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Getting Our Nostalgic Fix on the PS4 with Sega Mega Drive Classics

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Let’s get this out of the way, if you are still enjoying the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on previous systems, then stop reading this review (even though you will be missing out!). If on the other hand you are yearning to play some classic 16-bit Sega games on your PS4, then read on. Oh yeah, Sega Mega Drive Classics is also available on Xbox One, but we don’t have a XBone, so there you go.

Now, should we connect our Sega Mega Drive console and compare the games side by side? Actually, if you are lucky enough to have a working Mega Drive console connected to your TV with all the titles that are in this Classics pack, then you know what, you should stop reading too!

Ok, we are glad we got that off our chest! Wow, two paragraphs in and we still haven’t started telling you about the games and the other bells and whistles in this nostalgia inducing package.

Sega Mega Drive Classics on the PS4 is the largest collection of retro classic games in one pack. There are over 50 classic Sega 16-bit games, ok we counted them all, there are actually 53 games (and that’s not counting the games that have region specific variants) to satisfy almost every genre under the sun, from arcade action, adventure, pinball (sort of), shooters, beat ‘em ups, fighters, puzzlers, hack’n slashers, tactical RPGs to everyone’s favourite, platformers – and there are lots of platformers!

These old favourites aren’t just dumped from their cartridges and thrown in this package, no sirree, they have had a raft of very cool modern features injected into them including mirror mode, rewind (for when you slip up), controller customisation, online multiplayer and achievements, optional emulation enhancement filters like pixel scaling and save states to save your game at any time, meaning players – both old and new, should find revisiting these retro games an absolute Sonic 3D Blast (Ed: Oh dear, that was terrible!).

Upon loading Sega Mega Drive Classics we were totally impressed by the opening title sequence, which we will leave as a surprise, but we can tell ya this much, it’s pretty darn awesome – either that or we are too easy to please. Anyway, once you stop drooling from the title sequence (unless you hit X!) you are greeted by the new-look menu system, developed by d3t, from which you can access the 53 Sega Mega Drive games and other options. The menu resembles the bedroom of an early nineties Sega fan, which is a great throwback, with dynamic time-of-day conditions, retro SEGA paraphernalia, a shelf full of the aforementioned 53 Mega Drive games, and of course, a CRT TV with the sexy Mega Drive console underneath it.

When selecting a game to play, its corresponding cart is removed from its case and then inserted into the Mega Drive console – pure nostalgic nirvana. On top of the already mentioned modern conveniences and features jammed into this package, the most important thing we can tell you is that the emulation of the games is spot-on. The word ’emulation’ may trigger negative connotations, but we are here to tell ya that this is as close as you will get to playing Mega Drive games without forking out for the console on eBay and then fishing around for the game cartridges.

We touched on this earlier, but we’ll elaborate – each game has additional options, some more than others, like region specific versions (L3), modifications (Y) and extras (R1) like target milestones that earn you specific trophies.

As we aren’t much of adventure or RPG fans, we stuck to Sega’s arcade conversions, platformers, beat’me ups and puzzle games. After playing a lot of Sonic, Ristar, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, Columns, the Wonder Boy and Shinobi games, we can say that we definitely felt like we were back in the early 90s – good times!

Before we go on, here is the full list of games included in this package:

  • Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
  • Alien Soldier
  • Alien Storm
  • Altered Beast
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Bio-Hazard Battle
  • Bonanza Bros.
  • Columns
  • Columns III: Revenge of Columns
  • Comix Zone
  • Crack Down
  • Decap Attack
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • ESWAT: City Under Siege
  • Fatal Labyrinth
  • Flicky
  • Gain Ground
  • Galaxy Force II
  • Golden Axe
  • Golden Axe II
  • Golden Axe III
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Kid Chameleon
  • Landstalker
  • Light Crusader
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
  • Ristar
  • Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
  • Shining in the Darkness
  • Shining Force
  • Shining Force II
  • Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Space Harrier II
  • Streets of Rage
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Streets of Rage 3
  • Super Thunder Blade
  • Sword of Vermilion
  • The Revenge of Shinobi
  • ToeJam & Earl
  • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
  • Vectorman
  • VectorMan 2
  • Virtua Fighter 2
  • Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World

The problem with a pack like this is that players will concentrate on all the games Sega left out of the mix. Granted, Sega probably could put the entire Mega Drive catalogue on one Blu-ray and flog it for $90.00, but then we would find something else to complain about – you just can’t please everyone. The games that are included are solid, bar a few questionable titles, however, just because we don’t like adventure and RPG titles, it doesn’t mean they should be excluded. Same goes the other way, if you loathe platformers, beat’em ups and puzzlers, it doesn’t mean these genres should be thrown out for more RPGs. Actually, if there was a driving game like Super Monaco GP or a motorcycle-racing-bashing one like Road Rash, then we could say that most, if not all, genres are well represented. Come to think of it, a few more shoot’em ups, like Truxton and Thunder Force would have rounded out this already pretty awesome package. Ah, we can speculate all we want, but we have to give it to Sega, they have tried to cater for the majority and we reckon they have done an admirable job.

