Due to technological constraints, in-game maps were not always possible. Thankfully, we as a society progressed to the point technologically where we could not only include maps in-game, but they could be extremely vibrant, helpful, and easy to read to boot.
With the rise of the Super Nintendo came one of the greatest exploration-centric games of all time. Enter Super Metroid.
Greetings readers! The USGS Fair Shake is patroling Deneb Sector.. Captain Carl is commanding. What if I told you that a game existed that was basically a Star Trek game in both theme and play control… but it wasn’t? What if I also said to you that it’s one of the best of a long forgotten genre: The ASCII character, turn-based strategy game? A what? Read on.
And so to end my 1MoreCastle Batman trilogy, I thought I’d take a look at a game that infuriated me to no end back in the day. I’m talking, of course, about Batman Forever on the Sega Genesis.
Bear in mind that I played this game at a time when I still thought Batman Forever was a solid, actually really good Batman movie.
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I was a Jim Carrey fan, ok? Sue me.
By the time this is posted and read, WWE will have aired the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW. At the time I’m writing it, it has yet to happen, but it is amazing to think about how long that show has been on the air.
In November 1994, WWF RAW was also the title of a video game, the third WWF title of the 16-bit era. I remember being quite excited to pick up the game, as I’d loved the previous WWF Royal Rumble on the SNES. In fact, it had been one of the reasons I finally purchased the system.
This week in Character RETROspect, we will be looking at the always mysterious brother of Mega Man, Proto Man. What exactly are his true motives: Is it hope for a world where robots and mankind can live in harmony, or annihilation of the human race? Grab your whistle and let’s get to it!
The 100th annual Calgary Stampede ended about a week ago, so in “honour” of it, I’m reviewing Stampede for the 2600 this week… because that’s just how much I love and care about something like the Calgary Stampede (i.e., it was over before I even noticed it was happening). With that said, some of you might already be wondering where the hell I’ll be taking you today. I’m also be asking myself that question, so let’s find out.
Modern games have achieved a fair measure of renown for their bugs, glitches, and outright brokenness, with every instance immortally archived within the bowels of YouTube for the enjoyment of millions. Even before people had troubles logging in to their favorite new online game, though, retro video games had their share of WTF moments too. The following are ten of my choices, in no particular order, of moments in retro gaming that make you go “WTF?!”
In 1993, Apogee released John Passfield’s Halloween Harry, and a classic was born. Later retitled Alien Carnage, the game saw you guiding agent Halloween Harry through a world full of people who have been zombified by Aliens. Using a flamethrower to dispatch your enemies, you used a jetpack to navigate around each stage as you rescued various hostages from the various monsters throughout the game.
So what Happened to Halloween Harry, and where is the creator now? As luck would have it, I was able to get an interview with creator John Passfield. So read on dear readers, all your answers lie below!
Greetings Readers! Carl broke out the VCR this week. Why? Grab a bowl of popcorn, the previews are beginning. Video games released based on a movie theme are nothing new. Some have been great. Some, not so much. One would think that surely every movie that was deserving of a game had one, even if it was a poor game. Alas, no. Some movies, for reasons not understood, have been overlooked by industry. If things had played out a bit differently, we may have had these games. With much fanfare, and the excellent artistic ability of Sean McCauley from PowerPakBlog.com, I present to you, for lack of a better title:
Robots, deadly balloon fights, time-paradox Harry Potter cameos: Batman’s movie tie-in Game Boy game had it all. Hit the jump to watch Adam’s debut video for 1 More Castle!
My favourite part of a video game is the first instance of free exploration: When you pop out of the pipe in Super Mario 64, when you discover the waterfall hiding the Tomb of Qualopec in Tomb Raider, or when you’re let loose on the world in any Elder Scrolls title. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was exceptional in that it allowed you to re-evaluate those first few moments, but in a different light.
This week in Character RETROspect, we will be looking at one of the most bizarre characters in all of gaming: the one, the only, Tingle. Is a thirty-five year old man who has a penchant for “forest fairies” really that much of a creeper, or is he just a sorely misunderstood man? Let’s take a look at this ambiguously erotic fellow.
In 1983, the video game world was introduced one of its first environmentalists: Frostbite Bailey. Years, even nearly a decade, ahead of it’s time, Frostbite is a cautionary tale painting a clear picture of what the future might hold for planet Earth if humankind continues down it’s destructive path. It warns of global warming and climate change long before these concepts became well-known to the general population and demonstrates the real-world problems these events would eventually cause for both humans and animals.
Okay Nintendo, you’re starting to burn me out with the 8-bit summer. An RPG and a pinball game in the same week? Are they even worth it? Find out after the break!
A long time ago, a famous Japanese company by the name of Nintendo created a character named Mario. Since then, Mario has been best known for his 2D platforming adventures on the various Nintendo consoles. In case you’re not familiar with this relatively obscure character, Mario generally travels from castle to castle, collecting coins, and continues fighting the evil King Koopa and his minions.
But, what’s that? You say Mario was on the personal computer? Mario also starred in games that were nothing like his 2D platforming adventures? You’re absolutely right! Read on, as we go over the many Mario games that have graced the PC platform.
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Hello and welcome to The Gaming Historian!
The Angry Video Game Nerd did an episode on Dark Castle for the Sega Genesis and Philips CD-I, and I couldn’t have been more excited. This game takes me way back, even before my Nintendo days.
Now, you might be asking why I might get excited over a terrible game. Not so fast! Dark Castle is a great game. But the ports on Genesis and CD-I are really bad. The main culprit? The controls are terrible! This game was meant to be played with a keyboard and mouse, and it just doesn’t work on these systems. The Nerd did a good job explaining how the controls work, so I would recommend checking out his video when you get a chance. It is also a good laugh. But for now, lets take a look at Dark Castle on the console it was made for: Macintosh!
Greetings Readers! Saddle up! Take a ride down to ‘The Fair Shake”. Carl is writing loans at the local bank. Do you have two forms of ID? This week we’ll be taking a path never taken before by covering an arcade game. With the current Euro crisis and economic woes all across the peripheral Euro countries, What better game to cover than “Bank Panic?”
Why Batman Returns?
Because Batman “returns” this month, that’s why. Duh.
Also because this is one of the Batman games I played the most growing up, both on the Genesis and on the Sega Master System, so I thought I’d take another look and see if they still hold up as well as I think they do today.
In the original piece on Geekosystem entitled “The Video Games of Today Reimagined in 8 and 16 Bits,” contributor Michael Suen highlights the work of Stockholm-based pixel artist Junkboy. In this case, specifically, a series of images that are done in the style of retro games but based on modern titles re-imagined.
The artwork is very cool, and remarkably well-done, but it made me wonder: Without knowing the answers, how many of the modern games could someone accurately guess based on the retro-style art?
This week in Character RETROspect we’ll be looking at Solid Snake’s last few missions, and we’ll be starting with the Shadow Moses Incident. It has been an absolute blast reminiscing about the Metal Gear franchise as a whole, and I cannot wait to do a multi-part RETROspect again in the near future. The time has come to finish off this three-week Metal Gear romp though, so let’s get to it!