The Ittsy Bittsy Spider(s)

I wasn't sure if I was going to come back to this blog.  As much as I enjoyed the concept and making the posts, a different game every day became difficult with little time to enjoy the game and then no time to go into new ones.  When playing Double Dragon, I had the strong desire to stop playing new games for a while and just beat the game itself before moving onto another one.  There was the added problem that I had purchased other games and hadn't the opportunity to play them, as they continued to sit in their plastic wrapping.  So I decided to revamp the concept of the blog, from playing so many games to just playing games in general.  Hence I get to continue it and, while I may go back to doing many different games, I can actually take days off. 

So I start with spiders.

Yes, spiders.

I have this strong dislike of spiders, perhaps bordering on a phobia.  I'm not sure what sets them apart from other insects, but they simply mess with me in a way few other things do.  And video games don't really help this unreasonable dislike.  The number of games with spider enemies is vast, and though they are rarely difficult or intended to be intimidating, and they are always numerous and normally just creepy enough.  There are a few exceptions of course, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble as an example, but it is difficult to make anything in that game creepy.  But moving onto other games, one that sticks out in my mind is the Nintendo 64's Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  The first boss within the Deku Tree is Gohma the Parasitic Armored Arachnid.  The first boss is a spider, who really isn't that difficult mind you, but still a spider (it didn't help that my television when I first got the game was always dark, making him a shadow with a glowly eye). 

But I haven't been playing Zelda recently, the game I've been playing is a bit more recent:

Donkey Kong Country Returns.

The game is incredible fun, with some simple platforming and using a few moves for multiple creative uses.  The fifth world is the forest and the last level before the boss is called Muncher Marathon.  It originally made me feel like they are going to introduce a Klaptrap-type enemy and there would be a race against it or it would be chasing me.  So the level starts within a tree and with there is this bubbly yellow squishy stuff that you can bounce on...strange, but sure, why not?  I keep moving forwards until I reach some boards and I have to ground pound to break through them and continue...and learn I was wrong about my initial assumption of the level. 

The yellow bubbly stuff are spider eggs and the ground pound hatches them.....really?  And so for the remainder of the level, I am being chased by hundreds of tiny spiders which are falling over each other and filling the tunnel behind me.  There are regular enemies that impede your progress as well, but the spiders seemed more pressing.  There were also some pits to avoid, but as I jumped over them, more spiders erupted out and started chasing me. 

Now you remember me mentioning my fear of spiders?  Yeah...

And I pretty well hated the level until the end.  There are K-O-N-G letters and puzzle pieces to collect within the levels, and even though I love collecting stuff in games, I'm not even paying attention to the ones I'm passing.  I'm moving the Kongs with the only thought of doing my best to get out of there.  Needless to say I'm not going back to play the level again. 

So, glad to be done with the spiders, I am going to keep playing Donkey Kong Country Returns for a bit and then move onto something new.  I thought for a moment about playing Limbo, but one of the major enemies is a giant spider.... so, um, no.   But I'll figure out what to play when I get there.  Adios for today though. 

Jackal

Continuing alone the ages of the Nintendo Entertainment System I move to the action game Jackal.  Developed and published by Konami, Jackal was released in June 1986.  The game is a basic run and gun where you are dropped off to rescue prisoners from the enemies and then defeat the level boss.

So the game starts off with you being dropped off on the beach by a transport helicopter in your very well armed jeep.  You start driving in whichever direction with two different attacks: a gun that always shoots north as well as grenades that fire the direction you're facing. 

And I start to drive north, shooting at these planted cannons as well as random soldiers on the ground.  The cannons are more obnoxious because they usually come in pairs and they do their best by shooting at you to and they can only be defeated by the grenades. So moving further to the north I come upon an enemy base that is guarded by a few soldiers, after shooting some of them I am then able to just drive past. 

And further north I go, and it's basically the same, shooting or running over the soldiers and then tossing grenades at the cannons.  There is one section where you break into another base by destroying the large metal door at the entrance. 

And I keep moving north. 

So yeah, there really isn't much to say about this game except that you keep moving north and keep killing random soldiers and cannons.  It's fun to play but really boring to describe.  Nothing really distinct that happens within the level until the boss, which for the first level is just a few tanks that take two hits to kill. 

And so I've played another Nintendo game, and I think I'll move to another system tomorrow.  Perhaps one where I can write a little bit more so the posts don't seem so short.  Or maybe I'll move to a game with a bit more substance, away from all the arcade games.  But anyways, I'll figure out what game to play tomorrow and which system it will be on.  Adios for today though.

Amagon

So I'm moving along with more Nintendo games with Amagon.  Developed by Aicom and published by Vic Tokai, Amagon was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in April 1989.  The game is a basic action platformer.

You play as the the marine Amagon whose plane has crashed on some random island.  Amagon isn't very lucky, as his rescue ship has landed on the other side of the island, and now he must run across the entire island to reach it.  You travel across the island with your rifle, trying to reach your rescue ship.  There are power ups you can get to cause yourself to become much larger without the ability to use your gun but instead are given huge punches that do more damage. 

So I start running across the island to get through the level.  The enemies are very simple at the beginning with spiders who fall out of trees at you and some random jumping mushrooms that start to jump higher as you get closer.  The first level begins very simply as you keep going and it's just a matter of shooting the different enemies and not being hit.  A bit further in the stage your reaction is tested just a bit as some birds fly towards you, but then it's just a matter of shooting a few times as they fly straight at you. 

