Games aren’t that hard anymore, that’s an argument often thrown around these days by many gamers. “Well that’s why they put difficulty settings in!” – is often the retort.

I generally play a game the first time through on Normal, to get a feel of what the developers wanted the average player to see, when I find that it is in fact incredibly easy – I’ll replay it on a harder difficulty (especially when this results in a different ending or extra levels/bonus-dungeons.) Most of my reviews are on a game’s native, default, normal, medium settings of difficulty – because that’s what I expect the developers wanted the average person to play on and it generally seems to be what the average person starts out on (whether or not they finish up on harder ones is another issue all together.) (Such as this preview/review for Fire Emblem) (continue reading…)

You there, child, what are you playing? Ckeel Zoone Twooo? Fuck that shit, you`re going to play the game I loved as a kid, and you`re going to like it! The Graphics are kiddie and gay, you say, and not as high quality? Quiet Jimmy, or I`ll insert your PeeEsss Thrice or Hexbox 350 in to your rectum. That`s where you poop from.

Anyway. Back when I was a kid, back when Insomniac was still part of Universal Studios and didn`t make generic-looking system-seller FPSes, my dad got me one of them there Playstations, and I tell you it was darn nifty.  Years later, I decided to re-visit my childhood-favorite game. And I was plesantly suprised that the game has survived the test of time.
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Crowned as one of the hardest games for the original Nintendo, Ninja Gaiden brings back a lot of fond memories for me. Growing up in a house where video games and computers were the norm, my Dad introduced me to most of the games on the NES. He usually picked them up from yard sales around the area during the early 90’s. Ninja Gaiden was one of them. Being intrigued by ninjas at a young age, with Ninja

Turtles and the like, I was determined to beat this game. At the time, I certainly realized how frustrating it was learning all the patterns, getting skilled with using the various weapons you could throw. I’m pretty sure I flung out my first string of curse words at this game.

My mother would yell at me for cursing, but I didn’t care, it became commonplace for me to express my frustration that way. In the beginning of trying to conquer this impossible game, I got so excited when I reached the end of the second stage. Watching the anime-style cutscene go by rewarded me for my arduous efforts. I soon reached the third stage, fourth, each time progressing with hidden skills. I learned how to climb back up a wall when I accidentally missed a jump, by flicking the D-Pad quickly left and right. I learned how to throw a boomerang star and time each of the jumps in the stage so that it would swirl around me, creating a maelstrom of destruction as I quickly ran through each level. I found out that with the boss with the spinning sickle, I could get hit and bounce up higher on the wall so that he freaks out, spins the other way, and I could jump over him and take him out easier. (continue reading…)

Captain Skyhawk was an excellent game for the NES that was developed by Rare and released in 1990. Game play is somewhat simple. The player flies an F-14 in an isometric view to shoot down enemies, drop packages or pick up scientists. Music for this game was arranged by the famous David Wise, who worked on games such as Donkey Kong Country (which had fantastic music).

The player has four weapons available to them: Phoenix Air Intercept Missiles, Maverick air to ground missiles, a Cannon and Hawk bombs. The weapons need to be purchased in between missions, except for the cannon which has unlimited ammo. You earn credits by shooting down alien forces.

There are nine missions in the game, with each mission having a variation of another (i.e. different layout for a level to drop supplies). Each of the levels have different routes to take, which can make the game more difficult or easier depending on which you chose. At the end of each mission, you attempt to board a space station while flying in space, very much like that in Top Gun where you land on a carrier.

There really isn’t much else to say except to try the game yourself! It was unique for the NES in that i was not the traditional top view shooter.

You can play the game here.