Day 48 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: T-Shirts and Hoodies

I had a wander through some more photos and came across this one of Oscar and Rosie as kittens (I think they're about 4 months old), and me in my Sonic T-Shirt.

So I thought I'd share the rest of my gaming wardrobe... 

My Fave

Hmm, now that I look at these photos I think I could do with some more gaming clothes, like this. ^_^

Day 47 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Spectrum and Intellivision

I've been really struggling to find write something for today's blog so I thought I'd look through some old photographs and I came across these.

I remember the day I took these photos. My Mother-in-Law asked me and my Brother-in-Law to take some rubbish to the dump, she then said "Either you take the Spectrum and the Intellivision or they're going to the dump too."

Both machines are in immaculate condition and as you can see the majority of the games are boxed and complete. Unfortunately I haven't got around to trying them out, but when I get my Youtube channel going again I think I'll record some footage from these two.

If anyone else wants to offer up video game collections in exchange for odd jobs, please give me a call.
(^_^)

Tynemouth Classic VW Rally

Last Saturday the annual Classic Volkswagen Rally arrived in Tynemouth and it was a fantastic day out. I thought I'd share a few photo's of some of the classic cars and vans from the show. And be sure to check out this link for the Rally's website. (^_^)

 

  


 

 

 

 

Day 46 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Super Mario All Stars

Super Mario All Stars is possibly one of the greatest bundles in gaming history. Super Mario All Stars included four of the greatest Mario games of all time, plus they were all remastered from 8 bit to 16 bit quality, AND best of all it was bundled with the console! Let's take a closer look at the games bundled with Super Mario All Stars.

Super Mario Bros - What's your favourite Super Mario Bros memory? It may have been discovering that you could run in front of the scoreboard in world 1-2 and warp to later levels. It may be when you finally defeated Bowser and saved the Princess. Or perhaps uttering your first profanity when you get killed by those &#%$@£! Hammer Bros.

Whatever your memory, Super Mario Bros established Nintendo as a gaming industry juggernaut that has dominated the market in some form or another for decades. Super Mario Bros not only set the standard for Nintendo, but for every platform game since we first set foot in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Super Mario Bros The Lost Levels- The NES version of The Lost Levels was never released in the West, so we were getting something we'd never played before, which sealed the deal for most people buying Super Mario All-Stars.

It looked just like Super Mario Bros, which was the reason it was never released in the West in the first place, but beneath its deceptive exterior lay a game so gruesomely evil it reduced grown men to tears.

I finished The Lost Levels for the first time when I was 8 years old, my Dad even promised me £10 if I could finish it. After about 2 weeks of playing I thought I had finally completed The Lost Levels when I beat World 8-4...only for the game to go on to World A-1, so technically I didn't finish it and therefore I couldn't have the £10 prize. The Lost Levels = Pure Evil!    

Super Mario Bros 2/ USA- This was released in the West instead of The Lost Levels, and it was either a love it or hate it experience. I personally couldn't stand it as a kid as it wasn't like your traditional Mario game, and it seemed to be lacking in comparison to the other games in the bundle.

Instead of jumping on enemies to defeat them you had to pick them up and throw them into other enemies, which I found interesting for about 5 minutes, but then it became really frustrating when enemies couldn't be killed as there wasn't another one nearby. I only got around to finishing Super Mario Bros 2 for the first time recently and it wasn't as bad as I remembered it, but when compared to other Mario games, I'd rather play the others.  

Super Mario Bros 3- The biggest game in the whole bundle. Super Mario Bros 3 improved on every aspect of the Super Mario Bros series with 8 massive worlds to conquer, a whole new host of power-ups and competitive/co-op multiplayer so you could annoy all of your friends! The Mario Bros Arcade game was even included so you could annoy your friends even more.

This was another game I didn't finish until recently as I kept getting stuck in World 8. I had no feathers, frog suits or fire flowers, and I just kept getting killed over and over again. After leaving the game for a few...years, I finally defeated King Bowser and his Koopa Kids. Truly a happy gaming day!