A bit after that there is a section where a flying beetle spits at you as a spider chases you from behind.  It is a matter of dodging the beetle's attack while still trying to turn around to kill the spider.  The game is a bit kind in that there are multiple checkpoints and an unlimited number of continues.  But as you continue you keep moving across the island, avoiding more birds and starting to jump across coral to get further towards your rescue ship. 

And so another game is played and I'm realizing how little can be said about some of these Nintendo games, but I'm still going to be playing them and getting through the games.  But this day is done and another game comes tomorrow.  Adios for today though. 

Mike Tyson's Punch Out

AMC is doing a Can't Get Enough Rocky week and keeps showing the Rocky movies and it makes me want to play one game: Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!.  Developed and published by Nintendo, Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! was originally released on the Nintendo in October 1987.  It was again re-released on the Nintendo in 1990 as Punch Out!! featuring Mr. Dream after Mike Tyson lost to 'Buster' Douglas. 

Punch Out!! allows you to play as Little Mac, a small (one hundred and seven pounds) kid from Bronx, New York.  Little Mac starts in the ranks of the minor league in third place.  Each win advances him a rank until Mac becomes the number one contender for the title.  Once winning the title, Mac goes through a training run with his coach before moving to the next circuit (from minor to major to world).  Of course there is also the chance you'll lose the fight.  After the first lose you get a rematch, but the second loss pushes you down a ranking (a third loss is a game over). 

So starting in the Minor Circuit, Little Mac and I start off facing Glass Joe (the circuit is pretty empty for him to be third ranked contender).  Joe has one win, ninety-nine losses, and a jaw made of absolute glass.  Many of the opponents have ways to knock them down instantly, but Joe actually has a couple.  Any star punch knocks him down in an instant, and countering his special punch does it too. 

Anyways Joe takes most of the match taking punching to the face and gut.  He tries to start an offense at a few points, but his punches are so slow that I was able to counter hit them before even noticing that they started.  His big super punch was his "best" chance of doing actual damage.  Glass Joe steps back, taunts and then lunges forwards into a gut check.  Yeah, I've never actually been hit by that punch, but hitting him with the counter is an instant knock down. 

But Glass Joe is boring, the other fighters are so much more entertaining and personalized. There is Bald Bull, the Turkish brute whose Bull Charge is his greatest strength as well as his greatest weakness.  Then King Hippo from Hippo Island who does his best to hide the bullseye on his belly.  And finally, the champion of the world circuit: Super Macho Man, the narcissist from Hollywood that does incredibly well in the ring for all his posing.  But anyways, Punch Out!! is just one of those games that brings a smile to my face (I may have to play the sequels over the weekend). 

And another game is done and so is another day and I'm glad to have played a game I enjoy.  Tomorrow I may play another game in the Punch Out series but it's likely that I'll be playing something else, but I'll know what tomorrow.  Anyways, Rocky is fighting Drago on TV, I can't help but watch and I'll play another game tomorrow.  Adios for today though. 

Back to the Future

So I'm going to stay on the Nintendo for a bit again and finish off a series I started a while back with Back to the Future.  Developed by Beam Software and published by LJN Toys, Back to the Future was released in 1989.  I wish I could say this one was better then its sequel (which I had played as the first game of the year) but this one equally as bad.  

One of the ways Back to the Future is better then its sequel is the fact that it is straight forward, you simply run one direction in the level with no ability to turn.  You run through the game trying to avoid all the different enemies while a picture of Marty and his siblings fade at the bottom of the screen.  When Marty finally fades from the picture, the level ends and you lose a life.  Of course since the enemies don't actually kill you, they cause you to fall down while the clock keeps moving and the picture keeps fading, so avoiding them is still necessary to get through the level.  

So there are quite a few enemies to try and dodge, and while none of them are all that difficult alone, the level is also crowded by park benches and oil slicks.  The actual enemies include girls with hula hoops that throw balls at you.  Then there are bees that fly at you and circle around before leaving and the bullies that charge at you.  There are only two power ups, first the bowling ball which you can throw and defeat enemies and then the skateboard, which allows you to move faster through the level (a bonus and a hindrance as it is more difficult to dodge things). 

So as I moved through the levels I go to avoid all the different enemies while moving forwards towards the mall.  Avoiding the enemies isn't all too bad, but when you add in the timer it actually is a challenge.  So as I start moving though them, I run out of time a few times and it's really not all that entertaining.  Dodge a bee here, just an oil slick there, just keep running and collecting the clocks... meh. 

And so another game is played and I'm going to move onto something more entertaining tomorrow.  Moving away from the bad games and towards something I know I'll enjoy.  Adios for today though. 

Astyanax

I'm moving back to the Nintendo after all those football games and moving onto an action platformer: Astyanax.   Developed by Aicom and published by Jaleco, Astyanax was released on the Nintendo in March of 1990.  The game actually has an arcade version as well that was released in 1989, but the game hold few similarities beyond controls and appearance. 

So the story is a bit unusual as you play as a sixteen year old boy named Astyanax who is having strange dreams about this girl asking for help.  One day, while walking to school, Astyanax is teleported to the world of Remlia by a faerie named Cutie.  Cutie tells him that the girl in his dreams is the princess of Remlia: Rosebud, who is being held by the evil wizard Blackhorn.  Astyanax is tasked by the world of Remlia to save the princess and defeat the evil Blackhorn.  At that point he can go home because only the princess can send you back... sounds more like an ultimatum that a request. 

