Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Wonder Boy the Dragons Trap Remake in the works
I’m a little late to the party reporting on this announcement but I thought it warranted discussion.
People: we are currently living in great times in gaming. Not only are we getting a spiritual successor to the Wonder Boy series in the form of Monster Boy being developed by German developer FDG entertainment, but we are also getting a remake of what some may consider the best entry in the Wonder Boy series, Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap from French developer Lizardcube. Of course the remake has removed the “III” to eliminate confusion. The Wonder Boy chronology is incredibly confusing for gamers and is a topic I will be addressing very soon on the site. The reveal trailer so far of The Dragons Trap showcases some beautiful artwork as well as some actual gameplay which appears to closely resemble the feel of the original game. In fact there were scenes I noticed in this game that appeared the same as the original just with the updated graphics. The simple 2D gameplay remains intact. The Dragons Trap also allows you to transform into various animals like a dragon, a mouse, a Lion as well as several others. Surprisingly I saw no human form of Wonder Boy in the trailer.
I think what makes me happiest about The Dragons Trap and Monster Boy is both games are being developed independently without the use of crowd funding. It’s almost as if developers read my open letter to Sega. Both games also seem to be in very good hands looking to develop a product that is faithful to the original series. My only critique is the games do look dangerously similar as both feature animal transformations. However, if the developers are as passionate as they say they are then I’m still on board. Monster Boy really is a new tale entirely whereas The Dragons Trap appears to mirror the infamous Master System/Game Gear game.
Original Wonderboy III: The Dragon’s Trap on Master System
I really can’t stretch how giddy I am that The Dragons Trap and Monster Boy are coming out. I’ve been waiting for a sequel to the Wonder Boy series for years and now we’re spoiled with two. I’ll buy both these games day one possibly on multiple systems (especially if they’re handheld versions) and cover them on the site. But hey, if any other developers want to jump in any release another game then I’ll buy that too – some name suggestions include Wonder Otter and Monster Planet.
Let’s Talk About Game Length
When I was younger and talked to friends about games I was often asked the question that would come up regularly, “how long is it?” If I followed up, “well, not that long bu…” I would usually have lost their interest and they would dismiss the game entirely despite me possibly recommending the game whole heartily. In this article I wanted to explore the topic of game length and give some personal thoughts.
As I’ve grown older I went through a few phases with my perception of game length. When I was very young without a care in the world and I messed around on the Amstrad and the Mega Drive, I didn’t care diddly squat about game length. I was small and just happy to mess around with this fascinating medium. To quote Dylan Moran from a a episode of the hilarious Black Books TV show, “He looks surprised, all children look surprised, the world is new to them.” This was absolutely me as a youngster everything just amazed me. I wasn’t allowed to play games for extensive lengths of time because my dad did accounts on the Amstrad computer and I was interested in other things like rocks and bugs. When I did game I didn’t care about length, I didn’t care about completing the game I was just having fun. I rarely would finish a game because I was young and pretty dumb, this probably pleased my parents as it meant that they didn’t have to buy a whole lot of new games.
Why Retro Games Still Matter
Recently I came across an article which called into question the point of playing older games when there are plenty of better newer games released today. I’m not going to link this article since it seems to be gaining a lot of negativity on the Internet, which is a shame as everybody is entitled to there opinion. In this article I’m going to simply give my personal take on the subject and why I still play retro games to this day.
I’ve mentioned in previous podcasts and articles that I started playing retro games even when I had modern systems. When I used to play the Mega Drive when I was younger the two games that got a lot of play time from me were the Midway Arcade Collection (which included Defender 1 & 2, Joust, Sinistar, and Robotron 2084) and another collection of older games that included Pong, Centipede, and Missile Command. I’ve always had this fascination with the past. Outside of gaming I love to go to museums and watch historical documentaries. For me personally, its always just been a general interest to learn about the games I play and see how they have evolved over time.
Hunting tips for Collectors: Charity Shop’s
In the U.K a surprisingly good place to hunt for old games are charity shops. In the U.S most will know these as Goodwills or a Salvation Army store. Charity shops are not generally very large. They’re small little retail units which mostly sell clothes but some often have a little section in the back where they keep DVDs, CDs and yes video games. This article is going to cover some general tips when hunting for games in charity shops.
