Latest Haul: 3DO Testing Station and more!
February 11, 2008 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Alright, I admit it… I splurged. Last year, I started dabbling in homebrew for the 3DO, and while I did make some progress, I hit a wall pretty fast. I managed to get a couple simple demos written and created a nice development environment with the official SDK and a Mac emulator, but not much more.
The thing about the 3DO is that software has to be encrypted to run on it, and the problem is that the encryption tools are not part of the SDK — any software had to be sent off to The 3DO Company to be approved and encrypted before release. But now The 3DO Company doesn’t exist. D’oh. Without a way of actually running the demos I’d written on real hardware, there wasn’t much progress to be made. That is, unless I could get my hands on a 3DO Testing Station.
The 3DO Testing Station is a version of the hardware that was sent to developers for testing and is capable of running unencrypted software — there’s a small switch on the back to go back and forth between Encrypted and Unencrypted. So, if I wanted to write my own programs, I’d either have to crack the encryption (yeah, right) or get myself a Testing Station. I kept my eye on eBay for quite some time with an automatic search, and not much came up. Finally, last week, another one appeared (along with a handful of games) and I decided to pull the trigger. I paid a little more than I would have liked, but now I can stop searching and get started on some real projects. Hey, it’ll be a learning experience. It’s worth it, right?
On top of eBay, I also did a little shopping at another local game store I just discovered, Play N Trade Video Games. It turned out to be a pretty small store, and their classic selection was nothing compared to my favorite local store (see me gush about PrePlayed here) but it was still worth making the trip — I managed to snag a complete Virtua Cop 2 for the Saturn for a nice price. They also had Bubble Bobble for the Saturn, but it was $23.99, disc-only. I’ve been wanting that game for years, but not disc-only. I also got to overhear an amusing conversation between the clerk and a middle-aged man inquiring about the Atari Jaguar. The customer mentioned something about the Jaguar being “really rare” and about $100 on eBay. I almost felt like butting in to mention I had one, and that I got it brand new in the box for $25 several years ago, but decided that it’d be kinda… nerdy… for me to jump in with that tidbit.
And, finally, I also got issue #9 of Video Game Collector. This is a magazine I’ve considered subscribing to in the past, but never did. Luckily for me, the publisher was offering free issues over at the Digital Press forums several weeks ago, so I decided to take advantage of that. Can’t go wrong with free! Maybe I’ll pick up the back catalog…
In summary, here’s the rundown of everything I got in the last few days:
- 3DO Testing Station and games: This is the Testing Station hardware along with a nice, revised Panasonic control-pad. The controller is smaller, more comfortable, and has a much more responsive D-Pad. This one gives the Logitech controller a run for its money. Also in the package were disc-only copies of Alone in the Dark, Ballz, Battle Chess, Gex, Killing Time, Space Hulk, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Way of the Warrior, and Sampler #2 (with the much-needed memory manager). I already had Gex, Killing Time, and Space Hulk, and Sampler #2 is a demo, so that’s five new games to add to my “to review” list. $173 (+$25 shipping) on eBay.
- Virtua Cop 2: I really like the original, so I’ve been casually keeping an eye out for Virtua Cop 2. I wasn’t actively looking to get it, but when I saw it at Play N Trade for $4.99, I couldn’t say no! The case could use some cleanup, but it’s otherwise complete.
- Video Game Collector Issue #9: Ah, a whole magazine to indulge my video game nerdery! This issue even had a feature on one of my favorite topics — obscure consoles. The magazine could use some polish overall in terms of editing and layout, but it’s good fun for hobbyists. I’m considering getting the full back catalog + subscription bundle now. Free, via the Digital Press forums.
Latest Haul: F-Zero, The Lion King, and More
January 19, 2008 by Tim · Leave a Comment
What’s this? A post to The Retro Review Project? I know, I know, I’ve been lax lately (okay, really lax), but sometimes gaming just takes a back seat to life. But I’m starting to feel the pull of the old consoles again, so here I am. The last four months have been slow, but I’ve made a couple trips lately to my favorite store in the world (Pre-Played on the west side of Madison, WI… Used games for systems dating back to the Atari, plus used DVDs, CDs, and books. What more could a geek want?). Here’s everything I’ve picked up since my last update in September:
- The Lion King (Genesis): I saw this, along with Aladdin and Mickey’s Castle of Illusion. I was tempted to get all three, but decided buying all those Disney games at once might seem a little fruity! Instead, I just went with The Lion King. This is one of my girlfriend’s old favorites, so I figured we could geek out together and play it. For $2.99, I couldn’t pass it up. Unfortunately, Aladdin and Castle of Illusion were gone the last time I went back to the store. Oh well, I’ll keep an eye out for them in the future.
- Dogbone Controller (NES): I’ve been wanting to pick up one of these controllers for a while, but never saw any outside of eBay. Once I started playing my NES more, I realized how awful the sharp corners on the standard NES pad really are. The store had a mix of standard, Advantage, and Max controllers, plus this one dogbone. I quickly snatched it up for $4.99.
- Nintendo Power Mints (Swag): The one thing on this list that didn’t come from Pre-Played, this is a clever little stocking stuffer my girlfriend got me for Christmas. It’s a tin of mints in the shape of an NES controller with the Nintendo Power logo. Apparently, Urban Outfitters carries them. I may use it as a DS game case once I’m done with the mints.
- F-Zero (SNES): I had F-Zero X for the N64, F-Zero GX for the GameCube, and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity for the GBA, but never had the orignal SNES launch title. That’s now rectified, at a reasonable $6.99 (cart-only).
- The Wizard (DVD): I normally just check out the game section when I go to Pre-Played, but last time, I took a look at the DVDs, as well. When I saw this on the shelf, my eyes got really wide, and I just said “Oh, woah!” I couldn’t resist — especially since I’ve been thinking about reviewing some old game-related movies for this site. I bought it with little hesitation, for $7.99.
I also picked up Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast, but since the DC doesn’t fit my definition of a retro/classic game console (yet), I’m not going to include that in my official list. This was a replacement for a copy that I lent a friend back in college, which I never got back! I also bought Final Fantasy (NES) and an FC Twin, but those were Christmas presents for a friend, so they don’t quite count for this list, either. Anyway, stay tuned… I should have some impressions and reviews on the way.
The spirit of classic games
August 23, 2007 by Tim · 3 Comments
I’ve been posting to The Retro Review Project a little less lately, and that’s mainly because I’ve been playing fewer classic games, so I had less to say. My game playing goes in cycles, I guess you could say. Sometimes I buy and play a lot of games, sometimes I don’t buy or play any. But anyway, what I’m getting at is that I’ve been playing some newer games lately that don’t directly relate to the site. At least, that’s what I thought at first.
Specifically, I’ve been playing through Killer 7 on the GameCube, and I realized today that it reminds me a lot of classic games. Sure, the puzzle-solving aspect hearkens back to old adventure games, but it’s not just that. It’s mostly that it left me with the thought of “I have never played anything like this ever before.” I realized that’s something I don’t get to say very often anymore. But years ago, when I was new to games and the industry itself was still young, that’s something I was able to say a lot. It seems that genres and gameplay mechanics were being created on a much more frequent basis in those days. So in that regard, Killer 7 has captured an important element of classic games — it’s doing something different.
So I got to thinking. What other recent games have captured the spirit of classic games? I think Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are both similar to Killer 7 in that they give you that “Wow, this is different” feeling. Psychonauts has an undeniable classic game feel — not surprising, since it was created by Tim Schafer (of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango fame). What else? Maybe Hotel Dusk? Or Geometry Wars? Chime in if you’ve got other suggestions.
Latest Haul (and Impressions): Icebreaker II
August 9, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Well, what’s this? A new 3DO release? That’s right… As I mentioned on one of the first posts to this blog, OlderGames.com was planning to bring us several new 3DO games. Well, the time is now. The Classic Gaming Expo has come and gone, the games are officially released, and everyone that placed a pre-order has the game in their hands.