So the game starts you off in the castle and off you go.  The controls are simple enough: a jump button and an attack button to swing your magic axe.  Yes, you have a magic axe by the name of Bash.  The axe even has the ability to be powered up by collecting different items.  As you power it up, it actually transforms as well, the first time from an axe into a sword.

So I started to move through the level, facing the simple enemies: skeletons, floating germs and such as that.  Most of the enemies are a bit annoying but none are really difficult.  There are some plants that grow from the ground and spit out attacks, but they are easy to take out, just don't jump at them next to a pit.  Another obnoxious enemy is a this floating thing with a large eye on it; it drops these balls at you as they follow you around.

So the level isn't too long and eventually I got to the mini-boss of the level: the rock guy (none of the enemies have actual names so I'm just making stuff up).  He falls from the ceiling as a rock and starts to bounce around on the screen.  Once you hit him a few times, rocky lands and turns into a creature with two heads as he starts to stand up, but a quick spell takes him out.

And then right after him is the level boss: an armored skeleton soldier with horns on his helmet.  Doesn't sound too dangerous, but he comes in riding this dinosaur creature who attacks first.  You start off fighting the dinosaur thing which has two basic attacks: it shoots three fireballs at you and the its head splits off and goes in a circle trying to get you.  After beating on the head for a while the creature dies and his rider lunges off to fight, but he is pretty straight forwards as well. 

So another game is played and another day is done.  I'd go deeper into it, but it is just time to sleep, I'll worry about it later.  Adios for today though. 

All-Pro Football 2K8

So to prove that I'm not a dirty liar, I'm going to play the game I said I would this last Saturday: All-Pro Football 2K8.  Developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, All-Pro Football was released in July 2007.  It is the successor the the ESPN NFL 2K series after Madden purchased exclusive rights to the intellectual properties of the NFL and NFLPA.  The game is incredibly fun and the large number of legends to build your team with. 

And speaking of building your team, it is the first thing you do when you start the game.  You get two gold players, three silver and six bronze to choose legends to build your team around.  After choosing your legends, you are given generic players under specifics (to benefit either your running game or passing game).  There are a lot of players in each position with the gold players being the most famous and skilled.  I want my team to be an offensive beast so I'm going to fill my stars with offensive players.  

So I'm starting with my silver stars so I can grab a few offensive players without having to use my top picks as of yet and as I start to look I see an easy first pick: at quarterback... Joe Theismann.  After that I decide that I need some good targets, so I grab wide receiver Charley Taylor and tight end Todd Christensen.   Now that I have my silver players I'll move up to my gold stars to get my all stars.  I first grab Jerry Rice to add to my receiving core and then give my running game a huge boost with Walter Payton.  I use the rest of my bronze picks to grab some good linemen as well as another wide receiver. 

So now that I finally have my team I can start and I'll be playing against the Detriot Firebirds.  I get a nice return to begin the game and am on the 35.  Starting with some running just to get used to the controls, I move up to second and seven, third and five... Payton is getting me there but not quickly enough.  I try to pass, but it gets batted down and I'm forced to punt away. 

The Firebirds are a bit more consistant on offense then I am (maybe because they have a defensive plan and I rely on luck) and are moving rather solidly.  They go to third and one before getting a first and moving even further down the field. I get a nice hit behind the line on their running back to force a third down and seven yards, forcing them to pass... and that's followed by a sack to push them to fourth down and fifteen yards. They are now out of field goal range and are forced to punt the ball away.

I retreive the punt on the sixteen yard line but start with a long bomb to Jerry Rice and I'm at the 48 yard line.  I attempt a run but lose a yard, then gain nothing passing to my fullback as he goes out of bounds.  I want a first down but I don't know who to pass for... so I throw to Jerry Rice for a first down.  But the red flag is thrown and a challenge is made and it is overturned and I lose the first down.  The Firebirds get a great run off though and I can't stop them from getting a touchdown.

But of course there are still a few minutes left in the half and I have the ball once again.  Jerry Rice starts me off (he is the blunt of my offense) and I am moving down the field.  I am held to fourth down, but no guts, no glory and I'm going for it and Jerry Rice gets me there again.  It's time to run the clock down by running with Walter Payton.  He gets me in the goal with very little time left and the half ends at seven all.

And so another game is played and another game is done.  I think I'm done with football for a while (I still have a few games left) so I'll move to something else tomorrow.  Perhaps an action game... or maybe an RPG... or maybe a platformer... I'll figure it out tomorrow.  Adios for today though.

Madden NFL 2010

So it's Sunday and it's the Superbowl and I'm going to play a short bit, so here goes Madden NFL 2010.  Developed by Electronic Arts and published under their brand of EA Sports, Madden 2010 was released in August 2009, in preparation for the 2010 season.  It is the first Madden game with two plays on the cover: Pittsburgh Steelers Strong Safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald. 


The Madden franchise has been releasing NFL football games since 1990 with updated rosters each year.  Instead of just playing one of the game's many features (from Superstar Mode to the Franchise Mode), I'm starting the simple Exhibition between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.  The Steelers are a much stronger team in the game (seeing as they won the Superbowl the year this game was developed) while the Packers are a good, but not great even though they got to the playoffs.  Here we go!

