Enduro Atari Activision

Enduro is another Activision classic, and the best racing game on the Atari. Grand Prix is also pretty fun, and of course there is always Pole Position. Enduro is more like Outrun, you drive across varied scenes at high speed. 

Game features, ice, fog, day and night effects. Easy to pick-up and play, very impossible to master. A must have for any collector. Included in the Activision Antology for GBA and PS2. I own both versions, as they are excellent and have a nice virtual interface.

The main thing I like about Enduro is how long the races last, you'll be driving for minutes, instead of the seconds most other racing games of this era provided.

Beating Tower of Doom Catacombs 12

After a few days of attempts, I finally beat one of the levels in Tower of Doom for the Intellivision. Admittedly, 12 levels is not that bad. I lucked out hard with stair placement and pretty much zoomed out of the tower. Using Warlord was another major advantage (the Warlord starts at level 4 & with tons of gear)

Now I'm working on the deeper mazes, but it seems everytime I'm on a roll my health starts dropping mysteriously. Maybe I'm not eating enough food, but I didn't see any "starving" message. Maybe I'm being poisoned and I just don't know it; in any case these mysterious "health leech" deaths are beginning to become a serious pain. I just wish I knew what was killing me.

My "winning" game was played on the PS2, even though most of my Tower of Dooming takes place on Intellivision Lives! for the DS. Both versions are completely solid; the touchscreen doesn't offer much in terms of gameplay for this title.

The Catacombs are a randomly-generated series of dungeons. It's a little like playing Berzerk the RPG. Supposedly even stronger monsters exist in the later levels; I'm looking forward to giving them a medieval smackdown.

Frog Bog Intellivision

Frog Bog was one of several games featured in the recent cult classic film Grandma's Boy. It's easy to see why: the movie definitely has a retro penchant, and an Intellivision game is perfect for the movie's comedic vibe.

Supposedly this game is a remake of Frogs and Flies for the Atari 2600, but for some reason I just like Frog Bog better. The graphics are definitely improved, but I enjoy the controls on the Intellivision, oddly enough, better than on the Atari.

In the movie, a younger gamer challenges pro-taganist Alex to a game of Frog Bog, and its the perfect choice for multiplayer action. The game test reflexes, timing, and prediction of parabolas (mental calculus) to the extreme. Your competition is the only real difficulty setting, because the computer is laughably easy. Both players jump around catching flies for three minutes, flies are worth different amounts of points, and the player with the most points after three minutes wins the game.

There are several different control options. A fixed arc across the lilypads serves as the easy setting. I prefer medium, in which you have to plan your jumps more carefully by holding down the button to determine velocity; this setting also allows you to choose between low hops and high hops. This also allows the players to fall off the lilypads, and this is great because it only penalizes you by taking a little time to swim back up to the lilypad. Its both realistic (i.e. frogs shouldn't die when they touch the deadly water) and fair. Players won't be discouraged from taking risks, and an agressive strategy is the only way to victory.

As you play, the pond shifts slowly into nighttime--a nice graphical touch, and one that provides the game with some extra charm. The game was included in the PC, PS2, and DS versions of Intellivision Lives! On the DS you can play single-cart multiplayer with a friend of stranger. It's a game you can challenge anyone to, anytime-- to the death or for money.

Intellivision Lives! DS Review

Most Intellivision games are terrible. However, there are enough exceptions to make this collection worthwhile for any retro gamer.

The stars of this collection are undoubtedly the AD&D games, relabeled as generic fantasy adventures, but with all the original art and gameplay.

Crown of Kings was the first. It's something in-between Adventure for the 2600 and The Legend of Zelda. It randomly-generates caves and the map to offer endless potential and replayability.



Tower of Doom is my other personal favorite, offering a selection of dungeons, many randomly-generated, and is quite simply an awesome dungeon crawler.

Frog Bog is a nice addition as well, and I've always thought it was better than Frogs & Flies for the Atari.

Other Intellivision classics like Astromash appear, but I'm sure they left a few of the favorites out. They certainly left out the extras--such as documentaries present in the PS2 version--out of this release. Every game, however, has an in-game instruction manual, and I've found the interface intuitive and easy-to-navigate.

It's definitely the collection to own, and although it'ss getting hard to find these days, scoring a copy is not impossible. I'd recommend getting this collection while you can, and maybe even supplimenting it with the Intellivision Lives! disc for the PS2 or PC. I picked the PS2 version up for $1.59 at gamestop this week, and that's a hell of a deal. The DS version is a little more expensive, but it's got the better game selection and the the touchpad function nicely with the overly-complex Intellivision controls.

