June 29, 2010 by Greg Noe
When selecting my next magazine to read with rose-colored glasses, Idecided to go with PC Gamer, a magazine that was hugely influentialover my middle and high school years. I never actually had asubscription to PC Gamer, I instead bought single issues of it inpreparation for long vacations in the car as my family drove to Floridaor New Jersey. PC Gamer was always more "adult" for me. I didn't havea lot of experience to base this on besides Nintendo Power and GamePlayers, but PC gaming was always inherently edgier and PC Gamer waswritten for a slightly older crowd.
So of the 13 issues of PC Gamer I apparently still own, my first wasthe June 1996 featuring X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter on the cover. Themoment I saw this issue at the local Shopko, I undoubtedly became aman. Not only was I a huge Star Wars fan, but I had loved the originalTIE Fighter and the magazine came with a CD. My very own compact disc filled with game demos and an AOL installation!
Hopefully I won't go as in depth with this issue as I did with myfirst issue of Nintendo Power (I did, whoops). Icouldn't find this magazine scanned already online, so I did the scansmyself, I apologize that they suck. Let's dive into PC Gamer 14 yearsago.
Read moreJune 28, 2010 by Nate
History lesson #1: the ancient Greeks were crazy. Sure, they essentially laid the foundation for western society, but they also worshipped more gods than anybody could possibly remember, all of whom led lives with more dramatic twists and turns than a daytime soap opera. I doubt Days of Our Lives ever featured a giant man made of rock who married his sister and ate his kids, after all.
History lesson #2: in 2005, God of War tore its way into the still-beating hearts of PS2 owners with its brutal take on Greek mythology. The game introduced us to Kratos, Spartan servant of the gods and the kind of pitiless killer that most actual Spartans probably strived to be. God of War sold bajillions of copies, spawned equally-successful sequels on the PS2, PSP, and PS3, and even had its own terrible SpikeTV special for rabid fans to embarass themselves in front of the world. Not bad for fanfiction, is it?
History lesson #3: the action-packed start to God of War II is actually responsible for the creation of The First Hour. The game certainly started with a bang, thrusting the player into an intense situation right off the bat that dropped jaws to the floor. Does God of War III have the same inspirational power?
June 25, 2010 by Ian M. Bagley
What comes to your mind when I say "Dungeons and Dragons?" Twenty-sided dice? 2d6? Attack of opportunity? Fortitude save? Gary Gygax? Figurines? Yes, these all come to mind to those who have never even played the board game that changed the world.
You might be wondering why, on a video game review site, I am writing about Dungeons and Dragons. Well, to many gamers, it is a bit more obvious. "I've played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, I know about dungeons and dragons!" and that is true, you do.
What I am afraid people don't understand is that while Bioware has certainly helped establish Dungeons and Dragons rules into video games, it goes much farther than that.
Read moreJune 24, 2010 by Greg Noe
I buy a lot of my games used, most of them, in fact. I can't even remember the last game before Mass Effect 2 that I purchased brand new in a box, it's just something I've decided is both out of my budget and totally unnecessary. I've already beaten 13 games this year and have enjoyed most of them, and through a combination of buying used on Amazon, borrowing from friends, presents, spending money on deals for digital games, and a few lucky review copies from publishers, I calculated I've spent less that $100 on games this year, and that was with the $70 Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition!
So when confronted with the idea of spending $60 on a new game that will be available for $40 in three weeks, $25 in three months, or $10 in three years, I generally think twice. The used game market is my friend, and I play both sides of it. However, sometimes an older game suddenly strikes my attention and I'm quickly making what seems like a steal of a deal, only to be burned later when I find out the game I received is actually a fake, a bootleg, a counterfeit cartridge or disc.
I've determined over the years that there are warning signs for bootleg games, so I'd like to share them with you. These are just general warnings, and even if you follow all of them you might receive something fake. I'm also not discouraging anyone from buying used games online, as I think they're extremely valuable resources that save gamers tons of money.
This was originally going to be part of my Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap review from yesterday, but I decided to break it into its own post as I believe the information stands on its own.
