• 15Jun 09

  10 of the The Best Games YOU Probably Never Played.

  1) Baseball Stars (NES) - This was the greatest baseball game ever made. The first game I recall ever having such an astounding level of customization as to not only be able to create teams and players but give them each individual names and train them into superstars. Baseball Stars received a sequel but they stripped all the cool stuff from it. Justice would see a new version, restored with the same wonderful level of customization.

  2) Bionic Commando (NES) - The original home port of Bionic Commando was an incredible ride, possibly more so than any other title of its day. As a soldier with a bionic arm you are tasked with bringing down an evil organization led by none other than reincarnated Adolf Hitler Althought the Rearmed remake was also enjoyable it still paled next to its predecessor. It's newest incarnation is beautiful, but is said to be deeply flawed.

  3) Blackthorne (NES) - Why, why, why have they not updated Blackthorne??? As a 2-d side-scrolling shooter this game was revolutionary in its cover mechanic and engrossing story. A shotgun-wielding prince of an alien world is raised on Earth only to return his planet to fight the evil legions of the Ka'Dra'Suul for his throne. Make no mistake, this was a hard fought adventure and one of the best games of all time.

  4) Blood Will Tell (PS2) - Anime godfather Osamu Tezuka's Dororo. One of the tightest stories in all of video gaming. Japanese feudal lord Kagemitsu Daigo, a sure-fire Oda Nobunaga clone, desires to unite Japan and end the strife of the Sengoku era and to that end makes a deal with 48 demons. The demons have prophesized that Daigo's unborn son, Hyakkimaru, will be their downfall so they trade Daigo the power he covets in exchange for his son's body. Each one takes a part of the baby when he is born and Daigo, wracked with grief, cannot bring himself to slay the somehow-still-alive boy and sets him adrift in a barrel in a river. Found by a doctor and inventor who creates body parts for the telepathic child Hyakkimaru sets out on a mission of revenge to reclaim his 48 stolen body parts and become whole again. Joined by the child-thief Dororo the pair travel around Japan defeating many monsters taken directly from Japanese mythology and helping people whever ever they go. With fast-paced swordplay and bittersweet drama Blood Will Tell may be the most underappreciated game of all time.

  5) Deja Vu (NES) - Following on the heels of Shadowgate this first person mystery is a detective thriller that begins as you wake up groggy and confused with a dead body in the next room. Suddenly you find yourself in a race against the cops to solve the murder you didn't commit before they arrest you for it! There really ought to be more games like this.

  6) Garou: Mark of the Wolves (NEO-GEO) - This derivitive of Fatal Fury/King of Fighters really came in low under the radar but despite that and its limited cast by today's standards it remains one of the most enjoyable fighters around.

  7) ICO (PS2) - If you didn't play ICO you owe it to yourself to borrow/steal/buy yourself a PS2 and a copy of this gem. Set in a castle occupied only by a dark queen, her elfin daughter, and a host of shadow demon servants you play as a young boy born with horns who is customarily sacrificed by his village and left to die in the forbidding castle. Discovering the princess Yorda in peril you must navigate the dangers of the castle and keep the queen's minions at bay. ICO proved that games can be art.

  Privateer (PC) - Lots of people played Wing Commander and its derivitives but only a select few remember Privateer, the greatest 'open world' game of all time. Privateer was set in the Wing Commander universe but past that the game was yours. Be a pirate, a merchant, a slaver, a gun-for-hire... the choice was yours. Fly anywhere in a vast galaxy. Explore, pick up missions in the local tavern, trade. Privateer did have an overarching story and it was worth playing out but there was never a hurry. Buy a ship, rig it how you like, and do whatever you want. Gaming perfection.

  9) Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (PS2) - Easily the most fun you can have racing. EOD was a demolition derby career, complete with real life videos, that sported enough customization to really make you feel like you were really immersed in the strangest of sports. With a remarkable painting mechanic that allowed you to customize your vehicles paint job however you liked, even to the level of profanity, EOD pulls you in like a gravity well.

  10) Uncharted Waters (SNES and NES) - The equivalent of Privateer on the high seas in the age of exploration. You play a young merchant in service to Portugal. Although there is a story of a lost father I can't tell you how it turned out because I always got caught up in my own affairs trying to find new trade routes to the mysterious and profitable orient. This game left me with pages of hand written logs of commodity prices and latitude and longitude coordinates!

  • Posted Jun 15, 2009 10:18 pm PT
  • Category: Games
  • 1 Comment
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 2May 09

  How Microsoft Screwed a Friend

  My buddy is an avowed Xbot. In all conversations he leans towards the 360, and why not? That's what he owns. He's completely happy to put on the blinders to the PS3 because he doesn't own one and he's not keen on saving towards one. It's also worth mentioning that this friend is also an entertainment writer and routinely reviews 360 games for a newspaper.

  During a visit he brought his HD to my house because he doesn't have an internet connection at his apartment. (A personal war with Comcast) He wanted to buy DLC from the XBL Marketplace using my console and connection but his HD and Gamertag. All told he dropped about 30 bucks on DLC for several of his games before he left for his home city.

  When he got home the trouble started. Nothing worked. He called the Microsoft Xbox Support (XBS) to try and find out what was wrong. XBS told him that it wasn't working because he didn't download the content to his console. He explained to them that it was his HD and his gamertag but the XBS told him that didn't matter because of some hidden taboo of Digital Rights Management... it had to be done on his console as well. They outlined the process for him to transfer the license. He needed to get his entire console to an internet connection.

