With a site named “WingDamage” and a podcast called “Barrel Roll!” it shouldn’t come as any surprise that many here on the site grew up adoring the first couple of Star Fox games. As I’ve written about in the past, the series really hasn’t been able to find a clear direction that works after Star Fox 64. Each game after that point has been a mess of ideas that fail to satisfy the way the core, rail shooting gameplay of the originals did.

Perhaps it’s because of this lack of confidence in the future of Star Fox that I was so eager to revisit the glory days of its past. Star Fox 64 3D may be a remake of a fourteen year old game, but it’s also a remake of the best the series has to offer by a large margin, and one of the greatest gems you’ll find in a genre that barely exists anymore.

You won’t find much in the way of new content. This is largely a prettier version of the same game you played (or didn’t) back in 1997. But there are a few changes. The new 3DS Mode gives you the option of playing the game using the gyro sensor in addition to the standard circle pad. It isn’t a good idea to use it with the 3D effect since you will likely lose focus of the screen. But because it uses slight motions similar to a steering wheel instead of a 1-to-1, Face Raiders style, aiming actually works much better than you’d think and won’t require you to leave as much of your dignity behind. Still, it feels like a novelty at best and doesn’t work any better than the traditional controls.

Multiplayer, while identical in concept, has been given an overhaul. The maps are new, though they’re still small in number, and extra powerups like stealth mines have been added. Unfortunately, there’s no online play, though four player local can be played with a single cartridge through download play. It’s only Arwings this time around, but considering how incredibly unbalanced playing as the Landmaster or on foot was in the original, this is for the best. Even with the new features, multiplayer remains a mildly amusing diversion. The star of the show is still the campaign, just as it always has been.

Score Attack mode is a very welcome addition as it allows you to select any level you’ve previously completed in the campaign. No longer will you have to play through the entire game just to get a shot at earning medals on the last few levels. The feature also really compliments the game’s new portability. You might not have time for the entire campaign on the go, but a single level can be completed rather quickly.

Strangely enough, the voice acting has all been rerecorded. Since Star Fox 64 has some of the most memorable quotes in gaming (causing countless memes to sprout), I was very happy to find that the new voice acting is exactly as cheesy as the original. None of the nostalgia was lost in the new recordings. I also noticed one changed line. No longer does Falco sarcastically refer to you as “Einstein” when you shoot him. The line has been replaced with “Hey Genius! I’m on your side!” Considering this is a world full of animal people flying around in space, this change actually makes a lot more sense than the original.

Of course, the most obvious change is the graphical upgrade. There’s a world of difference between the graphics of the remake and the original. There’s an even larger level of improvement on display than Nintendo’s other recent remake, Ocarina of Time. As a game where you are constantly looking off into the distance, the 3D effect works exceptionally well, and I found myself playing with it on the entire time (except to test 2D and gyro controls). Stages like Venom are especially impressive, as the added level of depth actually gives you a better sense of space between the various obstacles, making the game a bit easier to play.

But all this would be nothing if the game didn’t hold up. Thankfully, Star Fox 64 is still a fantastically designed rail shooter. Stages are packed with plenty to shoot, dodge, and fly through and the controls are as tight as ever. The alternate paths and stage affecting triggers also help to keep multiple campaign runs fresh. Help out a character in one stage and they’ll help you out in another. You’ll fight your rival Star Wolf near the end of the game in Bolse if you don’t take care of them in Fichina, and so on.

I almost forgot how great some of the alternate path triggers were. Sector X in particular has a pivotal moment where Slippy charges toward the stage boss. Destroying the boss before he gets there will take you to Macbeth. Fail to do so and the boss will knock Slippy’s ship away causing it to crash land into the desert planet Titania where you’ll have to go on a rescue mission. It’s touches like these that help the game to stand out, even today.

In some ways I appreciate Star Fox 64 now more than I did in its day. It managed to successfully tell you a story (albeit a cheesy one) while you play it instead of constantly interrupting you; something many games today still struggle with. It also had a great approach to a non-linear campaign within a hyper-linear genre.

