Square’s Secret of Mana (or Seiken Densetsu 2 as it’s called in Japan) is an action RPG similar to Gauntlet. In fact, it could have almost been considered an early dungeon crawler even before Diablo (of course while Diablo focused on level grinding, SOM focused on story and exploration). Despite its simplicity, SOM managed to be every bit as engaging as a Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, and it became every bit as memorable as other games from the 16-bit era.
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Last console generation, Fight Night and its sequel set new standards for Boxing video games. When the series debuted on Xbox 360 back in 2006 (and on PS3 later that year), the bar was set even further. However, the series was in jeopardy after series creator Kudo Tsunoda was booted from EA after the dismal performance of 2007’s Def Jam Icon (a move which makes about as much sense as the Browns having QB Josh Cribbs play Linebacker then shelving him after one game because he isn’t making as many sacks and tackles as he did passes and completions). Thankfully FN Round 4 manages to retain the high standard of boxing that the series is known for, even if EA Canada made a few unwelcome changes.

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So back in the day, MTV actually had a decent helping of good programming to its name, in tandem with the music component it has since lost. In the 1990’s, you had shows such as Beavis and Butthead (I didn’t say they were intellectually-stimulating, mind you), which showcased the network’s mindset of pushing the envelope with mindless entertainment for it’s core audience – teen and 20-something men.

But then the balance came out in the form of Daria in 1997. Daria Morgandorffer started as a side character on Beavis and Butthead to serve as a foil for the two brainless teen boys. MTV execs approached the series story editor with the idea of creating a spin-off series starting Daria. The Go-ahead was given, and in March of 1997, the first of 13 episodes aired for the new series and an animated legacy was born. Sorta.
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Even though it’s a bit immoral, I just love the drug dealing mechanic in GTA Chinatown Wars. It’s quite satisfying trying to make a dollar out of 15 cent by slanging dope. Now what if someone were to take that mechanic, make an entire game based around it, set it in space, make it into an FPS, and make it 200 percent more retarded? Well the end result would most likely be Space Trader – Merchant Marine, which is likely a remake of the old Palm Pilot OS game. I got this game as part of the Meridian 4 game collection that was only $24 during a Steam special (this special also included Shadowgrounds, Chains, and Larva Mortus). Although its economy-based gameplay premise shows promise, it’s bought down by too many flawed mechanics.
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Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece is most likely the reason you bought a PS3, and for good reason. Like its predecessors, Metal Gear Solid 4 bends the rules of video game convention to become a landmark for its generation of gaming, and like its predecessors, it deserves a space on your shelf.
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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

What do geeks like even more than our geeky pleasures? Seeing those geeky pleasures mashed together into incomprehensible new shapes, with ourselves in the middle of this new, geek-love sandwich of awesome. The fact that these things may not exist in the same “universe” (or owned by the same company) is hardly an issue! Pun intended.

Titillated? Read on!

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Youtube seems to hate me, but that won’t stop me from getting the newest episode of KP to you all!

Sega’s Cyborg Justice for the Sega Genesis has in interesting premise: You (and a friend is playing co-op) can build a customizable cyborgs and pit him against an onslaught of enemy cyborgs. However, an interesting premise alone won’t help your game, especially if the gameplay is as dull, frustrating, and repetitive as it is in cyborg justice. You play as a human who has been transformed into a cyborg against their will. Now you must escape the cyborg’s planet, battling waves of identical looking cyborgs on the way using generic combat moves.
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