A History of A Console: Game Boy

In case you missed it, (how could you with it being one of the first things you saw when you booted up Facebook), the Nintendo Game Boy turned 25 recently (in Japan, it has a few more months before it hits the quarter-life crisis in North America). It is a landmark moment for one of the most successful handheld units of all time and one of the most important pieces of hardware in video game history. Ask a group of people if they have ever owned a Game Boy and I guarantee the majority of that group would say "Yes, I had that old, grey, brick version too".


Well, that "Old, grey, brick version" is now old enough to rent a car, so let's look back at what helped make Nintendo a powerhouse in the video game industry and what led to many fond memories for so many of us: the original Nintendo Game Boy.

Should we call it the 'Game Man' now?

The Game Boy was released in Japan on April 21, 1989, the U.S. on July 31, 1989 and Europe on September 28, 1990. It was the follow up to the successful Game & Watch line of handhelds. It was created by Gunpei Yokoi, who also worked on the Metroid series, as well as extensive work on the NES, and helped create the Virtual Boy (let's not talk about that, trying to stay positive here).

The idea was to take what people loved about the NES (simple gameplay, franchises, etc), and add the portability factor from the Game & Watch series. On top of that, they decided to bundle in one of the best and most influential games of all time: Tetris.

So many hours of fun and frustration.

Game Boy definitely kept it simple, 2 buttons, start/select, and a D-pad. That's what gamers at that time needed. The Famicom/NES were hot items, the Atari 2600 was a hot item, the Intellivision and Colecovision we experiments with various degrees of success because they were asking consumers of a relatively new concept to do way too much. Example: Baby Jeff, I know you are just learning to crawl and may start standing upright soon, but the Drake Relays are next week and we need you ready to go for your 400m Hurdle race.

Game Boy was very innovative as well. Sure, you could have used 4 AA batteries to get your 10 - 12 hours (!) out of it, but you could also use a rechargeable pack and/or AC adapter to help your power needs. There also was the multiplayer element with the addition of the link cable, which you could use to hook up 2 Game Boys, each with their own copy of whatever game you wanted to play. This would be used later on to be the form of communication for the Pokemon series.

It's super effective......in making sure you never sleep!

The Game Boy released with 4 games in Japan, 5 in North America, and 3 in Europe. (Imagine if the Xbox One or PS4 launched with that many today....people would RIOT). Besides Tetris, we had: Super Mario Land, Baseball, Alleyway, and Tennis. After all was said and done, counting Japanese, North American, and International releases, there were roughly 716 titles for the Game Boy. That is insane!

So let's look at some of the best, 2 have already been mentioned, and the others are expected Nintendo fare:

Super Mario Land:

While it may not be as world recognized as its NES counter-parts, the idea that you could take a great platformer on the go and have Mario go with you was a BIG deal. It also helped that the game was a lot of fun. Also, it helped that it was a launch title and gamers wanted stuff to play on their new systems.

The Legend of Zelda - Link's Awakening:

What started as a port of the SNES game Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ended up becoming its own thing and produced one of the best Game Boy games of all time. A later "DX" version was released on Game Boy Color with color graphics and an exclusive dungeon.

Ducktales:

One of the best-selling games to not involve Nintendo's cast of characters. The Game Boy port featured the same controls, music, and stages as the NES version, though the stage layouts were changed to accommodate for the Game Boy's lower resolution screen.

Wario Blast featuring Bomberman!:

Video game crossovers were still a novel idea, so taking a Nintendo character like Wario and putting him in Hudson's Bomberman universe was a really interesting idea. It is worth noting that Blast is the U.S. version of what was Bomberman GB in Japan. Wario does not appear in GB. Bomberman's debut on the Game Boy was a very successful one, and even had special content you could access via the Super Game Boy, like color graphics, custom explosion sounds, and a multiplayer mode.

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I could go on with the games but know this: basically anything involving Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Zelda, Pokemon, etc, sold well and were good games.

The competition took notice, obviously, so what came out of the shadows to dethrone Game Boy's success were the SEGA Game Gear, the Atari Lynx, and the TurboExpress. All 3 were technically superior systems. The Lynx came at it with color graphics, a backlit screen and networking capabilities. However, the $189.95 price tag and necessity of 6 AA batteries for only 4 - 6 hours of use helped the Lynx to an early demise. The Game Gear was the strongest competition, sporting those much coveted (apparently) color graphics. What made the Game Gear stick, however, was the ability to be fully compatible (with an adapter) with all Master System games. Game Gear was successful, just not as successful as Game Boy. As far as the Turbo Express goes.....well this might actually be the first time you have ever heard of it huh? That might be all the explanation I need.

The system was revised a number of times throughout the years, the "Play it Loud!" series was introduced in 1995 and was the same concept, just with colored cases, there was the Game Boy Pocket which was lighter, slimmer, and used 2 AAA batteries. The Game Boy Micro, which could literally fit in the palm of your hand. The Game Boy Light, only released in Japan, featured a backlight and was the only one to feature that until the launch of the SP in 2003. Of course, there was the Game Boy Color as well, Nintendo finally caved in and gave us color. Geez.

