That was the year it was: 2019

And we come to the end of another year. This post will mark the final post for Game Tumour in 2019.

This year has been a quiet one. For me, a lot of my time has been committed to both Elder Scrolls Online and my newly-acquired Retropie. But having said that, there’s more to that than meets the eye: I’ve invested a lot of time in ESO and, much like fellow MMORPGers World of Warcraft and Star Trek Online, the time has come to move on.  Similarity, I think I have spent more time addressing issues running the Retropie than actually playing it.

But getting to ESO for a moment: It has dominated my playtime recently – indeed it is telling that I cast only one game from my ever-present Hall of Shame this year. However, the end of my time spent with ESO is within sight: I have (more or less) set out what I wanted to do and I feel there is nothing left for me to see therein (or at least without traversing over previously trodden ground). I knew I quite WoW when I realised I didn’t want to do it anymore and the same could now be said for ESO – the only difference was WoW’s ending was abrupt whilst ESO’s ending has been a long and slow detox.

Read into that what you will

I also think it’s fair to say that this blog has suffered as a result what with posts that were either about ESO or somewhat inconsequential. True, this blog has been going for nearly a decade which is an abnormally long time in Internet terms. And yes blogs seem very much redundant compared to Vlogs and Twitch. But I have no intention to give up on this blog – not whilst I have many more games to check out anyway.
So a new decade is a good excuse as any to walk away from ESO and towards a fresh start.

That being said, this concludes Game Tumour for both 2019 and the 2010s. Thank you for following me for all this time and I hope to speak to you all again sometime in 2020.

Five Man Band

Reports have been circulating on how the PS5 is in development. So I guess its safe to say that we are advancing towards the dawn of the ninth generation, whether we like it or not.

With each passing generation, I guess it is inevitable that we will keep moving forward at a rate that is difficult to keep up. But really, the days of computer/video gaming as a niche interest are long gone. Gaming is so commonplace, across many a medium that it is difficult to find something new to say.
I grew up during the Golden Age of Gaming (as some commentators have dubbed the 16-bit era) and I know how it was: Someone gets a great idea, it becomes a massive hit and clones come charging out of the woodwork. Super Mario bros. Doom. Street Fighter 2. But whilst that practice is still in place, it is not as prevalent as it once was.  Oh sure any JRPG made now would owe a considerable debt to Final Fantasy and any sandbox game is walking the path set by the Grand Theft Auto series, but now, any game is building off something else. Its harder for anything new to be said when everything is moving in a loop and forgetting what came before.
It's kind of like drawing off the John Lennon cover of Stand By Me instead of the Ben E King original.

It has been my experience that every new gaming generation has to bring something new to the table to blow away everyone;s mind. I mean, even better graphics than before can only keep you going for so long

Nothing quite like it in the entire galaxy

Yesterday I received an email inviting me to try out the closed beta for Gog Galaxy 2.0.

Needless to say i jumped on it straight away.

So far I have added the games I had obtained off of GoG, Steam, Origin, Epic and XBLA. I've even added the games I got for the Virtual Console.

Despite whatever reservations I have previously had about Gog Galaxy 2.0, I have to say seeing all my games arranged under the one umbrella is nothing less than a thing of beauty.

Thirteen years of service

In saddening news, I have retired my PS2 after thirteen years of loyal service.

It was 2006 that I purchased my PS2. At that point in time, the sixth generation was on the way out  so it may be strange of my to buy a console that was facing obsolesce. But what did it matter? I had the money, I wanted a console so i got a silver slimline PS2.
From, there I spent countless hours on that machine. I built up a formidable library of games, both PS2 and PS1, and discovering games that had passed me by years earlier. I took it with me when visiting friends' places, where it got plenty of shared use, and when I moved house. The PS2 may be the best-selling console of all time but my experiences are unique to me than the many other people who owned one. And whilst I purchased more consoles in the years to come, I never lost sight of my old friend.

Ultimately, however this has been a day that has been coming given that gaming technology is continually moving at a pace where it's difficult to keep up. Far too easily is something cast aside for something new. Indeed, it's a sobering thought that hours spent on one console can be erased with ease. Sure, I can play Final Fantasy X on Steam now but it's a far different experience when compared to firing it up for the first time on a PS2 after years absent from gaming.

