The Pop-Culture E-Zine
On the back of Guizdp’s awesome Duck Hunt + Mega Man 2 amalgamation comes the heavyweight mashup; Super Mario Bros. 3 + Contra! There is something endearing seeing Mario blasting away with a gun.
source: guizdp
Well, well, well, what do we have here then – a slab of Nintendo with quite the clever moniker, the 2DS! There seems to be a lot of buzz surrounding Nintendo’s imminent handheld system; it’s either love it or hate it.
I must admit, my first impressions were quite negative. However, being aware that Nintendo is a brand I have trusted for over 30 years, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Once released, I’ll have a play in-store and see if it suits me or not. At the end of the day, if I don’t like it, I won’t buy it. For those that already have a 3DS/XL, just turn off the 3D and you have yourself a 2DS (Ed: drawing a long bow there!).
If you are interested to know, the Australian release date will be on the same day as the US, October 12. Be prepared to pay a little more than our US cousins; the suggested retail price will be $149.95.
image and video source: Nintendo
This is exactly how Super Mario Bros. would be played in real life!
source: Warialasky
By now you are all quite aware of my aversion to adventure and role-playing-games (RPGs). There is one game in this genre that I wish I could “get into”, but I never could – The Legend of Zelda. I own quite a few ‘Zelda’ titles, but playing them is all together another matter. Even though I am not a fan of the game, I do respect the franchise. With that said, this Game Trailers Legend of Zelda: Retrospective video is compelling viewing, even for the non-Zelda fan.
Sit back, relax and press play!
‘Thunder Blade’ or ‘Blades of Steel’ – what’s in a name? Hang on; are we talking about helicopter gunships, ice hockey or a samurai sword fighting game here? Don’t you just love mysterious titles?
Of course you know these games have nothing more in common than the reference to ‘Blade’ in their titles.
‘Thunder Blade’, possibly borrowing from the movie, Blue Thunder (Ed: not confirmed!), is about a high-tech attack helicopter trying to save mankind from some evil-doers. Sega’s 1987 arcade shooter was housed in two arcade guises: a stand-up cabinet with a force feedback joystick; and the awesomely cool sit-down cockpit version with the seat moving in tandem with joystick movements. The conversions sadly lacked this aspect. On the other hand, Konami’s 1987 ice-hockey game, ‘Blades of Steel’ is about dudes trying to play a game of ice hockey while breaking out into a bare-knuckle interlude (or should that be the other way around?). The arcade controls were unique for this game – a back-lit optical trackball to control players and three buttons, one dedicated for punching! Apart from both games being released in 1987, they could not be any more different from one another.
So there you have it, confusion clarified (Ed: really?) – Two very different games with very similar titles. You are more than welcome. Now go and play some video games!
Nintendo’s Power Glove – it’s so bad, that it’s so damn good! The Power Glove may not have worked as promised, but it’s legacy in pop culture is undeniable. Three film-makers (Adam Ward, Andrew Austin and Paula Kosowski ) have embarked on creating a documentary that chronicles Nintendo’s notorious game controller.
Check out the official trailer below of ‘The Power Of Glove‘ documentary.
We are not alone when we say, we cannot wait for this to be released!
In the early eighties, the video gaming industry was brought to its knees. It seemed that every man and his dog wanted in on the video gaming action. These fly-by-night cowboys flooded the market with mediocre products, subsequently leading to the great video games crash!
In the midst of the video gaming ruins, one bold company, Nintendo, had plans of their own. Undeterred, they were quietly tinkering away creating their own home video gaming system, the ‘Family Computer’ (Famicom).
Nintendo had offered Atari the rights to market, brand and sell the Famicom outside of Japan. Imagine if Atari had taken up Nintendo’s offer! They would most probably still be in business and not become a derelict company ripe for pillaging.
On this day (July 15) in 1983, Nintendo released (in Japan), what was to become a video gaming revolution, the Family Computer (Famicom). What happened after that, well, as they say, the rest is history. Happy anniversary to the Famicom, and thank you Nintendo for resuscitating the home video gaming market!
Vital Stats:
Released: July 15, 1983 (Japan)
Generation: Third Generation (8-bit)
CPU: Ricoh 2A03 8-bit (MOS Technology 6502 core)
Media: ROM cartridge
Retail Price: ¥34,800
Units sold: 61.91 million (combined Famicom & NES)
Vital Stats source: Wikipedia