So I win the coin flip and get the choice of kicking or receiving and seeing as I'll be playing for a short time, I'll be receiving.  As the fact that we're in Green Bay, it's snowing in the game, which should make the passing game more difficult.  It makes me wish that Green Bay had a better running game or at least that the Steelers didn't have such a strong defense.

But anyways, I get a good return: my blockers open a large space and I'm able to get to the thirty-three before getting taken down.  At this point I have to call my first real play, but the game has the Ask Madden feature where the computer chooses a set of plays for you to decide from, so I can very plays without having to worry too much about it.  That in fact doesn't make the game any easier as my drive still stalls out with some incomplete passes and a halted run force me to punt it away. 

Perhaps I'll be better at defense.

Nope!  Roethlisberger throws a great pass to a wide open Hines Ward for an easy touchdown and they are up by seven.  So I try again for a better drive but I actually do worse, the first play is an interception that gets them close to another score.  But the bad news isn't up yet... they hit Aaron Rodgers as he threw the pass and he's injured.  So doing my best, I hold the Steelers from a first for the first two downs before getting the bad news that Rodgers will in fact e out for the rest of the game with a lower back strain.  It isn't all bad though, as I'm able to sack Big Ben on the next play to force a field goal and only be down my ten.

So the next drive starts and my quarterback is now Matt Flynn, so my options are highly reduced.  I decided at this point to go to what I'm good at and start throwing lots of short passes, picking up small chunks of yardage.  After five in a row, I'm feeling good, but then three misses causes my drive to stall out yet again.  Another pick and the Steelers are now up 17 to zip as the first quarter ends.

So it's time to go now as I'm off to see hopefully a much better game.  Adios for today though.

NFL Street 2

So I know I said I was going to play All Pro today but NFL Street was far too fun so I've continued with NFL Street 2. Developed and published by Electronic Arts, NFL Street 2 was released in December 2004, not even a year after the original. 

The fact that it came out only ten months after the original caused a bit of complaint as very little was updated or changed except for mostly the roster.  The biggest changes from the original was the addition of the jump and wall maneuvers.  You could run up walls, jump off then to make and catch passes, making your players more evasive.  There is a bit of the problem when your player really doesn't want to go up the wall and just runs into it, which will usually cause you to get caught up to or hit by the defender, but you don't even have to use the wall half the time (with the exception of a few challenges).

Another change was the expansion of the Gamebreaker with the dumbing down of the Gamebreaker and the addition of the Gamebreaker 2.  The Gamebreaker was weakened to the point where it was no longer an automatic touchdown or turnover so there is a bit of a chance with it there while the Gamebreaker two is truly a game changer.  When you activate a Gamebreaker 2, a cut scene starts where the defense stylishly gets the ball back or the offense passes the line of scrimmage and leaves everyone behind.  Afterward you enter a God-mode where you cannot be tackled and you have unlimited turbo.

So instead of playing a pick up game this time I started with a Quick Game using the team I created for the NFL Challenge against the randomly chosen Ravens.  I start off the game using my running back to break tackles and push a first down, pushing my way towards the end zone.  I try mostly rushing plays at this point, mostly because I had built the team around the running back, but I screw around a bit too much and get stopped at the end zone right before scoring.  So instead of letting the Raven's score first, I start to blitz, getting a safety and going up by two to begin the game. 

The game continues and I push the ball down the field much quicker and easier by passing around a bit and get a touchdown.  Now at this point you can go for one or two (there is no kick) and this has also changed from the last game.  In the first Street, you got one point if you ran it in and two if you passed it.  This time you get to choose which you go for and one point starts you five yards away and two points starts you ten yards away (as oppose to always five away with the last game). 

I continue to do very well on defense and now want to see if I can actually shut them out, stopping them with a nice sack once more to turn over the ball on downs.  On their next drive a lucky bounce into the hands of Ray Lewis gets them down field and they have a good chance at not allowing a shut out.  But with four lucky downs I do get the stop and my dream is still alive... until I flub up and don't move down the field at all and give them an easy score.  But I keep moving and score the number of times to finally finish the game and it's over, their unfortunate score making it not a shut out but oh well.

So I've played another game and another day is done.  On to real football tomorrow and it will be a good game.  Adios for today though.  

NFL Street

I'm continuing with my football weekend today with the spiritual sequel to NFL Blitz: NFL Street.  Developed and published by Electronic Arts, NFL Street was released in January2004.  NFL Street is one of EA's Street series with varied rules and smaller rosters (as well as in basic clothes). 

Unlike regular football, NFL Street is only seven on seven with all players playing both offense and defense.  The game puts an emphasis on taunting your opponent to build your "style" meter until you can use a Gamebreaker.  The gamebreaker literally breaks the game, your offense or defense becomes unstoppable for the rest of the drive and it becomes easier to score or force a turn over. 

So there are a few modes of play and the closest to a story is the NFL Challenge where you create your own team and go through many challenges to make them better and play against NFL teams.  But I've already done that and I'm just going to play a Pick Up Game.  In a pickup game you get to draft your team from a list of random players from all teams (you can choose to include Legends and your created players as well). 