Nintendo's history of accessorizing the hell out of its products was in full force with the Game Boy, I remember buying a unit that attached to the top of my Game Boy that acted as a magnifying glass to make the screen bigger, that also had a built-in light so I could see on those late car rides. I couldn't tell you if that was officially Nintendo who made that or not, just something I remember (maybe not so) fondly. There was the Game Boy printer and Game Boy camera, of course. There was also this:

The Super Game Boy which would allow you to play Game Boy games on your SNES. Sure, it might take away from the whole "mobile" aspect of the Game Boy but if your Game Boy was charging or your parents were out of batteries, you could just bypass that while at home and boot up your SNES.

It was reported that within the first 2 weeks of launch in Japan, the entire stock of 300,000 units were sold out. When the Game Boy was released in North America, it sold 40,000 units on the first day. Together, the Game Boy and Game Boy Color have sold over 118 Million Units worldwide. The price tag? $89.99. This was genius. Here is a simple, easy to use, handheld device allowing users to take some of their favorite franchises on the go AND it's affordable? Those are some of the reasons why most everyone you know either had one, or were around one while growing up.

The original Game Boy was discontinued in 2003. Nintendo was moving on with the Advance, the SP, and were working on a Game Boy with 2 screens. A Dual Screen Game Boy? That can't work, right? (Please sense the sarcasm, my 3DSXL is getting a workout as of late). If you don't have a Game Boy, you can play most of the library through the Wii, WiiU and 3DS via the 'e-shop'.

The Game Boy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2009, and rightfully so. Game Boy gave gamers of that era exactly what they wanted and paved the way for future iterations and Nintendo's continued dominance in the handheld market. So let's all wish Game Boy a Happy Birthday and think fondly back on those times where we "went to bed" only to rack our brains around how to beat our friends Tetris score.

A History of a Console: Atari Jaguar

This week, I figured I would try something new. Every time I post a "Flashback Friday", I am reminded of a simpler time. The days of 2 buttons, cartridges, Game Genies, the first load times, companies like Philips and Panasonic trying their hand at consoles, before achievements and trophies, back when consoles had a reset button, those were the days. So let's take a look at the consoles of long ago and how they helped us get to the 1080p/3D/60fps world we live in now.

Atari was THE name in video games for the longest time when gaming was still in its infancy. The Atari 2600 took the world by storm and showed that arcade games at home were a real possibility. The subsequent Atari 5200 and 7800 and their various home computers made Atari a household name and a gaming juggernaut.

However, today's Monday, so let's get depressed.

Scary for so many reasons.

Atari decided it wanted to get back into the home console market in the early 90's. Systems like the Genesis and the SNES were making a lot of money for SEGA and Nintendo respectively, and video games and video game systems were starting to come into its own and become a more stable industry. Atari and a company called Flare II were working on 2 different console ideas: the 32-bit idea (Codename: Panther) and the 64-bit idea (Codename: Jaguar), when development of the Jaguar progressed faster than the Panther, Atari cancelled the Panther and focused on the Jaguar.

The Atari Jaguar was released in late 1993 in New York and San Francisco, and to the rest of the US in early 1994. The whole marketing strategy was "Do The Math"...

Even a 3DO reference huh? This is really starting to get depressing.

Ah, the "Bit-Wars", when all people cared about was having more than the other guy. Did we even know what "bits" were in terms of video game consoles back then? Hell no! We just wanted the most of whatever it was.

Here's the problem though: The Jaguar wasn't actually a 64-bit system.

Follow me here: The Jaguar's CPU and GPU produced a 32-bit signal that went through 64-bit graphics accelerators. Atari claimed that the mere presence of these accelerators was enough to justify their 64 bit console claim.

It's kinda like that episode of Spongebob Squarepants where Spongebob buys those inflatable arms and pumps them up so he looks strong, then when he enters the weightlifting competition and actually tries to be strong, the arms end up exploding. The Jaguar can say it has the power and show it in all the advertisements all it wants, but when put to the test, it just wasn't there.

Also consider this: One year after the Jaguar was released, SEGA released the Saturn and Sony released the original Playstation. So, Atari already had the deck stacked against it. (A) They had been out of the console market for a while before releasing the Jaguar (B) It was the first to go through uncharted territory with the "64-bit" claim (C) It was kinda lying about the "64-bit" thing (D) SEGA had a bigger following and more titles (say what you will about the Saturn) (E) Sony was the ambitious newcomer to the scene after talks of a SNES CD add-on broke down with Nintendo...

Should I go on? OK, how about this abomination?

The Godzilla of controllers

You thought the original Xbox's "Duke" controller was bad? (Well, it was).

I never understood the need for this, and especially from Atari. The Colecovision had this , the Intellivision had this, the original Atari 2600 had a joystick and ONE FRICKIN' BUTTON! That was the competition back then. Looking at the Jaguars competition:

SNES: 4 face buttons, start/select, 2 bumpers

Genesis: 3 face buttons (6 on some other models), Start

3DO: Well those kinda got out of hand.

Jaguar: ALL THE BUTTONS!

Maybe this would work well for someone like Andre' the Giant, but not for your key demographic.

Then Atari made the "Pro" version of the controller which added ANOTHER row of buttons labeled 'X' 'Y' and 'Z'. Basically what SEGA did with the Genesis and Saturn controllers.You didn't need that many buttons for the kinds of games the Jaguar was pushing out. When you think of Doom do you think you need 17 different buttons?

Hang on, I gotta find the button that kills you.

