Episode 40 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=16529
Crabby is AWOL again, so we've brought in Shawn from the RFGPlayCast to lend a hand as we chat about PlayStation 2. We've got a great bunch of questions, and fantastic games to discuss.
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Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
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On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/Collectorcast
Show Notes
Links
Our Sponsor - Off The Charts Video Games: http://www.otcvideogames.com/
Shawn Gray on Twitter: @MrShawnGray
RF Generation PlayCast on Twitter: @RFGPlayCast
Music: Gradius V (PlayStaton 2)
Q & A - 14:54
Topic - 1:24:25
Outro - 3:40:10
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So many games and so few places to shove them. Atlantic shelves are decent enough, but they are expensive and made of particle board. Billy bookcases are solid, but way too deep if you are just storing games, and also on the expensive side. Is there a way to build nice, shallow wall shelving that will accommodate loose carts as well as boxed games, DVDs, and Blu Rays? Yes.
Continue reading Getting Organized and Staying Organized: Wall Shelves
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Many modern, first person adventure games are labelled as "walking simulators," particularly the ones with a narrative focus. This term refers to a game in which players walk throughout the in-game environment without doing much else like engaging in combat or finding collectibles. It's a label that, while superficially accurate, is often applied to a game because players can't decipher much more beyond the surface characters or stories. However, more often than not that couldn't be further from the truth of what these games offer. Take, for example, Dear Esther; it features the final fleeting thoughts of its narrator as his life fades away. It's true that the gameplay only involves walking from one set piece to the next, but what makes the game substantial is the emotions and memories the narrator presents. The walking simulator is the most effective at allowing players to really get into the head of a game's character.
Firewatch, the first game from Campo Santo, is the latest inclusion in the walking simulator category. The fact is that this game offers much depth of character, narrative interactivity, and even some role-playing which can only be achieved by utilizing this unconventional and divisive genre.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR FIREWATCH CONTINUE
READING AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!
Continue reading Firewatch: Not Just a Walking Simulator
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The ERISAN UC40 in all its glory.
I was originally planning to review the cheap Chinese projector I recently bought for this article, but I immediately realized that I am not willing to scrutinize this seventy-five dollar miracle in a way that would satisfy even the most casual reader. I plugged the thing in, fired up Nazi Zombies, and instantly fell in love. The End.
But I realized that perhaps a lot of my readers have not discovered the joys of gaming with a projector, and having recently purchased my third one, I thought I could offer some advice for those on the fence, or those who have never even given it a thought. So, where to begin?
Continue reading Projector Gaming
[img width=375 height=532]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/bombatomba77/front%20cover_zps3i8lnfor.jpg[/img]
You have finished your quest and gained the title of Avatar. You have mastered the eight virtues and successfully retrieved the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the horrible depths of the Stygian Abyss, and have been ordered to return to your world and live your life as an example to others. In a flash of darkness, you return to the exact spot of your initial departure, the circle of stones. You return home, realizing that your life has changed forever. But the moongate doesn't appear again, and you go back to the life you had before, not knowing if you will ever see the land of Britannia again. Until one night, you receive a sign that literally drops into your lap. You don your armor, sword, and ankh, and hurry to the old cycle of stones, to the moongate that appears out of thin air, and to a new destiny.
Continue reading A Brief Tour of Ultima: Part 3 - Ultima V: Warrior of Destiny
[img width=700 height=704]http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/231228-life-force-turbografx-16-front-cover.png[/img]
Now that, my friends, is box art. If it can't scare the cat, get a new picture. (Pic from mobygames.com)
From Space Invaders to Gradius V, the "little ship/guy/thingie dodging bullets and firing back" genre has been with us since the beginning and is just a hair younger than the "Avoid Missing Ball For High Score" genre. And in the same way that Virtua Tennis is no longer king of the hill, the shoot-'em-up or 'shmup' has gone from expected staple to rare appearance.
Though they have never disappeared altogether, shmups are definitely now a fringe category. No longer considered financially viable where less-than-an-hour gameplay is relegated to free or fleeting dollar distractions, new additions to the shmup genre are usually danmaku ("Bullet Hell") or indie homages. Long gone are the glory days of new masterpieces like Axelay or Einhander. Or are they?
Continue reading Slackur's Obscure Gaming Theatre: Shoot the Modern Core
[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/A6FXCT2.jpg[/img]
Pardon my de_dust 
I have an awesome gaming PC if I do say so myself. Even if the hardware is a few years old, it's still running strong. My quad core i7 setup with two Geforce 670s in SLI still handles just about everything I throw at it at high settings at a respectable frame rate. So why haven't I been doing the majority of my gaming on the PC? As it turned out, all I needed was instant access to my PC Games in the living room.
Continue reading The Steam Link Changed How I Play PC Games
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IN THIS EPISODE: A further drop down the PC rabbit hole of "old skool" tech and the beginnings of a "habit" with the 3DS. Plus; collecting is one thing, but do I have enough room in my life to play all the games?
Continue reading The Observatory 2 - The PC-3DS Plunge and All The Games?
[img width=320 height=319]http://img.gamefaqs.net/box/1/4/7/21147_front.jpg[/img]
Image shamelessly linked from GameFaqs.
