Tetris is undoubtedly one of the biggest games ever. Not in terms of its size, but rather, it's reach. It has appeared on nearly every major game console in some form, been ported to most every retro computer, and is known by even the least informed person you might talk to about video games. Ask any random person on the street if they've ever heard of Tetris, and chances are, they'll at least have an idea of what it is, even if they can't explain it, or have never played it. The ubiquity of Tetris is largely thanks to Nintendo's wise choice of making it the pack-in title for the North American launch of the Game Boy, and probably one of the reasons Nintendo began the portable game console market at the top, and subsequently never left. Here are some thoughts about the game itself, as well as a bit of rumination about its legacy and impact. Enjoy!
There are few video game franchises more well-known or well-loved than Final Fantasy. There are also few franchises with a more interesting history. With numerous remakes, fan translations, and a once-bewildering numbering discrepancy, it's a dizzying series of games to keep track of for all but the most dedicated. The third and fifth entries, in particular, have always been the odd and underappreciated ducklings. However, for those who gave them a shot they've gotten high praise, and are some of the most intriguing in terms of their path to a Western release.
This makes it a perfect fit for the next entry in Boss Fight Books' series of video game reference tomes. As familiar as I am with FFV, I've never played through it myself, so I figured this was a good opportunity to learn a bit more about the game and what makes it so great, why it took Squaresoft seven years to bring it to American gamers, and the lengths to which its fans went through to make it playable here long before its official US release.
Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 was recently released very much to my delight. Beyond just loving me some classic Mega Man this has been the first opportunity to own Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 on a physical format. That for me was reason enough to pick it up right away. The first Mega Man Legacy Collection was a fantastic compilation where the passion of the team involved was plainly evident, so I had no hesitation picking up Legacy 2 after that experience. Turns out I should have maybe been a bit more skeptical.....
I have been hearing for years that The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one of the finest JRPGs to be released in recent years. As a huge RPG fan, this high praise obviously piqued my interest, and despite never giving the Sony PSP the attention it deserved, it put Trails in the Sky on my radar as a game I should play. With the recent release of Trails in the Sky the 3rd in North America bringing the series to my attention once again, I have finally played the initial entry of this prestigious series!
As video games become an aging hobby, it becomes more difficult to grasp the beginning of its tale, or the history and growth of it in general. This does not just mean its actual history, but also its dominant theories of design. For example, when many gamers talk of role playing games, only two dominant styles are generally brought up: The consolized Japanese designed role playing games, and the historically more mechanically complex and open, Western designed role playing games. Despite the fact that these two schools of design are considered different enough to be easily categorized, they share a common ancestor in tabletop games, specifically Dungeons and Dragons. While Dungeons and Dragons has been around since the 1970's, it has evolved and is almost unrecognizable in comparison to its earliest version, as the company that originally created the game went bankrupt, was bought out, and its creator has passed away.
After they hyped up fever dream that was Far Cry 3, I really had high hopes for the sequel to one of my favorite gaming experiences in recent memory. I was met with the mixed bag that is Far Cry 4, and somehow I'm not surprised that Ubisoft dropped the ball again...but not in the way they usually do.
Hello fellow gamers! I couldn't decide on one dedicated topic this month, so I decided to write something that is more like a blog post in the traditional sense. This is just what I've been up to lately. I hope everyone is doing well. Settle in for a nice, breezy read and say, "Hi" in the comments below.
When the first trailer for Rebel Galaxy hit, I knew I wanted it. In only a few minutes, it spoke of adventure, "negotiation," and great looking combat with cool explosions! What more could I want? Funny question, exactly that!
When I first saw the game, I began to have expectations that were perhaps unrealistic. Not that they were unfounded in any way, but with knowledge gathered solely from previews and trailers (I did not watch a single demo or video review) I knew it would be one of the few games in the action-RPG genre of space sims, and after all, I loved Starpoint Gemini 2, enough to put in more than sixty hours of playtime before I forced myself to walk away (gotta keep on The List). So naturally, Rebel Galaxy would be right up my alley. The only thing that worried me was that the game insisted that it was best played with a controller, but hey, different strokes, right? After all, it was also released on PS4, so we can't expect our couch-based cousins to bust out a keyboard and mouse just to play a game, right?.
[img width=640 height=360]https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/538/32618320195_e034af33b9_z.jpg[/img] The price of high-definition half-tucked shirts. (pic from PlayStation.blog)
I don't think I know a single gamer that doesn't have some kind of backlog, some stack of games they want to play but have yet to do so. I only half-joke about wondering why I'd buy any new game anymore, as I know at this point I will never actually play through every game I once intended to. Strangely, I'm fine with that; I'm pretty quick to move on to the next game if I'm not getting anything out of what I'm playing at the moment. Trophies, Achievements, Leaderboards, and other virtual accruements hold no interest to me; I'm blessedly liquid in my gaming interests and can jump from one game to the next without getting caught in anything but interest or entertainment.
That being said, another recent development has made me very glad to be "behind" most of the time when it comes to playing modern games.
My review today is of the cult classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the SNES. I didn't know until very recently that Lucas Arts, one of my favourite 90s developers who I mostly associated with PC adventure games, made this. But now that I do know, it makes sense. The game has a great sense of humor and is full of puns. Though there are a few mechanical things I find a little awkward, Zombies is a lot of fun to play, especially with a second player. During this review, I also do a quick comparison of the SNES and Genesis versions.
Donkey Kong, aka Donkey Kong 94, is a 1994 release for the original Nintendo Game Boy, with major support for the Super Game Boy peripheral, then a new accessory. This game takes the original arcade game and expands that concept exponentially, adding new mechanics, smoothing out the game play, and providing a lot of content for the money. I hope you enjoy the video!
It's a widely held belief in gaming that exclusives sell consoles, and I believe it's often true. We've all bought a new console just to play a certain game that really captured our interest. In years past it could be playing a game at a friend's house, or playing a kiosk at a local retailer. These days Twitch streaming and YouTube Let's Plays offer new ways to convince us to take the plunge. I recently picked up a PS4 just to play Horizon Zero Dawn and started thinking of all the other exclusive titles that convinced me to purchase the system. I compiled a list of systems I purchased and the games that convinced me to buy them and would love to hear what games convinced you to purchase a console.
It recently dawned on me that I've been writing for RFGen for just over a year now and had yet to write an actual review for the site. I'm not sure why that is; I've written plenty of reviews in my day, and not just for games. So, it's with that in mind that I decided to promote one of my favorite PS3-exclusive games from 2013 that no one played.
Every once in awhile a game comes along that, while under the radar, is so creative, unique, well-crafted, and downright fun that you want to shout from the heavens to anyone who will listen that they should play it. Puppeteer is one such game. Released in the wake of Grand Theft Auto V and Saints Row IV, it's really no surprise it didn't get much attention. Looking back at SCE Japan Studio's history though, you'll find a slew of titles that could be considered quirky and underappreciated, but revered by those who gave them a shot. I'm talking games like Ape Escape, Work Time Fun, LocoRoco, Patapon, Echochrome, and Gravity Rush.
If you missed out in June, I was one of many who joined the Playcast gang in enjoying the great last gen action game Enslaved. Most of the discussion, as it should be, was focused on the game itself. The characters, the design, the variety of experiences, the ending, the gameplay, etc. But there was a small side discussion that I found quite interesting and as I've played a few games since then has peaked my interest further. Should technical issues hurt your gaming experience?
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.
