Merry NES-mas!

Two of my favorite members from the YouTube gaming community, Johnny Millenium and Rob Man of the Happy Console Gamer show, just posted their annual Christmas episode, upholding their yearly tradition of exchanging cool and unusual game-related gifts.

It seems that every year they manage to up the ante, and this edition doesn't disappoint. Check it out!

Robert Man's reaction is absolutely priceless. And to Johnny's credit, he couldn't have picked a better gift for Canada's #1 fan of the Blue Bomber. No spoilers if you haven't watched the video yet, but I'd be too nervous to actually play with what's in that box. That thing would go straight on the shelf. Under UV-resistant glass.

This scenario reminded me of a particularly memorable gaming Christmas of my own.

In the winter of 1990, there was precisely one item on my list to Santa:  the Power Glove. The idea of controlling my NES games via cybernetic arm was the dream of every eight year old boy in America. And having long since replaced any sense of responsible consumerism with Saturday morning cartoons, I was sold. And who could blame me? Do you remember the commercial?

Or its brief appearance on feature-length marketing triumph, The Wizard?

How could I resist? I was powerless! You heard Lucas, the Power Glove is BAD.

After a shameful amount of begging, I got my wish. I remember several outright refusals from my parents, but the fat man in red (my dad in sweatpants) came through in the end. And for what it's worth, that's all I got that year.

After 10 minutes of celebration, 20 minutes of setup and instruction manual comprehension, and one near-return when my parents realized Power Glove ownership also required mounting that gigantic sensor bar to your television, it was clear that I'd been duped. As a controller replacement, The Power Glove complete garbage. It was a rubber and plastic badge of shame that weighed heavy on my eight-year-old arm.

The idea of making Mario run, jump, swim, and climb by waving your hand around in from the TV sounds ridiculous because it is. And why would you even want to? More than 20 years later, we're just now getting to the point where those types of controls are possible, and it still isn't that convincing...or fun.

But don't get me wrong. I played the hell out of my Power Glove, just not in the way it was intended. Typically, I'd forgo the motion control and use the D-pad mounted to the top. And sometimes I'd just wear it around the house for the bad assitude.

What are your favorite game-related Christmas memories? What's on your list for Santa this year?

Let me know!

Kinectimals, now with fatalities!

Cinnamon, yes!

Back with Obligatory Vacation Photos

What up, guys?

Here's the thing: when you take a couple weeks in November to sail around the South Caribbean, and then come home to a game like Battlefield 3, it's pretty easy to forget about your previous commitments. For example, I used to be a pretty avid runner, but I haven't put on my running shoes in the past month (in my defense, Cleveland winter makes that increasingly easy to do), and I also used to post on this blog (discovering that you're half-way decent at Battlefield makes that increasingly easy to do). Anyway, I'm back and I have some game-related vacation photos to share!

Here's a Galaga/Ms. Pacman machine I stumbled upon while wandering the beach in Aruba:

I didn't have an opportunity to play it because the guy running the cigar shop was an intimidating, intimidating man, and I was afraid of him. And there's nowhere to put change in a speedo. I'm not even sure if it took quarters, or local currency (fun fact: that's the Aruban Florin). That night ended with me getting drunk on a catamaran, and then going souvenir shopping. Still quite drunk.

Next, here's the shop window of a game store on teh Dutch island of Curacao:

I don't know about you, but when I think "video games," I think Boolchand's. Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Uncharted 3, Arkham City, Gears 3. Damn! That's one good looking window.

And finally, this is the arcade on the cruise ship:

Big Buck Hunter, Cruisin' Exotica, The Fast and the Furious (original recipe and Super Bikes), plus the House of the Dead 2 and a air hockey table--honestly not a bad selection for a seven-year-old boat, but where's the DDR machine? I would have been all over that (and then all off of that) on one of the particularly rough days at sea.

And just for the hell of it, here are a few of my favorite non-game-related shots from the trip. 



What the Wednesday: Chill

The bags are packed, the dog's at the sitter, but What the Wednesday lives on!

To commemorate my upcoming vacation (by the way, I'll be away for the next two weeks), here's a picture I snapped from the time I wandered into Tijuana:

If you've never been (and by all means, you should never, ever find out for yourself), Tijuana is famous for three things: painted donkeys, funny smells, and cheap drugs. And if you're there for the drugs, I can't recommend Dr. House Pharmacy enough.

