The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Is it the fun, is it the mayhem playing with friends or is it the achievement of beating the end boss, getting a high score or completing that tough mission? Why do you play video games? If you are stuck for an answer, watch the below video and find out.
source: The Game Theorists
Which video gamer personality are you? Are you a thinker or are you an achievement go-getter?
source: Steven Lefcourt
A short and sweet video about six Sega Dreamcast facts you may or may not have been aware of. Watch it, you might learn something. We definitely did. Long live the Dreamcast!
source: Vsauce3
I am often asked to list my favourite games for different systems. Such queries have led to the creation of my “Ten Of The Best Games” series.
The first cab off the rank is NEC’s PC-Engine. I am sure there will be an uproar about certain games being left off the list, but hey, that is the beauty of gaming, we all have our own tastes.
Here are the ten best games to play on the PC-Engine (TurboGrafx-16):
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Title: Bomberman’93 AKA: – Genre: Action Rating: 91% |
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Title: PC Genjin AKA: PC Kid / Bonk’s Adventure Genre: Platform Rating: 90% |
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Title: R-Type AKA: – Genre: Shoot’em up Rating: 93% |
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Title: New Adventure Island AKA: Genre: Platform Rating: 93% |
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Title: Battle Lode Runner AKA: – Genre: Puzzle Rating: 89% |
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Title: Devil Crash AKA: Devil’s Crush Genre: Pinball Rating: 93% |
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Title: Galaga ’88 AKA: Galaga ’90 Genre: Shoot’em up Rating: 90% |
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Title: Kyukyoku Tiger AKA: Ultimate Tiger/Twin Cobra/Tiger Heli Genre: Shoot’em up Rating: 91% |
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Title: Super Star Soldier AKA: – Genre: Shoot’em up Rating: 90% |
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Title: Don Doko Don AKA: – Genre: Platform Rating: 90% |
Notable mentions that would make any top PC-Engine games list:
| ° Gomola Speed | ° Street Fighter II: Champion Edition |
| ° Splatterhouse | ° Bloody Wolf |
| ° Dungeon Explorer | ° KLAX |
| ° The Legend of Hero Tonma | ° Legend Of Valkyrie |
| ° Lode Runner | ° Momotaro Katsugeki (aka: Peachboy) |
| ° Out Run | ° Parasol Stars |
| ° Parodius | ° 1943 KAI |
| ° Raiden | ° Shinobi |
| ° Soldier Blade | ° Space Harrier |
| ° Ninja Spirit | ° Ys Book I & II [CD] |
| ° Dracula-X: Rondo Of Blood [CD] | ° Seirei Senshi Sprigan [CD] |
Format: Atari Jaguar
Release Date: April 13, 1994
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Llamasoft (Jeff Minter)
It has been a long time coming. Nineteen years to be exact. It took us nineteen years to finally take Jeff Minter’s game for a proper review spin.
Tempest 2000, the beefed-up remake of Dave Theurer’s 1981 arcade classic, was Atari’s killer game that helped it shift lots of Jaguar consoles upon its release in 1994. This game was never going to be a straight ‘pretty up’ by Jeff Minter. The great Yak added his usual quirkiness to this seminal favourite. What he produced was nigh on perfection.
You may ask, what is so damn good about Tempest 2000. Well, if you are patient for one second, we will let you know. Yak (Jeff Minter) took a first generation arcade game and injected crisp 3D polygon graphics, an awesome techno soundtrack and oodles of new enemy types and obstacles.
Don’t think that Tempest 2000 is just an audio visual enhancement to the original – Yak also added 100 varying webs (levels), new opponents, collectable power-ups like the particle-blaster/laser, jumps, and A.I. Droids who destroy anything that gets too close. Thrown in this awesome gaming mix was the new “Melt-O-Vision” transition effect – very psychedelic (very Jeff Minter) indeed. Add the different types of play options – two-player cooperative and competitive play modes, and you got yourself one awesomely gorgeous masterpiece.
No game, no matter how great it looks and sounds, is complete without a complimentary control system. There is only one way to play Tempest 2000, and that is with a rotary controller. You could use the standard Atari pad, but it just doesn’t do the game justice. The rotary control enhances the enjoyment of the game and it definitely helps in achieving those lucrative high scores.
Tempest 2000 is a an incredibly great title which was released on an incredibly obscure system. This game is the jewel in the Jaguar’s crown. If you haven’t played it, you are missing out big time!
| Graphics | Superbly crisp 3D polygons that only the Yak can produce. Yes, the Jaguar can handle it. |
90% |
| Sound | A perfect techno soundtrack. Light-synthesizer tunes throughout with very meaty sound effects. It is an awesome aural pleasure. Make sure you turn up the volume! |
95% |
| Playability | Getting into the game is quiet easy – spin around on the web and blast away the approaching enemies. To truly experience this game you must play it with a rotary controller. |
90% |
| Lastability | Considering there are 100 levels to complete, this game will last forever. |
91% |
| Overall | Jeff Minter can seriously do no wrong. The Yak knows how to produce brilliant games, and this one is no exception. Even Dave Theurer approves of it (Ed: we made that up)! Get it and play hard. |
91% |
February 14th – that special day you share with that special someone. To tell you the truth, I don’t care for Valentine’s Day (sorry to all the romantics). It is a marketers dream day and a florists busiest (profitable) business day of the year !
If you are into Valentine’s Day, then I hope you enjoy the day with your special someone. If you are a gamer couple, then go forth and wreak havoc on a 2P game.
What will you do on Valentine’s Day ?
Remember the good old days when each generational system from Sega and Nintendo had its own unique name. There was the Master System, NES, Mega Drive (Genesis), SNES, Saturn and the N64 to name a few.
Who says marching bands are not cool ? Well, no one told the Ohio State University Marching Band. At half time, the band decided to pay tribute to some classic video games. [Read more…] about Marching Band Video Game Tribute
I was contacted recently by RetroGamesCollector (UK) who asked if I would like to be interviewed in his new retro gaming collections feature, ‘Show us your collection’. I didn’t need any time to think about it – I jumped at the opportunity!
If you want to take a gander at the collection and read the interview, then head on over here