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Posted on Mar 21st 2009 at 12:01:42 PM by ( NESman93) Posted under Gradius, NES, Sega, Nintendo, Saturn, SNES, Sony, Playstation, Playstation 2, Arcade, Life Force, Salamander |
In the world of SHMUPS, some series' stand out from the rest. To me, that series is the Gradius series. In this overview, i will run through, briefly, the Gradius series. I will do the handheld versions at a later time.
Gradius (1985) - Arcade, NES, Famicom, PC Engine, Saturn, PC, C64, Wii VC, PS2, ZX Spectrum, PSX, PSP, DS
[img align=right]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg15/claudiacas/Gradius.jpg[/img]
This is the original Gradius arcade game, released in 1985 by Konami. In Europe, however, the game was released under the name Nemesis. Like with most games of this genre, there is one objective: shoot everything that moves. In the game, you control the spaceship called the Vic Viper through different environments. When you start the game, the Vic Viper is pretty slow and has a weak gun. When you shoot enemies, some will drop powerups. You can pick these up, and then activate them to power up your ship. These powerups are spare guns, missiles, lasers, shield, speed ups, and upward shots. The only ports that I have seen are the Saturn, NES, and PSP versions. The NES got an actual arcade port in 1986. Just like most Konami games in the early days, the Konami Code is in the game. However, it does not give you 30 lives. Enter the code while the game is paused, and your ship will be instantly equipped with most of the weapons. The Saturn and PSP, however, have compilations that the games appear on. The Saturn has Gradius collection that has Gradius I & Gradius II on one disk. However, there have been reports of slowdown in game. Also, the Gradius Deluxe Pack was not released in North America or Europe. The PSP has Gradius Collection that has Gradius I, II, III, IV, and Gradius Gaiden.
Salamander/Life Force (1986) - Arcade, Famicom, NES (Life Force), PSP, Saturn, MSX, PC Engine, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, PS1, Wii VC
[IMG align=right]http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff357/kristoferr88/Salamander_flyer.png[/img]
In 1986, Konami released, what was supposed to be the sequel to Gradius. That game was Salamander. However, the game was not released as Salamander in North America. It was released as Life Force. The game is basically the same thing. The ports, however, had some significant differences. When it was released for the Famicom/NES, they changed the powerup system back to the type from Gradius. Also, the Konami code is included with this game. Enter it and receive 30 lives. Just like with Gradius, Salamander got a release on the PS1 and Saturn with the Salamander Deluxe Pack with Salamander, Life Force, and Salamander 2. Again, this disk did not receive a North American or European release.
Gradius II (1988) - Arcade, Famicom, PSX, Saturn, Windows, MSX, PCE Super CD, PSP, Wii VC
[img align=right]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Gradius_II_flyer.png[/img]
Gradius II was the true sequel to Gradius. Released in 1988, while the game played very similar to Gradius, there are certain areeas of the game where the scrolling was not limited to the edges of the screen. However, when the game was released in Europe, it was released as Vulcan Venture. Also, the player's ship had a choice of defense: forcefield or shield. Like with Salamander, Gradius II did not see a North American release until the release of Gradius Deluxe Pack. Another big addition to the game was the "Boss Alley" or "Boss Rush," a level filled entirely with only boss confrontations. This was also the first Gradius game that gave you the chance to choose the set of weapons that you want to use. The first true port of the game was the version on the Nintendo Famicom. Thankfully, the Famicom version has the Konami code included, and actually gives the player 30 lives this time around. Other than the few additions, and new boss, the game plays mainly like Gradius.
Graidus III (1991) - Arcade, SNES, Wii VC, PSP, PS2
[IMG align=right]http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr341/fabio73/SNES Artwork/GradiusIIIU.png[/img]
The third game in the Gradius series, Gradius III, was originally released in 1989 in Japan, and 1991 in North America. There were some major differences between Gradius II & III. For one, Gradius III is much harder, and is known as one of the most difficult of the series. Just like in Gradius II, Gradius III allows you to select the set of weapons for the Vic Viper. However, Gradius III also contains what is called the "Edit Mode." This edit mode allows the player to choose each individual weapon for the Vic Viper. In the main gameplay, Gradius III plays very much like the original Gradius. There are a total of 10 levels, with stage 4 being in a pseudo-3D environment. In this stage, you get more of a first-person view of the playfield. You also have to shoot objects and avoid numerous walls in order to survive. The game also contains two hidden levels. These 2 hidden levels are throwbacks to Gradius and Salamander. They were designed to look like the early first stage of each game. In the way of ports of the game, the SNES got the first port. The port is very close to the original arcade game, except for the fact that the pseudo-3D level has been omitted. This version is also available on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console. The PS2 also got a port of the game when Konami put Gradius III and Gradius IV Fukkatsu onto one disk in a game simply titled Gradius III and IV. This version is more of a direct arcade port than the SNES version. Gradius III is also available on the Playstation Portable.
