With my console collection pretty much fleshed out I have decided to take the plunge into collecting handheld systems. This is an area within the video gaming field that I have totally neglected, almost to the point of refusing to recognize their existence. I have never understood the attraction to this method of gaming. Some of my peers might even say that I am a bit of a snob and view these as 'half-breeds', kid toys or worse. Upon reflection, I guess I am rather arrogant when comparing 'true' consoles to these half-pint counterparts (yes - the pun was intentional). Well, after repeated urging (beatings) from others and hearing from them that "I just don't get it", I took the initiative to learn more about these little guys.
After doing a little investigation and with the help of my friends at RF Generation, I was able to compile a list of handheld systems to 'target' for my collection. It was now time to do some self-education prior to making any purchases so that I do not repeat the same mistakes that I made early on when I started collecting consoles. This task was right up my power alley.
To my pleasant surprise I discovered that the great diversity that I know to be fact in my experience with collecting consoles is equally true with these handheld units - technology, functionality, package variations, etc. Once again - a home run in my interests as a collector. What struck me were the wide use of face plating and or various colors of the actual handheld hardware chassis.
Most of the handheld manufacturers utilized this strategy, regardless of the era their respective handheld system was released - the majority of console developers did not (Nintendo 64 & the Nintendo Game Cube among the few exceptions). My only guess for this difference is that handhelds are designed marketed to also be a personal expression of the respective owner. The target audience seems to be rather diverse compared to perspective console owners. However, I still can not apprehend this pseudo-emotional attachment to a gaming device that companies try to sell to the consumer. I fully admit that I am an old school gamer and that may be the reason "I just don't get it".
Backward compatibility seems to be a pretty consistent offering in handheld units as a whole - much more so than in consoles. Improvements in providing additional multimedia functions and networking capabilities usually appear within a year or so after their initial debut in 'big brothers' hardware. Certain handheld systems have even been at the forefront of technology by including text messaging, PDA, MP3 playback and other applications. If I didn't have a cell phone or computer, I would have to admit this is pretty impressive. That leaves us to the core purpose of any hardware - the gaming experience.
There is no comparison in this area - console games blow away the handheld's by a mile. There is no reason why they shouldn't with the space available for technology in a standard hardware chassis. I fully agree that the portable system offers many conveniences. But why would I want to play a sub standard game on a tiny screen (as the default) when I can kick back in my lounge chair and experience much better on my big screen from my console? This is another area that "I just don't get it".
Overall, my initial investigation into this area leads me to believe that I really haven't been missing out on much in this handheld area. Obviously this is my personal opinion and is based upon my needs likes as a gamer and my limited experience with the nine (9) handheld systems I have acquired. Sure, I think the manufacturers' ability to squeeze in the massive amount of technology into that tiny package is extraordinary. And yes, as admitted before, I am an old gamer who prefers to use other devices (like a cell phone) to perform some of the extra networkingmultimedia functions that are pretty standard in today's handheld units. I like my games displayed on my big screen TV (my eye doctor did warn me that bifocals are close to being a required reality for me). Maybe I am over the hill - who knows. What I do know is that even after researching this field and playing games on these mighty-mites....
This week has brought me some good stuff. At the beginning of the week I trawled though the shops where I work, and I finished up today doing the rounds of my home town.
PS1 Time Crisis, TOCA Touring Cars, GBP 1.99 each Warcraft II, GBP 2.50 Colin McRae Rally, GBP 1.79
PS2 Final Fantasy X guide, GBP 3.99 Rune Viking Warlord, Chaos Legion, Maximo vs Army of Zin, GBP 1.99 each
XBox Unreal Championship, GBP 1.99 Hunter the Reckoning: Redeemer, 99p
PSP Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus, GBP 10 each
A couple of the games (Unreal Championship & Rune Viking Warlord) I already had, but they were missing the manuals. These were complete, so I was more than happy to pick them up at these prices. The deal on the PSP games wasn't that good, the normal Gamestation offer of 2 for 20 quid, but I've been holding off buying these for too long, and I am a huge Metal Gear Solid fan. That brings the total for this week to GBP 41.21 and the total for this year to GBP 180.51, but that also includes eBay purchases and the like.
