May 10th, 2011
Chinatown Fair, an arcade documentary
Caught a post on Joystiq about Arcade, an upcoming documentary on a “legendary” New York arcade called Chinatown Fair. Not being in New York, it’s obviously just a name to me but seeing the trailer made me smile…and weep.
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March 26th, 2011
Yet more tales from Counselor’s Corner
I must be doing something right as yet another former Nintendo Power Game Play Counselor has fallen into my interview trap! Unsuspecting ex-GPC Matthew Glidden stumbled across what is quickly becoming a GPC Hall of Fame and made the mistake of leaving a comment…so naturally he had to be interviewed.
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January 10th, 2011
Crate-O-Games: Section Z
One of my best friends growing up had a TurboGrafx 16, the almost 16-bit game console in the era of NES. Being of much higher capability than the NES, the TurboGrafx was, of course, awesome. One of the games my friend had Side Arms and I fell in love with it.
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January 1st, 2011
Protect Me Knight, not tower defense but action defense
Protect Me Knight is an Xbox Indie game that drew me in with retro graphics but blew me away with a great concept, top notch game play and just a lot of fun…not to mention the cool retro graphics and music. If you like tower defense games, then Protect Me Knight brings a new challenge [...]
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January 1st, 2011
Jackasses, both of them
My reign as Urban Champion has come to end after less than a year. I held both the Wii and NES world records for the game but recently they’ve both been surpassed. So it’s time to brush up on my game…actually, I need to find the game.
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December 2nd, 2010
Epic Dungeon, level grinding made fun
Role playing games really aren’t my bag. Yeah, I played the first Zelda and I’ve played my share of RPGs, including a Final Fantasy, but overall they just don’t stick. Most RPGs just require too much paying attention and micromanagement. But there are a few exceptions.
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October 24th, 2010
Crate-O-Games, Metal Gear
Ah, Metal Gear. One of my most beloved franchises thanks to its first NES game. Guns, espionage, maps, giant robots…what’s not to love? This was the first NES game I completed outside of Super Mario Bros., but it wasn’t without some help. And believe me, you needed help with this game.
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October 5th, 2010
Castlevania, whipping itself back into my heart
Castlevania is one of my favorite video game franchises. Fond memories of playing the first three games on the NES cemented it as a “classic”, but not until this week’s release of the demo for the latest Castlevania game did it really hit me why it’s such a fun franchise.
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August 31st, 2010
Gaming as the gods intended…with a joystick
You know I’m an arcade gamer. I’m not just a fan of old retro arcade games, but modern arcade-style games as well. I just find them much more motivating than many other genres and enjoy their simplicity. But as you probably know, the modern video game controller is less than optimal for these types of [...]
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May 19th, 2010
Are all games worth at least a dollar?
I’m a cheap ass gamer. I make no apologies for it and I’ve praised the likes of cheap games before, but as I was browsing through the selection of Indie games on Xbox Live last night seeing all the $1 downloads, I asked myself if it’s possible that any game is worth a dollar.
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April 6th, 2010
Make more old games new
Everyone complains that there is nothing original happening in movies. It’s just remaking old films with bigger budgets and better special effects. The same can be said for video games, but remakes aren’t a bad idea…if they’re done right.
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March 5th, 2010
The true Urban Champion
Last year I became the holder of two world video game records, Urban Champion and Robocop, both NES titles. My title on Robocop has since been beat twice, but my title of Urban Champion remained. But that record was for Urban Champion on the Wii’s Virtual Console. Not to dis the Wii, but that just [...]
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February 14th, 2010
Darwinia+ makes herding cats fun
You know the term “it’s like herding cats”? Well, herding cats has never been more fun than it is in Darwinia+ on XBL Arcade. It’s a great balance of RTS, puzzle game, and God sim. But I was surprised it ended up being a full title in my library.
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January 16th, 2010
Galaga Legions, a beautiful challenge
When I started video game day at work, one of the first games people jumped on was Galaga. I can’t say I was ever a big Galaga fan but playing with people that remembered the game and loved the game made all the difference. Galaga high scores quickly became a daily mission and it’s one [...]
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January 14th, 2010
Xbox Game Room, ideas for a better arcade
Microsoft announced the Xbox Game Room at CES this year and for retro fans like myself it was some good news. But as details came about it quickly became less interesting for several reasons. Plus, I think there are a lot of things they could have done to make the experience better.
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January 2nd, 2010
Making a shmup
I love me some arcade shooters - or shmups as they are often called. They’re fast, easy to play yet challenging to get good at. Regardless of platform I always seek out the shmups. Through emulators I have dozens upon dozens. With some vacation time I decided to try and make my own.
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December 9th, 2009
Finally getting to settle the score
The lack of the arcade culture is something I’ve written about many times before. It’s something I long to see come back since I’m too young to have been there during its prime. The world on-line gaming scene makes it hard to be a local champ, so that leaves the only fun competition between you [...]
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November 29th, 2009
Time to talk toys
It’s no secret that I love toys. Who doesn’t? But while some people “grow out” of toys, I’m not ashamed to be a fan of toys even as I enter my 30s. Like the rest of us, I’ve lost many toys since I as little. They were either out right lost, sucked up in the [...]
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October 4th, 2009
Even more Military Madness
A while ago I discovered Military Madness for the (retro) TurboGrafix 16. It’s a turn-based strategy game that had me playing for hours on end. It was a game that hit the sweet spot for me when it came to strategy games - not too complex yet not too easy. Well, Hudson recently remade Military [...]
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August 11th, 2009
I lost my crown and I want it back
First amazement, then anger. That’s how it went when I saw that my Robocop world record had been beaten. Why amazement? Well, obviously I knew my record wasn’t unbeatable but to be taken down so quickly after I earned it? Sucko. I only had that top spot for a little over a month. Then anger. [...]
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July 28th, 2009
Cheap games, cheap reviews
Even with XBL Arcade dropping full-featured games like Battlefield 1943 and Magic at bargin bin prices, the other platform that is never far out of reach is the DS. But a seemingly lack luster line-up of recent games for the DS means I have to look backwards. Fortunately I stumbled across some older games that kept me busy…for a [...]
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May 30th, 2009
CORGS Con, the retro gamer’s yard sale
Retro gaming is yet one more vice I enjoy along with my Hot Wheels, although I don’t think I’ve spent as much on old video games as I have on my Hot Wheels…how bad is that? When I heard mention of a retro gaming convention last month or so over at the GameOn podcast, I [...]