One of the most enduring subgenres of gaming is the Strategy-RPG, or SRPG as I’ll refer to it for the purposes of this write-up. Combining turn-based RPG conventions with grib-based strategy, these games are like a marriage of chess, Command and conquer, and Final Fantasy. From Shining Force on the Sega genesis to Final Fantasy Tatics, this subset of RPGS are easy to pick up and play, yet difficult to master. This week’s $20 GOTY and lost classics will take a look at two entries in this genre.

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From now on, instead of writing 2 different columns each week, my $20 GOTY and Buried Treasures sections will be combined into 1 big juicy post. This will ensure that you don’t miss anything, especially from the other writers. Also, this is important becuase this week will be extra big. You’ll know why as soon as you finish reading this sentence.

It’s the day after labor day, and while other news sites might chill out after the holidays, I double up! That means you get 2 articles this week. Oh waitaminute, it’s been 1 year since I started doing the $20 GOTY, so that means I gotta add in 1 more to celebrate. Two of these games you may have seen before, becuase they got lost when we switched to word press and they were so dope, I needed an excuse to look at them again. Besides, it will be a first time a lot of you will be seeing them anyhow, especially if you’re reading this on Area 4:51. So without further ado, come ride with me [to the bargin bin at your local gamestop]. [Read the rest of this entry…]

Last fall, we had no less than 5 classic gaming compilations from Capcom, Namco, Taito, Tecmo, and Midway. Now this is shaping up to be another good fall for fans of classic gaming. You already know about the Wii, and it’s ability to download Genesis and Turbographix 16 games, but what you may not know is that you don’t have to buy the new system in order to play some of Sega’s classics. Indeed, comming this November, the Sega Genesis Collection will be comming to PS2 and PSP with over 30 titles! Shniobi 3, Comix Zone, and Golden Axe 2? I think I’m gonna cry.

If that isn’t enough, Konami is giving Xbox 360 owners old school action via the Live Arcade. You already know that the arcade versions of Contra and Super C are comming, but early next year, Konami is also gonna hit us with the definitive Castlevania game, Symphony of the Night! This is shaping up to be a good time for those who enjoy the games of thier youth.

This game was released the same year as Contra 3 for Super Nintendo.  This is not the Contra you’re used to.  In fact, I have no idea why they even decided to call it a Contra title, if for no other reason than simply to cash in the success of Contra 3.  The only similarity is that you can be killed in one shot.  You don’t fight evil aliens or renegade robots. Instead you take one of 4 playable characters (each with their own special abilities and can be switched at anytime during the game) on a mission to take on a terrorist organization and rescue your kidnapped superior.  You gain weapons just like in Graduis, grabbing a number of backpacks based on the weapon you want then hit select when you gain the acquired number.  Objects can be destroyed, and the music is pretty cool for an NES title.  When you check this game out, don’t expect the original Contra, or even Super C, but it’s still a solid experience on its own merits.  Hopefully this will resurface as a Wii download.  If only Konami had given NES owners a new Castlevania title before the NES ended.

Silent Hill is the only franchise worthy to stand alongside Resident Evil in the survival horror genre.  Some fans may say that is surprasses it in terms of storyline and scares.  In 2004, Konami decided to go in a different direction  for the series’ most recent entry.  You play as Harry Townsend, a resident of an apartment building who finds himself mysteriously trapped inside the room.  With no means to communicate to the outside, the situation is turning worse for him, until he discovers a mysterious portal in his bathroom, which leads directly into the bizzare alternate world of Silent Hill. 

The gameplay is different from pervious Silent Hill entries.  For starters, your room serves as a hub by which you use to explore the different worlds of Silent Hill.  This is the only place in the game you are able to save, and you reach here via special holes that are scattered throughout the various worlds.  You explore the room via a first-person interface, and for a while, it can be used as a safe haven to recover your energy.  Also, this game is more combat oriented than the other games in the series, as you have a power meter that you can use to inflict more damage on an opponent.  You have a limited inventory, so now item management is a must.  Items can be stored in your room, and this actually becomes a basis for some of the game’s puzzles.  Although it can get fustrating (especially in the second half of the game) with unkillable ghost enemies and a partner you are forced to protect, this is a refreshing change of pace for the series.  One can hope that Konami would explore the possibilities of a first person Silent Hill game in the future.

I’ve been meaning to start this up for a while.  The purpose of this feature is to spotlight classic games that don’t seem to get enough recongnition.  Ganked and gaffled from my $20 game of the week, I’m gonna try to do this weekly.

We’re gonna set this off with Konami’s Cybernator, a side-scrolling shooter in the vein of Contra 3, but with giant mech!  How cool is that?  You have several upgradable weapons at your disposal, and you blast up enemy robots in an attempt to bring an end to a war that has ravaged the planet.  Some of the enemies you fight are mechs that can fill up the entire half of the screen, and you can destroy anything not nailed down as in true mech fashion.  Along with the graphics, the music is also to be noted here. It does well in order to get you into the game’s atmosphere.  Download this rom and check out it’s greatness.  Hopefully it will be available on Wii’s virtual console as well.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will get another crack at the big screen next spring, when Warner Bros pictures releases a new 100% computer animated movie based on the foursome’s orignal comic outings.
Though Imagi Animation Studios is promising a gritty Hong Kong action movie, the film’s already headed for a PG rating and its unlikely 4Kids or WB will dish out the killer Ninja Turtles stories from the first volume of the Mirage comics. I mean if they wanna send the Turtles into space and chop off Shredder’s head, thats cool with me. I just don’t think its gonna happen.
Link: IMAGI INTERNATIONAL, which has no animation to speak of as an example. Kinda weird for an unknown studio, eh?

Oh yeah, Ubisoft has tied up rights for the video game, ending Mirage’s long standing deal with Konami. No details announced yet, but if past Ubisoft games are any indication: expect the game to have online support and find a way to use every single button the controller.

Our friend Sparkstalker has been suspicious of the PS3 box since it was revealed a year ago, pointing out the lack of fans, and the power supply being housed in box. I’ll let his words take over:

Looking at this image again. I’ve got to wonder how “final” this really is. It still has a 120V input. Which means all power conversion would still have to happen inside the unit. Which would double the amount of heat that the PS3 will have to dissipate. And while they’ve increased the size and added vents, to me, it still doesn’t look like enough to dissipate the heat that will be generated by the system and power supply. We’ve seen the issues with the 360, and that’s with “loud fans” and a “monsterous” power brick…

It just doesn’t add up.

Also thanks to him for pointing out how many of those inputs disappeared in the last 12 months.

Incidentally, Sony pitchman Phil Harrison (who’s mere image frightens me, to be honest) is saying they’d been developing the tilt control since 1994. Nice try.  We all know where you ripped the Dual Shake off of.
File under “in case you missed this…”

DDR hits the TV screen and the Mobile phone.

Nokia NGage still kicking, despite all efforts to ignore it.

Frankie at Bungie deflects fanboy reactions to the Halo 3 trailer.

Superman Returns… please don’t let it be teh suck.

Close up look at Will Wright’s Spore.

Super Mario Galaxy Boss Battle.

And surprisingly, Hideo Kojima would like to ditch Metal Gear Solid 4 production to work on Wii. I mean, it doesn’t surprise me he wants to develop for Wii, just surprises me he’d consider ditching the PS3 only real killer-app to do it.
And now the doors to the biggest video game show of the year officially closed, its time to declare a winner. Tell us what looked best, what looked worst, what confused you, what was most unexpected, etc. Register and post your thoughts to our forums.