Author Archives: hypergorilla
Metroid Cubed
No it has nothing to do with a Metroid themed Rubik’s Cube, though that would be cool too. This is about a game that’s been around for awhile that’s definitely worth a mention and shouldn’t be passed up. Metroid Cubed is a modded version of the original NES Metroid game. The creator, whose name is inconveniently never mentioned, took the 1986 classic and painstakingly took all the pixels and turned them into voxels. Basically a voxel is a 3d pixel and using his own voxel sculpting tool, he reformatted the game into a volumetric 3d environment. He explains it in greater detail on his own site. I’m impressed to say the least and I always appreciate to see someone’s work of passion come out so well.
Aside from the obvious graphical overhaul, there are a few slight changes. The first being a tweaking of the music. For the most part, the sound effects remain faithful to the original, but the soundtrack has been given a slight “earlift” (It can’t be a facelift. I mean, you can’t see sounds… Shut up, I made up the term and I can use it if I want). It’s been remixed in such a way that the music itself sounds like it has more volume; as if it too was given a 3rd dimension, not volume as in louder. The other change, a bit more major, is that the difficulty of the game has been radically altered. That is if you want to cheat. All the upgrades are available to you right from the onset. It’s optional if you want to turn them on or not, but seriously, who has the time or patience to go through all of Metroid again? You still have to find extra energy tanks, though you do start with two automatically.
Be sure to visit the site for Metroid Cubed.You can play the game there straight from the website or you can download it, both choices free. Most importantly be sure to share this link with others. Too many artists go unappreciated throughout their lives. That’s what supporting indie gaming is all about, making sure they don’t go unappreciated. But then again, Square Enix is very appreciated and look what happened to them. Maybe we should appreciate less…or knock off a few Final Fantasy fan boys… but I digress.
ANYWAY, http://pages.infinit.net/voxel/ incase you missed the link above.
Thanks for reading!
Worst Games EVER for the NES
Most of us have fond memories of NES games. Games like Ducktales, Mario Bros., Zelda, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Castlevania, Contra. I could go on like that for hours, but you get the idea. I’ve heard the term “shovelware” get tossed around rather loosely when referring to the Wii, but I think we forget that the Wii wasn’t the first perpetrator of such an offense. We either were too young to remember, or have chosen to forget about these video game dung heaps. I’ve pulled together what I feel are the worst games ever made for the NES. Yes there are some other really awful games out there, but I decided to set it at 8 and I think these are the worst of the worst. If you don’t recognize the names of some of these games, then trust me, you’re better off. Let’s see what you think.
Terrible News! Mega Man Legends 3 Cancelled!!!
oh noes!
To counter my elation over the upcoming River City Ransom 2, I learned recently that Mega Man Legends 3 for the 3DS, HAS BEEN CANCELLED!!! I thought for certain this game has plenty of fan support. I’ve seen screen shots, concept art, it was even in last months Nintendo Power. This seemed like a sure thing. They can’t just tease the loyal Mega Man fans like this and not deliver. It’s not too often Capcom pulls the plug on something. They have a pretty solid fan base. The guys at the Capcom booth at E3 even had Mega Man patches on their shirts. I guess they’re afraid it won’t have the commercial success of Street Fighter and Resident Evil. After all that battle network garbage on the GBA and DS, they needed a good solid Mega Man game again. The Blue Bomber can’t go out like this. Capcom, I demand satisfaction!
Check out the official Capcom statement at the Capcom Community website
Let them know this game needs to get made!
River City Ransom 2 FINALLY!!!
By Kali’s multi-armed bosom!
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari 2 (River City Ransom 2 in US)
This game is finally coming out! Yes this information has been available for a few months now and yes, that was the only picture I could find for it. If you never heard of River City Ransom 1, that’s because it was originally released on the NES in 1989, and then nothing for 15 years until a remake came out for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. I can’t possibly imagine the game didn’t do well. Or maybe I can, it was way ahead of it’s time. The world simply wasn’t ready for a game of this magnitude yet. It was a brawler that incorporated RPG elements. In 1989, brawlers had only just begun to take a serious foothold with games like Golden Axe and Final Fight and RPGs still weren’t widely accepted, so the combination of the two was nearly unheard of. The Scott Pilgrim game out now on XBLA and PSN is pretty much a spiritual copy, and owes its entire existence to River City Ransom. It took them over 20 years to even attempt to duplicate the magnum opus that is River City Ransom, but here, soon, 22 years later, we are finally getting a true sequel. And when I say we, I really mean Japan. The Wii Virtual Console will see this game some time this summer, with a PC release later on. However, the rest of the world might not see this game until 2012.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at a few points real quick on how River City Ransom revolutionized the brawler genre.
- The stage by stage gameplay structure was exchanged for a more open world feel, which almost no game had in this era. Aside from the occasional boss fight, you were free to roam around the city at your leisure.
- RPG style stats. You didn’t gain levels per se, but you could get stronger/faster/tougher/etc. from eating at any of River City’s fine dining establishments.
- Inventory. Again a trait usually reserved exclusively for RPGs. You could carry food with you so you didn’t have to run to a store to replenish your health, you could purchase a variety of footwear, and you could carry books and scrolls with you which granted special techniques and power-ups.
- Password save feature. Although the password save wasn’t a new idea, it had never been used in a brawler that I know of. Usually you either got all the way through the game with 3 lives and maybe a few continues, or you failed completely. There was no picking it up from where you left off.
- Javelin Man. You’ll just have to play to figure out what that means. But it is to this day one of my favorite features in a game ever.
Although the Kunio-Kun series, to which River City Ransom is part of, is popular in Japan, we’ve had a very limited reception of their titles here in the States. We did get somewhat recently, River City Soccer Hooligans on DS, which I recommend even if you don’t like soccer. No! Especially if you don’t like soccer. We never got the hockey one though, which makes no sense to me because America holds far more hockey fans than it does soccer fans. A couple years ago I found out they turned River City Ransom into an MMO, but much to my chagrin, it’s only available in Japan. I was FURIOUS when I couldn’t find a way to play it, and believe me, I tried for days. But basically you either need to live in japan to play or you’re S.O.L.
River City Ransom has some of my favorite music on the NES. The soundtrack stays in constant rotation on my playlist. Year200X, a video game tribute band, does an excellent metal version of the River City Ransom boss music.
What other games combine evil rival high school girlfriend kidnappers, Mao’s Chinese restaurant, Zeus’ wand, enemies that actually say “Barf” when you defeat them, Merv’s Burger Joint, get free smiles, 
and get a sauna for just $3.50? The answer is none. So River City Ransom 2 better deliver.
There is no homepage that I can find for this game yet, which further worries me about its release schedule. Believe me though, I shall remain vigilant. Oh! Also, if anyone finds a way to play the MMO, TELL ME IMMEDIATELY!!!
Feel free to drop me a line, leave some comments, like this page. And don’t forget to share this link!
Video Games, the 1st Amendment, AND YOU!!!
I’ve been getting email updates from the Video Game Voters Network and the big thing that’s been going around the past few weeks was the Supreme Courts decision that video games are protected under the 1st amendment of the constitution. FREE SPEECH for you uneducated goombas. This is kind of a big deal if you’re a gamer even more so if you’re a developer. The argument goes back and forth on whether or not video games can be considered art. Well now, legally, they are. There are still people out there however that would love to see that ruling overturned. The Video Game Voters Network has made it their goal to ensure that the video game community stays informed and is represented.
This is the email I received most recently:
The truth can’t fight for itself. We have to step up.
Even with our victory in the Supreme Court, attacks on computer and video games won’t stop. We have to be vigilant and counter them.
That’s why we’re launching the Truth Squad, a community-driven project to challenge the myths about video games in the media and highlight the positive impact those games have on society.
You can be a part of this effort from the beginning. Will you help us find insightful articles on video games, as well as unfair attacks against them in the media?
