Our friends over at Bitmob recently scrounged up some ancient videogame magazines that date all the way back to the mid 1990s, and yes, they were nice enough to share their shocking archeological find with us.
Depending on where you live, it's probably way past your bedtime, so allow me to express my thoughts on a few of these game ads in bullet point form:
The only way to successfully attract my attention is to use violently bright colors the likes of which my eyes have never seen
I owned one of those Power Rangers LCD handhelds. Using barcodes to change the action EVERYTIME was exactly as sh*tty as you'd imagine it would be
In retrospect, Wolfenstein 3D would have been cooler if B.J. Blazkowicz was blind
My burning desire to play every game with "super" in the title almost caused me to rent Super Alfred Chicken once. Almost
If any of you happen to be in the business of making coffee book tables, here's my bright idea that I totally didn't just come up with fifteen seconds ago: go out and create a book filled with nothing but aged videogame ads. Would that not be the perfect lazy Christmas gift for a geek close to your heart?
"Oh come on, I have fond memories of Alfred Chicken on the Amiga, he could push buttons with his beak and did all kinds of colourful antics that I don't really remember.
I should probably hang on ..."...
By now you've heard about the multiplayer for Brütal Legend, as well as the yet-unseen 4v4 mode. But, as we all know, Tim Schafer is a man of many hats, and one of the hats he wore was writer for the original The Secret of Monkey Island. It's been a long time since he was cracking Guybrush Threepwood jokes, but Schafer was more than willing to discuss seeing his original masterwork be re-released.
"It's really interesting," he said. "I have a lot of warm feelings about Monkey Island -- when I hear the music, I get instantly happy, and I remember it being 1990 ... I was much younger, and it was before you could go online and read a bunch of nasty forum comments." He then went on to describe how going back to playing the re-release, especially in the classic mode, brings back all those feelings again.
Of course, the game is almost 20 years old. One topic Schafer brought up was the fact that games, when they are re-released, "are either better than you remembered, or they are worse." He got a bit literary on me, joking "I hope it's not like Catch-22, where you read that in college, and it blows your mind. Then you read it as an adult, and you're like, 'I think this was better when I read it in college.'"
As for his involvement in the re-release and the new Monkey Island content, Schafer had none, although he had heard rumors prior to the release. Expect some more information from my interview with Tim Schafer soon, as well as the full interview next week!
Did you own a Genesis back when the console was in its prime? Did you watch the first three seconds of this video yet? If you answered yes to both questions, then you know what it's like to be attacked by a wave of nostalgia.
Mega Man 9 may have been the first WiiWare game to shamelessly attempt to steal the childhoods of young adults and resell it to them, but it looks like Pole's Big Adventure plans to take the practice to new heights. Thing is, it looks like that's about all this game is trying to do. Thus far, the only things Pole's Big Adventure has going for it are its resemblance to games for the Sega Master System, and a few cultural reference "jokes" related to Super Mario Bros. .
And it's working. I will buy this game just for the "SAY-GAH". If that's not enough nostalgia-whoring for you, check out the game's official site. It'll flash you back to 1985 faster than the flux-capacitor.
Spotted on Power Glove's always epic C-blog, this new trailer for Street Fighter IV could be the most thought provoking yet.Not because it has an alarming amount of new content, because it doesn't. Everything that shows up in this trailer is at least ten years old: old favorites like Ryu, Zangief, and... Faith No More's Epic?
Clearly Capcom is trying to appeal to the nostalgia (and disposable incomes) of young adults, now out of college with good paying jobs, who ten years ago were experiencing puberty, "Alternative Rock and Roll" and Street Fighter II allfor the first time. That's all well and good, by why the Youtube-yness, Capcom? When this video ended and there was no "Created by a 14 year old 'Make your own Street Fighter video' contest winner!", I almost fell over.
There is borrowing from YouTube the right way, and then there is this. Or am I being too harsh?
Last week, we posted the news that Maxis co-founder Jeff Braun had confirmed a new Oddworld game, and there was much rejoicing. Now the head of Oddworld Inhabitants, Lorne Lanning, has added his own confirmation.
"I can confirm that we're working with Jeff on Oddworld stuff," stated Lanning. "That's all I can say at this time. [Braun] was giving a talk to a school, but there hasn't been a formal announcement, yet."