So I choose to pick first and let the computer get the ball first so I can grab good players in each position.  The seven positions on offense are quarterback, runningback, two receivers, and three linemen; while for defense they are two corners, a saftey, a linebacker, and three linemen.  Because you only get seven people, some of them have to overlap.  The simplest overlaps are overlapping your wide receivers with the corners.   So I start looking through the players, choosing the Legend Cornerback Lester Hayes.  The teams build pretty well, I end up with a stronger defense (the cornerbacks can defend and also catch while the receivers aren't good at defense) with players such as Ty Law, Cletidus Hunt, Fred Taylor, Takeo Spikes and Tim Couch as quarterback. 

So I start the game on defense and am doing my best just to hold them back.  You get style points for doing different things, but it's a bit more difficult to do it on defense (you can get some for stopping them behind the line and also to force turnovers).  Also, it isn't just a matter of getting ten yards, but there are set intervals on the field (30 yards apart).  I successful hold them back for a bit, but they eventually score a touchdown.  I'm a bit stronger at offense then defense though, and score easily.  We trade scores until I break through with Takeo Spikes and force a fumble to go up.

So I've played another game and onto the weekend.  Adios for today though. 

Tecmo Bowl

So I decided to move back to the Nintendo Entertainment System and start off the football celebration with Tecmo Bowl.  Developed and published by Tecmo (now you know where it got its name), Tecmo Bowl was released on the NES in February 1989.  Though originally in arcades, Tecmo Bowl became increasingly popular when ported to the Nintendo. 

The game does have a limited roster, only have twelve of the twenty-eight teams of the time.  It didn't even have two of the teams with the best records of 1988 (Buffalo and Cincinnati), the year which the teams are based on.  But the teams it does have some well known players from the era: including Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, Mike Singletary, Ronnie Lott and Bo Jackson.  Tecmo was unfortunately unable to procure the rights to use the NFL teams, so the teams are only use the home town and no actual team name.  Nor does it use real mascots or colors, but it doesn't really matter. 

And now it's time to play.

I've choosen Washington to start my game (I'm a Redskins fan) and the computer randomly decides an opponent and picks New York.  So the game starts with a kick off and I'm off.  New York's kicker is pretty weak so I get a shot kick and am stopped on my own 45.  So at this point it's time to choose a play and there aren't that many to choose from: four.  Yes, there are only four plays for each team on offense and defense.  Each team has two running plays and two passing plays (the exceptions are San Francisco and Miami, who have three passing and only one running).  But I decide to start the game slow with a run and here we go. 

It isn't bad but isn't great and I pick up three yards and it is second and seven.  I decide to try once more and break off a solid run for my first first down.  The running seems to be pretty good, so I continue it and get hit hard behind the line to go to second and twelve.  So I might as well try to pass and get another first down and I'm on the twenty five.  And the game goes sort of like that, I get hit trying to run and then get a huge pass for a first down and eventually a touchdown. 

After scoring I get to kick off the ball and begin my defensive game.  It's much like offense, only four plays, but you get to choose from your opponent's plays and you will set up a defense to answer that play.  So it's a guessing game, but it's still enjoyable.  New York tries two passes up from and get sacked twice, but then break a run to get a few yards before punting it away.

As they punt the ball away, there isn't much time left on the clock and I'm greedy and want to be up 14 to 0 before the end of the first quarter.  So I'm passing to try and move down the field, but this game gives you an advantage because the clocks only moves when the play is being run.  So I throw my first pass and move down to the 50 (I got a first down, but that hardly matters at this point).  With only 24 seconds left on the clock, New York decides that they don't want to guard my receivers and leave them wide open to let me get to the five yard line.  One quick run later (yeah, I changed it up) I go up 14 to 0 and New York is all but done for. 


So another game is played and another day is done.  It's about to be a nice weekend for football and the Super Bowl will be a good game (I hope).  You all have a good weekend though, I will continue gaming as it goes on.  Adios for today though. 

Strider

As I said yesterday, I'll finish the section of the series I have with Strider.  Developed and published by Capcom, Strider was originally released in the arcade in March 1989 but was re-released as a second disc on the PlayStation with Strider 2 in July of 2000.

The game's story is much like Strider 2, the evil dictator Grandmaster rules over the world and Strider Hiryu takes on the task to assassinate him.  So he glides into the Grandmaster's capital at the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.  And so the mission starts and you control Hiryu through the Russian city.  The controls are very simple, as it did come from an arcade game, with only two real buttons: attack and jump.  You can hold down with jump to slide as well, but the controls aren't much beyond that.

So you move across the Russian roofs, having very little difficulty with the starting enemies, it's just some random soldiers with guns and bayonets who charge at you without pause and some floating robots that are simple.  The soldiers do try and spear you if they get too close, but they telegraph it so you usually know when to make sure to attack them.  Of course, the game is an arcade game, so it is purposely difficult to eat your quarters: you can only take three hits.  That means that any mistake can take you out and you really have to be careful.

The game also has a few nice power ups which are pretty easy to get.  The flying robots (some of the simple enemies I mentioned before) sometimes carry these boxes that you can slash to open and get a boost from.  There are straightforward ones such as one that heals you and another that increases you maximum health.  Then there are some "options" which give you advantages.  The first is this mushroom like enemy which circles around you and shoots blasts every time you press the attack button.  Another one of the options is a hawk, though to be very honest I'm not quite sure what it does besides circle around in the screen and look cool. 

Now unlike Strider 2, this game has a lot less bosses (or at least I fought fewer, but I didn't complete the first mission).  Each of the bosses is very interesting, and though seems simple, can still destroy you since it only takes a few hits.  The first boss is a large guy with yellow spikey hair and a lot of muscles who starts off by breaking away from a medical tank he's in and rips off his shirt.... yeah.

