In light of it being DREAMCAST WEEK here, I was inspired to mention some exclusives that deserve a look. They aren't "great", but they tried to do unique and interesting things within their conventions, and should be applauded for the effort.

I'd like to give honorable mention to Blue Stinger, Illbleed and of course, D2. They fall directly into the "Must Play" category for any fan of bizarre, way-over-the-top adventure gaming. For those not in the loop, here's a rundown:


Blue Stinger: A launch title that was pretty hyped, but failed to live up. The Japanese version was much more "Resident Evil" like, with fixed camera angles to deliver a more cinematic experience. When Activision brought it over, they changed the camera to a chase-perspective, and game play was helped, but at the expense of some moments that were directed with the fixed-perspective in mind. Lots of weapons, lots of monsters, lots of blood, all wrapped around a truly strange plot of an alien just trying to get it's groove on. *SPOILER* That's right, essentially, you play an intergalactic matchmaker, but you don't realize it until the VERY end. *SPOILER*

"You'll sh*t with fear!" Yeah, that's an official tagline...

Illbleed: Same makers of Blue Stinger. Your friends are held in an amusement park that has killer attractions. That is, attractions that kill...you! (How this thing passed OSHA is never explained...) You venture in to save them and survive, as they're in your horror-club, and they'd do the same for you. Random placement of "scares' cause your heart rate to accelerate, causing you to lose life if it goes too high. Fun house monsters will actually hit you. You can get airlifted out of a haunted house by Helicopter. (You read that right) The game is a fever nightmare, and it's a shame that it's so difficult that most find it unplayable, because if you stick with it, there's a wealth of comedy and neat ideas that you haven't seen in any games before or since.


D2: The developer was the now defunct WARP, and warped is a great way to describe this weird hybrid of survival and horror. In fact, it's more survival than the RE games, as your stranded on a frozen mountain, forced to hunt for food while fighting off random monster encounters, like in an RPG, but played in a first person perspective with guns of varying power. There's tentacles, there's insanity, there's monsters galore...The whole thing ends in a Lovecraftian boss "fight" that simulates pure hopelessness and failure...then resolves into something like ..well, I won't give it away, but suffice to say, the game is a trip and a half. Don't let the name fool you...you needn't play the original "D" to get this one, but know WARP used a cast of characters in all their adventure games, "D" (Playstation and Saturn) "Enemy Zero" (Saturn) and "D2" (Dreamcast) that shared names and looks, but were not the same characters from game to game. Odd? Yes. Worth a look? Definitely.

While the venerable DC is coveted by most for it's shooters, fighters and Shenmue, these three games highlight the innovation and uniqueness of the system. Any fan of the Dreamcast and games in general as a creative force owes it to themselves to track these down and at least take a shot at them. They may not be the best gaming has to offer, but they do offer things other games don't. And that's valuable, at the very least to the validity of the medium itself.

My article was published today in local San Diego rag CityBeat. It was a long time coming, having interviewed Brandon Cobb over a year ago, and then shopping the article around to a couple local papers, dealing with editors coming and going and not getting it/trying to understand the retro-gamer scene, etc.

Now, I'd intended it for folks who know nothing about games or gaming, but it's been even more "dumbed down" by the editors. Still, I feel it gets the human interest story across, which is what I was shooting for. Someday, I may post the unedited story at my other blog, but until then, thanks for reading.

However, he pretty much exclusively plays
Snakeball. Pro-Tip: Did you know that St.
Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland and into St. Diego's backyard as a prank? True story.

So, what games can one play to celebrate St. Patty's? Maybe Root (Guinness!) Beer Tapper? Box(t)y Boy?

posted here from a comment I made in Jim "f-bomb" Sterling's blog post...

[i]"There are several possible etymologies of the word zombie. One possible origin is jumbie, the West Indian term for "ghost".[3] Another is nzambi, the Kongo word meaning "spirit of a dead person."[3] According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word entered English circa 1871; it's derived from the Louisiana Creole or
Haitian Creole zonbi, which in turn is of Bantu origin.[4] A zonbi is a person who is believed to have died and been brought back to life without speech or free will.[5] It is akin to the Kimbundu nzúmbe ghost."[/i]

I'll tell you what's racist. The fact that this game, set closest to the origin of the zombie mythos than ANY OTHER GAME IN THE SERIES doesn't even call the enemies anything close to "zombie" as described above.

