Review: Mined Out, Dragon 32 I know that the older tape based systems don't seem to get much love or attention, but I really enjoy revisiting some of these games. Mined Out is one of the gems from my childhood, I originally played a friends copy - the same friend who donated his Dragon 32 to my collection last year in fact - and I loved the game even then. I don't think I ever really understood it though. The mechanics are pretty straightforward, you have to manoeuvre your character from the bottom of the screen to the top, avoiding the hidden mines along the way. After each move a little message tells you how many mines are adjacent to you, similar to Minesweeper in windows. From there you have to make informed decisions about how to progress, risk it and push forwards, or back track and look for a safer route, with the added danger that you might be caught by the chasing bug which appears after a length of time. Step on a mine at any point and it's instant game over, and you're given the option of starting again from the previous level, although the layout of the mines will have changed. After almost 25 years I finally feel able to tackle the perils of rescuing Bill the Worm.
Progression through the game was fairly easy, reaching level 3 presented no difficulties. There are seven levels to the game in all, of progressing difficulty, usually adding more mines to avoid. Level 4 included a wall with a moving gap half way up the screen which you must pass through, and other levels included 4 question mark boxes which contain bonus points, and sometimes mines. The choice here then is ignore the potential bonuses, or risk it all for higher score? The bonuses do nothing for later levels, they simply add to the final score. On level 7 I got sight of Bill the Worm - he's imprisoned in a walled enclosure in the centre of the screen, and again there's a minefield to navigate to reach him.
I didn't really have any problems with the game now, and I can't say the challenge is that great, it's amazing what the addition of 25 years experience makes to playing a game. The only times I really had difficulties were getting over-confident with my mine-logic, hitting a mine when I was sure there wasn't one. Back-tracking to the previous level and re-doing it presented no further problems. When the bug appeared for the first time I got myself into a bit of a tangle and managed to head straight for it, instead of away, but that was the last time I made that mistake. All in all the game took me about an hour to complete, which is not exactly great by today's standards, and for something that cost GBP8.00 in 1983 that was a lot of cash, for not much return. I can understand why dad was always so reluctant fund a regular supply of games now, it would have cost him a small fortune.
It's a great little game to while away an hour or so, especially if you try and beat your score. Attempting to shave a couple of moves off levels is good fun, but it doesn't have long term appeal and the sound effects will probably get to you before long.
Over the years, gaming has gone from a sort of niche hobby to a full-blown, mainstream activity. I seen gaming go from an activity that only a few of my friends growing up did to dorm room gaming to my 1080p, 5.1 audio setup at home. The first community I was a fairly active member of was the GameFAQs forum. Did the collection on IGN, tried out Digital Press forums before finding my way here. I lurked for a while, primarily using only the Collection tools. I finally started posting more and more, and the people here are extremely nice and really my kind of people. Then came the chat.
I jumped in, and as the new guy, I sort of found it difficult to jump in. After 2-3 times (that I could tell), I felt like I was starting to feel as a part of the group. I am now on a first name basis with pretty much everyone in chat. This type of small community is what I need. I grew up in a small town, and that's the sort of vibe I get here. These people are RFGeneration, down to the roots.
I'm very thankful for this place. It's kind of hard for someone like me to put myself out there and jump into conversation, but when I did, I wish I would have sooner. I plan on sticking around for a long time and I really hope that the community grows while keeping the roots of the small site. I consider all of you my friends and hope to meet many more of you along the way.
Welcome to a world where a game's physics engine doesn't dictate what happens. Welcome to a world where damage means nothing, or everything. A world where random spawns are the norm, where accidents DO happen. Welcome to a world of Glitches. Welcome, to The Glitch Files, where you will encounter some of the strangest, most bizarre, and downright odd glitches of the gaming world. Not only will we show you footage of the glitch, but will give directions on how to exactly preform said glitch for yourself!
Today's special features the Minus 1 World Glitch, from perhaps the most popular game on the planet, Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System or Famicom in Japan. This glitch, which occurs in World 1-2, takes you to an infinite loop underwater level, and has no real purpose, because the only way to get out is to die and get a game over or reset! Nevertheless, it is still a fun and interesting glitch to preform. More info after the break.
My 21st b-day was nothing like how i hoped it would go. It had decidedly less drinking than i had hoped for and involved much less fun in general.
Midnight(yes it literally started sucking the first minute of the day) I wasn't very tired and kind of restless so i was kicked out of bed by Aubrey because i kept waking her up.