So he's a bit of a wrestler (and by a bit I mean very much so) and he starts by diving at you and then rolling across the floor until you either slash him or he grabs you.  If he grabs you, he flings you against the wall behind him and starts his process over again.  He's not too difficult once you realize you just have to wait for him to attack and slash him to stop him.  The problem is when he's defeated, fire suddenly rains down from the ceiling and covers the floor except for under the platform he started on and I lost most of my health to it.

So I continued further on through the level having difficulties with a new enemy: a robotic spider.  The enemy isn't that difficult, the problem is he's on a major slant either going up or going down so there is no direct line to him.  And when you are on a direct line with him, he shoots a laser at you.  Ouch.  So I finally get over the peak of the roof and into the building I've been climbing all over and I find another boss.  This one is a head looking thing that shoots a pair of lasers that bounce around the room and you just stay on the floor and slash at it until it blows up.  From there an opening appears in the floor and I fall in to get a face full of bullets from a random guy with a Gatling Gun who seems like he'll also be a boss.  I'll never know though because I took this opportunity to take a break. 

And so I've played another game and another day has passed.  This one, though while difficult due to the minimal amount of hits you can take before dying, was enjoyable.  I'll continue tomorrow and start to make my way towards Superbowl weekend.  Adios for today though.

Strider 2

I have started the month of February with a more recent game then those I have been playing with Strider 2.  Developed and published by Capcom, Strider 2 was released in the United States in July 2000.  It was released with a second disc which held the arcade game Strider, but they were mislabeled and displayed as each other. 

So the story of Strider 2 is very simple: the evil Grandmaster has taken over the world and it is up to Strider Hiryu to defeat him.  And the game begins with giving you the choice of three missions to accomplish, so I of course start with the first one: Destroy the militia group.  I'm given the orders to take out the terrorists who are occupying the city.  So your sent into the city to free it from the terrorists grasp. 

And one thing you learn quickly with the game is there isn't all to much to it.  You move through the level for a bit and then face a mini-boss.  Go a bit further... face a mini-boss.  And while some of them don't even justify being looked at, there are some that are actually very entertaining.  Such as the first mini-boss in mission one: the terrorist.  He's just this fat guy standing in a robe with a hand that looks like a a giant wrench... because it is.  He starts off the fight by raising his second hand (a gatling-gun) and shots off a few shots at you.  I took the opportunity to jump in and slash a few times before he lifted his wrench hand and tried to smash me.  The battle continues like that until you've taken half of his health where he begins to use a new attack: where he lifts his shirt and shoots rockets out of his belly. 

So the game continues on like that, a bit of level and then a mini-boss.  Most of them are simple in both name and appearance and difficulty: Spider Form and Tiger Form being two of them.  Neither are that impressive so I'm going to move past them.  The most entertaining mini-boss of the level are a set of three obnoxious girls who leap into the air and try and kick you a lot.  They attack as a team and throw kicks towards you with blasts to attempt to knock you out.  The entertaining part isn't actually the girls, but more correctly the area, you are riding across some flying vehicles in a self-scrolling section of the level.  The most likely way to lose a life is by falling off, but it becomes fun to crawl under the cars and hang on the bottom of them. 

But the level still isn't over, there is one more "big" mini-boss and then the final boss.  The final mini-boss goes by the name of Solo.  He is a guy flying around in armor with an arm-cannon that shots a spread shot at you as he hovers around.  Defeating him is simple, a single hit does a lot of damage so he's simple to defeat.  But he's not done yet!  After moving a bit further you get to face Solo version two... the only different that is initially noticeable is he has two energy rings around his shoulders.  Solo now moves faster, has more defense and throws the energy blades at you. 

And then there is the final boss of the level: the Emperor Dragon.  It's a flying dragon which you are on the back of.  It has a few moves, but it is a very simple one.  It turns and shots fireballs at you as a main attack.  Also, when it is horizontal, it runs electricity down its back to try and damage you.  Finally, when it's vertical, it turns and swings some clubbed fists at you to try and damage you when you're near its head.  And of course, the head is the only place you can damage it, so you are likely to take a bit of damage, but never enough to warrant any worry. 

And so I've started a new month and have played another game.  Keeping with how I have been playing, I'll go with Strider tomorrow and finish what I have of the series, and then it will be even closer to the weekend and the Superbowl.  Adios for today though. 

The Second Month

It's been a long month, but the year has only just now begun.  I've got so many games that it just has been a random choice of which game to play each day.  With the exception of continuing through series, I've put very little thought into what comes next.  The only thing I have put thought into is actually what doesn't come next.  I have actually been looking at games and deciding that they need to be played at certain times during the year, either to celebrate a holiday or to honor game designers and their creations.  The first of these semi random selections is actually coming up this coming week... want to guess what it is?

Yup, the Superbowl.  And while I have no stock in either teams playing, it is a time to celebrate and enjoy yourself (and myself for that matter).  So this coming weekend I'll be playing two football games: All Pro Football 2K8 and NFL Madden '10 (Madden on Sunday with the obvious game: Packers and Steelers). 

But of course this won't be the only game I'll be doing on a specified day: I have a few others I've thought of.  And hey, I'll let you in my head (though I'm not sure you'll want in).  So I'll give you the few I've decided on and then a few more as they pop in my head.  Seems good to me, hope you like it to.

