Yes, that’s right, a Virtual Boy game. Before you shoot me, hear me out! This is actually one of the few good games for the system, and it makes best use of what little the console had to offer. It has true 3-d environments, wire-frame graphics (think Battlezone, but in red), and it made use of every button on the Virtual Boy controller, including both directional pads. Remember, this was before single-analog, let along dual analog. Fans of rail shooters (like Starfox) who happen to come across the ill fated system will enjoy it. You play as the pilot of a Tech-Wing fighter on a mission to destroy a rouge super computer. You make your way through 5 stages, blasting at everything in the way. For the most part the game’s levels are straight forward, but since you can move in all 360 directions, it’s easy to get disoriented at times. After you complete a stage, you can watch a replay, complete with full control of the camera. There are also Easter eggs in the form of hidden wireframe objects. It’s not much compared to other games, but it is nice to have, and they do a good job of pushing the system to its limits.

Obviously this game isn’t enough to make anyone go run out and buy a Virtual Boy (and it’s not like I’d personally recommend it anyway). However, Red Alarm did an excellent job of showing off what the system is capable of. If there had been more games of this caliber, then maybe the Virtual Boy wouldn’t have crashed and burned as badly as it did. Wishful thinking I know, but a man can dream can’t he?

For the life of me, I don’t know why EA decided to call this a Command and Conquer game. It has nothing to do with Tiberium, the conflict between GDI and NOD, Kane, or even the alternate universe of the Red Alert games. Heck, it doesn’t even have C&C’s trademark cheeseball live action FMV cutscenes. It shares more in common with Blizzard RTS games such as Starcraft and Warcraft than any previous C&C game. It’s pretty much as if EA wanted to show off its new Strategy Action Game Engine (SAGE), and couldn’t think of a better name for the game than its classic RTS franchise. This game is more like what would have happened if Blizzard made a Starcraft game and set it in the modern era. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), if you’re a fan of RTS games, then you should not ignore this title. It’s the first C&C (after the FPS Renegade) to be fully 3-d, and it adds several twists to the gameplay to set itself apart from other RTS titles. It might not be a ‘true’ C&C game, but it’s worthy enough to stand alongside the rest of the series.
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This is the latest in Powet Editor Zac Shipley’s series on video game culture in Madison, WI for TheDailyPage.

Games + Learning + Society brings massive multiplayer world to life in Madison
by Zac Shipley

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama mentioned in a speech on Father’s Day that kids need to put down the video game controllers and pick up books. His message was clearly that while a book can be educational, playing a game is not. However, at the Games+Learning+Society Conference this week at Monona Terrace, hundreds of people working at the intersection of gaming and learning have worked to prove not only that games can be educational, but that many already are.
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Great news for Sailor Moon fans hoping to attend Otakon 2008 this August 8th to 10th in Baltimore. Two Sailor Moon animation directors, Kazuko Tadano and Hiromi Matsushita will be appearing as guests. They both acted as animators for a number of Sailor Moon episodes, and were even featured as characters in one episode.

Fans will remember episode 21 “Protect the Children’s Dreams! Friendship Linked by Anime” or “An Animated Mess” as it was known in English. The episode takes place in an animation studio, and centers around the characters of Hiromi Matsuno and Kazuko Tadashita, references to Hiromi Matsushita and Kazuko Tadano. No doubt the parts about them being targeted by the villainous Nephrite and being turned into the monsters Castor and Pollux of the Gemini constellation were slightly exaggerated.

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Today is the 4th of July, where America celebrates its independence. There are few things that symbolize America more than the defenders of the old west, the cowboy. Okay, there is apple pie, but to my knowledge, there haven’t been many video games made about apple pie. Anyway, in honor of America’s birthday, this week’s $20 GOTW and Lost Classics will take a special look at some classic 8 and 16-bit games taking place in the wild wild west. So saddle on up, and mosey on down to your favorite game shop and seek out these games pardner!
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This fall will be a heavy time for Castlevania fanatics, as it’s been announced by Konami that both of the newest titles of the acclaimed series, “Order of Ecclesia” and “Judgement” will be released sometime later this year.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, reported upon earlier, is the Nintendo DS title following upon the footsteps of previous games such as Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow in terms of gameplay, as an action-adventure 2D platformer. It takes control of newcomer Shanoa as she searches for the lost Belmont family while battling the minions of Dracula.

Castlevania: Judgement, if you haven’t heard yet, will be a 3D fighting game; a first for the series. (for obvious reasons) Castlevania characters from all over the series continuum will be thrown together in a style leechingly-similar to Soul Calibur to fight one another in a (hopefully) non-canon battle royale. A even more shocking twist is the hiring of Death Note’s Takeshi Obata to do character designs, completely overhauling pre-existing designs mostly coming from series-usual Ayame Kojima.

This fall will surely prove to be an interesting turn of events for Castlevania fans. Many debates have already begun as to the fate of both games as numerous fans, while liking the usual-style Ecclesia is going with, denounce Judgement as straying too far from the Castlevania norm and claim it to be merely Konami’s cash-maker. Come this autumn, we’ll see what’s what when both games are launched to brave public scrutiny.

If you missed out on the original SNES game or the Playstation re-release, you’ll be given a new chance this holiday season to get your hands on one of the best games ever made, period.

Square has seen fit to re-release Chrono Trigger. Sounds like they’ll be tossing in a ‘new dungeon’ as well as modifying the game to make use of the dual screens and some touch commands. But, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: They won’t make it a 3D conversion like some of the recent Final Fantasy games on DS. This video above is from the Playstation version. No word if those new anime cut scenes will survive to the new DS version, but all are available on youtube if you’re clever.

If you never played Chrono Trigger, and there are a lot of you, then know this: its the only Japanese RPG I ever played, and I played it enough to see all the endings, including the very hard one. Its the classic story of boy meets girl, girl falls into time warp, boy saves girl, robot punches dinosaur, world falls into peril, magic kingdom summons alien, etc, etc. But its really fun with engaging combat options that do away with random battles and grinding, as well attacks that combine character abilities, and enough time travel puzzles to make Marty McFly’s head spin.
Join us in our forums to talk about what you loved about the game, or leave a comment asking us what the fuss is about.

Official press release follows
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