Backward Compatibility on the Xbox One: How’s the List?
It’s almost time. That famed firmware coming November 12, 2015 to the Xbox One that not only brings NXE (New Xbox Experience/Windows 10) but also backward compatibility with Xbox 360 games. Honestly many users will never use this feature, despite what Microsoft marketing has you believing. Then again, this seems to be the first generation where many of my friends straight up sold off last gen’s console and entire library to help fund their newest purchase, so who knows. Either way you will soon be able to play Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One, which will broaden the library of games you can play and hopefully see you returning to the classics that graced last generation. Oh wait, there’s a catch. You don’t get every game from the Xbox 360 and in fact you don’t even get 10 percent of every game released – digitally as well as at retail – but rather a list of exactly 104 titles available at launch. If you didn’t see a long list of games you don’t intend to ever replay coming, then you probably don’t have much experience with how things like this work. Now given how well the backward compatibility fared on the Xbox 360 for original Xbox (a good majority of the games were eventually playable in some form) we may very well see an impressive list spawn but for now there are only a strong handful of games worth boasting about. They are all long games though so you could probably kill about six months trying to replay what will be available. As of this morning the official list is out, I personally have been using the feature for almost six months, and the following article will tell you how it works, what to expect, and give my take on what games are worth utilizing this feature for.
Shadowgate (2014) Review
This review originally published on The B-Team Podcast site. An agreement with that site and GH101 allows the reviews to run in both locations.
If you were around for the point-and-click adventure boom on computers in the 80s and early 90s, then you’re probably already aware of Shadowgate. While Sierra and LucasArts battled it out for the number one position – Sierra always won, by the way, even if it didn’t have the better games – there were a handful of developers that released lesser known adventure titles. Of those, one of the more prominent were known as “MacVenture” titles, which were menu driven point-and-click adventure games specifically for the Macintosh and created by ICOM. These games were so popular they ended up getting ported to microcomputers, received color, and eventually even made it onto the NES. Shadowgate was one of those MacVenture games and when I played it on my NES as a youngster I couldn’t believe the amount of horror, death, and adult themes that appeared on a console riddled with childlike concepts. Much like other adventure titles I had to try everything on everything, but unlike those other titles I would die all the time and merely be sent back to the scene just before my death. This meant that if I was patient and persistent enough, I could overcome the challenges and complete the game. The idea that I couldn’t get stuck and barely got penalized for being experimental was the key drawing point of Shadowgate and its peers with the enchanting story being the icing on the cake. Now, almost 30 years later, Shadowgate has been re-imagined and somewhat brought it into the modern times resulting in a title that is unapologetically retro and yet refreshing for veterans all the same.
Podcast: Sega Arcade Classics (Part 2)
For our second part of the Sega Arcade Classics we cover probably the most prominent of hardware iterations: the System 16. Sega’s popular hybrid of a 68000 processor and Z80 co-processor proved to be the foundation of Capcom’s CPS series of arcades, SNK’s Neo Geo, and of course the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. In this episode we cover the many classic games from this series including Shinobi, Altered Beast, and Golden Axe.
Condemned: Criminal Origins Review
Condemned Criminal Origins premiers as a console exclusive on the Xbox 360 – it later came to PC – in late 2005 (launch window), but represents a striking change for video games. Sure, titles like Grand Theft Auto III and Manhunt were garnering attention for brutality, but those were still third person perspective titles that lacked true realism for the average player. On the other hand Condemned is first person, the weapons are almost solely melee, the audio is in surround sound, and the vibration in the controller combined by the jarring view on screen when you get hit makes the whole experience realistic. While violence-hating senators and parental groups hardly took notice, looking back it’s a visceral simulation of the brutality of those darker recesses of society we pretend doesn’t exist.
Extra Credit: Condemned Criminal Origins Game Club
What was originally supposed to be this week’s episode because Fred wasn’t going to make the live show, is now faithfully back to a game club. That’s why this show seems to start suddenly, because there was a pre-show explaining the circumstance that no longer exists. Either way, Fred and Jam tackle Sega and Monolith’s launch window 360 title about fighting bums, investigating crimes, and going insane.
Lost Treasures of Gaming: Adventure (Atari 2600)
Episode 12 was very special for many reasons, not the least being an interview with Warren Robinett. His game, Adventure, brought text adventures to life with graphics for the first time ever. In addition he also hid his name in the game, which he calls a signature, but we have for decades referred to as an Easter Egg. Fred shows off the gameplay, gives a basic overview, and of course shows off the coveted hidden signature.
Check out the Lost Treasures of Gaming podcast at http://www.omgnexus.com.
