Tag Archives: arcade

The Simpsons Arcade Game FINALLY Being Ported to XBLA…Probably PSN

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Posted by Rob on November 9, 2011 – 7:07 pm
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I have a lot of fond memories of arcades. Whether it was my aunt giving me $20 each time she took my sister and I to Discovery Zone or hitting up the arcade in Oneonta where they gave you free quarters for each good grade on your report card, I always had a blast. Running up to an awesome looking machine, popping in a shiny quarter, and playing alongside friends, family or complete strangers made up some of the best times of my childhood. Being the avid Simpsons fan that I am, it probably comes as no surprise that one of my favorite arcade games of all time is The Simpsons. I remember beating it for the first time when three friends and I were on a Cub Scout camping trip and there happened to be an arcade at the campsite! I also remember playing this arcade whenever we went to the Ground Round on Long Island (you know, the restaurant that had the popcorn as their “free bread service” and had ice cream sundaes in baseball helmets for dessert). Oh man, what a way to digress. The point of this rant is to inform you that this most excellent arcade game is in the midst of being ported to the 360 for sure, with a big possibility of the PS3 also.

The game popped up for listing in Australia, meaning it’s in the works. The company that is supposedly developing the game is Backbone. This makes sense…Konami is the company that developed not only The Simpsons arcade game but also the company that developed the X-Men arcade game. AND when the X-Men arcade game was ported to XBLA and PSN earlier this year, guess who the developer was…BACKBONE! Soooo a listing showing Backbone working on a Konami arcade game makes sense. While the listing only mentioned the XBLA version, I’ve got my fingers crossed for a PSN version. With the X-Men port, XBLA received it a month or two before PSN, so chances are The Simpsons game will have the same deal. Read More »

Starting to Get Cautiously Excited for WWE Allstars

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Posted by Rob on January 20, 2011 – 1:26 pm
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When I first heard about THQ’s upcoming WWE Allstars game, I wasn’t interested. It appeared to be unrealistic with over-the-top exaggerations of the wrestlers. It immediately reminded me of WWE Legends, which wasn’t a horrible game, but I preferred the realism and seriousness of the Smackdown vs. Raw series. Also, the fact that it was being hyped as an “online” game was quite unattractive, given the horrible SvR servers that THQ currently has. However, yesterday THQ released a ton of information, screenshots, and videos about the game, and after seeing it in action, I have to admit that my curiosity is quite peaked.

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XBLA Review: X-Men (1992 Arcade)

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Posted by Rob on December 17, 2010 – 3:09 pm
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Anyone who knows me as a gamer knows I’m a sucker for beat ‘em ups. I think I own most of them that are available digitally on PSN or XBLA like Castle Crashers, Final Fight, TMNT, Scott Pilgrim, and probably some others as well. Heck, I even pop in the ol’ Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection from time to time to play some Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, and others. So when X-Men, an awesome arcade game I used to play growing up, came out last week, I bought it first thing when I woke up. I was a bit tossed up on whether to buy it on PSN or XBLA, but in the end I felt that I needed some more 360 games, so I went with the XBLA version. Also, I had some free MS points thanks to Bing rewards!

The game is pretty much a direct port of the arcade version. Unlike Turtles In Time Reshelled, the graphics are the same as they were when you were popping quarters into the dual-screen, six-player cabinet. And yes, the game does support up to six players, with drop-in/drop-out co-op, and you can choose from classic X-Men Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, and Dazzler. This is a great feature since it makes it easier for you to join in a game, and others can join or leave your game at their leisure without affecting the flow of your game. The other thing that remains unchanged is the ridiculously horrible/corny dialogue. Pyro will still threaten to turn you to toast, nothing will still be able to move the Blob, and Magneto will still proclaim “welcome to die” and call you an “X-chicken.”

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X-Men Arcade Game Coming to PSN/ XBLA!!!

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Posted by Rob on October 9, 2010 – 6:08 pm
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You read that right folks…the classic 90′s arcade game X-Men is coming to the major consoles via downloadable goodness. I first heard about this in an article  from Joystiq, who are currently covering Comicon, and the game was announced by Marvel today. In case you forgot or don’t know, this was an amazing unit, as most of the arcade cabinets were shaped oddly to allow for two screens, so that six players could squeeze together much easier than if it was a standard cabinet. However, I do remember playing this game once or twice on a normal cabinet that only allowed four players.

That being said, it has been confirmed that the game, which will be available over PSN and XBLA “soon”, will feature up to six players online. The article I read did not mention how many players will be allowed to play locally. This is a day one purchase for me, no questions asked. Well maybe one question…”WHY THE HELL DID IT TAKE SO FREAKING LONG?!” Oh, and make that another question: Do I pick this up on the 360 or the PS3?!

I will definitely be keeping an eye for when the release date and the price are made official.

My First 24 Hours of 360 Goodness: The Games

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Posted by Rob on August 7, 2010 – 9:42 am
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So I previously went over my first impressions of the system itself, and what it offers. Now I’m going to spend some time talking about the great games I have gotten to play, and there are some great ones indeed!

Castle Crashers:

This is one of the games that had me drooling for a 360, especially since first getting to actually play it at PAX. It’s still in the works for a PS3 release, but it took so dang long so this was one of the first games I snagged. Castle Crashers is a beautiful, colorful, BLOODY beat em’ up, straight out of the old school days. Up to four players (locally or online, which is awesome) can team up with a character of their choice and lay the smackdown on dozens of minions and giant bosses. The leveling system is great, where if you die on a level you maintain all the gold, weapons, creatures, and XP you earned, and it all adds in to the awesome replay value of the game. This is the game I was waiting for, and now that I have it, I see that it’s everything I thought it would be and more. If you have a 360 and don’t have this game, then you’re a fool!

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 1989 Classic Arcade

This game is straight out of the old school arcade we all know and love. The graphics and gameplay are all down right as they were…no lame “revival” like Turtles in Time Re-Shelled was. There is really little to say about the awesomeness of this game: old school arcade beat em’ up! The only thing they did was make it so that you have unlimited continues, so no worries about losing your last quarter by being turned into a little turtle by Shredder!!!

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Mass Effect:

After playing the crud out of Dragon Age: Origins through four different play-throughs, I was extremely jealous of Biowares sci-fi RPG Mass Effect. I didn’t think it was a game to own, so I rented this one from Gamefly so I could play through it and then send it back for Mass Effect 2. I am about an hour or two into the game, and so far it is a great combination of RPG goodness in a sci-fi environment. It has everything that Dragon Age had: several backgrounds and classes to choose from, a ton of weapons and equipment to keep checking on, and special abilities for you and your party to make short work of your enemies. I can’t say too much more since I’m still in the beginnings of the game, but I’m impressed by what I’ve seen so far.

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Crackdown 2:

Crackdown 2 is an interesting third-person shooter that takes place in a city overrun by zombie-ish creatures (referred to simply as “freaks”.) Your mission is to help clear them out of the city by running or driving around and fulfilling various missions. I have not personally played online yet, but when you do your friends can come and join in your world to help you on your missions. I haven’t put much time into the game yet, so I don’t have too much to say about it yet, but when I do a full review will be forth-coming.

Left 4 Dead:

This is hands-down one of the definitive games for the 360. Left 4 Dead is a FPS that sticks you smack dab in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. You and three allies (either actual players or AI) must race through the level and try to survive to the end, where rescue awaits. The typical weapons of pistols, rifles, shotguns, and machine guns are what stands between you and hordes of various zombies, all of which move extremely quickly (no shambling here.) I played through two levels (each level contains five stages) with some people online last night and had a true blast. This is a game that I can’t see ever getting old, and was definitely something I was missing on the PS3.

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The 360 is Here!!!

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Posted by Rob on August 5, 2010 – 7:21 pm
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I received the 360 in from UPS today, and I’m pretty pleased. I’m taking a quick break from set-up to put up some pics and whatnot.

The package:

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The package opened:

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The package contained more than just the 360, as the dudes over at co-optimus.com also sent over a t-shirt and stickers.

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Also included was a brand-spanking new copy of Crackdown 2:

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The system looks pretty sweet with the black finish. It’s like a matching pair for my PS3. Now all I need is to trade my white Wii in for the black one…

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Also came with matching black controller and headset. It’s kind of sad that the headset is wired, but I’m not complaining, since the price was right!

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So there you have it: my 360! I’m pretty excited to get playing. As of right now I have Crackdown 2, Castle Crashers, and TMNT Arcade (the awesome 1989 one!!!) By tomorrow I should have Left 4 Dead (from amazon) and Mass Effect (from Gamefly), and in a few days, once I get some credit in from amazon, I’ll be ordering Gears of War 2. I think these games are going to be a great start to my 360 experience.

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (or Losers)

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Posted by Rob on February 4, 2010 – 11:41 am
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So this documentary is basically about two guys who compete for the high score in the arcade version of Donkey Kong. While I thought it would be interesting to see “professional” gamers go at it, I quickly realized the kind of people that play games professionally are vain, inconsiderate, arrogant, and all-around losers. Let me introduce the two main players in the game.

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Above is the defending champion, Billy Mitchell. This mullet-toting weirdo has been known as one of the best gamers ever due to his high score in Donkey Kong. He enjoyed a simple life of selling hot sauce by day and being a gaming ambassador by night. However, this arrogrant prick is exposed as the jerk he is when a newcomer challenges his score.

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Wii Review: House of the Dead Overkill

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Posted by Rob on August 3, 2009 – 8:39 pm
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As those of my loyal readers know, I personally believe that some of the best Wii games are rail shooters. The Wiimote is just a really effecient device (especially when used in conjunction with the Nyko Perfect Shot), that is far more accurate than any console light gun. I really enjoyed House of the Dead 2 & 3 on the Wii, but it was a really difficult game. I could never beat it, even with Steve by my side. Also, there was no story to the game, which is due to the fact that it is a direct port of the arcade games. However, House of the Dead Overkill remedies both of these flaws, and throws you into a world you never thought you would see on the Wii. It is a very mature game for the Wii, with plenty of foul language, blood and gore, and also some really, REALLY freaky stuff (such as when the villain “returns” to his mother’s womb.) Steve and I had a blast rockin’ through it this weekend, and you and your friends will too.

HotD Overkill is a prequel to the HotD series, and as such, it has a story to go along with it. It is the story, and the movies that progress the story, that really sell the game. The game’s story mode itself is played like a cheesy “XXX” 70s horror movie. The two main characters are Agent G (from the other HotD games) and an African American named Issac Washington. Washington makes the game. Now I never use foul language on this site to be kid friendly and all, but Im gonna bypass that this one time just for this post. Washington plays off just like a crazy Samuel L.Jackson type, always yelling things like “motherfucker!” (he must say it over 100 times throughout the course of the game) and “Im gonna rip your mother fucking balls off!”. The banter between the two of them is truly classic and really sells the game. But its more than that also. The game “feels” like a cheesy movie. Aside from their one liners, there is also tons of ridiculous narration, and the stages are given very cheesy names like “Papa’s Palace of Pain” and “Scream Train.” It is by far one of the more enjoyable video game movies I have watched in a long time, simply because it brings along a very funny and cheesy story.

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So, to me, the story and production are the biggest selling points, and totally worth it. After playing it, it quickly became my favorite rail shooter on the Wii, replacing my long time favorite, Ghost Squad. But of course I know you want to know about gameplay. Well what do you think?! Its a rail shooter where you shoot up zombies!!!

Here is a side note: the game dialogue specifically states that the enemies are mutants and not zombies, but I will continue to use the word zombie because that what I feel they best resemble.

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