Blogcritics Category: Gaming: Retro

Movie Review: The Dungeon Masters

El Bicho — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:21:35 EST

I enjoyed what I saw, but it was no different from learning about the lives of any three strangers.
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and making its way across the country, Kevin McAlester’s The Dungeon Masters is a documentary that falls into the genre that explores the nerdish or geeky subculture. Here, the viewer is introduced to three current players of the game Dungeons & Dragons, Scott Corum, Richard Meeks,...

The Oregon Trail Theory Of Traumatic Retro Gaming

Matthew T. Sussman — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:42:25 EST

While some games may be tempting to dust off, it may not be worth it.
The Magical Hanukkahtime Section Variety Hour is an eight-day cruise through every section at BC Magazine except the one where the author has any knowledge whatsoever. On the fourth evening: BC Gaming!It's hard to walk up to a child of the '80s or '90s, ask them what they thought about the computer game Oregon Trail, and punch them in...

PC Game Review: Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People - Episode 5: 8-Bit is Enough

Sombrero Grande — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:12:49 EST

If you get the reference "A Winner is You," you'll really get a kick out of this game.
The epic that is Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People concludes with the fifth installment, entitled 8-Bit is Enough. And, boy, does the series go out with a bang... a bang that unleashes the fan-favorite, fire-breathing dragon that is Trogdor the Burninator all over the world of Strong Bad and Homestar Runner.Strong Bad, evading the...

iPhone Game Review: Crystal Quest

Robert M. Barga — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:02:54 EST

The retro classic reemerges onto your iPhone and iPod Touch.
Are you into playing retro classics? Do you like top-down shooter games? Have you always wanted to be a little ball in space just floating around searching for crystals? Are you interested in playing an old-school game that introduced those using Macs to gaming? Well, if so, then Crystal Quest is the game for you.Twenty-one years after it became...

The Evolution of a Gamer: Part 2 - The Sony Era

Michael Prince — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 19:48:53 EST

How does one become a dedicated and obsessive gamer? Read on to see how Sony changed my gaming life.
This is the second part of a four-part series that will look at how I became the nutball, Sony fanboy, obsessive gamer I am. As you read this, if you have similar thoughts or your own stories please add them to the comments, click here to read part 1 of this series.Back to consoles...the SNES and Genesis days were great. My brother and I played...

The Evolution of a Gamer: Part 1 - The Early Years

Michael Prince — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:44:26 EST

How does one become a dedicated and obsessive gamer? Read on to see how my journey began.
Many of us are avid gamers. Some of us are new to the pastime, and others have been lifelong gamers. A short while ago I was talking to someone who could not understand the enjoyment video games can evoke in someone, or even why someone would continue to play after they have ‘grown up’. As I spoke to this person and talked about why...

PC Review: Multiwinia - Survival of the Flattest

Niall Rough — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:32:49 EST

Introversion Software's multiplayer-only sequel to Darwinia delivers the missing half of their deceptively cutesy geometric RTS.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Three like-minded undergrads met at Imperial College London and hit it off. In their love of retro games, Chris Delay, Mark Morris, and Thomas Arundel shared a passion that proved decisive when they banded together to form Introversion Software. Almost single-handedly, Delay cooked up a little hacker sim...

The Skeptic's Guide to Violent Video Game Studies

Nathaniel Edwards — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 15:05:39 EST

Why you should doubt what you read about the effects of violent video games.
A few days ago, The Washington Post published an article entitled "Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility" that combined some fairly old American research with two new Japanese studies that claimed there is "conclusive evidence" that violent video games are a "public health risk". I propose that researchers who say they have conclusive evidence...

BC Gaming's Five Weeks of Horror: Splatterhouse Arcade and TurboGrafx-16 Reviews

Jason Westhaver — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:02:10 EDT

If you've ever seen an '80s slasher, then you'll know what to expect.
Nearly four years before Midway's Mortal Kombat made headlines for its shocking portrayal of blood and gore, Namco tested the waters of good taste with its own aptly named title, Splatterhouse. With a design heavily influenced by popular horror films of the day, players were treated to graphic depictions of violence as they fought their way through...

BC Gaming's Five Weeks of Horror: A Nightmare on Elm Street NES Review

Jason Westhaver — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 16:35:00 EDT

One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, better lock the door...
One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, better lock the door. You know the rhythm, you know why you should be afraid and you know why Robert Englund's tombstone will read, "See you in your dreams". For most of the '80s and part of the '90s, Freddy Krueger ruled our nightmares. He made us fear sleep, he made us love coffee and he became the...