The Revenge of Retro

At the start of this year, I had two main predictions: (1) This would essentially be a boring year where nothing happens, (2) All things retro will make a comeback.

You could say that prediction #1 was more of wishful thinking on my part. I had enough excitement the past few years and for a change, wanted a quiet easy-going next twelve months.

But prediction #2 was more of a hunch based on some perceived trends where we seemed to be going back to simpler, older stuff, as much of our pop culture had gotten too complicated. Plus, it was also a bit of wishful thinking as by now, most of you know I am a huge retro fan (as are many of my closest friends).

Firstly, I was mildly pleased to see Martina Hingis make a tennis comeback this year. She even has a chance to win the French Open. I think I stopped watching tennis after both she and Michael Chang retired.

We also get to hear a lot more of the europop music that was very popular in the 80's. They still don't capture the mainstream (much "popular" music we hear on the radio is still crap), but at least it is a step in the right direction. European-based music is where it's at, I believe. It's like a cycle, where they peaked in the late 80's, then lying low for a decade or two before eventually returning. I want to see a new British invasion.

But the 'aha' moment for me was when the underdog Nintendo Wii turned out to be the biggest hit in the last E3. Gamers lined up for hours to get a chance to try out the simpler, more fun Wii, with its simple yet innovative controller. I also liked that the new Nintendo will allow us to download and play all the old school Nintendo games. So now you can play old school Excitebike and the newer ExciteTruck on the same system! Plus, it looks like Duck Hunt will be getting a makeover too. What's amazing is that gamers love it. I hope this encourages game developers to focus more on fun and less on graphics and shooting.

Another good thing is the upcoming release of Will Wright's Spore. You may remember Will Wright as the creator of SimCity and The Sims. His new game encompasses the evolution of a new species. You start as a small organism, evolve into a land creature, form tribes, develop new technology and skills, conquer the planet, and eventually colonize the stars. Spore has the potential to be the most amazing game ever made.

Couch Entertainment is going retro too. I have recently cut down my TV in favor of listening to podcasts over the internet. A podcast is essentially an online radio show. This reminds me when I was younger, I would listen to the radio every school night. My favorites were the call-in talk shows where hosts and people discuss the issues of the day. I also liked this radio station (RK 96 if I remember), where the DJs actually discussed the songs that are played. Plus, every Friday was 'retro night'. Now it seems strange to have a retro night back in the 80's when we were essentially in a retro era. Still that was a great time. And I was very disappointed when one of the local stations here that used to play 80's songs all weekend switched to a new programming format that had limited new wave play.

Even the Internet seems to be in a renaissance phase. You've got all these great websites (youtube.com, pandora.com and others) that allow you to discover great music and catch up on a lot of the oldies that were fun to listen to before and still great to listen to now. I will post some of my youtube favorites in a future article.

Retro is back, man. And it's only going to get better in the future. Especially when an entirely new era of 'retro' takes hold, and we find ourselves once again reliving the old retro while living in the new one.

Review - PS2 Game: Shadow of the Colossus

I haven't even finished the game yet (I only managed to defeat 5 of the 16 colossi) and I already know that this is a lousy game. I heard that a lot of people don't agree me since this game scored well in other reviews. Frankly, I don't know how these people felt that way. This game is boring - plain and simple. It offers no real challenges to a gamer except for some thought-provoking moments. I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone I know.

Cons:
1) The main character doesn't look like a hero. He looks lame. You wouldn't even know he's a guy until he got to speak; in a lousy language nonetheless.
2) No Action! The only time you get to use your sword and bow (your only un-upgradable weapons) is when you're fighting a colossus. There is not a single interaction (at least as far as I'm concerned) with another human character throughout the game. Not even while travelling anywhere in the whole map.
3) The game flow is repetitive. You start in an altar, you are told where to look for the next colossus, you look for the colossus, you kill it, then back to the altar for you. It doesn't get more predictable than that.
4) The video is awful, controls are a burden, game physics kinda sucks, lighting needs improvement. I think all of these add up to a bad gaming experience.

Pros:
1) The game can be partly entertaining when you're looking for a colossus (It seems ironic that this is one of the challenges since a colossus is about 50 times bigger than your character) and figuring out how to kill it. At least you get to use some imagination while doing so.
2) I didn't buy the game. I just borrowed it from a friend. I couldn't think of another plus for the game so I added this up.

rating: RicRic Marata

5 stars - Jason Kidd
4 Stars - Chris Paul
3 Stars - Steve Nash
2 Stars - Chauncey Billups
1 Star - RicRic Marata

A Gaming Curmudgeon Lashes Out

My mother once called me a 'high tech bum' for spending too much time playing computer games and not helping around the house. Once, during a month-long Civ1 odyssey, I would rarely bathe, My days would consist of getting out of bed, powering on the PC, and playing Civ. Numerous times I would miss dinner with the family to play that one extra turn that would enable me to wipe out those evil Aztecs from the map. I used to come home from high school and spend hours playing Ancient Art of War, Lakers versus Celtics, and King's Quest. I would hang out in the computer and video game shops in Virra Mall just because it felt good to be around there.

I also binged on the Nintendo Famicom. I was hooked on Tecmo and Kinikuman Wrestling, perfecting my style so I could beat my brother. I have fond memories of Punch Out, Contra, Rygar, Excitebike, and Mario. So many games, so little time.

Then by the mid 90's, I lost track of the games. I was still a bum. Just no longer a high tech bum. I would only infrequently visit the computer game shops, which didn't hold my interest for too long. My brother though, kept playing, kept his gaming skills intact, while I languished. During this period, there was only one game I kept playing and it was Civ2.

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to start playing games again. Not just Civ, but even some of the newer console games. My brother had a Playstation 1 and Sega Dreamcast which I wanted to try out. I told him "I want to play games again." So he handed me the controller and handed me a couple of games (I think it was a couple of 3D platformers and some of the Final Fantasy's) for me to try out.

My first thought upon seeing the new controller was "What's with all these buttons?" There were four buttons in the front, a gamepad, and two analog directional sticks. I was used to the Nintendo which had only two buttons, A and B, plus one directional pad. To add to my confusion, each of the four buttons in the Playstation Controller had a different function depending on which game you played. You push one button to jump, another to slide, another to duck, etc. "There are too many buttons" I told him, "I can only handle two buttons, A and B." Of course this was before I realized there were actually two MORE buttons in addition to the four. The controller actually had a left and right shoulder button that did different things.

My brain too was struggling with the 3D. I was used to dodging turtles and fireballs in 2D space with Mario. But this time I had to contend with the added dimension of depth. My character would jump in the air and I was too dumb to control where he landed because it was 3D. I couldn't handle 3D space, it was embarassing.

And the games were a lot harder too. My character kept getting killed over and over again. My pattern would be: Start level, Encounter obstacle, Get killed, Restart level. What's worse is my cousins who I used to make fun of when they were little, would get by the levels with ease. Games had gotten too complicated, too physically and mentally taxing for me.

Last year I got a Gamecube and tried my hand at gaming again. This time I actually finished a modern hack and slash game (LOTR The Two Towers, which is actually one of the better games available today). It was more of an exercise in frustration and patience than fun. My hands felt numb after the marathon sessions it took to finish a level. My brain too felt numb from the endless repetition of movements, repeat the same thing over and over until you get it right. Frequently the screen was filled with enemies which I couldn't defend against. Just repeat the combo, hack, slash, repeat the technique until you finish the level. On some levels I was almost in tears as I would be chopped down so close to the finish line.

First Person Shooters for the PC were no better. They make me dizzy and I get lost in the 3D walls and mazes. And it seemed to be endless repetition. Where's the fun in this? I was like a tired old dog who was helpless in the newer stuff.

All I ask is this - give me simple, fun games. Give me more creative gameplay, new concepts, rather than rehashing the same old FPS Shooter/Real Time Strategy/Hack and Slash/Action RPG that we have been force fed all this years. I want my games to be cool, inventive, and interesting. I applaud games with original concepts such as The Sims, Spore, Black and White, The Movies, SimCity, Animal Crossing. Give me more of these. Games today have become more of a manufacturing business, producing box after box of pre-fabricated products that add no new value, but which hardcore gamers continue to buy. Let's make games fun again please.

I want my games back.

Temple of Elemental Evil

these are some bugs ive found playing toee with patch 3.

- pc ranger spells arent listed. even when they are available (supposedly).
- druid spells appear out of place at the radial menu.
- mage sorc spells can display duplicates at the radial menu.
- gems carried by player characters are withheld.
- the game thinks its owned by non player characters.
- some scenes bog my machine down. or probably its my video card
- how does one use the rope of entanglement in the game?
- what about multiple wands?
- the cleric domain powers are stuck at level one.

i have tried searching for the answers from google. and it appears like im not the only one looking. ToEE is a particularly nice game esp for those familiar with the dungeons and dragons the old RPG game. its too bad though that its rigged to the rim with bugs. i dont know how it fared in the market. but i hope it did well. otherwise it would have been for nothing.

Rating: 3 of 5 ***
For effort and attempt

The Best PC Games of All Time

OK, it's actually my personal favorite PC games of all time. All the ones I've enjoyed playing the most from childhood to adulthood. Here are the top twelve:

12. Kingdom of Kroz
Probably one of the most addictive games of all time. It showcased what you could do with ASCII text graphics. The whole game was in text mode. You control your little ascii character, the smily face (ASCII '001' I believe), and go through the dungeons solving puzzles and avoiding traps. I'd like to play this again.