OK enough bashing on the hardware for now, let's just mention a couple games, since there actually were a couple good Jaguar games.

Tempest 2000:

Good game, kick ass soundtrack.

Alien vs Predator:

Could play as a Marine, Alien, or Predator and all were pretty fun. Also, it was actually a suspenseful, scary game, something recent Alien games seem to lack.

Doom:

C'mon, it's Doom. Referred to as "The Big Motherfucker of First Person Shooters", the Jaguar port was well done and still fun to play.

Wolfenstein 3D:

Same goes for the original first person shooter.

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Being ambitious is great and all, but now Atari had a system that developers had a hard time making games for, since this is the first "64-bit" console (we know the truth). This inevitably led to lack of titles for the Jaguar, so interest in the system (if there was any) quickly died out.

As late as 1995, Atari even made infomercials basically begging people to buy their console, which retailed for $249.99.

The Jaguar CD was released in 1995 and was the long-promised CD add on to the Jaguar. Only 11 games were officially released for it, the most "well-known" titles being Primal Rage and Dragon's Lair. Also, it made your Jaguar look like a damn toilet, which was fitting in retrospect.

Not lying, you see it, right?

According to Atari at the end of 1995, they had sold roughly 125,000 Jaguar units and had approximately 100,000 still left in their inventory...ouch.

Think of this too: one of the peripherals announced for the Jaguar was a VR Headset. Imagine playing Doom in the early equivalent of an Oculus Rift. Or, better yet, I wonder if it would have came out, maybe this wouldn't have.

The Jaguar and Jaguar CD were discontinued in 1996 and took Atari out of the console market. Many of the Atari properties were bought by Hasbro in the late 90's (and are now strewn about all over the place).

The Atari Jaguar was an ambitious attempt by the old kings of video games to stay relevant in a world that was passing them by. It was just so ambitious that nobody could do anything with it. Third-party support wasn't there, the titles weren't there, and the interest wasn't there. I don't have to "Do the Math" to know that doesn't equal success.

Flashback Friday: Excitebike

One of the big releases this week was Trials Fusion. There is a growing fan base surrounding the Trials games and many users are creating amazing things with the included track editors. So with the video game world clamoring over motorcycles, I figured I would talk about the ORIGINAL motorcycle game: Excitebike for the NES.

The Forever Wheelie

Chances are, this was one of the first games many of us ever played. Excitebike was officially released in Japan on November 30th, 1984 and in North America on October 18th, 1985 as a launch title for the NES. I didn't play this until later since I would have been a little over 2 months old and my motor(cycle) skills were still developing. (I totally could have got it though, it's me we're talking about here).

We all remember how the game worked: finish the race in a certain time to move on to the next race. There were 5 tracks in the game which you could race solo or against the computer racers.

And of course, there was this:

So good! It was very satisfying when you won a race, set a new record, and got to hear this song all at once.

Of course there was the "Design" option as well where you could take pre-set pieces and form them together to make your own track for you and the AI racers to kick up dirt on. In the NES version, there were "save" and "load" options, but those features didn't actually work. You could only save your tracks in the Japanese version of the game using the Famicom Data Recorder peripheral. So if you can get your hands on the Famicom Disk System, a copy of Excitebike for the FDS, and the Data Recorder, you'll have the superior version.

We've all been there, Red.

Japan also had a version called Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium. The concept of the game was the same, except the AI drivers were replaced by Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, and several Koopa Kids. So, in a weird way, this marks the first Mario Kart. Mind blown?

It's worth noting that a direct sequel didn't come along until 2000 with the release of Excitebike 64 for the N64 (naturally). That is a whole 15 years of a successful game not getting a sequel. That would NEVER happen today. Well maybe it does..., OK, fine, a couple times, Probably needed more time.

Probably won't end well.

Excitebike and the Motorcycle Men have become icons and have appeared in many other titles. You can unlock the NES game in Excitebike 64 and it is one of the many NES titles you can unlock in the Gamecube version of Animal Crossing. The Motorcycle Men appear as a special attack pick-up in Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Wii. People have even made various sculptures of the riders.

Excitebike is a classic. Still fun to this day. Instantly recognizable by the music, the sounds, and the look of the riders. One of the first games to let us use our imagination and make our own tracks. I have no problem going back to this game, since I already have such fond memories of playing the hell out of it throughout my life. Also, go buy Trials Fusion.

Awesome Video Game Music: Killer Instinct Theme

A while ago I posted one of the most iconic themes in all of fighting games with "Guile's Theme" from Street Fighter II. While it is a great piece of music, it reminded me of other fighting game music. As I booted up my Xbox One yesterday, today's idea was staring me in the face, and proceeded to Kombo the shit outta me...

I present today's entry into Awesome Video Game Music: from Killer Instinct (Released November 22nd, 2013 - Xbox One)

The "Killer Instinct Theme"

Yes! Just...yes! (I know it's around 25 minutes and it's the same loop over and over, but it sure beats constantly clicking replay, right?)

When people talk about fighting game theme songs, of course people are going to talk about Mortal Kombat. MK is such a big part of pop culture with its various movies and web series and presence in the arcades. Even non-gamers know what you are talking about when you mention MK.

However, Killer Instinct has always had a cult following. When KI was announced as an Xbox One launch title, people lost their minds. Sure, KI may not have been the BEST fighting game, but it had some stuff going for it and quickly made a fan base.