Join the VGVN Truth Squad and help the truth fight back.
Not everyone will accept the Supreme Court decision. Some people, like one writer at American Thinker, called the idea that video games can be art “a fool’s hope,” and asked:
“Isn’t there any fair-minded individual or government body capable of making a judgment as to what ought to be covered by the 1st Amendment, and what is simply pernicious?”
Yes, there is such a body: The Supreme Court of the United States. And they just made a sweeping judgment that our games are clearly covered by the First Amendment. We need your help to spread that message.
All you have to do is send us articles about attempts at anti-video game legislation, media outlets spreading myths, and news that shows the societal benefits of our games, and we’ll share them with the VGVN community.
Have you seen any recent attacks on games? Tell us now and join the Truth Squad:
http://videogamevoters.org/join-truth-squad
Fight on,
– Video Game Voters Network
This is something I personally feel passionately about. Not only am I a fan of video games, but I am a big supporter of free speech in all its forms and any attacks on either would severely diminish my quality of life. So I’d really like to hear what everyone has to say on this. How they feel about video games, kids playing M rated games, violence in games, where does art begin and end, etc. So please, take a minute to drop some comments, share this on facebook. Let’s see what everyone has to say.
Honour is My Shield
Kill Team is not an indie game by any stretch of the term; it’s published by THQ and GamesWorkshop is the kingpin of war gaming. However it is no secret that I am a huge fan of 40k, (who else has a tattoo of an orc on their arm?) so I had to say a little something about it just out of sheer excitement.
Picking up from my short comments the other day, Kill Team controls like Smash TV, but plays more like the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games. It’s a run and gun, frag fest where one stick controls movement and the other controls firing. And that would be enough, but to round out the game a bit, they threw in some light customization options. Not quite as many as MUA, but enough to keep it from getting bland. There’s also co-op, and a survival mode with online leaderboards.
There are 4 different characters to choose from and 2 basic styles of play. The Librarian and Vanguard Veteran focus on melee combat, while the Sternguard Veteran and Techmarine have more powerful ranged weaponry. Better weapons and perks for your marine can be unlocked through gameplay to further suit your character to your style. Enhanced melee damage, more health, longer power ups, to name a few. Also, each class has a specific special attack that will quickly dispatch a large chunk of the green horde. Librarians unleash a psychic shockwave, sending everything surrounding them flying. Vanguard Veterans tear ass around with their jump pack, finally landing and blasting away a cluster of greenskins. Techmarines quickly construct a twin-linked heavy bolter turret to help fend off foes from multiple directions. Finally, my favorite, the Sternguard Veteran has the focus fire ability which really amps up your rate of fire, allowing you a lay down a deadly hail of heavy bolter rounds, laying waste to all in your sights.
There are a few minor details that irk me. Being a 40k fan, I feel they could have made the weapon load outs more accurate. I admit the only people that are really going to notice this are 40k fans, and this may be nitpicking, but I don’t see anyone buying this game if they aren’t a 40k fan anyway. The Vanguard Veteran is ranked the highest for melee, but he is armed with a chainsword and plasma pistol. The Librarian has stronger ranged attacks, but weaker melee yet he is armed with a power sword and a bolt pistol. It seems to me they should give the Vanguard the bolt pistol and the Librarian the plasma pistol as a more accurate representation of their stats. Their swords get upgraded anyway, so only their default weapons need retooling, maybe just start them both with chainswords. And as for the Techmarine, the servo arm should be way more powerful. This is no way affects my overall enjoyment of the game, it’s just a minor detail and I do not consider it a strike against them.
