Posts tagged Retro Reviews
Retro Review: Alien Trilogy (Saturn)
Feb 16th
With the arrival of Aliens: Colonial Marines on most consoles this week, what better way is there to prepare for the bug hunt than with the 1996, “classic,” Alien Trilogy on the Sega Saturn? Some may remember this game for its creepy atmosphere, eerie soundtrack, and frightening enemies: all traits that Gearbox is touting for its latest Xenomorph party. Alien Trilogy released in the prime of the Sega Saturn and PlayStation war, when movie tie-ins were confused but sometimes confusingly awesome (see: Die Hard Trilogy). But is this game as unnerving today as it was nearly 17 years ago? Grab your motion tracker and hope for the best. We’re goin’ in… More >
Retro Review: Splatterhouse 3
Oct 31st
There is no better way to celebrate Halloween than with gory movies, a few pranks, rotting your teeth out with bowls of candy, and of course one of the most unnecessarily grotesque video games on the Sega Genesis: Splatterhouse 3. But does Splatterhouse 3 really live up to its name and its prequels? Will this intense battle be worth it to save your wife and son from “The Evil One?” Or is this just a Friday the 13th rip-off? Join me, fair reader, in a journey into a game with bloody violence rivaled only by that of Mortal Kombat’s fatalities.
Retro Review: Mega Man 8 (Saturn)
Oct 14th
There are a lot of Sega-centric anniversaries colliding right now. The Sega CD is 15 years old. September and all its Dreamcasty glory just happened. A much less high-profile anniversary is upon us as well: The 15th Anniversary of Mega Man 8 for the Sega Saturn, aka “The game that saved Mega Man in North America”.
Okay, so technically that anniversary was several months ago and I am just now writing a review that I promised Josh I would write back when it was okay to still have your Christmas decorations up. All the same, in the spirit of anniversaries (Megaman is 25 this year, btw) and finishing what you start (don’t fire me, Josh), here is Megaman 8 for the Sega Saturn.
Retro Review: Cyber Troopers Virtual-On (Saturn)
Jun 15th
Back when the arcades were the default place for us to spend our time and not just a novelty, Sega was one of the biggest contenders in the market. Even today, what few arcades are left are dominated by Sega cabinets. Hopefully they still work! One machine that you will have to be insanely lucky to find, working or otherwise, is the 3D robot dueling simulator Cyber Troopers Virtual-On. Fortunately, Sega was also known for their uncanny ability to take an arcade game and bring it to home consoles – an ability that is showcased in this Sega Saturn gem.
Retro Review: Darkstalkers 3
May 21st
Did you know that Darkstalkers 3 is available for download on the Playstation Network? Okay, you probably did. We missed this re-release but with all the rumors about a possible Darkstalkers 4 floating around, it’s time to play catch up.
Retro Review: Alien 3 (Master System)
Feb 29th
In general, my advice to anyone who has seen the first two Alien movies but has not yet seen Alien 3 is to avoid it like the plague. There are about a hundred different reasons that movie is unworthy to follow the incredible movie Aliens and, as anyone who has seen Alien 3 can attest, about half of those reasons occur in the first ten minutes of the film.
Here is a surprise for you, though: A game based off of that terrible movie was developed for the Sega Master System and it turned out pretty good.
Retro Review: Aleste (Master System)
Feb 25th
Before M.U.S.H.A. came to the west and received its period-centric new name, it was simply known as “Musha Aleste”. The word “Musha” is a traditional Japanese honorific for a bad-ass flying military-grade super robot, according to some experts. The “Aleste” denoted it as part of Compile’s series of shooters by that name. While M.U.S.H.A. is undoubtedly the series most well known entry outside of Japan, it certainly is not the only one to make it to European and American shores. That honor went to the very first Aleste, re-named “Power Strike”. A different name such as “Insanely Hard Flying Plane Time” would have been more appropriate.
Retro Review: Sega Soccer Slam
Jan 14th
It was the year 2002 and Sega as a 1st party platform holder was no more. Instead, the house that Alex Kidd built (and was subsequently evicted from in favor of a potbellied rodent) was trying to establish itself as a 3rd party developer producing games for the Nintendo Gamecube, Sony Playstation 2, and Microsoft Xbox. Sega Soccer Slam was one of the early games of 3rd party era-Sega and it has largely been forgotten. Has this game’s descent into obscurity been unfair? Or was Sega Soccer Slam just not what gamers wanted to get their kicks?
Retro Review: Christmas Nights into Dreams
Dec 20th
Christmas Nights into Dreams is a “sampler disc” that SEGA released to select stores, bundled with certain magazines, Sega Saturn consoles, or Sega Saturn games in December of 1996. I stumbled across my copy at a local BlockBuster Video for $5.00 and it may have been the best $5 purchase from a rental store in my history as a gamer. I was a Nights into Dreams fan before buying this holiday demo, but this is the only demo disc I play every year as a tradition. Allow me to share with you why this game is filled with such Christmas magic. *Cue the Whoville Medley from “How The Grinch Stole Christmas.”* More >
Mini-Retro Review: Toejam and Earl
Feb 25th
I know, there’s not a person alive who doesn’t like this game. It’s my 100th post, I can do what I want, and right now, I want to tell everyone why this game is amazing. In as short a time period as possible.
