Game: Quake 4 System: XBOX 360 DVD-ROM, PC DVD-ROM Release: November 2005 (XBOX 360), October 2005 (PC) Emulators: None Quake 4 for the XBOX 360 is a first-person shooter that will leave you with mixed feelings. On the one hand it boasts a competent single-player campaign that, while not groundbreaking, is thoroughly enjoyable. On the other, the lack of multiplayer options and startling performance issues mar what could have otherwise been a strong launch title for the platform. In all, does Q
Game: gRiMgRiMoiRe, GrimGrimoire System: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM Release: June 2007 (NTSC-J), July 2007 (NTSC-U), September 2007 (PAL) Emulators: None An unconventional Real-Time-Strategy game in every sense of the term is GrimGrimoire, the sophomore effort of VanillaWare Inc., makers of Odin Sphere. GrimGrimoire combines the striking 2d charm and whimsical narrative of its predecessor with perhaps the best control scheme implemented in a PlayStation 2 RTS to date. Training and commanding units
Game: King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation ‘A’ (NTSC-J) System: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM Emulators: None Right off the bat, this is not KOF: Maximum Impact 3. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation ‘A’ is a straight PlayStation 2 port of its simultaneously-released arcade version, itself a slightly upgraded Maximum Impact 2. The result is an even finer tune of an already surprisingly good 3d brawler, albeit one based in 2d mechanics. It has more moves, characters and stages than its f
The third part of my Risky Woods run. Stages 7 through 9. Stage 7 Probably my favourite stage, most likely because back in the day this was the end of the line for me. Before I had the patience to mass armour shards, I used to run out of luck here almost every time. How about those crazy platform jumps towards the end of this stage? If I had died there, not even my precious armour would have saved me. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="
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This is the second part of my Risky Woods run. Stages 4 through 6. Stage 4 This part is a good example of how you can really abuse the gold armour. A monkey could have got through this stage with more style than I did, and yet I survived thanks to this extremely broken feature. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="
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Published by Electronic Arts back in the day, Risky Woods for the Mega Drive was a port of the previously released Amiga and DOS versions. Several elements were stripped away while new mechanics were introduced but the game was ultimately a fun side-scrolling action game, although a fiendishly difficult one. The story was the run of the mill fare likely conceived by the poor soul assigned to author the instruction manual. Essentially you were a warrior named Rohan who needed to cross the count
Here are some videos I recorded recently of Sonic 2 & 3. I use the alias Ichorid4 on Youtube - visit my channel for more retro game videos. Hidden Palace Zone This Zone was ultimately axed from the the final version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, sometime late in development. An unfinished, buggy version of this Zone can be found in the infamous 'Sonic 2 Beta' rom dump, although this version used the same BGM track as Metropolis Zone and featured no apparent way to complete it. The following v
Game: Resident Evil: Dead Aim (PAL/NTSC-U) / Gun Survivor 4: Biohazard – Heroes Never Die (NTSC-J) System: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM Emulators: None Light-gun games have a sketchy history on the PlayStation 2. Capcom’s efforts in particular have been met with everything from mild indifference to outright derision by the gaming public. Luckily, in most ways, Resident Evil: Dead Aim succeeds where its predecessors have failed. It effortlessly combines patented Resident Evil-style 3rd-person survival
Game: Odin Sphere System: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM Emulators: None A game that does as conventional things in as remarkably unconventional ways as Vanillaware’s Odin Sphere, and succeeds, is a special kind of rarity that PlayStation 2 owners are lucky enough to now laid before them. Odin Sphere is an action / role-playing hybrid framed by a compelling and tight nonlinear narrative, and presented with high-resolution 2d graphics and extraordinary production values. While it may get off to a slow s
Game: Guilty Gear XX ^Core System: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, NAOMI Arcade Board GD-ROM Emulators: PCSX2 The Guilty Gear X/XX series from Arc System Works has been placed alongside the legendary Street Fighter II in terms of illogically-named incremental upgrades and Guilty Gear XX ^Core does little to break the trend. As the third revision of Guilty Gear XX, ^Core (pronounced ‘accent core’) only features a few new special moves and new mechanics that do not go far to significantly differentiate t
Game: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Tag Force System: PlayStation Portable Emulators: None Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Tag Force is the first game in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise to be released for the PSP. While other conversions of the curiously popular card game have suffered from poor presentation (World Championship 2007), or abridged rulesets (Forbidden Memories), Tag Force delivers a faithful and vibrant adaption and supports, as its namesake would suggest, tag duelling as well. Additionally, the plot follows the GX anim
Game: The King of Fighters NESTS Saga System: PlayStation 2 Emulators: PCSX2 The latest instalment of SNK’s NeoGeo Online Collection, The King of Fighters NESTS Saga, continues the tradition of classic fighting games bundled together with online play for the PlayStation 2. This seventh release, which features King of Fighters games ’99, 2000 and 2001, makes the additional boast to include home conversions as well as the NeoGeo ports for the first time. The sad truth is it fails to deliver on i
Game: Final Fantasy: Anniversary Edition System: PlayStation Portable Emulators: None The original Final Fantasy is a legendary title that has commanded countless ports and remakes since its original appearance on the Nintendo Entertainment System two decades ago. In celebration of the franchise’s twentieth anniversary year, Square-Enix is releasing the first two titles in the series for the PlayStation Portable. Final Fantasy: Anniversary Edition is essentially the most recent in a line of re
Game: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars System: PC DVD-ROM Emulators: None In a return to form for the ailing Command & Conquer franchise, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, a 3d real-time strategy game, is the first in almost 6 years to use the series’ patented mechanics since 2001’s Red Alert 2 and the second to use the 3d SAGE engine, after 2003’s Generals. It also returns to the fundamental roots that made the original game so popular more than 10 years ago –a fast and franti
Game: Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) System: PlayStation 2 Emulators: PCSX2 Despite leveraging the skills of Arc System Works, creators of the Guilty Gear franchise, as well as the famous anime property Fist of the North Star, Hokuto no Ken is ultimately a failed experiment. It retains the high-resolution presentation of its creator’s previous effort, but disappoints in almost every other conceivable way. An unbalanced 2d fighter, its animation, interface design and basic combat mechan
Game: Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary System: PlayStation 2 & PlayStation Portable Emulators: PCSX2 Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary is simply the epitome of the ‘falling-block’ puzzle genre. It takes everything good about each of the previous 5 core games in the series and adds almost twice as many new features, resulting in possibly the best-in-class package imaginable on the PlayStation 2 and PSP. While an online-enabled freeware PC version and an 8-player DS version were released last year, the
Game: Sega Ages 2500 Vol.29: Monster World Complete Collection System: PlayStation 2 (Ports of Arcade, Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive games) Emulators: PCSX2 (MAME, MEKA, Gens, Fusion) While one that lacks consistency, the Monster World / Wonder Boy series is one of the most underrated of Sega’s 16-bit legacies. Spanning 4 entries in the Monster World continuity and 2 separate Wonder Boy adventures, the Monster World Complete Collection is an extremely well-featured arrangement of not
Game: God of War II System: PlayStation 2 Emulators: PCSX2 Although hailed by a surprising amount as the swansong of the PlayStation 2, God of War II does little to differentiate itself from what has come before it. Granted, the tight gameplay and breathtaking graphical presentation of the original God of War remain intact and its enormous production value - evidenced not only by the game itself, but also by the inclusion of a supplementary DVD containing a great length of behind the scenes fo
Game: Shadow of the Colossus System: PlayStation 2 Emulators: PCSX2 From the makers of Ico comes Shadow of the Colossus- an action / puzzle-solving hybrid game that is unlike most games to fall under those categories. While a poor technical presentation, unresponsive control scheme and a lack of variety detract from the overall experience, Shadow of the Colossus’ redeeming factors almost make up for them. Its concept is unique, and the artistic merit of its visuals and score are undeniable. Al
Game: Metal Slug Anthology System: PlayStation Portable (also PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii) Emulators: None (Metal Slug 1-5 arcade versions can be played on MAME, FinalBurn Alpha, Kawaks & Nebula) The original Metal Slug (MS) was a side-scrolling shooter released by SNK in 1996 for its NeoGeo platform, already well known primarily for the fighting games Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters. While one of the later franchises established for the system, the Metal Slug serie
