Past & Retro
Go back to the old-school times and grab some exciting nostalgic dreams. Here we cover all of the memorable past-time consoles and games.
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The Best Games from the Wolfenstein Series
The phrase ‘gaming royalty’ might sound overly grandiose, but if this category of games does exist, then the Wolfenstein series certainly belongs in it. The first Wolfenstein game was released in 1981, and there’s a new one – Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus – scheduled for release later in 2017. That means the series has been running for a frankly ludicrous 36 years! In fact, it’s the second longest-running story-based game franchise in existence, with the Mario series being just a few months older. All of the Wolfenstein games have been action-based, and they’ve all revolved around fictional plots involving the Nazis, with William “B.J.” Blazkowicz as the main character. There have, however, been several distinct eras in the history…
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Goldeneye: Rogue Agent Review
Today I am looking at a rather interesting first-person shooter called Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. As the name may imply, it is a game based in part on the James Bond movies- but it doesn’t actually have anything to do with the famous Goldeneye video game, nor is James Bond himself your character- instead, you play as a former agent of MI6 that was kicked out of the organization for his brutal methods. The prologue explains that after being shot in the eye by the famous criminal Dr. No, the agent became increasingly aggressive and violent, until they had no choice but to remove him from their ranks. The first level bears this out, where he is working with James Bond…
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Video Game Mysteries That Remain Unsolved
The world of gaming is full of mystery, and why shouldn’t it be. Mystery, as an entity, is a big part of video games, as many titles sell solely on the suspense that they generate. Many of these mysteries could just be there due to a glitch or to tease gamers and have a little fun. Sometimes, these are planned by developers, and sometimes they just end up being there naturally. However, some of these mysteries still remain unsolved to this day. Do not believe us? Check out this piece on a few mysteries in the gaming world that have still remained unsolved. Pokemon: What Does Diglett Look Like Under the Ground? There are many Pokemon whose designs have always…
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Psychonauts Review
Psychonauts is on many fronts a ground breaking game. In a review it would be easy to say that the witty dialogue is what makes this game stand out, but that would leave out the compelling assortment of collectibles. One could say the gorgeous art style is what makes this IP so unique, but that would undermine the fantastic platforming gameplay. The great thing about Psychonauts is that there is not just one compelling aspect about it that has created the cult following it has developed today. Psychonauts has, since its 2005 release, seen a massive following because of it’s unique range of quirky characters that could only be tangible in a Tim Schafer game, it’s deep platforming mechanics, and…
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Gameplay Mechanics and Bosses – Terminator: Dawn of Fate
Lately I’ve been playing an interesting game based on the Terminator francise called The Terminator: Dawn of Fate. It is functionally a prequel to the first movie, showing the events leading up to Skynet’s defeat and both the Terminator and Kyle Reese being sent back in time. It is effectively a third and first person shooter, and a pretty fun one. Today I’ll be looking at what I think is the most notable boss from the game, but first, a bit on how the game works. Normally you are running around in a third person perspective, but pushing R2 will put you in the first person, with the ability to aim at particular parts of your foes instead of just…
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The Old Star Wars Battlefront 2 Was Better
Today I will be looking at the Star Wars Battlefront series. While I haven’t played the new game coming out in November, I have heard news about it, and what I heard worries me enough that I feel I must write about it. And while I’m doing so, I’ll tell about what I have played- the original Battlefront II from 2005. For those who do not know, the Star Wars Battlefront series are a series of first and third person shooters where do not play as some all-important character like Han Solo or Luke Skywalker, but instead as the typical grunts- your Stormtroopers, Battle Droids, and so on. The games showcase massive battles with dozens of enemies and allies, effectively…
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The Top Tennis Games Ever Created
There’s something about playing a good Tennis game that gets the blood pumping. Whether it’s the summer heat, the one-to-one competition or the blistering pace of the racket play, Tennis has always translated well into video games. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed a range of games from the authentic, to the impossible and the downright surreal. Below we take a look at the Top 10 Tennis Games. Tennis 1984 Way back in 1984, Tennis was released on Gameboy as the first widespread tennis game. Though it was not the first tennis game, it is one of the best recognized for its time. The gameplay was simple mechanically, but the game itself was incredibly hard. The five difficulty levels ranged all…
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A Look Back At Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Today I am taking another look at Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. I did an article on one of the more note-worthy enemies from the game a year ago, but on replaying it I realized it deserves a more in-depth analysis, for reasons both good and bad. The game is very unlike other Mortal Kombat games; while they are fighting games, this one is an action adventure that borrows a lot from them. The game begins with the end of the first Mortal Kombat, showing a very impressive cutscene where Shang Tsung is defeated, saving the world, and the evil sorcerer and his minions all flee. From there, the events differ from how they happened in Mortal Kombat 2, turning into…
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Strider 1 vs. Strider 2: Which is better?