Gone but not Forgotten: Snezzy

Snezzy

On 26th July 2014 at approximately 23:30, our Super Nintendo, Snezzy, sadly passed on. 

At the ripe old age of (probably) 22, good old Snezzy lasted much longer than most PS3's and Xbox 360's.

He enjoyed playing such classics as Super Mario All Stars, Starwing and Donkey Kong Country.

We think playing the Sailor Moon fighting game was too much for the little guy to comprehend, so he fried his own circuit boards.

Snezzy will be missed. （；＿；）

Day 45 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Crash Bandicoot

Back when the Playstation was in it's infancy, mascots were still considered an integral part of what made a console successful. Nintendo had Mario and Sega had Sonic, but Sony needed a mascot of their own to market their new console to the younger audience. They flitted between many mascots over the years however, Crash Bandicoot was the first in line and he arrived with this great 3D platform game.

The evil Dr Neo Cortex is building an army of animal soldiers to conquer the world, and he's even taken Crash's girlfriend for his dastardly experiments. So Crash has to journey to the lair of Dr Cortex to save her, expect lot's of jumping, spinning and funky music ahead.

The levels were very linear, as 3D platform games were also in their infancy (like the Playstation), so Crash was made to wander along winding pathways within jungles, temples and factories. Naughty Dog mixed things up by incorporating temple-run style levels and some 2D/3D platforming as well, so there was some nice variety that made Crash Bandicoot stand out from the crowd.

Crash had only one power up, a Tiki mask that would allow Crash to take a couple more hits from enemies, but collecting 3 of them gave Crash temporary invincibility. There was also hidden gems to find throughout the game, collecting them all would reveal a secret ending, so there was plenty replay value as finding every gem was certainly no easy task.

Everyone would love to see Crash back with his original owners, after spending many years appearing in terrible cross-platform titles, so hopefully we'll soon get to see some quality gaming with Crash just like the old days.

Day 44 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Import Games

Thanks to the internet and international shopping websites like eBay and Amazon, it's never been easier to pick up games you may have missed out on in the past. You might not have heard of certain games at the time they were released, if they were even released in your home country at all, and sometimes it's fun to discover variations on games you already own. And it's those variations that I want to look at in this post.

The PAL version (or European version) of Sonic the Hedgehog for example came with a bland pink and white cover and the booklet was printed in greyscale, which could be considered criminal in comparison to what I'm going to show you in a moment.

Sonic the Hedgehog (PAL Version)

Now here's the NTSC-J version (or Japanese version) and look at the difference!

Sonic the Hedgehog (NTSC-J Version)

The cover is so much more vibrant than the PAL release and the booklet is even crammed with hand drawn images of Sonic, Robotnik and other characters from the game. Sega of Europe possibly changed the design because they didn't think the NTSC-J design would appeal to European gamers, a real shame as the Japanese offering is fantastic.

I also discovered that NTSC-J Mega Drive/Genesis cartridges are shaped differently to PAL cartridges so they won't play on European systems. The curved plastic bumpers on either side of the cartridge prevent it from fitting in the cartridge slot.

PAL Cartridge (left) and NTSC-J Cartridge (Right)

I could make this post go on for a lot longer but I think I'll save more import related gaming for a future post or perhaps even a YouTube video. (^_-) If you know of any more fun import gaming related quirks drop me a comment as I'd be happy to hear about it. ^_^

Day 43 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: James Pond II Codename Robocod

Dr Maybe has kidnapped all of the penguins at the North Pole and taken over Santa's Workshop! Never fear, because James Pond is here and in this 2D platforming sequel he's got a brand new robot suit allowing him to walk on land and stretch to great heights. No more awkward, difficult to control swimming for Mr Pond.

The aim of the game is to rescue all of the penguins in each level and make your way to the exit. Robocod boasts a huge variety levels each with their own unique theme, some examples include toy boxes, bathrooms, musical notation, candy, factories, fun fairs, barns and even a world crafted entirely from Penguin Biscuits. Occasionally levels can be difficult to navigate as it wasn't always clear where you were meant to be meant to be going, but it was fun getting lost and discovering hidden exits to bonus levels.

