jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2731 Posts

Metal Jesus made a video ranking the most under rated consoles and after watching the video I wondered what would be on my list? Frankly I don't think many consoles are as under rated as they were unpopular. The Wii U wasn't very popular but I think it's fairly well loved for being a low seller. What consoles do you think deserve more love than they get? I'd also put the Ouya on my list as well as it proved there was a market for indie games on your TV and then Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo noticed and then allowed anyone to publish to their systems.


Dwarf Fortress is one of the coolest games I've ever heard of but is so incredibly evolved i'm somewhat nervous to try it. Like D&D i've gone so long admiring it and not playing it I get lost admiring the complexity and lack of starting it.

That said, one highlight of going to PAX West a handful of years ago was talking with Tarn Adams for a good while about Dwarf Fortress and watching this recent No Clip video reminded me of that PAX. Tarn is a fun developer to listen to and Dwarf Fortress is one of those games that even if you might not have played it it's still an impressive feat and if games are considered art, and I think they are, Dwarf Fortress would rank at the tippy top of that list.


We are in the age of classic game remasters and as many of these remasters are of games I love I enjoy the trend. The Command & Conquer Remastered Collection brings the original game + Red Alert a new coat of paint and a lot of really impressive tech under the hood to breathe life into these classic games. Personally I've played Red Alert the most and consider it to be one of the best RTS games around. It refined the original game and spun up the crazy style of Command & Conquer that was later made even better in Red Alert 2.

As usual Digital Foundry has run the new games through their paces and give them fantastic marks. Plus the collection is only $20 on Steam so why not give these classics a try?

"It may be 25-years-old, but Command & Conquer remains one of the greatest strategy games ever made - and the recently released remaster is a simply exceptional piece of work. Alex Battaglia has the full lowdown on the modernisation of a stone-cold classic."


Be excellent to each other.


YouTube Retro Game Reviewer Bobdunga dropped an incredible retrospective on the legacy of the Mavis Beacon series of educational PC games. I'd put the Mavis Beacon games next to some of the great educational games such as The Oregon Trail, Odell Lake, Number Munchers and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Even if you've never experienced the Mavis Beacon series of games you should treat yourself to Bobdunga's retrospective as it highlights the importance of these games to the early Internet and computing.

"This week, we take a look at the classic Toolworks program known as Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, which I'm sure many of us who were born in the 90s remember to some capacity! I take you through the history, inception, and legacy of the fictional typing instructor! Stay tuned to the end for a little surprise! ;)"


BioShock: The Collection released on Switch recently which contains BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite plus all the DLC. There have been some questions about what's included if you decide to buy the Switch physical release and I do want to say that the box does come with a game cart and that game cart has the opening acts of all 3 games. I can confirm all three games do play just fine BUT if you want to play the full games you will have to download the full games clocking in at 31GB. So if you don't care about owning a box to put on your shelf the digital release does make sense to get.

I played BioShock Infinite when it was ported to Mac and all the DLC but the original BioShock game has always been something I've wanted to play to the end. When I heard about the Switch release of The BioShock Collection that seemed to be a good time to jump in and I have to say that Rapture looks and plays fantastically on the Switch. Is it as good as playing on a top of the line PC? No. But I did play the original BioShock for a handful on minutes on the PS3 and I can't tell a huge difference between the PS3 and Switch in handheld mode. Plus kicking back on the couch and playing BIOSHOCK in handheld just seems like some magic.

I've only clocked in a bit of time on the game itself and so far it's a fantastic experience. The dark tone and storytelling are top notch but for a game that came on in 2007 that's hardly new information.

If you've played BioShock a ton already this Switch release might not excite you but this collection brings three awesome games to Switch giving it a wider audience of younger gamers ready for something a bit different.

2K released a few older games to Switch recently along with The BioShock Collection including The Borderlands Collection and XCom 2. As a huge Borderlands fan I do plan on picking that one up as well because I love collection well ported games on the Switch I want to play again.


LGR is one of those really unique YouTube channels that focuses on all kinds of retro tech and one of his latest videos hit me right in the feels. My Grandmother had an IBM PC XT 286 and it was one of the coolest computers I used as a kid because it was my first experience dialing up a BBS. On one visit to my Grandmothers she showed her new computer that could dial up the Library and that you could search through the book catalog and put something on hold. The whole process of dialing up the library was magical and I remember staying up late just searching the library for books like The Hobbit and The Big Friendly Giant. There wasn't much to do beyond looking for books but the next time I came over I had a few BBS numbers and dialed those up and tried a fun game called Legend of the Red Dragon which was the inspiration for Tale of the White Wyvern.

The IBM PC XT 286 is a beautiful computer and LGR is able to restore one to working order from the parts of two systems he had around. If I had more space in my house i'd have more classic PC systems so until then I can dream vicariously through him.

"Cleaning, upgrading, and overall reinvigorating a vintage IBM computer system from 1986! The Model 5162 here is a bit of an uncommon beast at this point, combining the classic case design of the XT with the 286 internals of an IBM AT. Let's fix it!


"Noclip travels to France and Texas to tell the story of Arkane's twenty year history. Featuring exclusive first looks at the gameplay of three cancelled projects; The Crossing, LMNO & the Half-Life spin-off "Ravenholm"."

Noclip, the YouTube documentary channel is back at it with a very strong documentary about Arcane Studios the creators of Dishonored and Prey. One thing I didn't know before watching this was that Arcane was working on a Half-Life 2 episode that featured Father Gregory that looked pretty damn cool until Valve cancelled it.


If you somehow missed playing Borderlands 2 or Borderlands The Pre-Sequel or simply don't own them on PC yet you are in luck as they are both free on the Epic Store.

Borderlands 2 is one of the best looter shooters and the Pre-Sequel is well worth checking out and now that they are free it's even better.

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/bundles/borderlands-the-handsome-collection


If you were looking for some new to you retro games to play Nintendo Online is getting 4 new ones on May 20th in Wild Guns, Panel de Pon and Operation Logic Bomb on Super Nintendo and Rygar on Nintendo.

Rygar is a classic Nintendo title I've yet to try and am interesting in giving it a go but Wild Guns has my attention. Apparently Wild Guns is a space western shooting gallery game that looks incredible. Plus if you've played for Nintendo Online free is a great price.