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Young Jake's parents wouldn't let him get a Nintendo even though he wanted it more than anything else in the world. He spent a lifetime of self-imposed therapy healing this trauma: playing and owning every console that followed, designing 8 bit games on graph paper, and eventually working in games and the equally deviant comics industry. If only they had let him have that NES, maybe Jake would have a real job by now. You can learn more about Jake on Twitter @JakeTForbes.
Last September you went to Target to find something to play. You narrowed your choices down to Destiny, Shadow of Mordor, or Bayonetta 2. They were all new releases priced at $60, all equal in value. You decided to go with Destiny. After a few weeks, you got bored with shooting Vex on Venus and decided to trade it in at Gamestop for one of the other two games. They offered you a $20 credit, not even half of what you needed to get the game you wanted. The equal values you saw when you first made your purchase are gone. The game is rigged and you lose.
I would wager most console gamers have felt the sting of a bad trade-in offer. Whether you took the deal or walked out with your dignity (and a game you don’t really want), you’ve no doubt thought to yourself, “There has to be a better way.â€
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Muramasa: The Demon Blade feels like the product of an alternate timeline. If polygons had never ushered in an ice age for 2D gaming, hand-drawn sprites like the ones perfected in Muramasa might still rule the earth. Smaller versions of today's intelligent but homely 3D visuals would be forced to scavenge their eggs, festering with jagged pestilence.
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Space Invaders Extreme is a re-imagining of the original arcade classic released in 1978 ( yes, Space Invaders came out over thirty years ago. You can start feeling old now ). Smartly opting to hammer home nostalgia, the backbone of the game’s visual design has been left unchanged. The enemies and the protaganistic cannon are all styled as blockily as they were in 1978.
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As a child, guest reviewer Kellbot saved up her $2/week allowance for multiple years to buy a Nintendo Entertainment System. She is an entrepreneur and hacker, and is probably better than you at Geometry Wars 2. You can read more about her projects at Kellbot.com.
I caved to internet peer pressure and picked up a copy of EA Sports Active. I was getting a little bored with Wii Fit, and sort of annoyed that it takes you 45 minutes to get in 30 minutes of exercise because you have to pick a new task each time... you can't just queue up a workout.
Plus I wanted to see if it lived up to the hype.
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The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a frantic 2D hack-n-slash title available on Xbox Live Arcade. Developed by indie outfit Ska Studios, it combines the fun of classic beat-em-ups with a cartoonishly morbid sensibility.
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[HCF looks back! A review originally written in January, but reposted here and now, just in case you missed it!]
New this week for the Xbox Live Arcade is Twisted Pixel Games' 3D action/adventure game and PAX 10 Audience Award Winner "The Maw."
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[HCF looks back! A review originally written in February, but reposted here and now, just in case you missed it!]
One of the best-looking and most compelling Wii games to date, Rainbow Studios' "Deadly Creatures" is a survival tale intertwining the lives and deaths of desert-dwelling vermin -- arthropod and human alike.
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Techno music Pong
Entrancing rhythmic gameplay
Like a siren song.
Movements too subtle!
Flickers, blips and pulsing lights
Blur and strain my eyes.
Yet, I cannot stop
Get some eye drops. Start over.
So worth the six bucks. |
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Best speedball ever.
Fireworks, hallucinations,
a talking beaver?
[Peggle on XBLA] |
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| 2024 Chris Maguire |
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