Get both--Intellivision might not be the best, but it's good enough. The AD&D games are truly epic, and legitimize the purchase, everything else is just gravy.

Many of the games are sports titles, a few are basically unplayably slow by today's standards. Others are just a little dull. However, it does have over 60 games, and single-cart multiplayer modes on tons of titles. Outside the Dungeons and Dragons games, many simply lack the spark of classic Atari adventures like River Raid, Adventure, Pitfall, Super Breakout, Missile Command, Centipede, Pac-Man, Circus Atari, and Berzerk.

Still, every now and then you'll find a great gem like Space Spartans, Frog Bog, Tower of Doom, Crown of Kings, or Treasure of Tarmin. What's the harm in having some crappy titles rounding out the collection? The variety ensures that this will last you at least a year if you're just now getting into the Intellivision. I've only been playing the games a few years myself ever since I bought an Intellivision Plug-N-Play a few years ago. It required 4 AA batteries, and I promptly returned it, but not before playing Crown of Kings and getting hooked. However the game is unfortunately missing from the PS2 and PC collections, which makes getting both versions a must for everyone. The $1.49 price tag is worth it for the cool virtual arcade menu, documentary, programmer interviews, and ability to play on a large monitor.

I like to think of it as an expansion pack for the DS version, and a necessary one at that.

History of Namco Museum Collections and Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Review

Namco Museum is a long-time favorite of mine, and it's a pleasure to review it finally. The most impressive aspect of the game is arguably the menu, which simulates an arcade and plays a few classic '80s pop hits. The loading times are bad, but not a major deterrent. Arcade games always take a long time to load. Most of the games are fun, a few are not, but all are worth playing and most offer at least a nice distraction. The packaging does not make the eyes bleed. Everything covered.


Except the history of the Namco collections. It all began in 1995 with Namco Museum Vol 1. for the Playstation. Over the next 3 years Namco releases another five volumes. In 1999, yhey also released a modified Vol 1. for the N64 and Dreamcast with Ms. Pac-Man (more of a "greatest hits"). Between 2000-2002, Namco Museum was released for the GBA, PS2, GCN, and XBOX, followed, in 2005, by the updated Namco Museum 50th Anniversary. The DS and PSP saw releases of collections, Namco Museum DS and Namco Museum Battle Collection respectively. The XBOX 360 received the best collection by far: Namco Museum Virtual Arcade which includes the kickass Pac-Man Championship Edition as well as a cache of treasures. In January 2009 they released Namco Museum Essentials for the PlayStation Network, and allowed users to get arcade cabinets for the Playstation HOME. The Wii has already seen two collections: Namco Museum Remix (2007) and Megamix (2010), giving gamers much of the same, and a few (apparently shoddy) "updates" to the classics. I'll probably end up buying Megamix because I'd hate to have to track it down in the future. The entire mess is so complicated that wikipedia has a gigantic chart graphing what games appear in which collections.


Now that you know the history, learn the games! (You probably already know them). I'll do a mini-review for each game and post random images I've scoured from Google Images!

Pac-Man: Great game, but only one board. Painfully slow.

Ms. Pac-Man: Better game, more interesting boards, but still painfully slow on this collection. Good luck getting past the Junior Board.

Galaga: Classic, yet you can only play the slow shoot version. Disapointing.

Galaxian: Not as good as Galaga.

Dig Dug: Awesome music, great gameplay, a timeless classic, perfectly ported.

Rally-X; Awkward and forgettable.

Pole Position: Good fun, but terrible as a racing game. Better racing games exist on the 2600, and it doesn't compare to Outrun.

Pole Position II: Still not as good as Outrun.

Xevious: See the full-length review. Xevious defines a genre.

Dragon Spirit: Somehow misses the Xevious formula, yet may hold some depth and entertainment.

Boscovian: More annoying than anything.

Rolling Thunder: Good for a few hours, but once I doubt anyone really enjoys this game. Okay, I'm sure some people like it, but I'd rather play Ghost 'n' Goblins if I'm going to play an incredibly awkward and challenging arcade platformer.

Mappy: Should not have been created.

Sky Kid: Although the real-world theme is dull, the gameplay is solid and the simultaneous combat is a real party-saver.

Pac-Mania: One of the best Pac-Man games, and definitely a reason to buy this collection.

Galaga '88: An incredible update to Galaga, also adds to the value of the collection.