After waffling on about this Sega Mega Drive Classics package on the PS4, the ultimate decision to buy or not buy is yours, but we’ll leave you with this little nugget – if you want to get your Sega 16-Bit gaming fix on your modern console, then you can’t go too wrong with Sega Mega Drive Classics.

Review System: PS4
Release Date: May 29 2018
Format: Xbox One & PS4 (sorry Nintendo Switch owners)
Price: $49.95

image source: Mega Drive Classics

Disclosure: Sega Mega Drive Classics [PS4] download code was kindly provided by Five Star Games for this review.

 

KG’s Favourite PC Sports Games

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image source: staticflickr

By: KG – an experienced browser-based games developer with a big passion for writing. She is obsessed with driving games, yoga, and astrophysics.

We all love sports regardless of the fact that we actually play them in real life or we just enjoy them virtually on a computer! So, there’s absolutely no wonder why there are so many amazing PC sports games available nowadays.

But how do you choose one that managed to capture the excitement of a real-life sporting event without slacking off on quality when it comes to the player experience?

If you want to enjoy some good-old fashion sports games on your PC, take a look below. These are the games that shaped generations and created new names in the industry. These are the games worth playing when you want to feel like an athlete on your PC!

FIFA

The FIFA game series is one of the richest in the sports games niche as it releases a new version every year, starting with the 1990s. Right now, you can get the FIFA 2018 version for PC and you’ll also get a little surprise if you play any of the other series. This year, the game has a single player story mode, which is impressive for this game. You can also play online and enjoy hours of fun with the community (one of the strongest game communities in the world).

Overall, FIFA may be focused on football, but it’s a game with a lot of kick (Ed: pun not intended!) and adrenaline that will keep you glued to your PC for days!

Out Of The Park 2019

If football is not your thing, you can always try a nice baseball game, especially now that the OOTP19 is available! Just like with FIFA, there’s a lot of management involved and you have to create and lead your team to success. The action is enticing and there’s a lot to do to keep you busy and engaged.

NBA 2K11

image source: Amazon

Basketball is highly appreciated by the American public so you can understand why there are so many cool games available for download. However, the best of the best must be NBA 2K11 with Michael Jordan as the main character. So, if you ever dreamed of being Jordan himself, now is the time to see that dream becoming reality!

However, if you’re looking for something lighter, there are plenty of online basketball games you can try for free and that don’t require a gaming computer!

Rocket League

For those players who are just looking to have some fun time, Rocket League is the perfect game for a boring Sunday afternoon. After all, you’re playing football with cars – what could be more entertaining than this?

It may be a fantasy sport, but it is still one of the most popular games on Steam. The unique physics and the way the game is created will definitely keep you coming back for a dose of fun.

Fire Pro Wrestling World

image source: ytimg.com

While some may argue that wrestling is not a sport, it is definitely entertaining which is why we decided to include it anyway. Fire Pro Wrestling World is the closest you’ll ever get to Mortal Kombat in a game that features actual real wrestlers.

The cool thing here is that you own the rules and can actually create your own. Not to mention that there’s a lot of customisation involved from the ring to the way the wrestler looks and behaves.

In conclusion, there are plenty of sports games out there and you can choose between games that exist in real life and games that are nothing but a fantasy. After all, games do represent the virtual world so why wouldn’t you be allowed to fulfil your wilder dreams than just playing football?

Lessons A Huge AAA Success Like GTA 5 Can Teach Indie Developers

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Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar Games’ colossal juggernaut of a title, was developed on a budget of $265 million. The end product was a detailed open-world game with cutting edge graphics and AI programming of unparalleled complexity (for the time).

All that is just about as distant as you can get from indie game development.

Rockstar has decades of industry experience, GTA is one of the most popular mainstream AAA franchises around and the company spent more than half of its hundreds-of-millions budget on marketing. It also just cracked over 95 million copies sold.

Anyone with an inkling of what indie development looks like will know that these things are worlds apart.

