Posted by Guest Author on Mar 11, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Robotron: 2084
If there is one iron-clad sci-fi rule, it’s that robots will always turn on their makers. It’s “the fall” reduced to more mortal confines. If you build something in your image, it will eventually pitch a fit, take its ball and try and kill you with it.
In Robotron: 2084 (released in 1982), you are the last hope for human civilization. The title explains all you need to know about the setting; it’s the year 2084 and robots with some twisted AI have overrun the word and are now killing and mutating the few remaining humans. For rather vague reasons (something about being a mutant yourself) you are the only person with any sort of retaliatory firepower. As usual, the human “family” is totally useless in trying to save itself and walks around aimlessly while hordes of boxy ‘bots, flashing violent shades of oh-so-futuristic neon, seek them out. With the only motivation to save them being a few extra points, it may be tempting to just sit back and watch these idiots stagger to their doom, but then we wouldn’t have a game then would we?
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 10, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Asteroids
Asteroids, released in 1979, plays upon our fears of doom raining down from the skies. Death from outer space is one of the cornerstones of sci-fi, as is the daring solo hero/star-fighter. Asteroids distills these themes down to the quantum level. It’s simply you versus the rocks. Like the ur sci-fi game Spacewar! (later Computer Space) you have to use your thrust to avoid a deadly collision, but that will also send you careening around the board, possibly making things worse. If all else fails you can jump into hyperspace for a moment, blinking out of existence for a moment, but possibly reappearing back into hostile territory. Even blasting the asteroids into dust can get you into trouble, as they break up into smaller and faster balls of evil.
Added into the mix is the occasional flying saucer, which must have had some sort of special interest in mining the asteroid field. It wants nothing more than to blow you to smithereens.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 4, 2008 in Videogames
Sadly Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax passed away today. In a world of slick video games it’s easy to forget a time when every fanboy didn’t have a computer, back in those days Gygax created a revolution in games by bringing in the genre of fantasy. Reading his bio on Wikipedia you can tell that he was a real fanboy at heart:
“In 1967, a 20-person gaming meet was organized by Gary Gygax. It was held in the basement of his home and later became known as “Gen Con 0″ as this meet birthed the annual Gen Con gaming convention in 1968. Gen Con is now the world’s largest annual hobby-game gathering. Gen Con is also where Gary Gygax would meet Brian Blume and Dave Arneson. Brian Blume would later enter into TSR as partner with Don Kaye and Gary.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 14, 2008 in Videogames
Shown above is the 3D work of talented interactive media pioneer Larry Rosenthal. Larry has just opened his own 3C Skybase (shown above) and Star Trek Tribute Lounge in Second Life:
“Second Life, Jan 21, 2008: Cube3 the creators of the Starbase C3 Online World and RPG, has created with the sponsorship of the StarFleet Command Second Life Quadrant Roleplayers ( SFCSLQ) a new multilevel floating outpost at the groups sim at Sovereign. The Outpost , named the C3 Skybase Sovereign is now open and all aliens, avatars , etc, are welcome to attend.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 12, 2008 in Videogames
Chris is a videogame fanboy who made the above documentary on The Top Ten Worst Mistakes by Sega, even though the production values are crude his insights into the game industry of the 90s are great. I found myself laughing a few times watching this, it’s amazing to think how many times Sega would become their own worst enemy. Part two is below:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 11, 2008 in Videogames
Shown above are just two examples from an amazing collection of Atari game manuals and other associated items collected by designer Joe Kral. I have to say that I was blown away with the quality of the print design work associated with Atari in the 80s, I tend to associate good taste from that era with IBM and Apple but their taste wasn’t too shabby.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 8, 2008 in Videogames
If you’re an animation fanboy (or fangurl) who owns a Nintendo DS you should check out the the American website for Professor Layton and the Curious Village which just launched (nicely designed by POP Multimedia in Seattle). A friend showed me the Japanese version of the game a few months ago which features Hayao Miyazaki inspired animation set in a charming Victorian world. The gameplay features characters that you would find in a Charles Dickens novel solving a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Here’s the game trailer to give you a taste:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 1, 2008 in Videogames
Shown above is a TV commercial for the Magnavox Star System color television set. Below is a 1981 spot for the Magnavox Odyssey which features the voice of Mr. Spock:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 15, 2007 in Videogames
Shown above is page 482 from a Montgomery Wards Christmas catalog from the early 80s (click on the image to see it at full size). This catalog page features the following retro-gamer goodies:
What’s interesting to me about these games is that they’re all handheld devices in a pre-Game Boy era. If you account for inflation at $40 to $80 the toys are on the higher end of the scale of what tween or teen might expect to get for Christmas in 1981 (which is my guess when the page was published). One thing that caught my eye is that the backgammon game seems to be more aimed at young professional adults (known as yuppies in that era) rather than kids. From a fanboy point of view it’s interesting to note that for $17.77 you could get a Star Trek cartridge for the Microvision! Although looking at the crude game play of the device (there’s no video) I’m somewhat pleased that was never under my Christmas tree. Ah the good olde days, I’m so happy they’re gone…
“Anika’s Odyssey is a magical adventure deep into a lush and enchanted land. Break away from reality to enter a mystical world inspired by Aotearoa, New Zealand, as you meet the curious spirits and exotic creatures that inhabit this wondrous wilderness. Anika’s Odyssey is an enchanting point-and-click adventure game, full of a surprises and charm. Help Anika explore her colorful landscape as she journeys to reclaim her beloved friend.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2007 in Videogames
Cosmic Fantasy was a NEC PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 role playing video game from 1989. The game featured a futuristic science fiction/Fantasy theme with some humor. The game series did pretty well in the early 90s and even managed to inspire a OVA (Original Video Animation) anime title in 1994. You can also find some great screenshots of the follow up game Cosmic Fantasy II at this website here.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 20, 2007 in Videogames
Chasing Ghosts is a film that takes a look at the video arcade scene in the early 80s. It’s funny I remember finding arcade centers from everyplace from my hometown to my local shopping mall. If you’re near New York City on Saturday, December 15th at 6 p.m. you may want to catch the film at the New York United Film Festival.
“Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have made an offer to Mike Newell to direct “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” a live-action feature based on the videogame. Newell, who last ventured into franchise fare with “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” met execs at the studio to discuss the project this week, and negotiations are expected to begin shortly.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 31, 2007 in Videogames
Shown above is a clip from the upcoming Simspson game which is a parody of Japanese role playing adventure video games. I love how they renamed each character!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 25, 2007 in Videogames
If this game was for sale I’d buy it! From what I can see this is an actual game mod, although the person who posted it has no idea where to get it from. In addition to characters from Lucky Star you can also spot Pikachu and Doraemon.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 20, 2007 in Videogames
Shown above is a level from the upcoming The Simpsons Game which is based on Grand Theft Auto. I love the fact that instead of just doing a lame port that EA is using the medium of video games to make fun of other video games.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 6, 2007 in Videogames
By chance I came across the following video on YouTube which shows the Atari 2600 game based on the classic movie E.T.:
But what’s funny is that I don’t recall seeing this game when it came out, but my first reaction looking at the video was “that looks horrid!” So I knew there had to be a good story behind the game, and it turns out that E.T. was the start-of-the-end for the golden age of Atari:
