You know, I thought the "Mega Man 9 will be done in 8-bit graphics" was an exaggeration. Something... lost in translation. Those things happen. That's why we say crazy Japanese translations like "SUPER HAPPY CRAZY FUN TIME". But you know, Mega Man 9. Wow, was it for real? Surely someone was jerking our chain, Capcom would never go back to revisit a class style of game, would they? Eh? EH?
WRONG! Turns out Mega Man 9 is very, very real. Complete with robot masters like Magma Man and my personal favorite, Concrete Man. More importantly, they weren't lying when they said it would be in 8-bit graphics. It really, really is. A part of me is saying WTF, while the other 4/5 says "Holy shit that's awesome!" Seriously, absolutely awesome, like "I AM BUYING THAT" awesome. Truly, Mega Man 9 has the potential to be quite the throw back to old school Mega Man. Here's to that. By the way, pictures can be seen at Kotaku
As many of you probably know, RF Generation was down for much of April and May, as we experienced growing pains. We thought we'd be okay, but we were slammed by the traffic monster and we had to move from a shared host all the way to a dedicated host. As you probably can figure, we here at RF Generation have been made aware of the fact that some people worry that we might just get up and never return, and we'd like to clear some things up.
Some people worry still that RF Generation is going to pack up and leave in the not too distant future. It saddens me that our recent downtime has caused this fear to arise. We tried very hard to communicate through our emergency blog what was happening with the site. Unfortunately, we were under the impression that we'd be on the dedicated server much sooner than we eventually were. As such, rfgeneration.com for a while pointed to nothing instead of the emergency blog or the real site. We're certainly sorry about that, but I can tell you that we've now gone over four weeks without going down, and I can say that I, along with probably the rest of you, are extremely happy with the fact that we're on this wonderful dedicated host. It's not cheap, but this dedicated server ensures that RF Generation will be around for the long haul.
RF Generation would never just get up and disappear. Too many people have put so much into this site for it just to go away. It would be too great of a disservice to the people who have put their heart into this website. RF Generation is truly the community's website, and no one has the right to take it away from you guys. We'll do everything we can to keep running for years and years to come, and right now with the new server we're confident that we'll be around for a long time.
We need your help, please let those who think we've gone and kicked the bucket know otherwise. Let the world know that we're not dead, and we're back and better than ever. A lot of exciting new things are cooking right now. It's definitely a time to be excited. Share that excitement! Let's make RF Generation THE Classic and Modern Gaming Databases. As a community, we'll be sure that everyone keeps it tuned to channel three.
As you may or may not know, Tondog is a huge fan of MGS4. If he could, he'd probably have Kojima's babies. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, he is a guy, and such a thing is physically impossible. That said, lots of people bought MGS4, including Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. See, Yahztee does Zero Punctuation, which in the realm of the internet geared towards gamers is absolutely hilarious. Today, Yahtzee is reviewing Metal Gear Solid 4, and well... why don't you watch it for yourself.
So, what'd you think? Personally, I am part of the group not currently already entrenched in Metal Gear Solid, so I think I'll follow this advice and just not play the game. Not really my cup of tea anyways. But then, I don't drink tea. What about you? Did Yahtzee strike a nerve, or do you wholeheartedly agree?
[img align=right width=250]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/59727nights.jpg[/img]Wow, this is sort of sad. Nights, the game that a lot of fans asked for, came out, was declared mediocre, and now can be found new for $2.99. Of course, you have to live by a Meijer, which for those not in the know is a nicer, Midwest version of Wal-Mart. I have one three minutes from my house, and there is another Meijer probably 10 minutes from my house, if not less. Will I go out of my way to get this game on the cheap? Nah, that's alright, the game didn't really interest me, but perhaps you are and you live near a Meijer. If that is the case, then go buy your game on the cheap.
Did Nights really do that poorly? I've heard it sold 100000 copies, which is more than some other games, like Boom Blox. Does it deserve the $2.99 price tag, or is Meijer giving this game the shaft? It might be on clearance now, but regardless, this price tag is almost disgracefully low. Someone must have it out for this game at Meijer HQ. Perhaps their son told them it was stupid. That's just too bad.
Also, before you ask, no, I am not going to go buy the game for you.
What the hell happened this week? Is it last fall again? Goddamn...
Playstation 3
Xbox 360
Nintendo Wii
•Battlefield: Bad Company •Hail to the Chimp •Hellboy: Science of Evil •Overlord Raising Hell •Top Spin 3 •Wall-E
•Alone in the Dark •Battlefield: Bad Company •Hail to the Chimp •Hellboy: Science of Evil •Operation Darkness •Supreme Commander •Top Spin 3 •Wall-E
•Big Beach Sports •Rock Band (This is actually out already. I think I missed it on last week's list.) •Top Spin 3 •Wall-E
PSP
Nintendo DS
Playstation 2
•Hellboy: Science of Evil •Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress •Wall-E
•American Girl: Kit Mystery Challenge •Cake Mania 2 •Code Lyoko: Fall of XANA •Final Fantasy Tactics A2 •Gourmet Chef •Guitar Hero: On Tour •Mega Man Star Force 2 Zerker X Ninja •Mega Man Star Force 2 Zerker X Saurian •Midnight Play Pack •My Weight Loss Coach •Smart Kids Game Club •Top Spin 3 •Wall-E
•Wall-E
There's far too many games coming out this week, but what's worth checking out? Alone in the Dark and Overlord Raising Hell look pretty neat. Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Top Spin 3, and Supreme Commander have been getting great reviews, but I would recommend Battlefield: Bad Company above all the other games this week. If you haven't seen anything about the game it's basically a wartime FPS, but unlike most other games of this type (Call of Duty 4 for example) it is actually pretty lighthearted in tone and contains a good amount of humor. The gameplay is like many other FPS games, so it's nothing completely new, but it's still very fun. If you're interested, give the demo a chance on either the Playstation Network or Xbox Live.
As many of you who frequent the site probably knew, RF Generation has had a contest going on since our 4th birthday, which happened to be April 28 for those who don't know. It was supposed to end on June 8, but was extended for two weeks because of the massive amount of downtime that we experienced. Now that the contest is over, it's time to recognize the winners, so that they can claim their just desserts.
In case we all forget, these were the prizes up for grabs:
FIRST PLACE: Gaming swag not to exceed $100 and also a groovy RF Generation ringer T.
SECOND PLACE: Gaming swag not to exceed $25 and also a groovy RF Generation ringer T.
THIRD PLACE: A groovy RF Generation ringer T
So, who won? Well, lets let that known, shall we?
Third Place: Vokyous (6001pts)
Second Place: VACRMH (8358pts)
First Place: Rajaat the Warbringer (17088pts)
Congrats to all those who won! If you won you should probably PM Me with a)What You Want, b)Where I am to Ship it to, and c)What Size Shirt do you wear. In case you are wondering where you were on the standings, the contest results can be found here.
This contest was fun, and much less subjective than previous birthday contests of old. Even if you didn't win something, we certainly appreciate your submissions, as without your submissions we just don't grow. Secondly, I'd like to thank those staff members who really stepped it up to approve your submissions. Of all the people approving your submissions during the contest, Fuyukaze took the cake with approvals. I am certainly appreciative for that, as well as all those amazing staff members who helped out.
Face it, Sonic has had some serious ups and downs. The originals from the Genesis (Mega Drive) days had us going GaGa over Sega. They were fun and extremely fast, two gameplay elements that have eroded over the years. Despite the glory, a number of spinoffs and additional characters crowded out the franchise and a sad serious of spinoffs ensued. Sonic R, Sonic the Fighters, etc. The series got a jump start in 1998 with new freshness that was known as Sonic Adventure. It properly brought the core of the series into the 3D era, and tapped into the heart of the game. Sonic Adventure 2 was no letdown either, delivering the same standard of gameplay.
