Happy Birthday, SNES!

While I sold off about 99% of my SNES games to get a PS3 and a bunch of other stuff a few years back, I’ve kept pretty much all of my Super Famicom games simply because there were too many that were never localized for a US release. Sorry for the lousy photo, but all 248 or so are up in a closet in the other room and I don’t have the time to go through them at this point and pick out favorites. This project however, IS on my to-do list once I clear out some space here at the home office and find the time to get the stash down to be photographed (and a few games re-played). I have many favorite games for the system but I absolutely HATE compiling “Top 10” lists, so you won’t get one from me. OK, I’m not that irascible, folks – I just need more time to re-discover some of these games when it’s not so incredibly busy here. It’s absolutely be a LOT more than ten, that’s for sure.

Anyway, Happy Birthday SNES! You’re missed in this era of digital-only releases and mobile games madness, that’s for sure.

Bangai-O HD Missile Fury Gameplay Trailers: A Double Shot Of Treasure Madness

Part bullet-hell shooter, part puzzle game and ALL Treasure 2D bliss (presented in stunning HD), D3Publisher’s download-only Xbox Live Arcade game is a total gem that will thrill shooter fans while giving the Bejeweled crowd something to blow their minds. The game manages to mix in a high level of challenge while offering some truly incredible blasting and quite possibly the largest character sprite I’ve ever seen. As you can see from these incredible videos, this one isn’t easy at all. But it’s definitely a bargain and highly recommended (even if it’s not on a disc).


I Knew Things Were Shaky In NYC, But This Is Ridiculous…



Yeah, that was a “little” earthquake that tiptoed underneath us for about five seconds. I was doing some writing when it hit, so at least I was sitting down. Other than the slight shaking, NOTHING was knocked over or damaged. Seems that Washington D.C. was hit by a 5.6 and we got a bit of a bumpity-bump from that. This is the third one I can recall since about 1995 here. The other two were very minor rumbles that also got some news coverage, but it seems that they’ve were based upstate.

This one is getting mega-press thanks to the Internet doing it’s stuff and everyone hyperventilating on Twitter, Facebook, et cetera. From what I recall, there’s a fault line that runs under City Hall here in the city, so I bet the Mayor is thinking about NOT running for an unprecedented fourth term. Ah, life! OK, off to do some gaming so I can feel a bit more normal. Want to bet some folks in D.C. blame Obama somehow?

SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked ‘8th Day’ Teaser

Here’s a peek at Atlus’s remastered RPG, headed to the 3Ds now with full voice acting, enhanced higher-definition art and an all new 8th Day section not found in the DS game. North American gamers will be dancing with joy, but UK and European 3DS owners are out of luck, as there are no plans to release this in those territories and as you know, the 3DS is region locked. Perhaps some third-party publisher can do the deed, but I’d gather it’s not going to happen because of the localization issues required for each non-English speaking territory (not inexpensive to do, mind you).

PSP E-1000 Specs: Cheaper, But Still A Hot Ticket For Some…

While the uber-techies are grumping over this new model's lack of certain features, personally, I think the E-1000 is a pretty great entry level handheld for new users looking to get into the PSP and its rather huge games library. I still have my original 1000, 1001 and Slim 3000 models here at the home office, so I'm not sure I'll import this one yet.

Import as in there's been no North American release announced, which in my opinion, is a bit strange. Is SCEA afraid that the system will be blasted on message boards for being “cheap” and lacking features found on past and current models or are they implying (or is it inferring) that European gamers aren't all that sophisticated and this budget model will find a niche amongst those who don't have high-speed connections and want to get some handheld gaming in. I can see a modestly to moderately successful market for the E-1000 here provided it's packed in with a few PSP Greatest Hits (or a compilation UMD with assorted PSN titles and minis), but we'll see what SCEA decides down the road.