And yet, in the underlying fabric of the game itself – not the product – are lessons that small teams working remotely and one-man devs can learn from, if only conceptually. Development of a title like GTA 5 is a unique beast in terms of project management, and unlike anything most AAA developers have to deal with let alone indies, so we’ll be focusing on just the game itself.

It’s also a tough example because, due to its high budget, there was very little the developers couldn’t allow themselves. Even so, interviews and other sources have revealed that over the course of the game’s development a number of features and mechanics were cut either due to time or monetary constraints.

This brings us to our first lesson, and one that can be applied to gaming universally – scope. You need to know the scope of what you want to do, what you can get done, and sync the two together. Game development can be arduous work even when the crunch hasn’t set in, and indie developers are certainly hit harder than AAA in this regard.

In the case of indie devs, when they’re working from a much smaller budget or are developing for free, the stress of getting your title out into the open can be confounded with making that title the best it can be. Feature-creep must be avoided, cut what needs to be cut and stay focused on your scope.

Too many indie developers give up their daily lives to create their first game, release it, then patch it profusely only to end up with health issues, broken relationships and a financially unsuccessful game because they lost sight of what could be feasibly achieved.

Big productions like GTA 5 have specific committees to keep an eye out for this, reining in the project if too many features are planned, pushing the limits of deadlines and budgets.

On the other hand, indie developers have more control over their work and need to be their own supervisors. If GTA 5 had stretched itself too thin because adding additional feature X and Y would be “cool”, it wouldn’t be the critically acclaimed success it is today.

Another thing GTA 5 gets right is the ratio of content to scale. AAA titles these days pride themselves on how expansive their maps are and how much sheer content there is – you’d think that more is universally better. Thing is, even though the settings of Los Santos and Blaine County are large, together, they’re hardly the largest open world in gaming.

Instead, Rockstar knew to limit the physical size of the map to the amount of content they’d produce. Thus, GTA 5 has a large amount of unique content distributed evenly and organically throughout the action-space. Things aren’t too cramped nor are they too far between.

Relating gameplay content with map size is very specific to open-world sandboxes, but the principle can be applied to any game. The pacing, amount and length of content needs to be in balance.

There is no golden ratio and that “balance” varies depending on the project. Maybe a sombre exploration game is well balanced when quiet moments are predominant, where an action-packed FPS is well balanced when you keep the adrenaline pumping.

Generally, as an indie developer, realistic goals are essential, and no-one should be gunning for a spectacle the scope and size of GTA 5 right off the bat. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from the game and how it implements basic game design principles, because these principles are universal and GTA 5 implements them masterfully.

image source: Rockstar Games

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Logan Smith
Logan has been obsessed with Rockstar Games ever since the Grand Theft Auto series went 3D with GTA III. He spends his time wandering Los Santos while eagerly waiting for Red Dead Redemption 2 to finally land.

 

 

 

Dragon Blaze: Old School Shmup For Your Nintendo Switch

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Just when you thought that you have all the best old school shoot’em ups in your Switch games library, Zerodiv swoop in with their fire-breathing beauty, Dragon Blaze!

With Dragon Blaze, we may have found the perfect vertical shmup (Ed: Sorry Sonic Wings 2!). Zerodiv have yet again reminded us that Psikyo’s long forgotten library of games is full of treasured titles. We are just glad that Zerodiv are bringing these awesome games to a new (and old) generation of gamers.

There is a story-line in Dragon Blaze but it’s your usual paper thin good versus evil, where the evil doers are seeking revenge and it is up to you to stop them. Who cares about the backstory when you have an awesome game, right? Of course we are right, turn your Switch in TATE orientation, pick your knight with their accompanying winged steed and get blasting some demonic baddies!

This game is a bit of a departure from the regular Psikyo TATE shmups which is due to the introduction of a third button – the ‘Dragon Shoot’. The ‘Dragon Shoot’ enables you to dismount your fearsome dragon, lunging it forward delivering punishment until you press the button again so the winged steed returns to its master. Since your knights have wings (thus can still fly around solo), and your dragons are utterly invincible, this is your best strategy to deal not only with bosses but also some of the regular foes. This game definitely encroaches bullet-hell territory but just stops short, which is a good thing in our books.

Both graphics and music are awesome and in keeping with the medieval-fantasy setting. Every stage offers distinct and memorable backgrounds, with enemies that are distinct to the stage you are on and of course, challenging bosses. As this game is full on, you won’t have time to stop and admire the lovely graphical details.

So why does Dragon Blaze belong in your Nintendo Switch games library? Well let us tell you, it is simply brilliant, unique with its Dragon play mechanic and super addictive. This is another must-have shmup for your every growing digital arcade collection on the Switch.

