Video Game Musings – Page 33

A Message To Ericmansuper

This guy did a couple NES game reviews and is currently wrapping up his Wrestlemania review (spoiler: the game is bad), but people tend to complain about how long he’s taking. Guys, I wish I could be on the same bandwagon as the rest of you – bitching about how it takes months to review a game with about as much depth as a Sizzler review – but I’m not. These types of video take time to do and the conflicts of dealing with crashing software doesn’t help matters. I remember it took a good couple days to do a two-minute clip of crappy animation that could have taken less time if fucking Movie Maker hadn’t crashed as much as it likes to. Also, another thing these guys have to remember is that the people reviewing games have lives outside of YouTube. Not everyone gets paid for posting videos.

So Eric. Keep up the good work and take your time. While you have few reviews than the other guys, I find them to be much more thourough and enjoyable than the other “Big Two.”

People can check out Eric’s awesome work here.

Madden-ing Repetition And A Datel Dartel… What?

So Madden ’09 came out yesterday and apparently, I’m supposed to care.

Let me recap something here. I’m not a big football guy and therefore don’t get crazy over the latest Madden game a.k.a. the Same Fucking Game You Bought Last Year But With New Rosters That Could Have All Been Done on DLC You Greedy Madden Felating Corporate Fuck Hacks (thanks, MovieBob). For that matter, I’m not a big sports guy and don’t get crazy over the latest sports title EA manages to recycle from six years ago and releases it as a brand-spanking new title.

I got a couple sports games at best from 2003 and they seem fine for my tastes, but besides that, what’s the point? Isn’t it a bit excessive to fork fifty bucks over for a game that is not only a mere rehash of a game chances are you already have, but is based on a game that you can easily go outside and play for real? Would you really rather play hockey on a TV screen or out doors where you can get a real workout and play the real deal?

In other news, having recently bought a Datel Games ‘N Music cart, I wanted to see if I can get homebrew software to work. I found a neat package that contained a program called DS Organizer, which was a file sorting system of sorts. Okay, so that works and after fiddling through the special package I downloaded (which contained the DSO along with several other homebrews and emulators), I discovered that I can do little text files. Assuming these files can be ported to PC with no problem, I might use this to write stuff on the road during subway/metro trips. I’ll get back to you on that…

Somehow Snagged Ninja Gaiden II (the old one)

Yes, by “old one”, I am in fact refering to the the NES video game and not the recent XBox 360 version with five hundred different attacks but none of them very effective against insanely difficult opponents who seem to have ten million better attacks than you. Now, some smart-ass might be thinking “eBay” but I don’t go to eBay for my gaming goods. Mostly because I still do not have a credit card… or anything necessary to obtain a PayPal account. Instead, I scour flea markets and thrift shops for my gaming needs. Insane, isn’t it?

So yeah, the chances of getting my hands on a Ninja Gaiden original NES game (for ten bucks no less) was pretty fucking minimal… but somehow it happened. Plays fairly well, still can’t get past the second stage with the snow storm, but that’s okay. I got time… oh yes I do.

Cheap Xbox 360 Is Now Cheaper

According to gamedame.com and confirmed by Microsoft, the 20GB XBox 360 model has dropped its price to $299US. Taking the place of the old $349US price tag is a newer model that comes equipped with a 60GB hard drive. If the newer model also comes with no red ring of death, I’m sold. Of course, you still have the Arcade package and Elite consoles, which are both the same price, so… if you’ve been holding out on getting a Xbox 360, you have a cheap alternative now.

VIDEO – Mega Man The 9th

You can find the article here, along with the Nintendo Power scan which confirms its legitimacy. So now let me offer my own thoughts:

OH MY GAWD! DEY’RE MAKING’ MEGA MAN 9! CLASSIC MEGA MAN 9! HOORAY! A REAL GAME! CLASSIC MEGA MAN 9! YAY! I’M SO HAPPEEEEEEEE!!!! EXCITING! I’M GOING TO PISS MY SHORTS RIGHT HERE! YAY!

Okay, sorry about that. But yeah, that’s exciting. And even better, they’re going to make the game similar to the NES games – just the way it should be. The only thing that would make this piece of news even better is if it was released for an actual NES… you know, so I can actually play it.

Better start saving up.

Oddball Gaming Purchases

I had recently purchased a copy of an old NES game called Stinger, which looked to be a sequel or spin-off to that Twin Bee game I’ve played on the multicarts. Never really played it, but it came in an actual box! Amazing.

So I get home and popped the sucker into my FC Twin and pushed the power on. It was then I saw something was wrong.

For you see, the game I bought wasn’t a shoot-em-up called Stinger, but a shoot-em-up called Tiger Heli. It’s not a bad game by any means; just not the one I wanted to pick up.

So yeah, I feel ripped off – but on the other hand, it makes a good joke to play on someone who wants a “classic” game.