James Pond 2 hosted a wide variety of enemies in all shapes and sizes, with huge intimidating bosses waiting for you every 3 levels or so. Luckily Robocod had a selection of power ups at his disposal, including invincibility and a strange toupee that allows him to fly. The best items however, are the three vehicles in the form of a car, plane and a flying bathtub (not sure why they bothered with the plane when you have the flying bathtub), these made levels easier to explore but strangely they didn't protect you from harm much.

The music was a strange mix of repeating melodies and Christmas carols. The constant ramble of slightly annoying tunes doesn't seem to affect the player, but those close by may be driven to insanity after an hour of so of Robocod's soundtrack.

All in all though, it's a classic platformer with some charming visuals and a great sense of humour. So suit up, hold on to your fins and prepare to pick up some Penguins. 

Day 42 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Plague Inc

Plague Inc is a mobile game where your objective is to obliterate the whole of humanity. You choose from a variety of diseases, each with their own unique abilities (you can give them a name too), then you pick a country to infect and try and develop your disease into a full blown catastrophe for humankind.

The map screen shows the areas of the world that are still fit and healthy alongside the areas that have succumbed to your plague. It also shows the passage of time (scarily from todays date, unless you have the wrong date set in your phone for some reason), and you'll see the planes and ships making their way across the world helping to spread your disease. There's even a news reel that let's you know how humanity is responding to your plague alongside humorous reports based on current events, it's updated regularly and it's a nice touch.

The Disease menu shows its biological makeup and various statistics; for instance how many people it infects on a daily basis and how many it kills. You can also earn DNA points by infecting new countries and preventing cures so you can spend them on new abilities. This includes transmission abilities (how your disease is contracted and spread), the symptoms of your disease and unique power-ups depending on which plague you chose (there's 7 in the main game).

Plague Inc is possibly the most gruesome mobile game I've ever encountered, but its dark humour is undeniably fun and a great way to kill time on the way to work. A majority of the updates are free but there are one or two 'premier' updates such as the zombie pack and the recently added Planet of the Apes pack. If you know of a more grisly mobile game than Plague Inc, let me know about it in the comments.

Day 41 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Aladdin SNES

The SNES version of Aladdin was often overshadowed by its immensely popular Mega Drive/Genesis counterpart, thanks to its gorgeous cel animations crafted by Disney animators, but the SNES release had an undeniable charm that made it such a joy to play. Apparently Disney had planned to release the MD version on all platforms, but Capcom held the rights to produce all Disney related games on Nintendo systems at the time, so SNES owners were treated to a unique game of their own.

Capcom followed the source material very closely and produced a beautiful 16 bit recreation of the Aladdin universe. Whether you were leaping from the rooftops of Agrabah, uncovering the secrets of the Cave of Wonders or beating up Grand Vizier's attempting to muscle in on your woman, it was superbly realised on SNES. Capcom even managed to incorporate the famous 'A Whole New World' scene (surprisingly it's absent from the MD release), developing it into a bonus stage allowing you to collect power ups and extra lives.

The only level that was totally improvised was the 'You've Never Had A Friend Like Me' scene, where Aladdin meets the Genie. Capcom let their imaginations run wild as they created a strange dreamlike world, set in the clouds, where almost every platform/object resembles the Genie in some way (arguably far more entertaining than the MD version). 

So which game do you prefer? Do you favour the superbly animated, sword wielding antics of the Mega Drive/Genesis release? Or the smooth platforming and beautifully detailed charm of the SNES release? Let me know in the comments.

Day 40 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Final Fantasy Theatrhythm

Final Fantasy Theatrhythm is, to my knowledge, one of the more trickier 3DS games to find for a reasonable price. Luckily I came across a copy in a pawn shop yesterday so I certainly wasn't going to leave it.

Theatrhythm celebrates the wonderful music of the Final Fantasy series, and while I'm not a fan of Squeenix's flagship franchise, I regard their soundtracks as some of the most influential video game compositions of all time.