Specs below the jump, by the way…Read more »

Gamescom 2011: Dragon’s Dogma Gameplay

Capcom’s biggest in-house game to date seems to be dividing certain fans who want and/or expect them to do a Monster Hunter game for this generation’s HD consoles, but I say give this new IP a chance and see how it turns out. Granted, what I’m reading about it elsewhere makes it seem not so spectacular, but I’m more than willing to give the final version a whirl just because I love seeing what any developer can do with an original IP. Action/RPGs like this always seem to find a loyal audience among those who like diamonds in the rough, so we’ll see what happens once a demo goes public and more get some hands-on time. Of course, I’m sure constructive feedback from those who’ve played it will help the dev team tweak things a bit before the game launches. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best…

Gallery: TES V: Skyrim Character Portraits

Want to see which races you can play as in Bethesda’s upcoming time-eating epic RPG? Here are a few possible combinations (out of millions or variations) thanks to the excellent character editor. As longtime Elder Scrolls fans know, a good chunk of the fun at the beginning of a new adventure is choosing just who you want to play as. I’m thinking about ditching my usual first play-through choice of an Argonian battlemage who dips into archery from time to time, especially given the more flexible skills system Skyrim offers. Decisions, decisions…



White Knight Chronicles II Goes Gold, Gets Pre-Order Goodies

OK, I’m a few days late with this news (oops), but hey, that backlog pile was a pain to dig out from under. D3Publisher of America has sent WKC II off to the presses and has announced a cool-looking armor set will be made available as a pre-order bonus (via DLC, of course) through participating GameStop retail locations or through the GS website. Don’t ask me about what the armor does other than look nice and showy, but I’m gathering that once you hop online with it, you can expect a few compliments from live party members if they didn’t score the bonus gear. WKC II is set to land in stores on September 13, 2011 (and remember, you get the remastered version of the first game FREE on the disc!).

Disgaea 4 Pre-Orders In Full Swing – Which One Is Yours?


Decisions, decisions, decisions! NISA sure isn’t making it easy this time out, but no matter which of the three versions of the game you get, a winner is YOU. There’s the $50 Standard Edition that comes with the original soundtrack on a CD, but ten bucks more gets you the Premium Edition in a nice box with a softcover art book and a cute Fuka fugurine. If you’ve got money to burn, you can blow $120 and get the Premium Figure Set which contains the PE box, art book, soundtrack, Fuka figurine AND nine more exclusive Disgaea 4 figures. It’s enough to make an indecisive person really, really crazy, I say! Even worse, the pre-orders only go on until September 5 and the game ships out on September 6! Yaaaaah! All THAT and I haven’t even mentioned all the cool stuff you can do in this latest installment (that’s what the links are for)! I seriously can’t decide, but methinks I’ll stick with the Standard Edition just so I can eat a lot less cheap rice noodles later. Hey, I can get by on one meal a day if I really needed to…

Gamescom 2011: GoldenEye Reloaded Gallery

More lovely screens from Eurocom's upcoming re-reboot headed to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Along with many other GoldenEye fans, I'm more than thrilled with what's coming. However as usual in the free-thinking democracy we live in, there are people out there who just don't want the game to succeed. As long as the anti-Activision crowd (some of whom don't play many/any games in the genre or worse, judge every modern/console shooter as “bad” for some reason), overly nostalgic N64 fanboys (yes, the original is a great game, but come on – grow up and open your eyes while learning to show RESPECT to a developer updating a classic into an even better experience) AND Daniel Craig haters (who have ZERO clue about how licensing works – you're not getting Pierce Brosnan back as Bond in a new game no matter how loudly you gripe) who STILL think every FPS has been ruined by Call of Duty (they haven't) are around and thinking their loudly expressed opinions are 100% indication of actual facts (they aren't, but thanks for trying), the game might have that minor speed bump to overcome at retail. I say if you're THAT skeptical and jaded, not even a playable demo will help you. Here's hoping that a percentage of these wags actually change their minds after playing one.Read more »