Enter the Xbox One, Double Helix, and the new Killer Instinct. This game is badass and the song leading you in to the fighting makes you feel badass. So much so that this is now my ringtone. If you call me and I don't pick up my phone right away, you'll know why.

In comparison, I found this video:

You can hear the progression from the original to the now. Even back when the original game was released, the song was awesome. It is really interesting to hear how "90's" the original themes were and how they could take that and revise it for modern times, and then do it so damn well.

Sometimes I have my Xbox on with Killer Instinct playing this song in the back while I play games on my PC.

While it may not "go with everything" the way "Guile's Theme" does, the theme to Killer Instinct still stands alone as the best intro music to any fighting game ever made.

What I Think Of: War of the Vikings

Before wars were won with guns and hi-tech weaponry, there were axes and bows. Before Combat Knives, there were only fists. Before there were nukes, there were....well nothing really. At any rate, wars were different in the time of the Vikings and now we have a game to prove it.

Here is what I think of War of the Vikings.

You wanna tell him his hair is girly? Didn't think so

So what exactly is War of the Vikings? As best as I can describe it, it's a medieval-era themed combat focused game in the same vein as games like Mount & Blade, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, and Fatshark and Paradox's previous game, War of the Roses.

This is not an average "run-and-stab" action packed game. These games are deliberately slower paced and more strategic. These games aren't meant for everyone. Patience is rewarded and getting any hit or kill is super satisfying. I can't tell you how many times I gave a little maniacal laugh whenever I would perform a full-on swing to my opponent's head with a long broad axe, as their head came flying off.

Have at you!

I personally love this type of game. You have to be fully engaged in what's going on to stand a chance, and even then, it's a pretty grueling challenge when you first start playing. You're going to end up hitting your teammates and losing XP, you are going to get your head taken off several times, you are going to go through a spell where you don't/can't hit anyone for a while and get frustrated. It's OK, everyone is experiencing that, whether you are level 1 or 31, been there, done that.

Without getting too off course talking about this genre as a whole, let's focus primarily on WotV. First of all, when you purchase it on Steam, there are 3 different versions:

- Base game - $25

- Blood Eagle Edition - $35

- Valhalla Edition - $175

WHOA! OK, before you panic let's describe what's going on here. The Base version gets you the game, you can get in and get full access to the game, all is good. The Blood Eagle edition gets you a couple exclusive items and more gold to start with to customize your character. The Valhalla edition gets you the soundtrack, an "e-novel", every item or perk unlocked, a ton of gold to give out to other players, and every future DLC pack or update for FREE. Fatshark and Paradox have always done a fantastic job updating and supporting their games so when they say the value will go well past the $175, they mean it. Now it's up to you to decide how committed you are to a game like this. Also, if you do decide you want a better version after purchasing a lesser version, you can always pay the upgrade price on Steam.

I went with the Blood Eagle version since I do love these kinds of games and I still want to afford rent.

You're already dead!

The main mode I have been playing is Team Deathmatch, there is also a Conquest mode which I'm sure I will try at some point. Each server can dictate what the kill/time limit is. I played on one server where the limit was 100 and one where it was 125. Confirmed kills are the only kills that count towards the overall score.

You start with 3 default classes: Warrior, Champion, Skirmisher. Basically, it amounts to: Sword-and-shield guy, Two-handed Axe guy, and Archer. As you play through, you level up, unlocking custom classes and the ability to purchase weapons, perks, and customization options for your characters. You play as either the Vikings or the Saxons and each has their own individual look.

Sure, go ahead. I'll just be lying here covered in arrows. Ass.

Just because the pace of the game is slow doesn't mean there isn't action to be found. I usually joined servers that were nearly full and they can make for a hectic time, especially on the smaller maps. One second you could be staring down an opponent ready to take his stupid head off, the next second two enemies come rushing at you from the sides and your day is ruined. Or maybe a javelin comes at you and ends up sticking out of your chest.

Throughout the hardships, you do have moments of joy. Whenever you land a hit, you hear the satisfying sound of a blade hitting flesh and watching blood fly out of the guy (Kinda sadistic, no?), and when you land the killing blow you feel like you accomplished something and it is incredibly satisfying. While the opponent is down you can finish them off with another strike, which will officially count the kill towards the team score. Downed enemies can be revived by their team, and you can revive your fallen friends as well, all of which earns XP.

It's also best to play on the same server for an extended amount of time. Since WotV added a Renown system. The longer you play and the more you level up on the same server, the higher your Renown gets, which increases the amount of gold you receive at the end of each match. Seems like a neat system to give a little more incentive for players to tough it out even in less-than-ideal odds.

Someone's head is coming off.

I reiterate: this game isn't for everyone. It takes a while for you to get the hang of things and if you are looking for Call of Duty: Viking Ops, you won't find that here. However, if you give it a chance, you may learn to like these games as much as I do. The game looks great, plays well, and is a very fun way to kill time and fellow Vikings/Saxons. While overall I still feel that Chivalry: Deadliest Warrior is my favorite in this style of game, I have been finding War of the Vikings VERY enjoyable and I am looking forward to future updates and DLC.

Be patient with this, but you should definitely give this a chance.

