When I was a kid, I spent a fair bit of time with the classic One on One basketball game on the family's home computer. This was an early version, by EA, which featured basketball greats Larry Bird and Julius "Dr. J" Irving. In the 90's, however, the formula got an update by EA, and Dr. J was replaced by basketball whiz kid, Michael Jordan. His star was rising quickly, and although Larry Bird was getting older, he was still well regarded in the sport. How does this particular iteration of the game fare? Find out here in Episode 022 of Dramatic Readings!
When we moved into our house it came as all houses do with various items from the former owner. One of these items was a utility cart for the garage. It had seen some use but the construction was solid and after taking some measurements appeared to be exactly what I needed for my 27" JVC TV and I set about turning it into a retro game cart.
Note the two small stacks in the upper right. I have the first 8 issues in zip lock bags
In the months following my becoming a new homeowner, I began the process of sorting through the pile of boxes consisting of the those things we all own that aren't necessary enough to survival to warrant unpacking the first weekend after the move. Among the boxes of games, consoles, and books were the boxes I knew were there but I hadn't decided what to do with just yet. These boxes contained my collection of Nintendo Power magazines.
As I began to pull them out and assess their condition after having been in storage for a year and a half, I got curious. It didn't take long before I learned that this July marks 31 years exactly since the publication's first issue, provided we don't include the Nintendo Fun Club newsletter that was its progenitor. With it's over 24-year production run, it would be too much for me to try and do an exhaustive NP retrospective here. So what I'd like to do instead is celebrate it's anniversary by looking at the impact it had on a young Travis (and kick myself for not picking up on this last year for the 30th anniversary).
The RF Generation community of collectors and players has committed themselves to demolishing the entire licensed NES library in the year 2019. Is that even possible you say, with your help it totally is!! Check out the RFGen 2019 NES Challenge thread to see how to join in at anytime throughout the year. There is plenty of opportunity to participate regardless of your skill level, favorite style of game or the amount of time you have to invest. Come over and play with us here:
With May being our slowest month to date thing's where not looking good for us to pass the halfway mark of the NES library by the halfway mark for the year. But with some very impressive June participation from several members we are more than 30 titles past the 50% mark of the entire licensed NES library! Starting July off with an impressive 370 NES games beaten by our own community members since January 1st 2019.
Join us for July as we press forward to our next milestone!
The wait is finally over! It has been four years since the runaway Kickstarter success Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night obliterated its funding goal and became the most successful video game Kickstarter project, at least until Shenmue III came along and surpassed it shortly after. Spearheaded by former Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi, hopes were high that an experience like Symphony of the Night would be delivered to longtime fans of the series, but after numerous delays and other highly anticipated Kickstarter games failing to live up to expectations, fans started to become skeptical. Does Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night live up to its lofty expectations, or is it just another Kickstarter disappointment?
When springtime rolls around a wide variety of outdoor activities becomes much more alluring. Getting outside and getting some sun is important to even the most hardcore of gamers. Fishing is a great hobby that can be enjoyed year round, but the comfortable temperatures of spring bring out the biggest crowds. It's such a large and popular hobby that Sega decided to make a fishing arcade game, Sega Bass Fishing.
The original arcade cabinet was developed by Sega AM 1 and released in 1997 as Get Bass in Japan. The game was successful enough in the arcade that Sega followed it up with Sega Marine Fishing in 1999. Both games would see console ports on the Sega Dreamcast, Sega Bass Fishing in 1999 and Sega Marine Fishing in 2000. Both games were among the more popular and successful Dreamcast games, as Sega released the Sega Fishing Controller to make the games feel more similar to both the arcade and real life, complete with motion controls.
As Rich and I discuss on our last episode of the Playcast, technology can be pretty amazing. It has allowed people from all around the world to connect and communicate in real time, for better and for worse. As someone who works for a massive company with global reach, it never ceases to amaze me that my coworkers and I are in daily communication with people around the world. Similarly, it is astonishing to think that one could form a friendship with another person who lives about a thousand miles away simply by working together on a podcast for the better part of six years.
Here in Episode 012, MetalFRO and Addicted tackle one of the most difficult arcade shooters of all time, the legendary Gradius III, from Konami. Not only that, but we compare it to the much more friendly, and approachable port, released on the Super Famicom and SNES. Which version will we prefer, and which should you play? Have a listen, and hear what we think about these 2 iterations of the game.
Once upon a time, the most desired trait of any home console gamer was accurate arcade ports. In this fashion, one could say that arcades ruled the jungles of electronic video game entertainment. While complete faithfulness to the arcade original was the holy grail, it was certainly not a requirement, though individual interpretation on the quality of the port was certainly in place, especially in the playgrounds and hallways of schools.
For your reading pleasure, this article is setup using three "categories," those being "The Safe One" (which would generally be agreed that the port is superior to the arcade), "The Controversial One" (which many likely wouldn't agree with), and "The Garbage One" (in which the console port is metaphorically a trash fire). Enjoy!
The year is now past the 50% mark. For our family, we have one annual retro game convention down (CORGS) and one to go (CCAG). E3 is still fresh on the news, and prep-work is in full swing for the Autism and Gaming Convention. Our South Korean foreign exchange student has gone from a non-gamer to finishing Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III (quite a few times) before returning home soon. "Free" time has been spent battling both household illnesses and the massive pile of test systems, cords, and accessories for our CCAG table. I think it's time to grab a breather and take stock of the situation.
I know, I know. I've already done one of these. I did my first "People of" article almost 9 years ago. I was about 3 months in to my tenure as Technical Director and was still learning the ropes of how the site was run and what kinds of things needed to be done. Since then, there has been a lot to happen. This is a sort of combination post as you will see at the end. Because I'm answering my own questions, I'm not going to worry about the color coding.
Posted on Jun 12th 2019 at 12:00:00 PM by (Pam) Posted under video, review, fmv
If you were to ask me, in 1998, what some of my favorite things were The X-Files and FMV would surely come up. So when this game released it was the number one thing on my Christmas list. I loved following the extraterrestrial adventures of Scully and Mulder. Though this game doesn't let you play as them it makes you feel like them. The supporting characters are all there and you even get a partner to question all your decisions.
Does The X-Files game succeed as a playable episode of the show? Watch to find out.
In this landmark episode of the PlayCast, Rich (singlebanana) and Shawn (GrayGhost81) meet for the first time and record face-to-face in the Austin, Texas "Ghost House." The guys discuss the newest title from one of their favorite developers, Quantic Dream, the sci-fi, android-driven adventure, Detroit: Become Human. Prior to their game discussion, the boys get into the ConcertCast and discuss some of the media they've been consuming recently. What follows is a conversation on the concept of "singularity," that you won't want to miss!
Be sure to stick around for the results of the question of the month poll and a discussion of Detroit that covers gameplay, significant moments in the game, and the outcomes of our playthroughs. Since this is the 4th Quantic Dream title that we have played as a group, the guys conclude by rating each game in order of their preference. Episode #62 is a very special edition of the PlayCast that you will not want to miss!
As always, we are happy to hear your thoughts on this game on our discussion page (linked below). We will respond to your comments and are always happy to discuss the game more. Please be sure to rate and write a review of the show on iTunes and/or Podbean to help us increase our listenership. Thanks for the listen, we hope you enjoy the show!
