Ben-DutkaNo big games on the horizon until Deus Ex: Mankind Divided but it looks like there's some big retro news…
A mini NES with 30 games for $60? Sure!
I heard about this news earlier in the week, and frankly, I don't care if it won't get anymore games , nor do I care that it can't connect to the internet.
30 games is more than enough and I know they're going to include most of the great classics we all remember. Though I still have the SNES hooked up in the bedroom, I actually don't have the original NES, so I think I'll have to snag this when it shows up during the holiday season.
The video game experience has changed so dramatically over the years that NES games will be quite the nostalgia trip, and I've no doubt they'll remind us all once again just how hard those games really were. It might also remind me of Nintendo's legendary status and perhaps even psych me up for the Nintendo NX, even if the NES and NX aren't even remotely related in terms of technological capability. I do believe the SNES was the superior machine but hey, for $60 I see no reason at all to pass on this Mini NES. 🙂
I'm sorry but No Man's Sky looks like one giant snooze to me
Don't get me wrong, the PlayStation 4 exclusive is hugely promising and I hope it's a hit. And I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the developers, as Hello Games gave me one of my favorite games of the previous generation in Joe Danger . Clearly, No Man's Sky is a completely different beast; not only is it about a million times more ambitious but there's zero comparison in terms of gameplay.
My problem is that despite watching just about all the media available for this game, including the latest exploration trailer , I just find myself…yawning. I guess you have to have the MMO mentality, or at least the mindset that you require no direction, no story, and really, not even a defined set of goals. I believe I understand the fascination, in that what one player discovers will be entirely unique and there are endless possibilities. Perhaps people will get hooked on the immense exploration. But me, if it's only about exploration and cataloging things, and the like…I fail to see the attraction. That's just me, I guess.
Personal gaming update
I actually got a code for I Am Setsuna so I opted to forego starting the Blood and Wine expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt .
As I recall the golden age of console RPGs with perfect clarity, I ran down the checklist in my head as I played. Everything is here, my friends. Well, almost everything. We've got the true turn-based combat , which is tops on my list, and we also have the traditional world structure (a world map!), traditional party structure, and even a traditional story structure. And oh yeah, it has fantastic depth, a hallmark of many old-school RPGs that certain morons either completely forget or never knew about. Turn-based RPGs had some of the deepest systems on the face of the earth and the depth is here in spades, from the unique system of obtaining and utilizing magic to the food recipes we find to the strengthening of our weapons via crafting materials. The game even looks fantastic.
But after about 3 hours of playing, something was gnawing at me. Despite completely filling my checklist (with the minor exception of no battles on the world map, which feels a little bizarre), I felt a little under-whelmed. I adore the game, of course, but something was missing and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. At first, I thought it was the voices, but that couldn't be it because most old RPGs didn't have voice acting. Then I thought it might be some visual lacking, but that made no sense because this title looks far better than any of those old-fashioned games. Then, I hit on it:
No cut-scenes.
Yeah, I get it. We don't need them anymore and nobody wants them. Well, I've always called that a pile of streaming crap because when it came to relating a story, cut-scenes really did help. A lot. When you didn't have the tech to support the visual side well enough, cut-scenes served a very important purpose and let's not forget that some of the most memorable moments in RPG history have come from cut-scenes . There's a reason for that. It completes the experience, as far as I'm concerned. It gives those sprites personality and depth and dimension we never see in the actual gameplay, or when reading the text boxes. This only proves my belief that in certain structures, cut-scenes are not only welcome, but critical.
Of course, now that I've gone on this rant, I'll find that I Am Setsuna really does have cut-scenes and I just haven't seen any yet. That seems unlikely, though. Even so, I love it and it comes highly recommended to those who miss the good ol' days. 🙂
No Man's sky is[what i understand from the interviews] mostly about exploring space,so generally speaking:when it's not your thing then it's not your thing and i gues that it will not be enough for many gamers.
But i gues that there will also be a lot of gamers who will like it, like me[all guessing here,i need to play it of course] because i like a game that's about exploration,it's more than enough for me…can't help it,i love exploration.
Personal gaming update
I finished Resident Evil Zero[ps4 this time],
i liked it a lot.
Nice concept to swap gear with your companion although some times it gets a little bit annoying,also there is no box to place your gear and stuf in so i dropped it all in the same room in every new area:but all in all a good game,had a good time with it,neeeext……
[O…and i'm waiting for the dlc for Fallout 4 [and mods for PS4 as an nice extra]]
Last edited by slow and smart on 7/17/2016 7:10:42 AM
Whens the new FO4 dlc coming do ya know?
26-7[vault]
And August comes dlc Nuka world,gues also at the end of the month[last one]
Last edited by slow and smart on 7/19/2016 5:27:58 AM
Want that Nuka World
Hello…
… Is it me you're looking for?
So, ho many of y'all are playing Pokemon GO these days?
The adult in me protest but I won't lie – I think it's hilarious. How they've used real life map data as framework is done in such a clever way. It's simple but fun, at least for now. And my dog favors it too, her walks have never been longer than now. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 7/17/2016 7:32:58 AM
Do be careful mate, I heard people playing P-Go are being targeted by robbers and such.