What I Think Of: R.B.I. Baseball '14

These days, gamers are inundated with relaunches, reboots, remakes, and re-everythings, with mixed results. For the record: I do want to say the reboot of Killer Instinct is pretty bad-ass.

When MLB announced there was going to be a licensed RBI Baseball "reboot", we gamers got excited. You don't have to be a "nerd" or "geek" to understand the importance of RBI. Even if you aren't into video games you still have been around this game, first or second hand. The sounds, the music, the arcade feel, RBI Baseball is an absolute classic.

So how does '14 stand up? ....well....here's what I think of RBI Baseball '14.

The game gives a great first impression. When you first fire up the game, you hear the original RBI theme song. Not overpowering, but enough for you to go "Ahh" and smile.

That is IF you can fire up the game. I downloaded it onto my 360 the day it came out and I clicked on it a few times where I got the error message "Can't launch this title"....ok....why? After a few times of hammering on the 'A' button I got it to go, but it was not a good omen.

You get into the game (finally) and it's a pretty straight-forward slew of options. You can play a single game, a season (full or shortened options), or go through a post season. There are also leaderboards if you want to see how you stack up in stats such as wins, home runs, RBI, overall batting average, etc. Being a bit of a sports stats nerd, I like that it keeps those universal stats.

Probably outta here!

Those are the only stats the game tracks though. There is no individual player stat-tracking throughout a season. Kind of a bummer but not really that big of a deal in an arcade-y baseball experience. The original RBI didn't have that either.

That seems to be the theme here though: The original RBI didn't have it so don't expect it here. No stat tracking and no online play here. That last one seems like a REAL missed opportunity. I know this one is trying to push the "same couch" idea of multiplayer, but at the same time you have to know your audience and nowadays people just expect online play, especially in their sports games.

What you DO get though is the MLB licence, so you will have the real teams, the real dimensions of each ballpark (they aren't exact recreations) and the real uniforms (Home, Away, Alternate, and retro ones you unlock by completing challenges).

Worst feeling as the batter.

The game plays as you remember it: the 'A' and 'X' buttons (on 360, adjust accordingly for PS3) pretty much do everything, along with directional input. No swing sticks, no rotating right stick for a curveball, it's simple and easy to pick up where you left off years ago.

As far as how the game looks, I'm torn. When the camera is far away it looks....ok. When it gets close, like during the hitting part or the home run vignette, it looks downright bad. I understand this is not Battlefield 4 or anything, but this is a graphically unimpressive game.

I home run'd so hard the world caught fire!

I would recommend putting the fielding mode to "Assist" so the CPU helps a little. After playing so many baseball games in my life, I have become used to a ball indicator during a pop up, and when I played RBI back in the day, I was used to the outfielders helping me out and the game/camera helping me project where the ball was going to land. I can't tell you how many times I missed pop ups in this version due to (A) A bad outfield camera (B) No indicator of where my guy is (C) No way to judge where the ball was going to land.

'14 does seem to at least get the feel and flow of a game right. Games go by fast, walks are few and far between, and a "3 up, 3 down" inning is pretty common.

Now here comes my biggest concern with '14. This can be chalked up to a number of things but the basis is this: This game is buggy as hell.

I have played a handful of games and here is my list:

- Runners stuck in "limbo" because they can't run forward or backward so I just get tagged and called out.

- 2 or 3 full on crashes and the "Can't launch title" error message.

- Auto-saving not actually saving. I had completed a 3 games series as the Cubs against the Pirates and after game 3, the game froze and when I re-launched it, I was back to game 2. Maybe it's cause the game hates it when the Cubs actually win.

- The game is $20

Aim for the head!

 Ok, so that last one isn't really a bug per say, but it is worth mentioning. You can get games like MLB Power Pros and MLB Bobblehead Pros and have a better experience for roughly the same price. It is also worth mentioning that this is the only way Xbox owners will play baseball this year.

The biggest thing against '14 is that it feels like it's trying to please everybody and manages to please nobody. It's not fully nostalgia, and it's not fully new-age. The end result is a swing and a miss. If you feel the need to play baseball on your Xbox this year, look elsewhere or wait for a price drop. If you have a PS3, you are already playing your baseball game.

Flashback Friday: The Ultimate Warrior

Just a heads up: this is NOT a video game post, this is mainly a way for me to talk about one of my all-time favorite pro wrestlers and personas, The Ultimate Warrior, who left this world Tuesday, April 8th 2014; two days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (rightly so), and a day after appearing on Monday Night Raw, giving a promo that eerily foreshadowed the next day's tragedy.

Because of this, I am dedicating this week's Flashback Friday to my memories of The Ultimate Warrior.

Don't expect some career retrospective or informational knowledge about Jim "Warrior" Hellwig, this is MY Flashback Friday and MY memories of one of the biggest personalities the WWF/WWE has ever known.

I was born in 1985 and during my childhood, there were few things that mattered to me: Ninja Turtles, Video Games, and Pro Wrestling. This was before I got wise to the business, so to me, it was all still real. These were still these larger-than-life entities that I watched beat the living hell out of each other. I was hooked the minute I started tuning in.

Sure we all can remember watching Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and so on, but we all can agree that the person who would get us the most excited to watch was the Ultimate Warrior.

And man, you got excited the second you heard that music start. You were on your feet and screaming as soon as that note dropped cause you knew it was gonna get loud and exciting like NOW!

