Developed by Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya over a period of 5 years, Cave Story is a throwback to classic 8-bit platformers like Metroid and Castlevania. Taking control of your typical silent hero, you explore a cave. By collecting weapons and powerups, you become stronger. The game’s storyline centers around a race of creatures that are apparently being subjugated. Although the game has been available as freeware since 2004, there are WiiWare and Steam versions of the game that add new gameplay features. A 3DS version is also available, but its $40 price tag is hard to justify with cheaper versions of the game available. However you get to play this game, please do so, as it is an excellent reminder of gaming’s glory age.

So this is one of those rare non-gaming Lost Classics, but it’s justified since there are plenty of games based on the WWF (or WWE as it’s called now), and there are plenty of games featuring hip hop music.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Anyone who has visited this site within the past few months knows that I am a huge proponent of the Independent Gaming scene. Heck, I listed it as one of the 5 reasons that it’s cool to be a gamer this past weekend, and four out of my last five $20 GOTWS have centered around independent games. This week’s $20 GOTW isn’t a game per se, but it’s a downloading client. Tiggit can best be described as Steam, but exclusively for freeware independent games. Installing games is as easy as a click, and you can try out demos of games that are available as retail such as Crayon Physics Deluxe and Darwinia. Currently there are close to 300 games including favorites such as Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden and Cave Story, and the database is updated frequently. Download it from tiggit.net.

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

As I said two weeks ago, there is plenty that is wrong with video gaming. However, as I also stated, there are plenty of good things about the gaming scene. For one, technology is more advanced than ever before, and two, there are plenty of examples showing that video games can be a form of art and literature. Number three, developers are breaking new ground when it comes to graphics, gameplay, and storytelling, weather it’s triple A mainstream titles or independently developed games. This week’s top 5 shows why I’m happy and blessed to be a gamer, and why you should be too. Again, not everyone will agree with me.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Remember when before Final Fantasy 7 came out, the graphics in Playstation role playing games weren’t that much different from 16-bit role playing games? Thankfully early Playstation RPGs, like their 16-bit ancestors, made up gameplay and storywise for what they were lacking in graphics, so you were still able to enjoy titles like Suikoden and Arc The Lad I and II. Sadly, this was not the case with Beyond the Beyond. This game had a boring storyline which did nothing to move the genre forward, and it didn’t exactly help matters that the game’s graphics resembled a 1993 SNES RPG. Actually, scratch that. In 1993, the SNES had games like Lufia and Secret of Mana that made this game’s graphics look like pong. Not that that was hard to do,
[Read the rest of this entry…]

In case the title didn’t clue you in, this independently developed game is a throwback to RogueLike RPGs of the past. Taking control of one of several classes (many of which are unlockable), you take on several quests through randomly generated dungeons. As the title implies, you’ll hack and slash monsters while looting goods. The controls are simple, as mouse clicks pretty much control everything. The game however, is not. You’ll die often. It’s fair to warn you upfront. If you think those games that Adam listed in this week’s Top 5 were hard, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Even so, this is an addictive kind of fun that only makes you want to press on even more with each defeat. It’s available for cheap on Steam, so check it out.

Apogee Software created Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold shortly after Wolfenstein 3-D was released. Using a modified version of the Wolfenstein 3-D engine, the game depicted Blake Stone, a sort of futuristic James Bond as he tries to stop Dr. Goldfire from taking over the world using a race of genetically engineered aliens. Like Wolfenstein 3-D, Blake Stone was a fun and fast paced FPS game from the genre’s early days. Unfortunately, the game had the misfortune of being released a week before ID Software’s Doom, which turned the genre on its head. Thus, Blake Stone, and its sequel Planet Strike were criminally overlooked. Thankfully, you can find both on GOG.com for cheap.

Payday, like Left 4 Dead, is a 4-player online co-op FPS that stresses teamwork. Except this time, you aren’t working together to survive the zombie apocalypse, you are teaming up in order to pull heists. You’ll run in, take and restrain hostages, shoot it out with law enforcement, and (provided everything goes well), escape with the money. Taking control of one of four criminals, you pull off a number of different heists. Although there are a small number of maps, the heists are generated randomly. If you die, your teammates have the option of exchanging a hostage in order to get you back. There are three skill trees you can upgrade, and several skills that you can unlock. The game has been supplemented with free content. There is a single player mode, but your computer controlled teammates are horrible, so online co-op is the way to go. The game doesn’t have a storyline, and at times the game seems rather unpolished. However, for a $20 downloadable title, you can do worse. This game is fun, and easy to get wrapped up in. In fact, I had to stop myself from screaming “GET THE @#$% DOWN NOW!!!!” while dealing with some hostages.