When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearlyevery game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
Now this is the sort of game that gets me excited about video games! There’s something about the zany concepts and systems that video games of Japanese origin tend to have that really excite me. So when I first heard about this title, I figured I’d be into. Fast forward to many months after its initial release and it happens to be discounted to $0.99 on a PSN sale and of course I bought it. Fast forward to today when I’m writing this, and I still haven’t played it. Jenny has played it somewhat, stating that she thought it was weird and kind of difficult. From what I gather, it’s a survival game set in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo where you play as an animal and attempt to procreate and ensure your future lineage. Pomeranian dogs seem to the favored avatar too. That’s what I’m talking about!
Tokyo Jungle was developed by Crispy’s! in conjunction with Sony Computer Entertainment’s Japan Studio. It was originally released physically for the PlayStation 3 in Japan on June 7, 2012, and had its North American release exclusively on PSN on September 25, 2012. I’m not familiar with the developer, although it appears they’ve developed a handful of other games – mostly Japanese only.
When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearly every game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
This was the first brand new game I purchased for the PlayStation 2. I can still remember so clearly walking into the newly opened GameStop in my town and picking this game up. It had to have been six months to a year after release as it was about thirty dollars, if memory serves. This was the first “major” simulation racing game I played. I was enveloped in the experience as a result and spent so much time playing, unlocking car after car. That was one of the things that kept me hooked. Since I grew up on Pokémon, I can dig collecting, and Gran Turismo is one of those series where there’s an immense amount of cars to collect. I didn’t fully complete it, and I daydream about returning to it, almost instead of trying my hand at one of its sequels. This will remain a collection of some of my fondest PS2 memories.
Gran Turismo 4 was developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on February 22, 2005, following the original December 28, 2004 Japanese release. As is the case with every title in the series currently, its development was overseen by Kazunori Yamauchi. Also, in keeping with tradition, this game was subject to many delays. That being said, no one can dispute the quality of the final product.
When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearly every game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
Oscura: Second Shadow is a game I have yet to play. Like most of the games I have for Android or Steam, this one was acquired through a Humble Bundle, and remains untouched. Instead of personal experience then, I can only write about what I know of the game through quick research. Fortunately, the game’s website has a press kit that filled me in. The game takes inspiration from platformers from the 1990s, specifically the Super Mario and Rayman series of games. Stylistically, much inspiration is drawn from Tim Burton’s repertoire, and I’d also say Limbo. I’ll have to give it a shot sometime to see how it handles on a touch-based device, as I’ve not had much good things to say about platformers on such devices.
The game was developed by Ole Alfheim in conjunction with Chocolate Liberation Front. It was published by Surprise Attack Games, initially on iOS on June 26, 2014 and two months later (August 26, 2014) on Android. Per the game’s press kit, Ole appears to be an Australian and the brains behind this game and its predecessor.
When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearly every game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
I’ve played little of this game since acquiring the Odyssey2 and expanding my collection. Put simply, it’s a Pac-Man clone. It’s not a 1:1 duplicate, but it’s hard to deny that fact. In fact, this game was the center of a lawsuit that Atari brought upon Philips, the parent company of Magnavox. Atari brought the case, rather than Namco, as they had the exclusive right to home versions of Pac-Man. The Wikipedia pages for the game and a related court case offer an interesting summation of the early days of video game copyrights, as they pertained to North America. As I mentioned, I’ve probably played this game a few times, but I remember it not.
As was the case with the bulk of the platform’s library, K.C. Munchkin! was developed by Ed Averett and published directly by Magnavox. This game released in North America sometime in 1981.
When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearly every game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
I played a little bit of, and wrote about this game a couple of years ago. I think my introductory paragraph sums up my thoughts on the game perfectly. “The most notable aspect of Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is that it marked a first for the Batman franchise: the first time a major character was debuted in a video game. It has been nine years since the game’s release though, and I’m not aware of the villain Sin Tzu gaining much traction; I mean, I’ve only ever heard of him in the context of this video game, albeit, I’m not especially well versed in the Batman universe. Debuting in a mediocre beat ‘em up probably didn’t help his chances at stardom though.”