The man ran full speed down to the ring, tassels and hair trying their damndest to keep up, he would jump up to the ring apron and shake the ropes so hard you thought he might rip them out of the turnbuckles. The ground shook and you could barely hear yourself think with all the noise.

He looked like a cross between He-Man and a rockstar. He would pick people up with ease and clothesline opponents out of their boots.

He was the real deal and a WWF/WWE icon in the making.

Before kids wore all the wristbands and shirts of their hero John Cena, we had the Ultimate Warrior; we had the tassels, we had the wristbands, we had the face paint, we were Warriors!

Sure, he sometimes couldn't control his own power. People didn't like working with him, Vince McMahon fired him over contract disputes, The Self-Distruction of the Ultimate Warrior is a thing, I watched it. But that's not the point.

The Ultimate Collection was recently released and it will be what people remember most. People remember the matches, people remember Wrestlemania VI when Warrior beat Hogan to gain the WWF Championship. He was the face of the company. I also remember where I was when this happened...

Wrestlemania VIII, we thought Warrior was gone, Hogan was getting beat up by Sid Justice and Papa Shango, then we hear the music and we all rise to our feet. He was back and looked better than ever!

We were the One Warrior Nation.

Sure, many of my favorite wrestlers have since passed on; Randy Savage, Curt Hennig, Eddie Guerrero. But the Warrior was more than that, he meant more to so many people and the world lost an amazing performer, and a great presence. Hellwig was given this persona and he took it and (literally) ran with it, causing millions of people to go absolutely crazy, including me.

Thank you Warrior for filling my childhood with so many memories and giving your talents to the world, you will be missed. They better watch out because you are running, full speed, at the Holy Gates, and they will welcome you.

R.I.P.
Ultimate Warrior
1959 - 2014

What I Think Of: Kinect Sports Rivals

This week I rearranged the furniture in my apartment for the first time in a long time. No, not because I needed to work on my sweet breakdancing skills (as if those need any extra work, I be breakin'), but because I downloaded Kinect Sports Rivals for the Xbox One and didn't want to release a break-neck speed bitchslap to my lamp.

So, how does Rare's newest entry in the Kinect Sports series hold up? Does the new Kinect make for a better experience? Read on and find out what I think of Kinect Sports Rivals.

Where to begin? Well lets start with the look of this game, which I will say looks really good. This is the first in the series on the Xbox One and it shows. Gone are the old Xbox avatars and in comes a graphical overhaul and a cartoon art-style that reminds me of Team Fortress 2. 

Side note: As someone who thoroughly enjoys TF2, I like anything that reminds me of that.

The water in the jetski racing game looks great, the bowling alley feels vibrant and alive, and so on. This is a great looking game.

Not distracting at all.

So the avatars are gone, how does one go about creating a character then? Well I am glad you asked, self. (He's always asking intelligent questions). The game starts with a very familiar voice saying "Each Champion starts with a ball of light". OMG I know that voice. Ladies and gentleman, it's the 10th (and best) Doctor himself: David Tennant. Right away I had a freaking nerd-gasm, once I recovered, he walked me though what was happening on my screen.

Once the Kinect sees you, it looks for your physique and adjusts body type. You then decide if you want to be a child/adult and male/female, pretty common stuff, but what comes next is simply fascinating.

The game asks you to come closer so it can see your face, you then look side to side, and up and down. It's using these images to mold a lifelike representation of your face, and it does a pretty damn good job of it. You will be pleasantly surprised with how much your in-game character looks like you.

Facemapping (or your next nightmare) in action.

You can then change your character as you see fit; change hair, add glasses, alter your physique, stuff like that.

So we have a character that looks like you, you've got a great looking island to look at and play in, we have DAVID FUCKING TENNANT talking to us! What's next? (See, great questions). How bout the actual sports themselves?

There are 6 sports in all: Bowling, Target Shooting, Jetski Racing, Rock Climbing, Tennis, and Soccer. Through the tutorial part of the game, you go through a sequence with "Coach" who teaches you what the motions are, then you play a game vs the AI. Each sport deserves its own little section, so let's go!

I will preface by saying I do NOT have an ideal setup (space, lighting, etc.) for Kinect games, so don't take my experience as the gospel truth. Your results may vary.

Bowling:

We have seen Bowling before in Kinect Sports and of course in Wii Sports, so it's no surprise that it found its way into Rivals. This is an easy game to translate to the Kinect: Hold ball where you want it to go and throw ball down the lane. You reach whichever hand you want to use out to the side and grab the ball, I will note that the game does a great job of figuring out when your hand is open and when it is closed. It even detects wrist movement and puts spin on the ball.

Overall Kinect experience here was pretty good. I had a few instances where the ball didn't go where I told it to and a couple places where it flat out dropped the ball for no reason, but again, not ideal setup. 

Target Shooting:

The goal in target shooting is to get more points than your opponent. You have basic targets that are worth different point values depending on the color, targets that take points away, targets that must be hit in order, and you can even steal targets from your opponent if they are in the right place.

You and your opponent shoot at the same time with your targets between you, with an impenetrable blue forcefield acting as your backstop. Below the backstop is a turret. When it lights up, you can shoot the turret and your opponent will have to dodge incoming fire or risk losing points and giving them to you. They can also do this and it can keep you on your toes.

