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.
The Snatcher Mission
June 21, 2007 by Tim · 4 Comments
While the main purpose of this site is to give me a forum to review the games I’ve already collected and played over the years, I can’t quite stop myself there. I can’t avoid the fact that I’m going to buy more games. That’s just the way it is for me! But sometimes a game deserves a little more attention than “Oh hey, I picked this game up cheap, it’s pretty cool, give it a look.” If that’s the case, then I want to properly document my experience with it. So every once in a while, I will embark on a mission… The first one begins now.
The Snatcher Mission:
I know, virtually for a fact, that I will like Snatcher. First of all, it’s an adventure game. Second of all, it has a gorgeous 2D graphical style. Third of all, it’s not only for a retro system, but a failed retro system. What can I say? I have a serious soft spot for failed retro systems. Oh yeah, and it has cyber-punk themes. And it’s created by Hideo Kojima! (I think I need a longer list…)
So if I know I’d love the game, why haven’t I played it? It’s been a matter of access, really. Sure, I could download the game and play it on an emulator, but that wouldn’t be doing it justice. I want to play the real thing. And therein lies the problem.
You see, back in the 16-bit days, I was an SNES fan. All my friends had the Genesis, but I decided to buck the trend and go the Nintendo route. That means I got to play fantastic games like a plethora of wonderful Mario games (World, Kart, RPG), Chrono Trigger, Zelda, StarFox, Tetris Attack, and plenty more. But it also means I picked up on the Genesis extremely late in the game. So the only Genesis I have is a Genesis 3. Which is incompatible with the Sega CD. And Snatcher is a Sega CD game. And on top of that, it’s best played with the Justifier light gun. Beginning to understand where I’m coming from?
So my mission is clear. I want to play Snatcher, but in order to do so, I must first obtain the necessary setup. These are the objectives:
- Purchase a model 1 or model 2 Sega Genesis
- Purchase a model 1 or model 2 Sega CD
- Purchase a Justifier light gun
- Purchase a copy of Snatcher
- Play and review the above
Objectives #1 and #2 may be combined in the form of a JVC X’Eye or CDX. I’m tempted to go with a Japanese X’Eye (a Wondermega) because it has S-video and stereo output, but then I would have to region mod it. Then again, I could get S-video and stereo mods on a domestic X’Eye and be in similar shape. Obviously, I have some research to do and decisions to make.
Maybe I’m a geek, but I’m already finding the process of researching these parts fun and interesting. Hopefully, by documenting and sharing what I learn, you will, too. Stick around!
New “classic” games for 3DO, C64, Saturn, and more
June 14, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Nothing warms my heart quite like seeing old game consoles get new releases. There’s just something uplifting about knowing there are other people out there that remember and are recapturing the same good times I had with my old games. Plus, it’s just plain fun to finally see “what almost was” back in the day.
With all that said, I’m happy to say that OlderGames.com has blown away the (admittedly small) 3DO community with the announcement that they’re not releasing just one, but four new games! And not only that, but they’re releasing new Saturn content, a new Commodore 64 game, a new classic PC game, and a DVD of classic game commercials, too! Here’s the list:
3DO: Icebreaker 2, Decathlon, Onside Soccer, Powerslide
Commodore 64: Silo 64
Saturn: Lost & Found 2
PC: Pathquest
DVD: Video Game Archives
They’re now accepting pre-orders and will officially release the games at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on July 28-29. Check out their announcement for more details.
It looks like Icebreaker 2 will really be the gem of the bunch. It’s essentially a complete game that has sat, unpublished, for about 13 years! The game’s creator gives a great demonstration of it in the video below:
Update: OlderGames has now posted trailers for Powerslide, Decathlon, and Onside Soccer.
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