Oregon Trail for the iPhone Brings Back Memories

Man, did anyone else remember playing Oregon Trail on old school computers back in the day? Because I remember playing the junk out of that in the library and in elementary school. My favorite was when like, you’d have a kid get cholera. And you’re still pushing on, trying to make it to the next area. And you get the messages.

Timmy has cholera.
Timmy has cholera.
Timmy has fever.
Jenny has died.

Wtf?! Jenny wasn’t even sick! Damn you, Oregon Trail! Anywho, the game is coming out for the iPhone and now I kind of want one just to play this game. Check out the trailer.

Today’s WTF: Man Takes Hostage With Sega Light Gun

segalightgunAh, the Sega light gun. What great games we might have played with you along the years for the Master system and beyond. We could play old school games like Gangster Town, Operation Wolf and even Rambo III. Apparently, we can also fool Brazilian police and take a hostage. Who knew?!

A few days ago, a Brazilian man took a 60 year old woman hostage a Sega light gun, trying to collect money back from a debt that was owed him. First he broke into her house, and then entered into a 10 hour standoff with police, before finally letting her go unharmed. I mean, really, the only damage he could have done to her would have been with the cord, I guess.

My question for this man is “seriously”? What did he even think was going to happen? This is truly WTF worthy, and I deem it so.

Source- Kotaku

Today’s Totally Awesome: Video Game Wallpapers

megaman1I’m a big fan of video game wallpapers. Really, I am. You should see the folder I’ve got, mostly full of some sweet MGS, Zelda, Halo, CSS and Mario backgrounds that I’ve got on my desktop. I rotate through these pretty regularly, and there’s nothing like painting your PC wallpaper with nostalgia-inducing pictures.

That’s why I was happy to see this awesome video game wallpapers gallery by DeviantArt user Otorio. They are superbly well done, and re-imagine some of our favorite retro games in new ways.

Particularly fascinating to me is the Braid-esque Super Mario shot, as well as the cyberpunk Mega Man depiction. Definitely worth checking out. Which one do you like most? And do you have a favorite video game wallpaper?

Source- Orioto’s Video Game Remakes

Retro Nintendo Customer Service Training Video

I love when all things retro surface again on the Internet, rising from their graves like some unholy zombie minion, ready to slay us with laughter and tales of times gone by. Today’s particularly retro minion comes courtesy of a 1991 Nintendo training video that helps people deal with customers with defective (or supposedly defective) products. Ah, remember back when that Nintendo seal meant something? Good times.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYjgHLFZMa0[/youtube]

The Goldeneye Achievements That Could Have Been

ge-360This list is actually kind of sad. You see, Goldeneye was supposed to be released for XBox Live Arcade at some point over the last year or so, but Microsoft and certain other parties couldn’t act like big boys and get the thing to happen. So as a result, we, the gamers missed out on the re-release of an old classic. I mean, imagine an XBL deathmatch in this game. Sigh.

An all too painful reminder of the Goldeneye that could have been graced the Intertubes today, namely in the form of supposedly leaked achievements.

While these aren’t the confirmed actual achievements from the game, the names seem to speak for themselves.

Continue reading The Goldeneye Achievements That Could Have Been

A Shadow of the Colossus Retrospective

sotcShadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite PS2 games, if not one of my favorite games, of all time. It is one of the prime examples of “games as art” that we have at this point, and might go down as the Citizen Kane of gaming, or something comparable. Everything from the design, to the story and the gameplay, all work in tandem to create a one of a kind experience.

However, not everyone has had the fortune of playing this fine piece of gaming history. Including the dudes over at Crispy Gamer, who have put up what is essentially a play-by-play of Shadow of the Colossus, as they go through it for the first time. It really is fascinating to read someone’s first time experiences of it as they beat each colossus, and it made me want to pick the game up and play it again after all these years.

Definitely worth the read. How many of you guys have played Shadow of the Colossus? How many would put it in your top 10 favorite games?

Source- Crispy Gamer

PC Games That Deserve Sequels

jediknightpcAh, PC gaming yesteryear. How I miss thee. No matter how much I love console gaming, there’s a part of me that will never leave PC gaming behind completely. Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of games that really make me want to jump back into it these days.

In honor of PC games gone by, Big Download has put together a list of 10 PC Games That Need to Make a Comeback. While I haven’t heard of all of the games on the list, I strongly agree with a couple that they have on there. Particularly Baldur’s Gate, Wing Commander, and the Jedi Knight games.

What about you guys? What PC games would you like to see sequels for? For me, Counter-Strike! It’s about time for a new one, darnit.

Source- Big Download

More Lyrical Madness, This Time With Mega Man 2

Putting lyrics to gaming songs might be one of the greatest new fads. Well, scratch that, it’s not really a fad, but it’s still totally awesome. Here’s another epic entry from brentalfloss, who also made the hilarious Tetris song. In this video, we see Mega Man 2, only with lyrics. He’ll save the effin’ day!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_7rmGlo-1U[/youtube]

Shattered Save Slots: Final Fantasy VII

ff7-1We’ve all got those gaming memories that mean a lot to us. Things that, as a kid or heck, even as an adolescent or adult, have affected us deeply. It’s these moments that we look back upon with wonder, that make us into who we are as gamers, and captured our hearts forever for this “hobby”.

