Game Review: Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 (1995)

Genre: Shoot 'em up Year: 1995 Rated: K-A Platform: SEGA 32X View Cover Art IGN Page Wikipedia Page

My Opinion: Can't finish, too hard

I haven't played this game in years. After replaying it recently I remembered why I stopped in the first place. Its a great game, fantastic graphics, catchy music... Its just impossible to win!

No, I mean litterally impossible.

I haven't made it passed Level 2, and I doubt I ever will.

Your goal is simply to make it to the end of each level, by means of hijacking spaceships and avoiding and blasting obsticles.

Has anyone made it past Level 2 of Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000? Comment about it!

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Wishful Thinking: Oswald Rabbit in Kingdom Hearts

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is one misfortunate character. He was Disney's very first animated character. But due to a studio dispute, Disney replaced him with Mickey Mouse, who was a slightly altered version of Oswald. Poor Oswald was left in the shadows while Mickey basked in the glow of fame.

But now Oswald gets his first starring role in years, in the Wii game 'Epic Mickey'. In this he comes back as Mickey's half brother, trapped in the Cartoon Wasteland of Yen Sid's magic book.

I'm hoping this will give the creators of Kingdom Hearts an idea to add Oswald to a future Kingdom Hearts game. Here's my idea for a good scenario:

Maleficent arrives in the world of the Cartoon Wasteland, where she meets Oswald, the bitter half-brother of King Mickey. Feeding off of Oswald's bitterness, she grants him the ability to control the Heartless and create an army to march against King Mickey and take his kingdom. Once they meet, they can have an epic brother vs brother battle.

Do you think Oswald should be in Kingdom Hearts? Comment about it?

Game Review: Blood: Special Edition (1997)

Genre: Horror Year: 1997 Rated: M Platform: PC View Cover Art IGN Page Wikipedia Page

My Opinion:

Believe it or not I found this nifty gem in a dollar store! Still in its cellophane and everything! I can only imagine where its been hiding the past 14 years (probably in a forgotten corner of a forgotten warehouse).

Created in the DOS era, Blood was considered so violant and bloody that it had to have a parental lock on it. Even with the parental lock on, this game is a treat for first and third person shooters.

Read the synopsis here. Its like a western meets cult and zombies.

Its one of the most advanced DOS games I've ever played. The entire environment is interactive, you can shoot, blow up, and destroy almost anything and everything. Plus you can create your own custom levels. The best bonus is that it comes with a second disk with desktop themes, game demos, and even a music video by the band Type O Negative. Very nice!

But once you download the patches and apply them, the gore is taken to a whole other level! I don't even see some of this stuff in modern games, let alone DOS. In the parental lock mode, when you shoot zombies, they just yell and fall over. But in the unlocked mode, their heads fly off in a fountain of pixel-blood, and you get to kick their heads around like a soccar ball :D.

Unfortunatly, due to it being a DOS game, its difficult to get it to run properly on a PC newer than Win98. I highly recomend this game, especially if you have an older pc or have the means to run DOS-based games.

But honestly, I think this game should be remade for new systems, because this is one of those types of games that would be appreciated by this generation of gamers.

What do you think of Blood? Have you ever played it? Do you think it should be remade? Comment below!

Review Archive >>

Wishful Thinking: Remake of WolfChild

One of my favorite games on SegaCD was WolfChild. After replaying it recently I can see why this game wasn't popular; it has a thin story and difficult gameplay. But that doesn't deter my love for this game. I find the scifi-werewolf-action-platform game to be just as intriguing as it was when I first played it years ago.

I think this game should be given a second chance, with some alterations:

1. Deeper Storyline and Plot -- Father gets kidnapped, son goes to save him. That's all well and good, but we live in an era where gamers demand substance. They want compelling characters and gripping plots... well I do at least...
2. Different Modes -- The second level of this game, the jungle, was difficult and confusing to navigate, so I think it would be a good idea to add an easy mode for beginners.
3. Cell-shaded Animation -- I'm hesitant to say add CGI cut-scenes, especially when the SegaCD version of the game had a very nice animated intro movie. They should remake the original intro, keeping it in the traditional American cell-style animation and making it less pixelly. I don't think a game like this would benefit from anime-styling.
4. Extra Missions - Despite the difficulty of this game, its only five levels long. So to compensate, there should be extra missions added

What do you think of my ideas for a WolfChild Remake? Post your comments below!