Still, I will forever acknowledge the PS2 for the games it gave me, the times I spent using it and it being the endpoint of a drought and the true beginning of me as a gamer

.......So Long Old Friend......

No words left to sing

Recently an announcement was made that Singstar will be shutting down servers this coming January. This means no more DLC and Singstar effectively coming to an end.

This news is currently meaningless to me as I pretty much ditched Sing Star when I jumped ship to the Xbox. Still I did have a number Singstar games back in the day and I found them a lot of fun. It was great to get some friends around on an evening and belt out karaoke.

Still this does represent that gaming as we know it is more or less fad driven. And not much thought is given to the long-term or preservation. I'm not sure that the makers of Singstar would ever guess that people would be playing their games over a decade down the track.

And I doubt they would ever care.

Conan the Adventurer

Apparently Death Stranding will feature a cameo from Conan O'Brien

Source 

......This game keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Which in turn raises the suspicions that no matter much weirder it gets, it subsequently raises a level of expectation that could not hope to be met.
At this point, one gets the impression that this is going to turn out to be one troll move from Hideo Kojima (and it wouldn't surprise me if it did)

..........But I could be wrong

Intellectual Property Freely

So Capcom have announced they may show an interest in IP that has been long since dormant.

Well a sequel to Okami would be nice. And maybe some more Darkstalkers. And how about dusting off Warriors of Fate?

Return of the Headless Horseman

Return of the Headless Horseman:

Revenge of the Sega CD

Now that the Sega Megadrive/Genesis Mini is now available, it has come to my attention that there are expansions available (at least in Japan) for min-Mega CD and mini 32X.

I would like to think that someone wanted to get revenge on me for this but as it turns out, such additions are purely cosmetic.

A wasted opportunity if ever there was one.

R.I.P. John Kirby

R.I.P. John Kirby

This is Australia

In recent news, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia will now be including video game for preservation, thus acknowledging nearly forty years of Australian-made contributions to video game history.

Source 

Personally this has been a long time coming. As indicated above, forty years is a long time and it is a relief that it is being acknowledged and preserved.
After all, there is more to Australian-made gaming history than Fruit Ninja.

The Galaxy is calling me

Some musings on the proposed GoG Galaxy 2.0:

So CD Projekt are preparing for the newest incarnation of their gaming platform, GoG Galaxy, with the tasty carrot that it will aim to accommodate every game the player has under one umbrella. This will include those on other gaming clients (ie Steam, Epic, PSN and XBLA).

No way around it: This is an incredibly ambitious undertaking. One wouldn't think its possible but clearly CD Projekt think otherwise. The unusual nature of this relies on the participation of other gaming clients - and it's a strange concept to collaborate with the competition.

One question: Considering that CD Projekt have built a business out of retro games, will there room to add games from defunct consoles (eg SNES, PS1)?
I know Raptr had such a thing going - and it was indeed welcome to see an entire game collection in one place - but it always seemed to me that Raptr resented people not playing current games. I know this because I sent a message regarding a fault, regarding an older game, to one of the mods and their reply definitely gave off such a vibe. And to include obsolete console games - even if, say, they were to added manually - does indeed fit with GoG's modus operandi.

Still, the idea of having one's gaming collection arranged in an accessible format is too good to resist. It's what got me interested in Raptr and, hopefully, it's something that GoG will carry onward. 

7-Up

So this dropped:

Original video located here. Accessed 13th September 2019

Not much i can say really: Lot's of fast based action, quips being sprouted and explosions. But I guess it's expected from SqueeEnix at this point.

But what I will say is Aerith looks astonishing. She is clearly the highlight of the video and firm reminder that the City of the Ancients is going to be a kick to the balls.

Hard Drive's Night

In saddening news, my game-dedicated Hard Drive retired.

Of course it shouldn't come to a surprise that I would have a hard drive dedicated solely to games. It was over a Terabyte in size, it was christened Game Chest after my old box of games, and it held all my games, all the clients, all the mods and other bits & pieces.

