Dare to Play the Game

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that played Marvel Ultimate Alliance this weekend quite a lot, great game..feel free to read my review. Alright, end of shameless plug. As you know the weeks are starting …o get big as we near very very close to PS3 and WII launch. All I want to know is where my next gen system is going to come from. Chances are the reading public has bigger pockets than I do and should be willing to work together to get me a PS3 or 360 or even a WII. Come on, help a brother out. You’ll get plenty of reviews here @upcomingdiscs…I promise :). Oh well, I have two more weeks left to beg. On to Morgan.

“Oh I don’t know, perhaps I’ll go play a game, perhaps I’ll call Kedrix on the telephone. He really is a hoot and always knows how to give me compilments. He is dreamy, he should have his own tv show, and then make me a co-host.” Well there you have it, a ringing endorsement. I should have my own show, we can call it Dare to Play the Game and Morgan could be my co-host…we could review games all day long and make silly sketches and stare into each other eyes. *this just in*. Crap, you mean there is already show like this called X-Play but Adam Sessler is the other host. Damn you Adam Sessler! Does she stare back at him when he stares at her…well no. I still got a chance, quick G4!

Easily the most common question we get regarding PlayStation 3 backwards-compatibility, and possibly even PS3 overall, is whether or not we’ll be able to play the Guitar Hero series on the PlayStation 3. Up until now there hasn’t been any sort of official word of an adaptor for the PS3, but it seems that Radio Shack has the answer for us with part number 2600729.

Its “USB Adapter for PlayStation 2 Controller” (which many other manufacturers also make) is intended for using a Dual Shock 2 on a PC. Since the PS3 has a series of USB connectors, we went ahead and tried using a Dual Shock 2 on the system and lo and behold, it worked. The D-Pad and analog sticks can’t be used at the same time, as you need to use the Analog On/Off button to switch between the two, but otherwise it seems to be 100% functional.

It’s a shame that most Radio Shacks seem to be heading the way of the dinosaur cause I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found something that you just can’t find inside a Best Buy/Circuit City at the Radio Shack. *well can’t you just buy it on the internet*, sure, but the problem with that is I don’t have to wait shipping time and I can touch and feel it to make certain it is what I’m looking for. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve went into the same Radio Shack, looking for one thing; realizing that isn’t what I need and getting something else instead. I usually have a good idea, but I need to be able to visualize in order to get it right. When you try to do that online, you end up paying twice or more because you overlooked something. Kudos to Radio Shack for having this; lets just hope it works as intended for the PS3.

More PS3 Titles Require Firmware Update
A couple first-party titles and a racer now included on the update list.

Just as we’d reported earlier today regarding Madden NFL 07, we’ve discovered that three more launch titles will require a firmware update before you’ll be able to play them. Much like what happens with the PSP, you’ll see an alert that says you must upgrade to a newer firmware version before playing.

Genji: Days of the Blade, Ridge Racer 7 and Resistance: Fall of Man will all require a system update to version 1.02. The update ships on the disc so that you won’t need to be online to download anything, but you should of course be able to update before the games come by hopping online.

I think one of the things that has kept me from purchasing a PSP is all of this firmware nonsense. Now we are seeing it continue with the PS3. I do console gaming because its supposed to no-nonsense. I throw the game in, I play it as long as I want and then I turn it off and take out the disc. Done, no configuring, no update of system software, none of this BS. If I want BS, I will turn to PC gaming where if you don’t have your computer in 100% perfection your game will turn your system to an orange goo. I kid, sorta. But with XBOX, PS3, and I’m sure future systems to follow, they are falling in the trap of just making these consoles specialized pc’s. And with pcs come problems, don’t get me wrong I love tinkering with my pc. But I can’t tell you the last time I played a game on my pc that wasn’t card based. Console gaming should be easy and these kind of issues should be minimal at best.

In celebration of Sega Genesis collection making it out this week, I have decided to put together 10 top reasons showcasing the Genesis greatness, this will replace the Retro Game of the Week for one week and then next week I will showcase the top Capcom games of all time to coincide with the release of Capcom Classics 2. After that, we’ll see 🙂 Here they are:

10.Vectorman Series – the bubble man’s kooky moves and ahead of its time platform gaming were a vision for the future.

9. Razorsoft – the software group that liked to release games that pushed the envelope. From graphic blood loss in such titles as Death Duel & Slaughter Sport to even a little bit of scantily clad women in games like Stormlord, Razorsoft opened the door to future developers that knew gaming wasn’t just for little kids. Too bad they didn’t make better games.