April 24: Easter Sunday.  It's one of the few times that Western and Eastern Easter fall on the same day.  I figure I'll play a "religious" game: Bible Adventures.
October 31: Halloween.  Originally celebrated as the festival of the dead so I figure I'll play one of my few horror games: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. 
November 16: Celebration of the game developer Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of many of Nintendo's franchises.  I'll be playing on of his earliest creations: Mario Bros

Pikachu Week (February 27 - March 5):  Spawning endless television shows and movies due to a silly yellow rodent: Pokemon.  It is one of the largest scale roleplaying franchises allowing more customization then most games ever consider.  The week is based around the original release of Pokemon Red/Green in Japan, which will have its American version played on its release date: February 27. 

Sonic Week (June 19 - 25):  Replacing Alex Kidd as the mascot of Sega, trying desperately to dethrone Mario: Sonic the Hedgehog.  After Sega dropped out of the console wars, it was one of their only franchises to continue after.  The week is based around the original release of the first Sonic, which will be played on its release date: June 23.  

Jumpman Week (September 11 - 17):  Easily Nintendo's biggest franchise: Mario.  While originally known as Jumpman, he took on Donkey Kong before being given his own name and becoming Nintendo's mascot.  The week is based around the original release of Super Mario Bros, which will be played on its release date: September 13. 

Rockman Week (December 11 - 17):  One of Capcom's big three, the first of their multi-million dollar franchises: Megaman.  He's spawned seven different titular series and more games then most video games characters can even dream of.  The week is based around the original release of the first Megaman, which will be played on its release date: December 17. 

And so you know a bit about what the future shall hold, I'll play a game sometime later, but for tonight I'm out.  Adios for tonight though.

Rush'n Attack

I'm finishing the month of January with the Nintendo Entertainment System by playing the run and gun Rush'n Attack.  Developed and published by Konami, Rush'n Attack was released on the Nintendo in April 1987.  While the game is technically a run and gun game, you don't actually get to use a gun (there is a bazooka you can grab) as you use mostly your knife. 

The game is based in the Cold War (the name itself is a play on Russian Attack) and you take the spot of a green beret who is sent into enemy bases to destroy their secret weapon.  You start off each level by jumping out of a plane and parachuting to the base.  It's that simple, you just drop in and start running through with your knife. 

So the enemies themselves are not that different, there are three different types of enemies in the first level: the green soldier, the yellow soldier and the red soldier.  None are all too complicated, they just do their best to out number you and catch you off guard.  The green soldier just runs at you from either in front or behind you, straight at you without jumping or anything.  They just love to take your knife to the face.  The yellow soldiers are a bit smarter, they start lying down, then jump up as you get close and try and run into you.  They're specialty is dying and giving you the bazooka.  The red soldiers are the most dangerous as they jump kick at you as they approach, making them the most difficult to not be defeated by. 

So moving onto the actual level: it, as well, is very straight forwards.  You run across a section with some ladders to climb onto a higher platform and continue until the platform ends.  And then you continue running.  You jump over a few landmines and then get to a second section with an upper level.  The second upper level is a group of missile trucks and you race across the missiles up top until you get to the "boss". 

Now the boss of the first level isn't much of an actual boss, but more of a trap.  As you reach the final section, an alarm goes off and a bunch of red soldiers swarm the screen charging at you, about four at a time.  There are only four groups of them, so the optimum strategy is to use the bazooka and blast as they enter the screen and take them all down.  That being said, if you wasted bazooka shots before then or have a trigger finger then you can try to stab them all, it's not too difficult.  So after defeating them, you finish the level and climb the fence to escape to the second level. 

And so I've played another game and finished another day and finished my first month of games.  It's been 31 days and I'm sort of amazed I've kept it up this long, but it's been fun.  Tomorrow February starts, so I'll be playing another system, moving upwards and onwards.  I'll definently have to come back to the NES before the end of the year (I haven't even played some of my favorite games yet) but I'll start playing some more recent games soon.  Adios for today though.

Legendary Wings

So I'm continuing with the original Nintendo games with arcade roots with Legendary Wings.  Developed and published by Capcom, Legendary Wings was released in the arcade November 1986 and then on the Nintendo Entertainment System on July 1988.  The game runs much like Galaga or any top down flight shooter where you move across a self-scrollig level, collecting power-ups until... this sounds familiar. 

Why does it sound so familiar?  Because it's very much like a game I've played before: Dragon Spirit: The New Legend.  This game is in fact very much like Dragon Spirit, so much so that I had the exact same problem, by trying to use the bomb attack to begin before learning about the regular blaster.

So the easiest way to describe is to describe the differences from Dragon Spirit.  First and simplest, your an angel instead of a dragon.  Yeah, bit simple but it's one of the differences. 

Secondly, this game is harder.  I'm not sure if the game is actually more difficult or if it just seems that way because the enemies swarm so often.  Honestly I couldn't actually beat the first level because there are just some areas with so many enemies.  It wasn't the air enemies, but the ones on the ground because the power ups you obtain seem to boost your regular shot but not your grounds bombs.  So you are using your base weapon to try and defeat all of these enemies that you have to kill each alone that are all shooting at you and you're trying to survive and kill them so you don't have to deal with them when they're behind you and... yeah, it's the swarming that is more difficult. 