Salamander 2 (1996) - Arcade, Sega Saturn, PSX, PSP
[img align=right]http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/16390/542875-salmndr2_screen_large.png[/img]
Now, Salamander 2, released in 1996 is, of course, a direct sequel to Salamander, and another member in the long-running Gradius series. It plays more like Salamander than Gradius in the way that it abandoned the Gradius-style power up bar and used the simple icon collection power up system. The only real downside to this is the fact that the player's ship cannot speed up without getting a speed up icon. Another big change from Salamander is the fact that Salamander 2 has the ability for any of the weapons to become "Super" weapons for ten seconds. For example, if the player's ship has the ripple shot and the player collects another ripple icon, the weapon becomes the Buster Ripple for about 10 seconds. This game is one of the least ported Gradius series game. It has only been ported to the PS1, Saturn, and PSP. PS1 and Saturn with the Salamander Deluxe Pack, and the PSP with Salamander Portable.
Gradius Gaiden (1997) - PSX, PSP
[img align=right height=250 width=246]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Gradius_gaiden-cover.jpg[/img]
Gradius Gaiden, released in 1997, was only released on the PS1 in Japan. The game's core gameplay remained unchanged completely. However, the player is given 2 new ships with new weapon systems that had never been seen before. Also, some of the signature weapons, notably the Reduce Size, rechargeable E. Laser, and some of the option types were removed between Gradius III and Gaiden. The new ships in the game are called the Jade Knight and the Falcon B. Other than the original PS1 version of the game, the game has only been ported once. This game was included as part of the PSP's Gradius Collection.
Gradius Solar Assault (1997) - Arcade
[img align=right height=270 width=266]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Solar_Assault_flyer.jpg[/img]
Gradius Solar Assault was originally released in July 1997. Compared to the other Gradius games, Gradius Solar Assault is a completely different specimen. This was the first ever, first person, fully 3-D Gradius game. The powerup system, control scheme, and gameplay are basically the same thing. Another big change is the fact that the player's ship has a health bar, instead of being destroyed on impact with an object or after being shot by an enemy. This game comes with a choice of 3 ships this time around, much like Salamander 2. The ships this time around are BP-592A Vic Viper, LS-379G Lord British, and the WC-672H Alpinia. Gradius Solar Assault came in 2 different variations. First, of course, there is the standard stand up arcade unit. Then, there is the SpeedKing Deluxe Simulator. This version is an enclosed pod that tilts along with the gameplay by pneumatic power, much like an original Sega AfterBurner II unit. This is the only Gradius game that was never ported to a home console.
Gradius IV Fukkatsu (1998) - Arcade, PS2, PSP
[img align=right width=250 height=175]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Grad0012.png[/img]
Released in February 1998, Gradius IV Fukkatsu was the fourth in the arcade series of Gradius games. Just like Gradius III, the core gameplay remained unchanged, but other things were changed, such as some weapon types. Also, the edit mode was removed and had an online score ranking system added in. More of the weapons from Gradius III, including its 7th so-called "!" powerup level were also removed. The game still contained the different powerup categories from Gradius II & III. The total for Gradius IV Fukkatsu was now up to 6 different sets of weapons to choose from. 4 from Gradius II, and 2 new ones for Gradius IV. One of the biggest additions to the game was the online ranking system. When the player's game ends, he/she is presented with a password. This password contained score information, and could be uploaded to a Konami website. However, this was only available in Japan and was discontinued on August 27, 1998, 7 months after the initial release of the game. Gradius IV was another one of the Gradius games that was hardly ported. While there is no direct port of the game, it was included on the Gradius III/IV compilation on the PS2. This version also has a mode that allows you to fight all of the game's bosses in a more time attack fashion. Again, this game made the cut in Gradius Collection for the PSP.
Gradius V (2004) - PS2
[img align=right width=220 height=303]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/Gradius_V_cover.jpg[/img]
Released in 2004, Gradius V is only the 2nd Gradius game to be released straight to a home video game console. In this case, it is the Playstation 2. Gradius V is considered to be one of the greatest of the whole series. This game had a major graphical overhaul from other Gradius games, making one of the most aesthetically pleasing. The game has the same, classic core gameplay as the rest of the series, but has some new and very interesting controls that make the game easy for anyone to pick up and play. Like in some previous games, you have a health bar, and a power up bar, making it easier to take multiple hits without being destroyed on the first hit. One of the more helpful upgrades in the game is the Multiple Control. The multiples (the little spare guns that fly around the Vic Viper) can be set by the player. At the press of a button the player can quickly change the position of the multiples, making hard to shoot areas easy to shoot. Gradius V, while published by Konami, was actually developed by the Treasure team, whom most of you know as the team that created Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun. Because of this, Gradius V is considered one of the best of the whole series.
Now I realize that I have left out some of the games, most notably the portable Gradius games, such as Nemesis. I will get to those in a separate overview. I hope that this will give some pretty good insight and information of these games. After this, I will be going in to more detail by reviewing the games.