You reach out the hand you want to use and grab the gun. You then point at the screen, this becomes your reticle. Once your crosshairs go over a target, it automatically fires. So, all you're doing is pointing at your screen. Not very strenuous.

I had a little trouble with this one, as my crosshairs kept shaking and moving even though I feel I had my arm pretty still. As my arm got tired, I would put it down to my side. When I brought my arm back up, I had a few instances where the reticle wouldn't come up at all. You dodge incoming turret fire by leaning left and right and I had no problems with that.

Jetski Racing:

I sure hope this paves the way for a rebooted Jet Moto game. 

This one I found myself having a lot of fun with. You reach both arms in front of you, as if you are grabbing both handlebars, you clench your right hand into a fist to accelerate, and turn your arms in a "handlebar" style, not a "steering wheel" style to turn. You can also lean into the turn with your body to turn sharper. Once you get the hang of this, it can be a lot of fun. They even throw in ramps you can lean forward or back on to do flips and gain potential boost.

It's worth mentioning again that I really like the way this looks graphically.

Overall had relatively few issues with this. I had a couple times where the ski turned by itself and a couple times where clenching my right hand did nothing, but it quickly got back on track. The trick is to make sure you are turning the ski with the right motion. It's not a car.

Rock Climbing:

This may be my favorite one and a good demonstration for how improved Kinect 2.0 is over its predecessor.

Your arms do the rock climbing motion, reach out and grab a peg and pull yourself up. The peg can be above you or to the side of you and Kinect does a great job of figuring out when your hand is open and when it is closed. There are obstacles along the way; giant fans that can blow you off the mountain, electrified pegs, other climbers who can pull you off, gravity, etc. You can also jump to skip a few pegs and get to a hard to reach peg if it's to your advantage.

As of this writing. I have not had many issues at all with this. Kinect is doing great at registering my moves and this sport is a lot of fun.

Tennis:

Another oldie but a goodie. The game takes care of the whole movement thing and you just worry about the hitting. You can add topspin, backspin, or lob it based on the way you swing your arm. Pretty self explanatory so I will just say it's tennis and it works.

Again, no real problems to speak of here. It detects my arm movement well and it is always satisfying to throw an overheard smash into my opponents face.

Soccer:

This is where I feel Rivals drops the ball (pun may or may not be intended depending on your mood).

It's a mutated form of Soccer in that you pass the ball to other versions of you, avoiding the defense, until you get to the you that's right in front of the net for a shot/header.You then watch the opponent do the same thing while you play Goaltender and save the upcoming shot.

This one just isn't fun to play, the timing doesn't feel right and it's overall boring.

I have had Kinect not register a few of my kicks a couple times. Given that Soccer is all about kicking, I kinda need that to work.

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Whew! So there's a rundown of the sports in Rivals. I've been impressed overall with how well Kinect has been keeping up with my actions and am finding a better time with this than the 360 games. Of course, it should be better, this is a new Kinect.

As you play each sport, you gain fans and level up, unlocking new equipment for each sport that can give you certain bonuses if equipped. You also gain coins which you can use to unlock gear in the Store.

They have special challenges which can win you a sponsor and sponsor themed gear.

When you jump into a sport, you play against another online person, kinda. I relate this to how in a Virtua Fighter or Tekken game, you fight against a person's "Ghost Data". That way you can actually pause the action, and also make sure you don't play the same game of tennis from now until the Xbox Two is released.

This is getting kinda long so I will touch on one last thing: there's a story!

There are 3 teams in the game: Eagle Legion, Viper Network, and Wolf Clan. Each come with the usual "over-the-top" characters that try to recruit you to join their team and represent them. I don't know how I feel about trying to fit narrative into a sports/fitness game, but hey I'm sure this will all make sense the more I play it. I do know, however that the Viper Network's "technology" guy is annoying and the reason why I won't pick them.

It seems you are on fire, I will help by throwing you to your death.

There is a lot to do in Kinect Sports Rivals, and while some miss the mark, this is an overall good package and it will be interesting to see where DLC can take this game going forward. It also shows that while it may not quite be there yet, Kinect 2.0 is a marked improvement over the original and is becoming more than just the way I use voice commands to navigate the Xbox One menus.

Also, DAVID FUCKING TENNANT

Awesome Video Game Music: Guile's Theme - Street Fighter II

When one talks about the Street Fighter series, they usually end up talking about how the game they either played first or remembered most was one of the Street Fighter II games. The one I remember playing most was Super Street Fighter II for the Sega Genesis, though I also own a SFII game for the SNES.

In order, it went:

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting
Super Street Fighter II
Super Street Fighter II Turbo

All had some variations, AI tweaks, balancing tweaks, new characters, etc.

Kinda crazy right? Well, they are basically doing the same thing now with Street Fighter IV and ALL its variations.

We can all agree on this though: No matter which version of SFII you played, you knew that the best theme in the game was for Guile.

So here it is: from Street Fighter II (released in arcades in February, 1991)

Guile's Theme!

Just soak it in, let the nostalgia flow. Go ahead and have your day get much more awesome because that's what this song does!

When you hear this song, you can't help but picture yourself flash kicking someone in the face. It can't be just me, right?

Thankfully no, it's not just me. Click this and see for yourself.