Inspired by NES_Rules posts I'd like to document my hunts too. Whilst I don't spend quite as long at it as NES_Rules appears to, I've been blogging these on my own site, but I think including them here is also appropriate. I'm not proposing to copy all the previous entries over, so I'll start here with my latest one.
Playstation Blaze Rave Station, with Dancing Stage EuroMix and Dancing Stage Party Edition, GBP 5 Wip3Out and TOCA 2 Touring Cars. No covers or manuals, but the cases are in good condition and I've got some that are broken, 50p each
Game Boy Color 2x Body Boy silicon skins, 1 clear, 1 yellow, GBP 1 Pong and Megaman Xtreme, GBP 4 each
Master System Sonic the Hedgehog 2, no instructions, but includes the SEGA poster that's missing from my other copy, GBP 1
Game Boy Advance SP Carry case complete with car adapter and 7 cartridge protectors, GBP 2
Commodore 64 GFL Championship Football (not shown) GBP 1
Welcome to gaming in Retrospect, this is an article where I'll look back on a game or a series of games. In this article I'll be looking at the first generation of the Pokemon franchise with games for the Gameboy, Gameboy Color and Nintendo 64. The Pokemon franchise is the brain child of game developer Satoshi Tajiri, and since it's original Japanese release in 1995 has spawned more than 40 games, an anime series spanning nearly 500 episodes, and a manga series that has been serialized for the last twelve years. In this first article covering the series, I'll look at the games based on the first generation games from the main series games Pokemon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow, the first two Stadium games, and the spinoff games Pokemon Pinball, Pokemon Trading Card Game, Pokemon Snap, and Hey You! Pikachu!.
So, you know Adam Sessler, host of G4TV's X-Play? Yeah, he pretty much showed how amazing he is yet again, as if his rally against bigots on Xbox Live and his complete ownage of Final Fantasy fanboys wasn't enough. Watch this video in response to the hate mail they received from SONY FANBOYS (not 360 fanboys, PS3 fanboys) accusing them of being biased in their 5/5 review of Killzone 2 for the PS3.
He comes vicious at both 360 fanboys claiming Gears of War 2 is better because IGN gave it .1 point higher than Killzone 2, and PS3 fanboys who claim they weren't serious because they sounded upset that it was a good game.
I for one applaud Adam for saying what needs to be said in this day of console fanboyism on the internet. Bravo, good sir, bravo.
Wow, I didn't really expect the outpouring that we have received. On January 11 we posted a finance update, and since that time you guys have really came through with the donations. I'd like to thank the following people for their recent donations:
Alfador
BadEnoughDude
cverz2
Cobra
eaglebeak99
ga5ket
Hedonism Bot
Izret101
kevincal
Kimoosabi
logical123
Marriott_guy
Mrs C
NES_Rules
Nik the Communist
OatBob
phoenix1967
shoes123
On behalf of everyone at RF Generation, I thank you for your donations. It really helps keeps the site running the way its meant to be! Your donations keep this site going and ad free. The community is truly grateful for the donations that you all have made.
Of course, if you would like to still donate, we are always accepting donations. Any donations made will solely support the operation of the site, and we will always appreciate the donation. If you are interested in donating yourself this link has the info necessary for donating.
Again, from all of us at RF Generation, thank you for your donations. It truly has touched our hearts.
Welcome to Random Lists, this is an articles I'll do on occasion just for fun because I enjoy making lists. Today's list is my Top 9 canceled games, what does it take to get on the list? The title must have been offically announced in some capacity, the title must either have been anticipated, hyped, or just had a cool primise. Without further delay, here is my list of the top 9 canceled games...
It's been almost 3 months since I ended the Treasure Hunt Chronicles series for the 2008 season. And I honestly wasn't expecting to start the 2009 season so soon, but I feel it's time to get it going. And no, garage sale season has not started yet, I'm not that lucky, there's still more than a foot of snow on the ground. I haven't bought much since November, but I have received quite a lot of stuff through trading, and that will be the focus of this post. So without further ado, the stuff I've received the last couple months. Oh, and thanks to Dave, I've tweaked the formatting a little. It's probably nothing any one will notice, but the coding is much more simple for me.
To a lot of you, today, February 1, is Super Bowl Sunday. For a lot of people at RF Generation, however, February 1 has a larger significance and poignancy, as we promised never to forget, and always remember a friend who has moved on to brighter pastures.
Three years ago today, Michael Collins, a friend to many, a founder of this site, and the original RF Generation webmaster, was tragically taken from this earth. Three years does not make the memories subside. The feelings felt, and the emotional response will always reside in the minds of many. Many of us knew Mike personally, and all of you know what he and the other founders created. Mike is truly missed by many, and we will never forget.
Today is a day where we remember a friend since past, and a friend that many of you never knew you had. Mike may be gone, but his spirit lives on through the memories we have of him and this site he helped create. RF Generation would not have existed without Mike's guiding hand, and this site truly was his baby. We are indebted to Mike for what he helped create.
Mike, we miss you, and while we miss you we know that your spirit lives on. We shall never, ever forget you.
Sonic 3D Blast, also known as Sonic 3D: Flicky's Island, was released for the Sega Genesis in November 1996. In this game, Dr. Robotnik has discovered birds called Flickys, these birds are from a different dimension and have the ability to travel to different areas through large rings. Robotnik decides to turn the Flickys into robots and use these abilities to help him find the Chaos Emeralds so he can use their power to conquer the world. Later Sonic arrives on Flicky Island and is shocked to find that all the Flickys have been turned into robots, he then decides that he must stop Robotnik and rescue the Flickys.
Pier Solar and the Great Architect is an entirely new Japanese style RPG currently in development for the Sega Genesis by Watermelon Development, a group who is dedicated to breathing some new life into the long dead console by releasing some new and original content.
God, it's been a while. Have you missed my Cynical Nature? My friends would tell you that I can be quite the Cynical Bastard, but in recent history I've moved to a new state and my Cynical Nature has been placed on the back burner as real issues consume my life. Life is good and all, and while I've been furloughed for four days I still have a job and that's fantastic.
Lucky for those of you that enjoy my Cynical Nature, I am writing this article. I mean there's plenty of things to be cynical about if you're American. For the sake of this article I'll keep it to limited to gaming. Let's jump into a few of those topics, after all it's been a while and some things have certainly happened.
There's a reason why I haven't done this in three weeks, you'll see why. Here's the release list for the last three weeks.
Playstation 3
Xbox 360
Nintendo Wii
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest
• Deal Or No Deal • Fishing Master World Tour • Hotel for Dogs • Neighborhood Games • Paws and Claws Pet Resort
PSP
Nintendo DS
Playstation 2
NOTHING
PC • Cartoon Network Universe: Fusion Fall • Delta Force 10th Anniversary Collection • Lord of the Rings: Conquest • Mirror's Edge
• Bigfoot: Collision Course • Elebits: The Adventures of Kai & Zero • Hotel for Dogs • Inkheart • Jumble Madness • Lord of the Rings: Conquest • Moon • Paws and Claws Pampered Pets • Personal Trainer: Math
NOTHING
Very exciting for not doing it in such a long time, I know. First thing worth mentioning is Mirror's Edge on the PC. If you have a good gaming PC and haven't experienced the game yet, please do so. Mirror's Edge is easily one of the five best games of last year. Yeah, the game is technically "short", but it never feels short. The pacing and length feels perfect. After you beat the game, there's plenty more to do, such as speedruns on all the game's levels and trying to beat your friend's scores on the online leaderboards. Please, don't skip this game. Give EA your support by buying the game. Let them know that they are truly headed down the right direction with innovative, original titles like Mirror's Edge.
The other title worth talking about is Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero for the DS. In case you don't know, I'm like one of two people that actually bought and enjoyed the first Elebits game on the Wii, so I was intrigued when I heard there was a DS version coming. A few weeks ago, I downloaded the demo to my DS from the Nintendo Channel on the Wii and played through it. I thought it was pretty fun, but repetitive and nowhere near as good as the original. What's different about the DS version is that it's structured more like an RPG/Adventure rather than a puzzle game. I'm not really sure what else to say about it. It's merely a decent game that's kinda fun. I certainly wouldn't rush out and buy it right now, but maybe when it hits $10 or so in a few months.
