noiseredux wrote: Good. I like Columns quite a bit. But it's mostly nostalgia. It came bundled with my Sega CD back in the day and I played it a lot. It's not a perfect puzzle game by any means, but it's fun enough. I think the problem is the speed ramps so dramatically in just a few levels that it's hard to really marathon it like you can Tetris. But eh, good music and a decent enough concept. Truth be told, I've clocked a fair share of hours in the past week because really arcade style puzzle games can be a great way to lose time.
I actually can sit and play Columns way longer than I can play Tetris, both because I;m better at it and because I actually enjoy it more. I know columns isn't a fantastic puzzle game, but I find it addicting if I play only once in a while. My record for the highest level I've reached is in the 90s, I remember being really excited to see if I could max it out or if it went to levels of over 100, but I didn't manage to get far enough to find out. A normal run for me varies anywhere from level 10 to 50. Some of the earlier teen levels are hardest tbh, the speed gets really fast around there for a while before slowing down again a little later.
alienjesus wrote:Some of the earlier teen levels are hardest tbh, the speed gets really fast around there for a while before slowing down again a little later.
alienjesus wrote:Some of the earlier teen levels are hardest tbh, the speed gets really fast around there for a while before slowing down again a little later.
it slows down later? Wow. That's fucked up. haha.
Yeah, it speeds up and slows down as it progresses. It's kinda nice because it gives you a breather sometimes, but also a llittle weird because it makes some earlier levels a bit tough.
1/2 - Spec Ops: The Line - PS3 1/3 - flOw - PS3 1/4 - Flower - PS3 1/7 - Journey - PS3 1/9 - WET - PS3 1/13 - CTR: Crash Team Racing - PS1 1/16 - Asura's Wrath - PS3 1/18 - Crash Bandicoot 1 - PS1 1/19 - Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure - GBA
February:
2/1 - Vanquish - PS3 2/6 - Naruto: Rise of a Ninja - 360 2/12 - Tetris Attack - GB 2/13 - Mario Kart 7 - 3DS 2/19 - TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan - GB 2/22 - Conker's Bad Fur Day - N64 2/22 - Sega Rally Championship - SAT 2/23 - Daytona USA - SAT
After a few years hiatus, I have finally delved back into Saturn collecting. Unfortunately, I had to sell off a lot of my prized US Saturn games while I was doing my undergrad program. It is really good to get back to one of my favorite consoles (an appreciation that has grown stronger in its absence.) I always held onto my Model 2 Saturn (complete with box) throughout all of these years because I knew I'd return. Anyways, I picked up an Action Replay a few weeks back and started importing some Saturn games. I've decided this time around I will mostlly purchase Japanese games for my Saturn collection. My reasoning behind this is obviously financial given the absurd prices of some of my favorite games (Burning Rangers going for upwards of $100!.) However, I also think it is just easier to collect for given that the games are in excellent condition and the cases are easier to replace. Finally, the Japanese Saturn library is so large that I'll be collecting for years to come.
Ok, sorry for the long winded background story. I decided to play Sega Rally Championship, which has an overwhelming amount of nostalgia for me. I remember playing this game back when I was about 10 years old. At that time, the game blew me away with its amazing graphics, sound, and fun gameplay. In 2013, not much has changed. The game may not be as pretty as a modern game; however, there is some kind of charm in its humble graphics.
Sega Rally Championship is exactly what I look for in a video game. It has the right balance between skill and challenge as well as fun. The controls are so incredibly tight that I am still fascinated by how well this game plays. The three cars all have distinct handling differences and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. I managed to go through the championship mode with all three cars and complete it with decent times. I can see that even after all of these years that I still remember the courses and handling.
The best part about my return to Sega Rally Championship would have to be that my wife has also discovered the greatness of this game. She asked if she could play with me when she saw me enjoying this game. Four hours later and some tequila, she was begging me to play just one more championship run so that she could finally beat the entire thing.
Excuse the crappy iPad photo
GAME OVER, YEEAAAAH!
Another VERY nostalgic game for me. I have always loved Daytona USA going back to the arcades. There have obviously been prettier versions of this game but I still have a fond place in my heart for this version. DAAAAAAAYY TOOOO NAAAA!
I really believe that a Saturn owner/collector should not be without these two racing gems.
