thus requiring even MORE storage space), the only way to protect them is a solid rotational program - a time that I have come to dread every month without exception. What a pain!
Being "Out-Sniped"
You have the sought-after mint Atari Lynx system with 19 games in your crosshairs. The auction ends on a Wednesday evening at 4:00 AM (not exactly the Friday closing bell time of the NYSE - perfect!!). You set your alarm clock for 3:45 AM to ensure that the 'morning' duties (microwave a cup of yesterday's leftover coffee; hit the bathroom while your cup of Joe "brews") do not interfere with your upcoming focused bidding efforts. Now positioned in front of your PC (3:57 AM), you see that the opening 'feeler' bid of $9.99 is still all that has been placed. Yahtzee!! you say to yourself. You increase your maximum bid to $75 (better to be safe than sorry you say to yourself). Time ticks down and you can almost taste victory....
I don't have to finish this personal recollection - obviously I lost this auction to a sniper (which I was coincidentally trying to do) for $75.50. This defeated feeling we all know too well - missing out on a good deal. I also feel this way when I am 'asleep at the wheel' and view "Sold" items that I missed out on that went for a great price.
Cleaning the Wares
I'll keep this section short and sweet since this is pretty obvious - we all hate this. I find this so tedious that I actually farm out this chore (albeit to my lady friend). It costs me a gift certificate to Michael's Salon for her every month, but this is well worth it for me to get out of doing this necessary task (also ensures she looks good and maintains her eye candy appeal).
UPDATE : As with most of my articles, I chose to share this writing with the aforementioned "her" prior to publishing. What a mistake! She took one look at this section and began to blackmail me wanting an additional $20 gift cert to said salon for, of all things, a pedicure!!. I don't know about you, but feet don't do a whole lot for me. Well groomed or not, they should stay stay firmly planted in their 'sock house' and only be allowed out once a day max (for the morning shower). I ended up reluctantly agreeing to her new terms, but only after I had successfully negotiated moving another despised duty off of my list and onto hers - laundry.
Shuffling the Display
I feel safe in saying that most video game collectors have a fierce sense of organization and require their spoils of war to be displayed just so. It is pretty easy to incorporate one game into your presentation - quite another when dealing with bulk software purchases or adding a new system.
Besides the obvious space issues, many times items need to be rearranged to properly incorporate your new acquisition. For hardware, I have everything displayed by the year of its release (yes - I admit to having a bit of an OCD issue). Adding a console released in the 1970s requires me to move the rest of the systems 'up one' in my main shelving unit to accommodate this new hardware. I know I may go a bit overboard in this regard, but I am sure you can relate in your own way based on your own Room of Doom. You develop a style\feel within it and anything new has to be properly 'integrated'.
Selling
Need I say more?
No one likes to sell anything when they have invested substantial time and effort in acquiring. Trading dupes is one thing: the win-win ratio is nearly 100%. Selling a holy grail from one's collection is a completely different animal and many times this truly has nothing to do with price\rarity of the item.
For instance, I have a copy of King's Field for the Sony Playstation CIB in the original 'long box'. Nice - sure it is, but rare or pricey it is not. However, I love this game and it was\is one of my favorite titles to this day. Parting with it would be difficult.
How many posts have you read where people wish they would have kept their original NES system and ended up having to purchase another one many years later? Regret, like the weather, can never be accurately forecasted.
These are a few of my frustrations - What really "chaps your ass" about being a collector?
Hey you, yeah you, want some free DLC for LittleBigPlanet? Of course you do. All you gotta do is go to this website http://www.us.playstation...ywondergames/default.aspx, click the big green redeem button and you'll get a code that will net you a free download of the Nose Mythology Pack. The pack includes a few costumes and a bunch a bunch of create mode goodies. If the code doesn't work for you, try clearing your web browser's cookies and generating a new code, or just using a different browser. It took me two times to get a code that worked.
It's been a slow couple weeks, garage sales are getting few and far in between, and school has been getting in the way of getting of weekend treasure hunting. So, unless I come across some huge find this season, I'm going to be making this a bi-weekly blog until the season comes to an end. Hopefully, I can keep up the finds until the season ends and those posts are worth reading. Anyway, here's two weeks worth of treasure.