Of course, we all know what happened from there. A crowded and highly competitive hardware market forced Sega to give the Dreamcast an untimely end. Ports of Sonic Adventure and other classic compilations helped them assume their new role as a third-party developer, but once again the quality began to slide. The Sonic franchise took the blow in stride too. Sonic Heroes, meh; Shadow the Hedgehog, WTF!?; Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), fail, Sonic and the Secret Rings, meh. Hidden gems like Sonic Rush became overlooked as fans lost faith in the series.
Another year, another game. Sonic Unleashed is slated for a 2008 release, and the debut trailer shown earlier in February failed to impress. Recently a new trailer with more gameplay footage has been circulating, and its changing a lot of opinions.
The gameplay switches from 2D to 3D, and the camera transitions are unobtrusive. It's still too early to pass judgement, so we'll have to wait for more news. For now I'll say things aren't looking worse the blue blur.
Space Invaders celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. 1978-2008. How utterly awesome!
Space Invaders, along with Tetris and Pac-Man, are probably the only games my parents ever played out of will. I may have forced them to try a race or something, but they were from that generation.
Invaders is the definition of a Classic Game. It was one of the best sold arcade cabinets in history, and has been linked to the shortage of money in the late 70s - early 80s in Japan. It was that great!! Having a release on the 2600 boosted its popularity even more.
On June 17th, 2008, in commemoration of its 30th year, Taito/Square Enix released Space Invaders Extreme. Or as I like to call it, Space Invaders for 'our generation'. My first impression was "Whoa!! Trippy!!", because...well it is. It is also TOTALLY FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!
This game is a great 30 year a-toast to a classic. Here's to another 30 years of classic fun!! Happy Birthday Space Invaders!!
Lead designer Tomonobu Itagaki quit Tecmo and filed suit nearly two weeks ago in a dispute over unpaid bonuses. Now another suit has arisen due to a discrepancy in unpaid overtime for the rest of the employees. The suit has been filed by Hiroaki Ozawa and Tatsuo Kakuta, top leaders of the recently formed "Tecmo Labor Union", to represent all 300 remaining Tecmo employees. The plaintiffs assert that Tecmo placed them on an illegal "flexible hours" work schedule four years ago, and since then overtime hours have gone unpaid. A company petition claims over 100 hours a month for employees, and 8.3 million yen are in demand as compensation. Further claims include Tecmo having falsified documents and attempting to cover up documents relating to their shady accounting practices.
Pretty light week for consoles, but a great week for handhelds.
Playstation 3
Xbox 360
Nintendo Wii
... Go buy MGS4 you tool.
•Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm
•Wacky Races: Crash and Dash
PSP
Nintendo DS
Playstation 2
•Secret Agent Clank •Space Invaders Extreme
•Arkanoid •Code Lyoko: Fall of XANA •Imagine: Rock Star •Petz Dogz Fashion •Space Invaders Extreme •Tamagotchi Connection Corner 3 •Wacky Races: Crash and Dash
...
Secret Agent Clank seems good enough based on the demo, but sort of lacking the heart and soul of the Insomniac developed games. However, there is one game that each and every one of you must buy and that is Space Invaders Extreme. I don't care if you hate buying games for full price, this is one that you need to buy. I've played the Japanese demo for the PSP, and it is a STUNNING update of the classic. The game is just like the original but now there's boss stages, bonus stages, colored enemy matching, and a new remixed techno soundtrack. Just go buy it dammit! It's only $20 on your platform of choice.
Quick update: The US edition of Space Invaders Extreme does not have support for the DS rotor controller. If you want to play this game with the rotor controller, import it.