12:30-1am Aubrey comes out and tells me to stop leaving the closet light on. Its a pretty much dead florescent so when i want it on it doesn't turn on. When i need it it either doesn't turn on or is so dim its useless.
2-3am One of the dogs starts whining. I promptly smack its crate and yell at it to shut the fuck up.
6-7:30am family is all getting ready to go to work/school i wake repeatedly
7:30-8am Aubrey wakes me up because she was going to make me breakfast. She doesn't know the only breakfast items we have is oatmeal so i know i will not be woken back up since nothing will be cooked.
8:30 am Rowan slept in late
9am-1:29pm Rowan has breakfast. Me and Aubs smoke cigs, rowan plays outside, we watch TV and Heroes after Rowan goes down for a nap.
1:30pm Electricity gets shut off. For a few hours because somehow the dumbass in the vehicle was unaware we had payed our bill.
2pm I spent the last half hour smoking, lifting weights, punching our freezer/refrigerator, looking for the phone number to the electric company so i could bitch them out. Rowan is awake now so we get him ready to go to the park.
3ish pm We make it to the Park after picking up a mutual friend so she could get out of the house. Rowan stares at kids, doesn't like the swings this time, does like the slides this time and just runs around and discovers things.
4:30ish we are back at our friends house. She makes hot dogs and mac and cheese for everyone. Yum breakfast/lunch. Butterscotch pudding for dessert.
6PM We get back home. Rowan is pretty cranky from having lots of action and not so much naptime earlier. I get a card from my grandmother with 20 bucks
7:45-8pm Rowan goes down for bed a little early. We watch wheel of fortune and Jeopardy.
8-9 I go to the packy and pick up small bottle Grey Goose and a bottle of Mudslide. Get home and get ready to watch Lost. Mom gets home gives me a cake and 50 bucks.
The rest of the night we watched lost. I had a strong vodka and diet pepsi drink and a shot then i crashed on the couch again since Aubrey had to go to bed early to get up early for work.
Not how i had wished it would go. I did have alot of fun with Rowan but the day was pretty much tainted by the overwhelming sameness of it.
On Monday I was able to get (with the help of my mum) new shelves to put all my Sega games. Originally, my Sega Mega CD games were in a small black box kind of shelf, with my Mega Drive games in a wicker basket. Until now this was kind of awkward, especially getting out the games.
This is the new shelf units and as you can see, there is still room for more games!
Left to Right: Unless I say so all games are CIB, any games are stacked will be listed top to bottom
Above: Lethal Enforcers Box (with innards but no manual), Konami Justifier and you can barely see a CD game case which has my two copies of Lethal Enforcers.
Top: Sonic Spinball, Sonic 2, Olympic Summer games and Vectorman (cart only), Ecco the Dolphin, Flicky, Gunstar Heroes, Marble Madness, Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament '96, Micro Machines 2 Turbo Tournament (no manual), Rocket Knight Adventures, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic & Knuckles (no manual).
Middle: Dragon's Lair, Keio Flying Squadron, Road Avenger, Microcosm, Sega Classics Arcade Collection, Sensible Soccer, Sol-Feace/Cobra Command, Sonic CD, Soulstar, Starblade, Thunderhawk, Time Gal, Tomcat Alley, The Adventures of Willy Beamish, Fahrenheit, Panic!, Revenge of the Ninja, Sewer Shark, Datel Pro CD-X
Bottom: Sega Master Converter, Tom & Jerry: The Movie, Taz-Mania, Sonic Chaos, Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
My MP3 player is on the floor, on the right side is a folder with all my Demo disks (including the Roadkill soundtrack and the DOS game Novastorm) and my Dancing Stage Dance Mat.
You know what? Five years on April 28 we came into being. Five years ago seems like such a long time ago, but it's true. We're really five years old. Are we getting up in age? You tell me.
A lot has changed in those five years, lots for the good, and some for the not so good. Whatever the ups and downs though, the truth is that we're still here and we're still going strong, thanks to people like you. Without you guys we'd be nothing, and for that we're truly grateful.