1. Sniper Elite V2 (PS3)(TPS) 2. Teen Agent (PC)(Point and Click Adventure) 3. Alpha Protocol (PS3)(RPG) 4. Beneath A Steel Sky (PC)(Point and Click Adventure) 5. Imscared - A Pixelated Nightmare (PC)(Horror) 6. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (SNES)(RPG) 7. Celestial Mechanica (PC)(Platformer) 8. Gravity Bone (PC)(First Person Adventure) 9. Secret of Mana (SNES)(RPG) 10. Lure of the Temptress (PC)(Point and Click Adventure) 11. Mario's Early Years: Fun With Numbers (SNES)(Edutainment) 12. CoD of Duty (PC)(FPS) 13. The Bard's Tale (PS2)(RPG) 14. The Great Circus Mystery, Starring Mickey and Minnie (SNES)(Platformer) 15. Deus Ex (PC)(FPS) 16. The King of the Wood (PC)(FPS) 17. Shadows of the Damned (PS3)(Horror Adventure)
I admit to fully and openly discussing spoilers of the plot.
Hmm, this was an interesting one. I looked into it after other members started talking about it a few years ago, but only recently did I manage to pick it up. I'm glad I did. First, it offers a creative team that I've enjoyed the previous works of and managed to mold some of my favorite aspects together. Second, its pacing was well done, offering a mix of sometimes frantically intense chase sequences which remind me of games like Clocktower or Haunting Ground, strange hori shmup moments(which I didn't really care for), and much in the way of Resident Evil 4-style gunplay. And it did it with a load of personality, albeit a crude and childish one...
...but then again, the game goes so ridiculously over the top with its constant phallic symbols, references to genitalia, over-the-top violence(and sexualized violence), etc., that I see it as a brilliant satire(perhaps unintentionally so) of some of the sexist problems that occur within video games. Let's face it, many of the triple-A titles that this game borrows from feature overly macho men brutalizing people, monsters, and even potentially different ethnicities(I see you, RE5!), while often saving weaker womenfolk or offering the player titillation through overly and overtly sexualized outfits. But in this game, with its juxtaposed Demon World meant to cruelly reflect ours in a misshapen mirror, not only is the lingerie-clad damsel in distress the real final boss, she's angry specifically because of the failure of the macho lead to rescue her as according to his role. And once found, she turns out to be about as violent and threatening as he is, giving a subservient edge to him not often found in horror leads in these sorts of action/horror hybrids.
Look, despite having a terrible, cliche, and somewhat generic name, Garcia Hotspur actually has more going for him than most video game protagonists. He's violent, egotistical, and verbose about his sexual conquests at times, but the truth is he is in Hell because he is both an open sadist and also genuinely in love with Paula and willing to do anything for her. Unfortunately in the end he learns that he hasn't really known what she wanted, but instead of simply blowing the problem away and walking out of Hell, he succumbs to Paula's desires and effectively "dies" with her, just as she had screamed for during her pre-boss tirade. Also, Garcia struggles to read, revealing another character flaw that he suffers with, but he still perseveres while going over the various books in the game.
And then there is Johnson, the less annoying and far more useful Navi variant. I like Johnson. I like that he changes into various weapons and helps explain the demon world with a touch of humor but also points out how profoundly things are different and yet still the same in Hell. I enjoyed how he sometimes openly criticized the design of things, flat out declaring that some of the imagery is phallic, disturbing, and strange. And at the end of everything, it is Johnson who finishes the criticism of many modern games with an impromptu rap performance that is perhaps made more hilarious by how horrible of a rapper he is. It reminded me of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Gears of War, and any other game where the token black character performs a somewhat awkward rap song about some sort of overdone theme or plot point.
Unfortunately the weakest point for me were the hori shmup sections. I realize that some of the folks on here enjoyed them and would like to see a game entirely composted in that style of some sort, but I felt they hindered the gameplay by being too jarring of a jump. Sure, I can take moving between RE4, Clocktower, Silent Hill, and various other related games, but that wasn't a leap that I felt comfortable with, mainly because it just felt too disjointed. That's not to say it wasn't well done. It just didn't feel right for me in its context. But then, perhaps I should have viewed it as an offshoot of the many games built into the world throughout the game. Bowling, Pachinko, and so on...they certainly know how to have fun in Hell.