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu was developed by Ubisoft Montreal. The studio is massive (over 2,600 employees!) and has remained incredibly prolific in the wake of the release of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell in 2002. This game was, naturally, published by Ubisoft. It original released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on October 16, 2003 in North America. The Game Boy Advance and GameCube versions subsequently launched on October 27, 2003 and November 11, 2003, respectively. The game also had special editions on the home consoles. The PS2 and Xbox versions came with an action figure while the GameCube release had a lithograph (read: small poster), which I have.
When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearly every game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
If I’m not mistaken, I acquired this game at the 2014 Oklahoma Video Game Expo for about a buck. That was many months ago now and I’ve yet to play it. I don’t anticipate playing it anytime soon either. It looks like a fast playing shoot ‘em up for the Atari 2600, not too dissimilar from Tempest. The player’s ship remains in the center of the screen, surrounded by about five pathways on either side. Enemy ships zoom between each side of the screen while the player attempts to stay alive by destroying or avoiding them.
Perhaps the most interesting factoid about Turmoil is the fact that it was designed by Mark Turmell. He later went on to design Smash T.V., NBA Jam, and NFL Blitz, among others. He was working for Sirius Software at the time and the game was published by 20th Century Fox. It was released in North America around 1982 on the Atari 2600. It also had releases on Atari’s line of 8-bit computers, the Commodore VIC-20 and C-64, and on MSX computers.
When you have a video game collection like mine, it can be hard to play all of the games. This is especially true when additions are made on an almost weekly basis. Still, I appreciate nearly every game I’ve accumulated for this reason or that. In the hopes of improving my writing through continuous effort and promoting ongoing learning of these games, I’m going to compose brief, descriptive articles.
My experience with the Panzer Dragoon series is limited. When my friend purchased a Saturn a year or two ago, Panzer Dragoon was one of the first games he got. We played a small chunk of it and enjoyed it. Other than that, I’ve fawned over Panzer Dragoon Saga on eBay and daydreamed about finding a copy at a garage sale. I’ve always been interested in the series, and when I purchased this game early last year, I finally granted myself the best opportunity to play one of the games. What I remember most about this game was reading the strategy guide in a period Tips & Tricks magazine. It seemed like there was a lot of unlockables and a lot of various requirements. A game I’ll need to check out.
Panzer Dragoon Orta was developed by Smilebit and released exclusively on the Xbox. It was published by Sega; originally on December 19, 2002 in Japan with the North American released happening January 14, 2003. All previous games had been developed by Team Andromeda, which was folded together with a few other companies to form Smilebit. Despite this, it was the first (and last, I suppose) game to feature no involvement from Yukio Futatsugi, the director for the previous games. He has since made Crimson Dragon on the Xbox One.
I saw this ad in a grocery retail trade magazine and thought I’d share it here. Remember store owners, if you have Trion anti-theft devices, creepers won’t be able to steal your GameCube games.
Honestly, I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Granted, it was the first game I acquired and played on my PlayStation 4. That maybe had more to do with its budget price though. That, however, was also a factor that colored my interpretation of the game when it launched March 18, 2014. Most of what I remember about the game’s reception was negativity regarding its length and cost. I totally agree with that assessment after playing it, but I also agree with those who praised it for many reasons. It’s an incredibly polished, brief experience that one can easily be seduced into playing for more than the requisite hour.
The “core” mission is very short – I believe I completed it in about an hour. Snake infiltrates an American black site on Cuba with the goal of rescuing two young members of his special unit. The game opened, per usual, with a lengthy, awe-inspiring cinematic cutscene. The focus was a man with a disfigured face and his conversation with one of the hostages, just after he’d (presumably) violently interrogated the other. As I haven’t played any of the games dealing with these characters and this time period, I was a little lost in regards to their importance. Still, Snake had his mission and I obliged.
