The Console Wars…I was there!-3 The birth of 3DO December 25, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Video Game Reviews , add a comment3DO
Hi there.
In 1993, the video game industry would enter what I would call their Golden Age, and in this age there was a man named Trip Hawkins, who was a Silicone Valley Entrepreneur, and was the founder of Electronic Arts ( EA ) a video games publisher.
Long story short, Hawkins would eventually leave EA, and form another company, 3DO, a Video Game Console Company that would eventually change it’s company strategy and become a games publisher, a strategy that would later be adapted by Sega also when it finally succumbed to poor console sales, but I digress here….
The 3DO was actually the first to market of the big three at this time, the other two at this time were the Sega Saturn, and the Sony Playstation. The 3DO was the first into the market, the games for the system were CD based, as were the other two consoles, but the 3DO was also the highest price point of the three consoles, coming in at a retail price of around $700 a console. This was the first console that was purchased for my Video game rental business, with the Saturn and the Playstation to be added shortly thereafter. I should also note that there was another 3DO console that was produced by Panasonic and had the same architecture under the hood
The games for the system were pretty decent for first generation games, and some of my favorites were the following…
Way of the Warrior- Universal Interactive
This was a next gen fighter with a wicked soundtrack from White Zombie and was a favorite game to play on a Friday Night.
Wing Commander III- Origin
I liked the game but I never got anywhere with.
Waialae Country Club-Golf Sim-T E Soft
This was my first foray into golf games in general, and it was a very enjoyable game.
Alone In The Dark I & II -Interplay & Infogames ( respectively )
The first games that introduced me to the ” Horror ” genre, and the precursors to the ” Resident Evil ” franchise.
Ballz- The Director’s Cut - P E Magic
This was a unique 3D fighter game with fighters that were made out of 3D spheres, and of course each character had it’s own unique personality and special moves. This was the only fighter that I was excellent at, and just loved to play.
Gex -Crystal Dynamics
This was the first of the platformers of the next gen systems and this was an enjoyable game to play, often, very often as a matter of fact, and this was one of the reasons why I was dissapointed when the system finally crashed and burned.
I won’t go thru the whole list of games for the 3DO, but they were pretty decent for the first of the next gen consoles. The system did pretty well for my business as a rental unit, but sales of the consoles in general were pretty low due to it’s high price point at the time of release. If I remember, 3DO’S price would be lowered at just about the time that the Playstation came onto the scene.
Next time when I post we will look at Sega vs Sony, the real video game war!
Magic’s Morningtide. December 23, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : TCG & CCG Card Games , 1 comment so farOkay, here is the information so far from the Wizards of the Coast site about the new expansion in the Lorwyn block of cards, ” Morningtide ”
Morningtide- Pre-Release Date-Â January 19-20th, 2008
The pre-release as always has a listing of where there will be tournaments in your area to be the first to play before the actual release of the set.
Morningtide Regular Release date is February 1st.
There are a couple of ” Card Previews “Â here.
Unfortunately, there really is no info as to a Morningtide Spoiler list as of yet, and I do apologize to everyone for the link that I had placed to a site that had a list up for the spoiler, with absolutely no real content concerning the spoiler.
Personally, I feel that once Wizards announces a new block release on their site, they ought to have the spoiler to go along with it. But that is just my feeling, and of course, Wizards of the Coast could care less about an old fanboy’s feelings.
Well, more info about Morningtide as I can get it.
Guitar Hero III Rocks! and a few other words… December 22, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Video Game Reviews , 2 commentsOkay, I admit it!!
I admit that I just love this game.
Guitar Hero III- Legends of Rock, arrived at my home yesterday at around 2:50 in the afternoon ….I had the Les Paul Wireless Guitar set to go…and by 3:15 I was playing the game and I didn’t put it down except for the necessities of feeding my two dogs and letting them out…otherwise, I played the game till 6:30 in the evening when I had to put it away to actually make my dinner.
Love the game and I can’t wait to play again.
and now to…
A few other words…
I will not be doing any game reviews till the beginning of the new year, and my next post will not be here till either Sunday night or Monday morning ( or Christmas Eve, for anyone who wasn’t aware ) which will be a continuation of my ” Video Game Wars ” piece, and in that post I will look at the 3DO.
And my last words till Sunday night or Monday is…
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and….
A Very happy, Joyous, and safe New Year
till next time…
Lew
Your Fanboy@50!
I’m gonna be a Guitar Hero on my XBox 360! December 19, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Video Game Reviews , add a commentI haven’t been back in the videogame scene too long, but I still think I know a game that ROCKS…literally!
I will be playing Guitar Hero 3 ” Legends of Rock ” by Christmas
I just think that this is one excellent game, of course I’m a drummer by hobby, but I know I am gonna just love this game, with songs like ” Rock and Roll All Night “, ” Slow Ride “, ” Evenflow ” and the scorpions ” Rock You Like a Hurricane “, this game will definitely rock hard!
For more on Guitar Hero III, you can just go here to get more info.
Rock On Man!
The Console Wars…I was there!-2
Posted by 54071 in : Video Game Reviews , 1 comment so farHi there…I know, it’s Tuesday, not Monday…but lets get to it shall we.
Coleco Vision
Coleco Vision was released in 1982, but I did not acquire this ” Next gen ” piece of hardware till a year later, and I have to admit that the only game I remember playing for this console was a game that I just loved in the arcades around this time called MR.Do
Mattel Intellivision
Here was a console I had several games for at the time I owned it, which was the same year I owned the Coleco Vision. I will say before we go any further, that the Coleco Vision had the better games of these two consoles, but truth of the matter was Intellivision…just had more games!
My one favorite game for this system at the time was ” Burgertime “, in which you were a Chef, putting together…wait for it…that’s right, Hamburgers, and yes in my youth I had worked at McDonald’s, which might just explain my fascination with this particular game. I just loved putting those burgers together before the time ran out.
and than came…
Nintendo
The Nintendo Entertainment System
And what a time it was!
Well, me me anyway. My introduction to Nintendo’s simple powerhouse came in 1988. The NES had already been on the market for five years before I picked it up used from a comic book store as a bundle with two games for around $100.
The two games were Super Mario #1 & The legend of Zelda. The latter was the game that got my wife into video games, she totally owned Legend, and finished it within a month ( if memory serves me well ), and I had to wait for Zelda Two for her to be happy with the NES again.
Now I just want to say that this was kinda the ” Silver Age “Â of the video game industry, and at least at the time it was special for anyone who was playing video games at the time, and mind you this was after the ” Video Game Crash ” of 83 or 84 depending on who you ask.
My next post will focus on the first of the NEW consoles released in 1993 by a fledgling company called ” The 3DO Company.
I’ve taken the jump and bought an XBox 360- Let the reviews begin! December 17, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Video Game Reviews , 1 comment so far
Okay, I took the step and I bought an Xbox 360, so you can expect to see some reviews coming in the next couple of weeks along with some personal recommendations so stay tuned….and I’ll also explain my choice of consoles from the big three.
The Console Wars…I was there! December 16, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Video Game Reviews , add a commentI had already mentioned my involvement with videogames in an earlier post here, but I really want to take a look at what I have played and maybe give my view of where the industry is today, by taking a look at where it’s been, along with where is was with it….so lets start here….
The Atari 2600 - My First Videdo Game Console
It was around 1980, I was living with my girlfriend ( who would later become my wife ) Sue in an upstairs apartment on Dolson Ave in Middletown and my first experience with a video game console was the Atari 2600.
I remember spending alot of time in front of a tiny color tv screen playing a black and white game called Missle Command and another game called Pitfall featuring a character called Pitfall Harry, and unfortunately, that is the only game for the system that I can remember with any real clarity.
Atari would put out another system after the 2600, the 5200 with better games and ( for the time of course ) greatly improved graphics, but I never experienced the console myself
After about a year and a few months, I was already looking at the new kid on the block..A new console would be released by a little known company called Coleco, and again the video game industry would be revolutionized by a new console called the…
Coleco Vision
Tomorrow… Coleco Vision
and for a list of old Atari 2600 ( for your Nostalgia ) you can click here.
and for a list of Atari 5200 games you can click here.
” One More Day ” for Spiderman December 14, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comics , add a comment
It’s pretty much a universal question isn’t it?
” What would you do with One More Day? “
Well, this is the question that Peter Parker will be answering, and we lucky readers are going along for the ride.
A four issue mini series running thru Amazing Spiderman, Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, Sensational Spiderman, and the finale of the series returns to Amazing Spiderman.
Peter Parker has always been one of the ( if not the ) most angst ridden comic characters in comics, that being said this story told by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI and pencils by JOE QUESADA put Peter in one of the most difficult situations in his life…
After Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin puts a hit out on Peter, an assasin’s bullet, meant for Peter finds a different target…
May Parker, Peter’s aunt.
This four part tale in the life of Peter Parker will have long lasting repercussions in Peter’s relationships with friends and family.
I have read the first two issues and I have the third part, and while I haven’t read the issue yet, I already took a peek at the pages of part three and without giving it away, I think that Peter is ready to make a deal with someone in order to save his aunt May’s life….but at what cost…what price would you pay to have ” One More Day “?
John Bierly and the Indiana Jones Poster December 12, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Uncategorized , add a commentI was checking out my friend John Bierly’s blog earlier today and I see he has a pic of the new movie poster for the new Indiana Jones movie due out in 08, and I have to say it looks great….and I would expect no less than to see John being the first to give us a peek at it either.
Tomorrow…Spiderman ” One More Day “
Posted by 54071 in : Comics , add a commentHi all.
Tomorrow I will be taking a look at what could very likely be a defining storyline in the life of Peter Parker aka Spiderman, and I don’t mind telling you that I think the only thing that could help Mr. Parker is a deal with a devil…or something like one….