I thought it was time I gave Burn:Cycle a try as I'd heard good things about it, and whilst I've had the CDi for quite a while it's never had much love. I'd picked it up as part of a deal with a boxed Sega Saturn and a handful of games.Burn:Cycle was released in 1994, and it shows it's age, coupling FMV sequences with VR imagery that could have come straight from Lawnmower Man, albeit with fewer chrome reflection effects. It's not terrible, but it's not exactly easy on the eyes either, favouring reds and blues, and not much else.
The look and feel is total cyberpunk, exactly right for the era; 80s 'what the hell are you wearing?' fashions; Hollywood style technobabble; a fairly predictable plot - data thief infected with a computer virus that's set to kill him must find out why before the 'cure' can be found.
The opening of the game sets you up for exactly how the rest of it will play out - make a few random clicks around the screen, interact with a couple of objects, turn around and get instantly killed.
GAME OVER
Get used to the sight of that, you'll be seeing it a lot. The 2 hour real time dead line for the game means that it's artificially lengthened by a punishing difficulty and frequent insta-death(tm) I'd forgotten just how annoying games can be when they get the basics wrong.
The save/restore mechanism is absolutely dire, using the point and click system like it does you can lose precious seconds just navigating around the menus, and the lack of 'snap to' on the default options is a serious omission.
The scenery makes navigating extremely difficult, amd the point and click interface means that you don't always head off where you think you're going, nor is it easy to see entrances to new areas. I've frequently had to resort to a walkthrough to find where I need to be going, but once there the puzzles are reasonably entertaining.
The game is frequently let down by 'Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins' accents, I just can't abide them, and find them incredibly jarring. What is it about games designers that think they can get away using a friend of a friend for a voice over? And why is it that the only English accents that exist outside the real world are either Queen's english, or Cockney?
The sad thing is I really wanted to like this game, I'm a huge fan of cyberpunk. I grew up reading William Gibson novels, I played Cyberpunk and Shadowrun RPGs on paper, my first email address alias was 'thecount@someuniversity.ac.uk' and no end of home electronics projects ended up in matt black boxes with an Ono Sendai brand label applied somewhere discrete
End Result
Total play time: 9 hours
Bad English accents: 3
Deaths by meteor: Millions
'Screw you!s' shouted at the screen in frustration: Too many to remember
Final Verdict
It's a passable game spoiled by a poor interface and an incredibly frustrating level of difficulty. In it's day it was probably incredible, but is now over shadowed by current gen cgi and an audience expecting much more in the way of interactivity.
I recently downloaded this freeware game (about 2 days ago). Here are my impressions of the first 7 screens of the game (yeah, I've only made it through 7 screens and I've played it for about 2 hours).
I Wanna Be The Guy: The Movie: The Game is as ridiculous as the name of the game. You play as 'The Kid' who is on a quest to defeat 'The Guy' and become 'The Guy'. The game pays homage to the older games we know and love and brings us back to a time when games used to be hard... then says screw you to the games we thought were hard and absolutely shatters our perception of a difficult game.
The game is very simple. You are 'The Kid' and you want to go around from one screen of obstacles to the next in order to eventually find one of the 8 pieces of something or other which will enable you to beat 'The Guy'. You can move right, left, jump, and fire a tiny gun. Sounds like it can't be that hard right? You couldn't be any more wrong.
This game is absolutely ridiculous. You die in one hit and explode into a shower of blood. Instead of fruit falling straight down, it might fall straight up or horizontally. Random spikes will fall from the sky and obliterate your character, random stars that are part of the background will fall and destroy you, an airplane will come and wipe out your character, a boulder that takes up 1/2 the screen might drop and destroy absolutely everything while you run from it... and all this occurs in the first 7 screens of the game.
So why is the game good? Two reasons. First it incorporates classic games such as Zelda, Punchout etc into the stages, music, and bosses. Secondly, the ways in which you will die are awesomely ridiculous and often hysterical. For example, I often find myself yelling out 'Oh god what the ****!' then start laughing hysterically.
As cool as the game might sound, it doesn't change the fact that it is the hardest game you will ever play. A lot of the deaths are completely unexpected which brings a hearty amount of laughs; but this doesn't even incorporate the amount of times you will die even knowing the unexpected occurrences which are about to unfold. Once you get past the unexpected death occurrences (which there are a few per screen), you have an expertly engineered 2d platformer that is just flat out difficult. With timing jumps, precision controls, and expected obstacles (once you find out via an unexpected death) you have a simple platformer that is very very difficult. I have died roughly 200 times already and am only 7 screens into the game. Of those deaths, I'd say about 1/6 if that were from me not knowing the existence of a hazard. That should give you an idea of how hard the game is even knowing the whereabouts of the hazards.
