NEOGEO X Classics Coming In April With Another Cool Bonus

Posted on February 21, 2013 by geelw

And so it begins (or continues, actually). In case you were wondering when and how SNK/Playmore was going to be getting new NEOGEO X games out, well the mystery has been solved. In late April, selected game retailers will stock the upcoming 3-game card NEOGEO X Classics: Volume I, which is the first of five three-game card compilations on the way. This next series of game cards will feature the following arcade hits from the company’s huge library:

ART OF FIGHTING 3
BLAZING STAR
BREAKERS REVENGE
FATAL FURY: MARK OF THE WOLVES
KIZUNA ENCOUNTER
THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’96
THE LAST BLADE 2
METAL SLUG 2
SAMURAI SHODOWN 3
SAVAGE REIGN
SENGOKU
SHOCK TROOPERS
SUPER SIDEKICKS 3 – THE NEXT GLORY
TOP HUNTER
WORLD HEROES JET

In addition, each card will ship with the “ROCKET” High-speed Data Transfer and Charging Travel Cable, at no additional cost. There’s also a system update on the way as well as a travel case for the handheld. More details will drop soon, so stay tuned for more. I’m quite happy with my X, so seeing it get more support is making me a happy camper indeed…

The Bard’s Tale Unfolds on GOG.com – Ye Olde, Yet New-ish School Fun…

Posted on January 30, 2013 by geelw

I’m old enough to remember the classic original trilogy (I didn’t get around to playing them until the late 1990’s) and this not quite remake/reboot from 2004 that got decent reviews (I even reviewed it for one site back in the day) and I say you should try it out even if you’re a fan of the older games who doesn’t like more action-oriented experiences. You get those three vintage games as a bonus with this newer one (so there!) and the team at inXile Entertainment actually made quite a hilarious experience to dive into. While the gameplay is purely action/RPG (in the visual and gameplay vein of the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath games), the writing is really funny for the bulk of the Bard’s adventure and there are even “follow the bouncing ball” musical numbers that may have you single along even if you thought you wouldn’t… Continue reading →

Industry Noose: R.I.P., THQ, Atari Sinking… Who’s Next?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by geelw

Ugh. I hate being right, but I’ve been around for one big industry crash, the slow death of the popular arcade scene and too many recent studio closures and other big to small bumps that make it somewhat sad to be a gamer for so damn long. If you think this mobile and tablet junk will “save” things, welll…. it won’t if the industry keeps trying to sell a business model and services as “product” and goes on forgetting CONTENT (and quality) is king. Well, as I predicted (but was hoping would never happen despite the writing all over the wall for years), THQ has gone the 3DO and Midway route, with some major IP assets sold off to assorted publishers and others still in some sort of limbo state for the moment. Atari seems to be headed to a third or fourth demise, filing for Chapter 11 and hoping for a split from Infogrames and some savior with deep pockets who can throw money at a problem that may not be able to be solved even with so many classic IP at stake.

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FREE STUFF: GOG.com Plays Santa With Free Duke Nukem 3D For All…

Posted on December 13, 2012 by geelw

Ho, Ho, Ho! Once again, the fine folks at gog.com bust out something awesome and FREE for gamers everywhere this crazy holiday season. This isn’t the normal Duke, mind you, but Duke Nukem: Atomic Edition, which packs in the original game and a megaton of bonus content. In case you’re new to Duke Nukem, it’s the seminal politically incorrect first-person shooter that’s also a master class in game design, outrageous humor and tons of hidden goodies. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll kiss the hours goodbye and even better, you’re not paying a cent. Hell, if that fat man flying around in his sleigh wasn’t busy doing that, he’d be sitting at home in front of his own computer blasting baddies and peeling off digital dollar bills to check out some jingle bells. Just don’t tell Mrs. Claus!

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Got $25K Lying Around? You Can Own EVERY Super Nintendo Game Ever Released in North America.

Posted on December 11, 2012 by geelw

Holy cats. This is one of those things that makes me wish I had a ton of money to toss around like a rapper making it rain in a strip club. Ebay user kaisetsuna has put up an amazing auction that features all 721 Super Nintendo games ever released in the US, Mexico and Canada. 500 pounds of games in assorted conditions, all with boxes (save for the handful of pack-in games that didn’t have them), most with manuals. Even crazier is how the lot was assembled and why he’s getting rid of such an impressive stash. He cobbled together the bulk of the games through multiple purchases, replacing battered boxes and when possible, manuals with better condition ones, cleaning up carts and more all for archiving the games for reference purposes and future emulation…

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NEOGEO X Gold Update: Limited Editon Pre-Orders Nab Ninja Master’s For Free

Posted on October 23, 2012 by geelw

SNK Playmore’s handheld wonder is getting some nifty pre-order love over at online retailers Amazon and GameStop. Consumers who pre-order the Limited Edition (which comes packed with some nice bonuses that turn the handheld into a home console) will get a FREE game card (the 1996 beat ’em up, NINJA MASTER’S*) with their order when the new portable ships out on December 6, 2012. As I’ve been saying for months now, for a dedicated console with a fairly large library of classics (more of which will be made available after the system launches), that $199.99 isn’t a lot at all considering you also get 20 free classic NEOGEO titles you can play on the road using the X as a dedicated portable or at home with the dock included in the LE box.

