Out of This World (SNES / 3DO)
September 28, 2009 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Out of This World was a landmark game when it came out in 1991. By attempting to bridge the gap between cinema and games, it pushed the medium in new directions, but at the same time, it succumbed to what’s probably the industry’s biggest insecurity — the fact that it’s not film. How many games have attempted to be “cinematic” throughout the years? And how many have truly succeeded? Were all those FMV games in the early days of the CD format really better because they were movie-like? Is Metal Gear Solid the pinnacle of gaming because of Hideo Kojima’s obvious desire to be a director, rather than a game producer? How many “cinematic” games are actually made better by the fact that they’re movie-like? Maybe a more relevant question might be, “do games even need to be cinematic?”
Regardless of the relationship between movies and games, film’s influence in Out of This World is obvious. But instead of taking the obvious route and filling the game with FMV and D-list actors, Out of This World is a little more subtle. Instead of being a playable movie, it simply takes many of the themes of cinema and applies them to games — story, the creation of tension, attachment to characters, action, a complementary soundtrack, and so on. All of these were groundbreaking for the time, and as a result, Out of This World holds a special place in gaming history for many people.
But calling it a “groundbreaking” or “watershed” or “landmark” game doesn’t necessarily tell you what really matters — does it stand the test of time? That’s a difficult one to answer. Taken in context of the time it came out, it’s fantastic. But 18 years later, does it still hold its own? Frankly, it’s a tough call. To be sure, I like Out of This World. I think it’s a very interesting game and well worth a play-through. But at the same time, it’s definitely showing its age and its flaws are a little more apparent than they may have once been.
Alex Kidd: High Tech World (Sega Master System)
September 22, 2009 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Having been a Nintendo kid, I find the Alex Kidd series kind of strange. If I had to use one word to describe it, I think it would be “disjointed.” This probably stems from the fact that a couple of entires in the series are actually just rebranded versions of other games. (In fact, Sega’s other early franchise series, Wonder Boy, has a similar history.) The series kicked off in a not-so-disjointed fashion with a couple of standard platformers: Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars. But then it just turned kind of weird after that. There was an odd Japan-only BMX game, which I know almost nothing about, and then there were Alex Kidd: High Tech World and Alex Kidd in Shinobi World.
Alex Kidd: High Tech world is actually a rebranded version of a Japanese Master System game called “Anmitsu Hime: From Amakara Castle,” a game based off of some anime I’ve never heard of. Naturally, the US anime-audience being what it was in the 80s, that was not going to sell over here. So, Sega slapped their mascot onto the game and called it a day.
But, what is it, exactly? It’s actually a fairly interesting combination of adventure and platforming. But instead of being an adventure/platformer, it’s literally a set of alternating sections of gameplay. Sega also managed to throw a few tongue-in-cheek self-references into the mix, too. In fact, the basic premise is that you’ve just found out from your friend that there’s a new arcade in town and you really want to go play the new Sega arcade games. And you have to get there before 5:00, with the clock ticking the entire time.
A Boy and His Blob (NES)
September 14, 2009 by Tim · Leave a Comment
I like side-scrollers. I like adventure games. I like “obscure” games that show up on “hidden gems” lists. I like quirky games. So it all stands to reason that I would like A Boy and His Blob, right? Well, sure enough, I do. No stylistic twist to get your attention here, I just plain like it. It’s a good game. Flawed, but good.
I had never heard of A Boy and His Blob (or, even its full title, “David Crane’s A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia”) back in the day, let alone actually having played it. In fact, I was only clued into its existence sometime over the last couple of years. I noticed that as I read a few “hidden gems” and “overlooked games” lists around the web and various retro games forums, this one kept popping up. I knew it was an NES game, I knew it was an adventure game, and I knew you were a boy with blob that changed shapes when you fed it jellybeans (yes, jellybeans). Beyond that, I didn’t know much else.
So with a fresh mindset and little in the way of expectations, I dove into A Boy and His Blob. And then I got stuck. After about five minutes of playing the game. So I turned it off, and came back later. And I got stuck again. At the same spot. So I turned it off and came back later. But this time, I was determined to actually figure the damn game out. And this is when it all started to click and I “got” the game. I took notes on what all the different jellybeans did, I started making a map, and I remembered what Metroid taught me: never assume a dead-end is actually a dead-end.
Metroid (NES)
February 2, 2009 by Tim · Leave a Comment
In the hardcore gaming world, there are several series that have been elevated to almost sainthood status. Series like Zelda, Metroid, and Final Fantasy have fervent fan bases and traditions dating back to the NES. More recently, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, and (maybe) Halo have started to build the same kinds of traditions. For me, all of these series have one thing in common. I’ve never beaten a single game in any of them.
Well, until today, that is… For I have finally done the unthinkable and played through a Metroid game from start to finish! Back in 2007, I assigned myself a mini-mission of playing through Super Metroid because it’s supposedly one of the greatest games ever, and I hadn’t even played it before. Well, that didn’t really go very well. Quite frankly, I found the game extremely frustrating.
So what on Earth compelled me to play the original NES Metroid after not enjoying the SNES version? After all, even many people that love Super Metroid find the original obscure and tedious. Well, I didn’t really set out to play it. I’ve been on an NES collecting kick lately, and Metroid came in a bundle that I got off of Craigslist. I decided to pop it in and give it a shot, and I was hooked right from the start.
Blaster Master (NES)
May 26, 2008 by Tim · Leave a Comment
(Note: This is an unfinished, Evolving Review. Stay tuned for futher updates as I complete more of the game.)
I’m a big fan of “underdog” games, hidden gems that not everyone has played. Yeah, everyone knows that Mario and Sonic and Zelda are going to be good games, but what about the games that flew under the radar and never became megahits? There are some great ones out there with interesting and unique play mechanics. Enter Blaster Master.
Review Philosophy: “Evolving” reviews
May 26, 2008 by Tim · 2 Comments
I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I’m going to do a slight format change that will hopefully encourage me to post more reviews. I’m not a big fan of writing in the traditional review style where you play a game to completion and write a retrospective/post-mortem to sum up your thoughts and make a recommendation. The main problem is that I don’t have much of an attention span with the games I play. I’m usually playing several at a time and I jump around a lot. Sometimes I’ll even start a game then let it sit for months before going back and playing it further.
So instead of forcing my play-style to change so that I can write more reviews, I’m going to tailor my review-style to my play-style. I’m going to start writing what I’m calling “Evolving” reviews. If I sit down and play through a quarter of a game, I’m going to post my impressions of that first quarter then slowly add to the review over time as I complete more of it. So I’ll post the first part of the review, then if I get back into the game a week, month, or even a year later, I’ll add more thoughts on the additional parts I’ve played.
So, over time, a post will ultimately culminate in a complete review but will allow the reader to follow along as I play the game further. This will even allow me to go back to games and reviews I’ve already completed and add additional thoughts on a second or third playthrough.
Hopefully, this will make the site a little more dynamic and fluid and keep it from going through long periods of stagnation. Stay tuned!
Space Squash (Virtual Boy)
March 16, 2008 by Tim · Leave a Comment
It’s a lot of fun when this happens. I’ve wanted Space Squash for the Virtual Boy for something like 10 years now — since a little after I got the VB. I never really bit the bullet because it’s an import-only game and was always kind of expensive. Then I packed up the system for several years and never really touched it. Well, I got it out a couple weekends ago, dusted it off, and started playing again. Naturally, that made me want to buy more games for the system (such is the plight of the classic game collector). Then, when some fairly reasonably priced new copies of Space Squash showed up on eBay (as they seem to be doing regularly now), I decided it was time. But would it live up to 10 years worth of anticipation? Surprisingly, yes! And maybe more!
Ninja Spirit (TurboGrafx-16)
July 25, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
As your footsteps fall silently upon the floorboards of the ruined temple at which you were born and raised, you barely have time to contemplate the untimely and unjust death of your father and the vengeance which you have sworn to obtain. With swiftness and deftness that can only come with a lifetime of training, you dispatch foe after foe with ease. But they are relentless. Bombs, knives, and swords fly at you as your enemies swarm about, seemingly appearing from thin air. Where are they coming from? Why do they want you dead? Why did they kill your father? There’s no time to ask questions. There’s no time to think, only to react.
Your sword slices through your attackers and shields you from their bombs and knives, but it is becoming more and more difficult to handle each wave of aggression on your own. You defeat an unusual ninja in bright orange, and as if on cue, an apparition appears. But this apparition does not attack. Instead, you discover that it mimics your every move. You gracefully jump hundreds of feet into the air and drift softly to the ground. It follows you every inch of the way, without a hint of effort. You look closer, and on the face of this apparition, you see yourself. You see your anger, your hatred, your determination. This apparition is your spirit. It is invulnerable and has every drop of strength and skill that you have. It will protect you.
Virtua Cop (Sega Saturn)
July 15, 2007 by Tim · 2 Comments
Light gun games have something of a linear history. Virtua Cop may have shaken up the genre by bringing into the 3D era, but its gameplay is not nearly as revolutionary as its graphics were. In fact, you can trace the gameplay straight back to one of the earliest NES games — Hogan’s Alley. In Hogan’s Alley, you were a cop, wandering through a seedy area, shooting down thugs while trying to hold back your itchy trigger finger when an innocent appears. In Virtua Cop, you’re a cop, wandering through a seedy area, shooting down thugs while trying to hold back your itchy trigger finger when an innocent appears. 16-bit light gun games were much the same (see Lethal Enforcers) as are modern ones (see the Time Crisis and House of the Dead series).
But saying Virtua Cop sucks because light gun games are all the same would be unfair. It’d be like saying Soul Calibur sucks just because it’s a 3D fighter, or Streets of Rage sucks just because it’s a side scrolling beat-’em-up. The real question is whether or not I have fun playing it. And, quite simply, I do. It’s certainly not worth playing with the controller, but get yourself a Stunner, and you’ll be mowing down baddies left and right.
Streets of Rage (Sega Genesis)
What’s this? An early ’90s Genesis side-scrolling beat-em-up that doesn’t suck? I originally intended to review Golden Axe, but it was so awful that I just couldn’t bring myself to keep playing. (I’ll have to play it when I’m in a more masochistic mood, I guess.) So when I decided to play Streets of Rage instead, I had low expectations. It had been a while since I had played the game, so I couldn’t remember much and wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I had fond memories, but I had the sinking feeling that those memories were of Streets of Rage 2, not the original. Thankfully, it turned out I was right, and the game is pretty playable.
Streets of Rage is Sega’s response to Final Fight and is another entry in what used to be an extremely popular genre. Streets of Rage, Final Fight, Double Dragon, River City Ransom, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Altered Beast, Golden Axe… What the hell were we thinking back then? I guess we really liked walking to the right and repeatedly pushing the punch button. Streets of Rage is no different. Like the rest of the group, it’s pretty much a simple button-masher with very little in the way of depth. You can walk, jump, kick, punch, summon special attacks, pick up weapons, and… Well, that’s about it. Oh yeah, occasionally you’ll grapple someone.
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