So I’m out there on the interwebs and just looking for some vintage material and somehow stumbled upon this great article! For men looking to pick up women at your local arcade (OH WAIT THEY DON’T EXIST ANYMORE!) give this article a read!
Link to full size HERE.
Link to full size HERE!
Well after reading this article I can now say I’m well versed in the event I come across a Ms. Pac-Man machine at a local mall or a pizza joint…
So I’ve taken to getting involved in Kickstarter campaigns for art books. The first one I have supported at the 40-pound amount is:
Arcade Decades – 80s Edition
With my pledge level, I get the following:
As a backer of the Arcade Decades – 80’s Edition Book you get a Physical copy of the whole book PLUS your name in the book itself as an official backer of the campaign. You will also receive a PDF of the book with this reward.
I’d love to get my hands on some of their miniature arcade games. Specifically Ms. Pac-Man but they are a bit expensive despite being super cool!!!
Up next is: NES Endings Compendium: Volume 2
For this one, I went with the two books book 1 and book 2 hardcover. I had 1 in softcover but I’m a sucker for hardcover books and that crispy page and ink combination. (that’s the old Art Director in me) Nothing like seeing work fresh off a press. This one was $44 at my level. Worth every penny for 2 x hardcover books of content I love to read about or glance at.
And last but not least a book that is officially licensed by CAPCOM! It’s a hand-drawn level guide to Mega Man 1 complete with artwork hand-drawn everything!! I was able to get in on the $99 level the goal was like 19k and within a day they were at over 50k! I was so lucky to get in on the $99 level I pledged as soon as this one hit my inbox. I can’t resist a good Mega Man book plus an original art sheet from the book hand drawn and inked which will find its way into a frame. They had to jump through all the hoops with CAPCOM to get the license and with numbers like this I hope they continue to do more books like 2,3,4 etc..
So that’s what’s up not with my minimal extra funds. I’ll be posting reviews as they come in throughout the year. They will be posted in Books/Movie Reviews.
So I have been searching for the video of the little guy in the glass that moves around called the Teeny Superhero Guy! I found it finally on YouTube along with the pinball number counter! Take a trip with me down memory lane!
Here’s the ultra-cool pinball counter!
Do you remember these? They ran in the very very early 80’s and probably in the late ultra late 70’s. I just remember when they came on and I don’t know how I remember these but I’d stop whatever Star Wars toys or Hot Wheels I was playing with in my tracks to watch!
I was able to get in on a Beta test of the upcoming game The Last Faith. I have been very excited for a chance to get my paws on this one. I still refuse to use the term “Metroidvania” so we’ll just say this one is an action side scroller. It reminded me of Castlevania SOTN immediately.
Upon starting the beta there is no intro movie just a screen prompting you to pick your character type however only one is available. You have to play as the Brawler and I think this is because they want to push you into the combat system right away. The other classes are Rogue, Stargazer, and Marksman. I’m looking forward to playing a rogue class upon release.
The controls in this beta are HORRIBLE and I only hope they are not as stiff and unresponsive in the final game. When a game is built to be played in this way, controls will make you are break you! However again it’s a beta one can only expect so much.
The score is one track played over and over. It’s extremely melancholy to go with the gray color pallet and darkness you are presented with upon entering their world. NPCs are not very abundant however there are two. The voice acting is very well done and you can almost feel the anguish in their tone and the way they pronounce their words.
Enemies are not varied however again I have to go back to the fact this is a beta. They do taunt you verbally from time to time which is cool. They all fight in a certain way and you with your two main weapon options and a couple of secondary options have to make do with the horrible controls. Death was not quite common for me but it came enough at first that I became frustrated over deaths that had the controls been better wouldn’t have happened.
Anyway, to cut the article short it’s going to be a good one I feel! Now if you’ll excuse me I did pre-order Blapshmous II and that launches in less than 3 hours! So I have some things to get done before that marathon begins!
I’ve gathered a few screenshots while going on my adventure for your enjoyment below!
Song of the Deep is an (I use this term because it is all the youth seem to understand today, yes I hate the term) Metroidvania game. The story revolves around a young girl named Merryn whose father has gone missing during a typical day fishing trip and her love for the sea and his stories of it fuel her drive to find him.
Merryn constructs a submersible out of materials she is able to gather from around her home. Diligently testing and re-testing this apparatus until it’s ready to go on her adventure.
The introduction movie is very well narrated and illustrated as I will show in my brief intro to the game and small play demo video. As the game progresses the story is narrated throughout. It’s as if you are playing an actual story along with a WONDERFUL musical score.
Merryn eventually discovers coins and meets a hermit crab that acts as the games store. His prices are steep and force you to think about where to get the coins/treasure to trade to upgrade your sub and eventually obtain equipment to leave your sub. Do all of your upgrades come from the Hermit Crab though…?
The video below is the official trailer for the game from Insomniac Games who developed the title.
Here is a video I made of the first few seconds of the story and some play through up to the meeting of a strange creature. Please enjoy!
As you can see by the very brief intro clip the movie looks like an illustrated children’s book and adds to the beauty of the game. Combine with the natural voice of the narrator you feel you are being sucked into a novel. The music and ambient sounds are engrossing and very very well done!
The game was developed by Insomniac Games (Shown in the video above) and these screen captures are taken from their site to show some of the more advanced areas of the game.
If you’d like to see the entire intro movie I did find a walkthrough video that is unnarrated and gives you the full feel of the intro. Clicking on the video should bring you to this person’s channel and allows you to watch the entire game played through in segments. If you are one of those that would rather watch a game than play it. If you like the video please give the author a thumbs up they did a great job with the capture. They have embed locked so I’m unable to post it on my page however the link is valid.
In conclusion, I’m very very impressed with this indie title and would advise those of you that support the indie development movement to give this older game a chance. It’s pretty cheap by today’s standards and can be found on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam. The wonderful soundtrack is also available on Steam if you are into video game music or just want something to relax to.
Thanks all for reading!
Source: In-Game and Insomniac Games Web Site
Grammar edited by Grammerly.
My Video Game Collection
