All in Retro.
The 7th Guest Retro Review: Full Motion Murder
Right around Halloween, I somehow found out that The 7th Guest was available on iOS and, despite my well-known distaste for all things Apple, I quickly realized that I was going to need to borrow my fiance’s iPad and get back into a game that I hadn’t played in almost 20 years. Getting back into [...]
The Adventures of Bayou Billy Retro Review: No Big Easy Mode
The Adventures of Bayou Billy might have flown under many radars when it was first released in North American in June of 1989. It had previously been released under the nom de guerre “Mad City” in August 1988 in Japan, where surprisingly it was much easier than its region 1 counterpart. Because Bayou Billy was so [...]
Tachyon: The Fringe Retro Review: Starfighters Needed
After I got my appetite whetted for mech-combat with Trenched, it got me to thinking about my other increasingly rare gaming passion: space combat simulations. It’s been a while since I really got into a space combat sim excepting the level in Halo: Reach, which prompted a little thought about the last (good) space combat sim I played [...]
Ghouls ‘n Ghosts Retro Review: The Real Adventures of King Arthur
When I was a kid, I had a pretty limited budget and my mother was disinclined to encourage her sons’ affinities for video gaming. Nonetheless, Mama GiffTor was powerless to stop my grandparents, aunts and uncles from undermining her nefarious plot to ensure we got exercise and exposure to things like literature and fresh air. [...]
Portal Retro Review: See Me Staring Right Back At Me
When Portal was released as part of the Orange Box compilation in 2007, the average gamer didn’t quite know what to expect. Sure, everyone had read the previews and early reviews of the game, but would a first person shooter/puzzle game conglomeration actually be fun? After a brief flirtation with the Mac version when new [...]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Retro Review: Earning My Reputation
Everyone is curious as to when we will get details on the next Grand Theft Auto games. Most of the rumors claim that GTA will return to San Andreas, which makes me quite happy. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is, in my humble opinion, the best game in the series. The depth of this title [...]
The Thing Retro Review: Friends, Foes and I Don’t Knows
Very few movies turn into competent video games. Whether it’s the push to meet unrealistic deadlines or the nature of using games as marketing materials, the bar tends to be set quite low. When a game does surpass expectations, it does so by understanding the important themes present in the movie and how to transition [...]
Desert Strike Retro Review: Securing Peace Through Superior Firepower
Trying to recall all of the games my younger brother and I had for the Sega Genesis is like trying to recall how to solve that chemical mixture problem from freshman algebra that drove me up the wall without using Google, but if I tried, I’d have no trouble remembering Desert Strike. I don’t know [...]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Retro Review: Lying to Your Eyes with Clever Tricks
Last Christmas (2009), I was playing Madden with my mom and she commented on how the players’ eyes didn’t look quite right, like they were separate from the rest of the face. The fact of the matter is, they probably were since it’s hard to put motion-capture dots on eyeballs. Until we get to check [...]
Metaltech: Earthsiege Retro Review: Robots Make a Gamer
Every person who identifies himself as an -er remembers the watershed moment that made them want to be an -er, and by -er, I don’t mean the onomatopoeic word used in conjunction with “Um” and “well,” I mean the suffix attached to activities to make a person a part of a group. E.g., a soccer player, a [...]
Rock ‘n Roll Racing Retro Review: Runs Over Melted Faces
Adrenaline, speed, noise, crazy outfits, and loudspeakers. Two things contain all of these elements: racing, and good old fashioned Rock and Roll. Throw in a little intergalactic rivalry, dangerous alien roadway conditions and you end up with Rock n’ Roll Racing for the Super Nintendo. I’ll start off by saying, if you haven’t played this [...]
Faxanadu Retro Review: This Is Not Enough Golds
We all have that moment, our first video game memory. I’m just young enough that the NES was released less than five months before I was born, and I have a brother 10 years older than I am, which meant there was always an NES around, even before I was old enough to play it. [...]