You could complain about its short length. It certainly won’t take long to finish. But this is an arcade style game, almost like a shmup, that demands to be played repeatedly. If you’re looking for a lengthy campaign to play once and be done with like so many of today’s disposable games, you’ll be disappointed. This is from an era when games were meant to be played over and over again, trying to achieve that last medal to unlock Expert Mode.

This review is based on a copy of Star Fox 64 3D purchased by the reviewer.

“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.

Sometimes when we look back at the old school games, we tend to focus on the classics and forget just how god awful a lot of games really were. War Gods stands as a proud testament to gaming’s mediocre to terrible past. War Gods is a horribly constructed, one-on-one fighting game that reminds us all just how bad things could get. While it is certainly no Rise of the Robots, it is still a terrible game and everyone associated with its construction should be ashamed.

As far as story is concerned, there is some kind of plot about a spaceship and chunks of ore, but if you are taking the time to examine the plot of War Gods you are obviously being punished for something. This is the kind of plot you invented when you were eight and you wanted an excuse for your GI Joes to beat up some Ninja Turtles.

The characters are ripped right out of the “Horrendously Stupid Game Characters Catalog”, but at least the controls are clunky and unresponsive. The game feels like a warm up for Mortal Kombat 4, which is like warming up for a face punch by kicking yourself in the crotch.

I always try to find the good in every game I play. War Gods doesn’t really have any redeeming qualities. The animation is poor, the graphics are terrible, the characters are dumb, and the controls are clunky.

Why did I pick this game?

Every once in a while, you should play a terrible game; if only to make you appreciate good games even more. I remembered War Gods being terrible way back in 1996 and I wanted to see what it felt like today.

Terrible.

How does it hold up with time?

Like the sandwich that was left under your bed back in October, War Gods has not aged well. Even if you could peel back the layer of crud that covers it, you probably don’t want to touch it anyway.

You probably wouldn’t have enjoyed War Gods fourteen years ago, and time has only made things worse. Don’t bother to play this one, unless you just want to laugh at the horrendous characters.

"...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.

Duke Nukem 64 was the first Duke title released on a console (although it was developed as Duke Nukem 3D for DOS and Mac-OS). The concept behind the game is simple. Evil aliens have come to earth, enslaved and kidnapped countless babes, and it’s up to Duke to stop them.

As you begin the game, you find yourself on a rooftop armed with just your pistol and a can-do attitude. Unfortunately, I can’t recite the plot any clearer than I’ve done already. It simply doesn’t exist within the confines of the cartridge. I’m sure the booklet that originally came with it would cover the story more fully, but I don’t have that, limiting me to what little information I’ve found scattered throughout the levels.

Quite typical of older games, this one is split up into very clear cut levels. You start each level with whatever you carried over from the last one. You end the level once you’ve found the giant bio-hazard button and, presumably, nuked whatever critters you missed along the way.

As I haven’t quite finished the game fully, I can’t tell you the total number of levels, but I can say there are at least 15 or so. Certain levels become so difficult, I found myself questioning whether it would actually be possible to complete this game on the single player mode. Things like the giant machine gun wielding monster at around level 8 really made me start to wonder. I’ve been playing Co-op, which allows you to continue respawning as long as there is one player still alive (Halo style).

The weapon selection is a bit fairer than I originally suspected. Throughout the course of Duke Nukem 64, I’ve found a shotgun, sub-machine guns, a grenade launcher, and pipe bombs, as well as a few more complicated and unique weapons such as the shrink ray and plasma cannon.

Different kinds of ammunition also make an appearance, such as the “dum-dum” rounds for your pistol. These act like normal bullets, but are incredibly powerful. Along with weapons, items play a key role in the functionality of this game. Jetpacks, scuba gear, portable medkits, night vision goggles, and body armor, keep you searching each dark corner in case of hidden goodies.

Which brings me to this games very best feature:

Secrets are EVERYWHERE. I haven’t found every secret place on even one of the levels I’ve played, and I only know that because the level completion screen informs you how many found vs. how many total. I’ve searched for hours trying to clear a level, felt confident, and been crushed to find I missed not just one, but 3 or more. While others may find this frustrating, I thoroughly enjoyed it due to my unyielding love of ‘secret spots’.

Why did I pick this game?