For me, Oddworld Inhabitants was a tragic creative failure. Originally designed as a quintology, we only ever got two official titles in the series, Abe's Odyssey and Munch's Odyssey. There were other spin-off games (the last game being '05's Stranger's Wrath), but the project was canceled before its grand designs could ever be close to realized. Oddworld Inhabitants scrapped the idea when they decided to move into animated films, which was a real shame as the games and universe were excellent.
With a ridiculous six games unfinished, there's plenty for the team to be getting on with. Will we finally get Squeek's Odyssey? Sligstorm? Hand of Odd? Probably none of those, but I'm going to wait expectantly for a quality Oddworld game regardless. It's been far, far too long.
"I like the Oddworld games (Strangers Wrath was my favourite) but I was always annoyed when they would cancel an upcoming title.
That being said, I hope they do a Strangers Wrath 2 as it was left..."...
When Sega Superstars Tennis was announced, I was as cynical as anybody else. Cramming Sonic the Hedgehog and all his forgotten friends into a tennis game reeked of commercialism, and yet as a former lover of all things Sega, I really wanted to check it out on the off chance that it was good. After all, nobody complains about the myriad Mario spin-offs, so why shouldn't Sega try and tug our nostalgic heart strings?
Having spent many hours on the court with Sonic, Amigo, NiGHTS and yes, even the dwarf from Golden Axe, I feel I am in a qualified enough position to determine whether or not this "celebration of all things Sega" is something to celebrate, or just another sad step in the devolution of one of the industry's most tragic former heroes.
Hit the jump for our review of Sega Superstars Tennis.
If you live in or near Brooklyn, New York, and love to run your mouth about how you could easily break the world record in Tapper... yes, I am serious, Tapper... then your day in the sun (of which there probably aren't many) is drawing near, my friend. It seems that the good folks at Guiness (world records, not beer) have teamed up with Barcade (Bar + Arcade = Perfect) to host a battle royale of classic games with the hopes that some average Joes will come out and break a few long-standing records. Check out what you have to achieve to get your name in the limelight.
Fastest Time to Beat Five Boards on Ms. Pac-Man
Fastest Time to Beat Five Boards on Tapper
Highest Out-Run Score
Highest Ghosts 'n Goblins Score
Highest Donkey Kong Score Without Using the Hammer
Records will be breakable for gamers of all skill levels (easy on Out-Run has a record?), and the public is invited to try their hand at the "Joystick of destiny." Dtoiders are sure to be in the house as well. The event starts at 7:30 pm on Thursday, April 10th, at Barcade (388 Union Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211). Sorry, kiddies, you must bring a 21+ ID to enter Barcade.
"I love Tapper. The one brings me back. I'm always tempted to make the drive up to NYC to check out Barcade, but maybe I can get some fellow Dtoiders to help me open one here."...
Set your phasers to "unrealistic nostalgia-driven hope," for Interplay is about to return and, if this teaser image from Interplay.com is to be believed, it's bringing back some total classics.
We already knew that Interplay was looking to revive its in-house studio with the money made from Fallout 3, and now it looks like a definite go. I still don't care what anybody thinks, I will get on my hands and knees and lick new Earthworm Jim greatness off the dusty floor, regardless of whether or not it can live up to expecatations.
Right now, the teaser image is all that we have, so stay tuned for more announcements soon. Unless of course, the above image and site is a dirty fake, then stay tuned for me shaking my fist at the Internet in a fruitless attempt to make it feel ashamed.
The very first gaming system I had was a Commodore 64, and the very first game I ever bought (or rather, had bought for me) was Dizzy, Prince of the Yolkfolk. It can be said that I have a very nostalgic view of the noble Commodore, but please forgive me for not being terribly excited at the prospect of its library appearing on the Wii Virtual Console later in the year with the first titles being International Karate and Uridum.
Don't get me wrong -- any possible chance to play Wizball again should be cause for celebration, but at 500 Wii Points, the price borders on insultingly excessive. Not only did the games originally retail for £1.99 (practically half the cost of 500 points), you could go to boot sales and buy entire sacks of cassettes for a few measly quid.
Even at £1.00, there'd be no justifying the cost for these games. I love Dizzy and his fellow games as much as the next man, but 500 points is way too much and I don't expect them to sell well at all. How many typical Wii owners will look at a Commodore 64 game and decide to part with money for it? Not many, I imagine.
What about you guys? Are there any titles that will be worth dropping 500 points on? What were your favorite Commodore 64 games and do you expect/hope to see them here? Let Destructoid know.