8. Mortal Kombat Blood – sure it was only the color of red pixelation, but Genesis gave something to owners that SNES didn’t have the stomach to provide; real blood. Fatalities weren’t supposed to be about making nice, they were supposed to be about ripping people’s head off. The Genesis gave us that.

7. Shinobi series – Still the best ninja game ever (sorry Ninja Gaiden), this series brought us all of the Ninja action we could handle with magic, intriguing game play and fantastic action. Too bad it had the difficulty of a beast.

6. Golden Axe series – The classic medevial side scrolling adventure. Battle Axes, Swords and Magic was all you ever needed for a really good time.

5. Sega CD/32X – When Sega ran out of stuff to do with the basic genesis system, it went beyond. It added a CD-ROM for added capacity and games with better soundtracks…then it went even further by providing better graphics and bigger games. Even a few select titles used both the cd and the 32x add-on. Nintendo didn’t figure out what a cd was until Gamecube and even then it wasn’t quite the same :).

4. Sports – Sega always knew how to make a great sports game. But it got its true start wasn’t the Dreamcast, it was right here with titles such as Joe Montana Football and Evander Holyfield Boxing. Heck, even the Maddens from EA played with greater execution on a Genesis.

3. Streets of Rage series – The best side scrolling action fighting game was the Streets of Rage series. It was supposed to be the answer to Final Fight but then went way beyond that. Unfortunately it is not included in the Sega Genesis compilation out this week due to controversy extending from primarily the 3rd game in the series, which is unfortunate cause Sega always used to be comfortable with pushing the envelope.

2. Sonic series – For most people, it could be an easy #1, for me it is almost there. The little blue mascot and his companion Tails blazed thru ever piece of Genesis hardware out there. For hours we were fascinated with just how fast the screen would scroll with no suffering as the hedgehog raced and raced. One of the top 3 mascots of all time, certainly. However, just a little short in what made Genesis special.

1. Phantasy Star series – One of the top RPG series of all time (probably just behind Final Fantasy), this delicate balance of great storytelling and fun gameplay made you stay up many a nights in our youth. The stories were kinda loose in transition from one to the other, but this is where they became popular and where the best PS’s will be found. Ever. (eat that Phantasy Star universe)

PS2

Call of Duty 3
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Guitar Hero 2
Hard Rock Casino
Sega Genesis Collection
SOCOM US Navy Seals Combined Assault
Sopranos
Suzuki Superbikes
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
Chicken Little: Ace in Action

PSP

Hard Rock Casino
SOCOM US Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo 2
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
Reel Fishing: The Great Outdoors

XBox 360

Blitz: The League
Call of Duty 3
Forza Motorsports 2
Gears of War
History Channel: Civil War
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
World Championship Poker: All in
Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player
Viva Pinata

XBox

Call of Duty 3
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
Teen Titans

DS

Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses
BomberMan Land Touch!
Digimon World DS
My Frogger: Toy Trials
Tom and Jerry Tales
Uno/Skip-Bo/Uno Freefall
Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex
Chicken Little: Ace in Action

GBA

Polarium Advance
The Sims 2: Pets
Tom and Jerry Tales
Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex
Hot Wheels Compilation

This might be the real last week where the PS2 releases are more important than the rest of the releases with WII and PS3 soon to make their entrance. In particular, Guitar Hero 2 and Sega Genesis Collection will be two of the last great releases for the fabled system. I have both on pre-order personally, and have a little feeling that Sega Genesis collection might be a bit hard to find. Outside of that, the yearly installment of the Tony Hawk game along with Gears of War which should be a good 360 title. The only hardware of note is 360 HD-DVD player which is pretty darn cool and an important release before the two major console launches from the other camps.

By the time you read this, I should have Guitar Hero 2 and Sega Genesis collection in my hands. Guitar Hero 2 should be monopolizing most of my time, but I will be playing the Phantasy Star trilogy found inside the other title very soon. I’ll make a confession here, I’ve only played PS1 and PS3. PS2 and PS4 while great titles, I’ve only played for a few hours (which is why I’m begging to get back to them). *wheeps* But for some reason I do have the strategy guide to 4. This might actually be a weekend where I don’t want female companionship (actually…scratch that…there is no such weekend like that). *sigh*, just goes back to the old saying…Gamers need love too. Even somewhat attractive, skinny, successful gamers just need a little TLC to make the gaming nights go smoother. Alright, bye folks 🙂

As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)