Category Archives: Video Game Review
Weekly Video Game Post–January 8, 2011
Weekly Video Game Podcast – January 8, 2012 <14 mins (9.5 MB)>
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- Due to technical difficulties, this is a shorter than normal podcast; just sales and game release information
- Continue reading for sales figures from the week of December 24th and other stuff (all sales figures come from www.vgchartz.com)
Decimation X (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Decimation X
Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Indie Games)
2010
Developed by: Xona Games
Published by: Xona Games
Space Invaders clones are a dime-a-dozen in the gaming sphere although they’re less prevalent in today’s age than during the golden age of the arcades. To simply dismiss Xona Games’s Decimation X as a clone of one of the originators of the shoot-em-up genre is selling the game short. That being said, it’s not much different from Space Invaders. The graphics are not much better and the action is very similar (think of the original game but as if it were on steroids). Decimation X is a pretty good game at a great price that will easily suck away much of your spare time.
Centipede (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Centipede
Arcade
1980
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
During the golden age of the arcades, you couldn’t throw a stone in an arcade and not hit at least a dozen shoot-em-up games. Centipede was one of the top games of its generation and still holds up reasonably well despite not being all that flashy. For those who like classic arcade action, Centipede is a solid bet. However, for those who have grown up with games that have things like a background and a decent soundtrack, it might be a bit problematic.
Space Invaders (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Space Invaders
Arcade
1978
Developed by: Taito
Published by: Midway (North America)
It’s hard to evaluate a game that was published in 1978 by today’s standards (and it will probably be even more so for people in the future). When Space Invaders came out, it was seen as a revolutionary game that dominated the video game industry. It was so popular yet so simple a game that when the sequel came out a year later, the only thing Taito/Midway did was include colour; and that was more a trick than actual software/hardware engineering as they simply put colour filters over certain parts of the screen. Still, playing Space Invaders today is still quite a bit of fun. Graphically and technically it has been surpassed by modern games but, due to a strong foundation, it is still provides for a good time.
Weekly Video Game Post–January 3, 2012
Weekly Video Game Podcast – January 2, 2012 <69 mins (47.5 MB)>
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- Jamie Gore and John Teodoro
- The Top 10 Games of 2011 Podcast
- Sorry, Just Dance 3 did not make the list
- Continue reading for sales figures from the week of December 24th and other stuff (all sales figures come from www.vgchartz.com)
Adventure Island (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Adventure Island
Nintendo Entertainment System
1988
Developed by: Escape/Hudson Soft
Published by: Hudson Soft
Despite Super Mario Bros. creating a renaissance for games after the Video Game Crash of 1983, it made it almost impossible for good platformers to get their moment in the sun. Why play anything else when there’s Super Mario Bros. available. While Hudson’s Adventure Island isn’t anywhere as good as Mario’s first platformer, it still provides as decent experience in the genre. It does have a few problems such as its difficulty level, the weird continue system, and it’s uninspiring level design. Still, the quest of Master Higgins still provides from some decent platforming entertainment that is good for those who like this type of game to give a try.
The Top 10 Games of 2011
It’s the New Year so it’s time again to look at last year. 2011 was a good year for games. It wasn’t a particularly outstanding year but it did provide enough solid gaming to keep us entertained. What’s interesting about this list is that there is only one new IP throughout; the rest are all sequels (or prequels). Maybe the big reason why this hasn’t been a stellar year is because innovation is stifled by game companies sheltering themselves with familiar names to stay on the safe side. Even then, some franchises like Elder Scrolls offered up experiences that weren’t just about HD graphics but gave us games so large in scope that they seemed unimaginable five years ago. While the industry still waits for the next big thing, there were still plenty of great games (and a few instant classics) worth playing. If you haven’t played the following games in 2011, there’s nothing like starting the New Year right with these ten titles.
Weekly Video Game Newsletter–Issue 6
^Right click to download the latest issue^
The latest edition of the Weekly Video Game Newsletter is finally up.
In this Issue:
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Video Game Sales Recap for December 17th, 2011
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Year in Review: Q1 Recap
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Review of Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony for 2011
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Adventure Island (NES) Review
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Centipede (Arcade) Review
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Decimation X (Xbox Live Indie Game) Review
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Donkey Kong Country (SNES) Review
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Space Invaders (Arcade) Review
From now on, game reviews will appear in the newsletters first and then eventually be published on the website. Reviews will start appearing on the site again starting on New Year’s Day.
The next issue will be published on Saturday, December 31st, 2011. In that issue, this site’s games of the year list will be published. That list will appear on the site on Sunday, January 1st, 2012 (as per tradition).
PLEASE NOTE: There was an error with the review score for Donkey Kong Country. As much as I love the game, I cannot give the game the full five-star treatment for some of the issues associated with the game (the biggest one being that trying to complete the game 102% is next to impossible unless you get help from an outside source or have hours to kill to test every pit and make blind leap-of-faith jumps). The score should have been four stars. I’m sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Don’t worry though, there is a five-star video game review coming up soon. Because of linking issues, I will not be making a change in the newsletter during the short term but when I eventually make a page on the site just for the newsletters, I’ll change the review score in the newsletter when I archive the newsletter there.
Weekly Video Game Post–December 25, 2011
Weekly Video Game Podcast – December 25, 2011 <77 mins (52.6 MB)>
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- Jamie Gore and John Teodoro
- Podcast delivered despite being pretty awfully sick all week
- I don’t hate Nintendo but for this podcast, I really hate Nintendo
- Seriously Nintendo, make with the games on the Virtual Console…and bring back IPs like Pikmin, WarioWare, Advance Wars, and Kid Icarus (no, that Sin and Punishment knockoff doesn’t count)
- Speaking of downloadable games and hate, I really tear Sony a new one; do they not want me to use my PSP anymore?
- Microsoft got off easy…lucky them
- Continue reading for sales figures from the week of December 17th and other stuff (all sales figures come from www.vgchartz.com)
Weekly Video Game Post – July 10, 2011
Weekly Video Game Podcast – July 10, 2011 <40 mins (18.8 MB)>
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- Jamie Gore and Chris Karpyszyn
- Slow news week so Chris decides to kill all chance for him to get a job in the games industry
- We talk about E3 for the last time this year (hopefully)
- Continue reading for sales figures from the week of June 25th and other stuff (all sales figures come from www.vgchartz.com)
