I bet you missed me, huh? Don’t lie~

Anyway, Sonic games. Yeah yeah, I know. sonic has been REALLY bad lately. And it hurts me deep… but there are good ones. Lemme show yah what ones.

Starting with a newer game:

Sonic and the Black Knight

No, really. I’m not kidding. The concept for this game was HORRIBLE, but the execution is pretty damn good. Sonic is summoned to the land of King Arthur by a cute loli version of Merlin named (surprise!) Merlina and after some delicious chili dog eating, Sonic gets a magic talking sword named “Caliburn”. The action is fast, and the sword allows you to obliterate most enemies without a care in the world. Now, like Secret Rings, there are a few slowdowns. There are points where you have to give villagers rings and there are large enemies that don’t go down in one hit, but everything else in the game is a pretty damn good time. I don’t really recommend it for someone who doesn’t like Sonic, but it’s worth a try even if  you don’t. (continue reading…)

The following article contains SPOILERS.  You done been warned.

When I was a kid, there was a game series  that EVERYONE played, or else they were stupid.  Even the local Sega fans begrudgingly picked up a SNES, or borrowed one from a friend, for just one game.  If you’re in the know, and read the title of this article, you’ve probably guessed that the series in question is The Legend of Zelda.  If you didn’t guess that, you probably owned (Or still own) an XBox.

Now, I bring this up because I’ve been playing The Wind Waker again, because I just got my GameCube back, and unfortunately, my favourite games, Metroid Prime 1&2, were destroyed.  So I pulled out my next favourite, and it’s definitely worthwhile to play through.

I won’t recap the story or something, this isn’t a review of the game.  This is me stating the reasons why I love Toon Link, and why you’re a jerk if you don’t.

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The magic of beat/rhythm/music games is strong. Nothing makes you feel good like playing your favorite song, rocking out and getting the highest score you can. Well, not everyone knows what good music games there are out there, so here’s something that might point you in the right direction. Get ready to boogie!

Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan

If you haven’t heard of EBA, you probably need to come out of your cave. This game is totally amazing. The song selection is a bit… Odd, yes, but solid. Every second of this game is hilarious. The EBA go around the world and cheer on people who are in tough situations. How this would help someone steal back plans for their business or help a cat save a baby from a construction zone is beyond me, but I won’t complain. The game gives you numbered circles, and you have to tap them in sequence and rhythm with the playing song. Easy, right? For a while, sure, but you’ll be crying when you fail at the last stretch of “Without a Fight”. This game is on the DS only, has an American version(EBA) and two Japanese versions with different characters, scenarios, music, but that same awesome gameplay. There’s even a custom song game with gameplay very much like it on the PC called “Osu!”, but unless you have a touch screen PC you’re gonna be mousin’ it.
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A game is supposed to be enjoyable. When I play a game, I play it for fun. Even when I go to a tournament and play for money I’m still playing for fun. If playing a game isn’t fun, then you should really put the controller down and pick up what does turn your crank.

That being said,  something that doesn’t always make a game enjoyable is the graphics. Sure, graphics can be nice, especially in a game where it serves a purpose. However, in my time, I have heard far too many people tell me that they wouldn’t play a game simpily because it wasn’t top notch graphics or it didn’t push the hardware of the machine to the max. Why would you wanna do that to your machine?

If a game is fun and has good graphics, that’s great, but what if it’s not the best image capture top notch stuff? Some games look amazing even without the magic of the third dimension. Ever take a look at Cave Story? The game would pass for a SNES game, the gameplay is something that’s involving and fun, and the story, while confusing at first, will have you in tears.  Ever take a look at Sonic the Hedgehog on the PS3 and 360? I’m a huge Sonic fan and this game, while very pretty, was a nightmare to play. Sonic clips through curbs, jumps make him slow to a near stop and a personal killer for me: I can see his feet the entire time. I never ever wanna see Sonic’s feet when he’s running. Ever.
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One of the best Sonic games ever. Remade!

I’ve always been a pretty big Nintendrone, and I know that the picture to the left has probably just lost me a lot of potential readers, especially after that whole “Sonic Team hates Sonic” stuff.

But, have I told you to get a bad game yet?