But like all electronics, the Game Chest had a life span and, after six years of capable service, it was retired. And in it's place comes a new Terabyte Drive - thus making it mrk 5.

It's always an annoyance when a hard drive gives out and you have to recover everything - only to reinstall it all on the successor. But hey, it's something we, as gamers, all signed up for.

Twenty years of Dream

Today is the day that the Sega Dreamcast celebrates it twentieth anniversary. 

Even now, people are saying positive words about it and, believe it or not, games are still being released for it. That’s quite an achievement given how limited the life of any gaming console tends to be.

It would appear that history has been somewhat kinder to the Dreamcast, especially when compared to Sega’s ‘consoles that aren’t the Genesis/Megadrive’. One would think that was the product of a company that had learnt from their mistakes and doing everything in their power to deliver a winner of a product. Equally likely is that the Dreamcast pioneered many of the features that are now commonplace in recent consoles. But perhaps the most likely reason is that it had a short-lived lifespan that was only ended by Sega pulling out of the hardware race. And as the saying goes, Nothing helps a cause like the blood of a martyr – one need only ask John F Kennedy, James Dean and Firefly. 

I still have my Dreamcast and I am unwilling to part with it. And it would seem that that is the consensus with people who still have their Dreamcast: It was a great console and certainly worthy of more than being reduced to a footnote in gaming history. This, coupled with the martyr status, is reason enough why people hang onto their Dreamcast, why they still use it and why some people have gone out of their way to continue to release games for it even when the console long ceased being in production. And if those factors still matter then it’s safe to say that the Dreamcast is ultimately a far cry from a failure. 

So here’s the twenty years of the Dreamcast. It may have been a last roll of the dice for Sega but what a way to go out.  

Left Strandard

So a new trailer has emerged for Death Stranding, showing off the gameplay

Original video located here. Accessed 26th August 2019

Well at least it has some resemblance of a proper game.  

But the mystery of what the hell is going on in this game endures.  

I just hope this isn't going to end up like Lost and keep teasing mysteries but offer no resolution.

R.I.P. Takashi Iwade

R.I.P. Takashi Iwade

Confusion

So the big news of recent note is that Insomniac games got bought out by Sony.

I only hope that this means we can have Fuse Overstrike, the game that never was:

Original video located here. Accessed 21st August 2019

Progression

Look how far we've come:

Original video located here. Accessed 9th August 2019

Throwing down the Gauntlet

Another game I played last weekend was Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows.

Being a child of the eighties, I knew of Gauntlet. It was title that was held in high esteem, known for it's four-player action, it's use of sending out enemies by the swarm to fight and it's use of speech. Yet at the same time Gauntlet has a reputational for some oddball spinoffs (not least of which is the Atari Lynx version) that haven't quite succeeded in carrying a monumental legacy. Its for this reason that I haven;t given the series much thought in years.

That was until I was presented with Seven Sorrows: A PS2/Original Xbox game that a friend had on his 360. Upon playing it, it is immediately apparent that the familiar is present: The PCs of Warrior/Elf/Wizard/Valkyrie, the use of speech, the maze-like environment and the use of Zerg Rush before it was even called Zerg Rush.

I stress: My experiences with Gauntlet has been limited. I knew of the original game, I knew of it's reputation, I played the second game once and I even played the Lynx adaptation. So I have little to no attachment to the franchise. So what do I make of Seven Sorrows?

It's a lot of fun.
Seriously: It's great mowing through hordes of baddies, building up impressive combos. And there are moments of desperation in trying to find the all-too important health (Cheese!).

Does it live up to the legacy of it's namesake? Who cares?! This is great!

Two Hearts

Last weekend I went to friend's place and ended up having a game of Castle Crashers (among others).

As those familiar with Castle Crashers would know, there come points in the game where the players rescue captured princesses - only to fight each other to see who gets the kiss from said princess. And when these moments come between myself and my buds they become contests of the ferocious variety. And the kind that I never win.

That was until the weekend where I finally manage to win such a contest. And not only once but twice!

Seems that every dog has his day

Back on the Borderline

Recently I've been having a crack to Borderlands 2.