The Story of Lionhead Studios’ Rise and Fall
Sorry to have led you here on false pretenses by suggesting that I had written an article on the subject. Don’t worry, there’s a link here to the incredible, somewhat heartbreaking details of the beginning and tragic end to Lionhead Studios. I’ve said before that the challenge of being a no ads blog about retro games and located in the Midwest (Kansas City) leaves me at a loss for developer inside stories. I’ve got Jam, who is closer to some of the core studios in London, but frankly he doesn’t work for pay (none of us do) and I have no idea how he would get into a closed studio to ask insider questions. None of these factors are the case with Eurogamer. Writer Wesley Yin-Poole wrote a fantastic piece last week that not only told the history of Lionhead (many of us could do the research and write that) with the rare inclusion of some candid stories. Those stories, including quite a few of the colorful actions of Peter Molyneux, are what I always want to know about game development and the studios responsible. In short, read this story now. The link can be found here, or by clicking on the Lionhead logo at the top, which some of you may have already done.
Jam’s Collecting Story
The great thing about video game collecting is there are all sorts of collectors with different goals and different reasons for getting into the hobby. If your new to the hobby this article is a introduction into my own personal story in collecting.
I have been playing games since the UK’s micro computer boom period but I didn’t start purchasing games myself till I owned a Sega Mega Drive. That is how I managed to build my first collection. I brought games and just never really sold them. I was always just kinda nostalgic for the system even before it got old. I was still playing on the system long into the original Playstation‘s life cycle. Being a generation behind is a pattern that remains today. Up to this point I was by no means a hardcore collector I pretty much just brought games I wanted to play and didn’t mind if they were cart only. When it came to the PS2 era I started delving into selling games. If you collect games you will probably be familiar with this tale, I sold my entire Dreamcast collection just to get a PS2. This was decision I still regret to this day as I haven’t been able to salvage some of the games I sold on. I would continue to trade games well into the PS2 life cycle I infamously brought the Onimusha series and sold it on twice. I now own a copy of the complete collection which I will not sell due to the likely pattern I’ll miss the game and want to play it again. When I went to University I did not care for collecting any more which was a little silly of me as it meant my brother could do as he pleased with my Mega Drive collection. During this five year vacation from gaming I lost some treasures like Sunset Riders and one of my all time favourites Rocket Knight Adventures. I also lost my entire N64 collection which included several cart only games and the expansion bay. I had left it at home so it meant anyone could have at it. Of course at the time I didn’t care but to this day I am yet to find a reasonably priced Sunset Riders on Mega Drive and replace many of the N64 carts I had collected.
My Open Letter of Loving Advice to Sega
Recently I saw on twitter that Sega was asking its fans to fill out a online survey to help them figure out what they need to do next for the company. That or it’s a long list of tick boxes just to take our e-mail address and sell it on to third parties. Well I got half way through the survey where I had typed a long page essay of why I wanted another sexy Altered Beast arcade game only to realize, “you know what? I’m going to write a letter instead!” So here it is folks, my open letter to Sega on some loving advice – from the heart – to get them back on track:
Turok 1 and 2 Coming to Xbox One, Why This is a Good Thing
Night Dive Studios, or as I like to know them Remastered Edition Studios, are bringing Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil to the Xbox One (Xbone) in wonderful remastered form. To catch you up, Night Dive Studios has already brought us Strife (see Fred’s coverage), System Shock, and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter in remastered form and so far it has only been on PC. This comes as fantastic news that we are starting to see some love on consoles.