Anyway…

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle/Adventure DX

These games were originally on the Dreamcast… That beautiful failure. Even though it was the easiest thing to pirate games on, it had some of the best games I’ve seen in a long, long time. The Sonic Adventure games were  certainly one of those golden games. In the first, you play as Sonic, Tails,  Knuckles, Big the cat, Amy Rose and E-102 Gamma. In the second, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge and Eggman. The gameplay for Sonic and Knuckles is the same style as the first, Shadow and Rouge borrow Sonic and Knuckle’s gameplay, respectivly. Eggman and Tails are in walking mechs, a little different than how Tails played in the last game. Anyway, in Adventure DX, the story is Sonic and friends have to stop Eggman from raising Chaos to his perfect form with the Chaos Emeralds, and in Adventure 2 Battle, they have to stop Eggman from blowing up the world with the cannon aboard the ARK space station. If you like Sonic at all, if you like fast paced games at all then pick these babies up. The gameplay is solid and the final bosses will blow your mind from the awesome they create. Live and Learn, baby.
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I was never really into the shooter scene until recently. I’ve taken notice to the fair number of them coming out of the last two or three years. Yeah, there are a lot of shooters before now, but it just feels like we’re overwhelmed with them, huh? No worries, I’ll give you the low-down on what to get from now and then.

Duke Nukem 3D

If you’ve ever played a Duke Nukem game, you’d know why I’m recommending it. The games are pretty damn good. You play as the lovable Duke, who returns from fighting aliens to find his lovable planet turned into a not so lovable wasteland. You gotta shoot the aliens up, saves the babes, watch the porn, drink the brews. The game has an amazing sense of humor, quoting movies like Dirty Harry and Duke’s phrases. If anything, pick this one up for the laughs. It’s originally on the PC where it has a ton of expansions, and it was on the PS1, N64 and a few other consoles under different names.
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My entire life I’ve played at least one RPG among my conglomerate. Everyone’s played one once, I’m sure. It’s hard to say you’re a gamer without trying one of at least every kind of game in my opinion. I’ve played quite a few in my time, and I’m gonna tell you one thing right now. Most of them are damn good.

Diablo(2)

These games redefined RPG for a lot of people. Diablo has been a staple for any real RPG player since the original. The first one was made on the PC, and ported to the Playstation by EA. I like the PC version better, but both are good. In Diablo, you pick a class and are thrown into a world where demons are messing shit up and you are the only one (wo)man enough to kick their sorry asses. The interface is probably why this game is such a winner.

See that monster? Click it. Oh, you hit it!

You’re a mage, you say? Well, right click it!

Oh, it burst into flames and died! Awright!

Of course, as you play it, the game gets harder, the enemies come at you more, you find unique and boss monsters and you get better equipment. Thank god this game has online play, because with friends (Or total strangers), the game only gets more exciting. It’s even got a decent story, to boot! Can’t wait for Diablo 3!

Matt Uelmen is one of the best composers I have ever EVER heard. EVER.

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Here’s something somewhat different and experimental. What do you get when you take text-based games and add voice acting to them?

Vidya Theatre, of course!

Brought to you and made possible by Gamer Blag.

 

 Vidya Theatre: Ganondorf: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’ve been waiting for you, boy . . .

Some notes on this:

I apologize if this isn’t how you think he sounds. Even in my own account, I wasn’t pleased with my representation (I think I sound too young). I’d have hired someone else were it a choice, but that’s really not the point of this anyway.

The voice of the King of Hyrule and the little game sounds in the background–which are all taken from the game, itself, and I do not claim to own or sell them–are maybe my favorite parts of this. It’s perhaps a nod to my ineptitude.

I chose this in particular because it was familiar and interesting. This is also what leads to its difficulty. Ganondorf in Wind Waker has a lot of depth–that’s what makes this so interesting–and because of that, it can be very hard to interpret it into a tangible piece such as this. It’s important to note his intentions that are driven by his desire for a better world. He sees the ocean as a wasteland, much like the desert he grew up in. Hyrule isn’t a land to conquer simply for the sake of domination; Ganondorf wants the splendor of Hyrule that he was never able to experience. Although he is still a villian at heart and does tend to take his objectives violently and often by force, he is still more humanized than he has been in the past. This is what makes him such a difficult part, but I like to think I at least touch on that.

If not, then feel free to criticize the performance; I’ll have deserved it.

Hopefully I will perfect these so that they sound less unprofessional and so that there will be more to come.

Also, expect DJ: G Double to return with a new Smooth Talk, Game Talk soon.