So, thirdly, a bit into the level there is this face in the ground and it started to spit smoke at me.  You can actually avoid it (I did in fact get past him when trying a second time), but getting hit by it causes you to fall into the mouth and get swallowed.  The screen at that point starts flashing and saying danger before the game becomes a sidescroller and you get to shoot at enemies.  But in fact I didn't last long before getting killed and getting another game over. 

And so another game has been played and I wasn't even able to get past the first level, but it isn't all that bad.  I am going to play something I'm good at tomorrow, or at least good enough to get through the first level.  Adios for today though. 

Gradius

I'm continuing on the Nintendo Entertainment System today with the very arcade styled Gradius.  Developed and published by Konami, Gradius was released on the NES in December 1986 (very good year).  It is an arcade style side scrolling space shooter (say that five times fast) where you move forwards gathering power until you face a boss at the end of each level.

Gradius is different from most space shooters (such as Galaga) because of it's power up meter.  The meter is six bars long and each time you get a power up, instead of just getting a boost, your option on the meter goes up.  At any time during the game, you can choose what is highlighted on the power up meter and get that bonus.  An example, if you get one power up, the meter goes to level one.  You can choose to get the level one boost, or wait for another power up and get the level two boost.  It gives a bit more strategy to the game, making you decide about better weapons or a faster ship.  The meter also gives a huge downside to losing a life, because you lose all of your power ups, making what may have been difficult to almost impossible. 

So, because the game is very straight forward, I'm just going to describe the power ups avaliable (I'm also quite bad at the game, so I never actually got to the first boss).  So the options are Speed Up, Missile, Double, Laser, Option, and ?. 

The first option (Speed Up) is easily the most useful, you start off slow.  I mean really slow, so being able to boost your ship's speed is a huge benefit.  You can also boost it multiple times, so it it's still too slow after the first boost, you can keep boosting it.  I know there's a limit to how much you can boost it, but for the life of me I don't know what that limit is. 

The next options until ? are all offensive boosts.  Missile simply adds a downward angled missile to each shot you take, effectively covering the bottom of your ship.  If the missile hits the ground though, it actually starts to fly along it until it goes off screen or hits an enemy.  Double gives you an extra shot at an upward angle as well, much like the missile, except without the ground sliding.  The Lase boost transforms your regular shot into a powerful laser that smashes through enemies (I should note that the laser cannot be used with Double, only one or the other).  

The last two boosts are the interesting ones: the first being Option.  Option gives you an extra glowing sphere that flows you around, it shoots when you shoot and can destroy enemies.  They follow you in a snake-like manner and have all the power ups you have, giving you substantially more firepower.   The final boost (?) seems like it should be much cooler then it is, it's simply a shield that sits in front of your ship.  It absorbs a few enemy shots before disappearing and making you gain it again. 

And so I've played another game and tomorrow is the end of the weekend.  I'll continue with something else tomorrow, maybe jumping back up to another platform.  Adios for today though. 

Double Dragon II: The Revenge

As I said, I'm continuing with the Double Dragon series with its sequel: Double Dragon II: The Revenge.  Developed and published by Technos, Double Dragon II was released in December 1988 in the arcade and 1989 for the Nintendo version.  While they both have the same plot, the Nintendo version has significantly more missions and a difficulty to choose from. 

So the story picks up after the first Double Dragon and the game doesn't expect you to guess what's going on; it is very straight forward and let's you read it. So, violence rules the streets of New york after a nuclear war and crime syndicates are growing continuously.  But Billy and Jimmy Lee are brave enough to challenge the syndicates and they are now being called the Double Dragons. The Shadow Warriors, apparently displeased about getting their tails whooped before, attacked the city and Billy's girlfriend Marian (the girl who is kidnapped in the first game) is shot and killed.  And so the Double Dragons are off for revenge. 

So anyways, the game works much like the last one, moving through levels, defeating enemies and then facing a boss at the end.  The controls were changed from the generic punch and kick buttons to a directional format where one button attacks to the right and the other left (punch the direction you're facing and kick in the other).  The new controls are a bit strange to get used to, but not all too difficult.  The game also removes the experience feature it had in the first, meaning you also start off with all your moves, which is a nice change. 

The enemies are a bit smarter in this game, all having their AI increased and being given more moves and the ability to run.  Instead of just charging in like the last game, enemies will now try and flank you and will run to close the distance.  They also all have some strategies that are quite annoying, in the first fight of the level, one of the goons kept jump kicking me right as I was standing up.

Anyways, you keep moving and after a few fights you run into this game's version of Linda who has gone for the mohawk look now.  She isn't wielding her trademark whip immediantly, but the Lindas do make it easy by slowly climbing down a ladder so you can knock them off and almost defeat them with a single hit.  You get to climb the ladder after that fight, and at the very top you face off against more Lindas, this time with the whip (actually looks more like a flail).

Soon afterward you face the first boss: Abo-no... it's not Abobo.  Abobo, though he does appear in the game, is replaced as the first boss by this big guy with a helmet named Burnov.  So he isn't as agile as all the other enemies, but will duck when you try a jumpkick, but the game has a nice uppercut you can do right after landing a jumpkick that is Burnov's weakness.  After a few, Burnov vanishes (dropping his helmet) and then reappears and puts on his helmet to keep fighting.  At this point he doesn't actually change or get harder, so a few more hits and he retreats for good, leaving his helmet as your prize.  

And I've played another game and onto the weekend I go.  Adios for today though.