Category: Classics

What it Takes to Make a PSN Port

PS1

If you read anything that I say at all, you’ll know that I’m one of the constant voices clamoring for digital releases of old games. While I prefer these to be restored in pristine HD, I don’t even care if that’s the case, as I would love the chance to play them at any resolution at all. You can count me as one of the people that is obnoxious about this, as I never have understood what the hold up is on these old school classics. In my head, just take the code and slap it online, yes?

Actually, that’s ridiculously wrong. Fortunately for the ignorant masses, Sony has come along with a great piece of transparency and released some thoughts about the process of converting PS1 classics to the PSN store. I found it a really cool article, and it shed some light on a few issues that I didn’t know existed. For instance, what happens when a particular product is featured in a game, but the license on its use has run out? What happens when the developer that made the game no longer exists, or if the game is bugged when they convert it, and nobody is left that can drop what they’re doing to fix it?

Anyway, I thought I’d share the article because of how informative it was. I honestly had no idea that the process had so many tricks to it, so it’s nice to know they are actively working on it. What do you guys think? Any other classic games you’d love to have in digital formats?

Source – Playstation Blog

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 17: “Sup, Bitches?”

It’s a new edition of the GamerSushi Show, ladies and gents. While 17 is not a very special number to celebrate (except for dog lovers in Canada, apparently), we’re still happy to be releasing these podcasts every week, despite our general apathy towards doing things. And really, that’s an achievement in and of itself.

In the not-so-remarkable-but-still-excellent 17th episode, we chat about a number of gaming topics, including: Sony’s NGP, Dead Space 2, Bulletstorm, Crysis 2 and Game Dev Story. We also play a whopping two games this week instead of the usual one from our friendly beard. This week, Anthony drops in with a game where we guess about a classic review. Likewise, Nick gives us a game of Grades, where we rate industry happenings. We also talk about the Social Network at some point in there, I think, unless it got cut by Nick’s merciless editing.

Anyway, give it a listen and please rate the podcast on iTunes as well. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 17: “Sup, Bitches?”

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Rumor: Metal Gear Solid Trilogy Gets the HD Treatment

Metal Gear Solid 2

Following a recent (and awesome) trend of re-working classic games to be displayed in high-definition — the purest and most joy-bringing of all definitions — it seems that Solid Snake could soon grace our HDTV’s. That’s right, Kojima-ites: rumors have surfaced from the UK’s Official PlayStation Magazine that an HD version of the Metal Gear Solid series is on its way to the PS3.

As this post is so tagged, this is most certainly a rumor in the truest sense. I am busy trying to contain my joy at the thought of playing MGS 1 and MGS 3 in full HD splendor, particularly the latter of the two, as it’s been years since I’ve experienced it. There’s no release window or price attached to these whispers, but hopefully this turns out to be true, and we’ll start seeing some more information shortly. And more importantly: will it have crab battles?

I feel I am owed a congratulations for getting through this entire post without a proper “squee” of delight. Who else is hoping this news is true?

Source – CVG

Today’s WTF: Pac-Man: The Reality Show

Pac Man TV show

Yes, this is real. No, I am not laughing. OK, maybe a little.

I’ll bet when you think of Pac-Man chasing some ghosts around a little light maze full of strange pellets, you never thought that someone would try to turn that already ridiculous concept into an even more ridiculous reality TV show. According to Deadline, Merv Griffin Entertainment is trying to do just that. They are teaming up with Namco to produce this no doubt amazing TV revolution.

Says Roy Bank, Merv Griffin’s TV president:

The idea we have is to take what Pac-Man is and bring it to life, to bring what is essentially the world’s biggest game of tag to television.

I see no idea how this could possibly be anything other but awesome. What say you?

Source – Deadline

GamerSushi Asks: Ideal Collector’s Editions?

Super Mario 25th Anniversary

Nintendo won over the fanboys with their 25th Anniversary Edition of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii. Well, not all of them. As seen in this 1UP article, Nintendo screwed up royally by porting the games over with a bare minimum of extra content. Don’t get me wrong: the CD and booklet were pretty cool, but one track from each Mario game, usually the track of the first level? Not exactly what I thought I was getting.

Which leads me to wonder, as the article does, of what publishers could throw in to special editions of games to make them more worthwhile. The fabled Developer’s Commentary is always a favorite that people clamor for, but is oddly rare. Lost levels, playable ones even, would be kind of cool.