As 2007 draws to a close, we say our goodbyes to what has arguably been one of the greatest years for videogames ever. With so many amazing releases, this year has been absolutely stunning, and we can now definitely say that the new generation of games has finally arrived.
From BioShock to Super Mario Galaxy, the hobby we love has given us so very much to latch onto, and latch we did. The online gamer community made memes, injokes and even obsessions of so very much in 2007 as iconic moments, characters and people surfaced. This is Destructoid's first ever icons of the year showcase, where we celebrate those things that the gamer community has embraced with a passion and a vengeance.
This is it, the grand finale', our third and final list of 2007 honors. You can recap with part one or part two, or just hit the jump to see what rounds out our showcase of this year's most iconic. The choice is yours!
A Kotaku reader has compiled a selection of clips from the Street Fighter cartoon, a "best of the worst," if you will, although by all accounts, there really wasn't anything about the show that could have been considered "good" without a heavy dose of irony. If you want to witness a sumo wrestler slap cyborg wolves in the face, or watch Ken indulge his Queer Eye fantasies, this is the video for you.
Admittedly, the ten minute reel could have been condensed to three minutes, but the few nuggets of gold found within are well worth a gander. Also, BISOOOOOOOON!
"What the hell was that guy riding the dragon at 2:15 and what did that have to do with Street Fighter? o_O
"Not if I were bound by your mutable laws of physics. Fortunately, I have advanced be..."...
As 2007 draws to a close, we say our goodbyes to what has arguably been one of the greatest years for videogames ever. With so many amazing releases, this year has been absolutely stunning, and we can now definitely say that the new generation of games has finally arrived.
From BioShock to Super Mario Galaxy, the hobby we love has given us so very much to latch onto, and latch we did. The online gamer community made memes, injokes and even obsessions of so very much in 2007 as iconic moments, characters and people surfaced. This is Destructoid's first ever icons of the year showcase, where we celebrate those things that the gamer community has embraced with a passion and a vengeance.
Just before Christmas, we released part one of this tribute, and now we present the second, penultimate showcase of the good, the bad and the just plain weird things that have helped define this gaming year. Hit the jump for more.
As 2007 draws to a close, we say our goodbyes to what has arguably been one of the greatest years for videogames ever. With so many amazing releases, this year has been absolutely stunning, and we can now definitely say that the new generation of games has finally arrived.
From BioShock to Super Mario Galaxy, the hobby we love has given us so very much to latch onto, and latch we did. The online gamer community made memes, injokes and even obsessions of so very much in 2007 as iconic moments, characters and people surfaced. This is Destructoid's first ever icons of the year showcase, where we celebrate those things that the gamer community has embraced with a passion and a vengeance.
In this celebration of all things iconic, we take a look at the most memorable offerings of 2007, those things that made an impression that will last long into 2008. Hit the jump for the first chapter in our look back at the year's biggest memories.
It’s official, E3 2008 will remain in Los Angeles, despite months of speculation that it could move to a new city. In an interesting turn of events, however -- according to the press release Destructoid just received -- the popular trade show will be moving from last year’s beach side Santa Monica location to its former home at the massive downtown Los Angeles Convention Center.
This is great news for the large majority of the videogame industry who almost lost its ever-loving mind traveling from hotel to hotel on those damned shuttles during E3 2007 ... but for those of you expecting a return to the over-the-top glory of days past, don’t get excited just yet. Although the show will be in the Convention Center once again, it looks like the popular trade event will maintain its revamped style, composed of strict invite-only meetings and a very limited show floor.
Personally, I am happy about the move to the Convention Center (as it selfishly is a quick subway ride away from my dolphin palace), but am confused by the new show’s intentions. The L.A. Convention Center just begs for spectacle, and walking into a huge room with only a small row of awkwardly organized cubicles will just seem strange. Why have it in such a giant space if you aren’t going to utilize the environment’s strengths? Even though it was mass chaos, I will miss seeing a huge animatronic dwarf towering over the Blizzard booth or a plethora of giant monitors blinding the attendees and causing huge sweaty bottlenecks around every booth babe covered bend. Actually, maybe I won’t miss all that.
Regardless, the announcement is exciting and interesting. It sounds like the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) listened to a lot of the criticisms from last year and is trying its best to improve what should be the greatest videogame expo in the world. For now, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Fallout 3 is going to sell well, regardless of what the final product ends up looking like. It's a prediction I've pulled from my backside, but one that I think is more than reasonable. Interplay is certainly prepared to rake in the moolah, and has already mentally spent the wealth -- it's planning to revive an in-house dev studio with an eye to bringing back long-since deceased franchises, chief among them being Earthworm Jim.
Only a coldhearted lizard-esque creation of mankind's evil could ever claim to disliking the ridiculous escapades of Earthworm Jim, though fears of cheap cash-ins are surfacing. I wouldn't stand in the way of anybody looking to create a fresh, original and hilarious Jim title, but nostalgia can lead to broken dreams and sequels that can't live up to expectation. That, or games that are just plain crap.
Along with Earthworm Jim, a return for Baldur's Gate and MDK are also entirely possible. Once again, I can't see anybody complaining about good new games in these franchises, but that's the question people are asking -- would they be good?
Personally, I say let them at it. If the games turn out bad, we as gamers have lost nothing. We only stand to potentially gain from any resurrections. For the chance of a current-generation Earthworm Jim game that doesn't blow chunks, I'll take the risk, however big. After all, it's a risk Interplay is taking for us.
I don't know how old this is and frankly I don't care. This Pac-Txt, an idea so stupid it is actually genius. Described as Pac-Man meets Zork, Pac-Txt is, quite simply, an old school text-based adventure that manages to retain all the gameplay of classic Pac-Man. Now you can enjoy the nostalgic fun of moving and eat dots, but in text form!
Check it out, get typing and enjoy the three minutes it will take for the joke to wear thin. Also, let Destructoid know your high score, whether you completed a level and just how long it took you to stop. No, I swear I want to know.
[Tip by Jonathan Ross ... I hope it's THE Jonathan Ross]
"Congratulations! You have eaten ALL the dots! A rather time consuming and tedious task.
Your final score: 6620 points using 1 live.
* * * G A M E O V E R * * *"...
Readers of my age will have hopefully grown up with the golden era of Nickelodeon cartoons. The likes of Ren $ Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life and Aah! Real Monsters were a subversive and edgy break from the safe, cuddly cartoons that made up the norm. Now we can relive our childhoods as two iconic characters return -- in game form.
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is a new game that unites some of Nickelodeon's most popular characters such as Jimmy Neutron and Spongebob Squarepants in a plot that sees them working together to save the world. Although we cynics have little interest in such shadows of the glory days, what will excite is us the prospect of Rocko and Stimpy appearing as unlockable characters.
Two beloved and nostalgic characters appearing together in a videogame? Even if the game sucks, and all signs point toward that scenario being inevitable, I can't help but feel the unforgiving pull of my sweetest memories, telling me that I need to play it.
Sonic has definitely been hanging around with Mario for too long. Much like the fat plumber's own brand of tennis games, Sega has announced a racket-based adventure of its own -- Sega Superstars Tennis. That's right, it's a game I'm willing to bet that 90% of us don't ever play in real life ... but now it has Sonic in!
As well as the notorious hedgehog, other announced characters are AiAi from Super Monkeyball, Ulala from Space Channel 5 and Amigo from Samba De Amigo. The final roster will include fifteen characters in total. Dear God let one of them be the dwarf from Golden Axe. Sega Superstars Tennis will be released on the PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS platforms.
The jaded cynic in me wants to mock, but the nostalgic child buried deep in my soul (not the one buried in my yard) is hoping this actually turns out well. Just like Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing makes me interested in racing games, could Sega Superstars be a tennis game worthy of a 'hardcore' gamer's purchase?
I will keep an eye on this one, as I'm sure many of you will. If it turns out rubbish, nothing lost, but if it actually succeeds, then nobody's going to complain. This is Sega we're talking about though, so let's be careful before anybody gets excited. My advice to the developers is to think carefully about that Dwarf from Golden Axe. He could be the deciding factor between failure and victory for this new title!
You're going to call me a sourhearted Scrooge for it, but I must confess that I have grown tired of hearing the Mario Bros. theme tune. Perhaps it's the billion videos of people playing it with guitars and trumpets and whatever they can find on Youtube, but it really doesn't fill me with that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. That's one reason why this Wii Music clip doesn't excite me.
The second reason why this video doesn't excite me is that it isn't very exciting, which is a coincidence. I don't know what you make of it, but Wii Music certainly doesn't look like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, does it? That said, if you are still easily pleased by the same nostalgia over and over again, one more Mario Bros. tune isn't going to hurt, is it?
Wii Music has some potential in its belly, and there are plenty of other Nintendo tunes I still get a kick out of, but I'm going to have to see a lot more interesting stuff than this particular offering before I get my hopes us.
"When I hear someone's phone beep out the Mario theme, I think "Oh, cool, you want to fit into a subculture that isn't worth the trouble of fitting into by making the most annoying part about your..."...
We'll say right off that you're only going to appreciate this video/slideshow if:
a. you've played Final Fantasy VII b. you liked Final Fantasy VII c. you actually still remember Final Fantasy VII
Seriously, if you don't fit the above listed criteria, then this one is going to be a head scratcher.
These videos (one also after the jump) contain pictures of places around Earth that look just like they came out of the Squaresoft classic Final Fantasy VII. Hold on, it's cooler than it sounds.
Gaia is fully represented in these videos. Everything from Midgar and the Shinra Electric Power Company to wide open fields and chocobo races are represented here. Some of the shots (I won't ruin it for you) are absolutely spot-on, which makes me think that someone spent a lot of time creating these videos.
The videos are set to the orchestrated tracks from the Final Fantasy VII Reunion CD, so it's also nice to hear as well as see. Enjoy.
What? YES! Ladies and gentlemen, sit down, take a deep breath, then drink in the sweeping grandeur. The ridiculously awesome, awesomely ridiculous CG cartoon show, ReBoot, which entertained the masses back in 1994, is getting a remake with a series of three feature-length films. For those of you too young or pathetic to know the camp glory of ReBoot, it focused on a fantasy world contained within a computer, its characters and locations taken from actual computing components. The show stood out for having legitimately great characters and storylines. Evil viruses Megabyte and Hexidecimal were actually believable, threatening villains to this young child and the writing was somewhat intelligent, even if dripping with deus ex machina.
Needless to say, the adventures of guardian Bob as he enters the computer's videogames to protect its Mainframe were among my childhood staples and I am very much going to be checking out what Rainmaker Animation does to update the old classic. Sadly, the suave and sophisticated voice behind the megalomaniacal Megabyte, Tony Jay, is no longer of this mortal realm and I fear his presence will not be replaced easily, but I hope someone does the role justice. Now that I've utterly geeked myself out, I shall now retire to play with my Hack & Slash action figures.
I wish I had Hack & Slash action figures.
[I originally saw the headline for this news from Evil Avatar but cannot access their site to link the story. I love 'em anyway.]
"So excited for more ReBoot!
I agree that the current pitches leave much to be desired. The current best is Arrival, but it still has some stupid shit like the Users' world (Earth) being taken ove..."...
Oh ScrewAttack, how your Top 10s always take me down Memory Lane, oftentimes to places that I really had no intentions of ever seeing again. Their latest list, the Top 10 Worst Fighters Ever, is no different. There's no shortage of really horrendous fighters out there, and individual results will vary.
In fact, I was surprised that our very own* Bikini Karate Babes 2 didn't make the cut. Secondly, Killer Instinct should have been included. I loathe it. Thirdly, I also take offense to anyone sullying the name of Primal Rage. I don't know about the SNES or Sega Genesis versions, but the PC port was a nice supplement to Mortal Kombat as far as satiating my 8-year-old bloodlust went. It is very likely, however, that I'm looking at Primal Rage with the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. Or that 8-year-olds have really bad taste in games.
I'll be the first to admit that really bad 16-bit fighters hold a special place in my heart. I fondly remember Saturday Night Slam Masters (SNES), TMNT: Tournament Fighters (Sega Genesis), Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Genesis), and BioFreaks (N64). Kids these days ...
So, do you guys agree with ScrewAttack's list? What are some of the really horrendous games that you guys played as children (or last week)?
*Editor's note: by "our very own", I mean that every body on the staff owns a copy
"Before even watching the vid or reading the comments, the first thing i thought of was Rise of the Robots, how could something so clearly bad be missed. I do however agree with the rest of the l..."...
I've gone on record a few times as being disappointed by the lack of variety in the Guitar Hero series recently, and as much as this trailer does absolutely nothing to change that opinion (and actually covers it in an impenetrable shell of Aqua Net), I have to admit, I have a spot of wood over this whole concept.
If they could only implement my idea of a peripheral that launches panties at your head while playing, I think it could be a hit.
It looks like any hopes Xbox 360 owners may have regarding seeing Ninja Gaiden Sigma ported over from the PlayStation 3 have but all been dashed. Talking with Japan's Famitsu Xbox 360, Tomonobu Itagaki had this to say about the whole deal:
"We're getting requests to port Sigma to the Xbox 360, but we currently have no such plans. But no worries, 360 owners! Team Ninja is still supporting your platform.We're taking new challenges on the Nintendo DS, and the same is true for the Xbox 360. In order to respond to our fans' expectations, we're always making sequels and new games."
Since Xbox fans were already treated to Ninja Gaiden Black, and PlayStation 2 owners were left out in the cold last time, Itagaki has no qualms about his decision. Before you get all hateful, and decide to storm the gates of Team Ninja, I'd do a double-take on the last sentence in the first quote. That alone says a lot.
So I ask the Xbox 360 owners who were hoping to get away with not buying a PS3 due to the fact that most of the games seem to be Microsoft bound anyway -- does this even matter?
"Oh yeah, first dibs to the NEW ninja gaiden game rather than the bullshit port of a game that came out three years ago is dooming the console to death? You're a moron, Mage."...
We at Destructoid are always receiving new videos and content from readers who want us to help get the word out about whatever it is that they happen send us at the moment. As you would expect, some of it stands out more than others as being something that gaming geeks, such as ourselves, might actually enjoy.
Such as the case of this beauty of a show that the producer himself, Brett Vanderbrook sent to our tip line. After viewing the first episode and finding myself mildly amused, I figured it was as good a time as ever to share it with the fellow Dtoids out there. I could wax all poetic about it, but I think I'll let Brett do all the talking for us. After all, he is the producer, you know. Did I already mention that?
It's a series that takes Saturday morning/after school programming from the early 90s and turns it into a conglomeration of gamer-sitcom awesomeness. Set against the backdrop of the Genesis/Nintendo consumer war of the 90s, the story follows Chad Belmont, an underachieving high school junior who has the power to enter Sega Genesis games and fight evil doers in Video Land.
His arch nemesis, NES, is the underling of a higher being known only as the Game Genie. As the series progresses, the relationship between the characters deepens, and we begin to learn more about Chad and NES's pasts, as well as the origins of Video Land. In the mix are Becky and Lunk, Chad's best friends; Stacey, the babe that Chad pines for; Darryl Popinski, the school bully; and Principal Blakemore, Chad's natural enemy at Martin Bromley High.
So there you have it. Take a video game inspired theme, throw in some nostalgia from previous consoles, mix in some decent acting for episodic content, add a hint of Saved By the Bell, and you have the ingredients for something worth watching on the web. Did I mention that it is Screech approved?
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few more episodes to watch. I swear to God if they pull a Lost number on us and sprinkle reruns throughout the season, I'm going to drive to New York and deliver beatdowns to all involved. I'm not joking.
"if you enjoyed this, make sure to hit up www.x-strikestudios.com as well.
Two of the main guys (Brett Vanderbrook and Chad Williams) have worked on many of the X-Strike movies. Chad is a main cha..."...
Like princes? Like Persia? Now with the wonderful gift of synergy, you can combine the two. Ubisoft has confirmed that the original Prince of Persia is heading to Xbox Live Arcade sometime in the early Summer.
The original 1989 classic gave the titular hero sixty minutes to rescue the princess from the clutches of the evil Vizier, as if there are non-evil ones. Seriously, when does a job title with a "v" and a "z" in it not require some small iota of nefariousness?
The biggest change in the game shall of course be an extensive graphical overhaul, the original 2D look being replaced by fully three dimensional characters and levels. As well as the fresh coat of paint, players will be treated to a selection of new enemies, puzzles and traps.
The remake is brought to us through Gameloft, who worked on the mobile versions of the Prince of Persia trilogy, and it's shaping up to be a very nice looking game as this trailer should demonstrate. Also, screenshots.
To all the mothers out there who are gamers, or who have birthed many a gamers, we here at Destructoid want to wish you a happy Mother's Day. It's tough being a mom for a gamer -- we'll ignore your cries for help because we're busy dungeon crawling, meanwhile you lay stranded under a gigantic pile of laundry. At least now you can look back on your children and see how much time and money they've spent on videogames. Be proud! They boosted the economy!