Wii "Wii-tiring"

The Wii, the first motion-capture game system, will be retiring soon. Nintendo announced that they will replace it with a new system in 2012 (check out this article)

I can't say I didn't see this coming. I personally only own two games for the system, one of which was the Sports disk that came with the system. The only other use I had for it was to play my old GameCube games on it.

My personal opinion about the system is, as interesting as 'motion-sensitive' game system is, the fact remains that the majority of gamers are not really people that want to 'get up and move'. The only parts of our body we want to move is our thumbs.

Now the Wii will join the ever growing graveyard of failed consoles, right there next to the Sega Dreamcast, Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, and nearly countless others...

I wouldn't be too shocked of the Nintendo 3DS ends up next to it in the near future...

What do you think about the Wii retiring? Share your opinion by leaving a comment.

Accessory Review: dreamGear i.Glow PS2 controller with 5 LED Lights

I don't normally buy third party controllers for my game systems, mainly because I've had bad luck with them (particularly MadCatz brand). But after seeing this nifty controller online, I was tempted to try it out (plus it was $10 cheaper than Sony brand).

It's the dreamGear i.Glow PS2 controller with 5 LED Lights . The controller comes in two styles: blue with textured black designs, or textured white designs. I personally think the blue and black version is the best looking.

I've used it for 4 months and here is my critique:

PROS:

Box: The box it comes in makes you feel like you purchased a pricey controller. It comes in a gift box, with a flap and a window. So its like a self esteem boost, or makes a nice impression as a gift. Design: The overall design of the controller itself is triangular versus the rectangular construction of the original Sony controller. The trianglular construction, which is similar to the PS3 controller, is more confortable and relaxed, which prevents thumb strain and cramping. The textured paint creates a nice grip. Buttons: The biggest difference between the action buttons on the original Sony controller and the Dreamgear, aside from the minor design differences is the height. The Sony buttons are wide and flat, while the Dreamgear buttons are slightly smaller but are more raised, so you don't have to worry about pushing them inside the controller. Turbo Button: Very useful for certain games, like Normal and Hard modes of Devil May Cry. Instead of hitting the same button over and over, push the turbo button and just hold the desired button. This reduces some wear on the buttons. Lights: The 5 LED lights are the bonus of this controller. This is especially nice for night-time gameplay, or playing in a dark room.

CONS:

Wire: The wire is a little shorter than the Sony controller, so you can't go as far away from the system, but still a good length. Lights: Contrary to the instructions, there doesn't seem to be a toggle on/off switch for the lights. So they are on all the time. It can be annoying during daytime gameplay. Also after the first three months of use, the middle light flickered out. So only four of the five lights are working now. Rumble: There is no rumble on this controller, but the lights are the trade-off.

Overall, this is a nice novelty controller that would make a great gift for an avid gamer. I would recommend this as a nice and inexpensice replacement for the Sony controller.

Own one? Leave a comment sharing your experience.

Nintendo 3DS Black Screen of Death

Nintendo 3DS Launch: Black Screen of Death HA! So much for the almighty 3D technology >D

Maybe I'll wait til they perfect holigrams :)

Why Live Action FMVs Should Make a Comeback

So I'm sitting in my room trying to figure out what game I should play next (which is a tough decision when you have a wide range of consoles spanning multiple generations).

I decided to give my PS2 a rest and backtrack to my SegaCD collection. I was pleasantly surprised how well the games played after all these years. But what also surprised me was how 'different' the games were and the amazing variety of the styles of gameplay. A lot of them you don't see anymore, especially Live Action FMVs.

I'm not talking about "movie franchise games", where they cut up random segments of a movie and squeeze in some gameplay here and there. I mean games that had live-action videos made specifically for the game. Some great examples are: Dracula Unleashed, NightTrap, and Corpse Killer. SegaCD and other systems like it were defiantly ahead of their time. Unfortunately, there were two major setbacks that killed this style.