Not to mention that a girl was hit by a car while playing P-Go.
I also watched that video of Central Park in NYC was swarming with P-Go players.
It's fun and nice to watch grown-ups unleashing their inner child but I wish every players a safe journey.
After all, our world is not as nice as the one Satoshi is living in, well except for the Rocket Gang thing.
I prefer to watch Pokemon Go from afar. Just the insanity that overtakes people playing that game to "catch em all" is something else. But never got into the anime or older games for that matter. Good luck on it. Seems like lots of people are having a blast playing it.
Also somebody just got shot over the weekend in my city. A few people were going into someones back yard and the homeowner "got scared". Definitely a bit dangerous at times.
I'm afeared of the pokemon.
Digimon 4evar!
lol I'm totally fascinated by phenomenas like this. Never seen anything like it. Is it a hype? Well sure. But fun while it last!
Local companies who happen to have a PokeStop outside their location even uses that in their advertisements! It's totally crazy.
So I'm hunting Pokemons on my way to and from work and am not afraid to admit it. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 7/18/2016 5:44:38 PM
Same here, I haven't watched any NMS trailer ever since the first one, I don't even know what to expect from NMS.
Got my hands full this month juggling between SO5 and Grand Kingdom.
SO5 may not be GOTY but it certainly isn't crap like some critics think it is.
As for Grand Kingdom, wow, that game is really the surprise of the year for me so far.
It's seriously addictive, building squads, going to war, doing quests, setting skills and equipments.
Seriously, you want depth? Grand Kingdom has it.
Grand Kingdom's beta sold me but I opted out of purchasing it because I knew how time consuming it is for me haha.
Is I Am Setsuna giving you those JRPG luke/warm fuzzies? That's all I need.
More than lukewarm, yes. 🙂
I fired up some game I never heard of on my new Saturn called Albert Odyssee and it was like Grandia meets Final Fantasy. Very cool warm fuzzies.
Been gone since I've been having a fight with Comcast's continuous lying, dishonest, thieving ways, so after only 5 months of being with them & numerous problems later, I told them to cancel me about 5 months ago.
So for now, I've been keeping up with this site weekly from my local McDonalds since they offer "FREE" WIFI & I can hang there till my laptop's battery runs out(about 3 hours).
Hey Ben,
Sorry to hear that you're not still doing this site 24-7 anymore, but I understand that you've got to go where your heart & mind wills you to go. At least you're still here putting away on the Sunday weekly reviews.
But I'm curious to know if you'll still be doing many game reviews, or just an occasional one or two here & there?????
Anyways, just wanted to say "GOOD LUCK" with any & all of your upcoming endeavors!
As for that mini-NES, I haven't seen it yet, but I recently bought a similar mini-Genesis Flash console, which has 80 games built-in, plus the cartridge port to play any of it's many other games too.
And along with it, I also bought a mini-Colecovision Flash console which has 60 games built-in too(no cart port on this one, sadly enough).
"Anyway, still great times for retro gaming, indeed"!!!
My own PGU, just recently finished GTA5, & have been going back & playing some older games, Splinter Cell:Double Agent & The Guardian Owls of Gahoole(a great flying game IMO)
Last edited by BikerSaint on 7/18/2016 8:05:04 AM
Glad you're alive Saint, you missed out on a lot. We are dead in the water here.
Thanks. 🙂 I may do the occasional review here and there, yes.
My thoughts on No Man's Sky mirror Ben's exactly. I have zero desire to only explore, without a story or a goal. Yet, I really do hope this game does well for the company!
As for Pokemon GO, I think it's brilliant! I don't play it myself, but I applaud Nintendo and the developers for finally creating a game that gets people to GO OUTSIDE! (Many have tried before, and all have failed…until Pokemon GO!)
Do we know there's no story or goals?
Gotta catch'em ALL! 🙂
The NES Mini is definitely a thing Im going to get. We never had Nintendo growing up, so other than Mario and Donkey Kong arcade I never got to play any of the others. I have played a few Metroidvania's however so it would be cool to play the "originals". Also since it is HDMI we can take it to family get togethers and hook it up and relive the "glory" days.
No Man's Sky for me is alot like Overwatch or Doom. Sometimes you just want to hang out and play. No story, just pretty visuals and good mechanics.(Hopefully No Man's Sky has good mechanics) With Doom and Overwatch, its just running around shooting stuff, which to be honest Im not very good at, in a cool looking environment, and in Dooms case awesome music. The idea that I can just explore a pretty universe, for even an hour or so, is very appealing to me.
Also didnt know it was PS4 exclusive on the consoles. Truthfully have only looked at this for PC since I think it would be very pretty at 1440p with max settings.
Last edited by wackazoa on 7/18/2016 10:51:18 AM
HOW DO I BEAT CYBERDEMON? After the first battle I'm already out of BFG shots so there's just one left. GAWD! I jump over and duck those swipes but it's just impossible. there's no way to get life.
