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“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

I was perusing the internetz when I came across the news that EA is bringing the NBA Jam franchise back. I knew immediately that my next FOG review would have to be about the pinnacle of the NBA Jam series, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition. I hooked up a Genesis and proceeded to rain 3’s on the computer’s head.

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of those titles that I missed the first time around. I think a lot of it had to do with being burned out on Star Wars in general. There has certainly been an over-saturation of the franchise leading up to, and ever since, the prequel movies.

However, I am a long time fan of the original trilogy, as well as many of the “expanded universe” novels. It was always my plan to go back to The Force Unleashed and the Ultimate Sith Edition was the perfect excuse to do so.

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“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

The Nintendo 64 was not known for the quality of its fighting games and War Gods certainly doesn’t help. This is one of those games that seems like the developers were trying to copy what their eight-year-old nephew told them Mortal Kombat was like, only the eight-year-old speaks a language no one understands and the uncle has a degenerative brain disease.

Sadly, some poor kid got this game for Christmas and now he hates war; all because of this game.

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"Because there's always room for more Valkyria Chronicles."

It’s hard to believe it has been almost a full year since the last Valkyria Chronicles DLC was released. By this point, I had almost forgotten that more was on the way. But when it finally came, I was eager as ever to return to my “Game of the Year” of 2008.

The “Challenge of the Edy Detachment” DLC pack will cost five of your earth dollars and contains six new skirmish battles. Unlike the last DLC involving Edy, you will not be locked into using a specific set of characters. Instead, you’re free to select your own characters from your squad, complete with the levels and equipment set you left them at last time.

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"If I win this race, they'll make Shenmue 3!"

“Kart Racers” as a genre have a bad rap. Back when Nintendo had success with the original Mario Kart, everyone wanted a piece of that hot, mascot racing action. The sad thing is that nearly every one of these attempts have failed. From Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing to M&M’s Kart Racing, most entries in the genre have been groan inducing.

Because of this, my hopes were pretty low for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, but the addition of some very nostalgic Dreamcast characters drew me in. The first time I saw a screen-shot of Ryo Hazuki on his motorcycle, I knew I’d be playing this game one way or the other.

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"...something about bubblegum"

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

Before I get going here, I want to ask a simple question: What happened to friendly, jammin’ aliens like Toejam and Earl? It seems no matter where you look, the gaming industry is cramming ’shoot aliens’ down our throat.

Mass Effect, Gears of War, Halo, Half-Life… all of these franchises highly successful, and all of them based on the same simple formula; Go in. Shoot some aliens. Save the day.

But before anyone confronted Saren, closed an emergence hole, pistol whipped a grunt or decided a crow bar works better as a club, Duke Nukem was the prime offender.

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"A licensed game from the developers of the Ace Combat series."

It’s very odd that I would seek out a licensed game based on a license I (at the time) had never heard of, but The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces had several things going for it. First off, the team behind the Wii exclusive flight game is Project Aces; developer of the highly regarded Ace Combat series.

Secondly, it boasted a unique and ambitious use of motion controls, which is something I’d like to support. And finally, the game retailed at the budget price of $30 on the day of release, though admittedly that could be taken as a strike against its predicted quality.

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“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

At some point when I was hanging out with Dave at his place of employment, Gamer Time, someone traded in a game for the NES that I had never heard of, Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos. Having grown up with the system, it always fascinates me to find games that I completely missed as a kid.

The cover art, posted as the header for this review, gave us a good laugh. It also had the box and manual intact, which pushed my decision to buy the game over the top.

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"An over-the-top brawler powered by absurdity."

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is the newest game from the twisted mind of Suda 51. This time around, the zany brawler comes in a more streamlined package than the first, trimming the fat to bring you more ridiculous action.

Desperate Struggle stars Travis Touchdown, the anime/videogame loving assassin, as he battles his way up the ranks of the UAA once again. This time, Travis is trying to take down the number one assassin to avenge the death of his friend, Bishop. But even if you haven’t played the first game, jumping into the second shouldn’t have you too confused. In fact, the characters even playfully break the fourth wall in the beginning to mention that some players are skipping the first game and don’t care about the past events.

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"Will blaze lasers be enough?!"

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

Console ports of arcade SHMUPs are far from a rarity. In times past, the market was flooded with them. But something about that tried and true formula always keeps me coming back, even today.

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