Kung Fu Heroes is an NES port of an arcade game called Chinese Hero. Either playing alone or with a friend, players take control of Jacky and Lee as they try to rescue the princess. Each level takes place on a singular screen as you beat up waves of enemies and find hidden bonuses. It isn’t a very complex game, but it is fun and colorful, even if the characters are depicted somewhat stereotypical. It’s the first installment of Culture Brain’s “Super Chinese” video game franchise, or as we know it over here, Ninja Boy. Unlike later installments of the game, it contains no RPG elements. Even so, I can think of worse 8-bit titles to spend an afternoon with.

Carmageddon was one of the most beloved – and controversial – PC games of the mid to late 90s. The game that began life as a vanilla Destruction Derby game was inspired by the movie Death Race 2000. In fact, at one point in its development it was even planned to be a sequel to the cult classic (this after a deal to attach it to the Mad Max license fell through), and a comic book was even produced. However, when that fell through as well, developer Stainless Games decided to make it into an original game of its own, and thus, Carmageddon was born. Taking control of one of several vehicles, you make your way through several tracks. You could win the race ‘traditionally’, but what fun is that? Why race to the finish line when you can destroy every other car, or run into all the hapless pedestrians in the area? Yeah, while the racing mechanics are fairly spot-on, the real fun is driving over pedestrians and seeing them explode into masses of blood and guts. This game was ported to N64 and PS1, but those versions were so awful that console players never got a chance to see what the fuss was about. However, the PC original was recently re-released on GOG.com, and an IOS version was also released with an Android version coming early next year. The original developers are also working on a kickstarter-funded sequel. If you missed this classic, now is a good time to check it out.

Yay! Another non-gaming Lost Classic! To be fair, the subject of this movie was featured in several WWF/E and WCW video games as well as Acclaim’s Legends of Wrestling.
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Before I started last month’s Halloween motif, I did re-visitations of several old school Disney games. Now that it’s November, I thought I would bring you one more. Of course seeing as how Halloween was 2 days ago, lets take a look at one of Disney’s darker properties: Gargoyles.
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Monster in My Pocket was a kids franchise that was fairly popular in the early 90s. The line consisted mainly of small action figures (similar to the Muscle figurines of the 80s), although there was also a short-lived comic series, an animates special, a board game, a trading card line, and this video game from Konami. Playing as either Frankenstein’s Monster or the Vampire (or both is playing in 2-player simultaneous mode) you make your way through 6 stages in order to stop the evil Warlock. You’re traveling throughout mundane environments like a living room and garden, but since you’re pocket size, these environments become quite dangerous. Both characters are equal in terms of skill, although they can do a double jump as well. Several monsters from the line show up in the game, and the package even contains an exclusive figurine. While this game was nothing special, it was a remarkably good NES game which you and a friend could spend an afternoon playing.

In space, no one can hear you scream. Before Pitch Black, Dead Space, and any other space horror, there was Alien. The horrifying Xenomorphs scared moviegoers shitless throughout 3 films (and a forgettable 4th along with the two Alien vs Predator movies), hundreds of comic books, and several video games. Alien Trilogy, an FPS from the 32 bit era, bought players up close and personal to the xenomorphs like never before. While it clearly pales by today’s standards, Alien Trilogy matched the dark mood of the films like no other video game before it, and few games have afterward. Playing as series heroine Ripley, you shoot your way through a storyline loosely based on all 3 films in the franchise as you shoot various Aliens throughout an abandoned space colony. It’s you, along against the aliens in the colony’s dark hallways. While the graphics show their age, and the level design tends to be a bit confusing, Alien Trilogy stands as one of the best FPS games of the 32-bit era. There is little chance of it being available in any form, so this is a disc you’ll have to hunt down.

Developed by Kalisto Entertainment and published by Activision, Nightmare Creatures is a gory action thriller that predates games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. Taking control of either priest Ignatius Blackward or hot chick Nadia Franciscus as you try to stop cult leader Adam Crowley from taking over London with an army of superhuman monsters. Both characters have a primary weapon as well as a selection of sub weapons they can use. An adrenaline meter constantly ticks away and requires you to keep killing monsters in order to keep it filled, or else you start losing health. While this mechanic doesn’t seem necessary, it does make things challenging and forces you to keep it moving. While its polygonial graphics are dated, the bloody action will keep players hooked even today. A sequel was released a few years later. A third entry in the series was planned for Gamecube, Playstation 2, and Xbox, but plans fell through and development was scrapped. I’m surprised that it has yet to show up on the Playstation Network store or even GOG.com. If any game from the past deserves a second chance, it’s this horror classic.

This past month, Nintendo Power announced that it would not be continuing its groundbreaking gaming magazine, Nintendo Power. The magazine, which has been in print for 24 years, will end with its December 2012 issue. For many gamers, myself included, this will be the end of an era. Although I had stopped reading it long ago , I remember it as one of the best gaming magazines ever created. I had a subscription since 5th grade and kept reading it all the way through the middle of my sophomore year in high school when I got my Playstation. Every month in between, I remember eagerly waiting beside my mailbox for my book to come through. The extras were awesome as well. When my mother first bought me a subscription, it came with 4 free guides: A book about Game Boy, A book about the then-upcoming SNES, Mario Mania (A game about all things Mario) and the NES Atlas (A guide with the maps of all the levels in games such as Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man). Even today, it remains the gold standard in printed gaming journalism, even if it’s obviously biased towards Nintendo.
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