Juli 8th:
Visited the nearby GameStop again, probably for the last time, but who knows, they have open for 10 more days until Juli 18th before they close down forever, so it's not impossible I go there again within that time.
All games were pre-owned/used and the collectibles/other stuff was all new.
DS:
Disney's Brave (cartridge only)
Sonic Colours (cartridge only)
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (cartridge only)
PSP:
a white 2GB SONY Memorystick Pro Duo
PlayStation 3:
Get Fit With Mel B
We Dare
PlayStation 4:
Deception IV The Nightmare Princess
Xbox 360:
Far Cry 3 (disc only)
Le Tour de France
Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes (disc only)
PC:
a Piranha Rush Medium Mousepad (27x22cm)
Collectibles/Other:
two more StarLink Pilot Packs - Razor Lemay
four @play component+composite cable combo packs (compatible with PlayStation, PS2, PS3, Wii, WiiU and Xbox 360)
and two @play USB-charger cables for 3DS
also from other places I got some other random stuff
two battery powered red LED string lights
green 3,5mm in-ear earphones
two Zebra/Flying Tiger brand Build-Your-Own Dinosaur polybags (a red dilophosaurus and an orange velociraptor)
and a lot of candy (skittles both regular and wild berry, ahlgrens bilar grillbilar and limousiner, mentos fruit etc.)
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Juli 9th:
Ordered some more games, should arrive some time next week. All new, nothing second-hand/used/pre-owned this time.
UPDATE: package arrived and I went to pick it up on the 13th
Wii U:
Darksiders Warmastered Edition
Injustice Gods Among Us
Mass Effect 3 Special Edition
Skylanders Imaginators Starter Pack
PSP:
Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow (PSP Essentials)
Xbox 360:
Blades of Time
Other:
My Arcade Micro Player Retro Arcade BurgerTime!
Showing posts with label psp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psp. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Gaming Purchases - May 2020
May 31st:
Today was Mothers Day in Sweden and I went to visit my mom who's been in the hospital recovering from surgery for pancreatic cancer for about a month.
We were allowed to see each other outside only due to the corona virus. She's well enough now that she could walk outside with a stroller holding her drip thing, and today the weather was very warm and sunny so it worked well.
On the way home I took a little detour to the only GameStop store still open in Sweden (they're open until 18th July), and I found some stuff!
All games were second-hand/pre-owned/used. Other stuff was new.
DS:
Elements of Destruction
MechAssault Phantom War
MTV FanAttack (already got a copy of this recently, but it was the cheapest DS game they had so I picked it up for the case)
Wii:
Baroque
PlayStation Portable:
Beaterator
Championship Manager
Football Manager Handheld 2010
Gunpey
NBA Live 07
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
PlayStation 3:
Atelier Rorona Plus The Alhcemist of Arland
Cabela's Dangerous Adventures
Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
Saints Row The Third (I already have this, when I meant to pick up Saints Row IV, I accidentally picked up the wrong damn game! D'oh!)
PlayStation Vita:
Aegis of Earth Protonovus Assault
FIFA 13
FIFA 14
Xbox 360:
Need for Speed ProStreet (Classics)
Collectibles/Other:
three Crash Bandicoot keyring figure blindbags (two were Crash, the other was Coco)
two Coco Bandicoot Totaku figures
a Lara Croft Temple of Osiris Totaku figure
two more packs of PlayStation themed decals (same type as I purchased recently)
Today was Mothers Day in Sweden and I went to visit my mom who's been in the hospital recovering from surgery for pancreatic cancer for about a month.
We were allowed to see each other outside only due to the corona virus. She's well enough now that she could walk outside with a stroller holding her drip thing, and today the weather was very warm and sunny so it worked well.
On the way home I took a little detour to the only GameStop store still open in Sweden (they're open until 18th July), and I found some stuff!
All games were second-hand/pre-owned/used. Other stuff was new.
DS:
Elements of Destruction
MechAssault Phantom War
MTV FanAttack (already got a copy of this recently, but it was the cheapest DS game they had so I picked it up for the case)
Wii:
Baroque
PlayStation Portable:
Beaterator
Championship Manager
Football Manager Handheld 2010
Gunpey
NBA Live 07
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
PlayStation 3:
Atelier Rorona Plus The Alhcemist of Arland
Cabela's Dangerous Adventures
Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
Saints Row The Third (I already have this, when I meant to pick up Saints Row IV, I accidentally picked up the wrong damn game! D'oh!)
PlayStation Vita:
Aegis of Earth Protonovus Assault
FIFA 13
FIFA 14
Xbox 360:
Need for Speed ProStreet (Classics)
Collectibles/Other:
three Crash Bandicoot keyring figure blindbags (two were Crash, the other was Coco)
two Coco Bandicoot Totaku figures
a Lara Croft Temple of Osiris Totaku figure
two more packs of PlayStation themed decals (same type as I purchased recently)
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Now Playing - Januari 2019
CastleVania Symphony of the Night (PlayStation, played on PlayStation Portable)
created a new game file for my annual playthrough of 2019, calling it "MM X IX"
Shinobi (3DS)
playing around a bit in the free play mode with some of the unlockable cheats, it's definitely better but you're still limited to what you've unlocked in the normal mode, so it's not a lot to have fun with until you've suffered through til the end of the main mode and at least unlocked all the levels to free play in
Rouge The Bat in Sonic The Hedgehog (Mega Drive)
A homebrew hack/mod of Sonic The Hedgehog that replaces Sonic with Rouge, fully custom adapted with her own graphics, new unique moves and abilities.
New favorite game of all time? Nah, it'd need an official version and physical release and preferably a new game to go with the new stuff this one has in it, but for what it is, a hack of the original Sonic game, it's exceptionally well made and I love it. As a Rouge fan this is one of the best games I've ever played for sure.
Wacky Races (Mega Drive, emulated prototype ROM)
Easily the best kart racer of the 16-bit generation in the things it gets right, with just a little bit more tweaking and some other minor things it would've been perfect, sadly it was never finished and remains only available as an unreleased prototype ROM, but wow what a prototype, it has FMV, polygonal graphics, excellent sprite quality, lots of high quality animation and tons of high quality sample based audio and on top of it all it plays with a good framerate and high speed, the controls are a bit of a mixed bag but they are functional and better than some games that did get released, so there was great potential in close reach.
It's easily one of the most technically impressive games of the 16-bit generation, and that says a thing or two when you look at some of the best competition for technical achievements that generation had.
Beam Rider (Intellivision)
A very good space shooter with a 3D viewpoint.
The Last of Us (PlayStation 3)
Trying it out on my newly purchased PS3 Slim while also testing the controllers I got for it, all works well, had to safe mode reset it to work though as it was set up for HDMI display so I got no image or sound on my old SDTV at first, thankfully it's easy to do, just hold the power button down until you hear a second beep and it's pretty much done and you can play as normal.
Had to start a new game of course, but I haven't played the game in so long that I was planning on starting over anyway as my old save file from 2015 on my Super Slim is so old now that I don't even remember where I was, I think Fall, but more than that I dunno, I just know I hadn't gotten to Winter yet, at least.
Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction (PlayStation 3)
Finally getting into this game, it's pretty good so far, it looks good, plays smoothly, worst thing has been that a lot of side paths and stuff to pick up is missable so extremely easily, so now already I have to go back and redo stuff from all the way back from the beginning of the game as you're not allowed to backtrack in the levels at all, they're linear and almost every step forward blocks your ability to go back even a single room or area, very annoying when you know there was more stuff back there if only you could open that door again that was open without any issues just a second ago or jump back on the platform just over there where you should easily be able to reach, but no, they're permanently blocked off unless you restart the whole level from the start, I really hate that, it makes the levels feel far less impressive and open, they look big and open ended but it's literally just a pretty corridor.
