When a game console is considered “dead,” I like to write a tribute blog about that console and its games.  While most people would probably consider the PS4 ‘dead’ for a while now, I’m still reviewing games for it.  I guess a game console is really only considered ‘dead’ once you stop playing it.  But since recently I wasn’t able to get simple games like LEGO Batman and Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection on the PS4, I figured it was about time.  I’ll probably do a similar blog with the original Switch later towards the end of this year.  Most of the games on this list you can play on other consoles as well, I mostly used the PS4 as a third party machine if I couldn’t play or review it on the Switch, or if I’d rather play it on the PS4.  Anyway, there are so many games I’m going to split this up into two parts.  And the first part is going to be all about classic game collections, and remakes of classics and styled games.

I finished Mass Effect Andromeda and switched consoles to PS4. After playing a few games there, I settled on Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain. I am now going to battle bugs for the rest of the month. 

I'm waiting for my car's oil change as I write this in the middle of my usual days off. It's killing half my gaming day, darn it, but it can't be helped. Here's what I've played so far this week. 

Welcome to a special Nerds Without Pants! Eric Peacock from the Soundtracker Podcast joins us for the first time to talk about pretty video game music, his video game origin story, and much, much more!

Can you believe Klonoa has been around for 25 years?  That makes me feel REALLY old!  I remember when I first played that game in college and reviewed it for The Dallas Morning News.  If you don’t know (and shame on you if you don’t), Klonoa is a series of (mostly) 2D platformers by Namco.  And they’re really good, too!  The quality of these games really had an impact on me and they’re some of my favorite titles on the PSOne and PS2.  For the 25^th Anniversary, Namco released a collection of the PSOne and PS2 main games, which we’ll talk about here.  But we’ll also go through the other games in the series as well!  Oh yeah, there may be some spoilers here and there, but I’ll warn you when they come up.

Boy this has been one roller coaster of a year, with lots of ups and downs.  But it’s the end of the year so you know what that means?  It’s time for my “Best Games of 2021 Awards Show!”  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

I turn 40 later this year so to show that I'm truly on my way to cranky curmudgeon status, I'll start off by saying how much I hate winter weather season. My house is the kind that usually keeps cool during warmer weather so trying to heat this place makes my electricity and gas bills go up (honestly, that I spend more time gaming or using my tv rather than freeze to death outside also contributes to that). After this month, it should start to get warmer so I'll be happy then. 

As I continue with hidden gems throughout BaD I have yet another game I would like to highlight. This time, we're moving to the 16bit era with the SNES. And we're going for the trifecta of games never released in North America. There was an english translation and the game was released in Europe for the PAL region, so luckily we can play the game and understand it. So let's take a look at todays hidden gem... Terranigma.

Welcome to a musical masterpiece edition of Nerds Without Pants! We are joined by John Brandon of the Square Roots Podcast, and this episode is so epic we had to split it into two parts. Let’s jump into this one, shall we?

Hey everybody!  Guess what today (September 15) is?  It’s my birthday!  And it’s a big one, too, as I’m now 40 years old!  So click and read this blog for some birthday fun!  Also, even though it’s my birthday, the presents are for YOU!  I’ve got more game reviews I’ve recently posted at GamerDad.com!  Yeah, just what you wanted, right?

So a few days ago I beat Ys: Memories of Celceta on my PS Vita.  It was a fun game, but not near as good as Ys Seven on PSP.  One of the reasons why I liked Ys Seven so much was it had a fantastic and memorable soundtrack.  One of the best I’ve heard in recent memory.  The Vita Ys game wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as memorable.  So now I’m going to try and do something I’ve never done before here: write a blog and post videos of music from Ys Seven that you can listen to.  (Yeah this is kind of a filler blog)  I hope I can get it to work!  Here goes nothing!

This week I added a lot more of my collection to my playlist of games arranged by completion time. So a bunch of games got put into my travel pack for Mark's place. Those I finished with will be put in the trade bin to go towards new purchases. I've heard the Amiibo's are more plentiful right now and I'd like to have an Olimar one. 

By the time the Super Nintendo was introduced, games that combined multiple genres were nothing new. Games like The Legend of Zelda, Crystalis, and The Guardian Legend were outstanding pioneers of the action/adventure variety. But developer Quintet partnered with Enix to publish ActRaiser in 1991 on the Super NES. Released just 3 months after the new home console, it was one of the earliest post-launch SNES games. Particularly outstanding is that it combines side-scrolling action with building simulation gameplay elements. Usually, building simulations send me running for the hills because I'm terrible at them. But after spending a little time with the game, I was able to put my fears aside.

It started out simple enough. I went to McDonalds to get a little lunch (I had slept in a bit longer than normal) and hit up the Nintendo Zone for Miis (I got six, I found out later). I think I'd better be careful about this Mickey Dee thing. It's really not very healthy. Next time I'll order something like coffee or a hot chocolate. I'd eat nothing but I feel too weird walking in there just to get the Spot Pass. Then I headed over to Gamestop to preorder Etrian Mystery Dungeon, out on April 7th (I went to the one where I get the feminine smiles and not the one where I get the upselling).

[UPDATE: The polls have been closed and the winner will be announced in just a little while.  Thanks to everyone for voting!]

UPDATE: And that does it for round three, folks!  Voting is now closed!  Keep your eyes peeled for the championship round going up a little later today!

People complain about the plethora of Modern Warfare first person shooters these days, but those same people forget that every few years there’s some genre that dominates the gaming landscape. We’ve gone through the survival horror phase, the RPG obsession, the fighting game craze, and of course the beat ‘em up era. During that time, one of the most popular and legendary brawlers was the Streets of Rage series. It’s been nearly 20 years since Sega’s personal head crackers had a new adventure, so it’s time to dust off this franchise and resurrect it.

Last night I posted my welcome blog to the influx of new community members that came to us by the now defunct, yet always remembered fondly, 1up.com. Today I wanted to give you all an update on what’s been going on over here at PixlBit, and what’s been going on with me personally.

The calendar says it's Friday and you know what that means. That’s right; it’s time for another fantastic installment of Missing in Action!

A recent trailer for Etrian Odyssey IV reveals that big changes are in store for the series. The trailer, which appeared several days ago, shows recognizable and visible enemies while exploring a dungeon.  Additionally, these enemies patrol and lunge in a realistic manner.