Posted on Jan 11th 2017 at 01:00:00 PM by (Pam) Posted under video, top 10, 2016
Happy New Year everyone! I think 2016 was a great year for gaming - of the 30+ games I played that released last year some were great, most were enjoyable in some way, and few were disappointing. My top 10 list runs the gamut from first person shooters, to rhythm games, to small narrative exploration games. I think gaming is in a good spot right now. We have such a wide variety of games that there's something for everyone, and indie titles are really offering up special gaming experiences.
Today I'm looking at one of gaming's lesser known mascots - Bonk! I review the original Bonk's Adventure on the TurboGrafx-16, as well as look at a bit of his history and the history of the console to explain why Bonk never made it big in North America like Mario or Sonic.
Posted on Nov 12th 2016 at 01:00:00 PM by (Pam) Posted under video, rpg
This video was inspired by the recent Playcast conversation about The Legend of Zelda and whether or not it should be classified as an RPG. While I don't think it should, it does have some elements common to RPGs. Here I take a look at the genre's roots in tabletop games and examine how video games let us develop characters in both mechanical and narrative ways. I also compare western and Japanese RPGs in how they tend to favor one type of character development over the other.
Check out the video and let me know how you define an RPG!
It's October, so it's time for spooky games. Phantasmagoria is a point and click horror adventure game by Sierra. It was controversial due to its depiction of graphic FMV gore and adult themes and became a best seller. But is it any good?
I remember seeing the box art for this game all the time when I was a kid. Though point and click adventure was a staple of my gaming history, I had never played this game before. I've always had a soft spot for FMV as well, though this wasn't quite what I was expecting.
Jaws was one of the August community playthroughs here at RFGen and it was the first time I had played this particular game. I have to say, it's a bit of an oddity. The majority of the gameplay is non-scrolling horizontal shooter, but there are a few different mechanics thrown in to change things up a bit. On paper, the game doesn't sound impressive - an LJN published tie-in to the fourth (and arguably worst) Jaws movie, Jaws: The Revenge. But how does it play?
Compile is well known for making excellent shoot'em ups and of all the ones I've played, Gun-Nac is my favourite. This is not a game I played as a kid. I only tried it for the first time within the past year, but I was immediately hooked and I now consider it one of my favorites on the NES.
Aside from very solid controls and a variety of weapons and power-ups, the thing that stands out most is the amazing, somewhat bizarre, environments. Each stage has a theme that's a little different than your average shmup. In one, you battle sentient vegetables, while in another you're up against currency. Boss battles that include giant robot rabbits and Maneki Neko are a nice change from battling other spaceships.
When the new DOOM was revealed at E3 last year, I was not remotely interested in playing it. It looked like just another first-person shooter that seemed to be gory for no good reason. I had limited experience with the original games - I'm more of the Wolfenstein girl - so the nostalgia factor wasn't even there. Pass.
However...
Once the game released and rave reviews started coming out, I thought maybe it would be worth a look. Boy, am I glad I gave it a chance. DOOM is some of the most fun I've had with a game in a long time. The pace is relentless, the combat is satisfying, and the level design is fantastic! By going back to basics and skipping mechanics like cover, regenerating health, and having to reload your gun, id Software produced a game that feels fresh.
I was really excited to make this review and found myself writing it in my head as I played the game. Give it a watch if you want to hear some more about DOOM.
Names Roehm21, Daniel if you would prefer. This is the first entry in this new blog, so why not give a little back story first. For the past few days I've been posting some awesome game music on my Facebook account. Come to find out none of my friends are really all that into game tunes. Being a tad disappointed, I figured the best place to share my interests is with my fellow gamers. Which is what brought me here.
Now I'm not going to say that I'm some sort of video game expert. But I've been playing for over 18 years on an almost daily basis...not sure if thats a good thing or not :p . Hopefully y'all will enjoy this little blog, maybe I can include some important fact about that games or something. Nothing is finalized at this point. Enough of that, lets get one with the music.
