Anyone who has read my articles on Contra 4 and the Mega Man ZX games knows how much I loathe it when DS game developers use stylus/touch screen controls for the sake of using them. However, I have equal praise for those who can make stylus functionality work well. After all, it is the main selling point of the DS, and if a developer can implement in a way which enhances gameplay, then more power to them. Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword is one of those games which utilizes a stylus-driven control scheme in a way that’s intuitive and innovative. Not only that, it makes this DS entry in the series every bit as engaging as its console counterparts.
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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.

Created in 1994 for the PC, Diablo was meant to be a compliment to Blizzard’s popular Warcraft series, which had come out a few years prior and was deemed a success. Diablo, meant to be much darker and more gothic than Warcraft, also had a much different change in gameplay. Instead of the strategy of starting off on one side or the other and amassing a huge amount of warriors and weaponry to bash your enemies with, Diablo took to the Dungeon Crawler type of gameplay that was popular with games like DOOM, and added an RPG-type of flare to it like Final Fantasy.

The world of Diablo is deeply rooted in the heaven vs. hell archetype of story telling. Diablo, Lord of Terror, is one of the 3 Prime Evils, which are the highest level of demon in existence, and he and his brothers are in a huge war against the forces of light in a bid to destroy them and take everything over. Humans are the middle ground and both sides try to win them over through either benevolence or violence. Some powerful human mages on the side of good and backed by heavenly forces were able to capture the Prime Evils after they’d been defeated and banished to Sanctuary (aka: pseudo-Earth) and seal them in powerful Soulstones in order to bind them forever. (Apparently high-level demons can’t have their souls destroyed easily and can always resurrect if given the chance) With the souls of the Prime Evils locked away, the Soulstones were scattered and hidden away, with Diablo’s being buried in a catacomb beneath a church that later became the central point for the town of Tristrim. However after a few centuries the Soulstone weakened and Diablo was able to exert influence over the people of Tristrim, which led to massive slaughter and the kidnapping of the King’s son. So begins the game of Diablo.
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Skies of Arcadia was one of the few RPGs on the Dreamcast. Although its plot about three youths teaming up to fight an evil empire was as old school as it gets, the game’s sky-pirate theme made the game unique. Players take the role of Vyse, a member of the blue rogues, a group of sky pirates. While searching for treasure alongside his best friend Aika, Vyse meets a mysterious woman with strange powers. From there, Vyse gets involved in the empire’s plot to take over the world by reviving ancient weapons. The battle system is turn-based, similar to other RPGs. Each character has a weapon with a crystal that can change color in order to battle against different enemies. The game also features ship battles, in which Vyse and his crew take to the skies to battle against giant monsters and enemy ships. You can select from different types of cannons and attacks as you try to sink your opponent. You’ll recruit a crew of pirates, each with their own special abilities. A big part of the game involves exploration, and you can gain fame and fortune by making discoveries. The graphics are bright and colorful, and the music is good as well. As you are battling bosses, the music actually changes on the fly depending on how you are doing in battle. A few years after the Dreamcast version was released, a Gamecube game was released, featuring shorter load times, less random encounters, more sidequests, and new boss battles. It goes without saying that it is backwardly compatible on the Wii, so this is definitely the version to go with. Skies of Arcadia may not reinvent the wheel, but it is a solid classic-style console RPG.

Daigo (Ryu) vs Justin Wong (Balrog). These two are well known Street Fighter champions and seeing their final match and the crowd reaction really shows how BIG Evo is. The play-by-play really makes the video too.

This of course comes 5 years after Daigo defeated Wong in in Street Fighter III in this now legendary clip…

Find more information at Evo2k

For years, Maxis’s games have given gamers everywhere an unprecedented amount of control over their gaming experience. Weather you’re managing (or destroying via disasters) your city’s infrastructure in SimCity, directing (or ruining) the day to day lives of the people in your household in the Sims, or climbing up the food chain and evolutionary ladder in Spore, few other game companies have given players the power to make their gaming experiences truly unique and individual. This compilation features 5 of the more recent titles (or rather 2 titles, their expansion packs, and a third) in Maxis’s SimCity franchise, and is highly recommended for fans of SimCity.
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Music Used
A Wicked Flame (Act 4)
Shrine Grounds (Act1-1)
Character Select

Like it but Don’t Have It?

Earlier this week, I featured one of the more recent Syphon Filter entries. This week’s Lost Classic features an earlier entry in the series, Syphon Filter 3. SF3 was the last game in the series to be featured on the PS1, and it had to be delayed due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks (the original box art featured protagonists Gabe Logan and Lian Xing jumping from an exploding building). Thankfully it didn’t take too long for the game to be released, and players got another explosive chapter in the popular espionage saga.
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