Best and Worst Game Consoles: Part 2 - Villains
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/29/12 at 04:01 PM CT
Last week, I covered the heroes of console gaming. But it seems that where there is good, there must always be evil. When acts of greatness are replaced with evil deeds, not only do gamers suffer, but the industry as a whole suffers.
This week, I will look at the five vilest villains of console gaming:
5. Sega Genesis + Sega CD + Sega 32X
In contrast to the wise philosopher-king of the 16-bit era, the Genesis was nothing but a sophist, attempting to lure-in the uneducated through tricky wordplay. ‘I do what Nintendon’t!’ it said. ‘Blast Processing!’ it said. And when its sophistry failed, the Genesis tried to seduce the lowest common denominator among American gamers (a nation where the villain actually found some popularity) with bread and circuses: ‘My version of “Mortal Kombat” has blood!’ Regardless of its evil nature, the Genesis made a fine rival for the SNES, and the competition between the two was part of what made the Golden Age golden. Sadly, …
Best and Worst Game Consoles: Part 1 - Heroes
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/24/12 at 03:47 PM CT
As the 7th Generation of consoles draws to a close and the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 take their last, gasping breaths before shuffling-off into obscurity, it seems like a good time to take a retrospective look at the history of game consoles. This week and next week, I will stroll among the headstones, offering tribute to those great console heroes that have built the gaming hobby into a wonderful thing, while spitting upon the graves of those who would be better off forgotten, if not for the fact that remembering the great failings in history is the only way to avoid repeating them.
This week, I will look at the five greatest heroes of console gaming:
5. Nintendo Entertainment System
Looking back, the NES didn’t exactly have a stellar library of games. The library of games was pretty big, but for the most part (though there are several exceptions), the only ones worth playing were by Capcom, Enix, ICOM, Konami, or Nintendo themselves. But what makes the NES a hero among game …
10 Game Sequels that Surpassed their Originals
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/16/12 at 12:50 PM CT
Previously, I looked at examples of sequels that went horribly, horribly wrong. But on the reverse side of that coins are sequels that didn’t just meet their originating game in quality and enjoyability, but actually surpassed it in every way. Here are 10 examples of sequels to mediocre-to-poor games that ended up being spectacular.
10. Silent Hill 2
While I am of the opinion that all Survival Horror games can die in a fire, Chris informs me that “Silent Hill 2” is scarier and generally more awesome than “Silent Hill.” I guess we’ll have to take his word for it?
9. 007: Agent Under Fire
This follow-up to the ridiculously-over-hyped “GoldenEye 64” blew away Rare’s crowning achievement in every way. Not only did it look much better and have a much more usable default control layout, it was also a Bond game that wasn’t based on a movie. The entirely original narrative combined with a mission layout that felt like it was designed specifically to be a game …
E3 Impressions 2012
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/08/12 at 04:28 PM CT
After last year’s exciting E3, this year was a significant let down. Just when it seemed E3 was recovering from its near crash-and-burn in 2006, we get another year full of blandness, secrets, and overall malaise. While there were still a few rays of hope in E3 2012, it was a disappointing showing from all the major players.
Microsoft:
Want: Nothing
Not Sure if Want: Nothing
Do Not Want: Everything (SmartGlass, Kinect, new Xbox games)
Microsoft did a great job this year of reinforcing my disdain for the Xbox 360. Between SmartGlass (useless for someone who doesn’t own a smartphone or tablet), a variety of Kinect retardation (the Kinect should be solely used for UI navigation, never for gameplay), and the usual slew of ‘M for Juvenile’ games I am so fond of ignoring, MS may as well have stayed home and continued working on Windows 8.
Sony:
Want: “PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale,” “LittleBigPlanet Karting”
Not Sure if Want: PS3 Wheel, “Ni no …
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