Read moreJune 23, 2010 by Greg Noe
Over the course of The Legend of Zelda series, I haven't missed a lotof games. I've played everything from Zelda II to Majora's Mask toOracle of Ages, but there was one that I had skipped: The Legend ofZelda: The Minish Cap. Why that one? How could I have missed it? Ican only determine that my interest was low due to it being developedoutside Nintendo again (Minish Cap, the two Oracle games, and FourSwords were created by Flagship, a former Capcom studio) and that itmissed the 2004 holiday window by a few weeks. Plus, for whateverreason it seemed like a kids game. I always saw the feature of Linkturning into a pixie as... lame.
How wrong I was.
Fiveyears later and I finally determine that it's high time to play TheMinish Cap, so I add it to my Amazon wishlist and receive it for mybirthday in May. I plowed through this game like my family's livesdepended on it (meaning I ignored them in the process, whoops, won'thappen again), but wanted to let the game sink in for a while before Iorganized all my thoughts and finished the review.
It's probablyworth comparing my review of this game to the two previous portableZeldas: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. I always felt like thosegames were missing something, but I couldn't lay my finger on it untilI played The Minish Cap. Here's my full review of the one I almost letget away: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.
Read moreJune 22, 2010 by Grant
The “Pokemon fad” died about ten years ago, but the franchise is still as strong as ever as Diamond and Pearl sold over 17 million copies worldwide. In order to satiate the appetite of rabid Pokemon fans anxiously awaiting the next generation of games (which were recently announced as Black and White), Nintendo decided to remake the second generation games, Gold and Silver. Pokemon has changed a lot in the ten years since the release of Gold and Silver, but fortunately Nintendo has added every single innovation into the remake, along with a few new ones.
June 21, 2010 by Nate
Like scampering down the stairs on Christmas morning, the excited search for a steady video feed before E3 conferences is filled with anticipation. The annual summer happening is one of the few times on the gaming industry's calendar when we can look forward to some surprise delights from the many publishers playing the role of Santa Claus in business suits. Simply put, it's the industry's biggest event in the year.
As such, the editors of The First Hour tried to guess what unexpected pleasures would manifest at the event. Some were sure bets, like Microsoft showing off Halo: Reach. Others were more risky, like F-Zero hitting the 3DS at launch. And some were planted firmly outside the realm of possibility, with Shenmue 3 topping that list as always.
When all was said and done, The First Hour hit a few out of the park...but mostly struck out.
Read moreJune 18, 2010 by Greg Noe
After Nate’s excellent and complete wrap-up of the five big conferences, I’m going to cover some of the games that caught my attention over the last few days. While we knew the existence of some of these games before this week, our knowledge of them was pretty thin. Hopefully you’ll be seeing these games on the First Hour in the coming year (and hopefully we’ll recommend you keep playing them!).
This list is nowhere near complete, neither as a list of great E3 2010 games or even with games I was impressed with. Hope you enjoyed the show, I sure did.
Read moreJune 17, 2010 by Grant
Dragon Quest is one of the most popular gaming franchises in Japan, but it has always been in the shadow of other RPG series like Final Fantasy over here in the west. Square-Enix decided to see if they can rekindle some interest in the series putting the series on the DS, with remakes of IV and V already released, and VI and IX coming within the year in the States. While all eyes are on IX, let’s look back at the first Dragon Quest remake for the Nintendo DS, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. Originally released on the NES, and then remade for the PlayStation, the DS version brings us new features, a new translation, touched up graphics, and two-screen goodness.
June 16, 2010 by Nate
The question at the beginning of E3 always seems to be, "Who's going to win this year?" The gaming community eagerly watches the big press conferences for showstopping announcements and game demonstrations, looking to see which company will have the edge for the next twelve months. E3 2010 featured five big press conferences in its first two days: Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft on Monday, and Nintendo and Sony on Tuesday. So much has happened in the past 48 hours that I think it's important to take a moment and recap each company's showing. I've definitely missed a few announcements and details in this quick-and-dirty summary, but I think I hit all the major points.
