Gaming off the Beaten Path

So, sorry for no game review again, but I am going to lay out some of the changes I am going to make for 2020.  Moderately obscure games are still going to be my focus, but there are a few other gaming related subjects I am going to bring in. Think of each one like a different column.  My goal is going to be one of each per month, but that may not be 100 percent what happens.  I also want to try and incorporate some more podcast style audio and video.  I may even change the name, although I haven’t decided yet. So, anyway, back to the content.  As I mentioned, I’m going to keep going off the beaten path, but I also want to focus on; Gaming on a budget:  We all know gaming is an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be.  There are so many free and cheap games out there that its hard to sort through them.  I am going to talk about games that are free or almost free and whether or not they are worth your time....

The Legend of Dragoon, Part 2 Last week, we talked about The Legend of Dragoon, and its awful, awful translation.  It might seem like I hated the game, but that is far from the case.  We already talked about the negative, so lets focus on the something positive. The biggest positive?  The graphics.  This game looks great.  It may be the best looking game on the system and that is saying something.  Some of the pre-rendered backgrounds are truly breathtaking and the animations are really smooth.  The character models look really good, they’re a little blocky, but that’s to be expected on the PS1.  It isn’t even just the backgrounds, its the backgrounds of the backgrounds.  Perhaps the biggest standout moment comes when your party takes a boat from one continent to another.  The water looks and moves like its real, which is a huge accomplishment.  You can’t talk about an RPG without talking about the...

NFL Gameday 98 Sorry for no post last week, got a little busy.  Figured I would get back into it with another genre I haven’t touched yet, sports games. Yes, there used to be football games other than Madden.  Way back in the old days, we had options.  Tecmo Super Bowl was the first king of the digital gridiron, but that didn’t last past the 90s.  In the early 'aughts, the NFL 2K series (which I find to be massively overrated) scared EA so much that they decided to buy exclusive rights to the NFL license, essentially cornering the market on football video games.   Of course, this exclusivity wouldn’t apply to first party developers.  It’s how Sony was able to keep making “MLB: The Show” titles after 2K sports bought exclusivity to the MLB license as a measure of revenge against EA.  They could have continued making Gameday titles as well, but decided against it.  Why?  The PS1 era Gameday’s were widely conside...

I knew it was bound to happen when I started doing this.  After a few weeks of mediocre to good games, it finally happened.  I dug one up.  And this one really, really stinks. Yet, I am grateful.  “Brothers in Arms” epitomizes why I began blogging about games again and my feelings on the industry.  A quick web search of this game will come up with some pretty great aggregate scores. You will see reviews where its called “brilliant” or “a masterpiece.”  But a quick look at user reviews tells a different story.  They didn’t hate the game like I did, but still there is a significant difference when compared to critic reviews. But why is that?  One need only look at the bottom right corner of the box to find out.  Look down there and you will see “Ubisoft” and “Gearbox.”  A-level developers and publishers.  I am sure this game would have been similarly praised had it had “Rockstar” or “EA” in that corner....

Joe & Mac, NES After taking baby steps back through gaming history, its time to jump in head first and go back to the Stone Age.   Well, I guess the NES would technically be more like the Bronze Age or something like that.  Of course, it did have its share of games based on cave men, including the subject of our post today. It should be noted that this is a port of an arcade game.  That was pretty common at the time and even the best ports fail to live up to the arcade experience.  I will only be discussing the NES game because, well, that’s the version I played.   I should also note this is a Data East game. The now defunct gaming company made some pretty good arcade games in the 80s and 90s, but its console offerings were usually pretty terrible.  We are talking like LJN level.  I can think of at least one that I plan on reviewing at some point.  Anyway, this meant my expectations were low going in.   ...

Wait a minute, this is supposed to be a blog about finding hidden retro gaming gems, why am I writing about a AAA title that came out like a year ago?  Well, I played it and I figured I would write a review since I don’t really play too many modern games.  Hell, I only played HZD because it went on sale for 10 bucks. I can’t say this review is completely off topic either.  One of the main reasons I stopped keeping up with newer games is my fatigue with FPS’ and open world games.  I am just so tired of them and that’s all there are anymore.  The whole “OMG ITS SOOPER DOOPER EPIC AND I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!!!” Thing wears thin when every game is like that.  Fortunately, Horizon does enough different from its predecessors.  For one, it actually has a plot.  Rather than put you in the role of a nameless protagonist, HZD puts you in the shoes of Aloy, a young girl who has been raised as a tribal outcast in a post apocalyptic worl...

Now that I got the last post out of my system, it’s time to start doing actual reviews.   I won’t be reviewing big name games, nor will I be covering super obscure games that never left Japan.   I am going to be talking about games that slipped through the cracks of history for one reason or another.   I am digging for hidden gems, but I’m sure to find some buried turds somewhere along the way.     Before I get started, here’s the rating scale. 0-1:   Buggy, broken, unplayable mess. Certified buried turds 2-3: You could feasibly play these, but you would never want to. Certified buried turds 4-5: Not particularly great, but playable.   Has a few redeeming qualities that might make them worth a look. 6-7: Good, solid games.   Maybe pick one of these up if you are a fan of their specific genre, or if you have played through all of your backlog 8-9: Great games.   Dig them up and play them.   Certified hidde...