Space Debris (PlayStation)
Cool Boarders (PlayStation)
It's been a long time since I played this one, it's still one of the best snowboarding games ever, easy to get into, fun to play.
Super Sprint (as part of Midway Arcade Origins, played on PlayStation 3)
Spent a few hours getting over 257000 points, it gets repetitive after a while and the emulation is not perfect, but it's enjoyable enough for a gameplay session from time to time.
created a new game file for my annual playthrough of 2019, calling it "MM X IX"
Shinobi (3DS)
playing around a bit in the free play mode with some of the unlockable cheats, it's definitely better but you're still limited to what you've unlocked in the normal mode, so it's not a lot to have fun with until you've suffered through til the end of the main mode and at least unlocked all the levels to free play in
Rouge The Bat in Sonic The Hedgehog (Mega Drive)
A homebrew hack/mod of Sonic The Hedgehog that replaces Sonic with Rouge, fully custom adapted with her own graphics, new unique moves and abilities.
New favorite game of all time? Nah, it'd need an official version and physical release and preferably a new game to go with the new stuff this one has in it, but for what it is, a hack of the original Sonic game, it's exceptionally well made and I love it. As a Rouge fan this is one of the best games I've ever played for sure.
Wacky Races (Mega Drive, emulated prototype ROM)
Easily the best kart racer of the 16-bit generation in the things it gets right, with just a little bit more tweaking and some other minor things it would've been perfect, sadly it was never finished and remains only available as an unreleased prototype ROM, but wow what a prototype, it has FMV, polygonal graphics, excellent sprite quality, lots of high quality animation and tons of high quality sample based audio and on top of it all it plays with a good framerate and high speed, the controls are a bit of a mixed bag but they are functional and better than some games that did get released, so there was great potential in close reach.
It's easily one of the most technically impressive games of the 16-bit generation, and that says a thing or two when you look at some of the best competition for technical achievements that generation had.
Beam Rider (Intellivision)
A very good space shooter with a 3D viewpoint.
The Last of Us (PlayStation 3)
Trying it out on my newly purchased PS3 Slim while also testing the controllers I got for it, all works well, had to safe mode reset it to work though as it was set up for HDMI display so I got no image or sound on my old SDTV at first, thankfully it's easy to do, just hold the power button down until you hear a second beep and it's pretty much done and you can play as normal.
Had to start a new game of course, but I haven't played the game in so long that I was planning on starting over anyway as my old save file from 2015 on my Super Slim is so old now that I don't even remember where I was, I think Fall, but more than that I dunno, I just know I hadn't gotten to Winter yet, at least.
Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction (PlayStation 3)
Finally getting into this game, it's pretty good so far, it looks good, plays smoothly, worst thing has been that a lot of side paths and stuff to pick up is missable so extremely easily, so now already I have to go back and redo stuff from all the way back from the beginning of the game as you're not allowed to backtrack in the levels at all, they're linear and almost every step forward blocks your ability to go back even a single room or area, very annoying when you know there was more stuff back there if only you could open that door again that was open without any issues just a second ago or jump back on the platform just over there where you should easily be able to reach, but no, they're permanently blocked off unless you restart the whole level from the start, I really hate that, it makes the levels feel far less impressive and open, they look big and open ended but it's literally just a pretty corridor.
Space Debris (PlayStation)
Cool Boarders (PlayStation)
It's been a long time since I played this one, it's still one of the best snowboarding games ever, easy to get into, fun to play.
Super Sprint (as part of Midway Arcade Origins, played on PlayStation 3)
Spent a few hours getting over 257000 points, it gets repetitive after a while and the emulation is not perfect, but it's enjoyable enough for a gameplay session from time to time.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Now Playing - November 2016
Started the month with some game purchases so I got to playing them right away.
Dogz 2 (Game Boy Advance)
Tamagotchi is better, any Tamagotchi.
Daxter (PlayStation Portable)
One of the countless early impressive titles for PSP and of course still great today.
LEGO Star Wars II The Original Trilogy (PlayStation Portable)
Picking up where I left off back in 2012, still a great game.
Tekken Dark Resurrection (PlayStation Portable)
Still one of the best fighting games ever.
Checkmate (PlayStation)
Low Budget Chess - The Video Game.
SuperCar Challenge (PlayStation 3)
Generations Lost (Mega Drive)
Burnout Legends (PlayStation Portable)
It's basically a streamlined version of Burnout 3 Takedown ported to PSP, where 3 had tons of padding and annoying filler this gets to the gameplay, there are no long annoying mandatory tutorial videos you have to sit through anymore which is fantastic as those damn near ruined the whole game in 3.
Dogz 2 (Game Boy Advance)
Tamagotchi is better, any Tamagotchi.
Daxter (PlayStation Portable)
One of the countless early impressive titles for PSP and of course still great today.
LEGO Star Wars II The Original Trilogy (PlayStation Portable)
Picking up where I left off back in 2012, still a great game.
Tekken Dark Resurrection (PlayStation Portable)
Still one of the best fighting games ever.
Checkmate (PlayStation)
Low Budget Chess - The Video Game.
SuperCar Challenge (PlayStation 3)
Generations Lost (Mega Drive)
Burnout Legends (PlayStation Portable)
It's basically a streamlined version of Burnout 3 Takedown ported to PSP, where 3 had tons of padding and annoying filler this gets to the gameplay, there are no long annoying mandatory tutorial videos you have to sit through anymore which is fantastic as those damn near ruined the whole game in 3.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Gaming Purchases - November 2016
November 1st:
Today's second-hand finds.
Game Boy Advance:
Dogz 2 (game cartridge and instruction manual only)
DS:
Guitar Hero On Tour (+accessories)
PlayStation:
Checkmate
PlayStation Portable:
Daxter
Tekken Dark Resurrection
LEGO Star Wars II The Original Trilogy (Platinum)
Xbox:
Amped Freestyle Snowboarding
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II Sith Lords
Vinyl:
At The Hop (1976)
DVD:
Barbie in a Christmas Carol
Denver The Last Dinosaur - On The Golf Course - The Crocodile Hunters
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice - from Quarterback to Knight of the Round Table
My Little Pony (G3) - A Very Minty Christmas
UMD Video:
Sahara (2005)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 10th:
No games today but I got some other stuff.
Second-hand:
DVD:
Transformers Prime - Season 1 - Vol. 1
Comics:
Archie
87:an Axelsson
W.I.T.C.H.
Other:
various figures
3 VHS-C Videocamera tapes (still factory sealed)
New:
DVD:
Minions
Penguins of Madagascar
The Book of Life
Tom & Jerry the Lost Dragon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 15th:
No games today either but again I got some other stuff.
Second-hand:
DVD:
Hello Kitty Xmas Tales
Tekkonkinkreet
Comics/Books:
Disney Christmas Special
Disney Princess Christmas Album
Disney Princess Christmas Album
other various
Other:
Christmas Rat/Mouse Girl
New:
LEGO:
Nexo Knights magazine + bonus set Kid Clay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 17th:
No games today either but today I at least got something gaming related in my second-hand finds.
Second-hand:
PC hardware:
USB stereo speakers
DVD:
Disney Princess - Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
Epic
Hot Wheels Accelerators: Breaking Point
Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Special Edition
Other:
Mega Bloks 91014 World of Warcraft Goblin Zeppelin Ambush
Minnie Mouse pink racing car
New:
LEGO:
Ninjago magazine + bonus set Ronin with Aeroblades
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 24th:
Today's second hand finds include a couple of Wii U games of all things! I don't even have a Wii U!! THIS IS CRAZY!!!