I recently beat a very interesting and fast paced game called Strider 2. After playing through Marvel vs. Capcom with Strider Hiyru, I started wondering where the character had come from, which lead me to this. Why Strider 2? Well, I tried it along with the first one, and compared them, finding the second to be the best of them. I’ll talk a bit on both and explain why. Both games are very similar in plot and execution. An evil sorcerer of some sort, the Grandmaster, has conquered the world. In order to put a stop to him, those who resist his regime of evil experimentation and destruction have hired the services of Strider Hiyru. The Stiders are an organization…
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Maria- Dracula X Chronicles
Today I’m looking at another Castlevania game, Dracula X Chronicles, for the PSP. It is a remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, where you play as Richter Belmont as he journeys into the castle to stop Dracula and save his girlfriend. Of course, being a remake, it is a huge improvement on the original graphically, and it makes everything from the scenery to the enemies interesting to look at, and a bit more intimidating. However, today I am not looking at an enemy or Richter, but instead the other playable character, Maria. First, she isn’t available from the start. The game begins with a prologue where Death appears as Richter is riding off to his home, trying to kill him…
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Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath Review
For years, Lorne Lanning and company have been trying to create the kind of impressive Oddworld experience that both long-time fans and casual players would grow to appreciate. Well, I think they’ve finally hit the mark with Stranger’s Wrath, a simply stunning achievement on every single count. Graphics? Beautiful. Gameplay? Rock solid, with a keen amount of attention put into the gameplay styles. Sound? Classic Western style, even with some annoyances. The first great game of 2005 has arrived. Don’t miss it. I’ll have to admit, I haven’t always dabbled into the Oddworld universe. Years ago, when the series was initially launched with the release of Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee on the PlayStation and PC, I found some elements to be…
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Death and the Floating Catacombs
Today I will be taking another look at Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, though a much later part of the game than before. Last time we covered an early boss, but now I’m covering two areas and the bosses inside them. Before that, though, there is a tiny bit more plot to cover. Since the Doopelganger battle, Alucard has discovered someone else trying to stop Dracula, a girl named Maria who has magical powers. He later finds Richter Belmont, but rather than stopping Dracula, the former vampire hunter seems to be acting as the lord of the castle himself, even summoning monsters to slay Alucard. Maria refuses to believe that her friend would do such a thing, but later realizes…
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Onslaught- Marvel vs. Capcom
Today I’m looking at the boss of Marvel vs. Camcom, Onslaught. The game itself doesn’t say much about who Onslaught is, but it also bears out that whoever he is, he has a lot of power and is mostly certainly an evil villain of some sort, given the city in the background of the fight seems to be on fire. After a bit of digging, though, I did indeed find out who he was. His origin is a bit complicated, but can be summarized fairly well. Basically, Magneto, long time enemy of the X-Men and a mutant with magnetic powers, nearly killed Wolverine, who has a metallic skeleton, via ripping that skeleton out of him. Wolverine only survived due to…
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Digimon World 3
Today I will be looking at Digimon World 3, one of my favorite JRPGs and indeed one of my favorite games in general. Specifically, I will be explaining the mechanics of the game and how one could get started playing it. So, to begin with, we start the game on a street corner, where a boy, Junior, is waiting for his friends, Teddy and Ivy. As he waits, he sees a news report from some store TVs that many members of the terrorist group A.o.A. have been captured. The group does play in with the story later, but they aren’t really mentioned for a long while after this, so it’s nothing I need to get into. More immediately important, his…
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Dead Man’s Volley- The Legend of Zelda
Like many long running video game series, Legend of Zelda has staples that gamers would come to expect, like the general nature of the game, running around, investigating dungeons, collecting items, and so on. Today, I will be looking at one of these staples, which pertains to boss battles, and usually the final boss: The Dead Man’s Volley. Simply put, the Dead Man’s Volley is where the boss(usually Ganon in some form or another) fires an energy blast at you, and you have to knock it back at them with your weapon. They will usually knock it back again, and it gets faster until either you or they slip up. If they screw up first, then they are stunned or…
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Final Bosses- Spider-Man N64
Today I am looking at the final bosses of the Nintendo 64 Spider-Man game. While it isn’t related to a movie and thus one I had forgotten, I took another look at it recently and the finale of it certainly stands out. So does the plot in general, since it isn’t based on a movie, but I’ll try to move on to the ending fairly quickly. The game starts at the Science Expo 2000, where Doctor Otto Octavius, formerly supervillan Doctor Octopus, is showing off some invention he made. Both Peter Parker and Eddie Brock are there taking pictures when Spider-Man shows up and steals the technology the good doctor is showing off. Naturally, Peter Parker is Spider-Man is this…
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