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Original image from modthesims2.com
Once upon a time, the most desired trait of any home console gamer was to play arcade ports. In this fashion, one could say that arcades ruled the jungles of electronic video game entertainment. While complete faithfulness to the arcade original was the holy grail, it was certainly not a requirement, though individual interpretation on the quality of the port was certainly in place, especially in the playgrounds and hallways of schools.
Once upon a time, I was among those that desired the "perfect" arcade port, having been a child in the jungle of electronic entertainment. Yet, as I grew in years, complete faithfulness to the arcade original was only a concern, then less of a concern, then finally of little to no concern. Don't get me wrong, I still love original arcade games, it just so happens that in my mind, certain games have been usurped by certain console ports, so that when someone says, "Remember how awesome xxxxxx game was back in the day?" and I say, "Yes," my mind isn't even remotely in the vicinity of the arcade original. Curiosity piqued yet?
Continue reading But I Like Those Ports!
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Pic from presspassla.com
Another Episode of The Observatory (ThOb) is here, meaning that I have more time to waste with y'all, although I would hardly call it wasted. My boss might, and although he is here with us today, he is in the other room, and since my work is BYoC (bring your own computer), it's all good. So then, what should we talk about?
Continue reading The Observatory 3 - Burned Out But Ready To Fly?
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I will be the first to admit I was a stupid kid. Between 1990-92 I made a series of shameful visits to the Toys R Us "budget wall" section, where NES games could be had for a pittance. Or $20, which I guess wasn't a pittance. Some of you may remember an earlier article where I detailed the psychological damage caused by purchasing and playing Hydlide in 1991. Would you believe that I had been burned before that piece of horror, not only from a game on the same wall, but in the same way, while looking for an inexpensive version of another game. With Hydlide I was trolling for a RPG experience. This time - the first time - I was looking for something with some action and adventure in it (an action/adventure game, if you will). But I guess there is no point in delaying, as you have already read the title of the article as well as seen the picture above. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you a tale of disappointment and discovery; Budget Wall Chronicles - King's Knight.
Continue reading Budget Wall Chronicles - King's Knight
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You have finished your quest and gained the title of Avatar. You have mastered the eight virtues and successfully retrieved the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the horrible depths of the Stygian Abyss, and have been ordered to return to your world and live your life as an example to others. In a flash of darkness, you return to the exact spot of your initial departure, the circle of stones. You return home, realizing that your life has changed forever. But the moongate doesn't appear again, and you go back to the life you had before, not knowing if you will ever see the land of Britannia again. Until one night, you receive a sign that literally drops into your lap. You don your armor, sword, and ankh, and hurry to the old cycle of stones, to the moongate that appears out of thin air, and to a new destiny.
Continue reading A Brief Tour of Ultima: Part 3 - Ultima V: Warrior of Destiny
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IN THIS EPISODE: A further drop down the PC rabbit hole of "old skool" tech and the beginnings of a "habit" with the 3DS. Plus; collecting is one thing, but do I have enough room in my life to play all the games?
Continue reading The Observatory 2 - The PC-3DS Plunge and All The Games?
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The Command & Conquer series stands as an early pioneer in the RTS (real time strategy) genre and one of the most identifiable and iconic game series today. Ask any PC gamer and they will likely first tell you which branch is their favorite (the main series, Red Alert, Generals, etc.) and then regale you with a tale of one of their most memorable moments. For many (including this author), it has to do with the power and charisma of the Commando unit. While most single "grunt" type units died a quick and often pointless death, the Commando would wade into battle, single-shot killing enemies and blowing up enemy structures with ease. Because of this, the Commando missions in the first Command & Conquer title were always my favorites, and often over far too soon. Then one day a Westwood employee spoke up at a meeting:
"What if you could be the Commando, but like in Quake? You know, get right down into the action and see things from his perspective. Right?"
Right indeed.
Continue reading Command & Conquer - Renegade
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Hello everyone! This is something I've wanted to do for a while but for one reason or another haven't. Despite the suggestive name, the article really isn't about anything specific. I don't think, anyway. The plan is to just cram stuff into it that doesn't exactly fit into my monthly front page contribution nor my occasional visits to The Gaming Diary thread in our forum. I think I'm aiming for somewhere in between, but with more rambling, and see how long I can keep updating with new posts.