There's no intro needed I guess, here's part 2 of my Video game card collection. Not too much to say about these. They were E-reader cards that were used with the GBA port of Super Mario 3. I got them for free so I decided to throw them in. Just seeing the sprites again brings back fond memories. From Artbox is the Megaman Anniversary Card set. I loved Megaman since I was little so I had to hunt these down. They feature some pretty neat artwork and cover everything from the original series to the Zero series. After buying about 120 packs of these (thankfully I found a good deal) I almost have the complete collection of these I just need the Bass & Treble Holo card. Maybe one day I'll find it. And finally the only Japanese cards in my collection features one of my favorite RPG series, the Tales of series. Some of the games featured are Destiny, Symphonia, Abyss, Eternia(or Destiny 2 here in the states) Phantasia and Lagaendia. I have a lot of the major character, save for Raine and Kratos from Tales of Symphonia. I like the art and design of these also, I wish they would translate these in to English, I'm curious of how to play this game.
Well that's it for now If I decide to do this again I might show off some of the video game figures that crowd up my room. But for now thanks again for reading.
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/77287cg6.jpg[/img] You know, I happen to live in Cincinnati. It’s sort of an advertising / marketing Mecca. That’s bound to happen when Procter and Gamble happens to be based in your city. You know, Ivory Soap, Tide, Pringles, Gillette, Old Spice, Febreeze, etc… that company. Not to mention all of their recent divestures, we are home to the company who spends lots of money on their brands. In fact, they spend the most money of any company. So, certainly, we in Cincinnati have a company who knows how to do things right. God bless P&G. They make Cincinnati proud.
Some companies try very hard to be good at advertising. They try very hard to project an image. They’re so good that they do so at the expense of royally ticking off their old fan base. Nintendo seems to be that brand. It’s sad though, as they try to be just like Apple, but that’s hard when you have people like Laurent Fischer.
You guys rock. Because of the submissions of many people, RF Generation can proudly say that we have over 60000 images on our site. That's just games and hardware images, too. I bet we have quite a few collection photos, as well. This is an amazing accomplishment, and further cements RF Generation's place as THE classic and modern gaming databases. From just a few images to 60000, let's keep growing our image database. After all, there are almost 30000 games that need either a box front, box back, manual, or game scan. How cool would it be if we could get an image for every game? Perhaps some day we shall.
There are so many people to thank for their image submitters. Submitters of old like SpeedyNES and blissfulnoise. Current submitters like Rajaat the Warbringer and NES_Rules. Staff Members like Tan, Fuyukaze, and Funk Buddy. Old Staff Members such as Pop_Culture_Portal. So many other people I haven't mentioned - THANK YOU! Today wouldn't be an awesome day if it was not for all your amazing work!
60000 images... Here's looking for 70000... 100000! Together, we'll hit more momentous occasions in the not too distant future!
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-115/bf/U-115-H-0001C-B.jpg&sizex=200[/img]Now, in about three days, I can officially say that I am a Civil Engineer. Now, Civil Engineers do a lot of things. Designing Bridges, Creating Dams, Building Things, Creating Traffic Jams, Mitigating Floods, yeah, we do all that and much more. See, there is this thing though. Most, if not all Civil Engineers specialize in something. I, for example, specialized in transportation. Seamar, specialized in structures. See, from an ethics standpoint, we agree only to practice in the fields we're competent in. We know better than do attempt to do something when we have no idea how. So, we know better than than to do and market things that we have no idea how to do, so why does Microsoft then try to do something it doesn't really know how to do?
Microsoft does a bunch of things well. I personally enjoy their Wireless Mice and Keyboards. Windows XP was and still is amazing. So Microsoft can in fact do things well. But there are certain things that Microsoft doesn't do well. Vista, for example. Windows 98 is to Windows XP like Windows Me is to Windows Vista. So, some things that Microsoft do are just terrible.
So, Microsoft has this wonderful little console that many of you might lovingly refer to as the Microsoft Xbox 360. It's lovely little console, but it had some problems. These problems caused Microsoft to issue a recall for the 360, and with that recall came quite a monetary hit on their ledger. So, what caused this problem?