11. Leisure Suit Larry III
Great soundtrack for this one. Every single scene had background music. I used this game to showcase the capabilities of my new Adlib sound card. It was during this time that graphics, music, and story were starting to be combined in a single gameplaying experience. This was one of the funnier Larry games made and my favorite of the series.

10. Hero's Quest (aka Quest for Glory I)
Sierra created this unique adventure/RPG. Good story and you can finish the game in many different ways depending on whether you play as a Fighter, Magic User, or Thief. I played this as a Thief and I robbed houses, joined the Thieves' Guild, and sneaked past enemies instead of fighting them. Pure fun.

9. The Sims
Game Designer Will Wright creates another fun hit game. In The Sims, you control one character's life. You have to eat, sleep, clean the house, get a job, get some recreation, and even invite other Sim characters over for dinner. Very addictive game. My character, a single computer programmer, eventually became Corporate Overlord, bought the most expensive mansion available in the game, and scored with my female neighbor KimP (who was actually my brother's character). Now if only it was real life...

8. Space Quest IV
I love Roger Wilco in Space Quest and I consider this to be the darkest one in the series. Very interesting time travel storyline. Roger starts out in a post nuclear holocaust world which is a glimpse of the future "Space Quest XII". He then travels through past and future Space Quest games, even making an appearance in Space Quest I with old school EGA graphics where aliens make fun of you for being in VGA. I was surprisingly moved by the unexpected dramatic ending, good one Sierra.

7. Lakers versus Celtics (aka 'bball')
This game was huge back in college. My friends and I would play bball every chance we got. It was pretty revolutionary at the time, being the first 5-on-5 basketball game for the PC. Kareem was the most unique player because he had his unblockable sky hook. Worthy and Bird had a unique look too so you could distinguish them on the court. But the rest of the players looked and played very similar. For instance, Michael Jordan had no special skills because this was the 80's and the focus were on the Lakers and Celtics. Hector once beat me with a last second three point shot from the backcourt! Lots of good memories with this one.

6. Space Quest III
The music on this one was unbelievable, particularly the opening music and Fester's Theme. It was also the first (and only?) Space Quest game with a nonlinear map, you could go to any of the two planets and Monolith Burger after you escape the janitor ship. Monolith Burger was my favorite section of the game, you can hang out, order and eat food. Just avoid the Big Belcher combo unless you want to see Roger throw up.

5. King's Quest III
Storyline: An evil wizard, a wicket pet cat, and a servant boy unaware of his true identity. This had me hooked from the very beginning. In the first part, you have to escape the clutches of Mannanan the Wizard. In the second part, you have to find a way back to Daventry. And in the last part, rescue the princess, restore order to the kingdom and uncover your real identity. Fantastic story and my favorite Sierra game of all time.

4. Phantasie
A simple and easy to play party-based RPG game. Free the land from the Black Knights and the Evil Nicodemus. Retrieve the rings from the dungeon inhabited by J.R.R. Trollkin. Assemble your party, fight monsters, level up your characters. But wait, the story is actually quite good. I've played several RPGs since, but none were as good or as fun as this one. Phantasie III was good too. And it's too bad they never ported Phantasie II to the PC.

3. Star Control 2
This was a fantastic epic game that blew me away. You were born away from earth, returning to find it is now in control of the Ur-Quan Overlords. So you and your crew travel around the galaxy, fighting and befriending different alien races, expanding your fleet until you are eventually strong enough to defeat the Ur-Quan Masters. Along the way you will unravel the massive history of the galaxy races. You'll learn how the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za and Kohr-Ah are destined to be locked in a titanic civil war which will result in the destruction of the known galaxy. This simply put is the best story ever put in a game. Finishing it gave me the most satisfying sense of accomplishment I've ever had on the PC.

2. SimCity 2000
You're the Mayor of a city. Your task is to design and build roads, schools, power plants, industrial, commercial, and residential zones, and do it in a way to keep the residents happy. It's up to you what you want your city to be like. You can design it to be a huge Metropolis filled with pollution or crime, or you may want a smaller one with fewer jobs and residents. This is a wonderful open-ended game where you have to deal with many decisions that will affect your city. Raise taxes? Lower taxes? More schools and museums? Build a new stadium? Legalize gambling? Build a new highway? It's tough too because there are so many tradeoffs and you need to keep your city economically viable. I was hugely addicted to this, foregoing sleep and food just to make my city a little better.