This game is not for everyone. If you don't enjoy excruciatingly difficult games you might want to give it a pass. But if you love expertly crafted platformers and don't mind a few deaths here and there this is right up your alley. But one thing anyone will appreciate is the incorporation of classic games such as Zelda, Super Mario, Punchout ect. And remember, though your character may blow up in a sea of blood from an unexpected event, it is generally pretty damn funny. Oh, and one more thing. The game has multiple difficulties ranging from normal to insane. These change the amount of savepoints found in the game. But if you play on normal you are forced to play with a ribbon in your hair and the extra savepoints say 'wuss' on them.
For anyone who is interested in giving the game a whorl,
http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/index.php
In the spirit of my "The Best System Ever" series, we, as a community, will choose the BEST video game character... EVER!!! "But, there are so many," one might say... Well, this is where the blog comes in.
YOU! The reader! You will submit 2 Nominations via the Comment box for the "Best of the Best" Poll/Tournament. You will say the character's name, the game or games that they are in (or the series, ie Final Fantasy), and submit. Done! Hopefully, everyone's nomination can get in, provided that we have at least a few duplicates (hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge). Then, rounds will consist of 2 or 4 characters each, depending on the number originally submitted. The poll will progress to the next round after 5 days. Each character that is in a specific poll on a specific day will also be paired with a bio. This bio will have information on the character, as well as a picture, etc.
Now, the clincher; I'm giving you, the reader, the ability to submit a bio to be included in the polls. Granted, it will probably be cut down and reformatted, but you will receive credit, and lot's of it. I do this to cut down on time out of my studies.  Not all bios will need to be submitted, but if people are in a writing mood, then you can shoot me a PM with a bio in it on a specific character that is in any given poll. This will make the poll run a lot smoother, and it gets your name put out there! What a snazzy idea, right?! 
So, to push the snowball down the hill, my two picks are... (drumroll):
-Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog series)
and
-Mario (Mario series).
Let's see those Nominations people, and may the best man (or rather, character) win!
Now games which rarely appears on eBay are more pressurising than regular games, whether they are rare or not. This is because if they Seldom appear, then if you bid for one you will be afraid of losing because it may never appear again for possibly one, two, three, four or maybe (in the case of the game Syndicate apparently) five or more years.
Continue reading Lets stay Sensible
I'm well aware this is old news, but I wanted to post it anyways. So, last month, Gamestop had a promotion targeted at women titled "Sharpen the mind; shape the body", which was targeted at women. Basically, you get a free subscription to Oprah or some other magazine women would be interested in if you buy X amount of DS or Wii stuff. Obviously, GameStop's core market is not females, so GameStop's HQ sent out this pathetically sexist training video to all their stores, informing employees how to sell things to females.
If the video wasn't good enough for you, then check after the break for an (NSFW) version with some hilarious commentary.
Continue reading Late to the Party: How GameStop Targets Women
http://www.gametrailers.c...er/usermovies/310679.html
You know, Mega Man 2 is fantastic. Absolutely and completely fantastic. Well, there is this video of Mega Man 2.5D. Doesn't it look amazing? Too bad Capcom isn't the one developing it. If only they'd let this development continue to completion. Have a blind eye, just like Nintendo did for Mother 3.
Well, today is St. Patrick's Day. It's a lovely day, really, and regardless of if you're Irish or not it is a fantastic excuse to get drunk, provided of course you're of the legal age. We at RF Generation want you to know that underage drinking is bad, and if you do it beware the consequences. Anyways, hit the jump if you want to delve further into my aside.
Continue reading It's St. Patrick's Day. Why not some Games with Your Drinks?
| Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A I glance up at the two ready-for-action commandos displayed on the title screen, hoping for some type of manly 'grunt' of acknowledgement for my efforts - I am awarded with nothing but silence. With apprehension I take a quick look down at the crumpled code page from Electronic Gamer straddling my lap. "Try pressing the 'Start' button after the code like we told you" the text lectured back to me. OK, point made. I proceed as directed and again wait patiently for what seemed to be an eternity (in reality it was about three seconds) for the magic to now happen. Yahtzee!! I see my freedom fighter start off on level 1 with 30 lives instead of the rather measly, standard allotment of 3! Time to go dole out some pain and punishment to the heathens!!! |  |
I can still vividly remember the extreme rush I felt when activating that legendary Konami cheat code while playing Contra on my Nintendo Entertainment System as described above. This article focuses on just that - extraordinary video gaming moments you will never forget. All gamers have experienced them, each being unique with different drivers.
As some of you may know, I am an old school gamer - literally. I had the pleasure of growing up during the advent of the video game console and have experienced first hand each new technological breakthrough in this arena. This doesn't make me an expert - far from it. It just means that I am old. The following are just a few of my more memorable gaming moments that I remember to this day as though it just happened yesterday evening. Some describe the pure excitement derived from solving an exceptionally difficult levelboss to simply being blown away by the technology. I chose 'adrenaline' moments for each era, listed chronologically. | 1975 - Atari PONG |  A standard December gathering at my Uncle Glenn's home? Not! A steady stream from 'Aqualung' by Jethro Tull was the replacement for the more traditional, tranquil holiday offerings (much to my Grandmother Alice's dismay). The showstopper occurred when he fired up his newly acquired Atari PONG system. Though I was quite young, I remember being amazed by what I eventually saw on his 19" black and white television screen - PONG. The adults pretty much monopolized the gaming that evening, but my cousin Rob and I finally got our chance just before we had to leave. We basically stunk and it was a miracle when we could manage a total of three consecutive volleys. Still, it was pure joy and heaven for us.
| 1977 - Atari 2600 : Air-Sea Battle |  My friend Steve (a.k.a. P-Man) was the first to have access to the new line of cartridge based systems - the Atari 2600. Drago (another neighborhood crony) and I were pumped about this and itching to play. Now Steve screwed up somehow on the home front very soon after this acquisition. He was not allowed to have any of us mates over at all for one entire month - plus the 2600 was off limits to him as well. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment! The day finally arrived when 'our' sentence was over and we could hunker down and experience this new technology. We were not disappointed. The graphics for us were astonishing and when the time counter started to blink in those last 16 seconds of the round - pure adrenaline!
| 1987 - Nintendo Entertainment System : Castlevania II Simon's Quest |  This classic is either loved or hated by Castlevania fans. More of an RPG (role playing game) than the standard actionadventure fair the series is known for, tackling this game is not an easy task. One particularly frustrating section for me was being stuck in front of a death-inviting lake with no where to go. I starting chucking holy water and just about everything else I had in my sack into that cesspool to no avail. Trial and error button combinations were then deployed at this despised location. By a stroke of pure luck I finally issued the 'Kneel Down' command at the left hand side of this pool - a magical walkway under the raging current miraculously appeared! Thank the heavens for this since I was really getting sick of beating through those werewolves and goblins every time 'Day' turned into 'Night' (which seemed to happen every 4 minutes or so).
| 1992 - Nintendo Super Entertainment System : Super Star Wars |  This game is extraordinarily difficult, to the point of being frustrating at times. One poorly timed jump and it was instant death for my Jedi hero. Thank goodness it contained one of the best Easter Eggs in the history of video games (in my humble opinion) - "The Cave of 99 Free Lukes". Following the directions as outlined in my Game Informer magazine, I bravely stepped off the specified cliff and furiously cranked on the Left directional button as my Padawan plummeted downward. At the last moment before it was 'goodbye Luke', I spotted the ledge to the secret cave entrance, barely making it to safe ground. I would not be disappointed. With proton blaster in hand, I unleashed the weapon's fury into the blank recesses of this grotto and 'Free Lukes' starting appearing everywhere!! To this very day that is one of the best rushes I have ever had.
| 1994 - Panasonic 3DO : Shock Wave |  I admit it - I was the first in line at my local Electronics Boutique to buy this system for $699 upon its launch back in 1993. Not a good move, I know. But when I first fired up Shock Wave, I was completely blown away! Yes, FMV (Full Motion Video) had already been introduced in earlier systems, but the Panasonic 3DO did take it to the next level back in the day. The intro alone was impressive, making me feel like I was the star protagonist in an actual movie. When my star fighter absorbed its first 'neon-green proton' hit, my squad Commander promptly appeared in my HUD (Heads Up Display) and barked at me "This is not a game Lieutenant!!". At that point I was hooked. (Side note: Does anyone else think that Commander was kind of hot?)
| 1994 - Panasonic 3DO : Out of this World |  Though I did not want to include two 3DO games in this listing, I would be remiss if I did not include this experience in this article. From the moment the artistic polygon animations were displayed in the intro, I was roped in. In gaming sessions with my buddies Drago and Cola, we collectively beat through this game until we hit the wall. Our Lester, in a prone position, was presented in a domed room and was subjected to an almost instantaneously electrocution. Almost two hours later, despite all the running, blaster fire, throwing up force fields, etc. we were still getting fried in this room of pain. Cola's turn was up and we were prepared for more of the same, except Drago uttered two words in an almost inquisitive voice - "crawl backwards". Yessss!! Our Lester finally avoided the lethal charge and was gratefully free to exit from this living hell.
| 1996 - Sony Playstation : King's Field |  I admit to being somewhat of a fanboy of this series, but this game truly rocks. The Playstation has been recently released in the US and King's Field was one of the first to exploit the true power of this fledgling console. Upon firing up this FP (First Person) RPG game I was greeted with dark, ominous music that appropriately set the tone for my upcoming adventure. After a so-so intro the screen fades from black to reveal the brooding island that I have been shipwrecked upon. I was amazed as I maneuvered my viewpoint to check out my local surroundings. This was one of my first experiences with FP technology (to this degree) and I have been a fan ever since. This was truly a treat for all of my senses, right up until the point where I took my first three steps and plunged to my death in the icy cold waters of Melanat.