However, I do have 2 small complaints that ARE somewhat bothersome. It is too easy to get all the unlockables and they are not character specific as you get them. Allow me to explain. Playing through as the Sternguard let’s say, I can can get every unlock for every character. I should only be unlocking upgrades to ranged weaponry. Not only is this less of a challenge, but subsequent playthroughs with other characters will feel less rewarding because now I have nothing new to achieve. My other big complaint is the self inflicted death rate is too high. These types of games always have copious amounts of exploding barrels littered about, which I should have expected, and within 5 minutes of my first game session, I was KIA; death by barrel blast. Whatever. That was my own stupidity, but with the unending rain of gunfire, it just means you need to more careful about stray rounds. The other method of self inflicted death is far more insidious and aggravating. It is too easy to fall. This isn’t a platforming game and I never have to jump. I shouldn’t even have the option to fall off any ledges. Maybe some of you will never come across this issue, but I am an insane completionist and I must find every little secret. Fall to death ratio – about 50%. Getting cut down from a rampaging mob of Orks is to be expected. Not searching behind a large pipe only to fall of the world.
Despite the fact that I’m very good at singling out things that bother me, I’ve had much fun with Kill Team so far. I assure you, those are the only negative aspects I’ve come across and they really are quite minor. It’s really easy to pick up and play without getting bogged down by endless menus, but customizable enough to where is doesn’t feel too simple. With each stage coming in at around 20-45 minutes play time, you don’t have to devote an entire day to it either. And the survival mode is good for a quick fix if you have even less time than that. Regardless of how much time you have, it’s total nonstop action the whole way through alone or with a friend. All said and done, definitely worth the 10 bucks you’ll spend on either the PSN or XBLA and it only makes me more anxious for Space Marine to come out in September.
Don’t forget, like me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter! And take care, spi….. wait wait. No, someone else says all that.
Yeah uh… Thanks for reading!
For the Emperor!
Just finished downloading and playing Warhammer 40k: Kill Team. It was only 800 microsoft points on XBLA. Simple, straightforward, fun gameplay. Smash TV style controls with some RPG elements thrown in such as added power-ups and perks.
I’ve been waiting for this since I played it briefly at E3. It will tide me over until Space Marine comes out in September. Added incentive to download, they give you a power sword in Space Marine for playing Kill Team.
Mike, this is for you more than anyone else. Download this immediately!
Analysis so far: AWESOME
More to come!
Thankyou Couch Co-op
I’ve seen the Dungeon Siege III commercial a few times now and it’s got me thinking. Actually I’ve been thinking about this for awhile and the commercial was more of a catalyst. What’s happened to couch co-op? Sitting around your room with a bunch of friends, a few bags of chips, and a lot of foul-mouthed tomfoolery. It seems so many games focus on online multiplayer that playing a game with a person in the same room is becoming a thing of the past. I understand that often times human interaction can be down right (forward, HADOKEN!) detestable, but video games are meant to bring people together! Too many games are either completely single player (which there’s nothing wrong with. Mass Effect is the best game ever) or are designed to get people online and into a team deathmatch as quickly as possible. I blame Call of Duty. The predecessors to Call of Duty: World at War didn’t have a campaign co-op, so when World at War finally released I was quivering with excitement to get home and play with my roommates right away. It was a great night. I simply don’t understand why the follow ups took that feature away. More recently Brink, and we won’t even mention any other problems with this one, is strictly multiplayer even in the single player campaign! Why not throw in some split screen action?
I have nothing against online gaming. I’ve been playing MMOs (specifically not World of Warcraft), RTSs, and FPSers for years on the PC and nothing is more devoid of direct social interaction than an MMO. But what if my wife and I want to play a game together? For the most part we would both need to own a copy of the game, have separate systems set up on separate TVs in separate rooms*, that or be relegated to playing some garbage carnival game on the Wii or pretending to rock out with fake instruments.
NO!
I’m sure it all comes back to money. My previous line of thinking pretty much answers my question. If you have a sibling or two and you want to play online with them, a sale of 1 game is nice, but make it so that you can only do 1 person online per console, well now you have 2 TVs, 2 consoles, 2 games, 2 headsets, and 2 accounts sold.