So, what happened, Circuit City? In the eighties your service was state of the art! You even said so yourself! So why is it that a few days ago you decided to liquidate all assets, which in layman's terms means to close. Certainly it wasn't the fact that in the nineties you failed to update your incredibly dreary stores to fit new retail trends. While Best Buy had bright and inviting stores your stores continued to look like the dark, black abodes of sleazy electronics salesmen that was supposed to be a relic of the eighties. Might that have helped in bringing your downtown? Possibly, but who can be certain.
You tried to change, Circuit City. Your new stores look like a Best Buy ripoff, except instead of blue they are red. Too bad though that your changes we too little, too late. By the time you chose to adapt, Best Buy was already dominating the market, and there was little room for you to catch up. When we entered the second Great Depression, you were screwed.
So here we are today. Circuit City is closing. I'd shed a tear, but I worked at Best Buy and I loved it. I mean sure Best Buy has a few screw ups here or there, but Circuit City failed over the whole decade. And of course there are now the massive liquidation sales going on, but as The Consumerist states - Be Careful! Liquidators mark up items to their original prices or higher just so they can be "marked down" 30%. Sometimes, you might even spend more money on the item during the liquidation. Also, if you have Circuit City gift cards, you might want to spend them now.
Goodbye, Circuit City. You're service may have been state of the art in the eighties, but your inability to adapt coupled with the second Great Depression has killed you off. You won't be missed.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the turning point in Sega's history. Released roughly one year after it's predecessor, Sonic 1, on Nov 21, 1992 in Japan, and Nov 24, 1992 in North America and Europe, Sonic 2 can be designated as the spark that ignited the major console wars between Nintendo and Sega. Only mere months after its release, Sega's market share had skyrocketed to an astonishing 50+%. This review will tell you why.
In the beginning of the game, we are greeted with the familiar chorus of 'SEGA', followed by a Sonic Team logo. After this fades out, the Sonic 2 logo begins to fade in. But wait! What, or rather who is that?! It is none other than the latest addition to the then young Sonic franchise, Miles 'Tails' Prower. In this game, you are given the ability to play as Sonic, Sonic & Tails, or just Tails. Whether or not Tails was a good addition to the game is a matter of much debate. You will find out my opinion later.
Learning Curve: Come on... It's a Sonic game! Press A, B, or C to jump, and down A, B, or C to spindash. Easy to learn, difficult to master. 5/5
Gameplay: Gameplay in this game is great if you are playing as the Sonic & Tails duo, and brilliant if you are just Sonic. Why? Tails is just an idiot, plain and simple. He tends to botch up what you are doing, and when you actually need his help, he doesn't give it to you! However, the little 'Tails' problem will not detract from the gameplay. What makes the score rebound is what all Sonic fans know and love, Spindash. Introduced in Sonic 2, the Spindash is an iconic symbol of Sonic's speed. Overall, gameplay is quick, quirky, fun, and simple, just as a Sonic game should be. 5/5
Level Design/Replay Value: Sonic 2 greets you with all new levels that are more zany than his first installment. If we look ahead a few years, to Sonic CD, I personally say that if Sonic CD has THE best levels of a Sonic game, Sonic 2 is a close second. Twists and turns will get you lost instantaneously, and the fun just never quits. Hidden passages and more points will keeps you playing again and again. 5/5
Music: There are many songs in the video game world that you just can't forget. SMB: Overworld Theme, Metroid, Kirby, Legend of Zelda, the list goes on and on. Well, add Sonic 2 to that list. After a bout of Sonic 2 gaming, you will catch yourself humming these 'catchy' tunes! From Zone 1 to Zone 7, they're all great! 5/5
In conclusion, Sonic 2 is one of THE best Sonic games out there, and definatly deserves the official designation of a Classic Masterpiece.
Very exciting for not doing it in such a long time, I know. First thing worth mentioning is Mirror's Edge on the PC. If you have a good gaming PC and haven't experienced the game yet, please do so. Mirror's Edge is easily one of the five best games of last year. Yeah, the game is technically "short", but it never feels short. The pacing and length feels perfect. After you beat the game, there's plenty more to do, such as speedruns on all the game's levels and trying to beat your friend's scores on the online leaderboards. Please, don't skip this game. Give EA your support by buying the game. Let them know that they are truly headed down the right direction with innovative, original titles like Mirror's Edge.
So, what happened, Circuit City? In the eighties your service was state of the art! You even said so yourself! So why is it that a few days ago you decided to 
Gameplay:
