Capcom Arcade Cabinet: Next Stop, 1986!

 

Capcom continues crawling through the classics in their rather large arcade games library and yes, a few of the more snarky elements in the emulator crowd who’ve never paid a dime for anything they play are still wondering why. Too bad for them, I say. Anyway, for those folks not trolling for ROMs who want to get Capcom a little extra money for these updated HD conversions, three more gems from the past are all ready to play over PSN and XBLA on Capcom Arcade Cabinet. This week’s lineup includes Legendary Wings, Trojan and Side Arms Hyper Dyne, all extremely cool and vastly replayable.

Star Trek The Next Generation Warps Onto The Pinball Arcade via PSN

 

Farsight Studios just rocks. The small developer has been making quite possibly the best digital recreations of classic pinball tables you’ll ever see (Pinball Arcade) and they’ve been getting them out on assorted platforms with Sony’s PlayStation Network seemingly being the least problematic to produce content for outside of PC, iOS and Android devices. Their latest table should make ST:TNG fans grin like an angry Klingon because it’s not only a great game, it’s packed full of visual and aural notes from the show that will have you losing a few balls if you let yourself get too distracted. And if you’re asking “what’s pinball?”… oooh, you kids. Go find some old coot sitting on a park bench, wake him up with a soft kick as ask away. If you’re not beaten gently on and around the head with a cane, you may come away a bit more educated…

Anachronox Is $2.39 On GOG.com…(!) Yes, You Should Give It A Try.

 

anachronox coverTo some gamers, Ion Storm’s excellent 2001 role-playing game, Anachronox hasn’t aged so well in terms of visuals (the 3D character models in particular can be quite ugly thanks to the aging, but heavily modified Quake II engine), but the story, writing, art direction and turn-based combat are all prime reasons for checking this out. As usual, GOG.com comes to the rescue with a temporary price drop on this gem that makes it well worth a test drive. The game is often very funny, there are some interesting quests and NPC’s to meet, nice nods to eastern and western RPGs and film noir in all that sci-fi shininess and yeah, it’s pretty darn long. The ending is the weakest link as the game was so huge and seemed ripe for a follow-up that never got made. Nevertheless, at the end of the day there’s a lot to love about this not quite forgotten slice of gaming history, so yes indeed… I say you should set aside time to check this out…

(*whispers* It’s kind of hard to pass up a value like this, is all I’m saying…)

Does He Fight Retro Man? Mega Man III Blasts onto 3DS Via Nintendo eShop

 

Well, you probably don’t need this if you’ve already bought Mega Man I through V on WiiWare, but in case you only own a 3DS… well, here you go. The classic third entry in the classic franchise presented as a standalone game. it would actually be really cool to see Capcom HD the entire series up, maybe add optional 3D elements to them (to take advantage of the now seemingly underplayed 3D function of the handheld) and get it out on a retail game card, but we’ll see what happens. Hell, I’d be planning this if I were running thing over at Capcom’s Suits ‘n Sales Division (and I’d add the newer MM games PLUS Street Fighter x Mega Man to the deal), but as usual – we shall see what happens in the future when the future arrives. It’s coming up now… every second, at that. Scary, isn’t it. Tick, tick, tick….

VGA 101: MD/Genesis Library (Too Early in the Morning Version)…

 

OK, back by not so popular demand: another awful video of the library! I woke up a wee bit too early after not enough sleep, grabbed the camera and here you go: a longer look at some of the MN/Genesis stuff to go with the photos I took a while ago HERE. Sega CD stuff is HERE with the US Saturn games I have left and Mega-CD games? Well, poke around HERE if you’re that curious… Back with more shaky movies in a bit.

VGA 101: More Collection Madness, Badly Shot (For Now)…


 
Nope, I’m not QUITE taking today off, folks. I was just catching up on some games I need to review (the results of which you’ll read shortly). Anyway, to keep you “entertained”, I thought I’d grab my crappy camera and quickly zoom through some stuff in the library (which NEEDS a big reorganization and/or a makeover I can’t afford yet, boo!). Er, you may want to take some Dramamine before viewing this, as it’s probably really fuzzy and moving faster than a caterpillar who’s had a pot of strong coffee. Or like a rat. Made out of a LOT of video games. Squeak, squeak! Eek, eek!

More gog.com Bliss? OK, Omikron: The Nomad Soul Is Now Available

Quantic Dream’s ahead of its time PC game (which also came out on the Sega Dreamcast) is finally now out on gog.com for $9.99. It’s one of those open world sci-fi experiences that’s unique on a few fronts thanks to the ability to hop from body to body as you play, which makes the game a very flexible experience for players. Yep, it’s the game with a heavily retouched artwork of David Bowie on the cover in the weird alien makeup. He appears in the game and even did some music (all of which I’m not sure is In this version game, but that’s modern rights clearances for you). Anyway, if you’ve a bit of time and patience, this one will grow on you. Check it out if you’re in the mood for something old but new and unique.

VGA 101: On Kenji Eno (2): Something Old Brings In Something New(-ish)…

Lumines ES2Lumines ES1So, as I posted last week, I finally got around to sending back that formerly long-lost Kenji Eno autographed copy of D2 about a week or so ago and got this nice surprise as a return response. A copy of Lumines: Electric Symphony autographed by the game’s producer and one of Eno’s close friends. Nice. Amusingly enough, I hadn’t played this Vita game previously, so now I get to do so and having done something nice for someone in the process. Yeah, I’m a nice guy under all that cranky. MOST of the time. Not get the hell off my lawn, you kids. Scoot! I have some games to play and no time for you whippersnappers. Git!

 

Gog.com’s SUPER ‘Pick 5’ Sale is ON: Grab Some PC Games For RIDICULOUS Prices!

GOG_sale

OK, even a total cheapasskate like me couldn’t pass this sale up. I just snagged five games for a paltry $15 and saved $45 in the process. What did I get? The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, Inquisitor, Tiny & Big in Grandpa’s Leftovers, King’s Bounty: Crossworlds Game of the Year Edition and Legend of Grimrock. That’s a few hundred hours of gameplay on the 4 RPGs alone and Tiny & Big is a modern classic full of innovative gameplay super-fun stylized visuals and all-out goofy but non in a slapstick manner humor. Anyway, stop reading this post NOW, click here (er, STOP reading after you read this post or you’ll have no clue what I’m raving about) and get your five of 20 games for a song you’ll be singing as your eyes pop over the deals here. You’ve only got until March 19, 2013 to grab your own five, by the way…

Of course, now I need to find time to PLAY all of these, but so it goes, I guess. Hey, SCIENCE?! Get with the time machine inventing and stuff, grrrr!

Review: Capcom Arcade Cabinet (PSN)

CAC_artDeveloper: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
# of Players: 1 – 2+
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) to T (Teen)
Official Site
Score: A

 

Capcom’s little experiment in reworking some of its many arcade games back into the minds and hands of gamers around the globe is definitely working, folks. Capcom Arcade Cabinet (so far in its second wave of three games) is not only a must-buy collection whether you do it now or in May when the entire set of 15 titles becomes available as a single purchase, it’s probably going to be the way to go should other companies decide to get HD versions of their classics out onto consoles (*cough* Konami! Sega! Tecmo! *ahem* for starters). Sure, there’s no Wii U, Vita or 3DS version on the way as far as I know (a bit of a sticking point for those Nintendo-only gamers or Sony fans who’d LOVE to take some or all of these on the road), but for sheer nostalgia value, this trip down memory lane will have your fingers and brain merrily tapping and plotting away as you take on some oldies that still pack a mean punch. Continue reading