Video Game Diary:
Speaking of Disaster Report, the sequel Raw Danger turned out to be a slight letdown. It's missing the level design and presentation of the first game. The story is told from multiple perspectives (i.e. playing as different characters) but the levels aren't varied enough and playing through the similar levels over and over just isn't as fun. I love the idea that water, your lifeblood in the first game is now your biggest foe. But in Disaster Report, water, fire, falling buildings, shifting landscapes and dangerous terrain were all your enemy. And the water isn't enough after playing its prequel.
- Blake Leftwich, gamebot
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Living the High Life
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Living the High Life
Video Game Diary:
This is I.Q., also known as Intelligent Qube for the Sony Playstation. Arriving on our shelves September 30, 1997, it was another unique Japanese title ported to America thanks to the success of Parrappa the Rapper, the first widely revered title with the distinctly Japanese quirkiness now accepted in our game culture (current examples: Katamari Damacy, Loco Roco and the upcoming Furu Furu Park for Wii) I.Q. is an action puzzle game. The play requires the user to control a man on a playfield called a stage. The object is to avoid falling off the edge by "capturing" cubes that roll toward you. It is a simple puzzle concept that quickly becomes challenging, addictive and fun. Its "quirkiness" comes from the presentation and graphics, very different. As a bonus, the music is orchestral and epic.
For the full story on how I attained I.Q., scroll down to the Hunt and the Haggle 11.05.06.
To my surprise, Evan, Tillman and Matt hadn't heard of Dragon's Lair! This was the first animated Laser Disc game so it was a precursor to CD based games (particularly "full-motion video games"). The game is comprised entirely of cartoon video and requires the player to choose either the sword button or one of four directions at key moments to avoid a death sequence. The gameplay is simple but the game was a huge hit due to the amazing animation created by Don Bluth. To appreciate this gem one must put themselves in the shoes of an arcade goer seeing this game for the first time back in '83 when games like Elevator Action and Major Havoc represented the newest technology.The version we played was a DVD game made by Digital Leisure anyone can find this version for around $10. The arcade original came out in 1983 and fetches upward of $1600.
- Blake Leftwich, gamebot
Monday, July 23, 2007
Living the High Life
Video Game Diary:
Over the past couple of days I have had the luxury of guests Brian Tate and Reagan Tate. We had hot dogs and hamburgers again and played lots of games, but before that, we went on a quest to get two 9 volt batteries for a rather interesting device I attained in a trade at last year's ECGX...
This is "Zodiac the Astrology Computer" by Coleco. It was released in 1979, but don't worry, it's still not as old as I am. Designed to tell your fortune in one of three ways, it can give your horoscope, a "daily preview" or answer your questions in Advice Mode. These require the user to input her date, time and area of birth. One thing that I found intriguing was how much the user must do himself to find his future-due to the limitations of the electronics. Players write feedback from the display on a zodiac chart. Once the chart is filled out, one must use the instruction booklet to search codes and their meaning.
I have to say that our readings were pretty accurate with the exception of Brian, but we had guessed on his, and my, time of birth, so there could still possibly be a supernatural force guiding us through the universe. The instruction manual is a necessity in enjoying this little jewel and features celebrity birthdates and an introduction by "noted astrologer" Sydney Omarr. One thing that may be a deterrent in your hunting down this beauty is the fact that the included birthdate codes only go up to 1990 so if you were born after that, you're done for! The creators didn't anticipate nerds born after 1990 would even know what the heck this thing was... understandable. It is currently valued at around $30.
After that, and some required Wii Sports Bowling and Tennis, we followed up with a bit of PS2! The first game I popped in was Shadow of the Colossus-to show these guys one of the greatest adventure games ever made! Then we delved into some classic goodness via Sega Genesis Collection. This game is fantastic and includes over 30 games including Altered Beast, Shinobi III (my favorite side-scroller of all time), all the Phantasy Stars (for the Genesis) and even hidden easter eggs like Zaxxon! I love it so much because the emulation is 99% accurate, and I am a real stickler!
Brian and I couldn't find a second controller for Golden Axe - a travesty! Instead I played Flicky!
Flicky was a fantastic 1984 arcade game ported to the Genesis. As Flicky the bird, you must collect canaries and lead them to the exit while avoiding cats and jumping from platform to platform. Collecting all birds before touching the exit results in a large score and boards are cleared by saving all canaries. The bonus levels are fun too, wherein Flicky must catch canaries launched in the air by catapults. Sega Genesis Collection is currently available in stores for $14.99 to $19.99 and is absolutely one of the best values out there for classic game fanatics.
Sony made the demo disc a standard for consoles back when its original Playstation arrived in 1995 and most gamers have a few lying around. I picked up a PS2 demo disc a month or so back because "Portal Runner 2" was listed on the disc and I thought I had found a demo of an unreleased sequel of a beloved game. Turns out it was a misprint, however these events led to the imminent trying of said disc when Bri and Rea came about-which was good.
Before I get into what we played I want to mention that there was an demo for Ico which was different than the final game, exciting for an obsessed fan (see previous Shadow of the Colossus comment).
On the disc, Reagan was excited to see Portal Runner, a game I introduced to her years ago. It was released in spring of 2001 by 3DO as a side story of their Army Men franchise (but you are not green -ed.) and has garnered 6.5s and lower from most game sites and mags. What those guy don't tell you is that it takes all the concepts of early 3D games and produces them in a way that works -and the funny thing is, gamers who want simple adventures like side-scrollers of the 16 and 8-bit era do not have many choices. Portal Runner delivers a simple but fun action adventure game in an unpredictable fantasy setting including prehistoric times, ye olde knights in shining armor, etc. with platforming, strafe firing, collecting, exploration, stealth and sniping. You have full control over the camera and a pet Lion! One requirement is that you must be man enough to play a game that does not involve Master Chief (for example, I own and enjoy Britney's Dance Beat I'm not.. that.. innocent).
I also made Reagan play the MTV Music Generator 2 demo and watch me play Cool Boarder 2001. My house, my rules.
The last game of the night, Super Bust-A-Move 2 was played into the wee hours. I love games that allow you to be creative, the gang played through nine levels of my own creation then played the normal game (not as good as my levels). Later, well after our guests had left, Kris was angered, after staying up until 4:30 a.m. she was rewarded only with credits for completing the adventure mode. Alas, the cutscenes revealing the storylines of each of the strange characters is found by completing the single player mode. Ouch!
- Blake Leftwich, gamebot
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Living the High Life
Video Game Diary:
I just got back from a great trip to Ohio and I didn't forget to pack the most important necessity, portable games! The default device is the DS, everyone that has one would agree i'm sure, and of course I brought it along with Animal Crossing, Castlevania Double Pack, Big Brain Academy, Meteos, Club House Games, Phoenix Wright:Ace Attorney and an underappreciated GBA gem: Yoshi Topsy Turvy. But to spice things up a bit, I also brought the system which, in my opinion, is the greatest handheld pre-Gameboy SP; The Sega Nomad!
The Nomad is a portable system that came out in 1995 for $180. The awesome thing about this system? IT PLAYS THE ENTIRE SEGA GENESIS LIBRARY! Thats right, just plug in any Genesis cart and you're done. The handheld features a backlit screen, a second controller port, decent sound and a RF box port for hooking it to your TV. Wow! It's problems? Well, releasing the same year that the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation arrived, 3D gaming was all the buzz and Sega Genesis games were considered dated by most gamers. The second factor, a weakness shared with other handhelds of the late eighties and nineties, was battery life. Powering a full-color backlit handheld Genesis was a challenge and the Nomad drains 6 AA batteries in about three hours (however, an AC power adapter was and is available -ed.)! Thats quite an obstacle for a portable system to overcome and believe me, it was a factor in it's sales. The system is valued at around $100 by collectors today.
So enough history, what about the games, thats what you really want to know right? Well, I love variety and the Sega library made my choices plentiful. For platforming I chose Chiki Chiki Boys, a Capcom hopper complete with power-up stores and shooter levels. Fighting: Samurai Showdown, this version is the best available on the 16 bit consoles. Dragon's Revenge covered my pinball needs with quick accurate physics on par with the video-pinball greats like Devil's Crush and Alien Crush. For beat 'em up superhero action I selected Captain America and the Avengers (blows away the SNES version). I also took the compilation Genesis 6-Pak, which includes Golden Axe, Sonic, Streets of Rage, Columns, Revenge of Shinobi and Super Hang-On.
Whenever I leave town I always checkout the local Goodwill, Salvation Army and Game stores and I found a few things that amde the extra venture worthwhile. At Goodwill, I found Pro Wrestling for the NES, a classic wrestler with crazy characters and moves thats not too rare, but will make a great gift for a friend. Also, the best find of all, Final Fight One for GBA. This one is a perfect port of the arcade classic with the added bonus of rapid punch options, progress saving and the choice of selecting the Street Fighter Alpha series Cody and Guy. I played it non-stop through to its completion that night-what a blast! All that for $4.99!
With all that gaming greatness, how can I wrap this story up with happy ending? How about this, I came home to a package from Amazon.com. RAW DANGER the sequel to DISASTER REPORT, has arrived! I'll be updating again soon. Life is good!
- Blake Leftwich, gamebot
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