Ever since Namco’s Pole Position made its debut in the arcades in 1982, the racing genre has been considered an essential medium in the gaming world. The increase of video game consoles making their way into homes throughout the mid-to-late ’80s further solidified the popularity of racing games. Players looking for deeper mechanics than what was available from the current offerings of the day could rejoice when Kemco published Top Gear in 1992- one of the first driving games for the Super NES.
Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #25/Blog a Day #6
Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #28/Blog a Day #3
WORST. YEAR. EVER. I think we can all agree that 2020 has been one of the worst years in our lifetime, what with the Coronavirus, quarantines, riots and looting, politics, and much more. And it doesn’t seem to be getting any better, as I just found out my mom has breast cancer (keep us in your prayers). Some days I wonder if we’ll EVER get through this. 2020 can just suck it! But at least we’ve had some good video games come out to help keep our minds off of this dumpster fire of a year. So here’s my Best Games of 2020 Awards Show! But keep in mind that this is my list and my picks only, no outside opinions and whatnot. And if a game isn’t on my list, it either just didn’t appeal to me or I haven’t played it yet. Can’t play ‘em all, you know! But with that out of the way, let’s take a look at my picks.
WORST. YEAR. EVER. I think we can all agree that 2020 has been one of the worst years in our lifetime, what with the Coronavirus, quarantines, riots and looting, and much more. Some days I wonder if we’ll EVER get through this. But there is one good thing about this year so far. We’ve had quite a lot of really good games come out the first half of this year! Normally I like to write a blog this time of year with my favorite games of the year so far, because the holiday titles and E3 announcements usually take precedence by the end of the year. Of course, because of the Coronavirus there was no E3 this year, and as of this writing we still don’t know what big games will be out for Christmas. Just another reason why this year sucks. So I don’t know how much different my list will be by the end of the year. But keep in mind that this is my list and my picks only, no outside opinions and whatnot. And if a game isn’t on my list, it either just didn’t appeal to me or I haven’t played it yet. Can’t play ‘em all, you know! But with that out of the way, let’s take a look at my picks.
So I have to admit, I’ve never been a big Castlevania fan. So why did I get this collection? Well, one, it was on sale. Can’t resist a sale. Plus I wouldn’t have bought it full price being digital only. And two, I also love classic game collections period. And three, it has one game in the series that I do really like, and it’s my favorite Castlevania game ever. It’s also never been released in the US until now. Can you guess what it is? Well you’ll just have to read on to find out! So let’s take a look at every game on this collection! And let me know in the comments section what your favorite Castlevania game is.
Sometimes when I make a list of reviews I’ve written lately for these blogs, I notice they have a theme. This time I noticed that nearly all the games I’ve reviewed lately have strong female lead roles. We have Blaze Fielding, Cherry, and Estel Aguirre from Streets of Rage 4, Tifa from the FF7 Remake, Demelza and Nessa from Knights and Bikes, Tanya and Olga from Infinite: Beyond the Mind, and many more! So please click on the links and read as many reviews as you can, and maybe post a like or comment or two. And in the comments section here, tell me your favorite female video game characters. Can you guess mine?
I've actually been playing a lot, thanks to the Genesis Mini (even booted up the SNES Mini to play Secret of Mana yesterday), GameFly, and Yakuza, so I'm just going to dump brief takes on all the games I've been playing.
Merry Christmas everyone! It’s time once again for my annual Pretend Christmas Present Party! Here’s how it works: in the comments section, you give me a pretend Christmas present. It can be whatever you can imagine. It’s the thought that counts…literally! Then when I reply, I’ll give you a pretend present as well! It’s fun when it’s fun. Also, I have some more presents for you! New game reviews I’ve recently written at GamerDad.com! Just what you always wanted, right? Anyway, please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d really appreciate it, and seriously, doing those things is just as good as any old present you could give. So let’s get started!
BOO! OK so these reviews aren’t really that scary, but it is getting near Halloween so here’s my not-so-scary themed latest batch of reviews I’ve written recently over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin…if you dare!
Hey everybody! I’ve got more links to reviews I’ve written recently at GamerDad.com! I hope you get a chance to look at some of these especially, because I just got back from PAX South last week and wrote my article on that. Also managed to snag a box of Super Mario Cereal and wrote about it, and I got a few fairly high-profile game reviews, too. So please click on as many links as you can and maybe even post a like or comment or two. I’d really appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been over five years since I helped PixlBit ring in Final Fantasy’s 25th anniversary with an exhaustive retrospective series, but here we are. Even though I missed the actual 30th anniversary of my favorite game franchise, I couldn’t let that milestone pass without doing something to show my love for this epic saga. To that end, I submit to you, our dear readers, my ordered ranking of the fifteen main games in the series. Naturally, this excludes spinoffs like Final Fantasy Tactics and direct sequels like Lightning Returns, and this is very much my list and in no way is PixlBit’s definitive order. But hey, everyone loves a good list, right? Each game features a quick paragraph reprising some of the information from the FF Retrospective, and a more personal take on each entry. I hope you enjoy!
Last year, Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition, a smaller sized 8-bit NES shaped console with 30 classic games. It’s been notoriously hard to find, and I’ve been a bit bummed that I haven’t been able to get one. But I wasn’t TOO upset because most of the games I played on the NES were from Capcom, not Nintendo (Mega Man and Disney games). But the 16-bit Super Nintendo is my all-time favorite console ever. It was the gaming console that really cemented my preference for console games, and the system just clicked for me for some reason. So when Nintendo released the SNES Classic Edition in the same vein this year, I REALLY wanted to get it. Luckily, my family got it for me for my birthday! Nintendo DID say they were making more of the SNES Classic Edition, and I don’t know if that’s really true or not, or if we were just more prepared this time. But not only was I able to get one, but three of my brothers got one, too! So to celebrate me getting a SNES Classic Edition, here’s a blog about all the games on it!
Recently I reviewed The Disney Afternoon Collection. It’s a compilation of Capcom’s NES titles that were based on shows on The Disney Afternoon, a block of Disney cartoons that aired back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I really loved watching The Disney Afternoon as a kid, and I also enjoyed the NES games a lot, too. In fact, many of the games on this collection are more memorable to me than titles like Mario! They could’ve called this the Cary’s Childhood Collection! So I thought I’d go into more detail and share my memories of each of the NES games on this collection, and the cartoons they’re based on.
Welcome to another episode of Nerds Without Pants! I’m gonna level with you: this is either going to be your favorite episode of the year, or the thing that makes you yell at Julian, who has clearly gone mad with editing power. With that warning out of the way, let’s get to it!
Apparently, yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Street Fighter 2’s release. That would have been a much more interesting topic than the random thoughts I posted, but there you go. While I do wonder about how accurate this date is (we’re talking about a time when console game releases were done willy-nilly, to say nothing of the arcades), I do have some things to say about Street Fighter 2, and the franchise as a whole.