Holding enemies hostage was a way of obtaining non-crucial information.
Upon the completion of the game, a handful of other “Side Ops” could be unlocked. These weren’t cinematic ventures directly related to the impending big show (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain), but rather, just more missions. Everything took place in the same environment, and after playing for a half-dozen hours, I’m very familiar with this black site! The lack of variety didn’t bog down my impressions of the game though. If anything, it helped me to appreciate it more.
As I went Trophy hunting, I replayed these missions a handful of times, and restarted more than I’d like to admit! After all of this though, I’m very familiar with the depth of my actions in tackling any given scenario – it had a definite open-world vibe to it. The game was difficult to get acclimated to at first, especially as I haven’t played a game in the series in two or three years. But, as I was driven to collect Trophies, I stuck with the game after each mission’s initial completion, and really grew to relish the opportunity in sneaking about and stealthily resolving enemy threats how I wanted.
It would be a Metal Gear Solid game without sneaking. It’d be a Metal Gear Rising game!
I won’t dive too deep into the nitty gritty of the gameplay, but there were a couple new mechanics worth mentioning. In my opinion, “Reflex Mode” was the most impactful. If I was spotted, time would slow for about three seconds and I’d have the opportunity to react and potentially prevent a compound-wide alert from taking place. Most usually, I’d land a headshot with a tranquilizer and instantly put my foe to sleep. Maybe I was close enough to grab hold of him, get some information and then knock him out. I probably wouldn’t be careless enough to have a lethal weapon equipped, because after I landed the fatal headshot, another guard would’ve possibly been alerted by the sound. In any instance, I would immediately stash the body.
Another new element to the series seems to have been lifted directly from Far Cry 3. Snake has a great pair of binoculars in his possession, and when an enemy is spotted, they’re permanently marked. A red triangle hovers above that enemy’s head which is visible from any point on the compound. The enemy is also permanently visible on Snake’s iDroid (an all-in-one map utility), which seems out of place considering the time period, if only name wise. Also, when nearby, Snake would occasionally catch a glimpse of the enemy in detail, even through walls; this is described as a “stealth instinct”, or something to that effect, but it’s very reminiscent of the abilities of Batman in the Batman: Arkham series.
Just kicking back on the beach, mowing this fool down, what about you?
The Metal Gear Solid series is one of those series’ that if it wasn’t around, video games would just feel different. Early on the series had an impact that few other games can claim – it inspired other game developers. I don’t know if the series has that same weight behind it today, for whatever reason one can gin up. One thing remains the same: the attention to detail and care that goes into these games’ development is palpable. Despite this game’s length and stated purpose as an introduction to the “true” Metal Gear Solid V, the level of its refinement and depth is kind of crazy. It’s a very challenging game, especially if one’s driven to collect Trophies, but it’s an incredibly well-playing game. It may have been decisive when it released with a $40 price tag, but at its current $20 (or even $7 on PSN!), it’s a no-brainer.
![Random Game #38 – Tokyo Jungle [PlayStation Network]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tokyo-jungle.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Random Game #37 – Gran Turismo 4 [PlayStation 2]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/gran-turismo-4.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Random Game #36 – Oscura: Second Shadow [Android]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/oscura-second-shadow.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Random Game #35 – K.C. Munchkin! [Odyssey 2]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/k-c-munchkin.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Random Game #34 – Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu [GameCube]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/batman-rise-of-sin-tzu.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Random Game #33 – Turmoil [Atari 2600]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/turmoil.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Random Game #32 – Panzer Dragoon Orta [Xbox]](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/panzer-dragoon-orta.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes [PlayStation 4] – Review](https://mybrainongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/metal-gear-solid-v-ground-zeroes.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
My Brain on Games 