You know, with our birthday we like to do contests. This year is no different. As for what the contest is... why, it's the PAIN YOURSELF WITH SUBMISSIONS AGAIN CONTEST. We're evil, we really are, and we like to see you work for your spoils. Want to play? Here are the rules:
Submissions, they make the site go round. We just don’t grow if we do not have anyone submit stuff. Funny how that works, and well, we do have one heck of a community that loves to do submissions. Perhaps, with this contest, you’ll be interested in doing submissions as well. Submissions will garner you points, and these how are they are ranked:
Title Addition: 4 Points Variation Addition: 4 Points Page Edit*: 2 Points Review*: 30 Points Overview*: 10 Points Image Upload: 15 Points Submission Review**: 1 Point Blog Post*: 30 Points Blog Comment: 1 Point Forum Post: 1 Point Forum Karma: See Explanation
*Regarding the asterisk: For page edits, it is noticed that you are consistently only adding one field per edit multiple times for a single ID just to up your points, you will be disqualified. Any review or overview completed will count as a page edit as well the points for an overview or review. To get the points for an overview or review you MUST contact me via Personal Message so that I can keep a tally. In addition, the review or overview must be on the actual game / hardware page. A review or overview of poor quality could result in less points than stated being granted. The same statement holds true for blog posts.
Because we want the forum to be a lively place of fun and interesting posts, we're enabling Karma during this contest. Karma rewards members that make good posts and smites those who do not. Your Karma will play a wildcard role in posts. Positive Karma at the end of the contest will increase your point total by a factor, while negative karma will decrease it. The equation used to decide how karma affects your points will be announced at a later date before the end of the contest.
As with any contest, there is fine print. Any submission that you make must adhere to the RF Generation guidelines / policies. We wrote these policies and guidelines for a reason, and well, we’d like everyone to adhere to them. Failure to adhere to the guidelines could result in a disqualification.
Any point reduction or disqualification can be contested. In the event that you wish to contest, you must explain why the reduction or disqualification is unfair. If you win the contest, we’ll restore your greatness, but if you lose, you shall be pelted with figurative rocks and garbage.
**KICKER! Everyone, except for the directors of this site, is in this contest. There is a catch though for staff members… their final score will be halved. So, that should lead to a lively competition. I think halving their scores is fair, and I hope you do as well. Oh yeah, there is that 1 point for a submission review, that unfortunately only applies to staff members because they are the poor souls who must review your submissions.
What do you win? Well, we’re a poor bunch here at RF Generation, especially since we're on a dedicated box, but we've got a lovely prize for the top winner:
Gaming swag not to exceed $60 and an RF Generation Ringer T.
Also, anyone in the top 5% of points gainers shall get some sort of recognition, to be determined later.
So, won't you get started? The contest starts as of 20 hours ago (midnight last night). When does it end? It ends at MIDNIGHT, JUNE 8th, 2009. (Sunday 12:00AM) So, what are you waiting for? Have your cake and eat it too! Good luck!
Gamestop, we all love them and their whole LET'S SELL OPENED GAMES AS NEW thing they like to do. Taking a stance against that policy, a clever eBayer by the name of newyorkrarebooks has put a "Gamestop NEW" copy of Valkyria Chronicles up for sale at $4,995. What's so special about this copy? I'll let the seller exlplain:
Quote
This is extremely rare to find in this state considering most other "new" / "sealed" games don't have the scratches on the disc nor the fingerprint smudges nor the somehow missing instruction manual that this version has.
Kinda funny, isn't it? Well, at least I found it funny.
Also, here's a fun anecdote about Gamestop and Valkyria Chronicles. As you may know, VC was one of the games Gamestop had as part of the recent Gamer Days thing they had. They were selling it new for 30. Initially I was like "BAWWWW IT'S GAMESTOP NEW SCREW THIS". But then I looked over at the used games and saw they had Valkyria Chronicles used for 30 and immediately stopped my whining. I even thanked the friendly Gamestop associate for saving me the hassle of having to open up the game myself.
It's been over a month since my last Treasure Hunt post, though not for lack of searching. It has been the least successful month I've ever had, so bad that I've had to resort to eBay for most of my gaming goodies, although to be fair there has been quite a lot of Dragon 32 software kicking around, so my collection has grown to 78 CIB titles, only another 1100 to go.
I even used the first camping trip of the season to do a little hunting, but again totally failed to find anything. (Note for non-Europeans: Camping in England doesn't involve campfires, woods, bears or rifles and is normally done in the equivalent of a farmers field, generally including toilet and shower blocks of varying cleanliness, and close to some tourist attraction)
Anyway, this month has netted me the following items:
PS1
Disney's Jungle Book Groove Party, which replaces my Platinum version Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness Machine Hunter Starsweep Midway Arcade Party Pak
for a total of GBP4.40
Complete in box: G-Con 45 and Multi-tap, for GBP4.99 each
PS2/Xbox
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon Galleon The Simpsons: Hit & Run A Train 6
for GBP1.29 each
I don't have any idea of the years total to date, look for that in the next update.