| 2001 - Sony Playstation 2 : Grand Theft Auto III |  Everyone knows this game so I won't spend any time prefacing this classic. Sure, I had run over old ladies with walkers in Road Rash and had my share fair of fun decapitating foes in Mortal Kombat, but this was nothing compared to the mayhem that awaited me in Grand Theft Auto III. Sniping innocent civilians was a blast, but what I remember most was being astonished by the size of the gaming arena known as Liberty City - it was HUGE and mine to exploreexploit as I saw fit. Thank goodness I enjoy this explorative aspect of video gaming since I frequently found myself completely lost in this sprawling city navigating my 'Stallion' without any real type of plan. (I do admit that my favorite part of this game is still taking off the limbs of pedestrians with my Sniper rifle.)
| 2006 - Microsoft Xbox 360 : The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion |  From the very moment I was able to control my paladin in the dark dungeon recesses at the very onset of this game, pure ecstasy is the only way I can describe it. Though I rather prefer the surreal atmosphere of its predecessor (Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind) to the 'Sound of Music' environment now presented to me, I can't help but to find myself almost being able to smell the dandelions as I make my way through the foothills of Cyrodiil. Now this is what 'Next Gen' is all about!
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The preceding blurbs depict just a few of my most prized gaming experiences and recollections. As stated earlier, the trigger to these can be almost anything - success with a cheat code, the thrill at dispelling a nasty Boss to even your combatant's demise during an online session of Halo. The drivers change from individual to individual. There is one commonalty though - let these gems keep on happening!
Let's hear about your standout moments in gaming!
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Love them or hate them, zombies have been in video games since the early eighties and don't look like they're going anywhere any time soon. In Valve's latest release, Left 4 Dead, you play as one of four survivors during the zombie apocalypse. Left 4 Dead features four scenarios where you must guide the survivors to a designated spot to be picked up before they are overwhelmed by the zombie horde. Left 4 Dead is a first person shooter, developed by Valve owned Turtle Rock Studios, using the Source engine. Left 4 Dead received a number of awards for it's multiplayer modes at the end of 2008, but is the game really worth your while? Let's take a look at the game and find out...
Continue reading Review: Left 4 Dead
[img width=230 height=87]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/07362Swoopo_logo.png[/img] is Evil
Everyone wants things on the cheap. After all, we are going through some tough economic times right now. When you see an add that says "Playstation 3 sold for $32.50! Visit now!", you are immediately drawn in. A PS3, for less than list, and it looks legit?! Is this possible?! Well, my friend, I am here to tell you how...
You see, the site we are talking about is none other than Swoopo, which just so happens to be more vile and evil than e(vil)bay itself. Swoopo is a relatively new site, founded in 2005 for German bidders, with it coming to the States in September of 2008. It is not a normal bidding site, AT ALL. See, on a bidding site like ebay, each item is posted by another user. Then, you, the buyer, bids on said item. After that, you pay the buyer, who then pays fees to ebay and ships you the item. That's normal.
This is how Swoopo works:
You are you. Swoopo is swoopo. There is no seller other than swoopo. You buy from the company that is swoopo, not some other seller. Every bid you place raises the price of the item by $0.15, or $0.01, if it is a penny auction. It also, if there is less than 20 seconds left on the auction left, it brings the time back up to 20 seconds. Oh, and I almost forgot... Each bid costs you, the bidder $0.75!
So, we have all of these different factors, correct? What is wrong with this, then? Well, it's the basic fact that, if a penny auction makes it to $175.92, that's 17592 bids at $.75 each, on say, an Item that costs $899.99 for them to buy. That's $13,369.92 income on one item on swoopo's end, which figures to nearly 1400% profit! Meanwhile, 17591 or so people have been shafted because they all payed money to get nothing! Then, the winner has gotten truly lucky, because they managed to bid last and not have anyone else re-bid again, which resets the clock again to 20 seconds.
Well, the authorities in many places have caught on. In England, swoopo was investigated as an unregistered gambling site, and let off the hook. This is where you come in. What are your feelings on this evil, dastardly, bastardly site? Will you sign up, and see if you can nab a deal? If you think so, then you may be right. The chances are slim, but you might just get the deal of your lifetime, or at least, your day.
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This list will showcase my favorite Master Robot levels from Mega Man 1-6. I will do a later article for Wily's Fortress Levels as I feel they have a different feeling than these ones and therefor should be rated seperately.
Continue reading Top 10 Master Robot Stages
This is the second (technically third) installment of The People of RFGeneration. I went with one of our Canadian members Link41 aka Aaron . It should be noted that the number of members who live in Canadia is small (18 members on the World Map, which more people need to use so i would know how accurate i am being...) but growing. Before they grow any larger we must absorb them into the U.S.of A... and steal their health care!
I've talked with him both inside and outside of the chat and had a pretty strange and interesting convo, mostly related to his college classes. So I decided he could be the next at bat.
Alright lets get to it I guess.
Q:How did you find RFGeneration?
A: I was looking for a site to document my collection online back around Christmas '08, and a fellow member of this site, suggested RFGeneration.