Overall you get a lot of great games, some bad ports, some okay ports, and some clunkers. Hey, every arcade needs some bad machines to make you appriciate the good ones. Besides, playing a few minutes of Boscovian can take the edge off of a 12-hour Xevious binge or a weekend of Pac-Mania.

If you still haven't had enough Namco euphoria, check out the overlong 3-part Youtube review of Namco Museum Anniversary Collection. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

REZ: Truly Sublime

Humanity has completely linked itself with the computer system known as K-Project, controlled by a massive AI known as Eden. In a philosophical identity crisis, the computer decides to commit suicide and shut itself down. It's up to you, the computer hacker, to travel inside the computer system, destroy all viruses and firewalls, and Rez the system back online. You are armed with anti-virus software, to be delivered upon (in laser form) the virtual avatars of sentient computer programs. They've got plenty of computer-crashing missiles of their own. And lasers. And an almost endless supply of computer code with which to attack. Luckily, you also have the ability to analyze packets of code, unlocking the virtual K-Project. You can absorb powerups and transform your avatar to higher levels, with faster (blazing) lazers.



Rez was an obscure Dreamcast title for a few years. Thankfully, Sega decided to release this badboy for the PS2 when the DC tanked. It was designed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who is one of the best game designers working today. He's the brainchild of Meteos and Lumines, both of which share lots of qualities with Rez. Recently, the game was re-re-released for XBoxLive Arcade in the form of Rez HD, sporting high def graphics. I've played the Xbox Version, and found it faithful to the original, but I was playing on an SDTV and can't comment on the HD graphics.



What makes Res so special? For starters, all of your actions are part of the music. Attacking is timed with the beat, and the entire experience is, as the box advertises, synaesthetic. When I say Rez is sublime, you will believe me. You can choose how the music unfolds, but you have to balance your desire for a beat with your desire to score points. Tapping the attack button furiously will produce fast-paced percussions, while using the combo system will create organic samples.



I found the game at a local EBGames for 40 dollars, used. Normally I hate EBGames bullshit prices, especially on used games (which used to be about half of the new price until they flooded the market with used games), but I had seen a friend play Rez. I remember seeing his character race through electronic cities blasting angels and insects, and knew that I had to buy this game. Price gouging aside, Rez is worth every penny, and I promise you'll get your money's worth if you happen to come across this rare-ish game.



It sports all the usual features of a Mizuguchi game: swarms of unlockable features, a kickass soundtrack, and trippy visuals. It's a shooter-on-rails, somewhat similar to Star Fox (or that Star Wars sit-down arcade machine, or Panzer Dragoon) in gameplay. In the summer of 2006 I sat in my room for a week (instead of getting a job) and played Rez with the lights out. I still haven't unlocked everything, Rez can be extremely challenging. I have managed to clear 4/5 levels with 100% and have unlocked all of the skins.



The "skins" are new color schemes for the entire game. Punk, psychedelic, ambient, etc. I had a hard time with these unlockables at first, but in the spring of 2007 one day I played through the game 5 or 6 times, each time unlocking a new skin.

Speaking of skin... Rez also boasts one of the strangest gaming peripherals. A vibrator. It is exactly what you think it is. Plug the vibrator into controller slot 2, and you'll have a pulsing rumble 6-times stronger than your typical DualShock 2. Admittedly, Mizuguchi has shown that the "rumble pack" could be placed under your feet to enhance the overall synaesthetic experience. But if that's the case, why did they include a latex "sleeve" for the Trance Vibrator? If you couldn't guess, this was a Japan-only peripheral. If you want the original article on the Trance Vibrator, check out Game Girl Advance's article on the subject(warning, pictures NSFW).

It's almost hard to accurately describe Rez, because it's very different (but eerily similar) comparatively. It is an ancient story, about a single person who destroys armies. We see it a lot in video games, and its been in books dating back thousands of years.



Rez's appeal comes mainly from its scenery and setting. The locations evoke a grand sense of perspective and size. We understand the infinite potential of computer graphics and user interface options. Rez is cool because the technology exists to make this computer system, and playing the game is proof. The game is Rez, so, in a way, everything in the game is real as well. This hyperreality paradox strikes serious tones with technologically inclined individuals (known as "gamers" in this case).

But, hey, its just a video game. And all talk aside its a pretty fun game. Chances are, if you like video games, then Rez is right up your alley. If only the internet were like Rez...

Odin Sphere

Every few years a game comes along that far surpasses all others. In 1997, that game was Final Fantasy VII, ten years later, we receive Odin Sphere.



