Some of you may be die hard haters of other game consoles besides the ones that you own. For others, you might be such a fanboy that you need be reminded of reasons why you should curb your enthusiasm. Fortunately for you, Gamesradar wishes to fan the flames of console bashing during its hate week, where they harp about why you should hate everything. Thank God for that too, because I certainly could not think of my own reasons to be spiteful about the console manufacturers.
Shall we check out these videos? Because I am a nice guy, I'll start out with the company I tend to support heavily (aside from my latest Cynical Gamer piece), Nintendo. You can find Sony and Microsoft after the Jump.
So this week I thought I'd indulge myself and do a feature on one of my all-time favorite games: Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.
Think of this series as Thief in the 21st century. An ex-Navy S.E.A.L. turned spy nearing the age of retirement, gallivanting all over the world stopping threats and assassinating potential ones. Decades of experience matched with sophisticated gadgetry and weapons, combined with sarcastic humor and deadly earnest.
Another comparison often made is to the Metal Gear Solid series. Best way to describe that is if MGS is an arcade stealth game, Splinter Cell is a stealth sim. Burnout versus Forza Motorsports if you would. Achieving perfect scores on level completions is difficult even on normal difficulty, Hard and Elite are almost impossible to anyone but the most patient and skilled players. With the game being so unforgiving and the circumstances ever-changing, you have to rely on your reflexes and abilities as a player, not memory of patterns and timing, to master this game.
The Limited Collector's Edition version of this game was a holy grail of mine to find. Unlike many similar LE's of it's time, this one was actually limited. Meaning there are fewer copies of this than the regular version and no reprinting. Needless to say it's a hard game to find in excellent condition as opposed the the regular version of Chaos Theory which is a dime a dozen in most used stores and can still be bought new.
Be sure to check out my review on the game page here at RF Generation and read the interesting trivia on this title, and discuss this game in our forums in the weekly featured game topic located here.
Moving on, the featured hardware of the week is the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3. Released in 1982, the ZX Spectrum or "Speccy" as it's affectionately known, was a huge success in Europe and in particular the United Kingdom. Rivaling the mighty Commodore 64, this machine had a huge following, large software library and several magazines dedicated to it. Even to this day there is still a large community based around this system. A shame it never made it overseas, it has an incredible library of games most of us outside of Europe will probably never have the opportunity to enjoy. Although we did get the Timex Sinclair in North America, it was largely incompatible with the ZX and that had a large part to play in it's failure as a platform here.
This particular model featured this week, the +3, differs from the standard model and the +2, by having a built in floppy disk drive instead of the cassette tape drive the previous models had. It is also capable of running the CP/M operating system on it's own.
Such benefits however come with a price. This model has some documented incompatibilities with certain older games and external devices. It's successor the +2A shares these same problems as well. Thanks go out to James for the great pic of the +3.
Our featured collection this week is from RedHerring. A fellow Canadian one province over from me, Red has a great PS2 collection and some really great looking shelving that I'd love to get my hands on. It looks like a game store all organized and there for the picking like that. I wish my shelves looked half as good as those do. Between that and the novelty hamburger you can see by checking out Red's other pics, I'm drooling all over my keyboard here.
So after finishing an early lunch brought on by some spontaneous hankerings born from inspiration, I'm ready to finish the rest of this feature I left half written
Another part of Red's collection that impresses me is his Game Boy Advance collection. It's hard finding those games CIB and even harder keeping them in good condition. All of his GBA titles are top notch hand-picked titles and make an impressive display.
Check out RedHerring's collection listed here and take a gander at his pictures. If you can pry your eyes from that huge novelty hamburger in one of them, take a moment and appreciate his Mega man bobble head set on his entertainment center.
Our featured game image this week is the front scan for the Japanese game Pulstar on the Neo Geo AES system. Pulstar is a shmup released in 1995 that was both innovative and gorgeous at the time of it's release. Gameplay is in the vein of R-Type but with 3D graphics in a 2D game.
This game enjoys a high production value and great esteem from gamers, reviewers and collectors alike. Depending on where you get it, this can be a pricey acquisition but a worthy one that can reach well above $100. But if you own a Neo Geo system then you don't need me to tell you that now do you? I'm sure all the Neo Geo AES collectors out there are well aware of what they've invested in that system. Goes to show just how great a system it is when your willing to spend big bucks to have these awesome games. Thanks go out to Adri Hoogesteger who is a staff member known on the boards as "sharp" for the great scan featured this week.
In the meantime, check out the forums, read the blogs, partake in the weekly chat and use our collection tools to their fullest. And stay tuned to this channel next week for the newest set of features and items for forum discussion.
For those of you unaware, there's been another X360 BC update. This time it adds another 80 or so games. I'm glad they are still working on them, hopefully the news of a download service for Xbox1 games won't stop these from being released. Another feature added this time around is cross-platform play between the Xbox and the X360 for multiplayer Xbox1 titles.
Of personal note this time around are: Shattered Union, Blood Omen 2, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, D&D Heroes and Apex. Apex is a much overlooked racing game where you build and race your own cars for a company you create. Excellent graphics and good gameplay, it didn't get a lot of exposure and has become harder to find in the wild. It was also notable because when it was released it had an unprecedented 11,000 polygons per car model.