Here’s a typical situation: You’re in a store looking for a game to bring home to play with your friends but all too often the back cover reads, “Players 1. Online multiplayer 2-16.” I’m always talking about how perfect the XBLA and PSN are for finding awesome games and this is another prime example. The best co-op games aren’t found in a store for $59.99, but are available for immediate download usually at around only 15 bucks!
So here’s a list of games I thank for having multiplayer, split screen, campaign co-op, and whatever other ways they make it so we can game together without our only form of connection being our headsets.
- Halo – The most recognizable. This game has sold systems for years and from day 1 had split screen co-op
- Borderlands
- Portal 2
- Hunted – Even though it’s mediocre
- Dungeon Siege III
- EDF – Don’t laugh. You have no idea how awesome this game is
- Castle Crashers
- Scott Pilgrim – This one’s so old school there isn’t even an online feature. You might have to make some friends to get all 4 players
And I was ever so excited when these 3 gems appeared on the XBLA
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
- X-Men
Yeah I know I left out some games. I’m sure you have other co-op games on your own list that I didn’t mention. So what? Wanna fight about it?
Drop me a line, leave a comment. Most importantly, share this post!
* note that my wife and I do have separate systems set up on separate TVs in separate rooms
Sonic Generations
Why on earth did I not list this as part of my top picks from E3? Now I know what you’re thinking, “Sonic? Really?” Yes, really. For those of you who didn’t grow up with the Sega Genesis, I feel bad that you’ve, for the most part, had only crappy Sonic games to deal with. Sonic Adventures was all right though, but there was too much stuff you had to do that really bogged down the game… like Big the Cat.
There has been a demo available to download for a few weeks now, check it out. Unfortunately it only has 1 level of the classic Sonic mode. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it would be nice if they showed you both styles of play. Classic is fun, it plays exactly like the Genesis version, but with a few tweaks here and there and a major graphical overhaul. It would be cool if they added a feature that allowed you to play it in 16 bit mode. Modern Sonic mode plays more like Sonic Colors. Which, if you haven’t played it, is actually a decent game. Modern Sonic is more about blazing speed; you almost never stop running. It’s awesome that they put both types into one game. I guess it could really expand the appeal of who’s going to buy it. I mean the handheld Sonic games have been somewhat like classic ones, but for the most part kids buy those. Putting both types into one game and on a console really opens up the age boundaries. And if you own a 3D TV, the visuals in the modern Sonic mode look amazing. The sense of speed you get running right behind a 3D Sonic feels even more intense.
I haven’t been this excited about a Sonic game in nearly 15 years. Too bad it comes out holiday 2011 when the wallet’s gonna be tight with all the other big new releases coming out. Is it wrong that I’m more excited about Sonic Generations than Call of Duty? This might even be the game that causes me to upgrade to a 3D TV.
And for those of you who are too lazy to look this up on youtube yourself, I did the favor for you and put it right here. You can’t imagine the overwhelming impatience I get when I watch this video, knowing I still have 4 more months to wait. Enjoy.
Impossible Threesome
Issue #3
I figured since this was my third review, I would do three games at once. They’ll be short though so that I don’t take up too much of your time. All 3 are what could be considered impossible games.There’s really not too much to say about these type of games other that they never end and they’re impossible and they’re impossible because they never end. For the most part, they follow basic platforming principles. You go right and jump over or onto things that are in your way. The main difference between these and a traditional platformer is that you don’t stop moving. The game progressively gets trickier and timing becomes more and more precise. There is no respite like a normal platforming game. You just go until you lose.
The Impossible Game
Released in ’09, I think it might have been the first game of its type on XBLA. It might have been the first of its kind in general, but I’m not sure. I can’t find evidence of one and my memory fails me aside from maybe Adult Swim’s Go Right, but that one was hardly impossible. Even if it wasn’t the first though, The Impossible Game is one of the the most notable, jumping from XBLA to iTunes and Android, making it the namesake of the genre.