Wii U:
Disney Infinity
Skylanders Giants
DVD:
Ah! My Goddess
Dune
Cube 2 Hypercube
Mad Max Fury Road
Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace
Stephen King's The Mangler
Books:
Cinderella's Magic Adventure
Picture Facts Future World
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 29th:
Today's GameStop finds include some DS games I will use the covers from to house rogue GBA cartridges.
DS:
C.O.P. The Recruit
FIFA 08
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
PlayStation Portable:
Burnout Legends
EyePet Adventures
Mega Minis Volume 2
PlayStation 3:
Earth Defense Force 2025
Books:
Lilo & Stitch: Härligt stökigt!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's second-hand finds.
Game Boy Advance:
Dogz 2 (game cartridge and instruction manual only)
DS:
Guitar Hero On Tour (+accessories)
PlayStation:
Checkmate
PlayStation Portable:
Daxter
Tekken Dark Resurrection
LEGO Star Wars II The Original Trilogy (Platinum)
Xbox:
Amped Freestyle Snowboarding
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II Sith Lords
Vinyl:
At The Hop (1976)
DVD:
Barbie in a Christmas Carol
Denver The Last Dinosaur - On The Golf Course - The Crocodile Hunters
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice - from Quarterback to Knight of the Round Table
My Little Pony (G3) - A Very Minty Christmas
UMD Video:
Sahara (2005)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 10th:
No games today but I got some other stuff.
Second-hand:
DVD:
Transformers Prime - Season 1 - Vol. 1
Comics:
Archie
87:an Axelsson
W.I.T.C.H.
Other:
various figures
3 VHS-C Videocamera tapes (still factory sealed)
New:
DVD:
Minions
Penguins of Madagascar
The Book of Life
Tom & Jerry the Lost Dragon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 15th:
No games today either but again I got some other stuff.
Second-hand:
DVD:
Hello Kitty Xmas Tales
Tekkonkinkreet
Comics/Books:
Disney Christmas Special
Disney Princess Christmas Album
Disney Princess Christmas Album
other various
Other:
Christmas Rat/Mouse Girl
New:
LEGO:
Nexo Knights magazine + bonus set Kid Clay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 17th:
No games today either but today I at least got something gaming related in my second-hand finds.
Second-hand:
PC hardware:
USB stereo speakers
DVD:
Disney Princess - Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
Epic
Hot Wheels Accelerators: Breaking Point
Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Special Edition
Other:
Mega Bloks 91014 World of Warcraft Goblin Zeppelin Ambush
Minnie Mouse pink racing car
New:
LEGO:
Ninjago magazine + bonus set Ronin with Aeroblades
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 24th:
Today's second hand finds include a couple of Wii U games of all things! I don't even have a Wii U!! THIS IS CRAZY!!!
Wii U:
Disney Infinity
Skylanders Giants
DVD:
Ah! My Goddess
Dune
Cube 2 Hypercube
Mad Max Fury Road
Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace
Stephen King's The Mangler
Books:
Cinderella's Magic Adventure
Picture Facts Future World
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 29th:
Today's GameStop finds include some DS games I will use the covers from to house rogue GBA cartridges.
DS:
C.O.P. The Recruit
FIFA 08
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
PlayStation Portable:
Burnout Legends
EyePet Adventures
Mega Minis Volume 2
PlayStation 3:
Earth Defense Force 2025
Books:
Lilo & Stitch: Härligt stökigt!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Gaming Purchases - Oktober 2016
Oktober 4th:
Today's second-hand finds.
CD:
Tintin - Prisoners of the Sun
DVD:
Monster High - Ghouls Rule (UPDATE: I enjoyed this movie, even watched it twice, once in original english and then also the dubbed version, I'd say both were fairly equal in quality, some voices were better in original english while others were improved in the dub)
Other:
LEGO, one smaller non-LEGO plastic container containing a smaller Star Wars set with a laser cannon, a couple of droids and the instruction manual (the two clone troopers and some other minor parts were missing) and the other being a larger LEGO bucket containing more basic bricks and other various random mixture of pieces
A fairly large figure of a fat pig woman wearing a bikini while cooking and cleaning
I also ordered some games online that should arrive in a couple of days (UPDATE: They arrived on the 6th as predicted).
PlayStation Portable:
Need for Speed Underground Rivals (UPDATE: not the original release as the store suggested but the ugly PSP Essentials version, sadly)
PlayStation 3:
Armored Core V (already own this on Xbox 360 but I always try to get as many different versions of games as possible when found cheap enough)
Disney Infinity 3.0 - Star Wars Starter Pack (UPDATE: can't play it because it requires a firmware update that I am not willing to ruin my PS3 with any further, it's bad enough as it is already thanks to Sony, it doesn't need to be a lot worse)
Xbox 360:
MorphX (already own this, decided to get this second copy as a backup because it was cheap enough)
SoulCalibur IV (UPDATE: not the original release as the site suggested but the ugly Classics version, sadly, also this game sucked for more reasons than I feel like listing right now, but an almost complete lack of story more and locked away fundamental content you have to pay extra for that for example the vastly superior SoulCalibur III on PS2 had in it are a couple of top reasons why this was so awful, also the controls are a lot more sluggish and unresponsive and the animations more jerky and don't transition anywhere near as well as they did in previous instalments, and it's technically ugly too, every SoulCalibur before this looked more visually impressive, I'd say even Soul Blade on PlayStation was better looking, at least from a design point of view and how well it managed to push the hardware it was on because it still holds up well today and it a lot more fun than this game is, also Yoda fucking sucks and the whole Star Wars thing in this game is a fucking joke that should never have been told, this is worse than SoulCalibur II's stupid bonus characters bullshit with the more shallow than a cardboard cutout lack-of-character Link from The Legend of Zelda for the GameCube version, the painfully unfitting and forced inclusion of one of Tekken's worst characters Heihachi Mishima for the PS2 version and a very lacking rendition of a less than optimal version of the otherwise badass comic book character Spawn for the Xbox version, no really, there's a medieval Spawn they could've used that would've fit the game perfectly and been a fucking blast to play as, such a waste, still it was a better game in all respects than this disappointing turd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oktober 16th:
Today I bought a whole bunch of HotWheels and a DVD.
DVD:
The Swan Princess Christmas
HotWheels:
Batman - The Dark Knight - Batmobile
Batman - Batman Arkham Knight - Batmobile
Batman - The Bat
HW City Works - Time Attaxi
HW Daredevils - Cruise Bruiser
HW Exotics - Lotus Esprit S1
HW Screen Time - Back to the Future - Time Machine - Hover Mode
HW Speed Graphics - Ford GT
Muscle Mania - Camaro Z28
Sky Show - Cloud Cutter
Sky Show - Jet Threat 4.0
Street Beasts - Bad Ratitude
Street Beasts - Vampyra
Super Chromes - Two Timer
Then and Now - '90 Acura NSX
Today's second-hand finds.
CD:
Tintin - Prisoners of the Sun
DVD:
Monster High - Ghouls Rule (UPDATE: I enjoyed this movie, even watched it twice, once in original english and then also the dubbed version, I'd say both were fairly equal in quality, some voices were better in original english while others were improved in the dub)
Other:
LEGO, one smaller non-LEGO plastic container containing a smaller Star Wars set with a laser cannon, a couple of droids and the instruction manual (the two clone troopers and some other minor parts were missing) and the other being a larger LEGO bucket containing more basic bricks and other various random mixture of pieces
A fairly large figure of a fat pig woman wearing a bikini while cooking and cleaning
I also ordered some games online that should arrive in a couple of days (UPDATE: They arrived on the 6th as predicted).