1/2 - Spec Ops: The Line - PS3 1/3 - flOw - PS3 1/4 - Flower - PS3 1/7 - Journey - PS3 1/9 - WET - PS3 1/13 - CTR: Crash Team Racing - PS1 1/16 - Asura's Wrath - PS3 1/18 - Crash Bandicoot 1 - PS1 1/19 - Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure - GBA
February:
2/1 - Vanquish - PS3 2/6 - Naruto: Rise of a Ninja - 360 2/12 - Tetris Attack - GB 2/13 - Mario Kart 7 - 3DS 2/19 - TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan - GB 2/22 - Conker's Bad Fur Day - N64 2/22 - Sega Rally Championship - SAT 2/23 - Daytona USA - SAT 2/26 - Dynamite Deka (Die Hard Arcade) - SAT
Rob's Successful Videogame Checklist:
Hilariously Bad Voice Acting - YES Hilariously Strange Situations - YES Awesome Weapons of Mass Destruction - YES Arcade Style Gameplay - YES Fun - YES
Dynamite Deka is a fantastic beat 'em up in an era that had a lot less of them. Unfortunately, developers moved away from the traditional side scrolling beat 'em up in favor of 3D action games during the 5th generation. However, Dynamite Deka is a fun romp that in many ways exemplifies the genre.
Dynamite Deka is filled with so much charm, detail, and hilariously bad voice acting that you can't help but love it. The game is what you would expect from a traditional 2D beat 'em up except with polygons instead of 2D sprites. My favorite part of Dynamite Deka is the variety of cool weapons that you can pick up. In fact, a lot of the weapons are over the top and fun to use such as the battle tank rifle which knocks your foes back from one side of the screen to the other. The game has Quick Time Events (QTEs) intertwined between segments and is probably one of the earliest attempts at the modern QTE.
There are also little details that I can't help but love and also add to the charm of this game. For example, in one area (the bathroom) a dude pops out of the stall only in his underwear. Seriously, how hilarious is that? In addition, you can't help but resist the charm of the crappy voice acting. In the end, the game is a blast and it's always fun to bring in a second player to join in on the awesomeness.
On a side note, Dynamite Deka is actually known as Die Hard Arcade in the US. I guess Sega figured slapping the Die Hard license on this game in the US would help move copies. Of course, one look at the Japanese cover and you can see why they did it. The main character looks just like Bruce Willis.
Last edited by FerretGamer on Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My only problems with Dynamite Deka were the unreliable controls and the overall cheap level of difficulty. It's still a fun and hilarious game though if you don't take it seriously, but it's not a very polished, refined gameplay experience
I think games 3D beat 'em ups like Shaolin Monks and Lollipop Chainsaw are better put together. And Batman Arkham City and Sleeping Dogs have perfected 3D combat. The Dynasty Warriors games are great too when played on higher difficulties(which weak sauce professional reviewers never do). I'm not mentioning games like Bayonetta because they don't really feel like old school beat'em ups and I hate when games like these get compared to the likes of Bayonetta, DMC, etc.
RyaNtheSlayA wrote: Seriously. Screw you Shao Kahn I'm gonna play Animal Crossing.
Gamerforlife wrote:I think games 3D beat 'em ups like Shaolin Monks and Lollipop Chainsaw are better put together. And Batman Arkham City and Sleeping Dogs have perfected 3D combat. The Dynasty Warriors games are great too when played on higher difficulties(which weak sauce professional reviewers never do). I'm not mentioning games like Bayonetta because they don't really feel like old school beat'em ups and I hate when games like these get compared to the likes of Bayonetta, DMC, etc.
I don't think it's particularly fair to compare something like Dynamite Deka to games that came out generations later. Dynamite Deka is from a time when 3D was still something that developers were struggling to get 'right' after all. The fact that those later 3D games are more polished, refined gameplay experiences should go without saying.
Gamerforlife wrote:I think games 3D beat 'em ups like Shaolin Monks and Lollipop Chainsaw are better put together. And Batman Arkham City and Sleeping Dogs have perfected 3D combat. The Dynasty Warriors games are great too when played on higher difficulties(which weak sauce professional reviewers never do). I'm not mentioning games like Bayonetta because they don't really feel like old school beat'em ups and I hate when games like these get compared to the likes of Bayonetta, DMC, etc.
I don't think it's particularly fair to compare something like Dynamite Deka to games that came out generations later. Dynamite Deka is from a time when 3D was still something that developers were struggling to get 'right' after all. The fact that those later 3D games are more polished, refined gameplay experiences should go without saying.
You're right. That was sort of my point though. I just was pointing out that aspects of it don't hold up today. I think the humor does though. It's still a funny game, especially when watching other people play
RyaNtheSlayA wrote: Seriously. Screw you Shao Kahn I'm gonna play Animal Crossing.