Every review of Odin Sphere has focused on it graphics, and with good justification. The artwork is fantastic. Odin Sphere successfully creates a unique art style, and I stress the word art. The characters are designed and drawn with incredible imagination. The artwork is anime, mixed with fantasy, plus a touch of cubism. In addition to the wonderful artwork, are detailed frames of animation. Characters must have hundreds of frames of animation a piece. I still do not think I can capture the amazing visual aesthetics of Odin Sphere in words, it is like trying to describe Picasso's artwork, words will, out of necessity, will never have the same effects as seeing visual art.

The music tends to blend into the background, but by not overpowering the game it adds a lot to the mood. Odin Sphere is a very somber game, at times. The characters are involved in serious business, almost constantly. Upbeat techno, or heavy metal would have spoiled the mood. Instead, Odin Sphere sports some fantastic orchestral compositions, that could have been slightly catchier. While the songs sacrifice a certain memorable quality (memorable as in Chrono Trigger, of Mega Man 2), they are well composed and arranged. Finally, the sound effects and voice acting are perfect. Each character comes to life through the voices of the great cast. The script is extremely long, and Odin Sphere is one of the few games that has voice acting for every single conversation, including NPCs. If a character speaks in Odin Sphere, the player gets to hear their voice.



Most importantly, Odin Sphere has amazing gameplay. Upon first playing, one might be inclined to button-mash. Fortunately, Odin Sphere will punish button smashing hard. The player has a POW meter, which must be refilled from time to time by not attacking. This may seem a bother, but it helps to keep the player in check. Due to elite enemies that do not suffer knockback (it is worth noting that the player also has an ability to become immune from knockback) the player is forced to hit and run. This develops into a great rhythm that rewards dodging attacks. Considering there is only one attack button, this is a welcome addition, as it creates a fairly deep play system using only one attack button. For a 2D action RPG, it offers the right amount of challenge, in part by allowing the player to switch between difficulty settings at will.

One of my personal favorite features, is the ability to play as five different characters, each with a unique playstyle. This concept is central to the way the story is told. The player receives part of the story by playing through the first character's (Gwendolyn, a flying, spear-wielding Valkyrie) book, with gaps in the time line. Upon playing the other books, the gaps begin to fill in, until, eventually, the story is complete and the secrets are revealed. Each character plays an important role, and each character grows and develops, even most of the bad guys (although it is hard to classify most characters as good or bad, rather the game exists in shade of gray based upon perspective) are dynamic, complicated individuals. As an added feature, the story is viewable anytime after watching the scene in-game, including an option to watch a characters story without interruptions in its entirety.



Odin Sphere is not without a few shortcomings. Slowdown can be a disappointment at times, but it never cripples the gameplay completely. It is unfortunate, but it is very tolerable. During long sessions of playing, I would completely ignore the slowdown, and I honestly feel that it does not warrant the reduction of any points from the game's score. I have read reviews that claim the game has frequent loading times, however, this is an entirely unfair assessment. The game takes about 2 or 3 seconds to load a stage, with about 7 seconds to load a level. I will let the reader be the judge as to whether or not those loading times are acceptable. I feel that both criticisms are due to shortcomings in the Playstation 2's processing power, and not in the artistic realization of Odin Sphere.



Odin Sphere is also one of the few games that is conscious of itself as a piece of art participating in a tradition. It references Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen extensively, as well as allusions to Shakespeare, Norse mythology, Irish mythology, Hebrew mythology, fairy tales, the Bible, and Swan Lake. It blends these elements together, with a healthy amount of new material to create a wonderful pastiche that is completely engrossing. The world of Odin Sphere is entirely convincing, as it resonates with archetypes in a way reminiscent of Star Wars.

Yet for all of its artistic qualities, Odin Sphere is definitely a video game. The stages remind the player that Odin Sphere is a video game, and it is a proclamation that video games are art. The stage-based design is an embracing of tradition within video games. Stages are one of the most common features of video games, and Odin Sphere realizes the addictive quality a stage-based game possesses. Odin Sphere serves as a model to all video games, in the same way that Aristotle, in his Poetics, describes Oedipus Rex as the model for plays. Odin Sphere embraces qualities of the video game, but includes inspirations from other media as well. This is exactly the quality that makes video games so enjoyable, the hybridization of artwork, literature, and music in an interactive format. But Odin Sphere takes this formula to the next level, and proves that video games deserve as much intellectual respect as other forms of art.