Category: Video Game Musings

Altered Beast for 1000 Wii Points? Seriously?

So apparently, there’s no Castlevania ReBirth showing up for WiiWare for the foreseeable future… oh well, I’m guessing it’ll emerge when more concrete details on the game are available. In the meantime, head on over to Virtual Console Arcade and pick up the arcade version of the Sega classic ALTERED BEAST for a thousand Wii Points… wait, what?

Seriously… let’s be honest and think about this. Isn’t the Genesis version of Altered Beast already available on Virtual Console? And isn’t it about eight hundred points? I mean, what’s the point of buying a slightly better version when there’s a cheaper alternative? I’ve played both versions and there’s nothing to justify spending an extra two bucks on a slightly better arcade format when the Genesis version will do you just fine.

OR… or… you can just pick up a copy of Sega Genesis Collection for PS2, which contains both games on the set… or even Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360, which also contains both games on the set. Heck, it even has Shinobi.

Sorry, Sega. You’re going to have to find some other means of getting my money, because this ain’t it.

Heck, I don’t even like Altered Beast.

All These Years, I’ve Screwed Up The Damn Name

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, the third in Konami’s series of classic remakes for WiiWare, is a bit of a revelation, as it officially confirms the proper name of the title. Besides that, the general belief is that it’s going to be a remake/remix/upgrade/whatever of the Game Boy title of the same name.

It sort of makes sense when you think about it. While I can’t necessarily speak for Contra ReBirth since I’ve not played it yet, it seemed to me like Gradius ReBirth is sort of a spritual remix or upgrade of the Game Boy version called Nemesis, as both games seem to have similar levels.
In any case, it’ll be interesting to see how this game turns out. I’m hoping it’ll be a return to form similar to Super Castlevania IV and not another “Metroidvania” game that seems to be the norm these past few years… then again, anything is an improvement over what we got on Game Boy.

My Gaming History Thus Far… Have Some Mushrooms, Brother.

I’m into video games… mostly the old-school variety.

I’ve been into video games since I first got an Atari 7800 ProSystem back in the late-1980s and enjoyed the system tremendously until I eventually got the almighty NES. The NES survived until my brother picked up an Super Nintendo for himself, but eventually the system migrated over to me. I’ve grabbed a Sega Genesis for five bucks at a thrift store, but the system lacked controllers, forcing me to borrow a couple 3-button controllers until I got my hands on a couple six-button controllers and eventually one with Turbo capabilities.As time passed, my interest in video games would wane (I sold my Super Nintendo with the small bunch of uninspired games I had for the system, including a couple Madden games and a crummy port of Wolfenstein) with only my trusty Game Boy and the occasional session of PC games to sate whatever desire was left. before I eventually picked up a Playstation (the smaller PS-One model) and started collecting games again. It was mostly wrestling games at first, but eventually I relented and picked up a few choice titles – mostly sequels or updates to game series I had played during my younger years.

A couple years later, I got an original Xbox for Christmas and began collecting games for that system. Somewhere along the line, I picked up a GBA SP unit when the Classic NES Series came out (only got a couple of those before getting real GBA titles).

When I finally got work, I eventually picked up a Playstation-2 and even a GameCube with GameBoy Player. Somewhere along the way, I picked up a Nintendo DS Lite and a PSP which were the best ways to keep up with the latest crop of games, since I knew that it’d be a good long while before I get my hands on a current-generation console.
That’s okay, though. I picked up a clone system called the FC Twin, which played NES and SNES games. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to play all the old NES games I had left over and it was incentive enough to start building a new SNES library as well as build upon the existing 40+ NES titles I already have. Heck, I even picked up a Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and a damn Game Gear along the way, just to get more old stuff in the collection.
And then last year, I bought a current-gen console, Nintendo Wii. Mind you, it was mostly for Mega Man 9 – a wonderful new-old game – and also bex but also because of their amazing Virtual Console service which opened up a new realm of titles I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get without paying major cash for.
I don’t necessarily consider myself hardcore (I play video games for fun and not for arrogant bragging rights – although I like winning too), but I’m not necessarily casual either (unless keeping records of game play on DVD is a casual player attribute).
I don’t have a massive collection (roughly 550+ games total plus 15+ consoles – nothing compared to Handsome Tom’s huge-ass collection), but at least none of it is from eBay and online sources (mostly flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores, and specialty shops… and the newer retail stores for the “recent” stuff too, I suppose).
I’ve never imported Japanese games, but I do have a couple of those Hong Kong multicarts on NES… also from a flea market for much cheaper ($40) than they would have asked for years ago ($200+).
And that’s pretty much my brief history with video games – which is still ongoing. I still play games, but I’m holding out on getting any new ones. What I’ve got at the moment is enough for me… at least until something catches my eye.
So ends the first video game-related post on this blog. Expect normal rants on the topic in the future… whatever that means.

A Strange Feeling

Walking by the magazine rack, I saw the cover for the latest issue of Nintendo Power and saw something on the cover that startled me a bit. What was it? A small bit of print that says “We Celebrate 20 Years of the Sega Genesis.”