It's Star Wars, and it's a "Million Seller" - how bad can it be?
I am a fan of Star Wars. I'm a big fan of the original trilogy of movies, I don't completely hate the prequel films, and even got some level of enjoyment (as a kid, anyway) out of the two "Ewok Adventure" films, and the short-lived Droids cartoon. Though I didn't get to go see it right away, I did go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens and enjoyed it very much. I plan to go see it again, if I have the opportunity before it's out of theaters, and will be purchasing the BluRay once it's available. I own at least 3 Star Wars-themed t-shirts and a zipper hoodie, and as of this writing, I own 2-dozen video games set within the Star Wars universe. I have the final VHS release of the original trilogy (before George Lucas began changing subsequent releases with his revisionist history), I own the "special" edition DVD set, and at some point, I hope to own the original trilogy on LaserDisc. I'm holding out for a BluRay release, hoping that, at some point, Disney will decide it's worth putting out something equivalent to the original theatrical release (or at least the final VHS/LaserDisc version), though that could be a sticky Wicket (see what I did there?), if Lucas made that a stipulation of his $4 billion sale of Lucasfilm to the Disney corporation. After all, those of us "in the know" won't settle for a cut of the original film where Han Solo didn't shoot Greedo first, right? Needless to say, I'm a big fan of the Star Wars universe, characters, and mythos.
Continue reading Star Wars, 1990
[img width=700 height=393]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IF5krWHMARI/VjiQsmj5QUI/AAAAAAAAAHM/F4yGBit1uWE/s800-Ic42/lucanor_poster_02.jpg[/img] PC, Mac, Linux
The Count Lucanor, from Baroque Decay Games, is the result of blending The Legend of Zelda and survival horror. It's a combination that's intriguing enough to support the core gameplay, but its execution is only effective for a couple of hours.
Continue reading The Count Lucanor Review
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I've been collecting video games in some fashion for a little over a decade now. Lots of those early years were spent waking up early to hit garage sales, leaving for work early each day so I could stop at pawn shops on the way, checking every paper buy/sell/trade in town, or refreshing kijiji/craigslist ads every free moment I had in order to scoop up awesome game deals before anyone else. However, since opening the store about two and a half years ago, those collecting habits have changed greatly.
Continue reading Blog Quest - Collecting on a Grander Scale
Episode 39 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=16389
Bil and Duke are joined by Canadian friends Pam and Will to chat all about the SEGA CD. From its launch to our favorite games, we'll dig in deep and come up with some gems. The question segment makes a return as we miss our Crabby, but maybe two Canadians are better than one?
Get the show at http://www.collectorcast.com
Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Collectorcast
On Stitcher (enter Promo Code RFGeneration): http://www.stitcher.com/RFGeneration
On iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/u...collectorcast/id524246060
On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/Collectorcast
Show Notes
Links
Our Sponsor - Off The Charts Video Games: http://www.otcvideogames.com/
Pam on Twitter: @Jasyla_
Pam's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/ch...&ab_channel=CannotbeTamed
Will on Twitter: @wattswc
Music: SEGA CD BIOS, Lords of Thunder, Sonic CD (SEGA CD)
Q & A - 13:13
Topic - 53:56
Outro - 2:39:45
[img width=446 height=339]https://likedontlike.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/wetfish1.jpg?w=490[/img]
I consider myself a fair, upstanding, and generous person (*cough*) and I like that some people have that opinion of me. Collecting is an exciting hobby in that many of us see ourselves as Indiana Jones-like explorers who scavenge local garage sales, thrift stores, and "antique" stores in an attempt to upturn games and consoles at great prices and add them to our personal museums. Oftentimes, when we find duplicates or valuable items for games/systems we don't collect, we may turn these over to game stores, sell them on auction sites, or sell/trade them with friends to reinvest in our collections. Of all of these interactions, dealing with friends and people you are in contact with on a regular basis is the most personal, and can sometimes result in awkward or less than favorable interactions. I was recently involved in one of these "transactions" and this is my story. Ladies and gentlemen: "The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."
Continue reading Buying From Friends: A Cautionary Tale
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Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico was released in 2005. It is an open world, third-person action game with driving and shooting. A lot of people refer to this game as a Grand Theft Auto clone, but honestly, I think that's being generous. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was released almost a full year before this game, and Total Overdose can't even hold a candle to Grand Theft Auto III. It is an example of a game that attempts to expand on an established formula, but falls short.
Continue reading Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico
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The Command & Conquer series stands as an early pioneer in the RTS (real time strategy) genre and one of the most identifiable and iconic game series today. Ask any PC gamer and they will likely first tell you which branch is their favorite (the main series, Red Alert, Generals, etc.) and then regale you with a tale of one of their most memorable moments. For many (including this author), it has to do with the power and charisma of the Commando unit. While most single "grunt" type units died a quick and often pointless death, the Commando would wade into battle, single-shot killing enemies and blowing up enemy structures with ease. Because of this, the Commando missions in the first Command & Conquer title were always my favorites, and often over far too soon. Then one day a Westwood employee spoke up at a meeting:
"What if you could be the Commando, but like in Quake? You know, get right down into the action and see things from his perspective. Right?"
Right indeed.
Continue reading Command & Conquer - Renegade
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