Old school video games

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Space Channel 5

It's always interesting to see game designers come up with fresh concepts for us gamers. Space Channel 5 is the perfect example of such a game. I never imagined I would be playing, or for that matter enjoying a primitive standard like this again.
Gamers assume the personality of Ulala, a 22 year old newscaster in the 25th century. Aliens have invaded Space Channel 5 and other territories across the universe. The Morolien's (as they are referred to) only objective is to make people dance. That's a fairly unique concept, isn't it? Before I go any further I must point out that Ulala is the ultimate videogame female. In other words, she's a total fox. The excellent animation provides many questionable shots of our heroine, provided by multiple camera angles. Although the angles are only questionable to the tastes of various gamers, one has to assume that Sega catered to the hormone driven youth that infests the gaming populous.

Toy Commander

It must first be said that Toy Commander has managed to take the one true concept of imaginative gaming, a youth and his toys, and weave all the elements of childhood playing into the most innovative game for the Dreamcast. If you can remember being a kid, then I've no doubt that you have fond memories of playing with your toys in clever fashion and only as you could imagine. This is what toy commander offers you, the chance to be a kid again.

Speed Devils

I sometimes ask myself why we must be continuously subjected to second rate racing titles, while sacrificing other proven genres. The answer is quite clear. All of the junk has to be visible so that we can easily find quality in a racing title. Such is the case with Speed Devils from Ubi Soft.

Sonic Adventure

It's hard to believe that Sega ever got away with a cheap "mascot" imitation like Sonic. OK, calm down Sega freaks, but just in case you don't remember, Sonic was created for one purpose only, to combat Mario. Don't argue with me, it's the truth. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's standard procedure for corporations to try and one-up their competitiors with stolen ideas. One can see that Crash Bandicoot (escpecially the latest racing title) is an obvious attempt by Sony to create their own "mascot" for fans to identify their product with. Mario has never felt much of a threat from Sony and Sega's equally admirable attempts into the genre. There is no shame in being bested by a game genius like Shigeru Miyamato time and time again. One cannot deny, however, that Sonic Adventure is a masterpiece amongst platform games and a solid threat to the afforementioned plumber.

The Best and Worst Dreamcast Games (Sept 1999 to Sept 2000)

It's hard to believe that it's been a full year since Sega's 128-bit killer was unleashed. 9/9/99 will forever be burnt into our heads as the day that Sega, once again, immerged from the depths to deliver the next best thing. I was one of the thousands waiting in line at midnight to purchase Sega's monster. Games were in low supply, as Sega failed to rally the troops for the promised 20+ releases and I was left with few choices. Ready to Rumble was the first Dreamcast game that found it's way into my machine, but a short day later I was back at the dealer, trading it in on Soul Calibur. A wise move, indeed.

MDK 2

The first MDK was one of the coolest games I've ever played. It was pure action, and pure fun. At first glance it would seem as though the game was just another mindless third-person shooter, but after playing it, you'd come to the realization that there was also a very healthy mix of puzzles along the way as well. This mix was quite possibly the best mix of thumb-reflexes and mind-binding in any game ever. It was also unique. The concepts were truly original, which is great to see with games nowadays.

There's good news: MDK2 features that same great mix, and even more originality.

NHL 2K

NHL 2K has been the subject of some rather harsh reviews since its release. The main fault of this game seems to be that it isn’t NHL 2000 by EA Sports. Give EA credit, they invented the genre of sports sims with the first Madden football, and then they extended that concept to every sport imaginable, including a fantastic treatment of hockey over the years. My favorite hockey game of all time was NHL 95 on the SNES. The graphics looked downright horrible compared to any 32, 64, or 128 bit hockey game, but the actual gameplay was dead on. NHL 2K combines the great gameplay of that ancient EA Sports title, with visual splendor never seen before in a console hockey game.

Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver

I always loved Horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, although those horror games are different then this one. Those games involved real people with some bizzard situations. This is more of a horror-like Spawn game. Where you play Raziel, Faithful lieutenant to Kain, the Vampire King. After a millennia of servitude and dedication, you have failed your master by your own evolution. Because of your magnificent sprawling wings, the lord Kain himself has sentenced you to a horrible death; A plunge into the Lake of Lost Souls. Falling into the painful abyss after what seems like forever, your descent has finally ceased. Trapped in a battered shell of a body and greeted by a mysterious booming voice, your purpose becomes clear... End the madness that has attached itself like a plague to the land of Nosgoth and destroy your former master... destroy Kain.

Crazy taxi

I have a callous on my finger.

Not from carpentry, weightlifting, fixing, or other tough manual labor that will give you callouses, but from playing Crazy Taxi. I kid you not, I have a callous on my finger from playing Crazy Taxi.

Crazy Taxi is virtual heroin. After you play once, you have to play again.... and again, and again. It calls you. As those of us who have played this game in the arcade know, just about the only thing that stopped you from playing Crazy Taxi in the arcade was the lack of tokens. Worry about tokens no more, my friend, because Crazy Taxi has hit the DreamCast... in a BIG way.