So, this wonderful guy at the Gartner Group, Bryan Lewis, who happens to be their research VP and chief analyst, has stated that the source of their gigantic recall lies in the fact that Microsoft decided to design their original GPU by themselves. Did you know that Microsoft designs GPUs? Neither did I. When I think Graphics Accelerator, I think NVidia and ATI. Turns out, once a massive recall is initiated, that Microsoft also thinks ATI for their graphics needs, as that's who they contracted to redesign their 360 GPU.
Here's to you, Microsoft. If only you had used ATI or NVidia to begin with, you wouldn't have had this massive recall and all those extended warranties. I bet you all don't care, as your warranties are longer. But then, there are probably several of you who wish they didn't have to send their 360 in because of a RRoD. If only Microsoft stuck to what it could do well and contracted out that what it couldn't, you might have never had to send out your 360.
I've been meaning to write another blog for a while now so I've decided to write about some of the other video game stuff I've collected over the years. Since I was younger I loved card games. Starting with Poke'mon I moved to DBZ, then Yu-Gi-Oh, then to dot//HACK, and last Magic The Gathering. I was a senior in High School when I decided to quit playing/collecting and sold all my cards. This eventually lead to me collecting Video game but that's a different story. Anyways my love of collecting cards never really faded and after a friend from work gave me a bunch of Nintendo Power Super Power Club cards I decided to collect Video game cards. The first few pages are filled with the scratch off/ sticker cards from Nintendo's Game Packs made by Topps. I wish I knew about these when I was younger. These are almost 20 years old so the stickers don't stick well and the scratch off material have kinda set in. The stickers have little tips that cover the 6 games the cards depict: Super Mario Bro., Super Mario Bros. 2, The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Punch Out! and Double Dragon. I managed to buy a whole display bow of these with the box but sadly it has a big black X on it. This is the only Complete set I have in this binder, Im lucky I guess to get them all in one box. Next is the Nintendo Power cards. For a time in Nintendo Power printed these cards and put 6 of them in issues for fan of the magazine to collect and trade. They featured Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Gameboy games. On the back of each is a description of each game and 3 challenges for Novice, Intermediate and Pro players. There are a lot of these to my understanding and I'm just happy to have some of my favorites like Final Fantasy 3, illusion of Gaia, Soul Blazer and Super Metroid. Not pictured, but I also have a few non Power Club Cards from Nintendo Power, a set of Mortal Kombat 3 cards and Mega Man X2 Cards featuring the Robot Masters. After all this is the UFS Series. These are actually Card Game cards. The UFS series covered a few different Fighting franchises including DarkStalkers, Street Fighter and my all time favorite Soul Calibur. I really enjoy the artwork of these and it kind of makes me want to pick it up and find someone else to play with. I have a few different copies of my favorite characters and 3 starter decks. Most of them are Soul Calibur except for a few Chun-Li cards in back.
That's it for now, I have more to show you all but it'll have to wait. Thanks for reading!
There's far too many games coming out this week, but what's worth checking out? Alone in the Dark and Overlord Raising Hell look pretty neat. Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Top Spin 3, and Supreme Commander have been getting great reviews, but I would recommend Battlefield: Bad Company above all the other games this week. If you haven't seen anything about the game it's basically a wartime FPS, but unlike most other games of this type (Call of Duty 4 for example) it is actually pretty lighthearted in tone and contains a good amount of humor. The gameplay is like many other FPS games, so it's nothing completely new, but it's still very fun. If you're interested, give the demo a chance on either the Playstation Network or Xbox Live.
Space Invaders celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. 1978-2008. How utterly awesome!
Secret Agent Clank seems good enough based on the demo, but sort of lacking the heart and soul of the Insomniac developed games. However, there is one game that each and every one of you must buy and that is Space Invaders Extreme. I don't care if you hate buying games for full price, this is one that you need to buy. I've played the Japanese demo for the PSP, and it is a STUNNING update of the classic. The game is just like the original but now there's boss stages, bonus stages, colored enemy matching, and a new remixed techno soundtrack. Just go buy it dammit! It's only $20 on your platform of choice.
