It's way too late to be playing Ultima

So what? No one can stop me!

Ultima World Map

Ultima is a huge motherfucker of a game. Sure, a lot of the towns are carbon copies of other towns, but because space was saved in this way the world itself feels vast and open when you're in the grit and the shit. Notice how they took continents and just spun them 90 degrees to further save space. Overall it was a brilliant tactic. 

However, Ultima II on PC is still my favorite for some inexplicable reason.

Inspiring Words from Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson, author of classic American texts such a Nature, Self-Reliance and "The Divinity School Address" was clearly a man ahead of his time. It's amazing how he could see into the future and it's no wonder Inafune picked his words above all others to adorn one of the most beloved and inspirational video games of all time.

Wizards and Warriors NES Box Scans

Back in the day box art was badass. Look at that dude, he's about to seriously fuck up that goblin. Surprisingly  the copytext and story for W&W isn't total corporate vomit. More of a Lord of the Rings meets Le Morte D'Arthur while hooking up with a drunk Ghost 'n Goblins.

In a world where magic reigns supreme in almost every game or movie, it's refreshing to have Wizards and Warriors break the trend. "Yo! magic is shit dog, hack some bitches up, holla!" says the box.

The game taunts you by promising "untold riches" to the "ultimate knight warrior." Are you an ultimate enough warrior to knight the shit out of this game? Of course you aren't, you probably use savestates. Pussy.

Horses Coming to Minecraft 1.6

Minecraft developer Jeb announced today that horses and horse armor will be available in Minecraft 1.6. You will also be able to tie them to fence posts. It'll be a sad day for the piggies, but I'm sure players will love the change. Can't wait!

Look at the pig. He so jelly.

Lockarm: The Ultimate Video Game

In 1989, Nintendo Power released the results of a contest to design a video game. Lockarm was the winner, but there were never any plans to put it into production. But what an awesome game this would have made. Hell, with all the indie titles coming out these days, you'd think someone would find this guy and get this shit happening. 

Lockarm seems like it would have drawn on all the classic video game tropes: cemetery, city, and desert levels (along with 9 more) would have resulted in something like a cross between Mega Man and Ghost 'n Goblins. Anyway, file this under "could have been."

TMNT Pinball AD

It's been far too long since my last post, so I'm starting out lazily. Found these badass TMNT Pinball fliers today while reading the incredibly detailed Hardcore Gaming 101 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle post. I might have to look more closely a few of the titles soon (been playing the NES version for a few days now... and people say Ninja Gaiden and Ghost & Goblins are hard), but check out their article if you're into Turtles.