E3 2010: Nintendo Conference Wrap-Up

Wow. Nintendo just kicked all sorts of ass. They started off with a trailer for Super Scribblenauts, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Scribblenauts on the Nintendo DS. The main new feature of the game is the integration of adjectives, which will allow players to create thousands of objects in the game world.

This was followed by the debut trailer and some gameplay footage of the all new Zelda title for the Nintendo Wii. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be out next year and be 100% MotionPlus compatible, promising unparalleled precision and depth.

E3 2010: Microsoft Conference Wrap-Up

E3 began today, with Microsoft starting off the series of keynote press conferences that would go on to include presentations by EA, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo, and a special conference dedicated to Microsoft Kinect (formerly known as Microsoft Natal).

Sony's Greatest Hits

The Greatest Hits label has long been an integral part of the game library for Sony's consoles. It was started to give elite status to best selling games on the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable, and since the program began in 1997, there have been over 580 Greatest Hits titles across all four platforms.

When a game became Greatest Hits, two things would happen; the game would drop in price (usually between $19.99 and $29.99), and the collector's value of the original "Black Label" version would begin to rise. While it's not applicable to all games, RPG's in particular like Final Fantasy VII enjoy a noticeable difference in price when comparing the "Green Label" and "Black Label" versions.

Consider the Final Fantasy Anthology for PS1. The original printing had a black label, the old-style white ESRB rating, and listed Squaresoft as the publisher. The new print, which is still in production brand new, has a green label, the new-style black ESRB rating, and lists Square-Enix as the publisher.

3D Dot Game Heroes & Legend of Zelda

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) exclusive, 3D Dot Game Heroes is, as publisher Atlus calls it, “the ultimate love letter to retro gamers.” This is 100% true, and particularly for anyone who has played the original 1987 The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) or the 1991 smash hit, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

The developers at From Software are the ones responsible for 3D Dot Game Heroes. Their past works include the Armored Core series, some of the later Tenchu games, the King’s Field series, and, most recently, the fiendishly difficult and critically acclaimed Demon’s Souls.

The company, being founded in November 1986 in Japan, has been around for a long time—and it shows. There will never be a more faithful homage to the Zelda franchise than 3D Dot Game Heroes, which pays tribute and emulates almost every single facet of the blockbuster Nintendo series.

Seeing as pictures are worth a thousand words, I think it’d be best for me to just show you some comparison images of 3D Dot Game Heroes and some of the Zelda games. The similarities are undeniable.



While it is true that you can custom build your hero in 3D Dot Game Heroes, it's obvious that the protagonist was modeled after Link and that the fairies in the game were based on Navi from the Zelda series. The similarities between the characters is a lot more than purely visual--it extends far into the gameplay, as you can see from this trailer for 3D Dot Game Heroes:

Top 10 Current Gen Fighting Games

It's a good time to be into fighters. Seriously. While the 90's are considered the heydey of the genre with the Neo Geo and the prevalence of arcades, there's been a recent surge of quality fighters this generation. Both 3D and 2D and ranging from new franchises to entries in those long standing, here is our list of the Top 10 Current Generation Fighting Games.

FC Mobile II: A Revolutionary Way to Play NES Games

Upon opening the FC Mobile II, we were struck by its size. Considering it houses a full NES and the necessary sensors for the two included wireless controllers and wireless light gun, we expected something larger. But the FC Mobile II fits snugly into your pocket and is designed for travel play. Keep in mind, however, that an NES cartridge in the system increases its size.

Buttons are placed in the perfect location so your hands won't cover the speakers and the power switch is along the top so you don't accidentally turn it off while playing. However, the buttons are quite stiff when you first start using the machine. In addition to that, the unit itself and the wireless controllers have dedicated turbo buttons which make games like Contra and Commando much more fun.

The cartridge bay was also built in a way that prevents the games from being shaken so even if you're playing on a bus or airplane, gameplay is never interrupted. The 72-pin connector is made with high-quality metals to prevent erosion and the bay is designed to allow a straight and direct connection with the cartridge similar to the design of the Model 2 NES, the SNES, or the N64. Games will always work as long as they are cleaned properly. (To properly clean an NES game, open the cartridge using a security bit and remove dust or carbon build-up from the connectors.)

“Get a silk bag from the graveyard duck to live longer” - Castlevania 2 NES

As much as I love classic games, I sometimes wonder, if anyone ever proofread the translation in any of the games. There was so little text in many of the games; I cannot fathom how the publishers would not have at least dedicated some time to edit the translated text.

There are two prime examples of this that I can remember from playing the NES during my childhood. Metal Gear and Castlevania 2: Simons Quest. Even at 5 years old I knew the dialog made little sense.

Metal Gear was relatively the better of the two in the grammatical sense. I can only remember four errors in the dialog

The Guards saying: “I feel asleep"
Snake stating: “Uh – oh! The truck have started to move!”
And two of Big Boss's radio messages:
“First, attempt to contact missing our “Grey Fox,” then try to find the Metal Gear.”
“Now, locate the Grey Fox’s hidden cells, check the way! Over.”

Castlevania 2’s dialog made little or no sense. The game was very open ended and one of the few was to actually progress in the game without a strategy guide was to talk to Transylvanian villages whose English was obviously not their first language.

One clue a villager gave really stuck in my head:
“Get a silk bag from the graveyard duck to live longer”

I’ve always read this has if I needed to get a Silk Bag from a graveyard duck in order to live longer. But alas, there is no duck in Simons Quest, but there is a graveyard with a silk bag in it. That only leaves one explanation, the clue should read:

“Get a silk bag from the graveyard.” AND “Duck to live longer”

The second half of the clue should be interpreted as “Crouch to progress further.” This makes a reference to a part where you much crouch with a crystal to reveal a secret staircase to one of the many mansions in the game.

Then there’s always the “You now prossess Dracula’s rib.” Simons Quest doesn’t just have the wrong tense. It flat out just has the wrong words.

Speaking of errors: