SPEGA

Little Big Planet demo (PS3)….I rented this before a while back but played very little of it. Graphics and presentation are through the roof, and it’s a decent platformer, but I can’t see myself investing a lot of time into this one.

Katamari something demo (PS3)….I dislike these games and after not playing one for a couple years, here was an immediate reminder. Deleto.

Street Fighter II (Wii VC)….I picked up a Wii classic controller pro today (import). I haven’t ever played much VC because (a) I was never comfortable with the original classic controller, (b) I don’t like the Wavebird’s d-pad, and (c) I bought a Nyko wireless “Wing” controller which I found to be unbelivably cheap and plasticky. Although IMO the pro is not a radical improvement over the original classic controller, I found it much more comfortable to hold and enjoyed a lenghty VC session. Really, it’s pretty much the same controller with handles and better shoulder buttons. Snap on handles for $5 probably would have done just as well (I paid $30 for the controller). You still have to plug it into the Wiimote. Worst of all, the thing has a glossy finish and is already covered in fingerprints. The current obsession for glossy electronics has me flummoxed. Still, as they say, “the play’s the thing”, and I found the VC experience much more tolerable with the new controller.

Star Fox 64 (Wii VC)….this game looks amazing in 480p. Couldn’t they have come up with a better controller scheme for this? Why are there only 16 N64 games on VC?

The Club (PS3)

SPEGA

Tough week, not much gaming.

For 9-5:

South Jersey Classic, Dreamcast birthday edition. I knew I should have written this up immediately after. Played the following: Gunbird 2, Ready to Rumble, Hydro Thunder, Propeller Arena, Bust a Move 4, Sega Swirl. I had played all these before save for Sega Swirl, which I enjoyed. Gunbird 2 and Ready to Rumble were somewhat better than I remember. I never cared for Hydro Thunder. I performed poorly in the Propeller Arena tournament…I should have practiced the night before instead of playing Radiant Silvergun again.

week of 9-6 to 9-10: Very little gaming time, I played Scrabble on the DS a little bit.

For 9-11 (still typing that date gives me a bad feeling):

Vectrex games….since I changed my computer set up (I used to have it right here on my desk until the PS3 moved in)  I haven’t been playing Vectrex much, so after a few non-gaming days it seemed like a good night to catch up. I played Patriots, Cosmic Chasm, Solar Quest, Minestorm, and Birds of Prey. I’m not a big fan of Birds of Prey, but tonight I found it evoked feelings of nostalgia…something about that game really brings me back….I don’t know if it’s the graphics, the sound, or what, but the game feels more 80s arcadey than Phoenix itself. The game can only be controlled by buttons so I had to remove my modified Genny pad for a real Vectrex controller, which was an annoyance. I can only complain so much about a Vec homebrew though, I’m just grateful to have them.

Bejeweled 2 demo (PS3)…I played Sega Swirl for quite a while last Saturday so I thought I might take on another puzzle game until I get a chance to pick that up. This ain’t it, but it’s pleasant enough to stay on my hd.

The Club (PS3)

SPEGA (just because 9-9-09 has passed is no reason for me to give up on SPEGA yet, but real life has clearly taken over at this time. There’s always 10-10-10).

for 9-2 and 9-3:

Scrabble (NDS)….good Scrabble game

Peggle (NDS)….it’s safe to say I don’t get it as this just seemed to be about watching a ball bouncing around rather than playing a game. Reminded me a bit of Video Pinball on the VCS.

for 9-4:

Defender (cab)

Radiant Silvergun (Sat)

Wet (demo PS3)….enough with the jumping, sliding, running up walls and shooting. The 90s are over.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (demo PS3)…decent demo. Graphics and presentation are through the roof. I’m just not a fan of story-driven stuff like this, but I enjoyed it for what it is.

SPEGA

for 8-31-09:

Scrabble (NDS)

for 9-1:

Taito Legends (PS2)…I played Jungle Hunt, which was at least well emulated, although I can’t say much for the game. Liked this one a lot when I was a kid for some reason. Also played Operation Wolf and Alien Gun (or some other generic sounding gun game). This was a somewhat better session than the other night. Played Space Invaders too. For some reason whenever I play SI I always finish the first level then quit.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (PS3)…an impulse purchase in GameStop the other day, I am now in posession of the box for this downloadable game. I thought it was neat that I could by a box for a game that doesn’t need one, so I did. I’m not very impressed with the game (loved it on the Dreamcast), I’m just too accustomed to SFIV to get into this. And the pixelation is pretty bad. I could’ve sworn these sprites were much bigger on the DC.

The Club (PS3)

SPEGA

Very little gaming this week, sadly. On Wednesday night I played Shatter (PS3). Over the course of the week I played Metroid Prime Pinball and GTA: Chinatown Wars a few times.