What would you like to see in collector’s editions? Do you think Nintendo missed a great opportunity here or are you happy with what they provided? Speak now!

Source: 1UP

Nintendo Busts Out Jazz Renditions of Classic Themes

Nintendo has a lot of great franchises under their belt, and all of them have instantly memorable themes. Perhaps the most iconic of these, besides the Mario over-world theme, is the music from the Legend of Zelda of series. Ocarina of Time seems to be a veritable gold mine of classic songs, and at a recent gathering called Nintendo World, Ninty assembled a bunch of musicians to play a jazzed up version of the many songs found in Zelda.

Pretty wicked, if you ask me. Also, I really appreciate the saxophone player’s Street Fighter-themed dress shirt. Two more awesome mash-ups after the jump! Continue reading Nintendo Busts Out Jazz Renditions of Classic Themes

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing, 2011 Edition

Back to the Future PSN

Time to check in, folks. We are officially done with our break.

January is already underway, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to slow down on playing games. In fact, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been playing more games lately than I’ve played in awhile. It’s been a total blast getting to spend time on the games I got for Christmas, and I’m really excited about some things that are coming up.

For me, I’ve been playing Red Dead Undead Nightmare, and am about to finish that tonight, actually. I’ve also been playing some Halo: Reach mutliplayer, Lost Odyssey, and I finally jumped into “My Player” mode on NBA 2K11, which is some of the most addicting sports play I’ve ever experienced. Seriously, even if you don’t like sports games, you might want to check it out. In the immediate future, I have plans to knock out Final Fantasy VI on the GBA, and I’m probably going to grab Call of Duty: Black Ops this weekend as well as the Back to the Future PSN game.

What are you playing these days? Have you finished those Christmas games? Are you trying to clear out the backlog to get ready for 2011’s steady stream of great releases? Go!

One Man Versus the Super Mario Galaxy Soundtrack

I have made plenty of snarky remarks in the past about the nature of the Internet and how it gravitates towards certain viral videos. One of the trends that I dislike is the way everyone clamors over every single cover of the original Super Mario Bros. theme. It’s completely lost any magic it once had for me.

However, this is something different. This is one dude (Diwa de Leon) covering a medley of Super Mario Galaxy’s excellent original score. Yes, he voices/plays all the instruments himself. And yes, I’m impressed. You should be, too.

Ranking the Best Co-Op Video Games

Left 4 Dead co-op

If there’s one thing that we’re crazy about here at GamerSushi, it’s the wonder of co-op gaming. I’m surprised you guys aren’t sick of hearing about me always talk about how much I love playing games with other people. I don’t know if co-op’s just that fun or if I’m just that sad and lonely, but either way, I want to marry it.

UGO recently added a new list to their site about the 25 Best Co-Op Games of all time, and it’s interesting as a study of the wide variety of co-op games we’ve seen over gaming history. Really, the NES, Sega Genesis and SNES days had a lot more co-op gaming than I gave them credit for, which makes a lot of sense considering how much my friends and I used to play together. Toe Jam and Earl is one the list reminded me of that I hadn’t considered in a long time.

It’s actually pretty difficult to quantify my favorite co-op experiences of all time. There’s so many to choose from. For this gen it would be Resident Evil 5 (no jokes, wise guys), Guardian of Light, Crackdown and Left 4 Dead.

What about you guys? What do you think of this list? I know we’ve asked this before, but what are your favorite co-op games you’ve ever played?

Source – UGO

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

X Men

You’ve probably noticed a bit of a slow down on the site, and that’s mostly intentional. Since the holidays are rolling in with a vengeance, we’ll still be posting but there will be a tad bit of down time as we take a break and recharge for 2011. There should be a podcast posted in the next couple of days, and maybe a couple of features and news posts as we see them, but overall we’re going to be playing lots of games just like you guys. It’s been a pretty awesome year for us here at the ‘Sushi, and we’re looking forward to next year even more.

So, now that that’s out of the way, what are you guys playing? Right now, I’m working on Dead Rising 2 like a crazy person. I beat the game last weekend and now I’m just rolling through and trying to level up and pick up some extra achievements. In addition to that, I’m on the cusp of finishing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (affectionately known as AssBro by Mitch). I’ve even been playing the re-released X-Men arcade game over XBL with Anthony, which has been a good time. I can’t wait to get some more gaming out of the way.