This was the first release of the infamous Capcom Five (4 in reality and 1 if you want to be even pickier) for the Nintendo Gamecube. For myself PN03 really captured that old 2D Arcadish feeling but with a 3D environment. I cant really think of any other game that has done that for me.
First of all as far as 3D games go this one is quite short. This is remedied by having multiple difficulties and a large amount of unlockables. Even though this game can be finished within 2-3 hours on your first playthough I logged about 15hours into it in the first week I started playing. To unlock new suits and weapons you use the points you receive from destroying enemy robots. These same points are used to keep track of your highscore. I found that to be a very addictive combination. The ability to unlock loads of goodies is a great incentive to really push that highscore.
As for controls its really a matter of taste. It uses "tank controls" similar to the first few Resident Evil games. I just happened to have played a lot of RE2 as a kid and am a huge fan of the play style so I found it very comfortable to jump into. I understand most peoples reservations about them though. With that said its much more stylish and fluid than RE's tank controls. First of all there is very little back tracking. Your always pushing forward quickly to get a good time (which translates to good score) so you don't have to move around a lot. The shoulder buttons act as quick dodges to either side and your character runs at a nice speed when moving forward. This helps keep it seem much faster paced than the RE controls.
The art style and play style complement each other amazingly. The game mostly takes place inside futuristic, huge, white, strangely clean buildings. Your human/robotic character has all very charismatic movements that resemble dancing at times. With a neat techno style music it really ties your characters movements together with the atmosphere somehow.
The enemies in the game are quite boring and repetitive, but fit in well with the style of the game. The bosses on the other hand are enormous and interesting. The last few boss fights are intense, difficult but fair, and just all out fun.
The only real flaw I saw in this game was the story. Its really not a long enough game to develop a story properly yet they attempt to. It just makes the ending twist seem anti climactic. Add this to the fact that there are only 2 characters that ever interact and it just seemed pointless. It also disrupts the fast paced gameplay a few times which is annoying in a game like this.
Its really hard to describe the unique style this game has to it so I highly recommend checking out some youtube videos to see just what I mean. Heres a link to one to start you off:
It seems to be a very underrated game that falls under a lot of peoples radar. It is definitely one of my favorite Gamecube titles and can be found for very cheap though so grab it if you come across it. Easily worth the few bucks it costs!!
It's been quite a while since we've done one of these, and really it's a shame it's been so long. We really don't have much of a site without submissions, and we depend on YOU, the members for those submissions. Without submissions, the site doesn't grow and that certainly isn't a good thing. So, as a small token of appreciation, I'm bringing this segment back to give thanks to those of you that have donated your time and efforts in providing scans and information to help expand THE Classic and Modern Video Games Database.
While we appreciate each and every submission, there are always some that go above and beyond to provide tons of information. In August alone, these 6 members made over 100 submissions: Ga5ket, Funk_Buddy, Madir, Fuyukaze, ApolloBoy, and NES_Rules. And to round out the top ten submitters, we have Tynstar, qbit, Sirgin, and Den68. Thanks also goes out to the other 40+ members who made submissions last month.
The site needs submitters, but it also needs people to approve all those submissions, so a special thanks goes out to all the staff members that approved all those submissions; ApolloBoy, NES_Rules, Ga5ket, Madir, Fuyukaze, and Funk_Buddy.
Thanks again everyone, and if you didn't see your name listed, just be sure to make some more submissions this month, and maybe, just maybe you'll have your name on the front page for September.
After several weeks of mediocre finds, I finally have some really good stuff to report on. I didn't get a lot of sales, two all weekend to be exact, but one was great and the other was absolutely amazing. I even managed to find one of my personal "Holy Grails" although, I have to admit, I kind of had forgotten I really even wanted one since I've been looking so long for it and haven't seen it at a good price in the years I've been collecting.
Hey you, yeah you, want some free DLC for LittleBigPlanet? Of course you do. All you gotta do is go to this website 