If you owned a Sega Genesis 20 years ago and were told that NINTENDO POWER would do a retrospective on the console, you would have had the messenger committed. Even years after the fact and despite owning a Wii with a couple Genesis games on the Virtual Console, I still can’t used to the fact that Sega stuff is being featured in Nintendo stuff… go figure.

Speaking of anniversaries, tomorrow’s the Sega Dreamcast’s tenth birthday. I’ll have a couple reviews posted on the site this week.

Street Fighter IV PC Requirements

So Capcom released the specs for the PC version of Street Fighter IV. For those who don’t have gaming consoles of the hi-def variety, this would seem like a suitable replacement. My only concern is the SECUROM protection that’s going to be employed. I don’t know if my love for the Street Fighter series will be enough to overcome my disdain of modern PC game security measures, a contributing factor to me not getting involve in PC gaming… well, that and the fact that the games are either too demanding for my rinky-dink PC or they just don’t seem to be worth my money. But we’ll see.

Anyway, courtesy of this site, here’re the specs:

Minimum
OS: Windows XP
CPU: Intel Pentium4 2.0GHz or higher
RAM: 1GB or higher
HDD: 10GB of free space or more
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce6600 series, ATI Radeon(TM) X1600 or higher or higher, VRAM i?š256MB or higher
Sound: DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible
Input Devices: Mouse, Keyboard

Maximum
OS: Windows Vista
CPU: Intel Core2Duo 2.0GHz or higher
RAM: 2GB or higher
HDD: 10GB of free space or more
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce8600 series or higher, ATI Radeon(TM) X 1900 or higher, VRAM i?š512MB or higher
Sound: DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible
Input Devices: Gamepad i?šXbox360 Controller for Windows

Quick E3 2009 Thoughts

E3 has come and gone… and I didn’t go. Shame.

But in any case, some strange has happened as there are actually some games worth my attention these days. Go figure. Here’re the ones worthy of my attention:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Seems to be a follow-up on the similarly titled DS version that was released years ago. Neat 4-player function with gameplay worthy of having Screwattack rename it Super Mario Assholes. Let’s put it another way. Remember playing 2-player games in the original Mario Bros. and playing all sorts of dirty tricks to get the other guy killed? Well, almost the same deal here. Can’t wait to play this one.

Metroid: Other M (Wii)
I’ll be completely honest: I haven’t really cared for the Metroid series ever since Zero Mission. I’ve tried the first Metroid Prime, but it really didn’t do much for me and therefore I had no reason to pursue the rest of the series. Having said that, this game sort of peeks my interest, but I’ll have to wait and see where this one goes.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (XB360/PS3)
Comments on this title has been referring to this as a God-of-War ripoff. While I can’t really comment on that (I never really played God of War – I haven’t been keeping up, have I?), it does seem like a nice, quick-paced and frentic action game – something I felt Castlevania really needed in its transition to 3D rather than the previous offerings. While I regret not being able to play this game – lest I somehow conjure up a PS3 or 360 out of thin air – I do look forward to what other people think. Who knows? This might be the game that has been going for a stronger machine.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (Wii)
So I don’t need to import this game? Cool… I mean, the game looks really, really slick. Should be a frantic game indeed.

That’s about it, really… Yeah, that’s it. Bye.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 Coming To The HD Consoles

Anyone who remembers this popular free-for-all fighting game will happy to know that the game will be hitting XBox Live Arcade and Playstation Network this summer. Anyone who don’t know about the game… well, this game has lots of playable fighters, lots of balance issues, and lots of replay involved. A fun game, nonetheless.

Wii owners are left in the dust as the game won’t be coming to that system. Being a Wii owner myself and not owning the other two consoles, I would probably be disappointed and feel sad… if it weren’t for the fact that I already own a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on Xbox… and it still works fine. Thanks.

Street Fighter… EXTREME Blu-Ray edition

Just in time for the new Legend of Chun-Li flick coming out in February, Universal is also re-releasing the old Van-Damme flick next month too… but this time, it’s an EXTREME edition. It’s got some special features here and there… and there’s some content on Street Fighter IV in there too, so there’s new stuff.

So if you haven’t bought the movie when it was last released on DVD, here’s your chance to look back on one of the more campy films out there… and then shed a tear as you realize that this film, while not exactly top-of-the-line in the Street Fighter mythos, has way more personality and life to it than the Chun-Li flick… which looks more like a generic Hong Kong flick than a Street Fighter film… and not even a good one.

No More EGM Magazine…

Did you pick up the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly? You know, the January 2009 issue? Do yourself a favor and take really good care of it. I mean, really good care of it. Give it a bouquet of flowers and nice treatment… it might be a collectable one of these days.

Why is that? Because that’s the last issue of EGM you’ll ever get.

If you haven’t heard the news, the long-running magazine, which would have celebrated its 20th anniversary, has been cancelled after parent company Ziff-Davis sold the online component of the 1UP network to the company that runs the UGO sites.

You know, that’s kind of sad. Especially considering what a great mag EGM used to be… before its untimely cancellation. I used to remember back when my brother would pick up some issues back in the mid-90s; those guys did some great stuff. While I haven’t been a regular reader in recent years, the couple issues I would pick up were always great reads regardless of what was featured.

So all the folks involved with the EGM run, I just want to say thanks for the good times and the fun ride… and good luck out there.