Alright, enough trying to justify our horrific spending habits -- it's time for thanks. First, I'd like to thank all the moms who are gamers. You took the time to get into your child's interests (or, you've just always been interested in games, which makes you extra cool) and you've managed to be both a gamer and a fully functioning mom (and maybe even a worker too). I can barely manage to be a gamer and a student, yet you manage to do so much more.
As for those mothers who weren't gamers (like mine), thank you for being so understanding about letting us play games. It took a great amount of restraint not to freak when you see your child sitting in one position for several hours, only moving their thumbs. You were kind enough to wait on line to get us the games that we wanted for Christmas, no matter how hard it was to find. Also, thanks for not installing those ridiculous time-lock devices on our video games.
For those mothers that happened to produce a child that spent too much time on the Internet, and wound up writing for "that place with the robots and games," some of your kids have some choice words for you.
Another Monday, another chance to buy emulated “classics” on the Virtual Console. This week we're getting Mighty Bomb Jack (NES, 500 Wii Points); Final Fight (SNES, 800 Wii Points); and Ordyne (TurboGrafx 16, 600 Wii Points).
The stand-out title in this group for most of you would have to be Final Fight. That's not saying too much though, since you've probably never heard of the other two games before. Let me also take this opportunity to remind you to show your support for presidential nominee Mike Haggar. We can't win the good fight without you!
As a kid, I was never really into the shoot 'em up scene outside of Galaga. That was until one sunny afternoon when I discovered the awesomeness that is Ordyne.
For whatever reason, I just loved the concept of collecting crystals (some form of futuristic currency?) to upgrade my ship and buy better weapons. There was nothing I wanted more than to kill that evil bastard Kubota for stealing my character's fiancee ... my childhood was troubling to say the least.
That's enough rambling for one day. Will anyone be making any Virtual Console purchases?
The playground was never a very fun place for me. Between having my fingers stomped on and being thrown in the bushes constantly I never really looked forward to recess. So once Electronic Arts announced today that it will be bringing a game called EA Playground to the Wii and DS I had a fair share of traumatic flashbacks.
To my relief, the new game will focus on what is fun about the playground, mainly things like dodgeball and tetherball, rather than making some of us have to relive the past by playing something called “Crying by the Tire Swing.” Whew.
In an interview with IGN, EA Playground executive producer Dave McCarthy says the game will be very reminiscent of Wii Sports, offering a collection of minigames built from the ground up with the Wii and DS controls in mind. There will even be some games exclusive to each system, as in R.C. car racing on the Wii and spit ball shooting on the DS.
Sounds like it could be a lot of fun, especially if there is a large variety of games to choose from (which, it sounds like, there will be). The graphics look stylized (even more so than Wii Sports) and, honestly, what could be more satisfying than hitting someone in the face with a hard red rubber ball?
Check out the gallery for some first screens and hit the jump for the full McCarthy interview.
Forget Carmen Sandiego, I wanna know whatever happened to some of my favorite games of yesteryear. ScrewAttack's latest list, the “Top 10 big names that fell off,” raises the nostalgia meter by counting down games that went missing for one reason or another.
If I have to suffer through rehash after rehash of nothing new being added except for an updated roster or more missions for the same war I've already won in the 5 previous games, then is it too much to ask for another Vectorman or Act Raiser?
It's a sad sight to see fantastic games such as these slip off into video game history, never to be played by younger gamers. Instead, kids today will have to settle for the neverending saga of Mega Man.
I realised a few months ago that the Christmas of this year marks my 15-year gaming anniversary. I know for a fact that that’s not quite true, as the number of years I’ve actually been playing tails much further back into the mists of time than that, but it all gets a bit blurry dates-wise as I get back into my old ZX Spectrum days, making the actual starting point hard to fathom.
And besides, 15 is a nice round number for an anniversary, and it has just the right ring of gravitas and significance to justify me having a party of some sort. So the date a console, namely the Super NES, first came into my house shall henceforth be the official one to celebrate.
But I’m not going to talk about that today. No, there are other, more important things to discuss. You see the upcoming anniversary has naturally got me thinking about all kinds of things that have happened over the length of my gaming career to date, and this article is about the subject that has had me whirling off into more hours of misty-eyed musing than anything else. Something crucially important to the development of gaming, both in terms of the industry, and to me on an incredibly significant personal level.
And something that’s been tragically overlooked and eschewed in recent years, to the point where it’s become nigh on obsolete.
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
5:00 AM on 10.01.2009, 
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