db
Alis
Posts: 264
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Post by db on Feb 1, 2015 2:27:27 GMT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ7Eyw6z23oI think their discussion is very pertinent to what we were discussing here. Just know that they really don't start the main discussion until about 25 minutes in, though the preceding talk is interesting too. BTW, I've just been a little busy this year so far but I'm still going to finish my ratings for generations 5 and 6 soon. I need to generate some more controversy. This board's been too quiet lately! ;>
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db
Alis
Posts: 264
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Post by db on Mar 30, 2015 1:19:03 GMT
Gen 5 Hey, system masters! I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last installment but it’s been a busier than usual winter for me. I like to refer to this generation of video game consoles as the embarrassment of riches. I mean, all the main systems of this generation were pretty great. At least the games were, anyway. I’ll get into that in a bit but first, I figure the best way to proceed is just to go chronologically, in the order in which I first experienced them. 1. The Sega Saturn - I was over at friends in the summer of 1995 and somehow the subject of video games came up. I said something like, “They come so far since the Atari days.” and my friend said, “Wanna see something.” He then revealed the Saturn he had plugged into his TV and popped in Panzer Dragoon and started playing it. My eyes widened in excitement not only because it was such a good and fun looking game but because I immediately recognized where the idea for it came from and what they were going for and it thrilled me. Obviously, I thought, this is based on or at least influenced by Arzach by Moebius (aka Jean Giruad). He was a great French comic artist who wrote a lot for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy magazine Heavy Metal in the 70s and 80s. I was a big fan of this mag as a teenager and became an avid collector. They also referenced this story in the movie they made based on the mag in the early 80s (I highly recommend this) but made the character female and changed her name to Tarna. Well, it turns out Mr. Giruad was a consultant on this game and so that is, in fact, what they were going for; and to a very large degree I’d say they nailed it. Even the music is reminiscent of the movie soundtrack music for that chapter. Well done, Sega! I only got to play the game for a short time and never played another Saturn game again until fairly recently when I’ve been able to emulate them on my computer. While, I know this system is mired in the controversy of how Sega botched it’s marketing and support with fans, developers and retailers alike, I have to say that I’m very impressed with it. It might not have a massive library but what it does have is very cool and fun for the most part, and very uniquely Sega. And yes, let’s not forget about the cool Japanese imports too. Psychic Killer Taromaru rocks! If I do have one minor quibble with it it’s that I’m not a really big fan of the controller or of Sega controllers in general. While they’re not horrible I can only say they’re ok, at best. However, I still haven’t spotted that Japanese arcade stick out in the wild yet but I’m still hunting for one at a decent price. Don’t let the controller, the relatively small game library or Sega’s bungling dissuade you, however. There are great gaming experiences to had on this system! When I play Sega Saturn games it makes me wish Sega was still making consoles and that should say a lot about the system. 2. N64 - My nephews were about 10 years old when this came out and they got it for Christmas that year. Man, we had a lot of fun playing games like Goldeneye (though they could both kill me so easily, even at that tender age ;>), Mario Kart 64 (I was never overly impressed with the SNES version but this one blew me away. So much multiplayer madness and fun and I’m still impressed with the very creative level design…particularly that nighttime highway one), Star Wars, Starfox and Super Mario 64. It’s a great system with great games that are unfortunately hampered by an awkward controller. Having to switch between the d-pad, buttons and that awkwardly placed centre thumbtstick is pretty stupid. Hey, Nintendo! We only have two hands! While I loved Goldeneye, this controller made the game harder than it had to be. I’d say that’s true for many other games as well. However, in spite of that, I still have to hand it to Nintendo. This system didn’t have a huge game library either but what it did have was usually high quality and, again, very uniquely Nintendo. You can usually always count on Nintendo for a quality core experience but sometimes not much beyond that in terms of third party. And my pick for top console of this generation is: 3. The Sony Playstation - First, a bit of backstory about this one. It’s about 1997 and I’m now living with my girlfriend. One night she suggests that we should get a Playstation. That’s right, system masters. The same girlfriend who put her foot down about the SNES was now suggesting a Playstation. The times they were a changin. There was a Tekken 3 arcade machine outside the movie theater we used to go to and we’d often play it on the way in or out (sometimes both). We were both very impressed with the 3D graphics and how much fun it was to play. It was one of the first fighters where I felt I had some real control over my fighter and it wasn’t just a mad button mash. This was available for the system and not only that but (as corny as this might seem now) it could also play our music CDs too. While we hardly ever did this as we had a much superior stereo system it was a selling feature that made it seem like it wasn’t just kiddie console but multifunctional in use and just as much for grown ups too. Anyway, I wasn’t too hard to sell on this idea and, of course, we got one. My only concern was that I might become too into it. I suppose I did. It’s still one of my favorite consoles today and I still have one in my collection of classic consoles. There’s a huge game library for it with so many great games. Some of the stand outs for me include Ace Combat 2; Crash Bandicoot; Die Hard Trilogy; Driver; Metal Gear Solid; Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit; NFL Blitz; Resident Evil; Ridge Racer; Soul Blade; Tekken 3 (of course), Tenchu and Tony Hawk 2. There are also a bunch of great light gun games for it too. Finally, I’d like to speak about the controller. The dual shock controller was a revolution in game controllers. To me, this is probably the best designed game controller out there and I still use a PS3 controller (even though I don’t have a PS3) as my main controller for playing games on my computer. The comfort, the ease of use, the on-axis dual thumbsticks that also worked as buttons, the rumble, Sony really raised the bar and set a new standard with it. When you combine a great controller with great games that are easy to control with it you have an absolute winner! Sony, thanks for telling Nintendo to go spiderpig themselves and starting a revolution in gaming. I guess Nintendo just thought we’d have more fun playing Zelda’s Adventure back then Give me your thoughts! I crave them like a vampire craves blood (mmm….delicious blood ). Back in a bit to wrap it up with my thoughts on Gen 6.
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