All of the games that OlderGames has released were incomplete works-in-progress and are at various levels of playability. Powerslide seems barely playable. Decathlon is playable, but with a fair number of bugs. Onside looks quite stable, but doesn’t interest me much. Icebreaker II, on the other hand, feels like it was very much ready for an official release, and that’s why it’s the only one I decided to buy. The only thing that indicates the game isn’t finished is that there is space on the level select screen for 150 levels, but only 118 are present. (Oddly enough, levels 149 and 150 have been created even though 117-148 don’t exist.) On top of that, there’s a whole collection of small tech demos to play around with, outside the scope of the game itself.
So how is it? Was it worth waiting 13 years after the origial release for the sequel? Well, I guess it depends on how much you were actually anticipating it in that time. For someone like me, that hasn’t played the first and only found out there was an unreleased sequel a couple years ago, it wasn’t a bad wait at all! But I pity those who were waiting with baited breath (if any of you exist). Not that it’s a bad game, but rather… Why would you be waiting with baited breath for any game for 13 years? (Says the guy waiting for the NiGHTS sequel. D’oh.)
For the unfamiliar, I think the best way to describe Icebreaker is as a puzzle-slash-shooter game. The object is, as a floating white pyramid, to float around each level destroying all of the other pyramids. Most of the pyramids are static and can be broken either by running into them or shooting them. Some take more shots than others, some take more rapid shots than others, some turn into pools of acid, some turn into pools of lava. On top of that, there is a constant onslaught of mobile enemy pyramids closing in on you, so you have to negotiate destroying them while destroying the static pyramids.
Though I haven’t played much yet, I think I can confidently say I’ve never played another game quite like this one (of course, like I said, I never played the first game). From what I’ve seen, Icebreaker II is fresh and fun. The concept is unique and I really like the colorful, cartoon-like graphical style. Naturally, I’ll have a full review sometime in the future…
What secrets CDs may hold…
July 31, 2007 by Tim · 3 Comments
The Sega Saturn was my first CD-based console, and I remember being really intrigued by the format. Sure, I was familiar with CDs, but I thought it was really cool that I could take these games, which were meant to be played on a console, and explore them in a number of other devices that can also play CDs.
I’m sure most of us have put a game CD into a stereo to listen to its soundtrack, but how many have put games into a PC’s CD-ROM drive to explore its contents? Probably not quite as many. But for me, that was a fun experience. At the very least, it provides a little insight into the technical structure of the game. At the very best, there may be a secret or two to uncover.
Today, I remembered the way I used to check almost every disc-based game I had in my CD-ROM in hopes of finding a few goodies and decided to give it another shot, now that I have a lot more systems to explore. Unfortunately, my search was not particularly fruitful. It seems 3DO games are completely unreadable in normal CD drives, Neo-Geo CD games don’t have much of interest, and TurboGrafx CD/Turbo Duo games just show up as unplayable audio CDs.
But just as I remembered, Saturn (and Dreamcast) games are particularly fun to check out. Sometimes, you’ll just find the game’s files. Other times, there are text files with copyright information. Occasionally, you’ll find playable media files. You might even find HTML files full of Japanese text. But the best is when you find that bonus folder. It might be called “EXTRA,” or it might even be called “SECRET.” It’s a folder that was hidden away, just for the fans. Most people will never even see it, but I, since I took the time to look, got to find that little bit of extra fun.
My favorite disc of goodies? NiGHTS: Into Dreams for the Saturn. It’s nothing too special, but it’s like a hidden treasure. Cool not just for what it contains, but mainly just for the fact that it’s there.
Latest Haul: Midway Arcade Treasures
July 8, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Alright, I have a confession to make. Maybe the “Wii Virtual Console” category gave it away already, but I do own and play systems that are more modern than the Saturn. [*gasp*] The retro gaming kick that I’ve been on is something that started several months ago — probably around when I got a Neo-Geo CDZ. Then it really kicked into high gear when I finally bought myself the Turbo Duo that I had been wanting for years. But while most of my gaming time is now devoted to older games, I do occasionally bust out the PS2, Xbox, and Wii. (Though I haven’t taken the plunge yet on Xbox 360 or PS3 due to price, reliability, and lack of interesting games.)