For 8-29:

I didn’t make it to NAVA for reasons I don’t want to go into. I was not happy and I eagerly await the September event.

Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (Wii)…I think I’m fast becoming a Wii hata. I really have not enjoyed the last few Wii games I have tried. Here’s an example…at the beginning of this pinball game it insists that you plug in the nunchuk. Why? Do you mean to tell me there’s not a way to play a PINBALL game without the stupid nunchuck? I mean, wasn’t this Wii system supposed to be easy to use? Why do I have to stand on my head and plug in a bunch of junk every time I want to play something? Anyway, this game stinks. I played the Gottlieb game before which I thought was a joke, but this Williams game got pretty good notices. The navigation in this game is a pain in the neck, utilizing every button on the Wiimote. Honestly. Then when you play the game there’s vibration, but naturally it’s only in the Wiimote even though you use the nunchuk to control the left flipper. What a dumb set up. Anyway, the game is just like the Gottlieb game, with unresponsive flippers and a ball that responds like a rock. Tradeboxed.

Taito Legends (PS2)…tonight’s second disappointment. Let me quote my earlier comments about Taito Legends 2: “And it’s all so simple…lots of games, a sensible interface, good emulation, short load times, good control….why are there so few compilations that meet these basic requirements?” TL is one of those that doesn’t meet the basic requirements. The interface makes you scroll cabs left to right. Fine, show me the cab, great, but not so it takes forever to find a game (it’s better than that one Midway collection with the glyphs though….what the hell were they thinking?). Now, emulation. The first game I fired up was Zookeeper. Finally, a console version of this overlooked classic. Oh wait. The sound is bad. There’s slowdown. Why does it look choppy? Seriously? Zookeeper? This is a game that should have been done to near perfection on the NES. Next I tried Phoenix. Something off about that one too. I’ll give it another chance later, but we’re off to a poor start here.

The Club (PS3)…simply one of my favorite games of this generation. Elite gamers brace yourselves….I had so much more fun with this tonight than I did with The Orange Box last weekend.

SPEGA

for 8-22:

GTA Chinatown Wars (NDS)

for 8-23:

Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)

Wii Play (Wii)

For 8-20:

Metroid Prime Pinball (NDS)

GTA Chinatown Wars (NDS)….Have I mentioned this is my favorite GTA game since Vice City. Fits the DS perfectly.

For 8-21:

Pac-Man (cab)

Wii Play….played the fishing game during The Orange Box’s lengthy loading process

The Orange Box (PS3)….I bought this at Circuit City’s closeout sale to give you some idea how long it has been in my backlog. I started with Half Life 2, which I played a few years ago on the original Xbox. I have the same feeling about it tonight as I did then; the graphics, sound, and control are supreme. There hasn’t been a game since that has even come close. If the game was all shooting action a la Doom or Halo, it would be a masterpiece. Unfortunately there is also the tedious “story” (the game takes far too long to get going), the extremely linear movement through the game (almost on-rails at times), those lousy camera robots that fly in your face, and worst of all an abundance of water sequences. At times it’s like an Aquaman game. And it’s a shame. This should have been the best game of the 2000s (HL2 that is, The Orange Box has much left for me to discover).

SPEGA

Whoa. I know I’ve been busy lately, but I was really surprised to see my last entry was on 8-14.

For 8-15 to 8-18 I only played Metroid Prime Pinball (NDS) and GTA: Chinatown Wars (NDS)

For 8-19:

Radiant Silvergun (SAT): I realized today this game has two flaws (and only two). First flaw; you can’t reset from the pause menu. I hate that. Second flaw; the wheel boss that shoots those little flame balls is way too hard. Up to that point the game is not that tough, then all of a sudden…wham.

Doom (3DO): I played this for a last minute DP zine project. Not as horrible as I remember it being. I dig the music!

SPEGA

On 8-12 and 8-13 I only played Metroid Prime Pinball (NDS)

For 8-14:

Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)

Asteroids (cab)

Crime Patrol (PSone)

Great session on this Friday night…3 hours passed in an instant. After RS and Asteroids my hands were severely hurting. Simply 2 of the very best games ever made. I played Crime Patrol on the PS3 for the first time, surprisingly the graphics still look pretty good, and the DS3 controller worked nicely.

SPEGA

Metroid Prime Pinball (NDS)

Shatter (PS3)

Wipeout HD Fury (PS3)…one complaint, about Wipeout games in general…why does the autopilot continue to drive you into mines? This has been going on since Wipeout XL. Are they ever going to fix it?

Crime Patrol (PSone)….I finally wised up and started writing down passcodes for this instead of starting from the beginning every time.

SPEGA