Before this, I’d never tried my hand at a Duke Nukem game. Honestly, I avoided the series like some kind of disease. Why? Because I’d heard so many bad things about it. I even found myself making fun of Duke Nukem without trying it. This goes against my personal code, so I needed to give it a shot before I talked anymore trash.

How does it hold up with time?

Better than you’d imagine. Somehow playing this game makes me feel like a kid again. It has a very Doom-like trait to it that I love. Additionally, the controls, once you’ve grown used to them, are much easier to manage than other failed schemes like Goldeneye.

There is a tiny bit of auto-aim, not enough to play the game for you, but just enough to make that missed shot a ‘good enough’ shot. As I mentioned before, I love secrets, and the idea of finding something someone else couldn’t and being rewarded for it really gets my juices flowing. The time I’ve spent searching for secrets so far is enough to make me skip to Duke Nukem‘s tune. While its not perfect, this game has changed my view on the franchise quite drastically. Duke Nukem is no longer a “never-was”, and now qualifies as a “has-been”.

“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.

Looking back on 1996 a few tumultuous events may come to mind, ranging from the controversial accusations and trial of O.J. Simpson, to finding out our favorite cycling champion was inflicted with a treacherous testicle tumor. But more importantly, at least in the eyes of a (at the time) four year old child, 1996 was the dawning of a new generation of gaming with the launch of the largely successful Nintendo 64. Only 2 games were available with the launch of this console, and only one of them was able to hold my interest every time I visited my cousins brand new ‘super-system’. I’m talking about, of course, Super Mario 64.

Why was I so intrigued by this super sequel? Nintendo’s new machine enabled the shaping of a 3 dimensional world. That’s right, all the goomba pouncing, fireball throwin’, mushroom eating action was due, but this time it was REAL. Or so I thought. As it turned out this game was almost nothing like the older iterations, lacking the classic powerups I longed for. Not a single mushroom exists in this game, aside from the green 1-up mushrooms littered across the 15 completely unique cartoon landscapes. So what makes it Mario?

As in the previous entries of this series, Bowser has kidnapped the princess and no one in the kingdom is man enough to take on the giant turtle/dinosaur beast. Which is why our favorite middle-aged, overweight plumber is fooled into taking on this daunting task with the empty promise of a home made cake. As Mario arrives at the castle he’s greeted by Toad, who explains bowser has occupied the castle and stolen the 120 power stars that apparently give some kind of power to the castle. Mario’s only hope for delicious baked goods is only logical… He must jump headfirst into every painting in the castle, teleporting him to far off magical lands, and retrieve the stars bowser scattered until he’s acquired enough to power the doors leading to the koopa king.

Although the exclusion of favorite powerups from the more classic cartridges was a disappointment, this game brings all sorts of new tricks to help mario maneuver as he makes his likely frightening plunge into the 3rd dimension. Some of these include the double jump, which is performed by timing a second jump immediately after landing, the more tricky triple jump, performed the same way, and the wall jump, which allows mario to climb as far as your good sense of timing allows. Along with new jumps are some new powerups which come in the form of hats this time round. There’s the red winged flight cap, allowing mario to soar (without a running start), the green metal cap which turns our hero into solid iron, making him completely invulnerable as well as super heavy, and the blue invisible cap, letting Mario walk through thin walls and enemies without taking damage.

Fancy jumps and powerups are just a fraction of what this game has to offer, however. The game plays as a finely tuned platforming adventure, and as with any good Mario game, is riddled with secret areas and shortcuts. The C-buttons allow the player to adjust the camera, which prevents a fixed 3d camera from ruining the core gameplay that this series is so well known for. After spending a few minutes adjusting to the idea, anyone who’s played through one of the 2d predecessors to this will see how this is, in a lot of ways, still a side-scrolling platformer.

Just a quick camera tweak and tada, suddenly a complicated series of maneuvers becomes much simpler.

After making your way through caves, snowy mountain peaks, volcanoes, a sunken ship, the inner workings of a clock and, yes, a ghost house, you’re asked to confront Bowser for the last time. The Bowser battles this time consist of bum rushing his tail and throwing him into conveniently placed sea-mines around the edge of the arena.