PlayStation Portable:
Need for Speed Underground Rivals (UPDATE: not the original release as the store suggested but the ugly PSP Essentials version, sadly)
PlayStation 3:
Armored Core V (already own this on Xbox 360 but I always try to get as many different versions of games as possible when found cheap enough)
Disney Infinity 3.0 - Star Wars Starter Pack (UPDATE: can't play it because it requires a firmware update that I am not willing to ruin my PS3 with any further, it's bad enough as it is already thanks to Sony, it doesn't need to be a lot worse)
Xbox 360:
MorphX (already own this, decided to get this second copy as a backup because it was cheap enough)
SoulCalibur IV (UPDATE: not the original release as the site suggested but the ugly Classics version, sadly, also this game sucked for more reasons than I feel like listing right now, but an almost complete lack of story more and locked away fundamental content you have to pay extra for that for example the vastly superior SoulCalibur III on PS2 had in it are a couple of top reasons why this was so awful, also the controls are a lot more sluggish and unresponsive and the animations more jerky and don't transition anywhere near as well as they did in previous instalments, and it's technically ugly too, every SoulCalibur before this looked more visually impressive, I'd say even Soul Blade on PlayStation was better looking, at least from a design point of view and how well it managed to push the hardware it was on because it still holds up well today and it a lot more fun than this game is, also Yoda fucking sucks and the whole Star Wars thing in this game is a fucking joke that should never have been told, this is worse than SoulCalibur II's stupid bonus characters bullshit with the more shallow than a cardboard cutout lack-of-character Link from The Legend of Zelda for the GameCube version, the painfully unfitting and forced inclusion of one of Tekken's worst characters Heihachi Mishima for the PS2 version and a very lacking rendition of a less than optimal version of the otherwise badass comic book character Spawn for the Xbox version, no really, there's a medieval Spawn they could've used that would've fit the game perfectly and been a fucking blast to play as, such a waste, still it was a better game in all respects than this disappointing turd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oktober 16th:
Today I bought a whole bunch of HotWheels and a DVD.
DVD:
The Swan Princess Christmas
HotWheels:
Batman - The Dark Knight - Batmobile
Batman - Batman Arkham Knight - Batmobile
Batman - The Bat
HW City Works - Time Attaxi
HW Daredevils - Cruise Bruiser
HW Exotics - Lotus Esprit S1
HW Screen Time - Back to the Future - Time Machine - Hover Mode
HW Speed Graphics - Ford GT
Muscle Mania - Camaro Z28
Sky Show - Cloud Cutter
Sky Show - Jet Threat 4.0
Street Beasts - Bad Ratitude
Street Beasts - Vampyra
Super Chromes - Two Timer
Then and Now - '90 Acura NSX
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Gaming Purchases - Augusti 2016
Augusti 2nd:
A trip to the local GameStop.
PlayStation Portable:
GameStop PSP Unique Pack (contains a USB charger and transfer cable, screen protector and travel case)
Xbox 360:
Nascar 08
Test Drive Unlimited 2
Other:
LEGO DC Super Heroes Wonder Woman LED pocket light
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Augusti 30th:
Today's second hand finds.
Game Boy Color:
Spider-Man with plastic protective case (missing box and manual)
PC:
Need for Speed Underground (complete)
Figures:
Mario (from Super Mario) with jumping sound effect
Boo Diddley (from Super Mario) with sticking out tongue action feature
Dragon (from Shrek) with sound effects (broken sound effect and is missing her wings, sadly)
Moto Moto (from Madagascar) with sound effects
Battle Cat (from He-Man)
CD:
South Park Bigger, Longer & Uncut Movie Soundtrack
DVD:
Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin
Other:
3x TDK VHS-C video camcorder tapes
RCA composite video and audio to 3,5mm converter
2x aimable water taps for sink faucets
Comics:
multiple Buzz Lightyear comics
A trip to the local GameStop.
PlayStation Portable:
GameStop PSP Unique Pack (contains a USB charger and transfer cable, screen protector and travel case)
Xbox 360:
Nascar 08
Test Drive Unlimited 2
Other:
LEGO DC Super Heroes Wonder Woman LED pocket light
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Augusti 30th:
Today's second hand finds.
Game Boy Color:
Spider-Man with plastic protective case (missing box and manual)
PC:
Need for Speed Underground (complete)
Figures:
Mario (from Super Mario) with jumping sound effect
Boo Diddley (from Super Mario) with sticking out tongue action feature
Dragon (from Shrek) with sound effects (broken sound effect and is missing her wings, sadly)
Moto Moto (from Madagascar) with sound effects
Battle Cat (from He-Man)
CD:
South Park Bigger, Longer & Uncut Movie Soundtrack
DVD:
Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin
Other:
3x TDK VHS-C video camcorder tapes
RCA composite video and audio to 3,5mm converter
2x aimable water taps for sink faucets
Comics:
multiple Buzz Lightyear comics
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Gaming Purchases - April 2016
April 5th:
Today's second hand finds included a PC game, none other than classic Saturn exclusive Enemy Zero, the second game in WARP's D series (D2 on Dreamcast being the third and final game in the series and final game WARP made before shutting down permanently).
Enemy Zero is a 1996 sci-fi survival horror game with first person shooting, stealth mechanics, a mix between cinematic FMV and real-time 3D exploration gameplay and a unique battle system that uses audio cues rather than visual on-screen cues to locate and take out the alien enemies.
Originally developed as a PlayStation exclusive it was changed to Saturn only after Sony had poorly handled the release of the original D causing the director of Enemy Zero and founder of WARP to port the entire project over to Saturn and make the series and all other future games Sega exclusive from that point onward, the original D was a multiplatform game released on just about every 32-bit disc-based system at the time including the 3DO, PSX and Saturn.
Enemy Zero was one of the very few games for Saturn that came on 4 discs, which was a bit more common on PlayStation with games like Final Fantasy VIII and Fear Effect 2 Retro Helix for example.
Enemy Zero was originally released on December 13th of 1996 for Sega Saturn in Japan, later in 1997 it was released in the other regions worldwide and finally in 1998 it got ported to PC, initially released under the SEGA PC brand.
The version I got hold on is the more recent and much more common here in Europe these days re-release under the popular but nowadays defunct Xplosiv brand by UK-based Empire Interactive Entertainment that also re-released many other SEGA PC classics like Panzer Dragoon, House of the Dead 2, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2 (that I also got hold of relatively recently), Sega Rally Championship, Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Sonic 3D Flickies' Island, Sonic R, Virtua Cop 2 etc. etc..
PC:
Enemy Zero (Xplosiv re-release, still factory sealed)
April 26th:
Today's second hand finds included some PC games, some FIFA games for PS3, some PSP UMD movies, some DVDs, some multi CD cases, some W.I.T.C.H. comics, a pocket manga Kajika by Akira Toriyama, a PC video card to component and S-Video converter cable, a small pocket mirror, a magnetic massage thing with rounded spiky balls and a bunch of 5-10 year old videogame magazines.
PSP UMD Movies:
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Kill Bill
Kill Bill 2
(2x) Pusher 3
PlayStation 3:
FIFA 11
FIFA 12 (no manual)
FIFA 13
PC:
IMP #005 Hydrael
IMP #007 Kentaurus
IMP #012 Frostmork
IMP #024 Kosmoeus
IMP #025 Megamammon
IMP #027 Ghoulak
IMP #033 Vulkanicus
IMP #046 Buttgod (yes, that's his actual name)
IMP, for those who are not in the know what this game is, was a 1-on-1 arena style fighting game/monster collecting game for PC by the Swedish developer Idol FX and came out for Windows 98/2000 in 2001.
The idea was that you would purchase separate CD-ROMs for each monster you wanted at a lower price than buying a full game on just one disc, needless to say if they had been very cheap and distributed on a larger scale with proper backing and funding by some bigger brand with advertising abilities and all that it might've worked, sadly they were rather expensive for just one monster per disc and on top of that very hard to find as very select few stores ever sold them. I only ever found them in one local store myself. So it didn't last and never became a big thing like Pokemon, Digimon, Monster Rancher, Jade Cocoon and so on.
I don't have all of them but I've managed to get hold of quite a few over the years. I originally bought a bunch when they were new and have since found wayward copies in different second hand shops. I rather liked the monster designs so whenever I see an IMP lost out there in the wild I just gotta catch it.
April 28th:
On April 25th I placed an order for some games that arrived for pickup two days later on April 27th and today, April 28th I went and picked them up.
It's a bigger order that I've had to wait a while to do because the site I ordered it from had some bug in the homepage which didn't allow me to use points I had earned which would've made it more expensive. It was already an expensive order so I had to wait if I wanted to afford to place it at all, during this time several of the games I wanted sadly got sold out and I'll probably not be able to get hold of them again for years if ever, they are simply that rare here, so I'm disappointed that it took well over two months for them to fix their homepage until I got my points. Also now when I got the order two of the games that we supposed to have manuals and be "complete" were missing the manuals. So another disappointment. A third disappointment was that they made some prices higher, and a lot higher at that, for some other games I wanted to the point were even with my points I couldn't afford them and didn't really want to buy them anymore because I don't think they're worth that much, so I had to skip buying them as well.
Simply put I only got about two thirds of the order I originally had planned to buy only two months later than I wanted and it still cost about the same, so not a super great experience overall that I'll not soon forget.
Regardless of the negatives I finally have some 32X games of my very own, I got some nice classics for PlayStation that I've been on the hunt for and my collection for Mega Drive and PlayStation Portable got a little bigger as well.
Mega Drive:
F22 Interceptor (no manual)
LHX Attack Chopper (no manual)
Retro-bit RetroGen 6-button Controller
32X:
DOOM
Metal Head
Virtua Racing Deluxe
PlayStation:
Centipede
Iron Soldier 3
Kirikou
Newman Haas Racing
T'ai Fu Wrath of the Tiger (no manual)
Re-Loaded (no manual)
Star Wars Rebel Assault II The Hidden Empire (no manual)
Viewpoint (no manual)
PlayStation Portable:
Key of Heaven
L.A. Rush
Today's second hand finds included a PC game, none other than classic Saturn exclusive Enemy Zero, the second game in WARP's D series (D2 on Dreamcast being the third and final game in the series and final game WARP made before shutting down permanently).
Enemy Zero is a 1996 sci-fi survival horror game with first person shooting, stealth mechanics, a mix between cinematic FMV and real-time 3D exploration gameplay and a unique battle system that uses audio cues rather than visual on-screen cues to locate and take out the alien enemies.
Originally developed as a PlayStation exclusive it was changed to Saturn only after Sony had poorly handled the release of the original D causing the director of Enemy Zero and founder of WARP to port the entire project over to Saturn and make the series and all other future games Sega exclusive from that point onward, the original D was a multiplatform game released on just about every 32-bit disc-based system at the time including the 3DO, PSX and Saturn.
Enemy Zero was one of the very few games for Saturn that came on 4 discs, which was a bit more common on PlayStation with games like Final Fantasy VIII and Fear Effect 2 Retro Helix for example.
Enemy Zero was originally released on December 13th of 1996 for Sega Saturn in Japan, later in 1997 it was released in the other regions worldwide and finally in 1998 it got ported to PC, initially released under the SEGA PC brand.
The version I got hold on is the more recent and much more common here in Europe these days re-release under the popular but nowadays defunct Xplosiv brand by UK-based Empire Interactive Entertainment that also re-released many other SEGA PC classics like Panzer Dragoon, House of the Dead 2, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 2 (that I also got hold of relatively recently), Sega Rally Championship, Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Sonic 3D Flickies' Island, Sonic R, Virtua Cop 2 etc. etc..
PC:
Enemy Zero (Xplosiv re-release, still factory sealed)
April 26th:
Today's second hand finds included some PC games, some FIFA games for PS3, some PSP UMD movies, some DVDs, some multi CD cases, some W.I.T.C.H. comics, a pocket manga Kajika by Akira Toriyama, a PC video card to component and S-Video converter cable, a small pocket mirror, a magnetic massage thing with rounded spiky balls and a bunch of 5-10 year old videogame magazines.
PSP UMD Movies:
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Kill Bill
Kill Bill 2
(2x) Pusher 3
PlayStation 3:
FIFA 11
FIFA 12 (no manual)
FIFA 13
PC:
IMP #005 Hydrael
IMP #007 Kentaurus
IMP #012 Frostmork
IMP #024 Kosmoeus
IMP #025 Megamammon
IMP #027 Ghoulak
IMP #033 Vulkanicus
IMP #046 Buttgod (yes, that's his actual name)
IMP, for those who are not in the know what this game is, was a 1-on-1 arena style fighting game/monster collecting game for PC by the Swedish developer Idol FX and came out for Windows 98/2000 in 2001.
The idea was that you would purchase separate CD-ROMs for each monster you wanted at a lower price than buying a full game on just one disc, needless to say if they had been very cheap and distributed on a larger scale with proper backing and funding by some bigger brand with advertising abilities and all that it might've worked, sadly they were rather expensive for just one monster per disc and on top of that very hard to find as very select few stores ever sold them. I only ever found them in one local store myself. So it didn't last and never became a big thing like Pokemon, Digimon, Monster Rancher, Jade Cocoon and so on.
I don't have all of them but I've managed to get hold of quite a few over the years. I originally bought a bunch when they were new and have since found wayward copies in different second hand shops. I rather liked the monster designs so whenever I see an IMP lost out there in the wild I just gotta catch it.
April 28th:
On April 25th I placed an order for some games that arrived for pickup two days later on April 27th and today, April 28th I went and picked them up.
It's a bigger order that I've had to wait a while to do because the site I ordered it from had some bug in the homepage which didn't allow me to use points I had earned which would've made it more expensive. It was already an expensive order so I had to wait if I wanted to afford to place it at all, during this time several of the games I wanted sadly got sold out and I'll probably not be able to get hold of them again for years if ever, they are simply that rare here, so I'm disappointed that it took well over two months for them to fix their homepage until I got my points. Also now when I got the order two of the games that we supposed to have manuals and be "complete" were missing the manuals. So another disappointment. A third disappointment was that they made some prices higher, and a lot higher at that, for some other games I wanted to the point were even with my points I couldn't afford them and didn't really want to buy them anymore because I don't think they're worth that much, so I had to skip buying them as well.
Simply put I only got about two thirds of the order I originally had planned to buy only two months later than I wanted and it still cost about the same, so not a super great experience overall that I'll not soon forget.
Regardless of the negatives I finally have some 32X games of my very own, I got some nice classics for PlayStation that I've been on the hunt for and my collection for Mega Drive and PlayStation Portable got a little bigger as well.