I got talked into playing this through some friends of mine - that and seeing it (along with some DLC) on a Steam sale for 97% off. This game has a sizable fanbase behind it so there has to be something going for it, right?

So far, this gaming is proving to be a lot of fun. I have only previously played Borderlands 1 on one occasion but here I've been able to put a lot more time into it. Time that has revealed to show intense action and wicked sense of humor. And being irate at Claptrap.
Needless to say, I will be persuing this one more in future....

Sometimes, a passionate fanbase can make sense.

You might know of the original sin

Following last week's attempt at Divinity Original Sin 2, my gaming buds and myself decided to take another shot.

This time was better as we all had a better idea as to what we were doing. There had been attempts to learn about this game in-between times and we had a better of how the game worked. We also stuck together in a group so we got the cooperation part down pat. We also choose the Story mode in order to make things less difficult.

But in the end it all went downhill. Someone decided to pick a fight with the wrong person and we got flattened. We didn't even reach the point where we last got flattened!

I have had heard rumors that this game was tough and presents not so much a leaning curve as a learning right angle. I don't think so: Every time I've played this game it's proven to be learning experience. I can't speak for my gaming buds but this is one game I'm not going to give up on any time soon...

Out of the Race

Yeah we all know this: The moment when the PlayStation suddenly became a big deal and Sony affirmed their presence in the console race.
Who would've guessed that such a short speech would've become such a pivotal moment in gaming history?

Original video located here. Accessed 10th July 2019

What i want to know however, whatever happened to Steve Race? For a guy beyond such a pivotal moment in gaming - that is still talked about even now - he seems to vanished off the face of the earth.
Well according to my research, he appears to have left Sony following the successful launch (perhaps unsurprisingly) and gone and done his own thing. I will not begrudge him for it but it's fascinating to me that a guy makes such an effective pitch - one that has astonishing repercussions - and then disappears quietly into the night.
From a distance of twenty-plus years, it would be fascinating to hear his story - especially considering that this was the moment that effectively crushed Sega like a fly - but it is unlikely he would divulge such business-minded matters. But, of course, that only adds to the mystique.

But I for one would like to hear his story before it is lost in the ravages of time.
One can imagine it would be fascinating one....

Pie-Station

When I got my Retropie, it came with a mammoth selection of games - to a point where one would think that every game released on the Megadrive/Genesis, SNES, NES, and Gameboy was thrust onto a microSD card.
Conversely the no. of games for the N64 and the PS1 are about....ten each.

To me this represents something I've often felt in recent years: The legacy of the PS1.

As mentioned above, there is no shortage of games on the systems of the previous generation(s). Looking at such a library for my Retropie, there will be little to no effort required to pick out a classic. Sure one may find some shlock  but what does it matter when there are plenty of games that have managed to withstand the test of time.

But the PS1?

On my Retropie I have added to the PS1 library but that was with games I already own. But even then it library looks kinda sparse. I know the PS1 had a huge library but whereas the above-mentioend consoles also had huge libraries, the question arises: How many games on the PS1 were actually..well.... good?
If you have a huge gaming library then what exactly is the ratio of great games to stuff that has been forgotten?

A quick glance at the wikipedia page of the PS1 has the proclamation that the console has a game library of well over 7000 titles. That is an impressive number to be sure but, again, just how many of those games are actual game-changers (so to speak)? And more importantly, how many of those games have withstood the remorseless ravager that is time?

The PS1 games that came with my Retropie are as follows:

• Colin McRae Rally 2.0 
• Crash Bandicoot
• Destruction Debry
• Dino Crisis 2
• Gran Turismo
• Grand Theft Auto
• Mortal Kombat Trilogy
• Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
• R-Type Delta
• The Raiden Project
• Resident Evil 1
• Resident Evil 3
• Ridge Racer
• Street Fighter Alpha 3
• Tekken 3
• Tomb Raider
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
• Twisted Metal 2
• Wipeout 3

Not a bad showing. I do recall some of these games being a big deal during the PS1's heyday  but how many of these are considered indisputable classic on par with, say, Super Mario 3, Chrono Trigger and Super Metroid? Three? Four?