After the final battle, the princess greets Mario outside of the castle, gives him a peck on the nose, and fails to deliver any cake. When she turns to enter the castle she mentions her intention of baking a cake, but it was supposed to have already been made. After playing Portal, I’ve decided that anyone will do anything for cake, so she’s been stringing Mario along for years with empty promises such as this.

Why did I Choose this game?

Like I mentioned before, when this game came out I was only 4 years old. My hands could barely hold the seemingly humongous Nintendo 64 controller, and there was no way I was earning enough stars to beat this game. As time went on I ran into another opportunity to play through this game when a friend of mine let me borrow his copy.

Overjoyed, I raced through, skipping anything I deemed unnecessary for my minimal completion. After returning it, I realized I should’ve taken my time to earn all 120 stars, but it was too late. So when I was offered the opportunity to review this, I was ecstatic. I jumped at the opportunity to right what I had wronged, playing through a final time to earn all 120 stars! Woo-hoo!

Does this game stand the test of time?

In a word, yes. At no point playing this game did I say, “you know, if this was slightly different at this part it would be a lot better”. I’m not sure about you, but most games coming out nowadays are chalked full of moments like that. This game is classic, like fine wine its age just brings excellence, and I encourage each and every one of you reading this to go re-play it right now.

If you haven’t played it in the first place, it is now considered mandatory.

“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.

Due to overwhelming demand, a federal court order, and a purple nurple, I have been forced to go back and examine one of the crown jewels of gaming’s yesteryear, Goldeneye.

Before frat boys were learning the intricacies of system linking their Xboxes and Pierce Brosnan was the hot new Bond, Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 set the world on fire (in a good way). Millions of gamers discovered the joy of shooting their friends in the face.

For many years, this was the gold standard for console first person shooters. To this day whenever people talk about it, they do so in hushed reverent tones. For many people, this was their first experience with a real FPS. I spent many a night trying to beat all the time challenges in single player, and many more nights were spent shooting my friends in multiplayer. I can still remember which character all my friends played with as my Boris rained death upon them.

There were a host of weapons that were unique and fun to play with. Ask an old school Goldeneyer about the RCP-90 and they will either smile nostalgically (thinking of all the times they shot their buddies with it) or punch the nearest wall (thinking of all the times their buddies shot them with it). Weapons like the Golden Gun and proximity mines are still indelibly etched into my subconscious. You can even place the proximity mine on the toilet for maximum comedic effect when you spawn in the vent.

The single player campaign had a host of challenges to complete as well as the ultra tough 00 agent difficulty. The gameplay was revolutionary. This was a shooter where shooting people wasn’t always the best course of action. Guards could be alerted to your presence and would sound alarms. Doesn’t sound like a big deal now, but at the time this was crazy. Most other FPS games consisted of “shoot everything, find blue keycard”.

The problem when you try to go back and play Goldeneye now is that modern games have moved on from Goldeneye’s particular brand of deathmatchery. A typical Goldeneye match would be a contest to get the body armor and the RCP-90 or some horrifically mean combination of the 2. Things like balanced weapon sets were unheard of back then. A halfway decent player with an RCP-90 will smoke a good player with a regular weapon.

Why did I pick this game?

In high school, Goldeneye was the game all of my friends, enemies, and acquaintances played. My entire basketball team would come over to my house for pizza, cookies, and shots to the face. I probably logged more hours into Goldeneye than any other game. I averaged at least a couple hours a day for at least a year and a half. No other game was able to get its hooks into me the way Goldeneye did.

Does it hold up with time?

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really stand the test of time. While shooting your friends will always have some inherent allure, the genre has moved on. The crazy aim assist feels jarring, and the N64 controller really could have used a second analog stick. The N64 textures have always appeared as though you are looking at them through a thick Vaseline fog. These faults could be forgiven, but the core multiplayer strategy of racing from the overpowered weapon to the body armor seems completely ridiculous now.

The single player campaign that used to feel so revolutionary feels almost comical now. Part of the reason for this is what I call the rail glitch. Enemies cannot shoot you if there is a rail in the way. You can walk right up to a guard and if there is an inch of rail in between you he can’t shoot you. Now when I play, I realize I just spend my time running from rail to rail laughing at my invincibility.