But what happens when someone comes along to shatter that pixel-perfect image you have in your head? In Shattered Save Slots, we take a look at some of gaming’s most memorable moments, and come at them with sarcasm, perspective and brutality.

This week, Eddy looks back at one of his favorite all-time games, Final Fantasy VII. And Anthony comes to… well, poop on it.
Continue reading Shattered Save Slots: Final Fantasy VII

Retro: The Console Wars, Circa 1990

Ah, the console wars in 1990. Such a simpler time, for simple consoles. The biggest worry was if you should spend $100 on a Nintendo or not, or hold out for the uber-powerful 16 bit Sega Genesis. But wait! Nintendo’s super system is just around the corner, and it’s just as powerful.

Man, watching this video really shows what has happened to the industry in the last 18 years. Pretty wild.

Today’s WTF: Chrono Trigger at GameStop

As we all know, Chrono Trigger is considered to be one of the greatest RPGs, if not one of the greatest games of all time. It features a great cast, an epic storyline, and everyone’s favorite story trope, time travel. The game was just recently re-released on the Nintendo DS, and I absolutely can’t wait to pick it up.

However, apparently the re-release, according to GameStop, is slightly different from the version we all know and love. From their website:

If the physics depicted in TV and movies are correct, and we have no reason to doubt that, then messing with the time-space continuum always results in wacky adventures. Join Crono in this updated old-school favorite as he travels through time and space in order to go back to 1982 and throw a football over some mountains to win the state championship.

Wow. That sounds like it could be even better than the original. I’m not sure how long this will stay up on the GameStop website, so go check it out while you can!

Source- GameStop, via Kotaku

Top Old School NES Quotes

Sometimes I forget just how much I played my NES, and just how many games I managed not only to play, but to beat when I was just a wee lad. Summers and after school were times of massive NES playing time, and it seems that I got around to those games like a woman of loose morals.

This is all confirmed after reading SydLexia’s “50 NES Quotes Every Gamer Should Know”, which goes through a huge catalog of games (well, 50 to be precise) and dishes out some truly great gems. Everything from bad translations, goofy writing and more can be found from these old school NES games. To be honest, I’m really surprised by how many of these I played and owned. I totally remember the one from Rambo, the video game, for instance.

Totally worth a read if you were an NES dude like myself. What about you guys? Did you remember any of these?

Source- SydLexia

Sega to Sell Retro and Happiness

In news that is totally awesome, it seems that Sega is going to be packaging Sega games, Master games and 80’s arcade games in a hugely ridiculous bundle for sale on the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 in early 2009.

I know, this might sound like one of those “big effing deal” kind of things, but wait until you hear just how many games are going to be included. Forty. That’s right, the big four zero. It will include the three big Sonic games as well as Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, and more.

The Sega Genesis was one of my favorite systems ever, so it’s really great to hear this news. Basically, they will be selling me my childhood on a disc, and I will give them money hand over fist to remember those blissful halcyon days. Anyone else excited about this?

Source- Shacknews

EDIT: In a very “dude” worthy move, Sega has posted the official list of games for the Ultimate Collection. It has games like Comix Zone, Shinobi III, Vectorman (I and II), Shining Force II, Phantasy Star, Sonic, and way more. Check it out.

LBP: Final Fantasy VI, Terras Theme

Ah, more merry music-making from Little Big Planet. This time, the music is from Final Fantasy VI rather than X, which is a much better choice for nostalgia and awesome factor. I know it’s been stated a lot, but somehow it still seems appropriate- I’m dying to see what people do with the full release of this game.

Why Do You Love Your Favorite Console?

With apologies to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith…

Console War! Sony and Microsoft are battered by the ruthless onslaught of the Nintendo Wii. There are exclusives on all sides. Fanboys are everywhere!

So even the most non-partisan gamer has a favorite console. I hate the console wars, but I prefer my PS3 to all others. Why do you guys like your console?

Continue reading Why Do You Love Your Favorite Console?

Wii Punch-Out Trailer

Ah, the nostalgia begins. So far, Wii Punch Out is looking good. Really, they could just recreate the exact same game with some updated graphics and I’d be happy with it. Luckily, that’s about exactly what this seems to be. Hopefully it’s got a tad more depth though, and maybe a little bit more length on it.

Bravo Nintendo!

Mega Man Create-A-Boss

Now that Mega Man 9 has landed, it seems like the retro craze is firing up. I was a big fan of the Mega Man series on the original NES, so I’m really pumped to see this one finally out. Like we’ve said before, it seems that some styles of gaming never get old.

All of that lead up is to introduce a new app from Destructoid that is blowing my mind: the Mega Man 9 Boss Maker. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. You can mix, match, customize and name your own boss character for the Mega Man series, and it’s a blast.

Continue reading Mega Man Create-A-Boss