Conversely, the PS1 games that I added to my Retropie are as follows:

• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Ghost in the Shell
• Loaded
• Metal Gear Solid
• Return Fire
• Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels
• Suikoden 1
• Suikoden 2

Of course, being the guy who added these puts me in a position where I can decide for myself what games I want to play and project what games are worth a damn to any onlooker. Note how two of those titles are exclusive to the PS1 (Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy Tactics) and have since come to be recognized as two of the defining moments for the console. But, as stated previously, they represent two of the big three that everything else on the PS1 seems doomed to remain in the shadow of (the other one being Castlevania Symphony of the Night).

Needless to say, whereas the PS2 has gone down in history as a monumental hit (highest selling console ever), as the years go by the PS1 is looking more like a fluke...

Sin Bin

Earlier this week I persuaded some of my friends to have a crack at Divinity Original Sin 2.

It should be noted that this was the first time that any of us had played it so we were all going in blind. So how did it go?
Firstly, the character creation screen was impressive boasting a wide number of choices and selections - even for the Original/fixed characters presented at the beginning.
Upon playing, things showed promise with the interface, the character interaction and being able to listen into conversations that one's own character wouldn't normally have access to.
However the first speed-bump came when one of us got into combat well before everyone else. Thus that character had to fend for themselves whilst the rest of the party rushed to their rescue. Of course, that foolish character died and one of the resurrect scrolls was utilized - little did we know is that said scrolls are rather costly....

So eventually we made it to the Fort of Joy which presented an interesting challenge: There's a lot to do here but we needed to stick together: We couldn't go wandering off. And what do you know, we did just that. Eventually however, we all got flattened in a boss fight.

As mentioned earlier, we were all going into this game blind: And, being experienced RPGer's that we are it soon came clear that this game is trying to work a genre made for single-players and applying it across a group. It's an admirable effort to be sure but here, there are four minds at work - each of which operate differently and may be going in different directions.
I was aware that this game operates under the mechanic that each of the characters are all working with one another but, at the same time, are pursuing their own agenda. It's a brave idea to be sure and certainly encourages cooperation but foes it work in practice? I have no idea.

Still this was a first effort so further development is possible....

Can't Stop the Music

I have been playing ESO for a very long time., A verrrrrrrrrry long time.

So much so, that I've heard the music so many items over that it's at a point where the music starts to grate.

So I've given myself a small challenge by finding the most ill-fitting music I can to match up next to my ESO sessions.

So far this proving to be the strongest candidate:

Original video located here. Accessed 3rd July 2019

Mana Street Preacher

Here's something that came up recently that was enough to garner my interest: A remake of Seiken Densetsu 3 will be coming to Switch, Steam and PS4 under the name of Trails of Mana. The first three Seiken Densetsu games will also be coming to the Switch under the title of Collection of Mana.

Source

I have no hesitation in declaring Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) as one of my favorite games of all time. And I have been interested in checking out the sequel even if such a prospect is easier said than done as it never got an English release. So this should make for some welcome news, right?

If only it were that simple.
For you see, the term remake perturbs me (as always): Secret of Mana got a remake but it got a frosty reception - and I personally thought the visuals looked hideous. To have Trails of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 3) readily available - at long last - may seem appealing but it's not the same game - it's just sporting a new coat of paint. But whether or not that coat is any good is another matter entirely.

So If I want to play Seiken Densetsu 3 it would seem the proposed collection may have appeal. But could this be the trigger that brings me to get a Switch? Only time will tell.....

Seven ate Nine

With E3 comes more and more tidbits about the Final Fantasy 7 remake. But for me, the real surprise is, in amongst such news is the announcement that a remaster of Final Fantasy 8 has been announced.

Source

I personally haven't given much thought towards Final Fantasy 8. For me it was the game faced with the monumentally difficult task of following the mega hit that was FF7. Furthermore, it seems to me that a lot of people hate it and think it the point where Square began to lose their way and make games that tend to do nothing but polarize opinion. It was that understanding that led me to believe that SqueeEnix weren't going to consider it for a remaster.

But appears I was wrong.

I suppose it may be wishful thinking of me to hope that SqueeEnix may take this opportunity to address/fix some of the criticisms of the original game (boring characters, incomprehensible plot, short dungeons) but one can only dream...

