Welcome to Powet’s first $20 GOTW and Lost Classics of the new decade. We got two classic games that will help you get the new year started off right. Without any further ado, click below and lets get started.
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Our nation’s birthday was this past Saturday, so in celebration, this week’s $20GOTW and Lost classics will feature games based on Sony’s Syphon Filter, a franchise about keeping the world safe from terrorism. When it debuted on the original Playstation in the late 90s, Syphon Filter gave players its own brand of espionage action. It may not have been Metal Gear Solid, but Syphon Filter was the closest thing players got to playing through an episode of 24. Syphon Filter’s storyline covered 3 PS1 games and a PS2 entry which featured online play. In 2006, Sony bought Syphon Filter to the Playstation Portable, creating one of the best games available on the system.
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Is the name David Jones familiar to you? If you’re a fan of Grand Theft Auto or the more recent Crackdown (and/or you’ve been keeping up with this week’s E3 coverage) then it should be. You see, David Jones is the man behind both of those modern-day gaming classics along with the upcoming MMOG APB. Years before showing revolutionizing the sandbox genre and showing gamers how fun it is to partake in deviant criminal behavior, he created the puzzle game Lemmings. Although it wasn’t nearly as violent as his later titles, it was just as innovative, and years later it manages to maintain its charm. Although Lemmings has hit almost every major gaming system in the past, this $20 GOTW centers around the 2006 PSP game from Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by Team 17.
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When one thinks of a system’s killer app (a game that provides a memorable gaming experience while showing off the system’s abilities), it’s not uncommon to think of shooters such as Gears of War and Halo on Xbox 360 or Resistance and Killzone on the Playstation 3. Final Fantasy 7 and 8 could be considered killer apps for the Playstation 1 as they made a significant impact on gaming and helped Sony move an insane amount of units. On the Nintendo 64, it was Mario 64, as it’s 3-d analog gameplay made a similar impact on gaming, However when one thinks of a killer app for the PSP (or for any other system for that matter), the last thing anyone would consider is a puzzle game. However, when the original Lumines hit the PSP back in 2005, its integration of music, video, and puzzle gameplay became an instant hit amongst gamers, almost making it this generation’s answer to Tetris. When this sequel was released, the gameplay proves to be just as addictive as it was the first time, and it had several new features to boot.
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It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, a.k.a. “Cyber Monday”. As if we didn’t get enough shopping done on “Black Friday”, now there is an online holiday shopping rush. Now it seems we have another opportunity for some early X-mas shopping. Well be that as it may, now that your turkey is digested, I got this week’s $20 Game of The Week for you. You don’t have to wake up early for this one. Also, I got two lost classics this week, so there is no shortage of leftovers either. This week, you’ll get a remake of a classic, a classic remake, and a game that should have been a classic. So click after the jump and be thankful for Powet.tv.
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Back in September, we reported near-live from the Tokyo Game Show floor about an upcoming SNK arcade collection, which SNK elaborated upon over the weekend with a complete game listing:

SNK PLAYMORE USA CORPORATION, the U.S. publishing arm of the SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION, today announced SNK ARCADE CLASSICS: VOLUME 1 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the PSP(r) (PlayStation® Portable) system.

SNK ARCADE CLASSICS: VOLUME 1 will include the following SNK games:

• ART OF FIGHTING – The first game in SNK’s second fighting-game franchise, set in the same universe as FATAL FURY.
• BASEBALL STARS 2 – The sequel to SNK’s popular baseball arcade game.
• BURNING FIGHT – New York detectives battle organized crime in this fighter.
• FATAL FURY – First released in 1991, FATAL FURY introduced the two-plane fighting system.
• KING OF FIGHTERS ‘94 – The first game in the popular KING OF FIGHTERS series.
• KING OF THE MONSTERS – In KING OF THE MONSTERS, giant monsters fight for power in epic battles.
• LAST RESORT – A challenging futuristic shooter.
• MAGICIAN LORD – Players help the wizard Elta save his homeworld in this platformer.
• METAL SLUG – Known for its humor and fast- moving gameplay, this run-and-gun side-scroller was the first in the popular series.
• NEO TURF MASTERS – A golf game which debuted on the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999.
• SAMURAI SHODOWN – Set in the 18th century, SAMURAI SHODOWN features bladed-weapon combat and an international cast f characters.
• SENGOKU – In SENGOKU, players face off against undead feudal Japanese armies.
• SHOCK TROOPERS – In this run-and-gun adventure, players save a scientist and his granddaughter from the Bloody Scorpions.
• SUPER SIDEKICKS 3 – A soccer game featuring teams from all over the world.
• TOP HUNTER – Bounty hunters protect colonists from space pirates in this futuristic action game.
• WORLD HEROES – This classic fighter pits players against historical figures in a tournament enabled by time travel.

“With 16 of our most beloved games, SNK ARCADE CLASSICS: VOLUME 1 is a must-have addition to any arcade fan’s collection,” said Ben Herman, president of SNK PLAYMORE USA CORPORATION. “It’s the most comprehensive SNK compilation to date.”

SNK ARCADE CLASSICS: VOLUME 1 will be available for PlayStation2 system and the PSP(r) (PlayStation(r) Portable) in the first half of 2008.

This almost makes up for being four months late about the rest of our video coverage!

There’s no mention of a Wii title in the release, but we’re confident there will be one eventually (as per our video report), and various other sites have mentioned finding an ESRB rating for a Wii version.

Thanks to sites like Nintendo Wii Fanboy for giving credit where due.

A bit delayed, but we’ve finally got a video review for Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles all set up and ready to view. Take a look if you’re interested.

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with Dave Chappell, conscious hip hop music, or a brief Fugees reunion. However, Ultimate Block Party (known in Japan as Kollon) is a fun little anime-inspired PSP puzzle game brings back memories of Tetris Attack. You arrange colored blocks in groups of four to clear them out. As with many good puzzlers, things aren’t nearly that simple. When playing against a CPU or friend, the disappeared blocks are sent to the other player’s side, adversely affecting their game screen. Blocks can glue together, become harder to move, or even cover up the playing field. Clearing out blocks can earn magic squares, which give certain advantages such as changing all the blocks in a row to a certain color and blowing up clusters of blocks. As expected, you can chain together blocks and add on to your score. You play as one of 8 characters, but there are no real differences between them. It offers a Vs mode, an arcade mode, and a single player endless mode. There is also a campaign mode, but all it is is simply Arcade mode with just one character and some intro animations. In a nice little touch, the game offers Ad-Hoc play (something that wasn’t in the Japanese release), but good luck finding another player who has a copy of this game.

Ultimate Block Party may not be Lumines, and it doesn’t offer a whole lot in the way of game modes, but it’s still a solid title for casual gamers. It’s hard to find thanks to the lack of decent marketing around its release, but puzzle fans should definitely check this game out. Now that I think about it, this would make a good Xbox Live Arcade game.