  He traveled 40 miles to a friends house with his console in order to use the friend's Xbox internet connection, but his Xbox 360 was the Halo edition and his friend had a regular 360... the power cords are NOT compatable. So an 80 mile round trip was wasted.

  He returned to this same friend's house WITH his power cable a week later. He got it all hooked up and redownloaded the content using his console and made the 40 mile trip home only to have his 360 tell him yet again that his content was unuseable. He called XBS back. They told him that simply redownloading it wasn't enough. He had to access xbox.com and actually transfer the license.

  The week after that he travels 40 miles back to that friend's house and uses his computer to transfer the license. 40 miles back home and the 360 STILL tells him that his DLC is unuseable. He calls XBS back AGAIN and they this time they tell him that he needs to return to MY house (I live an hour and 45 minutes from him) and transfer the license at MY house because it was MY console he originally purchased it on.

  Several weeks pass and this friday he shows up at my house again to transfer his license for the DLC he bought with his credit card on his HD using his gamertag on my console. He uses the computer to move it over but when he tries to get it working it wants his password for his Gamertag email account. Problem: He bought his 360 used and instead of creating a new Gamertag he just used the existing one. So he doesn't HAVE the password.

  He calls XBS back again and tries to explain his dilemma to a native french speaker. Lingistic folly ensues, nothing gets solved. The XBS rep actually HANGS up on him. Calls back. Gets another English-as-a-second-language rep. This one tells him to delete his gamertag and create a new one. He does. Not only does the DLC not work but NONE of the saved games will transfer to the new Gamertag. The XBS rep, a different one,HANGS UP AGAIN. Calls back and talks to an actual american. The man tells him that without the original password he can't help him. My friend emails the original owner. In the meantime he tries to pursue a different solution in order to solve the crisis. He buys the DLC again. Yep, another 30 bucks. Guess what? IT WON'T WORK. Even though it's been bought and paid for TWICE the license remains tied to his HD and my Console.

  My friend now faces a bleak choice. He can either:

  1: Lose all of his saved game info forever, including the double-bought DLC, and just start all over again.

  2: Just eat the DLC as stupid tax. He may NEVER download it again because of the enduring license issue.

  3: Pray that the original owner emails him back, trusts him, and gives him his password.

  4: Destroy or sell his Xbox 360.

  XBS, at this point, has simply told him "too bad" and left him to squirm. Despite the fact that he has bought the DLC two times now, including once on his own console. They seem totally uninterested in resolving the conflict, DESPITE the fact that this man is a professional reviewer.

  What Microsoft has done is take a loyal Xbot, a professional Entertainment Writer for a major city newspaper, and told him to play "hide and go f**k yourself." My friend had to be talked out of DESTROYING his 360.

  Right now he's waiting on the original owner to respond to his email. If he agrees to give up his password for the transfer then he will travel BACK to my house, attempt to get the DRM license gods to smile on him, and continue on with his life. If not he intends to sell his Xbox 360 and all of his games...

  ...and buy a PS3.

  • Posted May 2, 2009 10:53 pm PT
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 26Apr 09

  Uesugi-dono's Best of the New Generation (That I've played)

  Just a short list of the best the PSWii60 has to offer. (in my opinion) The system I played on is underlined.

  10. Wii Sports (Wii) - How often does the packaged-with-the-system game stand up as the most entertaining game on the system? If you buy a Wii then you've already bought an outstanding game. Wii Sports is Nintendo's best offering in years.

  9. The Last Guy (PS3)- Although incredibly simple The Last Guy was intoxicatingly fun. A brilliant idea well executed.

  8. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3 and Xbox 360) - GTA got a lot more realistic with this installment. However the main character Niko Bellic failed to be as captivating as previous GTA (anti)heroes. The DLC looks promising but I haven't picked it up yet.

  7. Resident Evil IV (Wii) - This reboot is made all the better by the Wii controls. If you still have a Wii (I sold mine) then this is definately worth playing. One of the best games on the system so far.

  6. Fable II (Xbox 360) - Fable's sequel is pick up and play and packed with funny and exciting moments. Sadly, it's replay value is fairly well lacking and it didn't manage to compel me to buy the DLC. Lion's Head has a fantastic concept but they still can't seem to get it just right.

  5. Mass Effect (Xbox 360) - Mass Effect possesses several notable flaws but overall it pulls you in and holds you. Gaming has largely ignored a sandbox style space game and although this isn't exactly that, it's still pretty satisfying. A great start for what could grow into a long-running series.

  4. Street Fighter IV (PS3 and Xbox 360) - This long-awaited reboot is graphically beautiful, even if it does jump backwards in its control scheme. It remains fun, unless you play online, but it's lost a bit of its soul.

  3. Mirror's Edge (PS3 and Xbox 360) - There has never been a game like Mirror's Edge. Heart pounding, exhilerating action in a manner that has never been presented before. This one is a 6 hour, edge-of-your-seat, express elevator that is simply out of control.

  2. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) - One of the best adventure games ever if not THE best one. Uncharted took the winning formula of Indiana Jones/Tales of the Gold Monkey and applied amazing graphics and excellent cover and gunplay. Games are becoming more and more like movies and this is an excellent example.

  1. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)- This is a system mover. The best game I've played in ages. From it's excellent gameplay to its moving drama to its breathtaking art Valkyria Chronicles will live on perpetually on 'Best Game' lists, and not just my own. If you haven't played this yet then you're missing out. Reports are that it outsold RE5 in Japan.

  • Posted Apr 26, 2009 10:29 pm PT
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »