"I devour coins."

Archive for 2005

Do a 180 and Wait on the 360

IGN has written a great article on the benefits of waiting for your next Console. The XBox 360 has certainly taken the market by storm this holiday season. But seasoned gamers should be aware… the PS3 will simply kick ass.

Here is why.

Yes, Xbox has learned from the past–release it first and you will eat up a large part of the market share early on. In 1994 Sony did this with the PS1 and in 1985 it was Nintendo with the NES.

Here are the top reasons to hold out that I pulled out of the article:

The Blu-ray Player
Stronger Japanese Developer Support
Full Backwards Compatibility
Seven-Player Wireless Support
Dual-Screen and 1080p Support
Hefty Expandability / Connectivity Options

Personally, I can wait another year. I’ve got plenty of games to play right now.

Posted by on November 22, 2005 at 9:31 am
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Posted under: Consoles & Handhelds

Tecmo Arcade Classics

So last week when a couple of went to Target I noticed something new for the X-box only: Tecmo Classic Arcade*. I looked and it is only available on that platform–which frankly sucks.

There have only been two games I’d ever want to play on the Xbox that you cannot get anywhere else–Abe’s Oddworld 4 (or whatever it was called) and this one.

This Tecmo gem (for those of you who have conceded to the will of Microsoft–yet again) has the following games:

Tecmo Bowl
Rygar
Starforce
Solomon’s Key
Bomb Jack
Tecmo Cup
Pinball Action
Pleiads
Senjyo
Swimmer
and Strato Fighter

It does NOT contain the one game I like best from the Tecmo series: Super Tecmo Bowl. I have that for my NES and still play it regularly. The thing is–all of the above games are the real arcade versions–NOT the NES versions so there is benefit to this unusual collection.

Screenshots.

*Note that the prices on the EB Games website are swapped. The new price is actually lower than the used price [today]. A little mistake that could save you about $10.

Posted by on November 22, 2005 at 9:03 am
Comments (1)
Posted under: New Games
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Mutant Storm

For those looking for some Robotron-like action using a modern game engine, try Mutant Storm. A total of 89 levels of 3D arenas to fight through. Well, not really 3D arenas. All action is taking place on a 2D plane like Robotron, just that the POV changes as you move. The game uses the Torque engine, which was the base for Tribes 2.

Mutant Storm is over two years old, so some of you may have already heard of it. I have been playing Mutant Storm since January of this year, and still fire it up if I want some quick arcade action.

You can use a mouse and keyboard, but that just doesn’t cut it. I recommend a dual stick game pad. I use a Saitek P2500. This way you will get an experience closer to playing Robotron.

Game is available at Garage Games, and at Pom Pom Games. Yes, it is a multi-platform game. But if you go the linux route, make darn sure that your game pad has linux drivers.

Posted by on November 19, 2005 at 6:17 am
Comments (1)
Posted under: Computers & MAME, New Games
Tags: , , ,

The Year of the Arcade Cabinet?

CostCo has gotten in on the arcade cabinet market this year as well, and it’s quite the entry. According to the product page the unit, while costing 5 times as much ($2500) also has much more than 5 times as much content. The games list is… amazing. And it’s a full sized cocktail cabinet.

Posted by on November 18, 2005 at 3:37 pm
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Posted under: Arcade & Coin-Op
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Retro Arcade Makes it to Target

Earlier this year we caught wind of the new Midway Arcade Cabinet to be featured and sold in Target Stores Nationwide. The unit is pictured on their website for pre-order still at $499. However, in stores it’s listed at only $449. I’m not sure which is accurate but for $50 less get it at the store! Anyway, today at lunch…

I had a chance to play it.

First Glance
The machine looks very nice. It is a nice black lacquer finish colorfully plastered with the logos from the 12 Midway games that are contained within. It has a small 14″ monitor at the center with a plexiglass window protecting it. The cabinet is cabaret sized. In ‘video game speak’ it is smaller than the standard upright. Often ‘cabaret’ versions of arcade games were used when bars or arcades could not fit the full sized units inside–perfect for the average home! The games?…
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Posted by on November 17, 2005 at 4:22 pm
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Posted under: Arcade & Coin-Op, Computers & MAME
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