Now, what's interesting is this: George Romero, who popularized the undead zombie genre, paving the way for RE, was making a statement on racism in "Night of the Living Dead", and consumerism in "Day of the Dead". WESTERN consumerism. Now, in RE5, a lot of themes come full circle. There are certainly racial undertones in RE5, and why not? Exploitation of race and culture has long been a habit of the power grabbing monsters of our world. The villains of RE have always been about using people and fooling them into believing that they are getting something that will benefit them, but actually screwing them over. (Umbrella = Jobs and Economy for Racoon. Los Illuminados = Religious revival and prosperity for the village) They appeal to peoples' desire to consume and prosper quickly, and turn them into the undead. Or Ganados, or whatever. Nothing but the setting has changed, and with the setting, the cultures (and, necessarily, the characters) portrayed.

The "zombie" genre appeals to Americans because it represents the worst of western complacency in the antagonists met with the best of western ideals in the against-all-odds protagonists. If anything, RE5 is making a statement that the best and worst humanity has to offer can be found anywhere, regardless of color or creed.

Also: I'm very startled that so few defending the game have commented on the co-equal status of Sheva, a very African woman who is trying to save her country from this corruption. She's self-reliant, saves Chris more than he saves her (in single player, anyway) and is far more a pleasure to have at your back than the whiny, weak and very American Ashley from RE4. Sheva is a total badass, and I'd like to see more of her on her own, if anything. Probably one of the coolest females Capcom has created in their series.

Superfighter Team has just announced Legend of Wukong as their next release, just in time for Christmas! The makers of the western release of Beggar Prince have brought another Chinese RPG to us, this time a retelling of Journey to the West.

Those interested can see screens and preorder info here.

My personal interest involves living pretty close to Superfighter Team's home digs. As well, I interviewed Brandon Cobb last year about Beggar Prince, and while I'm trying to get it published locally, I may start posting the article I wrote here, in bite-sized pieces. (It's rather long, in depth, and frankly, written for the uninitiated in mind).

It was a Christmas, long ago. My parents were doing pretty well at work. My brother and I were old enough to not fight with each other all the time. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, even though we never used the fireplace in the warmth of California's "winter". And we had an NES, purchased a few months ago for a birthday present. Thus, we knew that some games were on the way, and awaited the grand morning with breathless anticipation.

We didn't even have to wait 'till morning that year. Our folks, in a fit of brilliant insanity, suggested we open presents on Christamas Eve. This was unprecedented! A revelation! A night that would probably go down as one of my favorite childhood memories, in no small part due to the receiving of both the NES Advantage and Capcom's Bionic Commando, and benchmark in my enthusiasm that would help define what I look for in games to this day.

Bionic Commando has it all. Action, intrigue, character and variety. The Bionic Commando of the title is on a mission that takes him across multiple themed levels, from mountains to towns to cavernous industrial bases, attempting to find the root of the evil military movement that is sprouting in the small island country that serves as the setting of the game. As you progress, you earn multiple weapons, have a face-to-face with the leader of the military complex in a neutral zone (!), battle enemy troops in side-scrolling and top down missions, rescue your comrade, and ultimately, kill Hitler! Sure, they renamed him Master-D for weak American stomachs, but you can't tell me I didn't blow up Hitler's face. Check out the amazing sequence here.


Bionic Commando's well implemented hook (pun intended) is a bionic arm, as illustrated above, that takes the place of the characters inability to jump. Capcom implemented this device flawlessly, designing the levels and enemy encounters around mastery of the arm mechanic. Swinging from hook point to hook point got only more addictive as the game went on, and there's a good reason people are excited about both the remake and the sequel Capcom is teasing us with. But can lightning strike twice? We'll have to wait and see, but that's another discussion.

To me, Bionic Commando set a standard. Maybe it was the atmosphere in which I received it, but the game seemed to be everything I could want. Progressivly tricky, yet ultimately conquerable levels. A systematic mission structure that made me feel like I was accomplishing something on the world map. Just enough text and cut-scenes to give the story some meat, and push you closer to the ultimate goal (of killing Hitler!). And an awesome ending that felt like closure to the mission. It didn't take me or my brother long to master the game, but we kept coming back for more, and loved saving the world every time.

Bionic Commando cemented my appreciation for 2D action, over-the-top bosses and clever game mechanics. It opened the door to all the Metal Gears, Resident Evils, Castlevanias and Metal Slugs I've played over the years, and best of all, it has stood the test of time. I look forward to revisiting the Bionic Commando world, killing Hitler... er, Master-D, and saving the world yet again.

GigaMach
-is surprised he hasn't had to have a bionic thumb installed for all the years he's been gaming.