So while I was waiting for the tires to be changed on my car today, I decided to browse around the nearby GameStop in search of good, cheap game deals. Normally, I hate GameStop, but I am a fan of their $9.99 and under bin. Today, it had a couple of interesting finds that appealed to my retro gaming senses: Midway Arcade Treasures 1 and 2 for the Xbox.
I’m probably going to have to write a whole separate post about how it’s just not as appealing to play classic games on modern system vs. the original hardware, but for now, I decided to set aside the hate and pick these collections up. At $8 apiece, that’s 44 games for $16! That’s quite a deal. But the real kicker is that these are arcade ports. A lot of the games included in the collections may have been ported to home consoles in the past, but it was usually with some level of sacrifice. After all, when arcades were actually popular, they were usually a technological step ahead of the home systems.
So, while Marble Madness for the NES may be a fantastic game, it doesn’t live up to the original arcade version. Likewise for the NES port of Spy Hunter. And frankly, the SNES and Genesis ports of Mortal Kombat II and 3 just don’t cut it. Or Robotron 2084, Smash TV, and Total Carnage without dual joysticks? No thanks! Even though the Arcade Treasures collections aren’t perfect (there’s a slightly filtered look to most of the games), they’re as close as you can get to the original arcade versions without an expensive MAME cabinet. So, these collections get the thumbs-up from me.
Just one question… We get Mortal Kombat II and 3 in the second collection, but where’s the original Mortal Kombat? My sweat-infused SNES version needs to be replaced!
Check after the break for the complete game list in each collection.
The Retro Gamer’s Lament
July 5, 2007 by Tim · 2 Comments
I wonder how many other retro gamers have the same problem that I do: I want to buy way more games than I probably should. I’ve already posted a couple of Latest Haul posts and even sent myself on a mission to get the hardware and software required to play Snatcher. On top of that, there’s a whole list of TurboGrafx games that I want to get, and to make matters worse, I’ve had seven 3DO games sitting in my shopping cart at Game Express for weeks now, just waiting for me to click “Checkout.”
For newer systems, it’s easy to not buy too many games — it’s awfully expensive to do so. But when you’re talking about retro systems, it’s not difficult to bury yourself in a pile of “new” games. When most of the games you want are less than $10 (and a good chunk are less than $5) it’s kind of hard to tell yourself “No.” But if you don’t resist, you could find yourself surrounded by unplayed games.
I know this is a lot of what I said on the About page, but since writing that, I’m starting to get the distinct feeling that The Retro Review Project might be backfiring a bit… Instead of just motivating me to play through my backlog, it’s really reinvigorating my interest in games, making me want to buy even more! Crap!
Recommended: Logitech 3DO Controller
July 3, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Third party controllers are generally the bane of any serious gamer. Everyone knows that first party controllers are the best and anything else is merely second class. Third party controllers are the controllers you give to guests you don’t like, or to that guy that’s just too good and needs a handicap.
Well, that’s all fine, but what if there is no true first party controller? This conundrum is unique to the 3DO and its unusual hardware licensing structure. For those who are unfamiliar with the system, the 3DO was merely a specification. Hardware manufacturers could license that specification and create the hardware in any form-factor they desired — it just had to meet certain requirements. So while Panasonic’s REAL Player may be the most famous of the 3DO systems, there were additional units from Goldstar, Sanyo, and Creative. Each system was different and each one came with its own unique controller.
Without a de-facto standard, where do you turn for the best controller? Most 3DO gamers seem to prefer the standard Panasonic pad to the rest, most likely because it’s the one they’re most familiar with. But after playing through Total Eclipse, I was reminded of how there really is one 3DO controller that stands above the pack — the Logitech pad that originally came packed in with the party game Zhadnost.
