Metal Gear Solid needs no introduction, but this version might warrant it. The Bleemcast! Version of MGS is honestly one of the hidden technological gems of the last decade. It came around because of the commercial emulator Bleem!. And completely converts the game for play on the Dreamcast, allowing it to run in a 640x480 resolution, as opposed to the PS1’s 320x240 resolution, which is incredible. It also featured anti-aliasing and bilinear filtering, significantly improving the graphics. Now, having been a MGS fan I’ve loved pretty much every game (still haven’t played peace walker). But the tried and true original is still engaging despite its age. And the adapted controls on the DC are kinda better in my opinion to the PS originals. Its kinda advanced in the way that it mimics the controller layout of modern consoles, notably Xbox 360. Anyway, playing through Solid Snake’s debut mission in HD (basically) is where its at, sneaking, tapping, killing, snooping, and battling Metal Gear Rex. The story is still fresh, all the movie sequences play beautifully (which is a big deal considering that’s not the case with all Bleemcast! games), and the game is just as impacting now to me as it was then, I still choke up when Otacon spills his guts about his lovelife. But this is a special release, so I’d definitely recommend this if you’ve got a Dreamcast and a couple blank CD’s laying around. Unless you of course have a copy of MGS handy then you’ll only need one.
Publisher: Konami
Platform: Dreamcast
My Score: 10/10
Metacritic: 94/100
Here’s an ass old website that did a side by side comparison on the Bleemcast! vs PS2 with a ton of screens. I however don’t share the writer’s feelings on the subject matter. Check it out here.
(Source: destructoid.com)
Ahh Yes. What a fitting game for a first review? Yes. What can I say about Katamari Damacy that hasn’t already been said? I’ll spend a days rolling to figure that out. But I’m digressing. Katamari Damacy is a fantastic game that has spawned many various sequels on subsequent Sony, Microsoft, and iOS platforms (7 to be exact). The original however stands out to me specifically. I love it. Always have. Always will. Its simple Puzzle-Action gameplay and tongue-in-cheek humor have me riveted to this day. I chose this as my first review seeing as Its been the first game I’ve completed since I decided to do Retro Reviews and honestly I’ve been stoked to write about it. The plot is simple, Your father (King Of All Cosmos) has destroyed the sky, stripping it of all the stars! OH NO! And your job as the aptly named Prince, is to go to earth and collect new items with your magical adhesive ball called a Katamari to be turned into stars for the night sky. The game’s main mode (making stars) will have you rolling around till your hearts content, but whats this, even more objectives arise as you have the distinct pleasure of making constellations as well!?!? Heart be still! Yes, and you even have the highest honor of making the MOON. Which it possibly my favorite level. You have to make a Katamari that is atleast 300m to create the moon and the things you will roll up in that time.. hilarious and awe inspiring. everything from ants to clouds and even mountain ranges aren’t safe when your Katamari comes through. Well rambling aside. This game is great, a game you can play with everyone. Brother, Sister, Grandparents, Mom and Pops, even your girlfriend or significant other. It has a mutiplayer mode with an unprecedented amount of player choice given the games age and content. Also there is a gallery located on the Prince’s home planted that displays what you’ve collected in your rolling. And another gallery on the Moon (once its created) that displays all the movie sequences and a sound test option to listen to all the quirky tunes whenever you don’t feel like rolling around. All in all, if you’ve never played a Katamari game you owe it to yourself to devote at least 5 minutes of your life to give this a try.
Publisher: Namco
Platform: Playstation 2
My Score: 9/10
Metacritic: 86/100
Sega Dreamcast Concept revival by Elie Ahovi
The Idea: The insight of the project was really to take the best of the 90’s Dreamcast and then re-interpret it to make a new game console inspired by the old one. That’s why, work on the controllers (smart phones/tablets are used as the controllers) and a new multiplayer experience was obvious!
On the name Dreamcast Delta: Delta means 4 in greek. I wanted the name and the shape to be closely link in order to have a heavy impact on the market. 4 also means go further than the market. Nowadays, the names are around the number 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo “Wii” 3 letters…)
Note: This is a fan made design concept and has no affiliation with Sega nor will it be made into a working console.
My friend Russell dropped this gem on me via Facebook, its pretty extreme, and most certainly rare. In fact its the only “left hand operation” keyboard I’ve ever seen. You can acquire it here, but only if you’ve got an extra $645 laying around, and if you’ve got money like that to blow, feel free to send some my way!
-Swerve
I’ve recently moved into a little cottage with my wife, and she being the woman she is, detests electronic cords of any sort being in plane sight. So what do I do? I get on my grind to acquire a wireless solution that will satisfy both of our needs. And my initial search of my memory bank lead me to this, Logitech Cordless Action Controller, I remember back when this was a relatively new item with a $39.99 price tag. But upon visiting my local GameStops I found it a $13.49 price for pro members, I bought it outright along with some other PS2 titles Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, Devil Kings, and XIII. I go home to try it out, and its defective. I think to myself, Ok, I’ll just go get a normal DualShock 2 wired controller and my wife will have to deal. Over the next couple days I went back to another GameStop and found another one! I was elated. I went back the next day and made my exchange, and the second time around has been everything I’d wanted/expected. Its a slick controller, takes a little getting used to, but after that its going to become your go to controller. Its almost the same size and weight as your DS2 controller and for the time, that was a huge accomplishment for Logitech. It has a vibration function that can be toggled on and off. Logitech says that the battery life can vary between 50-100 hours depending if the vibration function is on or off. So far for me I’ve had it maybe 72 hours and played maybe 4-5 and have loved the performance. No lag, No Glitches. My only issue encountered so far is that the buttons are pretty stiff, but that even is just a personal preference. Over all the verdict is 8/10. If you are tired of wires for your PS2, get one.
-Swerve
So I acquired this PS2 from my stint at Gamestop this holiday season. And quite a few choice titles that I loved back in the day. Over all I spent, maybe $85-90 bucks on it all, I got the PS2 system free, controller and system cables, then picked up some games off the bat, P4 and Star Ocean and Dragon Quest VII along with Magna Carta, sometime thereafter I got Nocturne, P3 FES, Shadow Of The Colossus, FFXII, The Punisher, Katamari Damancy, Kingdom Hearts (for my wife), Capcom Fighting Evolution, True Crime: NY & LA, Manhunt 2, Champions Of Norrath, and a PS2 USB Headset a couple of 8mb memory cards and a network adapter. First game I ran was P4, just to re-acclimate myself and spent 8 hours playing it without realizing… :( Well after that I thew in The Punisher and have been playing through that. Playing Kingdom Hearts and SOTC. All of these will eventually turn into a retro review. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my hands on an iPhone 4S for the low, that will mean more videos and higher quality pictures and what not. I’ve also been working off of a 2G mobile internet connection.. moving and being broke, what can you do? So with that still being the most accessible option to work with, I’m… limited. I can do your basic update, few pics and more rambling, but I know you internet goers are more interested in video entertainment and such. With that being said, you guys/girls/bots take it easy.
- Swerve
Now that I’ve got some free time on my hands I’m going to be updating more. Things to look for in future updates:
1. Retro Reviews- my take on the games that defined me as a gamer and also games I’m currently playing/writing about.
2. More photo’s and videos of games I’m currently watching and or are excited about.
3. More of my ramblings about the current status of video game culture and trends.
-Swerve
Hey everyone, I know it’s been awhile since my last post and that’s because I’ve got a ton of things going on in my life. I’m still here though! I’m still loving the crap out of all my old systems (mainly dreamcast) but recently I’ve been consumed by my 360. I know for someone who preaches a lot about old school gaming to be playing a current generation system is taboo. But I’m hung up on Gears 3 and soon to be Battlefield 3. So if you want to game with the guru hit me on XBL my gamertag is Swervin Girvin. Until the next time! Peace.