And you dudes? What are you guys playing?

Rooster Teeth’s Immersion is Back With Side Scroller

I’ve always enjoyed the stuff Rooster Teeth has put out, and their new series Immersion is probably my favorite of the bunch. While I don’t like their machinima as much as a certain series by a different team (raise, please), Rooster Teeth makes an effort to stay fresh and reinvent themselves. In this week’s episode of Immersion, the RT team test how well someone can perform on an obstacle course in 2D vision in the vein of Super Mario Bros.

What did you guys think of this weeks episode?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Outsells Everything, Ever

Black Ops

Yikes. So apparently, Call of Duty: Black Ops isn’t only a fairly good time and a fun game to play, it also cures cancer, makes sandwiches and prints out posters of Christina Hendricks. Wait, no. It doesn’t actually do all that other stuff. So why in the world are people buying it like the future of the free world depends on it?

Regardless of the reason, Call of Duty: Black Ops has sold over 14 million copies worldwide, and more than 8.4 million in the U.S. alone. That means that it has barely passed the likes of great gaming staples such as the Mass Effect and Uncharted series combined. It’s also sold more than Grand Theft Auto 3, Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid. And Halo 3. So maybe that doesn’t mean it’s outsold everything, ever (the Super Mario games will probably always stay on top), but dang if this isn’t still impressive.

It’s seriously hard to wrap my head around the sheer juggernaut capabilities of the Call of Duty franchise. Every year it gains more and more steam, and it’s hard to imagine that it won’t outlive its welcome some time in the next few years. That being said, I plan on buying it soon.

Who’s still loving this game which is apparently the Chosen One of all things video game, ever?

Source – Kotaku

Gaming’s Most Bizarre Endings

Solidus Snake

There’s nothing more satisfying than beating a video game that you’ve been sinking a lot of time into. For me, watching the resolution of all of those hours of gameplay is pure bliss, especially if it comes on the heels of some long dungeon grinding or a particularly epic boss fight to tie off the whole experience. I love that feeling of setting the controller, and then kicking back to see what kind of ending I earned. You know, unless that ending sucks.

Sadly, this has happened more times than ought to, and I think the most recent examples of this for me would be Alan Wake. My wife even looked over at me after it was finished and asked if I was mad, following that question up with “I would be if I just played that crap.” Usually, when I’m slapped in the face with a bad ending, I just kind of stare at my TV in shock rather than anger. I don’t know, maybe I hope there’s a secret ending hidden somewhere.

It seems that I’m not the only one who’s experienced bad endings though, seeing as how UGO put together a list of the 11 Weirdest Game Endings of all time. Here’s a hint: MGS2 is number 1, because of that weird Solidus Snake business. Definitely worth the read, and you’ll be able to laugh at it alot, unless of course you played those games and were burned by them.

What game endings have left you dissatisfied with the outcome? Any games that were particularly weird? Go!

Source – UGO

GamerSushi Asks: Favorite Sleepers of 2010?

Pac Man

Every year, there’s a bunch of games that seem to slip through our nets as gamers. As frantic as we are about our hobby, there’s absolutely no way we can manage to grab or buy everything so that we can get a full sample of the year for review. I know that in my life, I pretty much have to narrow down my buys to a handful of games and really cut it off there, for fear of an angry wife or an empty checkbook.

Because of this whole “not enough money and time” thing that reality constantly slams us with, occasionally a few great games slip by the wayside. On top of that, sometimes the gaming media at large doesn’t always properly cover everything in a way that highlights some of the greats. They tend to focus on the Halo: Reach’s, the Valve games, the Call of Duty’s out there while ignoring some of the other sleepers.

For instance, I keep hearing things about the following games: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Vanquish, Enslaved, Super Meat Boy, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent for PC, but haven’t been able to see or play any of these games as of yet. I think that needs to change.

So what do you guys think? Do you have a favorite sleeper hit of 2010 so far? Is there a game that you’ve been loving lately (or even earlier) that doesn’t always seem to get a lot of buzz? Share!

Dorkly Celebrates Health Item Brawls

One gaming related thing that I miss are the side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade games of my youth, the ones based off my favorite cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The one aspect of that that I don’t miss, however, is the inevitable fight that would ensue whenever a healing item popped up on screen. Even if I was only playing with one other person, we would eventually come to blows. Etiquette is the person with the lowest health gets the item, but we all know it’s survival of the fittest. Dorkly brings back our four favorite Turtles for a trip down memory lane.

Classic Video Game Characters Race

Here’s a little Thanksgiving gift from us to you (via some dude named Eyspire on YouTube). It’s not a “scientific” race of which set of pixels would win, but it is a stroll down memory lane with a surprise ending.

Enjoy, and Happy Turkey Day to our American users.

[youtube width=”500″ height=”310″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF_3Hyb6IfU[/youtube]

Gaming in the Age of Information Overload

Grand Theft Auto 3The year is 2001. On a rainy October day, I run from the parking lot into the dorm, covering my head with a Best Buy shopping bag as I try to avoid getting swallowed up by the weather. After a not-so-quick elevator trip, I’m in my dorm room, tearing into the packaging of a Playstation 2 game. I curse once or twice as I pull at those little security labels, the ones that cling to your fingers like plastic mosquitoes and refuse to let go.

As the game spins to life, I am in a city. Just like the world beyond my windows, the world in the looking glass of my TV is consumed by rain. Soon enough, I am pulling motorists out of their vehicles with ease. I’m causing mayhem. I can go anywhere I want. I learn fairly quickly that this world has a name: Liberty City. The game I’m playing is Grand Theft Auto 3, and this is the first time I have ever seen it in motion. The experience waiting for me catches me completely off guard. Continue reading Gaming in the Age of Information Overload

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is on PSN Today

Prince of Persia Sands of Time

Sometimes, the things you wish for in life come true and today is one of those days. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, one of the most critically acclaimed games of the last generation, will be released on the PSN when it updates later today, for the low price of $14.99. Clearly, someone up there is paying attention to silent prayers. Now, if only Jessica Alba would knock on the door…

This is no simple port of the PS2 title, but a 720p resolution and Trophies as well. And if you are really insane, it’s 3D enabled, but let’s face it, I am talking to myself with that one. The following two games in the PoP trilogy, The Warrior Within (meh) and The Two Thrones (thumbs up!) will be available in December. Personally, I will be downloading this tonight as the Sands of Time is one of my all-time favorites and if I reviewed it back in the day, I would give it an S.

Is anyone excited about this or going to download any of these games? Did you play it in the first place or are you looking to play it for the first time? Commence!

Source: Playstation Blog

I Miss Cheat Codes

Konami Code

The Konami Code. The Blood Code. Debug mode in Sonic 2. Great relics of my youth, tall bastions of gaming greatness. These are a few of my favorite things.

Or at least they were, back when cheat codes were still the cool thing to do. Growing up, finding ridiculous cheats was like taking the shackles off of a game, making it some feral beast that could do what it willed. Why, you could see Lara Croft’s pixel jubblies. Or spawn a tank in GTA III. Or become completely unstoppable and play Doom on Nightmare with God Mode turned on (my personal favorite).

Anyway, seeing the news that Goldeneye 007 has a big head mode stirred up whatever center of my brain produces nostalgia. Seriously, whatever happened to cheat codes? Are they still a part of games and I’m just missing them, or what?

What are some of your favorite cheat codes in video games?

Source – Kotaku

Where You Thought Gaming Would Be

Back to the Future 2Over the last few weeks, I’ve been on something of a Back to the Future kick. I suppose this may have something to do with the classic trilogy’s recent release on Blu-ray, or simply because I am a science fiction nut that loves awesome movies. Regardless, there is something about the movies that always strikes me when I watch them, especially when dealing with Back to the Future II’s projections about the future.

If for some reason you’re not remember correctly, or a large rock fell on your head and deleted megabytes from your brain, Back to the Future II has some fairly outlandish predictions about where humanity’s technology and sense of style was supposed to be in the year 2015. The notable (and laughable) examples would be that of shoes that tie themselves, flying cars, and home fusion reactors.

While this movie is obviously a comedy, it’s still something that I think that people tend to do in general when we talk about the future: in some ways we wildly over project, and in others we are floored by things we never thought of. The same is true for video games. Continue reading Where You Thought Gaming Would Be