1. Civilization
Simply put, the best computer game of all time. More addictive than heroin or crack. Spans the entire history of man. Start at 4000 BC with a wandering tribe. Discover technologies like The Wheel, and The Alphabet. Build up your armies and upgrade them as you get better military knowledge. Encounter rival tribes and nations. Engage them in diplomacy or go to war, it's up to you. Play through to the middle ages, industrial revolution, up to the present time where you can develop nuclear weapons and even use them against your enemies (resulting in accelerated global warming). Then you can even build a spaceship and send it to Alpha Centauri. Sid Meier remains as one of the greatest game designers ever. The amount of decisions and possibilities you have in this game is mind blowing. You can play this thousands of times without getting tired of it. Many nights in the past, I've seen the sun rise while playing 'just one more turn'.

The last game I got into was The Sims back in 2002. The year before, I got interested in Black and White, which had its flaws, but a very unique experience. The last original PC game idea I believe was Black and White. Nowadays the industry is littered with First Person Shooters, Real-time strategy (warcraft, etc.), and MMORPGS. I notice a lack of innovation. Understandably, game development companies want to play it safe and ship products they are sure to sell, rather than gamble with new ideas.

There is some good news, Peter Molyneux (creator of Black and White) plans to release a new original game called 'The Movies' where you control a movie studio. Civilization 4 is also due out late this year. I'm also threshing out ideas for a new simple and easy RPG that I can code in my spare time. Happy playing!

The Best Family Computer Games of All Time

Ahhh... Family Computer. Also known as NES or Famicom to some. I grew up playing games on it. At the time I thought the graphics were out of this world. And it was! Well at least compared to Atari and my PC with CGA 4-color graphics.

So now without further ado I present you with a list of the Best Family Computer Games of All Time. (Note: I reserve the right to be biased, it makes life more interesting.)

10. Battle City
Control your tanks, get additional ammo, protect your base while at the same time trying to take over the enemy's base. Lots of fun! Too bad I sucked at this game. I let my brother do all the work while I play 'defense'.

9. Tag Team Wrestling
Never have I seen such limited gameplay garner so much fun. You control either the 'Ricky Fighters' (good guys) or 'Strong & Bad' (bad guys). And you have only two moves. One is to punch your opponent to stun him, and the second is to select one of the wrestling moves to execute while the opposing wrestler is incapacitated. "Fear my sassori move. Ricky Fighters rule!!"

8. Double Dribble
I drooled the first time I saw this in Computer Haven, Virra Mall. Such realistic graphics for a basketball game. You can dunk, shoot three pointers, play 5-on-5 whole court. Well not really since only three men, all of them who look alike, go up and down the floor at any one time. But still this was the most awesome basketball game I've ever seen at the time.

7. Mike Tyson's Punch Out
I remember the sheer ecstacy I felt after finally beating Mike Tyson. Actually the toughest opponent here was Super Macho Man because of his twisting tornado punch. I had to utilize the 'vibrating finger' technique to get up before the count of ten. Go Little Mac!

6. Super Mario Bros.
The first game we owned and a classic. Mario can jump over little guys. Eat the mushroom, grow big. Jump over platforms, swim and avoid fish, rescue the princess, my hero, hurraah!! Sorry Mario, the Princess is in another castle.

5. Contra
Once you learn the up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-select-start move to get the thirty lives, you're all set! Well not really since I end up losing all my thirty lives and I have to steal some of my brother's lives in co-op mode to get to the ending. Get the power! Try the spread weapon, the lazer, the machine gun. Do that amazing tumbling jump. Fun.

4. Rygar (aka Brave Soldier)
Ah, this was the most pleasurable game to finish. It's essentially a mini hack and slash RPG where you build up your strength. You also need to use the grappling hooks to get to the other worlds. This game was in japanese so it took lots of experimentation with the controls to discover how to use the grappling hook. And it has the cute ending with the bird flying and the land saved.

3. Kinnikuman Wrestling
Oh man, this is one of my favorite games! You control little cartoon wrestling characters. We even had names for each one. My brother got the high-flyers while I got the cowboy and his friend Popo (aka Kid Muscle, but I call him Popo). You can get the power and beat up the opponent with your special move! My favorite part is when I'm strong enough to push my brother's wrestlers to the electric ropes to finish them off, hehehe.

2. Tecmo Wrestling
This-is-a-classic-game. Probably one of the best wrestling games of all time. It has a wide variety of wrestling moves, ranging from simple to the finishing maneuvres. I gave each of my stable of wrestlers' nicknames such as Mr. Perfect, Pancho El Rancho, and Mr. Spin. My brother had his own stable of guys, and this was one of the few games where I can actually beat him. Of course later on my skills and thumb speed slowed down and I became... worthless.

And finally, the best Family Computer game of all time is...

1. Excitebike
Cue the music. Ohh yeah! Control your little biker. Race around the track. Avoid the obstacles. Try to outrace your opponents. This game was so realistic. The physics modelling was ahead of its time. And you can even design your own track! Ahhhhh... it doesn't get any better than this.