While the Panasonic pad is bulky and hefty, the Logitech pad is sleek and sexy. Its shape is reminiscent of the fantastic model 2 Saturn pad and molds nicely to your hand. The shoulder buttons tilt inward (as all proper shoulder buttons should) so that you can easily press them with your fingertips, and the d-pad is circular and slightly raised. The tactile feedback on all the buttons is pretty much perfect, and the d-pad feels much less stiff than the Panasonic pad. On top of that, Logitech even put the expansion port for additional controllers at the end of the cord, rather than on the back of the controller. That way, when you play multiplayer, you don’t have to have an extra cord hanging off of your controller. The only possible downside is that this pad omits the headphone jack that the original Panasonic pad has. But really, who uses that?
Now that the 3DO is seeing a few new releases, I suspect we may see a small surge of interest in the system. Maybe a few new people will jump on board, maybe a few old fans will rediscover the system. If you’re one of those, then I suggest you try to track down one of these controllers. I found mine solo on eBay, but you may be able to find one by tracking down retailers that are selling the Zhadnost bundle.
Latest Haul: Sega Saturn Stunner
June 28, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
This was a busy week for new retro game stuff. As I mentioned in one of my Sunday posts, I picked up a couple NES games and a Genesis game. On top of that, a recent eBay purchase arrived — a Sega Saturn Stunner ($9.99 plus shipping, brand new). That, in and of itself, does not make for a very interesting post. More importantly, it gives me a chance to tell a story and share some trivia. And that is what blog posts are all about…
What it comes down to is that I finally dropped the dough on an accessory that I should have bought about 10 years ago. I’m one of the many that adopted the Saturn when Sega was running its “Three Free Games” promotion. If you’re not familiar with it, Sega packed in three free games with each Saturn sold during the 1996 holiday season: Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA, and Virtua Cop. This was a fantastic deal and led to such good sales numbers that they ended up running the promotion for about six months when they originally planned six weeks!
Strangely, the box that the free games came in had a label promoting the deal which stated that the three games were a “$189″ value. $189? Where the hell did that number come from? Regardless of how it was promoted, it was very difficult to pass up a Saturn and three of its best games for $199. So that’s how they hooked me.
But like I said, one of the free games was Virtua Cop. Unfortunately, the package did not include the light gun that really makes the game what it is. For one reason or another, I never decided to get one, so the few times that I did play Virtua Cop, I played it with the controller. I actually got surprisingly good at the game like that, but really, it’s not the way it was meant to be played.
With my decision to start The Retro Review Project, I had the perfect excuse to finally break down and get the Stunner. After all, how could I possibly give Virtua Cop a proper review without it? Of course, now that I have the Stunner, that gives me the perfect excuse to get Virtua Cop 2 and House of the Dead… Collecting is a vicious cycle.
Latest Haul: R.C. Pro-Am, Nightshade, Landstalker
June 24, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
I said it in The Snatcher Mission, and I’ll say it again. Even though I’ve given myself the task of reviewing each and every one of my old games, I’m going to buy more — I can’t help it! Do I have a problem, or do I have a hobby? I think of it as a hobby, since so much of the fun comes from learning about an old game I may have never heard of in its heyday. It’s enjoyable, satisfying, and now that I’m running this site, it’s also somewhat productive!
And so, with three games now covered in The Retro Review Project, I’ve added three more to the queue. (D’oh.) Here’s my latest haul:
- R.C. Pro-Am (NES): Add this to the list of “NES games I should have owned a long time ago.” I played this game with friends a lot and have very fond memories of it. I need to flesh out my NES collection, and this is a step in the right direction. $6.99, cart-only.
- Nightshade (NES): GameSetWatch had an absolutely wonderful write-up of this game yesterday, and after reading through it, I really wanted to try it out. It’s from the same people that made the excellent Shadowrun for the SNES, so it’s part of a good lineage. I decided I didn’t want to mess with the hassle of eBay, though. So imagine my surprise when I saw it today at a brick and mortar! I couldn’t pass it up. $2.99, cart-only.
- Landstalker (Genesis): The thing I love about the game store I shop at is that they have a whole bin of Genesis games at two bucks a pop. It’s mostly a bunch of outdated sports games, but each time I go in, there are one or two gems in the pile. This time, it was Landstalker. I’m a big fan of its spiritual sequel for the Saturn, Dark Savior, so I’ve been meaning to play this one for some time. Now’s my chance! $1.99, cart-only.
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