There's no better place to be if you're stricken with a nasty case of red, yellow, or *gasp!* blue.

Contest Compatible: Results Episode!

Welcome back!

After a week of spamming your Facebook and Twitter feeds with my "CONTEST: blah blah blah I'm really important blah blah blah video games!" posts, I'm very excited to say that we have a winner of the very first Backward Compatible giveaway!

Before I announce the winner, let's go over the rules one more time:

Those of you who "liked" or retweeted my contest post would be assigned a randomly generated three-digit number. Then after a week, I'd race on Mario Circuit 3. The person with the assigned number closest to the last three digits of my total race time would win the prize.

This was a nail-biter, kids. Seriously. The winner was decided by two hundredths of a second. That's bananas (and a Mario Kart joke). It was also a really great race. As Toad, I was crushing it the first two laps, then the computer reeled me back in with a laser-guided poison mushroom toss. Once I grew back regular size, I spent the rest of the race running off the course and smashing into walls trying to catch up. I squeeked out a 4th place finish just ahead of Yoshi.

And here's the result:

With a time of 2:01:67 Derek Manke from Facebook wins Quasimodo, my janky (albeit fully functional) SNES! His assigned number was 196. Two hundredths of a second separated his number from the next closest. Sorry, Adam.

Congratulations, Derek!



Thanks to everyone for participating! I hope that you had as much fun as I did with this stupid contest. Let's do it again soon!

Community Spotlight: Racketboy.com

Please allow me to jump to a conclusion. You're here for one of two reasons:

1) You like video games old and new

-or-

2) You've been linked here as part an elaborate pyramid scheme

Either way, I really appreciate you stopping by, especially if you're here as part of my pyramid scheme. (that's another cool $0.13.) However, if you're here because you appreciate video games, you should also know that this isn't the only place on the web for news, reviews, culture, fart jokes, and the like.

One of my favorite gaming websites, Racketboy.com, is a place I discovered a couple years ago as the result of an uber-generic search for "retro gaming" on the Google. Go ahead and try it now. I'll wait. It'll be the third link down.

Racketboy is the sort of website that my little Duckhunt dog-and-pony show aspires to be. Way more than the obligatory discussion forum (which is great, but more on that later), it's also full of incredibly entertaining and informative articles, including game and console buyers' guides, store and arcade reviews, news features, and whatever else is going on in the world of retro gaming.

For a collector like myself, my favorites are from the Best Games Under $10 and Hidden Gems series. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been known to run off to the local game store whenever a new one of these are published. (Note to self: find a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta.)

If you're like me and so behind on games that really old ones are still new, don't fret! Racketboy's Together Retro feature has you covered. Every month, they pick a new (old) game and you get the chance to play through it with your friends like it's 1989 all over again.

 

Before you start, they'll give you some nice background information on the game of the month, plus several options on where to find it. After that, it's up to you to give it a shot, posting your thoughts on the game as you progress.Think of it like the Oprah's Book Club of retro gaming.

YOU get a copy of Shining Force! And YOU get a copy of Shining Force!

Finally, I can't get enough of the Racketboy discussion forums. I'm usually guilty of just lurking in the shadows, without much desire to share (weird for a guy with a blog, right?), but it's easy to find something to talk about here. Whatever game platform or genre you're into, there's someone talking about it on Racketboy, and best of all: no trolls!

Naturally, one of my favorite areas is the Marketplace. I've gotten some great deals on some incredible games over the years. My copies of Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, and several Neo Geo games all came from the Racketboy marketplace. Beats the heck out of ebay!

And if that wasn't enough, Racketboy also has a podcast! The in-depth, informative interviews with game developers and industry insiders make for a great listen!

So what are you waiting for? Go sign up over at Racketboy! And while you're there, say hello--I'm Diesel_Dan on the forums.

Contest Compatible Update!

Hey guys!

I don't know about you, but I've been having a blast with the SNES giveaway contest. We're about half way there (all entries must be in by 11/8), but there's still plenty of time to enter!

Out of curiosity, I took a spin around Mario Circuit 3 and finished with a time of 1:58:50. Granted, I went off the track a few times, so there's plenty of room for improvement. Also, I plan on doing the actual run with other racers on the track, so there's no telling what the winning time will be.

Check out the picture of little Quasimodo in action! He could be yours, if the time is right.