This is the most basic impossible game. The “characters” consist of triangles and squares. You are a square and you can use other squares as platforms to jump onto, but if you hit them sideways, you die. You don’t get along with triangles at all. Any contact with a triangle and you die. You jump over triangles, or jump onto squares to give you extra height to clear a gap or jump over more triangles. That’s pretty much it. I know that sounds really simple but you need to be super precise with this one. There is very little margin for error. Your timing and reaction skills get severely taxed even just 30 seconds into the game.
I have reason to believe that, despite what I said earlier, this game does have an end. It is perhaps also the most rewarding since, even though you might never reach the end, you at least get the feeling of making some progress. There’s a pattern to the shapes that come at you, so through patience and memorization you at least accomplish a section which you will then have to repeat when you die moments later. The fact that they have released a level pack for it further lends credence to this theory. But I’ll never know for sure. I certainly don’t have the patience to find out.
Techno Kitten Adventure
For a mere 240 Microsoft points you can be harassed by obnoxious techno music! I refuse to spend much time on this game. I feel I was swindled by my love of kittens. Just look at that cute, fat, smushy, little thing. Yup, that’s what drew me into this one. Kittens, I love ’em. I would be that crazy old cat lady if I were old… or a lady. Anyway, this game isn’t a writhing mass of cuteness like I thought it would be. Instead it was a hated impossible game wrapped up in a flashing, seizure-y, techno-infused, package. Yes I’m aware that “techno” is in the title, but the kitten blinded me of its existence.
Positive points for this game: It has the widest variety of options, stages, kittens, etc, that I’ve ever seen in an impossible game, which would give it significantly more replay value. Also, all the menus make kitten noises.
Negative points for this game: Everything else.
Instead of playing this game, you could easily just go to a rave and pretend your a kitten and randomly rub against strangers. But you shouldn’t, because raves are for idiots.
Zombie Accountant
The most memorable part of video games, for me, is the music. There’s a reason why 20 years later we still hum the Sonic the Hedgehog theme. So if a bad game has good music, it might still be worth playing. Zombie Accountant isn’t necessarily a bad game but I really can’t stand these impossible games and my thoughts of, “Ugh! Another zombie game?!” almost had me passing this one over completely. I’m glad I didn’t. If for nothing else, it was worth it for the music alone. It’s got a pretty rockin’ chiptune soundtrack that comes from “The Factory” by Multifaros, whose website can be found here.
Zombie Accountant was developed by Going Loud Studios, and it follows your basic impossible game formula. Things are in your way, you have go jump over them, all while it continually gets faster. However, they’ve injected a fair blend of humor to give this game its own flair, the fact that you are an accountant that is also a zombie for starters. There are a few other details that make this one stand out in the impossible game crowd. For example, there are actually TWO commands rather than the ubiquitous jump button; you can also duck! You must duck under the other accountants. DON’T JUMP! You have no idea how many times I keep trying to jump over them. It’s just a reaction. It seems like you would be able to, but don’t bother, you can’t. The sooner you learn that the better.
Your job is to collect files which are haphazardly floating around for some reason. The more you collect and the less filing cabinets you bump into, the faster you go and the higher your score multiplier gets. I don’t seem to be able to get more than a x3 multiplier, so good luck. Score enough and you can get a promotion, which negates one of the brains you’ve accidentally removed from an accountants cranium. After your 3rd infraction, you are awarded with your Termination of Employment scorecard. Apparently eating too many brains can get you fired.
Whether you were hired by this accounting firm as a zombie, or being an accountant turned you into a zombie (which could be an intended pun), is never revealed.
END
I hate these games. They’re so mindless and I find they’re hard to walk away from once you’ve started. They’re quick enough where you can jump into a 2nd, 3rd, 76th, playthrough before you realize how much you hate yourself for sucking at it. I find parents complaining about their kids playing “mindless” games like Call of Duty, but I bet there’s a bunch out there that have downloaded these or games like this that are far more mindless, but they don’t think that way because there’s no violence in it. Ok, off topic a bit…
Please feel free to leave any comments/suggestions/ideas/yell at me.
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Thanks for reading!
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