@ world
you think hes hard????? wait til you get to spider demon then youll def want to break the game
I might have to bow out. That sh*ts not fair. I call that a broken game.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 7/22/2016 3:32:02 PM
I'll get that little NES depending on what those 30 games are.
Sorry to hear there are no cuts or FMVs in Setsuna, you REALLY do need those. Hell I was always against taking those FMVs out of games, it has always made them stale just because you can do things in-engine doesn't mean you should.
That extra layer of polish on great cut scenes or FMVs always made everything better and broke up the monotony.
I brought the best conclusion to Far Harbor! And I don't really feel like playing much these days, which stinks. Maybe it's the pain.
It's a good list overall. Some smart choices.
I would've made a few edits myself.
I don't think bumping out Contra for Super C was the best choice.
It would've been nice to also have Ninja Gaiden 2.
Blades of Steel and Battletoads should've made the cut.
… and Pac Man was a prior generation's game and shouldn't have taken a spot here.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/20/2016 3:53:23 PM
Is Tyson's punch out and Zelda in there? I dunno why I want it, I can play them all on my Dreamcast, (cept punch out sometimes have troubles) but it is damn cute!
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 7/21/2016 12:34:20 PM
I'll probably get the little nes. Back then I was all sega.
Rise of the Tomb Raider will launch on PlayStation 4 on October 11 in a new 20 Year Celebration edition:
will have an new chapter[and that chapter will have VR support]/a zombie-mode/A classic Lara card pack will let players play as various iterations of the character from over the years, including the original Lara model that started it all in 1996[the one with the spiky boobies]/all DLC…
So many games,i want this,but i'l wait …it will be cheap by the time i buy this 🙂
Last edited by slow and smart on 7/19/2016 1:02:21 PM
I AINT payin full price for Rise of the Tomb Raider unless it spit polishes my manhood.
It's a good list overall. Some smart choices.
I would've made a few edits myself.
I don't think bumping out Contra for Super C was the best choice.
It would've been nice to also have Ninja Gaiden 2.
Blades of Steel and Battletoads should've made the cut.
… and Pac Man was a prior generation's game and shouldn't have taken a spot here.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/20/2016 3:53:23 PM
Is Tyson's punch out and Zelda in there? I dunno why I want it, I can play them all on my Dreamcast, (cept punch out sometimes have troubles) but it is damn cute!
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 7/21/2016 12:34:20 PM
I'll get that little NES depending on what those 30 games are.
Sorry to hear there are no cuts or FMVs in Setsuna, you REALLY do need those. Hell I was always against taking those FMVs out of games, it has always made them stale just because you can do things in-engine doesn't mean you should.
That extra layer of polish on great cut scenes or FMVs always made everything better and broke up the monotony.
I brought the best conclusion to Far Harbor! And I don't really feel like playing much these days, which stinks. Maybe it's the pain.
I AINT payin full price for Rise of the Tomb Raider unless it spit polishes my manhood.
I'll probably get the little nes. Back then I was all sega.
And August comes dlc Nuka world,gues also at the end of the month[last one]
Last edited by slow and smart on 7/19/2016 5:27:58 AM
I'll probably get the little nes. Back then I was all sega.
Whens the new FO4 dlc coming do ya know?
… Is it me you're looking for?
No Man's sky is[what i understand from the interviews] mostly about exploring space,so generally speaking:when it's not your thing then it's not your thing and i gues that it will not be enough for many gamers.
But i gues that there will also be a lot of gamers who will like it, like me[all guessing here,i need to play it of course] because i like a game that's about exploration,it's more than enough for me…can't help it,i love exploration.
Personal gaming update
I finished Resident Evil Zero[ps4 this time],
i liked it a lot.
Nice concept to swap gear with your companion although some times it gets a little bit annoying,also there is no box to place your gear and stuf in so i dropped it all in the same room in every new area:but all in all a good game,had a good time with it,neeeext……
[O…and i'm waiting for the dlc for Fallout 4 [and mods for PS4 as an nice extra]]
Last edited by slow and smart on 7/17/2016 7:10:42 AM
26-7[vault]
Hello…
Do be careful mate, I heard people playing P-Go are being targeted by robbers and such.
Not to mention that a girl was hit by a car while playing P-Go.
I also watched that video of Central Park in NYC was swarming with P-Go players.
It's fun and nice to watch grown-ups unleashing their inner child but I wish every players a safe journey.
After all, our world is not as nice as the one Satoshi is living in, well except for the Rocket Gang thing.
Also somebody just got shot over the weekend in my city. A few people were going into someones back yard and the homeowner "got scared". Definitely a bit dangerous at times.
I prefer to watch Pokemon Go from afar. Just the insanity that overtakes people playing that game to "catch em all" is something else. But never got into the anime or older games for that matter. Good luck on it. Seems like lots of people are having a blast playing it.
So, ho many of y'all are playing Pokemon GO these days?
The adult in me protest but I won't lie – I think it's hilarious. How they've used real life map data as framework is done in such a clever way. It's simple but fun, at least for now. And my dog favors it too, her walks have never been longer than now. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 7/17/2016 7:32:58 AM