Disclosure: Dragon Blaze was kindly provided by Zerodiv for this review.

 

MonEy: The Business of eSports

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Ah, if only eSports was around when we were first playing video games! We competed for big scores just to have our three letter names up on the high score table – those were the days.

Just in case you have never heard of eSports, it means Electronic Sports – a form of organised, competitive gaming between professional gamers. eSports competitions are organised by several local and international organisations around the world, and the sport is rapidly growing in popularity. Check out some of these eye popping stats:

”MonEy”
MonEy by Moneypod.

 

Mind Bending Fun For Your Switch: Word Search by POWGI

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Darn it, we must have missed the memo on this one! As kids growing up in the 80s we absolutely loved crosswords and word search puzzles! You could imagine our delight when we saw that our beloved Nintendo Switch now has such a game, thanks to Lightwood Games!

Word Search by POWGI is a classic word game featuring 300 puzzles, which can be solved alone or with friends. This game will definitely keep your brain occupied for a while. The game follows Lightwood’s usual streamlined, no-nonsense approach. As a portable game, it’s a pocket puzzler that’s always ready to play when you are. Puzzles are expertly hand-crafted by POWGI and stuffed to the brim with words to find. Best part is that all the content is suitable for the whole family.

You can get your gray matter ticking with the playable demo with 4 sample puzzles, or you can go straight to the full version of the game which available to download, priced at £6.99 / €7.99 / USD$7.99 / AUD$11.99

Available now from the UK/Euro eShop and US/CAN eShop.

image source: Lightwood Games

 

Nintendo Switch Review: Tengai

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Whoa, Zerodiv are absolutely on fire! Their latest Psikyo shoot’em up conversion, Tengai (aka: Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II) is brutally hard and oh so damn satisfying all rolled into one. If you are into superb mid-90s shmups, then you can never have enough shmups in your Switch line-up.

Tengai is a brilliant mix of horizontal shmup action (there is lots to shoot here which quenches the shmup thirst) with the flexibility to tweak difficulty levels, and trust us, you’ll be setting it to monkey mode in no time! Once you pick your character from a roster that consists of a Monk (Tengai) that shoots beads, a Ninja Warrior (Sho) that throws blades, a female Ninja (Junis) who uses her knives and shurikens, Katana that uses lasers, and the shrine maiden (Miko), who uses ofuda cards, then it is time to hit the skies over medieval Japan and dispense some justice. Each character of course has their own power-ups, which are pretty zany, from Tengai’s hawk, Sho’s mirrors, Junis’ mongoose, to Katana’s magical spear and Miko’s water spirit, these souped up powers should be used sparingly to clear the screen of all evil-doers.

The level design is linear till you come to level 5 where you face off against every previous mid-boss one after another. If you manage to get past these mid-bosses a branching path is presented prior to reaching the final boss for that epic final battle. By this stage you may be patting yourself on the back, but that would be premature as this end showdown is a timed affair, so if you do poorly, you will get your character’s ‘bad ending’ instead of a complete victory.

The gameplay also has a number of nuances like contacting enemies won’t cost you a life. Instead, your character’s firepower is downgraded, which makes progress tricky. So the object is to dodge and weave past all of the yellow/orange bullets that regularly fill the screen. Thankfully, Tengai doesn’t feel like a full-on bullet hell shooter, but there is certainly a lot going on all around the screen. If you think you will get some rest during play to enjoy the scenery, then think again! This game is full on – in a good way.

The sprite art in this game is damn gorgeous and the parallax scrolling is oh-so-ever-smooth, meaning that your eyes will thank you for the visual extravaganza! Complementing the visuals is the cool and distinctly oriental soundtrack which completes the atmosphere of the game.

We do sound like a broken record when it comes to games from Zerodiv, but this shoot’em up seriously deserves to be at the top of your Switch library – it’s shmuptastic!

image source: Tengai – Nintendo eShop

Disclaimer: Tengai was kindly provided by Zerodiv for this review.

 

The 13th Doll – A Fan Game of The 7th Guest

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Return to the Stauf Mansion this Halloween with The 13th Doll!

Let’s cut to the chase – The 13th Doll is a licensed fan game developed by Attic Door Productions which takes place within the cult classic The 7th Guest universe and as such, we thought we’d let you, retro-FMV-loving gamers know about it (Ed: unless you already knew about this)! Oh yeah, the game is slated for release on Halloween (October 31st 2018) on Steam, PC, Mac, and Linux.