Q:What made you join?
A: I took a look at the site, after receiving info from sunfireman. I was amazed at all the collectors that were here, not only that, but the Database was loaded with games I had and/or needed.
Q:What made you stay?
A: Honestly? The forum and the chat. I am in the chat almost everyday, also I enjoy having my collection right at my fingertips!
Q:Have you met or personally know any of the other members of the website?
A: I know sunfireman, he is also a parrysounder. I am starting to get to know lots of other members, that is why I'm on the chat so much.
Q:Are you an active game collector? If so anything specific?
A: I am an active game collector, I currently have 11 consoles, and 314 games. I collect alot of Nintendo games and consoles. I am however looking to start collecting the Sega consoles and possibly the Atari consoles. I am looking to catch up to den68, his collection is massive!
Q:Whats your favourite game or series? Why?
A: I have to pick The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time as my favourite game, as for my favourite series, I would go with either: Zelda, Resident Evil, Metroid, or Final Fantasy. Ocarina got me into gaming back in 1998, when it came out. I played everyday after school. After I beat the game I was like "I wonder if any other games are good?" and the rest is history. I love alot of game series, so I narrowed it down to four!
Q:Why is the chat your second home!?!
A: I like meeting new people, and discussing new games. I happen to have found a nice community here, I like chatting on the IRC, and posting on the forum. I have made a few friends on here so far, I'm very impressed with the site thus far.
Q:What are your passions?
A: I LOVE the outdoors, biking, snowmobiling, four-wheeling, swimming, reading, my morning jogs, my schooling, video games, my family, my friends, going to bar with my friends. I guess that pretty much sums it up. I am certainly a pretty common guy
Q:What do you do outside of RFG?
A: I am currently attending school for forensics, I also work part-time at a store 99% of you have never even heard of. Giant Tiger is where I work, it is fun. I like to go and spend time with the girlfriend and my family whenever I get the chance. I have four brothers, so I am used to having a shadow 
Q:What made you decide to go into forensics?
A:At first,I just wanted to become a cop, but I soon realized I wanted more. Over the past few years,I became a fan of CSI, I was amazed at the procedures that went into solving crimes. I enrolled for the course in 2007 and I haven't looked back. 
Q:What is the creepiest thing you have learned so far from this course?
A: lol, gross is a pretty loose term in forensics. I thought assisting in autopsy's would be the worst, but as it turns out there was something worse. I had forgot that after a DB has been dead for around an hour, his muscles begin to relax and urine and feces then come out. That happened during my first examination of a dead body, needless to say I was one of the many students who threw up in class. Not such a great day.
GAMING FIRSTS UPDATE
So i thought of some questions a few nights ago at work. One of my coworkers asked me what the first game i beat was and then the rest of these popped into my head in rapid succession. They will be standard from now on When Eddie sends me back the response i will update his interview as well
Q: What was the first game you played and on what system and how old were you?
A: The very first game I played was Super Mario Bros on NES. I was on my March break in 1995, and my family was visitng some relatives down south and I went to see what my cousins were doing up in their room, it turns out they were playing two player SMB. I just stood in awe over the game, it was like a cartoon only 100 times better!
Q:First console owned?
A: I received my first console at Christmas 1998. I got an Nintendo 64 and a copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. I was hooked on games from that point on! I would rush home from school as fast as possible to play more! I was addicted.
Q:First game you bought yourself?
A: Well I bought my first game and bought my first conole at the same time. I purchased a PS2 in 2003 and I bought WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth to go with it. In the months that followed, I had started to build my collection into the one you can see today.
Q:What made you decide to buy that particular game?
A: I was a HUGE fan of WWE up until 2006, then I jumped to UFC and TNA. I thought the games was awesome, having had a few N64 wrestling games. I wanted to see what the next gen was going to bring to the table.
Q:First game you beat?
A:...hmm. I know! Pokemon Red. I had borrowed my friends Game Boy Color while he went to Florida with his family, so I promised I would get him some good pokemon. I beat the game in just 2 days, I did set him up with the legendarys, who I caught with master balls. I used that missingno cheat on Cinnabar Island, and made 99 master balls!
Q:First time you wanted to destroy something because of a game?
A: I wanted to break my NES Zapper before....I just hate that Duck Hunt dog soooooo much!
