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So with E3 and the big tech season passing through theres

So with E3 and the big tech season passing through there's one aspect I'm really intrigued with: game engines.

Epic has released info on Unreal engine 4.

http://youtu.be/OZmRt8gCsC0?hd=1

Square Enix has release a tech demo called Agni's Philosophy as well as posted job openings for next-gen game engine development.

http://youtu.be/UVX0OUO9ptU?hd=1
http://www.square-enix.com/na/careers/getech/

I'm curious what your thoughts are on the two. I'm blown away as always with the textures and animation in most everything Enix does. Epic on the other hand is doing fantastic things with lighting and color. That's pretty funny considering how brown, dull, and dark their games are, but... Read All

Add this nesmaps.com to your awesome list. They have entire

http://nesmaps.com/maps/Contra/ContraMapStage1.png

Add this nesmaps.com to your awesome list. They have entire screen shots of popular NES games for your enjoyment. The above image is Contras first level.

A few awesome maps:

http://nesmaps.com/maps/MarioBros/MarioBros.html
http://nesmaps.com/maps/MegaMan2/MegaMan2.html
http://nesmaps.com/maps/Zelda2/Zelda2.html

Awesome to see what people can do with retro games.

This is a great video on so many levels. Dont watch if

This is a great video on so many levels. Don't watch if you're easily offended though lol.

Totally brings back the Sega Genesis vs Super Nintendo debate.

I added it under Altered Beast because it's shown in the video.

I just beat Torchlight a few days ago and I wanted to pen my

I just beat Torchlight a few days ago and I wanted to pen my thoughts while they are fresh in my mind. This is a odd review to write as its now taken me over two years to finally complete Torchlight and we are still in the throws of the Diablo 3 release. That said, Diablo 3 won't change too many of my thoughts as ive had years to solidify them.

I picked up Torchlight about a two+ year's ago after trying the demo out and enjoying it. Since I wasn't really into purchasing games digitally at the time, I bought the box copy for $20. I installed the game and I was pleasantly surprised the full game just used my existing demo character. No restarting, just continuing on. That... Read All I just beat Torchlight a few days ago and I wanted to pen my thoughts while they are fresh in my mind. This is a odd review to write as its now taken me over two years to finally complete Torchlight and we are still in the throws of the Diablo 3 release. That said, Diablo 3 won't change too many of my thoughts as ive had years to solidify them.

I picked up Torchlight about a two+ year's ago after trying the demo out and enjoying it. Since I wasn't really into purchasing games digitally at the time, I bought the box copy for $20. I installed the game and I was pleasantly surprised the full game just used my existing demo character. No restarting, just continuing on. That was a pretty nice feature as most games don't allow you to pickup after the demo when you buy the full game.

I started playing Torchlight as the tank class on a whim because, typically I play magic user and I just wanted to do something different. Immediately I loved the tank and felt like I was a pretty hefty bad-ass killing everything that stood in my way. I was happy that Torchlight ran smooth on my old Desktop. I was running the best AGP video card you could get and it looked fantastic on the old hardware. Torchlight is a game optimised for Netbooks so you can run it on lower power hardware. That said, the game looks beautiful and the art doesn't suffer all all in my opinion.

After a few days of playing it I noticed the game wasn't too much fun after an hour or so of play and over a week or so I stopped playing it and only picked it up every two weeks to a month. Torchlight is fun its just not immersive enough for me to play it more than once a month.

One huge problem I had with Torchlight is if I hovered over a bad guy with my mouse and clicked on them I had no idea my guy was attacking that specific enemy. In Diablo when you hover over a enemy it highlights it. This really helps me understand what I am going to attack. In Torchlight often I would be clicking to attack and I wasn't actually swinging at anything. I evolved a play style where I would use my other abilities more because they were area of effect attacks and I knew I would be hitting things. It wasn't frustrating, I just didn't feel effective and the game seemed broken in that way.

The game also very easy and I didn't feel challenged. I don't believe I died once.

The story wasn't much to think about. I honestly don't remember what went on. Some evil Wizard did something bad? Something about Embers? I don't really remember it wasn't very important to the game.

The hack and slash of the game is fun but there must be a point to all of it or I stop playing. The game was fun enough for a few days of a few hours of play but long term it flattened out for me.