Tynstar is one of the RFGeners i have known for quite some time. Off the top of my head i think him and Captain Nintendo joined a couple months after me and Danvx6. The main difference being my online sidekick went AWOL quite sometime ago and they are both still wreaking havoc.
Well let me get on with this i guess...
GENERAL How did you find RFGeneration? A long time ago I was looking for a list of all the Genesis games that were released and I found RFGeneration. It was awesome since I am a list freak.
What made you join? The collection tool and the way stuff got added. I tried for almost a year to get some Genesis games added to IGNs collection tool and they didnt get added. I havent touch IGN collection tool since I found RFG.
What made you stay? The community and collection tool.
Have you met or personally know any of the other members of the website? Jagdiesel and Captain Nintendo are friends of mine. I have met Den68, Phoenix1967, Suaza12 and S1lience.
Are you an active game collector? If so anything specific? Yes I am an active collector. Right now I am collecting Xbox 360 games.
Whats your favorite game or series? Why? Favorite series Command and Conquer. Favorite games Ms. Pac Man (Arcade), Crackdown (Xbox360), Warcraft 2 (PC), Landstalker (Genesis), Nightstalker (Intellivision), Warlords (Atari2600) and Pac Man CE (XBLA)
What do you do outside of RFG? Hang out with friends, family and play with my dogs.
SPECIFICS Why have you decided to stop collecting for multiple consoles and focus on the 360? I had too much stuff and all it did was sit there. So I figured I would sell it and payoff my bills.
What made you decide to become the hugest Gamerpoints whore* in the world? (*self proclaimed) I am no where near the biggest point whore around. Yes thats why I play 360 games but the highest score in the world right now is a little over 300k and I am only at 111k. The game that got me started on achievements was Crackdown. I liked it so much I wanted to play it more so I started going for the achievements I didnt have. Then I started talked to s1lence who was already and point whore and he ruined my life. He was a good mentor but know I just kick his ass.
What is/was your most sought after 360 game? Dont really have one. I have both Amazon exclusive. I have Mass Effect SE which was online only. I picked up a Canadian exclusive Asterix at the Olympic Games. I would like to get the Canadian exclusive Forza 2 CE.
What is the "rarest" one you know of? Maybe one of the Fallout 3 Special Editions but I am not sure.
How did you find out about being able to earn points multiple times on consoles from different regions? And have you been able to do this yet? S1lence and different achievement websites. I have 1000 points in a Japanese game. I did that when I was staying at S1ence house.
How many consoles have you had complete collections for? It used to be 7-8. I am down to 5 now. Those being Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega 32X, Sega CD and Sega Pico. See a pattern there? I am about 30 games away form having the Sega Saturn done.
I know you were going to be keeping your Genesis collection. What other parts of your collection are you planning on keeping? I am keeping all my Sega stuff and Xbox 360 stuff. Well I am selling my Sega Game Gear stuff because I hate handhelds. I am keeping a couple 2600s I had as a kid and Intellivision II plus some games. Oh and I am keeping my Ms Pac Man cabinet.
GAMING FIRSTS What was the first game you played and on what system and how old were you? First.maybe Pong I know we had one when I was a kid. If not that the Atari 2600. I have no idea what game or how old.
First console owned? Well my family had the Atari 2600 and Intellivion. I had a NES and the first system I bought myself was the Sega Genesis model 1. Bought it the week it came out and I still have it. Cost me 217 bucks.
First game you bought yourself? I am not sure but I remember buying Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun for the Genesis.
What made you decide to buy that particular game? I liked RPG's at the time and D&D so I wanted it.
First game you beat? No idea I am too old to remember that.
First time you wanted to destroy something because of a game? Probably a Genesis games. Last thing I destroyed was the case and manual for NFL Tour for the Xbox 360. I also threw the game out the front door. Man did that last achievement piss me off. Also that game is 100% pure crap.
Also want to note any and all errors in replies are all on him. I haven't edited anyones responses and don't plan on starting now or in the future. Don't want to be accused of misrepresentation
Welcome to a world where a game's physics engine doesn't dictate what happens. Welcome to a world where damage means nothing, or everything. A world where random spawns are the norm, where accidents DO happen. Welcome to a world of Glitches. Welcome, to The Glitch Files, where you will encounter some of the strangest, most bizarre, and downright odd glitches of the gaming world. Not only will we show you footage of the glitch, but will give directions on how to exactly preform said glitch for yourself!
Today's special features a glitch from the well known game on the Nintendo GameCube, Super Smash Brothers Melee, sometimes known as Super Smash Bros. Melee or SSBM. This glitch is known as the Black Hole Gitch, and is fairly famous for the amount of hilarity that can ensue if preformed correctly.