Theatrhythm is a rhythm based game, with a levelling up system that I'm struggling to understand, and it sees you tapping your stylus in time with the music while scenes from the Final Fantasy series play in the background. There's no shortage of goodies to unlock with a virtual card collection depicting characters and monsters from the series, trophies for clearing certain requirements and naturally unlockable tracks that can be played in Theatrhythm's music player.

Final Fantasy: Theatrhythm is a certainly worth picking up whether you're a Final Fantasy fan, or simply a music lover, and it's definitely one of the better games I've found for 3DS. The sequel 'Curtain Call' will be arriving in September 2014 and it's going to be exciting to see (and hear), where the series takes us next. Here's hoping that Square Enix might even consider expanding Theatrhythm into their other franchises (e.g. Chrono Trigger or the Mana series), but we'll just have to wait and see.

Day 39 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Silent Hill

I finally picked up a copy of Silent Hill, and about time too considering I've played all of the others (except Book of Memories on PS Vita but who cares about that). 

Silent Hill follows the story of Harry Mason, a writer who takes his 7 year old daughter, Cheryl, to Silent Hill for a holiday. While driving to their destination Harry suddenly loses control of his car and crashes just outside of town. When he regains consciousness his daughter is nowhere to be found, so Harry journey's to the infamous town to find her (I bet he was wishing he went to Blackpool).

I'm about 2 hours into the game and I'm starting to prefer this one over Silent Hill 2. Despite the fact it hasn't aged well graphically, Silent Hill has retained its chilling atmosphere and will certainly have you sleeping with one eye open after a late night gaming session.

Where Resident Evil tried to harness your fear with all-out gore, Silent Hill went for a more unnerving psychological experience thanks to the disturbing creatures and characters that inhabit the world. There's some nice use of Dutch camera angles in Silent Hill (I don't recall them being used in the sequel), following the character and twisting around while not compromising the controls was an impressive feat. A lot of attention went into the sound production as well, the slightest noise in this game can literally have you jump right out of your skin.

Any developer working on the latest installments of Silent Hill should really learn from the series origins. In the likes of Homecoming and Downpour for example, the transition from the real world to other world is a loud obnoxious affair, with lots of special effects and it generally isn't frightening. The first game on the other hand provides a much more subtle transformation and hence much more unnerving as you start to question what's going on.

I'm looking forward to playing through the rest of Silent Hill as I've become a huge fan of the franchise after playing through the rest of series, and it's been fantastic seeing how it all began. Like any series Silent Hill has had its highs, and its lows, but we can always revisit (and in this case discover) the games that made Silent Hill famous and have them terrify us all over again.

Day 38 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Super Mario Sunshine

Summer is in full swing and I'm suffering from violent hayfever, so let's celebrate my having a pollen and mucus filled head by looking at an essential summertime game; Super Mario Sunshine.

Super Mario Sunshine has divided fans and critics in terms of its gameplay and design, but particularly on the FLUDD system that Mario carries on his back. Mario uses this to clean up graffiti, defeat enemies and navigate his way around puzzles and obstacles. Admittedly controlling Mario with the FLUDD can be frustrating at times however, I still consider Super Mario Sunshine to be the last great Mario game to ever be released.

Every Mario game that's followed Super Mario Sunshine has been easier and easier, with Nintendo practically holding your hand every step of the way, which is shame as I miss the challenge a new Mario game usually provides. The Super Mario Galaxy series may have been well developed, but I felt the experience was dull as I didn't need to go to much effort to complete the game. Large open worlds in Mario games have also been replaced with smaller bite-sized levels which lack the sense of exploration and self discovery offered by Super Mario Sunshine (and even Super Mario 64). 

The object of the game is to find out who's framing Mario for vandalising an island resort and to retrieve 120 Shine Sprites (the island's power source), with alternate endings depending on whether you find them all or not. Super Mario Sunshine had huge tropical themed worlds to explore, from coastal towns and industrial districts to fun fairs and volcanoes, and the graphical quality was absolutely stunning. Yoshi even made an appearance with a new ability; allowing him to vanquish enemies by spraying them with fruit juice.   

I've only completed Super Mario Sunshine the once but I didn't collect all 120 Shine Sprites.  I did set myself the challenge of finding the remaining Sprites, but unfortunately my memory card crashed and wiped my save file...it's going to be a long summer.