Final Genesis

The final lost of games has been released for the Genesis/Megadrive mini. Whilst there are the usual suspects (Sonic, Phantasy Star, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Streets of Rage, Columns) the real treat lies in the obscure, namely Alisa Dragoon, Tetris (!) and Darius.

I could grumble about some exclusions - no Shining Force 2? Seriously? - but I will give the people behind this endeavor some credit: they are really going all out and putting in the effort in digging some treasures and not going with the same out stuff that Sega has pumped out many times over.

But ultimately, I'm still not sold on Genesis/Megadrive mini - not while my Raspberry Pi continues to exist.

The Gate opens

No way.

Original video located here. Accessed 7th June 2019

No. Frigging. Way.

Just when i thought this franchise has disappeared off the face of the earth it gets resurrected by the capable hands of Larian Studios.
 
Too good to be true? Maybe but who cares?! More DnD-inspiured goodness!!!

Or else!

The intro for Elsweyr:

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd May 2019

Anyone else getting a Game of Thrones vibe out of this?
It must be the cello.

Secret of the Silver Blades

And for the first time this year i have the satisfaction of casting a game from my Hall of Shame: Goodbye Lunar: the Silver Star!

 Original image located here. Accessed 17th May 2019

When I was a kid I wanted a Mega CD. I didn't know of it's failings at the time (and had I known, I would've thought twice about having one) but it was the idea that appealed to me. Having this big thing to plonk in front of my lounge room TV that had all this power behind it.
However in the decades since, I have come to regard the Mega CD as an anomaly. On one hand history has written it off as a failure being too expensive, too unwieldy, plagued with shoddy FMV games and being a major misstep that signaled the beginning of the end of Sega. But on the other hand, it was something of a pioneer for CD-based consoles and, as it's defenders maintain, there are decent games if one is prepared to look. After all, there is a reason why said games go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

And in my research, the Lunar games tend to appear at the top of the heap.

It is interesting to view this game twenty six years on and without any nostalgia goggles. The first thing that strikes me is that this game does indeed have some perosnality behind it. The art direction is impressive and the use of anime-esque cutscenes are equally superb. The famous translation from Working Designs works a treat and, even if it is well-removed from the original script, has some genuinely laugh-out loud moments. The music is also great - unsurprisingly for a Mega CD game - with the first Overworld theme and the final dungeon themes being particular favorites.
It's just as well that this game does have that personality because I found this game to be quite short. I'm used to playing long RPGs, both on the console and the computer, so Lunar, by comparison comes across as being a rather short game. Which then brings me to the next problem this game has: the encounter rate is ridiculous. Often i would be fighting one battle immediately after another. Oh sure a high encounter rate would be handy to build up money and XP, but eventually, my party so so powerful that the random battles became flat out annoying. Also problematic was the economy in this game: The best weapons are monstrously expensive and it takes a lot of grinding to get anywhere near the money required of them. Matters aren't helped with the money drop rate being low and the selling of previous powerful weapons yielding diminishing returns.
It is likely that the high encounter rate and the economy were both to compensate for a short game but who can tell for sure.

Still, I did find a lot to like about this game - after all, if it got revamped for the PS1, Saturn and GBA among others then it must've done something right. And, for a game on a system with a notorious reputation of housing some stinkers, this is indeed a diamond in the rough.
Now about the sequel.....

The journey of a thousand miles...

Nearly there...

Interestingly enough, this is may not be the most time I have spent on a game (I swear i have spent longer on other games) but it is the only evidence that i have spent (nearly) a thousand hours on a game. Amazingly still, this may not be an accurate representation of the time I have spent on ESO: It only tallies the number of time spent running it off of Steam - thus when considering the time spent playing ESO before attaching it to my Steam account, the number of hours would be much larger.

A scary thought indeed....

A slice of Raspberry Pie

A recent acquisition:

Well considering my interest in retro-gaming of course I would have a Raspberry Pi.

Doomed to stay in line

So this came to my attention recently. A mod for Doom that reduces to the game to linear state.

Original video located here. Accessed 8th April 2019

Clearly this is joke mod and I have to admit: there is some amusement value in seeing those mazes reduced to singe never-ending corridor. 