Where were we then? Ah yeh, the developer, Attic Door Productions has released their official announcement trailer, which you can check out below. Spooky stuff!


source: Attic Door Producitons

The game is a followup to the classic game, The 7th Guest, a puzzle based horror game set in the haunted mansion of eccentric toy-maker Henry Stauf. The game was a technological landmark upon release, as well as the followup sequel, The 11th Hour, and was one of the first games to show full motion video sequences.

The 13th Doll picks up right after the events of The 7th Guest, where the protagonist, Tad, now resides in a mental institution, a result of the traumatic experiences in The 7th Guest. A new doctor arrives in the asylum, and the pair embark on a journey to return to The Stauf Mansion to bring catharsis to Tad and cure him of his demons. Plans go awry, and both characters find themselves separated and in peril, as they try to unlock the mysteries of The 13th Doll.

Game Features:

  • Full Motion Video Sequences filmed with over 10 actors
  • 26 unique, new puzzles
  • 35 rooms in 3 environments; and
  • The return of actor Robert Hirschboeck, reprising his role as Henry Stauf!

If this tickles your spooky retro gaming FMV nerve, then you can pre-order the game right now!

image source: The 13th Doll

 

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Coming To The Nintendo Switch

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This is HUGE news! Mark spring time (fall/autumn in the north) in your diary peeps, as the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection will be released on the Nintendo Switch.

For those of you that like their tangible games, there will be a physical SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Limited Edition that can be pre-ordered now via the SNK Online Store.

Just in case you weren’t aware, SNK made heaps of awesome arcade games in the 80s before they went really big with their Neo Geo. To whet your retro gaming appetite, here are the announced SNK games you could (Ed: should!) be playing on your Switch, with more to come:

  • Alpha Mission (arcade + home versions)
  • Athena (arcade + home versions)
  • Crystalis
  • Ikari Warriors (arcade + home versions)
  • Ikari III: The Rescue (arcade + home versions)
  • Guerrilla War (arcade + home versions)
  • P.O.W. (arcade + home versions)
  • Prehistoric Isle in 1930
  • Psycho Soldier
  • Street Smart
  • TNK III (arcade + home versions)
  • Vanguard
  • Victory Road (arcade + home versions)

The Limited Edition comes in a Collector’s Box with all the games plus the “Nostalgic Music Collection” soundtrack and the “40th Anniversary Art Collection” hardcover art book.

Let’s celebrate SNK’s 40th anniversary by turning up the excitement level to 11!

image source: SNK Online Store

 

Review: Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness

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System: Nintendo Switch
Available: Switch eShop
Price: AUD $9.99 / USD $7.99

Zerodiv’s reputation to recreate awesome old school games on the Nintendo Switch is pretty much set in stone now (Ed: take that HAMSTER!). Their meticulous conversions of Psikyo’s games on the Nintendo Switch console are second to none. With a plethora of shoot’em ups under their belt, their latest Psikyo conversion is another shmup, but this time, it doesn’t involve space ships or souped up choppers – this one is refreshingly different!

Think Forgotten Worlds (to an extent) with a fantasy setting a melee and spell casting gameplay mechanic and you’d be pretty much on the money with Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness. Oh yeah, the standard graphics are also a departure with the use of CGI pre-rendered models turned into sprites and backgrounds – which actually look pretty good on the Switch.

The ever important gameplay will always be a deciding factor when playing these kind of games. Sol Divide plays like a regular horizontal scrolling shmup where you fly around the screen and using your attack button to fire and another for melee attacks. Combos are done by repeatedly hitting the melee attack button and a direction, whereas pressing both attack buttons casts a spell. Speaking of spells, there are eight of them you can learn in your quest – fire, freeze, thunder, meteor, slow, wind and fire body. There is also an extra character-exclusive spell making for a total of eleven distinct ways to unleash hell. Spells will cost mana to cast, however they can be refilled by way of melee attacks or pickups from fallen foes. Spells can quickly be cycled and selected by using the ‘L’ and ‘R’ shoulder buttons, making it a greater experience than the arcade game single button cycling.

As per the other Zerodiv Psikyo conversions, Sol Divide offers plenty of customisation such as filters and mucking around with the arcade-like DIP switches to personalise the gaming experience, like making it easy as pie or hard as hell with infinite continues!

So is Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness a worthwhile addition to your digital Switch games library? If you like horizontal-scrolling shoot’em ups with fighting and some light-on RPG elements thrown in the mix, then there is enough unique features in this game to warrant its place in your games library. Sword and vengeance starts now!

Disclaimer: Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness was kindly provided by Zerodiv for this review.