This is the fifth book in the Landmark Video Games series. These are more academic looks at video games and video game series. They’re shorter books that don’t always dig as deep into the games as they could. With Mortal Kombat, David Church does a good job explaining what Mortal Kombat did for video gamesContinue reading “Games of Death: David Church’s Mortal Kombat Book”
Tag Archives: Retro Games
PaRappa the Rapper by Mike Sholars | Book Review
PaRappa the Rapper by Mike Sholars has become one of my favorite books from Boss Fight Books. This is one of the more personal stories that includes the game’s history. While this is a look at the history of a video game, Mike includes how PaRappa the Rapper impacted his life. He also talks aboutContinue reading “PaRappa the Rapper by Mike Sholars | Book Review”
WCW’s NES Game is a Hidden Gem
Did you know there was a WCW game on the NES? You probably knew about it, but this was my first time playing it. WCW was the more reality-based wrestling promotion in the 80s and early 90s, for the most part. They did have some cartoon characters, but they weren’t taken all that seriously. TheContinue reading “WCW’s NES Game is a Hidden Gem”
Minesweeper by Kyle Orland | A Deep Dive into a Simple Game
Minesweeper is one of those games that you might forget about, especially since it was given away for free in the 90s. If you bought a computer with Windows, you would get a copy of the game. This is a game that I didn’t know much about the history behind it. It was a versionContinue reading “Minesweeper by Kyle Orland | A Deep Dive into a Simple Game”
The Best Wrestling Game on the NES
Pro Wrestling is the best wrestling game on the NES. It has the best roster of wrestlers, and in many ways, it is ahead of the other wrestling games. The game isn’t saddled with a licensed property, like WWF or WCW, so it could be its own thing. However, it was given a generic nameContinue reading “The Best Wrestling Game on the NES”
Heavy Barrel, A Shoot’em Up Hidden Gem
Run and Gun shooters are a somewhat forgotten subgenre of shooters. You don’t see too many modern games emulating this style of gameplay. When I think of this group of games, I think about Commando and Contra. Heavy Barrel is one of the games that I didn’t know about until I started collecting video games.Continue reading “Heavy Barrel, A Shoot’em Up Hidden Gem”
WWF Wrestlemania on the NES is a Classic, but Not Great
WWF Wrestlemania is the first professional wrestling game that I remember playing. Is it as good as I remember it being? No, it isn’t, but I think it is a product of its time. The game is more like an arcade beat’em up or a prototype for a fighting game. You have a limited moveContinue reading “WWF Wrestlemania on the NES is a Classic, but Not Great”
The Lawsuit Over Street Fighter II and Fighter’s History
Have you ever wondered why some mechanics get repeated in video games? How can one company make a clone of a popular game, and nothing happens? It is an interesting story that includes several lawsuits. Like many things in the history of video games, it starts with Atari but gets more interesting in the lateContinue reading “The Lawsuit Over Street Fighter II and Fighter’s History”
Monsters in the Grass: A First Generation Pokemon Retrospective
Pokemon is one of those franchises that became a cultural phenomenon for a few years. It came to North America at just the right time when anime was getting popular, RPGs were becoming extremely popular, and even trading card games (TCG) were catching on. Pokemon had everything needed to become a media empire. I gotContinue reading “Monsters in the Grass: A First Generation Pokemon Retrospective”
Best Shoot’em Ups on the SNES
Shooters, Shoot’em ups, or Shmups were a staple of the 80s and 90s. Many of the arcade games from this period were brought to the home console. Some made improvements to the arcade design, while most were straight ports of the arcade games. The SNES isn’t the system I associate with the genre. Even inContinue reading “Best Shoot’em Ups on the SNES”