-
Review – The Urbz: Sims in the City
I grew up in a small rural town, population somewhere below 2000 (the signage was never quite clear on the number). The pervasive boredom of growing up in an area with no consistent social scene is probably the greatest factor in my embracing of video games as a hobby. It also meant that I’d perpetually be envious of city living,…
-
Review – The Sims Bustin’ Out (GBA)
The Sims on PC was a massive success, selling somewhere past the 10 million mark. That’s still pretty impressive today, but was incredible back in 2000. Electronic Art was eager to cash in on their new hit series, so by 2003, the tap had been turned on and the ports and spin-offs had begun to flow. There were two separate…
-
Review – The Sims Bustin’ Out (Console)
The console port of the original The Sims was okay. It did what it had to do, which was translate the game to console, while also adding on some extra features, like a light story mode and multiplayer. It wasn’t bad, honestly, but it did leave some room to grow. So much room, in fact, that less than a year…
-
Review – The Sims (Console)
When The Sims launched on PC in 2000, it quickly established itself as a landmark title. It was the first major success for Maxis since SimCity 2000’s 1993 release, selling somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14 million copies and establishing itself as one of the best selling PC games of all time. Having said that, it has aged horrifically, having…
-
Review – Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2
Lisa had been our partner in volleyball for the entire two week vacation, and in that time, she had never removed her thong bikini. We doubted that she, and indeed, any of the girls, had packed anything aside from bathing suits for the trip. We discussed the state of that apparel, nestled firmly between her two buttcheeks. She had been…
-
Console Command – Virtual Boy
The 90’s were a weird time for video games, when you actually go back and think about it. Most people in the west choose to remember the Sega Genesis’ battle with the Super Nintendo, then later the Sony Playstation vs. the Nintendo 64. That’s a simple way to remember the 90’s console market, but when you dig into it, you…
-
Review – Coffee Crisis
The beat-’em-up genre is one of the simplest formulas in gaming. During the early 90’s, following the release of Final Fight in the arcades, the genre exploded and found itself host to all manner of licensed tie ins. If you had a super-hero, action movie, or mascot that you needed to cram into an interactive format, the conveyor-belt beat-’em-up was…
-
Review – Never Stop Sneakin’
I have a pretty severe distaste for Metal Gear Solid, but I will readily admit that it is stylish, which is probably a big factor in its lasting popularity. It copied its MSX predecessors’ palette of cool blues and greys, giving it a cold and sterile appearance, then bloated it out into full 3D. It really owned its blocky, pixelated…
-
Review – Ghostbusters (NES)
Out of the small handful of non-gaming franchises that I can claim to be a fan of, Ghostbusters is easily the one that I’m most enamored with. I built my own replica proton pack in high school, I’ve donned a flightsuit for many Hallowe’en nights, and my apartment is littered with related merch. I’ve read the comics, watched the cartoons,…
-
Read-only Memories – Animal Crossing
Lost in the mists of gaming trivia is the useless fact that Animal Crossing and Star Fox Adventures were released for Gamecube a week apart in 2002: September 15th and 23rd, respectively. I don’t recall what day it was that I found myself in that Zellers, playing the demo kiosk for Star Fox Adventures. I was a young teen at…