Goldeneye held a magical place in my heart and it is tough for me to admit, but the FPS genre has moved on.

"Easily importable thanks to Virtual Console"

“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.

Sin and Punishment is a Treasure developed rail-shooter for the Nintendo 64. When it came out back in 2000, it was exclusive to Japan. Seven years later, it was released on the Wii’s Virtual Console service, finally making its first appearance in North America and Europe. Was it worth finally bringing over?

The easiest way to describe the basic gameplay in Sin and Punishment is to imagine the rail-shooting in Star Fox. However, unlike Star Fox, Sin and Punishment requires you to move your character and your reticule independently of one another. The game also takes place on foot.

Using the classic controller, you can move your character left and right with the d-pad. Double tapping either direction will allow you to perform a quick dodge roll. Though you can’t fly, you can perform a double jump.

The analogue stick is used to aim your reticule. Aiming feels a little slower than I would’ve hoped, so it can be difficult to keep up with especially fast enemies. To remedy this, you can switch to a lock on mode by pressing “A”. You will still have to aim at the target for a good second before the lock on will take effect, but it can be very useful, especially on a few of the bosses. Fortunately, the lock-on is very balanced and not a “solve all” solution. It’s terrible for situations with large amounts of weak targets, and all your shots are weaker when using it.

Neither mode has a charge shot, so holding down the button is your best bet for rapid-fire shooting. Thanks to the sword attack, you won’t be holding down the fire button the entire time. The sword attack is very powerful, but can only be used when enemies are right next to you. To use it, you must let off the fire button and tap it when the enemy is near. Another cool feature of the sword is its ability to deflect certain attacks. For example, when a battle ship shoots a missile at you, you can hit it back with your sword attack and cause massive damage to the enemy.

Though there is a time limit, it’s not “Game Over” when the timer strikes “00″. Once you run out of time, your health will slowly diminish. If you can finish the level or collect more time before you die, you’re in the clear.

Sin and Punishment is a very short game, but it’s packed with variety. While most levels will have your character running in third person, there are a couple levels that take on a side-scrolling platformer perspective. For most of the game, you control a boy named Saki. Sometimes he is a giant, building-sized creature who controls slightly different. There are also a few sections where you control a girl named Airan, but that seemed to be purely aesthetic.

The game has a few difficulty settings and highscore lists to give it some replay value. There’s also a 2-player mode, but it merely allows one player to control the character while another controls the aiming.

There are lots of lengthy cutscenes with full (and terrible) English voice acting, but every one is easily skippable. Even after watching every single one of them, I still have little to no idea what the story was about. All I know is that the end of the game had me standing on the Earth doing battle against another Earth. I’d still recommend watching them on your first play-through. They’re good for a laugh.

"All cutscenes are easily skippable."

Why did I pick this game?

Treasure has a strong history of making top notch shooters. The company is known for developing my favorite SHMUP of all time, Gradius V, as well as other highly regarded titles including Ikaruga. I had also heard very good things about the game online.

Sin and Punishment 2 is coming to Wii in the near future. It looks great, so I felt that I should finish the first game in preparation for playing the sequel. And as I mentioned earlier, the game is similar to Star Fox.  I wanted to fill the void later Star Fox games left in me.

How does it hold up with time?

Sin and Punishment was a satisfying experience. It is a very well put together rail-shooter. The graphics may be low-poly by today’s standards, but the dynamic camera angles and strange art direction help the game still look exciting.

The game’s weak points are its length and how linear it is. The game only takes about an hour to beat and there are no alternate paths. It’s a very “arcade style” experience.

You can purchase Sin and Punishment on Virtual Console for 1200 points (twelve dollars). If you really enjoy this style of game as I do, it will be money well spent.

"Nice to EAT you!"

Just about every game has a weapon of some kind, most are interchangeable, some are entirely forgettable.  However, there are some weapons that stand out, that people talk about long after the cartridge has gone into the closet and the disc is all scratched up.  These are the weapons that transcend their utility to become works of art.

Sharkgun – Armed and Dangerous (Xbox)

It’s a gun that fires sharks.  Why more people didn’t play this game I’ll never know.

Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator or Gravity Gun– Half Life 2 (PC/Xbox/Xbox360/PS3)

The definitive weapon in the thinking man’s shooter, turns everyday objects into deadly projectiles and will have you scouring the environment for new and creative ways to take out combine troops.

Pistol – Halo (Xbox/PC)

No weapon has generated so much controversy as the pistol in the original Halo.  To some its 2x zoom and powerful bullets are a dream come true.  To others, it is an unfair and unbalanced weapon that can ruin an otherwise fair match. But either way, you have to respect this powerful weapon.

Shotgun – Doom (PC)

Few moments in life are as satisfying as the first time you get the shotgun in the original Doom.  The jump in power from the pistol to the shotgun makes you appreciate and understand just how awesome this weapon is.  It is like a switch goes off and you go from hunted to hunter.

Your Mind – Psi Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy (Xbox/PS2)

In this highly underrated game your mind is literally the ultimate weapon.  You have all kinds of psychic and telekinetic powers that are at your disposal.  You can use your mind to toss enemies around like rag dolls, or siphon off all their energy and make their heads explode, or you can pick up a crate and smash them in the face with it.  But the cruelest trick is using your psychic powers to take over an enemy soldier where you can make him betray his friends.

Tornado Gun – Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction (PS3)

In a series renowned for creative weapons nothing could compare to the destructive power of a maxed out Tornado Gun.  This thing is a trailer park’s worst nightmare come to life.  At the lowest power levels, it shoots out a whirlwind of devastation that you use the sixaxis to control.  By the time this baby is fully upgraded, you have a natural disaster that is shooting out lightning bolts and death.

RCP90 – Goldeneye (N64)

If it were to come out now, everyone would scream about how unbalanced and unfair this gun is.  But back in the day, nothing was more terrifying than peeking over at your buddy’s screen to see he just picked up body armor and the RCP90.  Conversely, nothing was more satisfying than killing him and taking the gun from his bloodied corpse.

Automatic Sniper Rifle – Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

The point of the game is to be stealthy, but come on, sometimes bad guys need some face shooting.  Even if you are not a crack shot; with a fully automatic sniper rifle somebody is getting shot in the face.

Far Eye – Resistance (PS3)

This awesomely unfair piece of equipment has a secondary function that slows down time to go along with its super zoom in. So, as an enemy tries to frantically run around, you can calmly slow down time and shoot him in the face.  For even more fun, slow down time in the co-op mode as your buddy fires away with the machine gun.

Morpho-Ray – Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PS2)

Far more than any other series, the Ratchet games have managed to come up with some very creative weapons. None can come close to the sheer insanity that is the Morpho-ray.  This devilish weapon changes your enemies into ducks (or sheep with the sheepinator upgrade).  As you gain experience points, the gun becomes even more awesome.  One of the later upgrades causes those enemies you just turned into ducks to lay eggs… which explode.  I pray NASA is working on this right now.

Spread Gun – Contra (NES)

Everyone remember the stupid code but not everyone remembers just how tough the original Contra could be.  One hit death awaited you everywhere. Nothing helped clear the screen of that alien scum quicker than the spread gun.  Hold down the trigger and you’ll understand why.  It is a requirement to punch your buddy if he hogs the spread shot power ups.

So there they are. The best weapons in gaming.  Did I leave off any of your favorites?  Let me know.

"One of the sexier pixel vixens, for sure"

And what am I doing writing for this blog?

Well, the short answer is that I was asked. The long answer… is longer. I thought I would spend my inaugural post for Wing Damage exploring my relationship with video games, to explain my perspective to the readers, and to introduce my n00by self to my fellow contributors. A lot of the points that I bring up in this entry will be expanded on later, so I guess you could say that this entry is going to be my Wing Damage thesis statement.

First, hopefully without boring everyone to death, I should outline my history with video games. I had earthy, borderline hippie, parents. I’ve eaten more than my fair share of beans with rice and lentil soup. Not really the type of parents that go out and buy their kids a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo. But they did get me a computer, as they had been told that it could be used for educational purposes. I got a few games and immediately latched onto the one that had absolutely no educational value; Jill of the Jungle.