Here's a list of all my handhelds comment and tell me what you think, also let me know if you want any gameplay footage of any of them. Here they are:
Tiger Electronics:
1.Double Dragon
2.Double Dragon II: The Revenge (BROKEN)
3.Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone
4.Space Fight
5.Road Race
6.Street Fighter II (With printed copy of instructions)
7.Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (Talking game and Barcodes game no
cards included)
8.Sonic 1
9.Sonic 2 (With printed copy of instructions)
10.Sonic 3 (With printed copy of instructions)
11. Sonic 3-D Blast
12.Sonic Underground (With printed copy of instructions)
13.Mortal Kombat (With printed copy of instructions)
14.Mortal Kombat 3 (With printed copy of instructions)
15.Mortal Kombat Trilogy (With printed copy of instructions)
16.Ninja Gaiden
17.Ninja Gaiden II: The Chaos Sword (Talking game)
18.Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (With printed copy of instructions)
19.Batman (With printed copy of instructions)
20.Batman Forever: Double Dose of Doom (With printed copy of instructions)
21.Batman Returns (With printed copy of instructions)
22.Gauntlet (With original copy of instructions)
23.Golden Axe
24.Altered Beast
25.Outrun
26.Mega Man 3 (With printed copy of instructions)
27.Area 51 (With printed copy of instructions)
28.Power Rangers (With printed copy of instructions)
29.Primal Rage (1994 release)
30.Bowling (With printed copy of instructions)
31.Bowlorama (Missing bowling pin joystick and instructions)
32.Streets of Rage (Pocket size with original copy of instructions)
33.Virtual Cop (Pocket size with original copy of instructions)
34.Aladdin
35.Castlevania II: Simons Quest
36.Gargoyles: Night Flight (Missing battery cover)
37.Star Trek: The Next Generation (With opened package and original copy of instructions)
38.Resident Evil 2 (With opened package and cant find instructions but have a copy of
them)
39. Jeopardy! (With original copy of instructions)
40.Rampage
41.Pitfall
42.Pinball
43.Nights Into Dreams (Pocket size no instructions)
44.Castlevania Symphony of the Night ( RARE With printed copy of instructions)
45.The Terminator (With printed copy of instructions)
46.Bevis & Butthead (Talking Game)
It Entertainment:
47.Deal or No Deal (With opened package and original instructions)
Radica:
48.Slots
49.Blackjack
50.7 in 1 Casino Games
51.Pocket Slots
Milton Bradly:
52.Uno
53.Connect Four
54.Hangman
Konami:
55. Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (With original cardboard instructions)
56. Contra (Missing battery cover LCD issues)
Acclaim Entertainment:
57. Wizards & Warriors
58. Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
59. NARC
60.The Simpsons: Barts Cupcake Madness
61. T2: Judgment Day
Micro Games of America:
62. Power Rangers Game Wizard (With all 3 game cartridges: Goldars Revenge, Battle for The Power Morpher, and Battle on the Megazord )
63. Dragonball Z: Battle To Save Namek
64.Dragonball Z: Fire Fight (Keychain Game)
65. Dragonball Z: The Final Showdown (Keychain Game, also has original instructions)
66. Centipede
67. Asteroids
68. Super Breakout
Game & Watch: (Nintendo)
69. Zelda (Multi-Screen)
70. Super Mario Brothers (Has make-shift battery cover taped on)
71. Zelda (Wrist Watch Game)
72. Super Mario Brothers (Mini-Classics Version)
73. Donkey Kong Junior (Mini-Classics Version)
Bandai LSI GAMES (NOTE: ALL OF THE GAMES LISTED UNDER HERE HAVE ORIGINAL BOXES, TRAY INSERTS, WARRANTY CARDS, PLASTIC BAGS AND ORIGINAL INSTRUCTIONS MANUALS, UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.)
74. DragonBall Z: Gohan VS Garlic Jr (No warranty card)
75. DragonBall Z Gohan VS Perfect Cell and Cell Juniors
76. DragonBall Z Gohan VS Perfect Cell Round 2 (Only has original instructions NO BOX OR WARRANTY CARD it is in a small plastic bag.)
77. DragonBall Z Goku VS Frieza and Captain Ginyu and Jeice
78. DragonBall Z Goku VS Imperfect Cell
79. DragonBall Z Goku VS Perfect Cell
80. DragonBall Z Videls Training
81. DragonBall Z Goku VS Majin Buu
82. DragonBall Z Goku VS Androids #16, #17, #18 (No warranty card)
83. DragonBall Z Vegeta VS Vegeta & Nappa (No warranty card)
Techno Source:
84. Captain America: Canyon Clash (With package and original copy instructions)
85. Iron Man: Android Onslaught (With package and original copy instructions)
86. X-men: Wolverine Sentinel Assault (With package and original copy instructions)
87. Combat Commander (With package and original copy instructions)
88. Spider-Man 3: Escape the Sandman (With package and original copy instructions)
89. The Incredible Hulk (With package and original copy instructions)
90. Street Hunter (With package and original copy instructions)
Troni:
91. Street Hunter
Namco (Vaire/Yemo)
92. Dragon Spirit
93. Galaga '91
Excalibur:
94. Slot Machine (Keychain with opened package)
Note: To see Gameplay footage of some of these go here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/supermetroidlover
I don't get games from America that often, thanks to the price for importing, the exchange rate and the current economy. US Ebay Auctions take advantage by putting the international postage price at up to 30 USD (21 GBP) which is stupid as this example shows you.
Continue reading Postage Rant
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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.
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![[IMAGE]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/Swoopo_logo.png){kind=link}