Mega Drive:
F22 Interceptor (no manual)
LHX Attack Chopper (no manual)
Retro-bit RetroGen 6-button Controller
32X:
DOOM
Metal Head
Virtua Racing Deluxe
PlayStation:
Centipede
Iron Soldier 3
Kirikou
Newman Haas Racing
T'ai Fu Wrath of the Tiger (no manual)
Re-Loaded (no manual)
Star Wars Rebel Assault II The Hidden Empire (no manual)
Viewpoint (no manual)
PlayStation Portable:
Key of Heaven
L.A. Rush
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Now Playing - November 2015
Because of the death in the family I haven't played much games recently but I have started playing a bit now that things have settled a bit, mostly old PSX games.
Grudge Warriors (PlayStation)
A tank buggy vehicle combat mission based game not too unlike Red Dog Superior Firepower on Dreamcast. Great fun driving around blasting stuff and has a good multiplayer mode as well, again much like Red Dog. The singleplayer game is hard and unforgiving as you can only refill your armor, not your health, with very limited refill stations scattered around the levels, thankfully you can save between levels but it's still easy to get stuck as the game not only has tough enemies and bosses but also incorporates exploration to find everything, kind of like a Metroid game, many a player have been stuck in their tracks not being able to find their way in this game even if they've been able to take care of the enemy forces.
Grandia (PlayStation)
On the Rule 34 chat we were talking about games and Grandia came up, I felt like replaying it a bit, still a great game, I do wish they would've taken a bit more care of the port from Saturn though as there are manu minor flaws to be found, nothing that braks the game or changes the gameplay but lots of visual stuff, like textures facing in the wrong direction, abcent shadows, abcent sky textures and some abcent 3D geometry here and there, also some other stuff like the water effect the Saturn version had but that's at least understandable seeing as there's a genuine difference in the hardware between the two machines. Thanfully the PSX port did get some enhancements to make up for the shortcomings, like better shadows for the characters, better looking screen effect when going into battles, some more advanced smoke and steam effects and of course being in English and released worldwide unlike the unfortunately Japanese exclusive Saturn version, so I think the PSX version still holds up nicely with those pros over the admittedly minor cons. A great game regardless and every PSX gamer with even the slightest interest in RPGs should give this game a try.
On the Rule 34 chat we were talking about games and Grandia came up, I felt like replaying it a bit, still a great game, I do wish they would've taken a bit more care of the port from Saturn though as there are manu minor flaws to be found, nothing that braks the game or changes the gameplay but lots of visual stuff, like textures facing in the wrong direction, abcent shadows, abcent sky textures and some abcent 3D geometry here and there, also some other stuff like the water effect the Saturn version had but that's at least understandable seeing as there's a genuine difference in the hardware between the two machines. Thanfully the PSX port did get some enhancements to make up for the shortcomings, like better shadows for the characters, better looking screen effect when going into battles, some more advanced smoke and steam effects and of course being in English and released worldwide unlike the unfortunately Japanese exclusive Saturn version, so I think the PSX version still holds up nicely with those pros over the admittedly minor cons. A great game regardless and every PSX gamer with even the slightest interest in RPGs should give this game a try.
Grudge Warriors (PlayStation)
A tank buggy vehicle combat mission based game not too unlike Red Dog Superior Firepower on Dreamcast. Great fun driving around blasting stuff and has a good multiplayer mode as well, again much like Red Dog. The singleplayer game is hard and unforgiving as you can only refill your armor, not your health, with very limited refill stations scattered around the levels, thankfully you can save between levels but it's still easy to get stuck as the game not only has tough enemies and bosses but also incorporates exploration to find everything, kind of like a Metroid game, many a player have been stuck in their tracks not being able to find their way in this game even if they've been able to take care of the enemy forces.
Medal of Honor & Medal of Honor Underground (PlayStation)
They both hold up rather well, they're not perfect games but arguably two of the better FPSs of the 32-bit generation.
The Adventures of Mighty Max (Mega Drive)
A platformer based on the toyline with little playsets in the shape of monsters and stuff, a favorite toyline from my childhood to say the least, sadly I never got to play the game or watch the animated series as a kid but after having spent some time with the game and seen some clips of the show on youtube it appears I didn't miss anything important, the toys were easily the strong part of the franchise as the game is rather mediocre and not particularly well designed with questionable levels and controls and the cartoon looks rather cheap as well. Not an awful game but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the most old school fans of the toys like myself, I enjoy it to a bit but it got old really fast with repetitive gameplay and levels with so little variation at first I thought I had done something wrong and started the same level over again, but nope, it's the next level alright, they just didn't change a whole lot is all.
Cat Planet (PC)
A free downloadable 2D platformer type of game where you must manuever a girl with angel wings around a planet called Cat Planet inhabited by little cat planet cats that you need to find, 67 of them in tital. It's kind of a speedrunning game where you replay it often to get a better time with as few deaths as possible, you have unlimited lives. I've been able to average a time of about 5 minutes with 2-3 deaths which is an okay score I think, not world record material but I play it more for fun than serious business and my computer isn't strong so the game has a lot of slowdown despite being a rather simplistic 2D game with very barebone visuals, it's all about the programming I guess.
Cat Poke (PC)
In similar fasion to Cat Planet this is a little free downloadable game where you play as a little girl who can't go out and play because it's raining outside, so she decised to poke all the cats the in the house to pass the time. Poking all the cats requires you to not only find them but also lure them out of their hiding places so it's more of a puzzle game than a platformer. It's also similar to Cat Planet in that it times you to see how fast you can complete it if you're interested in that sort of thing, I just like playing it for fun though so I haven't kept much track of my times, I think it probably averages in around 5 minutes when I play unless I forget some item and need to backtrack and go get it, but a smooth run from start to finish can easily be done in under 5 minutes.
Façade (PC)
More of a social interaction simulator where your goal is to see what can happen than an actual game but a fun time waster nonetheless. It's a free download just like Cat Planet and Cat Poke but it's noticably larger as it's a 3D game with a lot of voice acting. Basically you get invited to visit some old friends and talk to them about their relationship in real time using your keyboard. I find it's hard to type fast enough and a lot of the time I end up missing to respond and the situation changes and moves on in perhaps not the direction I had in mind. I've gotten a few different endings so far but only one was anything interesting, the rest were just abrupt because I apperently said the wrong thing and got kicked out of their apartment.
Starsky & Hutch (Game Boy Advance)
A 3D open world driving game on GBA? Yup, and a damn good one at that! Regardless of what some less serious self-proclaimed game critics would like you to believe it's an excellent little game for the GBA, you have your story mode, free roam and other additional mission modes, lots of cars to drive and a nice big city to drive around in. It's rather slim to begin with but you unlock more as you play through the story. I like the visuals, they remind me a lot of GTA Chinatown Wars on DS. You can also shoot your gun out the window of the car so there's some action in there as well alongside the driving.
V-Rally 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Another 3D driving game on GBA, of the rally racing type this time. I was never a big fan of the V-Rally series back on PSX but this one really steps it up, it's closer to the Colin McRae and WRC games and much better for it. The controls are nice, the visuals go by smoothly and look very nice for GBA, I'd even go as far as to say they rival some PSX games, at least somewhat, the car itself is a 2D sprite with some rotation frames but the rest of the environment is all 3D and very varied and detailed, they did a good job not making the backgrounds repetitive which can often be the case. They have some basic damage info in the main career mode but beside that it's very much an arcade game, somewhat similar to Sega Rally. I find it interesting that they included a driver view from inside the car, it actually looks and handles very well from that angle, better than a lot of other games do.