Super Mario Sunshine was on my Top Ten Games I Still Have to Finish, click the link to see the rest of list.

Day 37 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S

Okay, I swear my wife picked this game, but surprisingly it turned out to be a pretty solid beat em up and a great multiplayer title. Please keep in mind my knowledge of Sailor Moon is fairly limited, so if anything that I write here turns out to be incorrect please let me know in the comments (like I'm sure my wife is going to do).

Sailor Moon S is a blatant Street Fighter 2 clone, and while it's certainly not in the same league as SF2, it's a very good beat em up. The controls are responsive and special moves are simple to execute, but there's also some big finishing moves that require a little more effort. The effort is certainly rewarded however, as not only do you deal immense damage to your opponent, but Sailor Moon S is superbly animated and worthy of the franchise.

There are 9 characters to choose from but they're all Sailor Scouts, so no Tuxedo Mask or any antagonists from the series (apparently Sailor Saturn is also missing). It feels like a wasted opportunity with the amount of characters being very limited and I must brush up on my Japanese, as I'm wondering what on earth happens to make 9 protagonists beat the hell out of each other.



There's also a unique attribute customisation screen that allows you tweak certain aspects of your chosen character, for example increasing the amount of health you will start with. This has some drawbacks because opponents can become more difficult to defeat, meaning most fights will end on a 'Time Out' depriving you of that satisfying KO finish. I also felt the levels could be a bit more dynamic, a majority of them are just still images of locations from the show, it would be better if there was some breakable objects or animated backgrounds.

Sailor Moon S may have it's faults, but it has enough fan service to satisfy the most ardent Sailor Moon fan (hearing the theme song on the SNES is awesome). The game is also bloody difficult as I've been playing for about an hour and had my arse handed to me. Plus my wife is also taking great pleasure at defeating me, so I think I'll put on some Silent Hill before we go to bed. ^_^

NERG, Pickups and Being Sick

I've been quiet for the last week as I've been especially run-down and I even had to take a sick day from work for the first time in three years. Now that I'm feeling better I'll fill you in on what's been happening.

NERG and Pickups

Last Saturday I went to the NERG (North East Retro Games) show at Gateshead Stadium. It was their second annual show and this year provided more arcade cabinets, more pinball machines, and more consoles. There was also 28 vendors selling an abundance of retro games, with plenty of Japanese import titles up for grabs, alongside clothing, consoles and various arts & crafts.

Unfortunately I didn't get much of an opportunity to play on many arcade cabinets or consoles as the venue was full to bursting, but I must admit a lot of my energy was focused on expanding my collection and being a nerd. Myself and the Missus did manage to find some absolutely fantastic games to add to our over-burdened shelves, here's a little list of what we got.

• Silent Hill- PS1 
• Theme Hospital- PS1
• Final Fantasy VII (NTSC-J)- PS1
• Parasite Eve- PS1
• Bomberman Fantasy Race- PS1
• Tenchi Muyo (NTSC-J)- Saturn
• Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly Directors Cut- Xbox
• Kirby 2 (NTSC-J)- GB
• Goof Troop- SNES
• Kid Klown in Krazy Chase- SNES
• Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak- GBA 
• Sailor Moon- SNES

Sick Day


Tuesday was an absolute nightmare as I fell ill and had to take the day off work, but in-between all of the sleeping, fever and mucus I did manage to play some games. I went back to GTA Online for the first time in weeks and is it just me or have the servers gotten worse? The game disconnected at least 3 times, and occasionally wouldn't connect at all, but this was the least of my problems.

While waiting for a Deathmatch to start I was treated to the musings of a 12-13 year old, which involved claims that he was going to rape and murder our families. Unsurprisingly he was kicked before too long, but if I ever hear a kid of mine talking like that while playing games I'll hollow out their console to make a litter tray for my cats. I'll be playing the SNES on sick days in future.



Later on in the day I opened Facebook to find a new advert for the highly anticipated Destiny from Bungie/Activision, revealing 2 expansion packs offering 'new' missions...but the game itself isn't even out until September. It didn't take more than a brief look at the comments section to show that consumers weren't too happy about content being cut from Destiny and repackaged as DLC, with some even considering cancelling their pre-orders.