Also, while we’re on the subject of oddball gaming purchases, I picked up a copy of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for NES… despite a whole bunch of people making videos about how bad the game is. I’ll probably post a review of the game (written form), but I highly recommend checking out the three-part Terrible NES Games Theatre review done by ericmansuper – it’s perhaps the most in-depth and downright entertaining video reviews I’ve seen. Just look it up on YouTube and you’ll find it quick.

The Neo Geo Pocket Color Saga

For five points, please guess the appropriate response from a typical gamer who is only impressed by the latest tech. Answers to follow, but really, you should know these.

1 – I got a PSP.

2 – I got a DS.

3 – I got a GBA.

4 – I got a Game Boy.

5 – I got a Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Think on that for a bit before going ahead.

Continue reading “The Neo Geo Pocket Color Saga”

The Game Herpes… I Mean Heroes (Also, Smallville).

Went to a couple restaurants for Mother’s Day. Ate some really sweet grub in one and had nice coffee & cake in another. Good meals followed by several fifteen-minute sessions in the crapper. Nice.

Just about the only good thing about Father’s Day is that my dad doesn’t like going to restaurants, so we can order cheaper take-out that doesn’t induce a shitfest.

Anyway, some blurbs and stuff.

Handsome Tom’s new podcast series has been going on for a while and I gotta say; for a test run, this doesn’t seem to bad. They don’t have much of a site at the moment, but what they do have is pretty damn entertaining for the most part, unlike Tom’s previous website of work, which is starting to lose its luster due to the unfunny and uninteresting stuff being brought in.

But that other site has something Tom doesn’t have: the Angry Video Game Nerd… but then to see him, I go to Gametrailers and… ugh. Check out the Game Heroes here. (2019 Update: Link No Longer Valid.)

In other news, word has it that Allison Mack, who starred in Smallville since its first episode, is considering leaving the show over money issues. This after it was announced that two other central cast members announced that they would leaving the show. You know, rather than having another season, maybe we should… oh, I don’t know… cancel it? I mean, it’s nice that we have a Superman series that is lasting this long, but really, it’s getting ridiculous having to introduce all these Superman characters and concepts… long before Clark Kent even dons the fucking tights!

Another source claims that to replace the departing Lex Luthor, Smallville will be bringing in Doomsday… oh, well that’s just great. What are they going to do now? Film the Death of Clark Kent and follow up with reign of the Clark Kents, featuring Eradicator Clark, Cyborg Clark, Steel Clark, and Supe… Er… Boy…….. um, never mind. Just screw it.

Getting Simon’s Quest

Interestingly enough, my memory is somewhat sketchy of what games I actually own on the NES.

For quite some time, I had assumed that I had all three NES Castlevania games. I certainly know this to be true since Simon’s Quest was the first ‘Vania I ever got. Somewhere along the line, it got lost somewhere and I never saw it again. So among the shopping for random NES titles, I made it a point to hunt down Simon’s Quest, even if I had to force myself to get it from eBay.

But as luck would have it, a gaming store in downtown Montreal had a copy of the game in their NES rack. It was a bit pricey for my tastes, but in the end, it was worth. The circle is complete. One less “vital” addition to my collection of vintage games.

First Impressions – Circle of The Moon (GBA)

(2023 Update: In retrospect, calling this post a “First Impressions” is kind of a white lie, since my first time playing Circle Of The Moon would’ve been years prior, albeit through the “evil art” of emulation. My guess is that I had acquired an actual cart of Circle Of The Moon and wrote this shortly afterwards. So, in a sense, it’s my first impressions of the game played on its native hardware rather than though some spotty emulation… that’s my logic behind it, at least.)

Some time after Konami released Symphony of the Night on the Playstation, they released Castlevania 64… and it sucked. So they released a sequel… and it sucked too. A couple non-significant games later, Konami released their first GBA title, Circle of the Moon.

The story revolves around a trio of Vampire hunters attempting to kill Dracula yet again, only to be separated. As Nathan, you have to save the other hunter before he becomes a sacrifice or something. In any case, you’re equipped with a traditional leather whip and can spin it around like a lasso (but can’t brandish it like in CV4). You can also equip yourself with DSS cards that alters your whip to become flame whips, ice whips, poison whips, and even a gun! Neat-o.

The graphics are fairly decent for a first title and are varied from each other. Sure, most of the halls look alike, but it’s a common flaw even with Symphony in a couple levels, so no complaints there. The controls are responsive and the challenge is fair, with only a couple bosses being complete pricks. While it isn’t as expansive as the later GBA titles, at least this one has a decent soundtrack worthy of the GBA, unlike the later “sequels” and its NES-esque soundtracks.

If you have a GBA hanging around and you want a decent Castlevania game, don’t bother with the other two and get this one. Aria may have that Soul trading thing and Lament has Simon’s grandson, but this is actually the better game of the three.