Archive for the ‘Gaming History 101’ Category
The History of Mortal Kombat (Part 1)
This week Fred and Jam are heading all the way back to 1992 when an intended Street Fighter II clone starring Jean-Claude Van Damme resulted in one of the most violent and popular fighters of all time. In this episode we delve into the history, development, release, home console releases, and of course inevitable violence discussions spawned from the first title and it’s inevitable sequel.
This is part 1 of a multi-part series on the franchise.
Closing Song: Encounter the Ultimate (Mortal Kombat Theme) by The Immortals off the Mortal Kombat Annihilation Soundtrack
Game Boy: Play It Loud
This week Fred and Jam celebrate 30 years of the Game Boy. Probably the most prolific portable console of all time, it was more than just a device for delivering Tetris and getting adults into video games, it ushered in a new way to play and design games. We cover the gaming environment Game Boy released into, the portable efforts before it, a large talk on the library, and of course the many companies that tried to compete.
Konami’s Arcade Classics
This week Fred and Jam discuss the eight highlighted arcade titles in the Konami Anniversary Arcade Classics Collection that recently released on all major platforms. It’s mostly shooters with one odd action title and some glaring omissions.
Songs (in order of appearance):
- Stage Start – Gradius (Arcade)
- Cross Your Heart – Haunted Castle (Arcade)
- First Attack – Thunder Cross (Arcade)
- Poison of Snake – Salamander (Arcade)
Podcast: eShop Retro
This week Fred and Jam tackle the treasure trove of retro games that can be found in various digital marketplaces.
NGP: Next Gen Portable
This week Fred and Jam perform a eulogy for the recently retired Playstation Vita. At almost three hours it’s all covered from the development, release, games, evolution, and eventually retirement of Sony’s surprisingly strong portable that everyone incorrectly claimed “had no games.”
Podcast: Re-Release, Remaster, Remake, and Reboot
Fred and Jam have finally returned for a proper retro episode of Gaming History 101. This time the topic is all about how to update a game: Re-Release, Remaster, Remake, and Reboot.
Closing Song: Never Return Alive – Streets of Rage Remake Soundtrack
Resident Evil 2: Original vs Remake
Fred and Jam are reunited and ready to kick off more consistent retro content, albeit this one is only half retro. In this spoileriffic comparison podcast, the two delve into the development and content of the scrapped version of Resident Evil 2, dubbed Resident Evil 1.5 by the Internet, as well as the original full blown release. Then they move over to comparing the quality and content in this new remake. It’s a long ride and it’s highly recommended that you play the games first, but sit back and enjoy a horrifying trip through the Raccoon City police department and beyond.
Podcast: A New Challenger Appears (Street Fighter)
For this week’s episode Jam and Fred are celebrating 30 years of Capcom’s Street Fighter series. Specifically focusing on the titles in the recently released Anniversary Collection, they talk about the pop culture influences of the main three titles, all of the updates to each, and the three Alpha titles. Plenty of stories in this one.
Closing Song by Smooth McGroove (youtube.com/smoothmcgroove)
Podcast: Legend of David Cage (Quantic Dream)
This week Fred and Jam are gearing up for Detroit: Become Human by going over the history of Quantic Dream. From the eccentric head of the studio David Cage to the unique combination of story and tech, there’s no denying this developer is distinct, if nothing else.
Podcast: Retro Video Game Piracy in 2018
Just as video games have changed drastically over the last decade, so has the topic of video game piracy. Is it acceptable? Is it necessary? Is it appropriate to claim archival value? Fred and Jam break down their thoughts and discuss modern day piracy of retro video games.