The soundtrack is good and it is VERY reminiscent of the Diablo soundtrack as Matt Uelmen composed it. You can hear the nods to the Diablo 2 themes in the village music and other areas. Fun to hear it and it brought me right into the dungeon crawling mood.

I will most likely check out Torchlight 2 at some point and hope they improve some of the core mechanics and spend a bit longer on the story and characters. The game isn't too far off the mark it just didn't resonate with me in the way it did for other people.

Did you play Torchlight? What did you think of it?

Awesome video interview with Todd Howard on Skyrims new

Awesome video interview with Todd Howard on Skyrim's new expansion Dawnguard.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/06/bethesdas-todd-howard-on-dawnguard-the-future-of-skyrim-and-s/

The release is June 26th but you can sign up for the XBox 360 beta now. I wasn't too interested in being a Vampire but Howard dropped that it will be taylored to people that want to play as a Vampire or a Vampire Hunter. Awesome! He also mentioned that some future DLC will be free as well because the game did so well.

Are you going to get Dawnguard? If you haven't played Skyrim yet will you? I have yet to pick it up and can't decide if I should get it on PS3 or PC.

Arkham City Voice Casting

An interesting video about the voice actors in Batman Arkham City. Mark Hamill talks about his role as the Joker as well as Kevin Conroy as Batman.

So I was playing Borderlands with my dad one day. We were

So I was playing Borderlands with my dad one day. We were about half way through the Secret Armory DLC. I was driving. Dad was in the gunner's seat. I hit a side rail just right and parked in a rather bizarre fashion. Do you guys have any funny/odd Borderlands stories?

For my contribution to retro games Tuesday Im busting out

For my contribution to retro games Tuesday I'm busting out one of my favorite games. On the surface this game actually doesn't look that great. The graphics are kind of lack-luster compared to some of the other SNES games that came out around the same time and the game play is pretty basic. However the game is absolutely dripping with humor and charm. There's a lot to praise about this game and I'd like to point out a few of my favorites. I'll try to do so without giving any spoilers away for the few of you who might not have played this (*cough*Jon*cough*).

The humor in this game is great. The game is not afraid to poke fun at itself or RPG's in general. At times the... Read All For my contribution to retro games Tuesday I'm busting out one of my favorite games. On the surface this game actually doesn't look that great. The graphics are kind of lack-luster compared to some of the other SNES games that came out around the same time and the game play is pretty basic. However the game is absolutely dripping with humor and charm. There's a lot to praise about this game and I'd like to point out a few of my favorites. I'll try to do so without giving any spoilers away for the few of you who might not have played this (*cough*Jon*cough*).

The humor in this game is great. The game is not afraid to poke fun at itself or RPG's in general. At times the humor is a little surreal/bizarre but if you can sit through a Monty Python movie then this shouldn't bother you. :)

I love that the game has a modern (well, 1990's) setting instead of the usual fantasy setting. It really made the game stand out and I actually can't think of any other modern setting RPG's off the top of my head. Plus pizza makes a much better healing item than a potion in my opinion. (I also always get a craving for pizza whenever I play this...)

I know I called the graphics lackluster earlier, but actually I really like the art style for the game. Especially the art in the strategy guide. Speaking of...

This game came with its strategy guide and it is amazing. The guide is written like a travel guide and includes news paper articles for the different towns you visit, advertisements for the various shops, and all kinds of special little things that make this, in my opinion, the greatest strategy guide ever. Seriously, if you can manage to track down a copy of this game with the guide and you won't have to sell a kidney to buy it, do so!

Oh, and you can fight New Age Retro Hippies. They even have their owns special theme music!

I could confess my love for this game all night but I'll go ahead and stop here. It's really unfortunate that they are not offering this game on the Wii virtual console or as a DS/3DS port, so if you don't already own the game you'll need to track it down on eBay or find a ROM file for it. Still, if you want a fun RPG from the SNES's prime days I cannot recommend this game enough!

Did I mention that the guide also came with scratch-n-sniff cards that smelt like bosses/characters from the game? 'cause it did!

