I've never understood the fanboy aspect of gaming. Sure, we all have our console of choice. Whether it's the controller or the UI or the exclusives, most of us tend to favor one over the others. But the rampant claim that cause you like it it's the best (and therefore the other consoles are shit) is just stupid. Seriously idiotic. Fanboys spend their time preaching one multi-million dollar company over another... meanwhile the companies just get richer.
I never thought a product from 3M would find its way into my gaming set-up, but here I am, praising their monitor stand. You see, my monitor, like many, couldn't rotate on its X-axis. Normally, that's not a problem, but if you play a lot of vertical shoot 'em ups, you're not able to take advantage of a substantial amount of screen real estate. Using a monitor in a vertical orientation is known as "tate" mode ("length" in Japanese, pronounced "tah-tay") in the world of shmups and is the definitive way of playing. In fact, most Japanese arcade cabinets have the functionality of switching between normal and tate modes. I had been considering picking up a cheap monitor on Craigslist and building a vertical stand for it, but then I came across the Easy Adjust. And even though it was only $50, it has vastly improved my shmupping experience.
Here. I know you guys like these things. This NES cabinet, made 16 years ago and featured in Nintendo Fun Club (a primitive, pre-web way of circulating Nintendo related awesomeness) in its unfinished state.
Arcade and NES junkie Will started the Nintendo cabinet when he was 13 years old. The image on the left ended up in the Nintendo Fun Club newsletter. The finished project (right) eventually wound up in an issue of Nintendo Power.
The construction was somewhat of a family event, with Will's dad painting the base, his grandma making the pad between the joysticks, and his mom hand painting the Mario, Link, Samus, Howard, and Lester characters around the screen. As if it weren't already awesome enough, its got cup holders and side compartments for magazines and cheat cards. A 19" TV was used for the monitor, and two NES Advantage Joysticks for the um, joysticks. Below, he mounted two NES Max controllers. Not bad for being 13, huh? When I was 13 I was busy playing games, not building boxes for them.
This Odyssey 2 has been sitting in my room almost a month. I bought it online, but didn't have a VHF adaptor...or so I thought. While packing to move into a new apartment, I found one, and played the Odyssey immediately right there in the floor. It truly was a Christmas miracle.
In this episode we have a rambling conversation around the most important/influential game related stuff from the past decade... working off the one list made prior to showtime by the one of us who decided to be prepared. Towards the end my cell phone goes off (again) and I get into a heated debate with Kevin about digital distribution. Making lists is always rife with condemnation and debate, so while we don't come up with any ranked top ten list we do touch on some of the games we felt helped define the decade... not to mention set up the decade ahead.
For the first time ever we're piloting an "enhanced" version of the podcast... so if that's your cup of tea we've got you covered. If you like the plain 'ol .mp3 don't worry we got that too!
Get ready to start Xmas preparations for next year! Only 361 days to go. Unfortunately, you only have til the 31st to purchase, so head on over to RetroZone before its too late!
The game, an original entitled Snowball Fight!!!, has a cartridge that lights up when inserted in the NES. For five dollars more, you can also get a personalized splash screen and a Christmas card. The game sounds fun too--its four person multiplayer and everyone throws multi colored snowballs. That sounds much better than taking a real one to the face...especially 'cause colored snowballs in real life tend to be on the...urine-y side.
Yes, this image is pulled from several different games, but it's an impressive effort nonetheless. Also, "Holy 8-bit Mother Of God!" makes an awesome new swear, dethroning my previous self-penned favorite, "Jesus Pork Fried Christ!".
My favorite author is Philip K. Dick, so my ears would perk up whenever someone mentioned the game Valis, since it shares a title with one of Dick's books. I never knew much about the series, but upon finally watching a video of the game, I was intrigued - it looked like a mix between a girly anime and Strider. So does it live up to those two ingredients, or did Valis age poorly? Hit the link for the review.
I have still yet to ever play a Sega Saturn, but that does not stop me from wanting this Segata Sanshiro 12" figure with all my heart. Seriously, that dude is the coolest. He beats up kids.
You know what stings? There is no region protection built into the Xbox 360, but publishers lock their software and swallow the key anyway. This is especially lame thanks to all the great shoot 'em ups on the console - Death Smiles, Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta, Do Don Pachi Daioujo Black Label Extra, Shooting Love 200X, and more all have a home on Japan's black sheep console of the generation. And we can't play them thanks to region lockout. Well, we've finally been thrown a bone, as developer Cave chose to keep their most recent 360 port region-free. But is Mushihime-sama Futari worth importing from the Land of the Rising Sun? Oh, yes. Yes it is.
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I've never understood the fanboy aspect of gaming. Sure, we all have our console of choice. Whether it's the controller or the UI or the exclusives, most of us tend to favor one over the others. But the rampant claim that cause you like it it's the best (and therefore the other consoles are shit) is just stupid. Seriously idiotic. Fanboys spend their time preaching one multi-million dollar company over another... meanwhile the companies just get richer.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 