Category: Retro Review

StarCraft (Retro Review)

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Oh StarCraft, you make me feel so damn old. I remember playing you to the early hours of the morning. Both on PC and the Nintendo 64. Hell me and a friend figured out it was possible on the N64 to build 36 nukes as the Terran then pretty much fill the screen with their explosions. It was a good time for all. I mean not the place you dropped them, that was dead. The game itself is a real-time strategy game where you build troops as one of 3 very distinct races, the humans known as Terran, the insect like Zerg or the technologically superior Protoss. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses so pick your poison and practice away, I always liked the Protoss personally.

The game is amazing and to this day has a heavy online community even in multiplayer, tho most people have moved on to Starcraft 2 or the Remaster of the original. You can play the original for free however, and there is no reason not to at least try it out. the game still is a lot of fun if not graphically  inferior to look at, I mean it is about 20 years old. It is still fun to play and not bad to look at compared to many games from its time, and its easy to see why all these years later it is still big online. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Space Harrier 2 (Sega Genesis Classics)

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Space Harrier 2 is the story of a guy with a huge cannon somehow flying around shooting even weirder stuff. By the way not in a plane or anything. He is just holding a cannon just shooting stuff. Also the usual is true here, either looks like the original, or an insanely well polished newer version.

Seriously this game is weird as hell check out my original review for Sega Forever Space Harrier 2 Sega Forever and that opinion hasn’t changed one bit. The game is pretty fun for the early style shooter it is, but it is still a weird concept. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Golden Axe (Sega Genesis Classics)

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Today we get a double dose of  retro goodness this time with golden Axe.  Again check here for the details on visuals and such. Sega Genesis Classics. If you want A quit run down tho, Looks good, could look original, your call. Awhile back I called the Xbox version the definitive version of Golden Axe. I have no changed my mind, this is it. With the option to make it look how you choose and the controls feeling amazing. Give this one a shot, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Columns (Sega Genesis Classics)

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By now you guys know the routine, if not check here. Sega Genesis Classics. Columns itself is an old-fashioned puzzle game where you match 3 colors to get rid of them and score points, hit the top and its game over.

While even when it released it was standard the game was a ton of fun and this hasn’t changed at all I am happy to say. The game also as you would imagine gets slightly harder as time goes on, which is also quite normal for the genre as a whole. Aside from that there isn’t much to say about the game, puzzle fans will be happy to add this to the collection. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Phantasy Star 4 Sega Genesis Classics

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This one is an all time favorite of mine, so I was always going to be harsh on this one and I have actually reviewed it before as you can see Phantasy Star 4. So you can see, I enjoy it. So if you want to know more about the game itself feel free to click there. This is just a short how does this version hold up.

Just like the rest of the Genesis Classics, you get to choose if you want the original look or a cleaner more modern look. Also on rare occasion you will hear a sort of weird distortion to the sound, that was also in the original game, these games haven’t really been changed from the originals they have just been emulated. If you haven’t checked this game out and enjoy RPG’s, now is the perfect time. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil 5

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After the huge impact Resident Evil 4 had on me, as well as 2 and 3, I was pumped for 5 and was a huge selling point for me getting a PS3. Was it worth the hype?

Years after Resident Evil (remake) , Chris Redfield ( now a hell of a lot more buff and rugged looking.) is a agent of the BSAA, an organization tasked with eliminating bio-terrorism across the globe. On the ass hunting down a scumbag named Irving, Chris ventures to Africa, partnering with Sheva as they discover a hideous affliction of a contagion called the Uroboros as well as the Las Plagus. After Irving, the pair discover secrets leading them back to the ghostly remnants of Umbrella, discovering where the progenitor virus came from as well as the long awaited reunion with Chris’s old teammate and nemesis Albert Wesker as well as another ghost from Chris and Wesker’s past. Can the duo defeat the OP Wesker and stop the Uroboros?

