This week we’re gonna look at one of the most prolific and underrated RPGs of the 16-era. It was unique for its time because of its hybrid RTS/Turn-based gameplay, massive scope, and a shifting alignment system which was years ahead of its time, even yielding one of 12 different endings based on your actions. Enix released the game on the Super Nintendo with a limited run. A ‘special edition’ was released on Playstation by Atlus, also having a limited run. Sequels to this game have appeared on the Nintendo 64, Playstation, and Game Boy Advance, but there is nothing better than the original.
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In 1983, director Brian DePalma created a film starring Al Pacino that would forever change the way we would think about drug dealers, cocaine, Cubans, immigration, and pelicans. This film would be known as the story of a man named Tony Montana. It was the chronicle of his journey from yet another Cuban refugee looking for the American dream to the biggest drug dealer in all of Miami, all the way to his violent end as a desperate man consumed by a coccaine-fueled blind rage. This film would be the stuff of legends, serving as inspiration to entire generations of rappers, actors, gangsters, and other entertainers. This film is called Scarface. Nearly 2 decades later, Tony Montana’s story would continue on as a video game courtesy of Vivendi Universal.

Yes, I did a review for this game several months back, but it’s such a solid title that it’s worth looking at again. Sierra’s alternate look at a world where Tony Montana escaped the big shoot out at the movie’s end makes for a compelling set up. Not only that, it’s one of the few good games to make use of Grand Theft Auto’s style of open-world gameplay. It does a good job of putting you in the shoes of Tony Montana, excessive cursing, extravagant spending, and all. You have to make your way back to the top by making drug deals and waging war upon your rivals. You’ll visit all the familiar locations in the movie such as the Babylon Club, Freedom Town, and the Sun Ray Motel. Some repetition sets in with the drug deals, but the sheer fun of cursing out people and going into a blind rage make up for it. So for a $20 spot*, you can get what is a faithful tribute to one of the greatest movies of all time.

*Or you can spend a $50 spot and get the Wii version with new motion control actions.

Because of the holiday, and the fact that the one of the greatest action movie franchises of all time has returned to theaters, we’re gonna dedicate this week’s Lost Classics and $20 GOTW to the Bruce Willis masterpiece. So read on after the jump to read all about the official series of video games based on a series of the finest examples of cinematic art ever created.
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Shortly after the fighting game X-men Children of the Atom, Capcom wasted no time in putting out more games featuring Marvel’s pantheon of super heroes. This game in particular is one of the more slept-on Capcom fighters (although not to the degree of Project Justice and Tech Romancer). Taking control of one of six Marvel heroes (Spider-man, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Psylocke) or one of six villains (Shuma Gorath, Blackheart, Juggernaut, Magneto, and Thanos and Dr Doom via use of a code), you must fight your way up the ladder to meet Thanos in a plot loosely based on 1992’s Infinity Gauntlet storyline.

The game play is similar to most other Capcom fighters, with six attack buttons, three for punches, three for kicks, each differing in speed in power. Special moves are done via quarter and half circle motions, as well as charging. However, since these are superheroes, don’t expect your garden-variety martial-arts maneuvers like in street fighter. Your fighter can jump up to several feet high, ‘normal’ attacks fire projectiles, special attacks can cause serious damage, and super moves take up the entire screen. It’s not as zany as in Darkstalkers, but you’re still not gonna see any of these moves in the next Street Fighter game. The main difference that sets this game apart from other Capcom fighters, although it isn’t much, is the addition of the Infinity Gems. They appear throughout the match, and grant your character special powers when you use them. Of course this regulates multiplayer games into bouts of “who can get to the gems the fastest” although an experienced player can destroy any newbie player who plays in that manner.

This game is often overlooked due to the fact that at the time of it’s release, it was just one of many 2-d fighting games. However, it was a Capcom fighter. Moreover, it was a good game based on a Marvel property. Capcom of course went on to use the engine to produce several more Capcom fighters, most important of which being the Marvel Vs Capcom games. This is still a good game to check out if you run across the arcade cabinet, even better if you can find a copy of any of the home ports. Also of interest is the SNES spin-off “War of the Gems”, which is a side scrolling beat-em-up in the vein of Capcom’s “X-men Mutant Apocalypse”.

As featured on our game night two weeks ago!

Probably the second highest selling PC game ever, (The Sims being the first) it’s also one of the best real time stretegy games ever made. Player scan battle through an intensive single player campaign with three different factions (each with their own different abilities), play free online games on Blizzard’s Battle.net, or even create their own levels in the Campaign editor. This game is especially popular in South Korea, where players compete in televised gaming leagues! Even though this series has only 1 game and an expansion pack, (and a canceled third person spin-off) it rivals the entire Command and Conquer series in RTS action. With this special box set, you get Starcraft, it’s Expansion (Brood War), two strategy guides, a skill development chart, and even a free 14 day trial to Blizzard’s other big game, World of Warcraft.

So what makes Starcraft so special? For one, it’s gameplay is different. Instead of simply building units and hoping to overrun your opponent by creating as many as possible, players have to take into account the abilities and limitations of the units that are produced by their race. For instance, the Terran units each have advantages and disadvantages against different units, so creating a mix of different units is a key to a good offense. The Zerg however, are weak alone, but are cheap enough to be produced in massive quantities. Resource management is also a key factor, as you constantly need units to gather gas and minerals, while keeping an eye on their depletion levels. Between levels, a sci-fi plot complete with cinematics will keep you on the edge of your seat. With Starcraft 2 having just been announced, now is a good time to check out the original. Oh yeah, this game was also ported to the Nintendo 64 in 2000.

System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 95 or later (including Vista)/Mas OS 7.6 or higher Power PC
Processor: Pentium 90, equivalent, or greater
RAM: 16 MB (32 MB RAM for multiplayer on MAC)
Storage: 100 MB Hard Disk space/80 MB for Mac
At least 2x CD ROM drive (4x for cinematics)
Video Card: Local Bus SVGA, Direct X compatible
Sound Card: DirextX compatible soundcard for audio

Secondly only to Capcom’s Tech Romancer in terms of obscurity, this is one of the few times that Capcom bought their fighters into 3D. With a unique control scheme, crazy characters, and a high school setting, this game was something different. Not only was it different from most Capcom fighters, it was different from other fighting games in general. Even though Capcom fans like this game even more than the Street Fighter EX series, the fact that there hasn’t been many follow ups to this game, as well as the fact that Capcom continues to make (or at least Re-make) 2D fighting games more frequently than 3D speaks volumes of Capcom’s apprehension towards 3D fighters.
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