Gaming off the Beaten Path

  Mascot platformers were really popular in the 90's and 00's. I'm not sure any other genre or sub-genre stayed so popular for so long. Tournament fighters were huge in the early to mid 90's, RPGs were all the rage in the mid to late 90's, there were like 50 different MMOs in the mid 00's and it seems like there are millions of Soulslike games out there now. But when Mario hit it big in 1985, everyone started trying to replicate his success. Sometimes, they were successful (Sonic). Other times, they weren't (Bubsy). But it seemed like from the mid 80's to the mid 00's, developers were pumping out mascot platformers left and right. I guess the modern FPS craze is getting close, I would say that started in the late 00's and it is still going strong. But they still have a ways to go to catch up to mascot platformers. I think part of the reason mascot platformers were so prevalent for so long was their ability to transition between genres. These game...

  Going to take a little break from reviews to talk a little bit about something I've been thinking about a lot. It seems like streaming services are taking over the gaming industry and it kind of feels like it happened over night. I don't like it, but I always kind of knew that digital games would overtake physical media sooner rather than later. But I'm not sure I ever saw XBox GamePass or PlayStation Plus Premium coming. Hell, I remember seeing Gamefly for the first time and being blown away, but also unsure it would ever work. I was also unsure I would ever get into any of these services, largely because I prefer retro games and physical media, but now that I've experienced them firsthand, I wanted to give some thoughts as to the positives, negatives and whether these things are worth it at the end of the day.   To me, one of the biggest positives here are the sheer selection of games. There are hundreds and hundreds of games on these from newer AAA releases to old ...

  I knew I was going to get here eventually. For what feels like a decade now, I've heard about Sweet Home, the NES game that served as the basis for Resident Evil. It's one of those games I knew I was eventually going to review, and it looks like now is the time. I think a lot of gamers know the story by now. Resident Evil started as a remake of Sweet Home, with the latter's director Tokuro Fujiwara working with the former's originator Shinji Mikami. After realizing the technical limitations of the relatively new PlayStation hardware, as well as a variety of other snags, the project evolved into the zombie-filled survival-horror icon we know and love. It's a title that most people know is influential, even if all they know about it is its name.   You know, for all of the talk about how influential it is, I barely knew anything about Sweet Home's gameplay. I was totally expecting some level of action game, maybe akin to the original Metal Gear. I was shocked, p...

I know I've belabored this point over the last few years, but I've always maintained the 5th generation was one of the most innovative eras in gaming. In general, that's a good thing. But even I, an obvious and outspoken apologist for the 5th gen, recognize that not all of the innovations that came about were successful. I think that's a trap a lot of people fall into in their personal and professional lives. Just because something is new or different doesn't mean it's better. How many alleged life hacks actually make your life harder? Look at sports, how many NFL franchises have set themselves back years by refusing to admit some newfangled scheme their new coach came up with isn't working? That being said, trying new things will often lead to positive steps forward. That's true in gaming as well, you never know what's going to work until you try it. And that brings us to Blast Corps., a difficult-to-classify title that hit the N64 in late 1997. I m...

  It's time to talk about PS1 RPG number 3,252-5C. Okay, there aren't THAT many of them, though sometimes it feels like it. It really is amazing to think about how popular RPGs, especially JRPGs, were during the late 90's and early 00's. I miss those days, I really do. Of course, there was plenty of love for RPGs in other sub-genres as well, especially strategy RPGs. Final Fantasy Tactics was the catalyst for the genre's mainstream popularity in the west, but it was far from the only one. I've already reviewed a handful of strategy RPGs, including Shining Force, Front Mission 3 and Saiyuki: Journey West. It's not my favorite genre, but it's definitely up there and it may be the genre I like the most but know the least about. A lot of strategy RPGs never really left Japan until more recently, Fire Emblem comes to mind. I mean, when Super Smash Bros. Melee came out, a lot of gamers and even reviewers were legitimately confused as to who the hell Roy and...

I struggled for a long time with surviving. And, no matter what, you keep finding something to fight for. Another week, another timely post. I have yet to "The Last of Us" on HBO, but I have heard nothing but effusive praise. What little bits I have seen look pretty great and seem to jive with what I've heard in reviews. One of the biggest positives I've heard? It actually follows the plot of the game. Oh My! A show about a video game that actually follows said video game? Who would have ever thought that would work? Doesn't everyone know video games don't work as TV shows and you have to completely change the plot and characters to make them fit? Did they learn nothing from the smashing success of Resident Evil? Look, not every video game plot is going to work as a full-on television show. You would have to venture pretty far from the plot of, say, Tetris to create a good or even workable program (that's an extreme example, but you get the point). But tha...

I don't normally do stuff like this, but it's not often I see so much hype around a game like Chained Echoes. I really like to try and finish games before I say anything about them, but my ex-journalist brain keeps yelling at me that "TIMELINESS IS IMPORTANT" and there is no way I am going to finish this game any time soon. So, I want to strike while the iron is hot and give some initial thoughts on Chained Echoes. For those who are unaware, Chained Echoes is an independently developed, old school style JRPG available on just about every modern gaming device. It was developed over the course of seven years by a single developer. Yes, you heard that right, one developer. From all accounts, developer Matthias Linda was a huge fan of 4th gen RPGs and wanted to create a game similar to iconic titles like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy VI. Not going to lie, it definitely shows. Before I continue, I want to clarify something very important about my reviews...