While not terrible, this game has much to be desired. Graphically it’s beautiful, accompanied by a great score, perhaps my favorite of the series in fact. Gameplay is solid but the scare inventory slots can be annoying. A big this I have to say is the creatures in this game are the least frightening in the whole series. In fact, I have to say the Majini later on made me laugh rather than fill me with fear. You can definitely tell this game was a third person shooter at heart, which did function and play well enough as one, unlike Resident Evil 6 but damn it doesn’t feel right. Another huge issue I had was that the A.I for Sheva was dumber than a bag of rocks.   Plenty of times her idiotic death resulted in a pain in the ass redo or if I gave her a gun, she would waste the bullets, bullets I sorely needed. I do like that every loading screen is a summary from a Resident Evil timeline you can access in the bonus menu to learn more about the lore or get a better perspective on the lore. The best way to enjoy the game is with a buddy, which by the way, as Savoir and I proved, the game has drop in/ drop out couch co-op as well as online co-op; the game becomes 100 times better with a friend. If you and a buddy want a good game to play, it’s definitely worth the $20 it goes for. On it’s own its a solid game with some issues that can be overlooked. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Spawn: Armageddon

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If you didn’t get enough Spawn after my combo blog on Spawn/ Spawn: origins , we’re going to talk about my favorite piece of Spawn media and was my first intro to the character. Pretty much the war between Heaven and Hell is going to fall on Earth and Spawn is in the middle with his huge array of guns, powers, signature chains, and his trusty Ax of Agony.

Right of the bat, let me be frank: this game is not special in any way shape or form but it is fun as hell. You start off pretty damn powerful and there’s a huge collection of powers and weaponry to combo and slaughter the hordes of Heaven and Hell and it goes farther than that but the enemies quickly become a threat. If you enjoy Devil May Cry, essentially the game play feels the same. The bosses are huge and epic and challenging towards the end. The story isn’t much but it’s a damn fun hack n slash game I’d recommend if you want a high energy blood and gore game. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Rage:Carrie 2 (1999)

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Every so often I hear someone complain that we are getting a sequel we don’t need. I always find this to be an odd statement because really we don’t need any movie. They are simply made to entertain. They are all pointless and unneeded so they all become needed to be made from the standpoint of their creator. That being said, once in a while I come across a movie I watch and I realize I am being way to literal, and this is what they mean by we don’t need this movie.

That is not to say the movie was terrible. I can’t honestly say it was some flaming dumpster fire and nobody should ever watch it. The acting was good, the visuals were nice, the sound was good enough but could have used some better music I thought. I mean come on, it was the late 90’s and the movie cost you 21 million bucks to make and you couldn’t be me some good tunes? The movie was a flop by the way, grossing only 17 million on that 21 million budget and it isn’t hard to see why. have you seen Carrie (1976) ? If the answer is yes than you have essentially seen this one. The movie takes place 20 years after Carrie, yes it is a direct sequel. Sue is now the counselor at the new school that replaced the one Carrie torched. Rachel or telekinetic friend is the unknown half sister of Carrie ( same father) and the story goes like this.

Jocks are sleeping with girls at the school for points in a game they are playing, Rachel’s friend gets upset and takes a walk off the top of the school, Rachel and one of the Jocks fall for each other, jocks don’t like it, jocks target Rachel, Rachel goes ballistic at a house party and kills everyone and burns the place to cinders after they show a sex tape her and her boyfriend didn’t know the jocks made. The End. Seriously this is less a sequel to Carrie and more of a re-imagining or retelling. The movie isn’t exactly bad, it is just the same story, and isn’t done as well. Except the end scene where stuff dies, I am willing to debate that those 2 scenes are about equal in quality.

Streets of Rage 3 (Xbox 360)

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Here we are, the final of the Streets of Rage games in the Sega Vintage collection, and my personal favorite of the 3. It looks the best, plays the best, has the most characters and in general for me was just the most fun. As always it has multiple options to make sure it fits everyone’s screen the right way and once again the game looks and sounds like a pumped up version of its original release. Of all the versions of the streets of rage games I have played to me these seem like the definitive versions. And at the low price of free for Xbox gold members it is pretty much a steal. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Streets of Rage 2 (Xbox 360)

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Here we are, Streets of rage 2 and another game in the Sega Vintage Collection and another game that is pretty much a faithful recreation of its original incarnation. We also got the nice feature of having different options on fitting your screen and once again the game sounds and looks like a more crisp version of its original release.

Honestly this is another situation where fans of the original are going to be thrilled to add this to their collection, and people who never had the chance to play are going to want to give this a show while it is free. It is the perfect time to get this game. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.