Looking back at screenshots of it while researching for this article, I’m struck by how bland looking the game is compared to my rich memories of the environments (certainly a testament to the evocative nature of retro, pixel-y games). From there, barring Duck Tales on my cousin’s NES, or every Ninja Turtle and Earthworm Jim game made for Sega Genesis at a neighbor’s, I didn’t play video games for years. Then one day, in an effort to get more out of his investment in a computer, my Dad showed up with a bargain priced CD ROM copy of Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. He liked the cover.

I played it for a while, but didn’t really get it. I couldn’t find my way out of the ruins of Xenon, and would just wander around until I inevitably got screamed at by the weird zombie thing. Then the robot would come and shoot me. Not really fun. Then one day, possibly years later, I popped it in again on a lark and eventually escaped into the sewer system. The discovery was exciting and rewarding, and I was hooked right away. I got all of the other Space Quest games I could, and played them all the time, alone and with friends.

I got a few other adventure games over time. I played and enjoyed the Quest for Glory series, Doug TenNapel’s The Neverhood, and a number of LucasArts games (Sam and Max, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle). Around when I was in eighth grade, the person whose house I went to after school got a Nintendo 64. I still remember feeling motion sickness playing the first level of Shadows of the Empire; backgrounds had never rotated before. I was so in love with the system that I begged my Dad to get one for me. My Dad, fulfilling his role as a carbon copy of Calvin’s dad, said that he’d buy me one if I graduated from college with a BA or higher. A contract was written up, and names were signed. In college, I lived with a couple of guys who were dedicated NES players. We had an old system in our apartment and played a lot of Anticipation, Caveman Games and Beetlejuice. I stayed away from the more hardcore stuff, like the play through of every single Mega Man game, for example. Although, I was the clear champion of ski jumping in Ski or Die (I later found out that my fast button mashing skills approach that of Takahashi Meijin, the world record holder). After I graduated, I dug up my father and I’s contract and he made good on it by buying me the most beautiful and wear-free translucent green Nintendo 64 I’ve ever seen in my life. I played it a lot in those directionless post college days, and now have beat many of the people that shamed me in GoldenEye when I was in middle school.

Obviously, in terms of being someone who writes for a video game blog, I’ve had a very limited and offbeat history with video games. So what am I doing here? Even though I never played them a lot, I’ve always been fascinated by the prospects of storytelling in video games. I think the way they tell a story is a lot like my media of choice, comic books.

Comic books and video games are both active experiences for the viewer. When you watch a movie or listen to music, it’s a passive experience; you’re sitting there while it does it’s thing without you. But with comic books and video games, the viewer takes on a more active role; the viewer takes in the story at their own pace and is free to go slow or fast, stop or go backwards. In this way, comics and video games involve the viewer in the story in a unique and immersive way. This storytelling strength is what attracted me to adventure games. I’ve still never found a video game that even comes close to the storytelling levels that I know they can achieve (except, possibly, for Grim Fandango). I thought very little of video games that weren’t focused on storytelling before my NES college days, but then I realized that game-focused video games were just a completely different breed. They served only to entertain, and could be great at it.

Video games are now separated into these two camps in my head; “storytelling” and “arcade”. While most video games are probably a balance of the two, I think most of what is played popularly skews way on the “arcade” side of the equation. I could be wrong, but all of these historic war games, FPS in space and RPGs seem like they focus more on gameplay than story to me. Which is more than fine. Like I said, they have their place. But I’m more interested (in a “finding things to write about for an editorial gaming blog” way) in storytelling games. In fact, since I’m so unlikely to be able make a profession out of exploring storytelling in comic books, I would like to try and make a go out of exploring it in video games. I even have some actual experience designing characters and environments, and figuring out how to communicate with the viewer, for video games. I worked extensively on the Space Quest 7 fan game throughout college (it was written by Josh Mandel, the lead designer on Sierra’s Space Quest 6), and designed a UI for the impending relaunch of Chron X, the worlds first online TCG.

By writing for Wing Damage I’m hoping to focus a lot of my ideas about video games, and also to be exposed to a lot of things that I had no idea about. And I promise that future entries won’t be so marred in sentiment and theory; I’m here to have fun. I like Wing Damage’s focus on editorials over reviews, and look forward to the topics that my fellow contributors plan on busting out. I guess I’ve got to start playing some video games.