Welcome, my friends, to The Observatory: Hardware Explanation and Eating Crow!
Continue reading The Observatory 1 - Hardware Explanation and Eating Crow!
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The old world has passed away with the death of Mondain, Minax, and Exodus (the villians from Ultimas I-III) and the world has seen great upheaval, literally transforming the very land mass of Sosaria. The Age of Darkness is over. In the wake of this geological event, Lord British has united and consolidated the surviving kingdoms, towns, and villages under his own rule, setting forth with a new vision for law, order, and morality. Gone are the old ways of holding princesses captive and knighting random warriors for slaughtering guards. A new system of governance would be created, utilizing eight virtues, but for it to be fully realized there needs to be a champion, an avatar who could learn and eight virtues to show his kingdom the way.
Continue reading A Brief Tour of Ultima: Part 2 - Ultima IV: Quest for the Avatar
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We all have Christmas gaming stories. Many have two or three, some maybe more. Me, I have several, but the one that's been rolling around my noodle as of late happened back in good old 2001. Remember it? How about you and me sit for a bit, and we can exchange Christmas gaming stories, okay? Great.
Continue reading Christmas 2001 Gaming Memory
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This months article was to feature my plodding (and hopefully, exhaustive) journey through the first three Ultima games, which are generally referred to as "The Age of Darkness." But you know what? Despite my undaunted love for sometimes crusty, old-school RPG games, I find the older Ultima games intimidating and unapproachable, so much so that I had this puppy on the back burner for nearly a year. Well, now is the time for action, I say. So with fully configured and patched downloads from GoG imported into DBGL on my MacBook, I pushed forth to see just what all the hubbub is about.
Continue reading A Brief Tour of Ultima: Part One - The Age of Darkness
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So here we are again; another Halloween, another month to write a deliciously themed article. Luckily this is a game-oriented site, else I would spin tales of true terror; of mortgages and debt, of teething and dirty laundry! Of blistering noise and thunderous silence! Of monkey's paws! Of sump pumps! Alas, I could not incur the wrath of my own conscience for such a deed, and must instead bring you a brief tale of stress and confusion. You would call it Siren for the Sony PlayStation 2.
Continue reading Siren - A Tale of Stress and Confusion
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DOS is dead. Well, about as dead as the Latin language, meaning that while it is still used today for many things, nothing new has been done in quite a while. Searching for DOS on Google will net you a ton of abandonware sites instead of indie projects. Ask your friends and they will wax nostalgic about their favorite games (perhaps many of them not even DOS games). But there is a completed project, believe it or not, and it has recently been released as a physical, limited release game. Yep. A port, no less, of an already successful indie game that has seen physical boxes on the PS4 and PS Vita as well. The name, you ask? It's Retro City Rampage 486.
Continue reading Retro City Rampage 486 Edition
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Do yourself a favor. Don't buy Elite: Dangerous. Yet.
Continue reading Opinion - Don't Buy Elite: Dangerous. Yet.
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Almost everyone likes platformers. I literally walked around my work and asked a bunch of my fellow employees if they liked platforming games, and those that did not react with a blank stare gave a, "Yes," "Oh, yeah," or "Yep." One guy also liked them, but only after I described what a platformer was. He then proceeded to regal me with tales of his Atari 800XL, which he drags out of storage every few years to play Frogger and Jumpman with his wife. Everyone else I spoke to talked about Super Mario Brothers, Sonic, and even the platforming sections of Contra.
This article isn't about any of those games.
Continue reading MURI - Indie Retro Goodness
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*From Wallpaperup.com*
Two genre defining games were released within a year of each other, separated by a platform and the first letter of the genre descriptor. One is famous for showing the world a whole new way of presenting visualization and sound in RPGs, the other for forcing a genre twist onto a conservative group of gamers while still keeping both feet rooted firmly in the past. One is a prime example of a JRPG, and the other is a near textbook entry of a CRPG. But we are all gamers, yes? So please put down your tape measures and rulers, and join me for a gentle evening of Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy VII.
Continue reading A Gentle Evening with Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy VII
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