This week’s Lost Classics and $20 GOTW are dedicated to the casual gamer. You know, your mom, dad, grandparents, or girlfriend. They may like video games, but may not be into them as much as you are, so here is a little something for them. These games may not reinvent the wheel, but they’re guaranteed to be fun for the whole family. So with no further ado, lets get it started with this little RPG/Board Game Hybrid, in which you must defeat the evil dragons and their minions by answering their quizzes. Get it? Quiz and Dragons!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Capcom isn’t particularly known for puzzle games, but the few they have put out are pretty solid. This is a small collection of 5 puzzle games great for quick bouts of portable gaming. Included in this package are Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (a Dr. Mario-esque game in which you play as super deformed versions of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters), Block Block (a good break out clone that was featured on Capcom Classics Reloaded), and the Buster Brothers Collection (three games where you use a grappling hook to destroy balloons). Even though Puzzle Fighter, which is due to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, is the highlight of this collection, the other 4 games aren’t shabby either. Puzzle games fit excellently on portable gaming systems, and this is no exception. Weather you’re a hardcore Capcom fan or a casual gamer, you can’t go wrong with this.

Known in Japan as Ganbare Goemon, this fun little action game with RPG elements was released shortly after the Super Nintendo launch. Ganbare Goemon is a very popular franchise in Japan, although it’s mostly unknown here. Only four games in the series have been released over here, including this one. Players took control of Kid Ying and Dr. Yang (In 2-player games) as they travel Japan to rescue princess Yuki. Players can explore the town, buy equipment, and play minigames (including the first level of Gradius), then travel through 2-d platforming style levels in order to beat the area’s boss. There is a lot of humor in the game, although a lot of it was lost during the original translation. Even so, this is still an excellent game for all ages. It’s available on the virtual console now, so if you didn’t blow your points on Bonanza Brothers, then download this.

A while ago, I featured this game’s predecessor. Empire interactive decided to bring this one over to the states, leaving the Xbox version in limbo. This game packs in over 1/3rd more contend than the previous Taito legends, and it takes a large number of games from the 90s. Along with some more remakes of Space invaders, the game contains a large number of beat-em-ups, platforming, and puzzle games. While Quix, Elevator Action 2, Arabian Magic, and Growl are some of the standouts on this disc, the real gem of this compilation is G Darius, a shooter utilizing polygon graphics. This compilation may not have very many big names, but like the previous entry, there is something for everyone on here, and for $20, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

Also of interest is Taito Legends powered up for PSP. It’s also $20 and may receive it’s own entry at some point.

In 1994, when it was still two separate from Square, Enix released this action RPG for the Super Nintendo. Although This game is the second part of a trilogy that includes Soulblazer and Terranigma (only released in Europe), you don’t have to play Soulblazer at all in order to enjoy this game. (In fact, the only link between the two is the appearance of a Soulblazer boss in a hidden level of the game.) Playing as Will, you and your friends travel the world during the age of exploration. You’ll visit real life locales such as Angkor Wat, The Great Pyramid of Egypt, and The Great Wall of China in your quest to stop a comet from approaching Earth. You’ll gain two allies, both with different abilities, whom you can change into when needed. This game stands along side Zelda and Secret of Mana as one of the best action RPGS available on the Super Nintendo. Hopefully we can expect a virtual console release sometime in the near future.

As we’ve seen from Fable, Peter Molyneux has a habit of overestimating his ambitions. However, when he does pull through, some pretty amazing things happen. Case in point, The Movies. One-half sim game and one-half movie development kit, you are tasked with building a movie studio from the ground up. Build sets, create scripts, and keep your stars happy so you can keep producing academy-award winning hits. Starting in the 1920s, you unlock new sets and technologies each decade. Like any good sim, cost management is a must. Pay attention to the news ticker to see what movies will be in demand. Build research facilities to discover new technologies, makeover centers to keep your stars satisfied with their image, and even rehab for users that develop eating or drinking disorders. When making movies, you can edit each scene, add in subtitles, and even record voice overs. You can even take your creations online, and share them with the world. (By the way, check out my film making debut here) It’s a shame this game didn’t take off as well as it could have, but for those who love making their own content, or if you fantasied about being a big name film maker, grab this up.

Minimum Requirements
Operating System: Windows 98SE or greater (including Vista)
8X speed CD-Rom drive for instillation
Storage: 2.4 GB or Greater Available hard disk space plus 500 MB for Windows swap file
Video: 3D Hardware accelerator card – 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 32 MB
Memory: 256 MB RAM
Sound: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card
Processor: Pentium III or Athlon 800MHz equivalent or faster
Minimum requirements may not guarantee optimal performance

Also check out the “Stunts and Effects” expansion pack, also available for $20.

Before FPS, RTS, and MMORPGS became the norm, it was adventure games that dominated the PC. These games challenged players to think logically in a way that can’t be surpassed by today’s games. Weather it’s the point/click interface, command prompt, or first person adventure, the games challenged players to think their way out of predicaments rather than simply blow away their enemies. They came in all different flavors from Sam and Max and Leisure Suit Larry, to Myst and Monkey Island. Sierra’s King’s Quest series was one of the great standouts of the genre. With stories penned by Roberta Williams, the series told about the trials and tribulations of the royal family of Daventry.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Now we all love our console games, but I think it’s time we start showing the PC some cheap gaming love. I’m no computer snob, but PC games have certain perks over their console brethren (i.e. more precise control settings, user-created content) just as console games have their advantages over PC games (i.e. not having to pre-install a game to their hard drive or buy $200+ graphics and sound cards in order to have their copies of Oblivion and Far Cry look halfway decent). Only time I’ve ever featured a PC game on here is when it’s a PC port of a console game. Now that I finally got a computer capable of running games, it’s time to spotlight the other side of gaming, and we’re gonna do just that with this week’s $20 GOTW and Lost Classics.
[Read the rest of this entry…]