Celebrate Halloween with Splatterhouse 2 and Typing of the Dead
Happy Halloween from Gaming History 101! To celebrate we had Fred tackle Splatterhouse 2, a game he tragically had not played until today. Can he overcome the house of horrors and save Jennifer?
Warning: Both videos contain adult language and gameplay violence.
Then to lighten things up Fred moves over to the Dreamcast to play through Typing of the Dead.
The Countdown Horror Obscura – Day 8: The Grand Finale!
It has been quite the journey this week horror fans. Through the days of Horror Obscura we have visited various areas of deep seated fear from the virus infested Antarctic to the fear of being in a relationship. I’ve really only scratched the surface there are so many more games covering various horror themes, but I guess we’ll get to those another time. For the final entry of this series of articles I wanted to save what I consider the game that rocked me to my very core as a youngling. Retro fans, I’ve lived through many scary moments in and out of video games I’ve walked through haunted caves, played through Alien Isolation and walked home in pitch black. It takes a lot to truly terrify me. The reason for this is nothing quite rocked me to my very core more than the software I am about to speak of. Some might even not call this a game in fact it’s actually considered an educational tool in the early days of microcomputers. Just talking the title of this game will send children running to the hills in fear. You think you know fear? Then you have never played Granny’s Garden on the BBC Micro.
The Horror Obscura Finale (2015) – Granny’s Garden
Granny’s Garden is an educational program that plays out as a text adventure game with various visual aids. It was designed as a tool to help teach basic computer skills to kids in Primary school. I remember vividly booting up this software and thinking how amazing it was that I was allowed to play a game in school time. Oh if only I knew the terror that awaited me. Your quest is to go find all the missing children within the Kingdom of the Mountains. You are consistently bombarded with text based puzzles where you would have to type the answer into the keyboard to progress.
The Countdown Horror Obscura – Day 7: Catherine
Day 7: Catherine
So this is something a bit different, so far on The Countdown Horror Obscura I have covered fantasy horror, gory horror and terrible portable powered horror. Well today I’m going to cover a deep seated horror that concerns the average gamer. I speak of the horror of commitment in a relationship.
Catherine truly is a breath of fresh air in a game. You have a simple premise a man (Vincent) is in a long term relationship with his partner (Katherine) and is conflicted about taking the next big step. Basically all those things that make up an average gamers worst nightmare, such as settling down with the same partner, getting married, having kids. One big plot hole I always questioned in this game was if Vincent was in a relationship with Katherine for as long as he had been, then why on earth was he still not living with her? Instead he lives in an apartment and spends more time with his friends at sushi bars and creepy drinking establishments then actually spending time with Katherine. But this game is Japanese, so maybe its some cultural thing I’m missing. Anyway Vincent has a moment of weakness that all men go through in life where he gazes upon another woman, only Vincent being the dumb Neanderthal man that he is drinks one to many and ends up sleeping with the most blonde just over the limit blonde girl that decided to sit next to him. After this the game plops you in this most disastrous situation you as the player are then given control of how the story progresses. You can take the weight of the situation on your shoulders and try make good with your long term partner or you can just stick with your new love interest as well as make various neutral choices. This control is what most critics and gamers rate as the highlight of the game experience.
ChronCD: Episode 1
ChronCD is the comprehensive coverage of all CD-based console games in chronological order. This first episode discusses the series, delves into the history of the CD-ROM and console marketplace that CD-based consoles came out in. Then we proceed into the launch window titles from 1988 and 1989. Time codes after the jump.
The downloadable highest quality version can be found here: https://archive.org/details/chroncd_ep1
0:00-0:30: ChronCD Intro
0:30-11:10: What is ChronCD?
11:17-13:43: History of the CD-ROM
13:44-22:29: Console Hardware
22:30-28:03: Fighting Street
28:04-30:43: No.Ri.Ko.
30:44-31:56: Bikkuri Man Daijikai
31:57-32:15: PC-Engine CD Launch Wrap-Up
32:16-36:00: Cobra: Kokuryo’s Legend (Space Adventure)
36:01-43:22: Valis II
43:23-45:19: Tengai Makyo Ziria (Far East of Eden)
45:20-48:58: Monster Lair (Wonderboy III)
48:59-52:06: Super Albatross
52:07-56:56: Ju O Ki (Altered Beast)
56:57-57:27: Closing Credits
Chrontendo Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/Chrontendo
Fighting Street Review
CD player sound effect by user NLM from Freesound.org and used under Creative Commons license for non-commercial use. Sound can be found here: https://www.freesound.org/people/NLM/sounds/144054/
Gaming History 101 