The first issue was bad audio and video quality. They put analog footage on a digital medium, combined with the hardware limitations of the consoles themselves, often resulted in muddled, pixelly videos. Also the fact that the SegaCD had mono audio didn't help the sound, making a lot of voice-acting hard to hear properly without raising the volume up to maximum levels.

The second problem, bad acting. Unfortunately, the people who stared in video game movies weren't exactly Hollywood level thespians. They weren't even Independent film level. Its one thing to have bad voice acting, its almost forgivable. But actually seeing the person kind of kills the gaming experience.

But we've come a long way since the 90s. Videos (both digital and analog) can be shown on DVD and Blu-ray without the fog of pixels. Even TV shows are almost cinema quality now. And it seems even bad acting is forgivable now (i.e. Twilight).

This is why I think they should give Live Action FMVs another chance. If this sort of technology was available in the 90s, just imagine the games they would have conjured. Games like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider and could benefit from this type of game style.


Do you think Live Action FMVs should make a comeback? Leave a comment.

Crisis in Japan

The Japanese are an intelligent and brave people.

Even superstar Miyavi has turned his twitter page into a channel of news and information on the disasters in Japan, go check it out (if you can read japanese)

My heart goes out to the families of those brave souls risking thier lives trying to stop the reactor from melting down.

God bless Japan.

Check out more resources for helping Japan!

Games That’d Be Great in 3D

I'm not a big fan of this new '3D' movement for movies or games. A lot of the time I feel the effects are a waste of money and aren't utilized to their full potential (and strain your eyes and brain in the process).

But here is a small list of Games that would look cool in 3D, if done properly:

DOOM -- Just imagine, first person shooter, aliens come running at you and you blasting them to slimy pieces, all in 3D, that would be awesome! Ecco The Dolphin -- This game is beautiful in 2D, just imagine the potential in 3D. Knuckles Chaotix -- This would be a fantastic co-op 3D game. The original already attempted some 3D-esque graphics, the really thing would be even cooler. Corpse Killer -- first person shooter with zombies; zombies in 3D; blasting zombies in 3D. Need I say more? NiGHTS -- I know the Wii sequel to the Sega Saturn original was a bomb, but imagine the original remade in full-spectrum 3D, accompanying that with an epic orchestral remake of the soundtrack. It'd be mind-blowing! Ristar -- This little guy deserves another chance, in 3D. I can imagine a beutiful, spacey, stary, galactic, planet hopping adventure.

What do you think? What games do you think would look great in 3D?

DMC 5: The Rise of Emo Dante

When I heard there was going to be a new Devil May Cry game, I was estatic. I love Dante and his attitude and style. I love the gameplay, the battle system, and story. When I heard that an early trailer was out for DMC 5, I immediatly logged online to check it out.

At first I was amazed, the graphics were stunning, it reminded me of a cross between a punk rock music video and a high action horror movie. Yes, I was amazed... until I saw the "new" Dante. D8

I couldn't believe what I saw. I though that this was some kind of weird joke being pulled by Capcom, but no, this was real... Devil May Cry, it sure made me cry. After viewing the trailer, I had a few questions:

Why alter the character design to the point where he is completely unrecognizable? Take a look to see what I mean: old Dante vs. new Dante.

I can understand updating his some of his looks. But from what I saw, they stripped Dante of some of his most iconic features. The developers from Ninja Theory, who are handling the project instead of Capcom, had not only changed his hair color (from white to black) but they even went and changed his facial structure.

Why black hair? Its the most common color after brunette. I don't have a problem with the hair style (although I think it should be a little longer, but that's just my opinion) but why not leave his hair white, or at least silver? It was always part of his persona, his image. Instead of being unique and different, he looks like your average emo.

Actually its worse than that, he looks like the director, now we see where the real "inspiration" came from. Check out the interview with the developers

But despite this, I can't bash this game completely, mostly because of the fact its still in development. Were this a game in and of itself without any affiliation with the Devil May Cry franchise, or a separate story with a different character linked to DMC, I would be itching to play it. But as it stands right now, I don't think I can play this game without dying a little inside.

But don't take my word for it, watch the trailer yourself and compare it to the past DMC games.

What do you think of the new Dante and the new direction the franchise is going? Comment about it.