With those games I noted above I'm just about ready to retire my Xbox to storage. All I need now are Rallisport Challenge 2, Mechassault 1, Transworld Snowboarding and Star Wars Obi-Wan. Still, considering the vast difference between architecture and difficulties in emulation of any kind, having 50% of my Xbox1 games on that list isn't too shabby.
Here's the latest additions to the backwards compatibility list:
November 2007 Back Compatibility titles added: 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany 25 to Life AMF Bowling 2004 Apex Arena Football Armed and Dangerous Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance Batman Rise of Sin Tzu Bionicle Blade II Blinx: The Timesweeper Blitz The League Blood Omen 2 Blowout Breakdown Burnout 2: Point of Impact Cabelas Dangerous Hunts 2 Championship Manager 2006 Colin Mcrae Rally 2005 Crime Life: Gang Wars Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Dungeons& Dragons Heroes ESPN College Hoops 2k5 ESPN NFL 2k5 Fantastic 4 FIFA 06 Soccer Fight Night: Round 3 Final Fight: Streetwise Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone Freedom Fighters Freestyle Street Soccer Future Tactics: The Uprising Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee Godzilla Save the Earth Goldeneye Rogue Agent Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max'd High Heat MLB 2004 Hunter: The Reckoning Indiana Jones And The Emperors Tomb MLB Slugfest Loaded MVP Baseball 2003 MVP Baseball 2004 Nascar Thunder 2002 Nascar Thunder 2003 NBA 2k3 NBA Ballers NBA Inside Drive 2002 NBA Street V3 NCAA College Basketball 2k3 NCAA March Madness 2005 NCAA March Madness 2006 NFL 2k2 NFL 2k3 NHL 2005 NHL 2K3 NHL Hitz Pro Nightcaster: Defeat The Darkness NTRA Breeders Cup: World Thoroughbred Championships Playboy The Mansion RLH Hunt or be Hunted Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown Rocky Rugby 2006 Shattered Union Shrek Super Party Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Starsky & Hutch Syberia II Techmo Classic Arcade Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Test Drive The Bard's Tale The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe The Guy Game The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age Thousand Land Thrillville Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers Turok: Evolution Van Helsing WarPath Worms 3D Zathura
Below is the link to the article on Major Nelson that besides having this list, also has links to the complete list to date as well as a downloadable PDF file of all current backwards compatible Xbox titles.
In celebration of the release of Stargate SG-1's final season (season 10) on DVD, take a moment and check out this trailer for the cancelled PC, Xbox and PS2 game Stargate SG-1: The Alliance.
A gorgeous game with everything a Stargate fan would ever want. In fact so much half of it couldn't even be shown in one trailer. Full voice acting from most of the cast, all the gadgets and weapons seen in the show, as well as alien races and plenty of Jaffa. Check them out:
<a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=6328" target="_blank">http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=6328</a> and the second one: <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=5062" target="_blank">http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=5062</a>
What a shame. I was looking forward to that game so much I was thinking about buying the PC version for online and one of the console versions just because. Then they announce they've scrapped it for a MMORPG. *sigh*
We've heard Hideo Kojima compare the PS3 to a movie theater while the 360 is like watching a movie on DVD and the Wii is like watching the movie on a TV channel. We've also heard him liken the PS3 to an expensive steak dinner at a formal restaurant, the Xbox 360 to a steak dinner at a casual restaurant, and the Wii to a steak dinner that you cook at home. Now, Jack Tretton has stolen Kojima's analogy bit and tried his hand at making one of his own*.
Quote
I think the PS3 is the Surf 'n Turf. You want the lobster and steak and you're going to give yourself the treat of getting the best thing on the menu. The PS2 is your favorite burger restaurant -- you go there for comfort food and it's just always good and is a good value.
[As for the other two consoles], one [Wii] is a lollipop, and I'm too old for lollipops. The other one [Xbox 360] I get sick from once in a while because the cook isn't always reliable.
Wow Jack! You make one Kojima-esque analogy, and you already shoot yourself up to being on his level! I applaud you. I especially love the bit about 360 being an unreliable cook. Not quite up to Kojima's previous analogies, but you're definitely getting there. Keep up the good work.
Man, all this talk of food makes me hungry for some steak smothered in PS3 Steak Sauce.
*WARNING: DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO THE COMMENTS SECTION IN THIS ARTICLE! 360fanboy will give your brain MASSIVE DAMAGE with his constant "gaystation" remarks written in all caps.
Finally, Finally Morrowind is backwards compatible. Personally for me the most important title for the system on that list and one that I've been waiting for since the 360 launched in 2005. I'm also very happy that both Project Gotham's and Sega GT's are on that list as well. Not all of these are new games mind you, some of these are merely fixes for previous ones. But as a 360 owner with little space left in his entertainment center, this is a welcome announcement. I also bet a few of you are happy that JSRF is there as well, it's been one of the most asked for titles second only to Psychonauts. Here's the the list:
Moving on, the featured hardware of the week is the 
Our featured collection this week is from RedHerring. A fellow Canadian one province over from me, Red has a great PS2 collection and some really great looking shelving that I'd love to get my hands on. It looks like a game store all organized and there for the picking like that. I wish my shelves looked half as good as those do. Between that and the novelty hamburger you can see by checking out Red's other pics, I'm drooling all over my keyboard here.
Our featured game image this week is the front scan for the Japanese game 