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Stuff that Needs To Be Kickstarted (Part 1)

Posted on October 18, 2012 by geelw

Hmm. Sinnce I’m up way too early, I may as well post something now, as I’ll be a bit busy later doing the airport thing. Here’s a random list of games or game projects that NEED to be crowd-funded. Of course, there are those who want everything for free and can or already have all the games they can play and then some. But for those gamers who aren’t fond of emulation or hell, just want to support a few cool projects, someone has to get on these just from a pure preservation perspective, I say:

Atari Lynx Collection (PC/Mac/Consoles/Handhelds): The Lynx was and is one of the most underrated gaming devices EVER. Despite being more powerful than the hugely popular GameBoy, less popular Game Gear and never as popular as it should have been TurboExpress, there were a number of great games made for the system from arcade ports to original titles worth playing for a few reasons. Granted, something like Gauntlet III would need to be reworked to play in a widescreen format, but then again, it’s perfect for tablets or phones. Slap in Achievements for those who want them and I think this would do well among those who’ve never played or heard of the Lynx previously.

SPACE LORDS (ditto): One game that to date hasn’t been successfully emulated is Atari’s quite spectacular multiplayer space combat arcade game. Yeah, yeah, you’ve never heard of it and it’s never been ported to anything as far as I know since it had its brief run in arcades almost 20 years ago. But it’s exactly the sort of game that once it’s played, will be one you’ll keep going back to just because you’ve had so much fun blasting aliens into space dust (with a little help from your online or offline friends).

I was going to post a bit more, but I’ve a bit of laundry to tackle – back in a bit with a few more ideas (yeah, I’ll try and make a case for a Jaguar collection, although it’s the total longshot of all my bad ideas)…

Spellshard Would Indeed Have Been An Awesome NES RPG…

Posted on October 8, 2012 by geelw

Here’s a neat bonus from the OHRRPGCE game, Spellshard (yup, you should go grab it if you’re a retro RPG fanatic like I am). The guys behind the game even put together a fake color manual PDF that looks as if it was photocopied from an original (very clever) and even has a back cover with a piece of tape covering a small “tear” – that made me smile.

Anyway, I’ve only put about an hour into the game so far, but it’s definitely a nostalgic blast from the past. Granted, most of the games I’ve played using this engine have the same combat systems and menus, but they get the job done in delivering the feeling of camping out on the couch on a rainy weekend immersed in a nicely sized fantasy world.

Carmageddon Max Pack Skids onto GOG.com!

Posted on September 29, 2012 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, you COULD sit in L.A. traffic and face what they consider “Carmageddon” but that’s not the real deal, folks. Just avoid that vehicular nonsense, stay home and download Carmageddon Max Pack for a measly ten bucks HERE. Hell, it’s a weekend and you don’t really need to drive anywhere anyway, right? And if you’re not in L.A. and don’t get the reference, it’s not important and you should get the game anyway because I said so (nicely). Besides, it’s MUCH safer than getting in a weekend wreck with some fool who was texting while behind the wheel.

Video Game Appreciation 101: System Shock! Into The Bins And Crates of Doom (Part 1)…

Posted on September 16, 2012 by geelw

After a bit of survey-taking earlier Saturday, I decided on a whim to do a bit of cleaning as well as move some stuff around mostly to see just how many systems and such I have packed into the home office. All I’ll say is it’s definitely not a small amount. Anyway, below the jump are a few items from the collection. Nothing super-rare or anything like that, but a random selection of consoles, controllers and other gaming-related ephemera I’ve stocked up over the ages.

To the left, by the way, is my current “Systems Precarious” setup (code name: “Jenga!”): an Xbox (which plays imports and debug code), A Sanyo TRY-1 3DO (well, OK, it’s a bit rare in the US), A boring US PS2 with a HDD that’s faulty), a now non-working Xbox 360 (it died not too long after my Dragon’s Dogma review and I need to get another one) and a Japanese PS2. OK, usually it’s four consoles and not five, but I was playing The Earth Defense Forces 2 the other day just to get prepared for the copy of EDF 3 Portable I have coming in about two weeks. The PS3 and games for it in the living room, by the way (and thanks for asking). You can’t stack anything on top of it, as it’s an “ancient” launch model that’s still kicking. I think I need one of those “extreme” makeovers, gaming edition, as it’s a pretty dopey way to set stuff up.

OK, enough stalling from me – onto the downloading of blurry images and light descriptions…

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