Tomb Raider Legend (PlayStation Portable)
I'm not a huge fan of the Crystal Dynamics developed Tomb Raider games, I much prefer the Core Design developed games, but every now and then I play some Legend and/or Underworld. This time I felt like picking up where I left off in my current playthrough of the PSP port of Legend. It's not the best version of the game but it is the only portable version and it does offer some unique bonus content, so I still think it's a worthy addition to any PSP collection. It's still fully playable and enjoyable, they managed to fit just about everything in there with only minor visual drawbacks and some tweaked controls, it might take a minute or two to get used to at first but soon enough you'll feel right at home.
ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD (PlayStation 3)
Not much to say, it's ICO and SotC, what can be said about these games has already been said enough. ICO is virtually the same as it was on PS2 only adapted for HDTVs, SotC on the other hand has gotten a slight upgrade with better framerate overall than it had on PS2.
UPDATE #1:
Tomb Raider - The Prophecy (Game Boy Advance)
An original old school entry in the Tomb Raider series and a good one at that. It's a bit repetitive in the gameplay but at least it's approachable and the 4-letter password system makes it easy to get where you were last without having to worry about managing saved games and losing them due to the internal cartridge battery dying some day in the future.
Star X (Game Boy Advance)
Think Super Nintendo StarWing (StarFox in US) on Game Boy Advance and this is as close as it gets. Nintendo never made a StarWing for GBA so this third party developed game stepped up and filled the void. I have to say they did an excellend job as this game not only lives up to the task but even outperforms the original StarWing on Super Nintendo completely without any additional enhancement chips, it runs on just raw GBA power! It's not a direct copy of StarWing but the gameplay is nearly identical on-rail shooting with a flat shaded polygonal spaceship.
LEGO Drome Racers (Game Boy Advance)
Anyone like me who loves flat shaded polygons and racing games like Virtua Racing owe it to themselves to play this game at least once. It's a flat shaded polygonal 3D racer with offensive/defensive weapon pickups and speed boosts. While the tracks are fully 3D the cars are 2D sprites, but the game runs smoothly and at high speeds with lots of action so it's all good. There's also a version available for PS2, GameCube and Xbox but I sadly haven't gotten hold of it or even played it. Maybe, hopefully, one day I will.
B-Movie (PSX)
A fun little game where you pilot different customizable aircraft and take on an invading alien armada attack Earth while helping your fellow humans survive. It draws clear inspiration from games like Defender and old sci-fi movies.
Star Ixiom (PSX)
Kind of like a space RPG adventure. The main part of the game is similar to games like Colony Wars Red Sun but you also get to dock at space stations and walk around, talk to other characters to advance the story and change or customize your ship.
Sonic Adventure 2 - Battle (GameCube)
It's sadly not as good as the Dreamcast original but it does unlock some multiplayer bonus characters by default. It's visually muddier, both in screen clearness and texture definition, and certain effects such as character shadows have been drastically reworked and simplified. It also doesn't feel as controllable with lots of hit detection problems and different behaviour I'm not used to in the Dreamcast original, and sadly none of this is for the better. Regardless of the shortcomings it's nice to play the Rouge and Knuckles levels again, I love Sonic Adventure 2's huge treasure hunting levels, they were on a level of their own back in the day and even these days only a small handful games have been able to do something similar successfully.
Shadow The Hedgehog (GameCube and Xbox)
A game I've played a lot on PS2 over the years. It's nice to finally get to enjoy the superior versions with better framerates, faster loading times and more colors on screen. Beside those upgrades it's still the same game I know and love, with big multi-choice levels and paths to take throughout the game and good multiplayer options made even better with the addition of native 4-player split screen, not sure if the PS2 version could do that even with a multi-tap, by default it could only do 2-player split-screen. Still, the PS2 version is good enough and being cheaper and easier to find and get hold of in general still makes it a worthy purchase for anyone interested.
They both hold up rather well, they're not perfect games but arguably two of the better FPSs of the 32-bit generation.
The Adventures of Mighty Max (Mega Drive)
A platformer based on the toyline with little playsets in the shape of monsters and stuff, a favorite toyline from my childhood to say the least, sadly I never got to play the game or watch the animated series as a kid but after having spent some time with the game and seen some clips of the show on youtube it appears I didn't miss anything important, the toys were easily the strong part of the franchise as the game is rather mediocre and not particularly well designed with questionable levels and controls and the cartoon looks rather cheap as well. Not an awful game but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the most old school fans of the toys like myself, I enjoy it to a bit but it got old really fast with repetitive gameplay and levels with so little variation at first I thought I had done something wrong and started the same level over again, but nope, it's the next level alright, they just didn't change a whole lot is all.
Cat Planet (PC)
A free downloadable 2D platformer type of game where you must manuever a girl with angel wings around a planet called Cat Planet inhabited by little cat planet cats that you need to find, 67 of them in tital. It's kind of a speedrunning game where you replay it often to get a better time with as few deaths as possible, you have unlimited lives. I've been able to average a time of about 5 minutes with 2-3 deaths which is an okay score I think, not world record material but I play it more for fun than serious business and my computer isn't strong so the game has a lot of slowdown despite being a rather simplistic 2D game with very barebone visuals, it's all about the programming I guess.
Cat Poke (PC)
In similar fasion to Cat Planet this is a little free downloadable game where you play as a little girl who can't go out and play because it's raining outside, so she decised to poke all the cats the in the house to pass the time. Poking all the cats requires you to not only find them but also lure them out of their hiding places so it's more of a puzzle game than a platformer. It's also similar to Cat Planet in that it times you to see how fast you can complete it if you're interested in that sort of thing, I just like playing it for fun though so I haven't kept much track of my times, I think it probably averages in around 5 minutes when I play unless I forget some item and need to backtrack and go get it, but a smooth run from start to finish can easily be done in under 5 minutes.
Façade (PC)
More of a social interaction simulator where your goal is to see what can happen than an actual game but a fun time waster nonetheless. It's a free download just like Cat Planet and Cat Poke but it's noticably larger as it's a 3D game with a lot of voice acting. Basically you get invited to visit some old friends and talk to them about their relationship in real time using your keyboard. I find it's hard to type fast enough and a lot of the time I end up missing to respond and the situation changes and moves on in perhaps not the direction I had in mind. I've gotten a few different endings so far but only one was anything interesting, the rest were just abrupt because I apperently said the wrong thing and got kicked out of their apartment.
Starsky & Hutch (Game Boy Advance)
A 3D open world driving game on GBA? Yup, and a damn good one at that! Regardless of what some less serious self-proclaimed game critics would like you to believe it's an excellent little game for the GBA, you have your story mode, free roam and other additional mission modes, lots of cars to drive and a nice big city to drive around in. It's rather slim to begin with but you unlock more as you play through the story. I like the visuals, they remind me a lot of GTA Chinatown Wars on DS. You can also shoot your gun out the window of the car so there's some action in there as well alongside the driving.
V-Rally 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Another 3D driving game on GBA, of the rally racing type this time. I was never a big fan of the V-Rally series back on PSX but this one really steps it up, it's closer to the Colin McRae and WRC games and much better for it. The controls are nice, the visuals go by smoothly and look very nice for GBA, I'd even go as far as to say they rival some PSX games, at least somewhat, the car itself is a 2D sprite with some rotation frames but the rest of the environment is all 3D and very varied and detailed, they did a good job not making the backgrounds repetitive which can often be the case. They have some basic damage info in the main career mode but beside that it's very much an arcade game, somewhat similar to Sega Rally. I find it interesting that they included a driver view from inside the car, it actually looks and handles very well from that angle, better than a lot of other games do.