Now I may sound like a die hard Turok fan for writing this article, but that is not actually the case. I am, however, a fan of any classic game being remastered digitally (and subsequently making it compatible with modern hardware) as it exposes more people to lost treasures that they may have missed them the first time around. Turok 1 & 2 had quite the niche fan base back in the day, but they represent a era of gaming that has kinda been lost. Both games have you play as the warrior Turok as he literally roams large landscapes mowing down dinosaurs and even dinosaurs packing guns. The premise is just barmy and I love it. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, while quite the difficult game due to its reliance on backtracking and exploration, has some incredible level design. One moment you are mowing down lizards in a castle and the next you are deep underground hunting cyclops-like monsters. I also loved in both of these games how you literally started the game with a melee weapon and gradually obtained more powerful weapons over time like. You may first get a bow and arrow and eventually move up to the infamous cerebral bore, a weapon that shoots bullets that literally drill into the enemies’ cranium in a horrific gory display. Unlike modern shooters, you keep every weapon you obtain and your health never regenerates (although this is indicative of most shooters from the early to mid 90s). If any of this sounds interesting then go check out the first title on PC now if you can, but if you have an Xbox One you have to hold out a little while. Both titles should drop sometime this year on Xbox Live, but they may release at different times as Turok 2: Seeds of Evil has yet to see its remastered release on PC, let alone the Xbone.
It is likely Night Dive Studios won’t just be applying a lick of paint to the remasters. Much like System Shock and Strife, Night Dive Studios will probably tweak the gameplay and update the controls as well. Changes are always welcome but I also hope they include the games in there original vanilla form for weird people like me who like that sort of thing. Hopefully both these titles will sell well (provided they are priced well) and it will send the message to developers that there is an audience for these little blasts from the past.
Collecting: Is there any treasure still out there?
I have been collecting video games and hunting deals for the last few years at car boots (flea market if your in America) and charity shops. For me it’s much more enjoyable to find a game out there in the wild than do the easier stay at home thing and get it off eBay. In fact I use eBay so infrequently now that I only tend to use it if I to order games I might want to cover for the site.
What has become very clear to me from the past few years of collecting is there really is less and less probability of finding deals or hidden treasures. In this article I’m going to cover why that might be and what this means for the future of collecting.
Cross Talk: Easy Guide to Choosing VR Options
Last week Sony finally came forth with the announcement of the release date and price of the Playstation VR (formerly Morpheus). Most of the important details are in place to make the “which VR option should you choose” article and predictably that’s just what most sites did. I did that six months ago after getting all that info at PAX Prime 2015, it’s right here. Here’s the problem: almost nothing I read is realistic. All of the articles break down the experience, technical specs, and personal opinion of the writer, but not the reality of the consumer – that’s us – actually buying anything. Why? Because if you work for a media outlet it will be in your office, you will be able to play it, and frankly most of games press staff will not be personally purchasing these devices. To be fair, my experience has proven that many of these staffers live in big cities with high cost of living and relatively low income. As a result, I figured I would break down the actual decision-making process of the upcoming VR, what you can expect, and why this decision is less in your control and more locked into your current hardware setup. If you’re not interested in VR, and many aren’t, that’s fine too. Skip this article and aside from specific games coverage and impressions once hardware releases on whatever some of us buy, there will be no further VR articles.
If you are still asking yourself, do I need VR? The answer is most likely “no.” This first run will be early adopters, which as we’ve seen in the past are the ones to get the hardware first at a much higher price. Also early adopters tend to not get the best hardware and a revision surfaces at a cheaper price within 24 months. In addition the games aren’t nearly as impressive – most of us refer to the games initially released as “launch titles” and it implies that these are the rough early stages of developing for new hardware. You only need VR if you want the new shiny first and to show it off to your friends. In the case of VR you may also be wondering what the experience I and others have described from firsthand accounts are referring to, well you’ll need to try it for yourself. A good basic way to do this is via Google Cardboard and chances are you’ll pay next to nothing for it and your phone is already prepared to support it. It’s an extremely passive experience but it’s a great sneak peek at what VR has to offer. The next step is Gear VR by Oculus, which is a $100 headset that only supports a handful of Samsung phones currently, but it gives you a bigger hint at what games and interactive experiences can be. It should be noted that neither is really the true VR experience, most of the things you’ll do are quite gimmicky, and you can expect to see all they have to offer in a few short days. This is why the following information pushes the additional things you’ll need to run proper VR, because otherwise you’re really just buying a super expensive version of the Gear VR. You will also want to buy where there’s a good return policy because VR brings up all kinds of things about your physical head you may have never been aware of like fogging the inside of the glasses, how big your cranial circumference is, and even how far apart your eyes are from one another. These all affect VR and your enjoyment of it.
Gaming History 101 