If you search hard enough on YouTube, you will find many more examples on how this theme goes with everything, here are a couple of my favorites:

Example #1 - Here

Example #2 - Here

Example #3 - Here

I could go on and on but I live by the "Rule of Three".

Obviously, it's hard to work on video game music, I can imagine it's especially hard to find a fitting song for a character/stage in a fighting game. Not only does it have to be catchy, it has to give the player that "kick-ass" feeling while they stay engaged in a fight. It takes a special kind of song to get a petition to make it our national anthem. No really, that happened.

Here we are, 23 years later and people still remember this song. Hell, the guy in the cubicle next me while I was typing this said, "Hey, I know that song". It is one of the most iconic songs in video game history.

(Ok, one more video) Look what I found:

If you need me, I will be crouched down for 2 seconds. You might want to back up a little bit.

I need your help!

Thanks to all of you who are reading my blog. I come with this post to ask for design/artistic help. The Good Lord game me a few things:

- Dancing skills
- Technology smarts
- A love for Jimmy John's
- An amazing family

You'll notice that "Being artistic" isn't there. I can't draw for shit.

Over at the Jeff of All Games YouTube page (found here), you will see it's kinda dull looking. (The content is top-notch though. I might be a little biased).

So this is where you can come in. I need help making logos and banners to use on my YouTube page and other assorted uses. I will, of course, give the artist credit and special thanks if I end up using it.

Let your imagination run wild, I would like any sort of usage of video game iconography as well as some implementation of "JoAG" or something of that nature.

Thank you for your time and efforts, I look forward to seeing what the evolving community can come up with.

- J

YouTube Breakdown: Legend of Zelda Commercial

A while ago, I did a YouTube breakdown of a SEGA Channel infomercial, which was a fun (if not a little awkward) trip back through the video game wormhole. So, I figured I would do another breakdown, this one is an old NES commercial featuring The Legend of Zelda.

WARNING: You will be shaking your head...

Whew! Now while I have not been able to pinpoint the exact year this was made, I'm gonna assume it's 1986. Either way, lets dig into what we just witnessed.

- Yes I am going to comment on this Macklemore/Ed Grimly mashup. Believe me, we all see it and know it's coming.

- I mean seriously, gamers as a whole have been trying to fight this stereotype since the invention of video games and you pull this shit? Actually, if you give that kid black hair instead of blonde, he looks like my dad at that age....oh crap.

- Highwater pants?? They wouldn't get wet during the Great Flood of '93 here.

- Somehow I think inside the Nintendo newsletter (there's a flashback in and of itself) is the script.

(astonished, in monotone voice without breathing) Whoa nice graphics I'd like to get my hands on that game (breathe)

- Ha he pushed his glasses up in the traditional nerdy style, that's great, just add to the wedgie count.

- Why are these two even hanging out together? I'm guessing the "cool" guy went to jail and now has to do community service which involves being a friend to the friendless. Or maybe it's a commercial. You decide.

- "You mean you haven't played it yet?" No, Scooter, I've been seeing things like the sun, tits, and exercise, excuse me.

- That's not the Gold Cartridge of Zelda, Skeetch, this is why nobody likes you.

- :09 this is the best. We all remember seeing the opening screen to Zelda and the music that came with it, they managed to butcher BOTH here. No music and instead of "Press Start" we get:

The Legend of Zelda - The Legend of Zelda sold separately.

- You WHAT? Imagine buying the game, popping it in and seeing that, how confused would you be?

- Or that's just foreshadowing the concept of Paid Downloadable Content (gasp) you sneaky bastards!

- It's really rad? I really wish that word never came to be, though when we say it now it's kinda ok I guess.

- :11 We have all played Zelda and NOBODY has ever had their fingers and hands move like that, what does that view show anyone? "Buy this game if you never want to feel things with your fingers again".

- Here is the actual rhyme they put together for this commercial:

Its the Legend of Zelda and it's really rad, Those creatures from Ganon are pretty bad, Octoroks and Tektites, Leavers too. But with your help our hero pulls through. Ya, go Link, ya, get Zelda.

- Lets update this: courtesy of me :)

It's the Legend of Zelda, that's not so bad / it's actually from Hyrule, kid who looks like my blonde dad / Nobody remembers what the enemies were called / when I trip you in the hallway, I hope you have a nice fall. Ya, go Link, ya, get ya some!

- (Waiting for the applause to die down) Thank you, thank you.

- :14 Sit that close to me playing video games and you are getting elbowed. C'mon, personal space.

- Ha he did that glasses thing again...that's terrific, we're gonna saran wrap him to a pole right? Ok, good!

- :19 Nothing says "Excitement" quite like walking through a black room with two flames....no boss fight? no Triforce? 

-  Did I hear a "Weeky weeky" at the end of the rap? Huh...kinda cool.

- "Intense"? Yeah, for you I am sure a slight breeze is intense. This is your anthem, This is your idea of being an athlete, and This is your God! 

- Ok, that last part got kinda dark, so let's end on a humorous note:

"Your parents help you hook it up"

Perfect!

- See how far we've come? I needed my parents help to hook up a video game console but I get a call now whenever my Mom's iPad does something she finds "odd".

- "Legend of Zelda sold separately" OK I FUCKING GET IT! 

(Shaking my head) Told you!