Samus must free the earth from the clutches of the Red Falcon hordes!



(note: D-Toid can't fit the image so part is cut off. Here is the direct link to full image: http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r180/VonRichter/VonRichterDotNet_Metroid3AlienWars.jpg)

Von Richter's response to the sudden rash of noobs throwing a hissy fit over Megaman 9's perfectly do-able difficulty level.

Megaman 2.

My how general gamer skill has atrophied over the years. It's SHOCKING to see people considering the piece-o-cake Megaman 2 (the easiest of the NES megamans) difficult or frustrating. Megaman 2, for it's time, is an easy game. The kind of thing even mediocre players could finish with a little practice. Nowadays it looks like people just want to watch cut scenes and mindlessly hammer buttons while being fed by a tube. Anything else sends them into spoiled whining crybaby antics.

C'mon people, stop being such lazy wimpy gamers.

Megaman 9.

Megaman 9 isn't even that tough. It's really scary that any game that is moderately challenging these days is "controversial". It's just plain absurd. If you are too chicken to play something that doesn't treat you like a little baby and requires a bit of effort and skill, then don't buy it. It's that simple.

Don't ruin it for the rest of us who have been waiting for this day to come for so long. Don't flip out at Capcom until they decide to never release a challenging game again. For the love of all that's gaming, REJOICE that SOMEWHERE, SOMEONE at these companies still cares about true hardcore gamers.

I got out of gaming as the difficulty levels descended to something your 120 year old grandma can beat on the first try. Games like Megaman 9 offer that tiny sliver of hope for well-hewn gamers like me... they give us something to care about again, a challenge, something to feel good about conquering.

It's not just the 8-bit-style of Megaman 9. It's about precision control and reflexes. When you die it's your fault. 92% of modern games are sloppy affairs lacking this kind of precision and 1:1 ratio of player interaction. Instead they are 80+ hours of repetitive fetch quests and cutscenes. Forget it. I just want to PLAY games, not act like a wimpy vegetable being force fed lazy filler. Give me tight level design over 20 hours of rendered CG cutscenes any day.

One last thing: If you can't beat Megaman 9, take up a hobby more your pace, like stamp collecting, or perhaps bird watching.

(Not that there is anything wrong with stamp collectors or bird watchers. Please, bird watchers and stamp collectors, no hate mail!)

Love,
-Von @#$%^&* Richter

Ahh, the SNES.


We worship your almost holy goodness. How much joy you have brought to our little lives with your ugly gray plastic fur. Through all the trials and tribulations we face as humans, your beacon of joyous radiance lights our way home through the stormy seas of mental anguish. A round of battle Mario All-Stars battle mode is the sweet nectar of love from which we suckle until our lips are rife with bloody crevices.

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GameTweak plays Mario Kart on SNES in his peculiar oldschool style.


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If the embedded video doesn't work, click the direct link:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/246889.html

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In other news, MSR388 is about to have an official site. I'll be sure to post the link here when it's launched. There should be a new teaser up at that time as well, possibly showing a little glimpse of the first few gameplay screens, depending on my mood at the time ('to spoil, or not to spoil, THAT is the question!')

Cheers,
-VR

PS
SAY NO TO DRUGS!

If the embedded video doesn't work (gametrailers embeds can be flakey), click here:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/242472.html

GameTweak checks out the NEC booth at E3 2008.
GameTweak dedicates this to oldschool TurboGrafyx 16 fans.

On the Metroid front, lot's of new content has been created since the last update. The graphics inch ever closer to completion,and the controller setup and save slot junk is also more or less polished with their final graphical skin.

Cheers,
-VR

Article Copyright 2008 Von Richter http://www.vonrichter.net



In 1989, a masterpiece far ahead of it's time was created by Technosoft. Years before the more famous RTS games (Dune 2, Starcraft, etc) hit the scene, Herzog Zwei (HZ) was blowing the minds of the lucky few who got to play it.