Decided to spend this Retro Tuesday talking about Super

Decided to spend this Retro Tuesday talking about Super Metroid. I was never really a fan of the original NES Metroid as it was fairly challenging and I could never figure out the steps to complete it as they were largely un-intuative. My brother had the Gameboy version and that made much more sense to me and I completed that. I liked the Gameboy version much better and felt it was a bit more accessible. That said, I wasn't a huge Metroid fan until I borrowed Super Metroid from one of my high school friends.

Super Metroid takes the Metroid formula built up in the first two games and ups the ante on all levels to craft a game that really set the bar for other games to... Read All Decided to spend this Retro Tuesday talking about Super Metroid. I was never really a fan of the original NES Metroid as it was fairly challenging and I could never figure out the steps to complete it as they were largely un-intuative. My brother had the Gameboy version and that made much more sense to me and I completed that. I liked the Gameboy version much better and felt it was a bit more accessible. That said, I wasn't a huge Metroid fan until I borrowed Super Metroid from one of my high school friends.

Super Metroid takes the Metroid formula built up in the first two games and ups the ante on all levels to craft a game that really set the bar for other games to follow. The soundtrack was moody and ambient something fairly cutting edge. The game also told a story but instead of using words, it used in game cut scenes and music only.

The word that comes to mind when I think of Super Metroid is moody. The game isn't whimsical or happy like Mario its gritty and dark. Few games had this tone throughout and Metroid really kept that feel the whole way.

Super Metroid was also one the first games in a series that I realised visually nodded to its earlier games. When you arrive on Zebes the first few areas you experience are direct nods to the first level in the original NES game as well as the ending battle with Mother Brain.

Since the game had fairly un-obvious ways to proceed, like many I beat Super Metroid with the Nintendo Power guide at my side. I had fun even though finding each item and beating the game wouldn't have been possible without it.

If you want to keep yourself spoiler free, I suggest not reading the final bits of this post.

The ending was fairly epic from the final level to the few act final story and boss battle. The start of the last level sees the original Metroid from the start of the game all grown and as you enter its lair it attacks you. It stops and the game implies it recognises you from earlier as it thinks you are its mother. As you fight Mother Brain in the final battle the Metroid attacks mother brain to save you from death. As it attacks Mother Brain the Metroid dies but as it dies it imbues you with its power giving you a pretty hefty attack. You use this attack to destroy Mother Brain and escape Zebes. The game does this all with in game cut scenes and music and its expert story telling that made a fantastic ending to a great game.

Super Metroid isn't a game I come back to play regularly but after watching the above walkthrough YouTube video will put it on my list. A few years ago I tried Metroid Prime but it never stuck as a game I needed to finish.

What did you think of Super Metroid? Were you into any of the other Metroid games? Did you always type in the Justin Bailey code or did you always want Nintendo to release a space pirate game?

**UPDATE** Many moons ago OCRemix created Relics of the Chozo a Super Metroid remix album if you like retro game remix soundtracks: http://smproject.ocremix.org

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/06/2012 at 04:04am

Yeah, that was a cool game.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/06/2012 at 04:06am

The original Metriod was pretty rad, but you're right, very un-intuitive. Plus I think it might have scared me a bit as a kid lol. Super Metroid was fantastic. I loved playing it. Went through it a few times back in the day. Even watching a minute of that run through brought back rad memories!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/06/2012 at 04:07am

If you don't watch the entire hour long speed run Mother Brain corrupts another Metroid hatchling!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/06/2012 at 04:32am

I admit it... I did skip ahead. But I probably watched a solid 20 mins!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 06/06/2012 at 05:45am

This is another one of my favorite games of all time. I probably go back and play through it once every year or two. One of the things I love about this game is there are all kinds of tricks (bomb jumps, wall jumps, etc) that you can use to get items and access areas before you're suppose too. :) It's fun to "cheat" without really cheating.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 06/06/2012 at 07:22am

Oh, and if you have a gameboy that can play it, Metroid Fusion on the Gameboy SP was pretty awesome. It wasn't as good as Super Metroid but it was pretty close.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2012 at 02:05am

When I get around to spending money I want to pickup a Gameboy Advance because to my eye that one seems like it has most of ol re-releases and can still play old Gameboy titles as well. They are cheap and you can get games like Metroid Fusion and other re-releases as well.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 06/07/2012 at 07:53am

The SP was just an advance with a back light and a clam-shell design. I say go SP :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2012 at 02:21pm

Awesome, I prob will, thanks!

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