I haven't been playing very much in the way of games this past week. Part of it is because I upgraded from a basic cell to an Android phone and the rest is lack of sleep due to my daughter's illness. I've spent a lot of time watching Netflix and Youtube (Gamecenter CX and Crab's videos) while sitting in a rocking chair. And thinking.
I want this to sound not like a confessional but a realization: I may have been neglecting my retro roots. I
have been neglecting my retro roots. This came to me in the forums when Apollo.Boy kept telling me how much better older games look on a good CRT rather than an LCD. While I was trying to think of another way of reinforcing my point I began to wonder: when was the last time I really enjoyed playing a retro game on an old television. When was the last time I enjoyed playing a retro game at all? I had no idea. Sure, I've playing a lot of games (some of them old), but I was looking more at my backlog as a whole then as individual games. I was playing my games with the goal of completion, not enjoyment. This was the essence of my problem with Stellar-Fire, I think.
In the spirit of this I will be republishing two of my earlier articles, neither which appeared on RF Generation (that I can tell). I will also be once again be revamping the way I choose games to play. From now on I will choose both a game that closer fits with the overall spirit at RFG as well as a game that is more in character with, well, me.
_________________________________________________________________________ Post Mortem
GTA: Episodes from Liberty City: I haven't finished these games yet, but yet I have. Let me explain. Because of the content I cannot play these games around my children I am limited to after they are asleep, which basically means that I am playing about two missions a night. I am satisfied with this, so I feel that I can put these games on the Post Mortem list and walk away. Anyways, I think I have more pressing issues to confront.
_________________________________________________________________________ Games For This Week
Stellar-Fire
Platform: Sega CD
Purchase Date: 1998
Cost: $1.00Despite what I wrote at the beginning of this article, I still firmly believe this is not a good game in any capacity. Regardless, I shall strive forth. I've found a somewhat decent recorder (Hypercam 2), but I am having some sound issues. Below you will find one of my earlier experiments with Hypercam (as well as Stellar-Fire). Sorry about the fumbling sound.
The goal for each level is to collect a certain number of crystals scattered about the landscape while fighting and avoiding enemies at every turn and finally facing a boss. The problem is that the crystals are scattered in a very non-linear pattern that only gets more spread out with every level, eventually bordering on the ridiculous. To add to the difficulty there is no compass, so you are forced to rely on the background landscape. Very interesting. If I can ever beat this game I plan on writing a FAQ.
Title: Super Mario Brothers
Platform: NES
Purchase Date:2002
Cost: $1.36Like many of you, this was the first game I ever played on the NES. I first played back in 1987 after a friend, who spent many days mowing lawns and selling rebuilt bicycles, purchased one. Initially I sucked quite a bit at this game, despite my arcade experience. I kept dying at the elevators in World 1-2. Later when I received an NES for Christmas I was able to get better, but only a bit as I also received The Legend of Zelda as well.
I've never actually beaten this game. Did I say that already? I've seem most of the game, but for some reason I never saw it to the end. Very strange, though I have been assured by a friend that this is actually pretty common. I am reluctant to believe him, but I guess it could be true.
While I will be challenging this game on my NES, I might do a playthrough on an emulator so I can record it.
Title: Boku No Natsuyasumi 4 (My Summer Vacation 4)
Platform: PSP
Purchase Date: 4/2011
Cost: $45The Boku No Natsuyasumi series revolves around a boy (Boku?) visiting relatives during summer vacation in Japan. The game is considered very nostalgic and features many games and activities Japanese men would have enjoyed during their childhood in the eighties (such as bug collecting, beetle-fighting, and toy collecting). There is a story, but since I don't understand Japanese I don't know it, though I've been told that the series is perfect for those wishing to learn to read Japanese.
I've never tried to beat the game, but instead just putter around the island, collecting things, sticking my nose into everything, and enjoying the atmosphere of nostalgia the game creates (even though I don't have a cultural reference for it).
Will there ever be a game about a nerdy kid in the eighties as he trolls around the woods and roadside looking for returnable bottles so he can play arcade games at the laundry-mat and 7-11? I sure hope so. Then again, there is always Shenmue.
_________________________________________________________________________ In The Bag For 2012Alan Wake - 1/25
Dead Space 2 - 2/4
Portal 2 - 2/10
Enslaved - 2/17