Much more than any of it's descendants, HZ puts you smack into the middle of the action. Each player (or CPU) controls a versatile command fighter jet than can transform into a ground stomping mech at any time, pick up/drop, refuel and repair units, and blast enemy units. The level of intensity this brings to the game is truly unique. The game plays out much like chess in real time on crack cocaine.

The object of the game is to defeat your opponents main base. Peppered throughout each warzone are unoccupied bases that you can capture with your infantry. There are countless strategies for winning. One plan is to make a mad dash and occupy as many bases as possible at the start, and ultimately capture bases closer and closer to your opponents main base, then launch a final assault. The advantage of capturing bases is that it gives you new outposts from which to refuel your mech, and launch units. The more bases you occupy, the faster your war chest builds.

There are many types of units you can purchase with your war chest, including tanks, anti-aircraft batteries, mobile refueling units, assault boats, etc. At the time of purchase, you give the units orders, including capture the flag, rove and defend, etc. The genius of this game is the blend of creating units and interacting with those units. Is one of your units in trouble? Fly out, transform into mech mode and physically waste the enemy yourself! Units low on ammo? Air drop a resupply unit. HZ rewards quick thinking more than any other RTS.

Incredibly for a Megadrive/Genesis game from 1989, there is a huge variety of maps and scenarios, each with it's own theme, layout and musical score. In true Technosoft/Tomomi Otani tradition, the music is fantastic, equaling other classic Otani game scores such as Thunder Force 3. The amount of individual units (50 per side max) really pushes the Megadrive to it's limits, allowing for epic clashes when you build up a ton of units and set them all to "capture the flag" at the same time. And of course, in a game with as many strategies as there are people who've played it, there is nothing more joyful than sending a lone infantry soldier to peck away slowly at your opponents base.

Alas, for a game that pushed the envelope so far and so quickly, it was misunderstood by the gaming press at the time. Some have never forgiven EGM for their trashing of this legendary title (many years later they made good by including the game on a "100 best games of all time" list.). The truth is, many people simply did not comprehend this game. Console players at the time were used to more straight-ahead action titles, and the complexity and learning curve, so simple in retrospect, stopped some people before ever giving it a real chance.

But luckily, most players did "get it", and adapted quickly to the radical originality on display. Epic, years-long battles between siblings and friends were waged, some of which continue to this day. As time went on, the quality and obscurity of HZ slowly pushed it's resale price into the stratosphere. This reviewer once sold a spare copy for $200. Not many games have the kind of replay and never ending addiction value that would make $200 seem reasonable, but this is one of them

A person could write a million things about this game. About the perfect play balance, the multiple endings, the incredible polish and near perfection in every facet of it's design. We could point out that it's actually a sequel to an incredibly obscure MSX game known as "Herzog", and lament the lack of a third installment. But the game is so complete and future-proof, that it is enough to simply play it and enjoy.

-Von Richter

PS
If you manage to find/'not' download/play Herzog Zwei, here is a quick tutorial to get you started:
http://www.fiction.net/~jeske/Projects/HZ/hz_tutorial.html

Today (May 13th) is my birthday.
Join me as I move one step closer to the grave...

When I was a little kid, I once had a Pacman birthday cake, with a buncha cupcake ghosts. I believe I asked for Zelda 2, but didn't get anything. Yeah, that would be a sad story, but I eventually did get Zelda 2, so everything ended well.

I'm going to go waste some money on food... what should I get?

Munching options:

*Chinese
*Pizza
*Chicken strips n' fries

Beverage options:

*Beer (microbrew)
*Dr. Pepper
*Carbonated mineral water
*More coffee
*Tea

MSR:388: I have to maintain secrecy. However, you'll be glad to know that the teaser trailer is now completely outdated.

By the way, roleplayers may be interested to know that the 27th Level Wizard stopped by my house again last night, and cast a summoning spell. I filmed the whole thing. This is a *REAL* 27th Level Wizard, no trickery or special effects involved.



What else should I talk about on this mournful day of birth? Perhaps I should go buy a big, blue cigar and walk around half naked? Perhaps I should blithely strut through the city, my skin emblazoned with outmoded 80's catch phrases?

Cheers,
-VR