Of course now I'm imagining the Doom marine being confronted with this stupidly long corridor that he eventually gives up in disgust

From Genesis to Revelation

So The Megadrive Mini is now ready for pre-order. Which is a surprise to me as I'd thought it had already been released.
Perhaps my indifference is due to dreading seeing the same collection of games in yet another iteration of Genesis/Megadrive nostalgia. But so far, things look promising with Shining Force 1 and Castlevania Bloodlines but of course, this is only the beginning....

The Blizzard cometh

I don't believe it. GoG have cut a deal with Blizzard. Thus we have not only Diablo but both Warcraft 1 and 2 now available on GoG.

Blizzard have certainly built up an impressive body of work over the years but their use of it has been frustrating. On one hand they officially release Lost Vikings and Black-throne onto Battle.net but on the other hand, whatever goodwill they may have built up is inexplicably ditched.

Personally, I don't know what kind of deal GoG brokered but it's one I'm grateful for.
So does this mean that more Blizzard titles may be available in future?

The Other Sega

Recently, Sega released a poll focusing on their franchises and asking which ones would the public be interested in seeing more of.

What is of particular significance however is the 'Other' option which presents a window of opportunity to enter in one of their dormant franchises. Which I encourage any Sega fans out there do to. But knowing them they would have already done so by now.

Running Hollywood

So this has been doing the rounds recently.
A promo image of Sonic the Hedgehog for the upcoming LA movie.

 Original image located here. Accessed 11th March 2019

It looks completely stupid. What more do you want from me?

Come Inside

Ever played a game where, through obtaining a certain camera angle, you can see the inside/structure of your PC/Avatar?

It's quite a terrifying sight, isn't it?

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

Following on from the previous post, it becomes clear that the development of the PS5 represent an indication that the Ninth Console Generation may be dawning.

I suppose the usual amount of time has transpired for a new console generation but there's only one thing I want to know:

With a new console generation what are Sony going to do?

With the current situation with gaming, i can't help but see a bit of history repeating itself: For you see, when the PS1 arrived in late 1994, Sega was in a weakened position following the failure of Megadrive/Genesis add-ons and third party developers were irate with Nintendo due to it's draconian restrictions. Sony couldn't ask for a better window of opportunity and were subsequently able to make sizable impression in the console market.

Now? Microsoft is a weakened position with a degree of hostility towards the Xbox that, even as an owner of an Xbox Scorpio has to admit, is hard to ignore. And whilst Nintendo is still in the race (although it's doubtful that they will ever leave), their lawsuits on ROM/Emulation sites have not only generated some bad press but have made the preservation of gaming history a talking point.

Could this present another window of opportunity for Sony?

Knowing Sony, I wouldn't put it past them to push the rumored 'play every PS game ever' feature on the PS5, seeing Nintendo's ruthlessness towards their own history. But would Sony take the preservation of gaming history seriously like how the likes of Steam and GoG are doing? I doubt it.

What will you do Sony?
What will you do?

King of Hearts

And now a mention of Kingdom Hearts 3.


That was it.

Okay seriously, I never had much interest in the Kingdom Hearts series - I suppose that lack of interest can be explained through being left exhausted by hanging around hyperactive fangirls.
But from an outsider's perspective, this game has been along time coming so there is indeed something to be said about a game being saved from the purgatory of unreleased games. Also impressive is that there is so much content spread across multiple games - even if the plot of the series is famous for being incomprehensible (both within and without the fandom).

So despite my lack of interest in Kingdom hearts I will at least give it props as a gaming franchise that is massive, ambitious and successful.
After all, there won't be countless rabid fangirls without a good reason for them

Station to Station

Rumors are circulating that the proposed PS5 will play every PlayStation game ever made - which means those that appeared on all it's predecessors.

Source

I have explained before that when the PS3 was released, i noticed it had no backwards compatibility - so not willing to part with my PS1 and PS2 games, I gave up on PlayStation and have since never looked back.
I mean, it was certainly a turnabout face, when the PS2 offered full PS1 backwards compatibly, right?

