Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Podcast: Final Fantasy in 3D
This week we are joined by listener Fortengard and Andy from 42 Level One to discuss the original Playstation Final Fantasy games (FF VII – FF IX). Controversy erupts over the endless love and condemnation for VII, the brutal Junction System of VIII, and the all-too-familiar nature of IX. All beloved, the final opinion is that they should all be experienced.
Sega CD Marathon-athon, Part 1
User/listener Mark E. on Facebook recently put that he wants more Sega CD as a reward for hitting some fantastic numbers for the podcast in March. How could I say no to a bunch of content on my favorite console? As a result I’m pulling all the games from my Sega CD collection (over 100 strong) and playing them all in alphabetical sequence in a new video series I call the “Sega CD Marathon-athon”. In part 1 we kick off the beginning of the alphabet with 3 Ninjas Kick Back, Adventures of Batman & Robin, Afterburner III, The Animals! (Presented by the San Diego Zoo), and finally B.C. Racers. I did have to skip over Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder and for some reason Adventures of Willy Bemish was hidden in the Ws instead of the As, so watch for longer solo videos and write-ups of those soon. As it stands I’m not doing review/retrospective write-ups on any of these games because, well, you’ll see.
Retro Game Night: Einhander
This week for Retro Friday we are playing the PS1 shmup Einhander from Squaresoft. Released in 1997 this was an oddity because Square was better known for a slew of great RPGs, including Final Fantasy VII.
Review: Velocity (Ultra)
Velocity is one of those games that I remember first trying on my PSP on long commutes between London to Cambridge and had I not played this game I probably would have gone insane with boredom. It released for the Playstation Network as a mini back in 2012 and then later given the HD make over and released for the PS Vita as Velocity Ultra.
Velocity is a space ship game that impressively mixes shooting, puzzles and speed all into one. Set in the year 2212 (which is rather clever as this game was released in 2012) the star Vilio has exploded causing a massive electromagnetic pulse (EMP) field, cutting the power in nearby colonies. You pilot the Quarp Jet, a teleporting spacecraft, and your job is to rescue survivors while also shooting down the invading aliens. The story is presented in nice little graphic novel style panels which are short and to the point. Velocity has fifty missions which are all pretty short – around five minutes, sometimes less – making this a perfect game for short bursts, but with its incredibly addictive nature it is very likely you will play much longer.
Podcast: Project Mercury
This week we are talking about the Sega Game Gear (Project Mercury), Sega’s first portable console that took on the Gameboy head on. While it didn’t come close to winning, the Game Gear still stands as the longest running competition for a Nintendo portable. We also bring in special guests Jason and Mark (from Retro Game Geeks) to talk about beloved titles from the early 90s.
Tetris Aid
How Tetris Has Been Used in Research To Help Health Problems
Tetris that famous game released in 1984. Beloved for its simplicity and addictive nature; but did you know that Tetris has actually been used in a variety of medical studies? There is plenty of research reporting the benefits of gaming despite the media having us believe playing video games turn us into serial killers and dysfunctional members of society. Today’s article focuses on the research studies performed using Tetris.
Tetris good for the eyes.
One interesting study carried out in America and even in the UK is using Tetris to treat Amblyopia. You may know this condition more as a “lazy eye”, where one eye is not seeing as well as the other eye and can be accompanied by an eye turn. It usually occurs at a very young age and current treatment involves patching the good eye to force the bad eye to work. Spectacles are also given to aid this treatment. Unfortunately not all treatments are successful and the lazy eye can remain into adulthood; treatment for a lazy eye in adults is usually ineffective.
Retro Fridays: Unreleased Games
This week for Retro Fridays we are playing unreleased games. The Sunsoft canceled NES title Sunman, which was really a re-skin of a Superman game. An ultra violent PS1 game that was deemed too violent to release named Thrill Kill. And finally the stolen never released SNES sequel to StarFox, StarFox 2 (of which most of the gameplay was integrated into StarFox 64). All of these games were captured on actual hardware, no emulation (and we tell you how to do it too).
Podcast: Finding An Analog
When video games started invading toy store shelves the industry was stunned by a product that not only buried traditional products but dominated at generating revenue. Secretly they all wanted a piece of the pie and the hope was that the dominant video medium, VHS, could be the gateway. Enter the failed consoles of the Action Max, ViewMaster Interactive Vision, and canceled Hasbro Control-Vision (codenamed NEMO). Oddly enough these consoles did have roots with some very top people in both toys and gaming in addition to creating the building blocks of the Full Motion Video (FMV) game.
Tetris on a skyscraper video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUFwDqrSI5s
Action Max gameplay vids: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=action+max
ViewMaster Interactive Vision Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1L81ahLRzf4xIIHIjgAs2w
IGN’s fantastic NEMO article *MUST READ*: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/25/finding-nemo-the-story-behind-hasbros-nintendo-killer
Retro Game Night: Super Metroid
In honor of the April game club, Fred’s giving Super Metroid a try for the first time ever. Regarded as easily one of the strongest titles on the SNES, if not of all time, I get started to see what all the fuss is about with the title that is responsible for the “Metroid” in “MetroidVania“.
Gaming History 101 