Walking around the multitudinous booths and the general insanity of PAX, I spied a bizarre little game starring an afro puffed robot.  As a fan of robots and Dr. J style afros, I knew I had to check it out. On a side note, I think my spell check is racist. It refuses to recognize afro as a word. But if we can somehow find a way to get past culturally insensitive spell checking software, there is a game to talk about.

(more…)

"Poorly-Photoshopped Representation"

If you could put your ear to the tubes that make up this internet thing, you would hear thousands of people talking about digital distribution. There is no question that digital distribution is the future. You can already download your favorite songs, books, movies, and thousands of games. In the future, there might not even be discs or cartridges. Everything will just download out of the ether onto some crazy futuristic device.

I am a Steam weekend deal addict. My PSP memory sticks are full of PSP Minis and old PS1 games. I have so many Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and Wii downloads that I am a little embarrassed. I have nothing against digital downloads, but it seems to me from looking into the muddy waters of the future that a war is coming between digital and physical goods. (more…)

Sometimes a game will catch your eye for no other reason than an interesting piece of cover art. In the case of Toki Tori, it was the high adorability factor that drew me in.

Toki Tori was originally developed for the Game Boy Color by Two Tribes B.V. and released by Capcom. They have since done versions for the iPhone, Windows Mobile, WiiWare, and PC. The GBC version was itself an update of Eggbert for the MSX 2.

I saw it on one of the many Steam sales last year and picked it up on the cheap. I had heard it was a cross between Lemmings and a platformer. They had me at Lemmings.

(more…)

We here at WingDamage consider ourselves pretty serious gamers. We play and discuss games on a regular basis; in reviews, opinion pieces, and the occasional anecdote. Everyone here has their own tastes, opinions, and feelings on what makes a quality game.

I believe everyone has a game that they have a special connection with. A game that you can point to, and confidently call it your favorite.

For me, that game is Cave Story. When Cave Story was first released, indie games were essentially quirky mini games you found on the internet. Cave Story’s independent status had no right to be as fun, thoughtful, and intelligent as it’s commercial cousins, Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of The Night.

Yet, Cave Story got it all right: great pacing coupled with tactile shooting and tight platforming. It seemed to come from a completely different universe as other independent games of the time. It is a game blessed with a unique hindsight that its contemporaries don’t seem to share, mixing and matching small elements of various classics games like Gunstar Heroes and the afore mentioned Metroid series.

(more…)

"More faux retro goodness from Capcom."

When Mega Man 9 was revealed, it was a huge surprise. Going back to the visuals and gameplay of the NES era was a bold move. Generally, the response was positive. But with 9 already out, will Mega Man 10‘s continued use of the faux retro design feel as welcome?

Those who played the last entry will know what they’re getting into as far as the format goes. Eight new robot masters, new stages, and of course, new weapons. But there are a few new features this time around. Proto Man is available right from the start instead of being released as paid DLC. Those hungering for the charging and sliding abilities Mega Man left behind in his retro reboot might feel more at home with him.

(more…)

Wii gets a lot of smack talk against it for being a kiddie baby system for little baby kids. Attempts at making Mature titles have been met with mixed results.

Bloober Team hopes to change all that with Last Flight, an episodic WiiWare title that mixes fast paced action-adventure combat, old-school beat-em-up flavor, horror, and a dark sense of humor.

Click below the break for more info and screens. Warning: The screenshots do feature blood, though they are of the cell-shaded, over-the-top, cartoon-ish variety.

(more…)

"manliness (noun): Fighting a giant space centipede while entering Earth's atmosphere."

Over the last year, a new trend has gained popularity with game developers. I’m talking about new games made in the style (both graphically and in terms of gameplay) of “retro games”. On North American shores, it would seem that “Mega Man 9″ started the retro movement. However, in Japan, the country where such games originate, Konami’s “Gradius ReBirth” was released almost a month earlier.

The reverting of the Gradius franchise into an “old school” style was apparently successful enough to not only spawn “Contra ReBirth”, but also “Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth” and “Salamander ReBirth” (according to recent ESRB ratings and filed trademarks).  Is a game intentionally made to look and play like something a decade or two old worth the ten dollar price tag? Let’s find out!

(more…)