My second music installment thing. Here are 6 songs that I feel were overlooked last generation for whatever reasons. Oh, and note I never had an Xbox so I'm missing a lot of great songs from that platform.
Throughout the years I have been amazed by the technological leaps and developments in the video game industry. By the same token, some of the gaffes that have been made by the developers and manufactures have stunned me as well. Here are a few of my favorites...
Power Supply of the Atari 5200
Nintendo's Game Packaging
Infomercials for the Philips CD-i
Now this picture does not truly give this dog it's proper justice. This was the proprietary AVpower adapter with the first run of the Atari 5200 systems. It was huge, cumbersome and is very expensive to replace (if going for the original 'module'). I can understand, to a certain degree, Atari taking this protective measure after their recent litigious bouts with Coleco (among others) concerning copyright violations. Still, I hate this thing with a passion and the think tank at Atari should not have levied part of their reaction on us gamers with this monstrosity. That point being aside, this thing is prone to failure as well.
For all of their successes, Nintendo just could just never get their game packaging right until the release of the Game Cube. I can understand the NES boxes - they basically followed Atari's lead. However, why continue on the same failed path when Sega showed you how to do it right with those sturdy, plastic Sega Master System game cases? I know cost is a big issue in this, but this bothersome trend continued well into the 1990s. If I am going to shell out $49.95 for a game at least give me a box that won't get smashed and flattened at the lightest touch. Panasonic - you should have known better has well (3DO).
Being the old school gamer that I am, I remember watching the brutal offerings as shown in the above as a young adult. I have to admit I was intrigued at the time, but these infomercials had nothing to do with my interest level in this system - it had the complete opposite effect. I wanted a gaming experience - not a multimedia device that would serve all of my needs. This way the way of the 1990s with many companies, albeit with limited success for the most part. I can only imagine what Philips invested into these lame infomercial offerings, Perhaps these monies should have been diverted to R&D.
Console Design of the NEC PC-FX
The Atari Jaguar Controller
Gakken TV Boy - Everything!
Now I rather like the design of the PC-FX. It is definitely different than the standard thoroughfare of the day. Resembling a mini tower PC, this system did indeed have expansion port capabilities. The bad thing about this system - where are you supposed to put it? It is too tall to fit under 99.9% of the entertainment centers in 1994. To top this off, the CD-Rom drive is located on top of the unit - requiring another 5-6 inches of required vertical clearance. Nice console design, just not well thought out in my humble opinion.
I have to honestly admit that I have never heard one person talk favorably about the Atari Jaguar controller. Released in 1993. this pig had only three (3) controller buttons when everyone else was sporting six (6) button models along with triggershoulder buttons on some. They couldn't even get the labeling right (buttons labeled C-A-B for some unknown reason). This thing was huge, hard to grip and only a few games utilized the numeric keypad. Don't bother trying to use the D-Pad and the keypad at the same time - it is a waste of time.
The picture says it all. The main controller was built into the system (right hand throttle- looking appendage) and this system required you to grip the 'telephone anchor' with your left hand to prevent the light-weight, miniscule console was moving all over creation. I have tested out this console a few times and it grows more and more frustrating every time. I'd like to think I am not the pessimistic type, but in all honesty I can not say one good thing about this loser. Thank goodness Gakken eventually went back to handhelds.
These are just a few of the truly puzzling decisions made by video game industry experts. I have no doubt that these individuals are highly capable and very intelligent in this field. But, still, I have to ask myself "What were they thinking??". What are some of the innovations, products, etc. that you would place in this category?
We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
Progression through the game was fairly easy, reaching level 3 presented no difficulties. There are seven levels to the game in all, of progressing difficulty, usually adding more mines to avoid. Level 4 included a wall with a moving gap half way up the screen which you must pass through, and other levels included 4 question mark boxes which contain bonus points, and sometimes mines. The choice here then is ignore the potential bonuses, or risk it all for higher score? The bonuses do nothing for later levels, they simply add to the final score. On level 7 I got sight of Bill the Worm - he's imprisoned in a walled enclosure in the centre of the screen, and again there's a minefield to navigate to reach him.
You know what? Five years on April 28 we came into being. Five years ago seems like such a long time ago, but it's true. We're really five years old. Are we getting up in age? You tell me. 
Gamestop, we all love them and their whole LET'S SELL OPENED GAMES AS NEW thing they like to do. Taking a stance against that policy, a clever eBayer by the name of newyorkrarebooks has put a 
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