Tomb Raider Legend (PlayStation Portable)
I'm not a huge fan of the Crystal Dynamics developed Tomb Raider games, I much prefer the Core Design developed games, but every now and then I play some Legend and/or Underworld. This time I felt like picking up where I left off in my current playthrough of the PSP port of Legend. It's not the best version of the game but it is the only portable version and it does offer some unique bonus content, so I still think it's a worthy addition to any PSP collection. It's still fully playable and enjoyable, they managed to fit just about everything in there with only minor visual drawbacks and some tweaked controls, it might take a minute or two to get used to at first but soon enough you'll feel right at home.
ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD (PlayStation 3)
Not much to say, it's ICO and SotC, what can be said about these games has already been said enough. ICO is virtually the same as it was on PS2 only adapted for HDTVs, SotC on the other hand has gotten a slight upgrade with better framerate overall than it had on PS2.
UPDATE #1:
Tomb Raider - The Prophecy (Game Boy Advance)
An original old school entry in the Tomb Raider series and a good one at that. It's a bit repetitive in the gameplay but at least it's approachable and the 4-letter password system makes it easy to get where you were last without having to worry about managing saved games and losing them due to the internal cartridge battery dying some day in the future.
Star X (Game Boy Advance)
Think Super Nintendo StarWing (StarFox in US) on Game Boy Advance and this is as close as it gets. Nintendo never made a StarWing for GBA so this third party developed game stepped up and filled the void. I have to say they did an excellend job as this game not only lives up to the task but even outperforms the original StarWing on Super Nintendo completely without any additional enhancement chips, it runs on just raw GBA power! It's not a direct copy of StarWing but the gameplay is nearly identical on-rail shooting with a flat shaded polygonal spaceship.
LEGO Drome Racers (Game Boy Advance)
Anyone like me who loves flat shaded polygons and racing games like Virtua Racing owe it to themselves to play this game at least once. It's a flat shaded polygonal 3D racer with offensive/defensive weapon pickups and speed boosts. While the tracks are fully 3D the cars are 2D sprites, but the game runs smoothly and at high speeds with lots of action so it's all good. There's also a version available for PS2, GameCube and Xbox but I sadly haven't gotten hold of it or even played it. Maybe, hopefully, one day I will.
B-Movie (PSX)
A fun little game where you pilot different customizable aircraft and take on an invading alien armada attack Earth while helping your fellow humans survive. It draws clear inspiration from games like Defender and old sci-fi movies.
Star Ixiom (PSX)
Kind of like a space RPG adventure. The main part of the game is similar to games like Colony Wars Red Sun but you also get to dock at space stations and walk around, talk to other characters to advance the story and change or customize your ship.
Sonic Adventure 2 - Battle (GameCube)
It's sadly not as good as the Dreamcast original but it does unlock some multiplayer bonus characters by default. It's visually muddier, both in screen clearness and texture definition, and certain effects such as character shadows have been drastically reworked and simplified. It also doesn't feel as controllable with lots of hit detection problems and different behaviour I'm not used to in the Dreamcast original, and sadly none of this is for the better. Regardless of the shortcomings it's nice to play the Rouge and Knuckles levels again, I love Sonic Adventure 2's huge treasure hunting levels, they were on a level of their own back in the day and even these days only a small handful games have been able to do something similar successfully.
Shadow The Hedgehog (GameCube and Xbox)
A game I've played a lot on PS2 over the years. It's nice to finally get to enjoy the superior versions with better framerates, faster loading times and more colors on screen. Beside those upgrades it's still the same game I know and love, with big multi-choice levels and paths to take throughout the game and good multiplayer options made even better with the addition of native 4-player split screen, not sure if the PS2 version could do that even with a multi-tap, by default it could only do 2-player split-screen. Still, the PS2 version is good enough and being cheaper and easier to find and get hold of in general still makes it a worthy purchase for anyone interested.
Gaming purchases for November 2015
Due to a death in the family my gaming (along with pretty much everything else) has been on hold recently, but I did get to order some stuff online and shop for some stuff locally and ended up going on a minor shopping spree as far as videogames go, also some other non-gaming items but I'll just cover the gaming stuff here.
In total so far during the first half of November I've bought over 30 games and some additional gaming related stuff, most for Xbox 360 and PS3 but also some for Wii and even a couple for PC and one for PS2, well kinda, the one for PS2 was an old demo disc I didn't have with some games from 2001 to 2003. It was interesting to see demo versions of some of those games that I've had the full version of for so many years.
Here's what I got so far, November's not over yet so I may update this again if I end up with anything else before the month is over.
PS2:
*a demo disc
Wii:
Cursed Mountain
Dead Space Extraction
Disney Princess Enchanted Journey
Monster High 13 Wishes
Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze
Xbox 360:
Armored Core V Verdict Day
Killer is Dead Limited Edition
Section 8
Syndicate
The Darkness
The Darkness 2 Limited Edition
Winter Sports 2011 Go for Gold
PS3:
Battlefield 3
Deception IV Blood Ties
FIFA 08
Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD
inFamous
Killer is Dead Limited Edition
Mindjack
MotorStorm Pacific Rift
MotorStorm Apocalypse
**PlayStation Move Starter Disc
Sly Cooper Thieves in Time
Split/Second Velocity
The House of the Dead Overkill Extended Cut
The Shoot
The Sly Trilogy
PC:
Need for Speed Porsche 2000
Riverworld
Other:
Disney Infinity 3.0 Inside Out Disgust figure
Skylanders Drobot figure
Skylanders Stealth Elf figure
*Among much else the PS2 demo disc contained demos of for example Ratchet & Clank, a This if Football game, a WRC game and Stuntman and also video trailers of for example Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness and an Ape Escape game.
**The PS Move Starter Disc is a demo disc of PS Move games that usually follows the purchase of the PS Move Starter Pack.
UPDATE from 19th November
I went ahead and ordered some more games online.
PSX:
*B-Movie
Star Ixiom
PS2:
Dragon Rage
Gift
Headhunter
Wreckless - The Yakuza Missions
PSP:
Invizimals Shadow Zone (incl. Go!Cam)
GBA:
Madagascar
Star X
Tomb Raider - The Prophecy
**V-Rally 3 & Stuntman
GameCube:
XGIII Extreme G Racing (Extreme-G 3)
Shadow The Hedgehog
Sonic Adventure 2 - Battle (Player's Choice)
Wreckless - The Yakuza Missions
Xbox:
Rally Fusion - Race of Champions
Shadow The Hedgehog
*known as Invasion from Beyond in USA
**V-Rally 3 & Stuntman was a double pack with both games on one cartridge
I'm planning on making one more online order soon, maybe before November ends, otherwise it'll be part of the December purchases.
UPDATE from 19th November
I went ahead and ordered some more games online.
PSX:
*B-Movie
Star Ixiom
PS2:
Dragon Rage
Gift
Headhunter
Wreckless - The Yakuza Missions
PSP:
Invizimals Shadow Zone (incl. Go!Cam)
GBA:
Madagascar
Star X
Tomb Raider - The Prophecy
**V-Rally 3 & Stuntman
GameCube:
XGIII Extreme G Racing (Extreme-G 3)
Shadow The Hedgehog
Sonic Adventure 2 - Battle (Player's Choice)
Wreckless - The Yakuza Missions
Xbox:
Rally Fusion - Race of Champions
Shadow The Hedgehog
*known as Invasion from Beyond in USA
**V-Rally 3 & Stuntman was a double pack with both games on one cartridge
I'm planning on making one more online order soon, maybe before November ends, otherwise it'll be part of the December purchases.
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