Sadly this seems to be the way things are going with new releases as publishers attempt to squeeze every last penny from our wallets. I enjoy getting new content for my favourite games but shameful cash-grabs like these really put me off buying the latest games.

Still, at least there's a new 100 Happy Gaming Days post coming tomorrow and luckily I have a bunch of new games to choose from. Which one is it going to be?

Day 36 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Grand Theft Auto Vice City

I remember just before GTA: Vice City was released in the UK, there was a teachers strike planned meaning schools, colleges and universities were going to be shut for a few days. I like to think the whole thing was an elaborate plot by the Department for Education so everybody could stay home and play GTA.

There was a buzz of excitement as fans were ogling the dedicated Vice City website for details on the upcoming release. Rockstar had made stacks of improvements since GTA 3 with the inclusion of motorbikes, apache helicopters, the ability to wield power tools, multiple outfits and that's only scratching the surface. I must admit I've missed the power tools from later instalments to the series, it was always fun climbing onto someone's car and slicing through the roof with a chainsaw.

I didn't even get to play Vice City when it arrived as I didn't have a PS2. I had to wait until the Xbox version emerged over a year later in a bundle with GTA 3, but the wait was worth it. Rockstar had improved the overall graphics, the car models were overhauled and they included the ability to have your uploaded songs play on the car radios.

In my opinion GTA: Vice City was the best game in the series (pre-GTA V, of course). Vice City was well scripted, the map design was excellent and the stylish 80's setting simply oozed class. 

Sadly, now that GTA V is on its way to next-gen consoles Vice City is starting to look like a bit of a relic due to it's clunky targeting system and ugly character models. It's been great however, to see the series evolve from its humble beginnings as a top-down 2D crime simulator, to a massive open-world action/adventure game and an indisputable gaming phenomenon. 

Hopefully when GTA makes it's valiant return with its sixth installment, we'll be returning to Vice City for more sun, sand and psychopathy that only GTA and Rockstar can provide.

Day 35 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Pokemon Red and Blue

Like many other 10-12 year olds in the late 90's I was sucked into the Pokemon craze that pretty much dominated the gaming landscape. The marketing campaign was extremely aggressive with dedicated magazines being published long before the game arrived, TV adverts were playing constantly throughout children's viewing hours and not to mention the cartoon series itself. Nintendo spared no expense to make sure that every kid knew Pokemon was on the way, and with the UK release in time for Christmas, Pokemon Red/Blue was guaranteed to be beneath most trees on Christmas morning.

I remember picking up the magazines before the game had hit the shelves, looking at all the monsters I could collect and it seemed so awesome. Assemble a squad of monsters, train them up and then trade and do battle with your friends. No matter where you turned there were kids glued to their Gameboy screens, unaware they were also walking billboards advertising Nintendo's cash cow.

I got Pokemon Blue (my sister got Red), in Christmas 1999 and I had beaten the Elite Four by New Year and collected every Pokemon by August 2000. My starting Pokemon was Squirtle and the last Pokemon I had to catch was Tauros and it was a pain in the arse, I must have spent months trying to capture one before I succeeded.

A friend of ours went to a Pokemon event to receive Mew, the special 151st Pokemon that could only be obtained by attending a dedicated event, but my sister had figured out the Pokemon duplication glitch so we made a Mew army. I still remember the looks of disbelief when showing up to battle and having 6 Mew's in my squad.

Do I still play Pokemon? Not really.

I have picked up the other games in the series, including Pokemon X, but due to the sheer number of Pokemon to catch I think it's just become insane. 151 Pokemon seemed manageable but I haven't got the time to be hunting over 700 of the bloody things. And personally I don't think there's been much innovation to the series as it's progressed, Pokemon X is the first in the series to be in true 3D, but it wasn't as much of a game changer as I hoped it would be.

Who knows, maybe I'm just getting older, but I still have the fond memories of being a victim of the most ruthless advertising campaign in gaming history. ^_^