Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

In the short time they had been around, manufacturers took steps to make video games available in as many formats as possible. After their arcade origins, games were made available on home computers, and consoles. After making consoles which allowed interchangeable cartridges, the next logical step would be to make games that you could take with you on the go. From the tabletop electronic games of the 60s and 70s to the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and everything else in between, there has been no better way to pass the time.
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SNK’s Baseball Stars did for video game baseball what Tecmo bowl did for video game football. Actually that isn’t right. Tecmo bowl merely made video game football more fun and realistic. Baseball Stars not only made video game baseball more fun and realistic, but it also introduced features that were unprecedented at the time. By being one of the first video game sports titles to feature built-in memory, it contained some features that were unseen in other sports titles at the time. It is considered by many to be the best baseball game ever released on the NES, and many of the features it introduced still impact sports games today.
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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.

The sixteen bit era of video games is considered by many to be the bridge between the past and modern eras of video gaming, and there were two kings of the ring: Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega’s Genesis. Though there were more powerful systems that sprang up around the time, it would be these two that would outlast and outperform all of them, thanks to their accessibility. This was due not only to the technologies that the two systems boasted under the hood, but also with the library of games that were released for the two. It also gave rise to some of those most heated fanboy wars of our hobby. If you think system wars are bad now, you should have seen how bad it was during the 16-bit days, especially when system manufacturers were openly taking pot shots at each other. However, it was pointless for fanboys of both systems to argue with each other, as both systems not only had an equally impressive library of games (even if many multiplatform releases on the Sega Genesis tended to have inferior audio and visual quality to their SNES counterparts), but they outlasted and outsold the more powerful systems that sprang up around the same period. Click below to take a look back at one of gaming’s most exciting eras.
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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.

Now we all love video games. At least most of you do. I can’t imagine that the majority of our visitors would be here if they didn’t, let alone reading this article. However, many of us can’t afford to run out and buy the latest new game when it is released, especially in this recession. Most of us have to deal with tuition/student loan payments, rent/mortgage payments, food, utilities, and in some cases, even extra mouths to feed. However, just because you’re swamped with bills doesn’t mean you have to keep playing the same games over and over again, simply because you can’t afford new ones. In this addition of the powet alphabet, I’m going to show you 10 selections straight from our weekly $20 Game of the Week feature, a.k.a the gamer stimulus package, designed to stimulate your collection and bail you out from the monotony of replaying the same titles again. I tried to cover every system here, and there is a good selection of genre offerings, so there is something for everyone. As luck would have it, this is also the 4 year anniversary of the column. All of these titles can be found for under 20 dollars anywhere you buy games from.

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When one discusses the glory days of the forth generation of console gaming (that would be the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis), one must be careful to exclude SNK’s Neo Geo from the discussion. Between the 16 and 32 bit systems in power, the Neo Geo console’s hardware was unique in that it allowed gamers to play the actual arcade games since it was powered by the actual MVS and AES boards. You weren’t playing versions that had to sacrifice graphical quality to fit within a home system’s specs, nor were you playing versions that had extra features crammed to compensate for being inferior to the arcade game, but the Neo Geo allowed you to play the same game that you played in the arcade, minus the coin slot and the fat guy at the counter who breaks your $20. With a memory card, you could even carry save data between the arcade cabinet and a home console.
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Before SoulCalibur, Samurai Showdown bought weapon to weapon fighting to the fighting game genre. With the franchise’s historical Japan setting, progressively complex battle systems, and interesting cast of characters, the Samurai Showdown series stands as one of the fighting game genre’s most unique games, 2D or 3D. It also managed to create some controversy of its own, as fatality-style moves can chop players in half, leaving geysers of blood spraying (although these were censored from many American releases, causing even further controversy). As they have done with many of their other game series, SNK has collected Samurai Showdown in an anthology. This disc contains Samurai Showdown 1 – 5 as well as 6, making this the first time that the Atomswave-powered 6 is available in North America. As with most other SNK compilations, the game includes a color edit option, art gallery, and options to tweak the graphics and sound. All of your favorite characters are here, from Haomaru to Tam Tam, to Galford and Earthquake. The selectable fighting styles in games 2 – 6 make the game complex and deep, such to an extent that it might scare off fighting game newbies, but longtime fans of the series as well as fighting game aficionados will want to add this game to their collection.

BTW, this is also available on PSP, but it’s for $30, and it has longer loading times.

Before Capcom vs SNK, there was, well, SNK vs SNK. While the Neo Geo had several good shooters and platformers, it would be fighting games which would really put SNK and the Neo Geo on the map. Games such as Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and Samurai Showdown would show that SNK was every bit as equal to Capcom in the fighting game arena. Even third party developers such as ADV and Data East made games for the Neo Geo. In 1994, after the several Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting games, SNK decided change the genre and do something completely new. They created a fighting game in which fighters were placed into 3-man teams, something which was unheard of at the time. Even more amazing, they teamed up characters from their back catalog. Fatal Fury fighters mixed it up with Art of Fighting characters. Yeah, people flipped when they fought Ryo Sazaki in Fatal Fury Special, and it was cool to see Geese Howard as the boss of Art of Fighting 2, but now the crossover appeal had been taken to the next level. It wasn’t just SNK FIGHTERS who joined in the fun. Characters from Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier also threw down with Terry Bogard and crew. There were also several new characters who joined as well. In fact, Kyo Kusanagi, one of the new blood, would rise to become KOF’s main hero. The series itself would become one of the Neo Geo’s (as well as the genre’s) most prolific titles. Subsequent entries were released on an almost-yearly basis, and the newest entry in the series is being developed even now. To tide us over until then, SNK has released this collection of the first 5 games in the series. This disc is a must-own for fans of the series, fans of SNK, or fans of 2-d fighters period.
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In the late 90s, Metal Slug was to the Neo Geo’s answer to the NES and SNES Contra games. It was a side-scrolling 2-d blastfest which bought back memories of classic shoot-em-ups of old, while at the same time injecting a twisted sense of humor. After picking a character, you (and a friend if playing co-op) must blast your way through enemy soldiers, terrorists, zombies, mummies, aliens, and whatever else stands in your way. There is a storyline involving a rebel army and martians, but that’s not important. You’ll find several weapons and vehicles to help you in your journey. There are also POWS that you rescue for additional points. The main series has spawned 6 games (along with Playstation and portable entries) with a 7th heading for the Nintendo DS this fall. Each game in the series has added zany new levels, characters (Metal Slug 6 even includes Clark and Ralf of Ikari Warriors and King of Fighters fame as selectable characters), weapons, and vehicles. As with several of their franchises as of late, SNK/Playmore has collected the majority of the series on a compilation pack. This disc includes Metal Slug 1 – 6 as well as Metal Slug X, a remake of Metal Slug 2 released on the original Playstation. Beside motion controls on the Wii and Ad-hoc wireless play on the PSP, there isn’t much in the way of extras. However, fans of the series will be happy to have the series wrapped up on one disc, where they can see how far the series has come along. Action game fans will enjoy the challenge and classic gaming feel that the series is known for.