Since then, I have no idea about what Sony have done since in regards to backwards compatibility. Sure there are some PS1 and PS2 games available on the PSN but whilst good news for those games on there, it's no so great for the games not on there.
So to have such a turnabout face is a surprise on my end. What made Sony, known for shunning backwards comparability change their mind?

Are companies actually waking up to the dangers of poor gaming historical preservation?
Did Sony see the backwards compatibility functions on the Xbone and grow jealous?
Did Sony glance at GoG and see the success/brand-loyalty/money they were generating?
Did Sony see an opportunity arise with Nintendo's weakened position with their closure of the Wii Shopping Channel and their condemnation of ROMs?

But, as always, these are just rumours.
The real judgement comes when the PS5 shows it's face.....

Wii aren't ever getting back together

On the weekend, I paid one final visit to the Wii Shopping Channel to download any games that I had missed. Fortunately for me, I was still able to.

I also had a look around and, predictably, there was nothing there. Where once were games for sale are now blank spaces.

It is indeed a sobering thought that an aging 8gb SD card is the only means I have to play certain games.

The Day Wii Parted

And so, the day has come: the Wii Shop Channel has been closed down by Nintendo.

I suppose the real feat here is that something has latest well over a decade in an industry that tends to move at a lightening fast pace. But such wording does describe a problem that is growing within the gaming industry: Things are moving so quickly that it is difficult to keep up. Subsequently, far too often many older games are being forgotten.

Whilst I've spoken about the sorry state of gaming preservation, I do have some anger directed at Nintendo for their cavalier approach to their history. Whereas the likes of Steam and GoG have their games available forever, Nintendo would rather have their games being made difficult to get a hold of let alone play. It is indeed frustrating that many classics are going unplayed and many aspiring game developers are unable to learn from the pioneers who came before them.

Still, the Wii Shop Channel was, for me, the singular reason i got a Wii. The means to play all those historical classics, that passed me the first time around, was a delight to behold. And it's the same reason why I still hang onto my Wii - and, with all my downloads from the Wii Shop Channel safe on a SD card, I certainly see myself continue to use it in the future. 

Rest In Peace you glorious thing you.

Noseblud

In recent months I played a lot of Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings.
And during the Attila campaign i came across this:

Somehow the anime geek in me will never find this not funny.

Face Facts

Well Red Dead Redemption 2 has been out for a while now.
Thus the excitement and anticipation in the lead-up to it's release now seems a distant memory. ]
I suppsoe that's to be expected with any game relased, but there's something i wnat answered.

Has anyone correctly identified the characters in the promo art?

 Original image located here. Accessed 21st January 2018

I remember this being a big deal, with people trying to match names to the faces (I tried it myself) but now we've had the time to get to know these characters, with recognizing famailiar faces and being introduced to new ones. So has anyone put names to the faces?

No Tickets to Paradise

During the holiday period, i came across something that made me irate:

Original video located here. Accessed 18th January 2019

Admittedly, Nintendo's lawsuit against various ROM sites (including Emuparadise) is news to me. Somehow, I have not been keeping abreast with the emulation front since I've been playing old games that have been easily accessible (via Virtual Console, Steam, and GoG).

I am however disgusted with this hostility towards emulation. For me, emulation is providing a vital service in preserving old games and making them readily available - even in the face of companies who are doing nothing of the sort and subsequently getting irate and bringing in the lawyers.

Little counter-productive don't cha think?

No doubt this fracas will result in some bad PR for Nintendo. And may make the topic of emulation a greater talking point than previously. So it would be interesting to see what will happen in the aftermath of this.....

Return of the Dragon

Happy New Year!

So here we are: Another year, and another series of posts to fill up a blog that flat out refuses to die. 

So to kick things off for 2019, this was something that caught my eye during the holiday period: Panzer Dragoon 1 and 2 will be getting a remake.  

This is good news for me. Whilst it does present hope that the fabled Saga may be following suite (admittedly however slim), the real treat is that Sega have made a big step in acknowledging their post-Megadrive history and are making some of their lesser-known/overlooked classics in a new light. I heard rumours that Sega were considering dusting off some old IP and here, we have some proof to back it up

So, there's some hope for 2019. So lets see if that potential is met....