IGN recently named the Nintendo Entertainment System (affectionately known by many as the “NES”) the greatest console of all time. (You can see their countdown HERE.) They followed this announcement with their list of the top 100 NES games of all time. You can see this list HERE. Unlike a number of top lists, these hit home with a parent who grew up with video games as a child. One of the most important things about many of these titles is that they are FUN!

In fact, many of them are so much fun that you can still purchase them and enjoy them via GBA cartridge adaptations and as downloads for the Wii. In fact, over 80 NES titles are available on the Wii’s Virtual Console.

For those of you who may not be convinced, I encourage you to take a look at PlayNES.net. This site allows you to play practically any original Nintendo Entertainment System game online via a web-hosted Flash emulator.

For those of you who know me, I can wax philosophic about the major impact that the NES had on the gaming industry having single-handedly resurrected the video game market after the North American Video Game Crash of the 80s caused by a glut of bad games for the most successful previous system, the Atari VCS (or 2600 as many know it). However, I will spare you my usual litany and, instead, encourage you to just have some fun. What’s more, almost all of these games are very kid-friendly and some even have multiplayer options!

Enjoy!

[Read more →]

According to Sony’s Official PlayStation Blog, The PlayStation Network has provided a venue through which Sierra Online could resurrect an old franchise of theirs. (Read the details HERE.) To say that the gameplay is addictive is an understatement for those who enjoy a simplified flight sim fighter. In fact, I am shaking my fist (much like Snoopy did in Charles Shultz’s comics) as a testament to that.

Having got that out of the way, Red Baron Arcade is not as involved as the original series on the PCs from the 90s, but it sure is fun. I believe that it falls somewhere between the Sierra Online franchise and the original Atari arcade game. For those of you unfamiliar with the original vector arcade game, you can see some footage of a sit-down cabinet that we observed at an auction in Game Apparent TV Episode 2. The Red Baron cabinet makes a short but memorable 15-20 second appearance starting at 6 minutes and 4 seconds into the video. Also, for those of you who are interested in seeing the original in action, Atari actually has a playable version on their website RIGHT HERE!

In fact, this feels a little like a simplified version of Crimson Skies or the Xbox version Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. I logged many an hour on the last one. When it comes down to it, one of the most important things about the old Red Baron franchise, the newest version, and the Crimson Skies titles has been the multi-player capability. The games are fun, but playing them against human opponents and shooting them down in the heat of battle is a real treat. Having spent an hour last night playing the demo for Red Baron Arcade, I can say that the multi-player is there and the fun-factor is intact.

One thing unique to the PS3 incarnation of this title is that it utilizes the motion detection functionality of the controller (and fairly well). Instead of using the joystick on the controller, I opted for the motion control function and the controller could be configured to interact with the game like an actual airplane’s yoke. I found this very immersive and quite natural.

For those with PCs interested in the Red Baron 3D experience, a community website is still sponsored HERE for the game and it is available for free download on that page. Otherwise, PS3 owners will find the $9.99 pricetag hard to beat for some online fun for their families.

[Read more →]

Photo by Great Beyond

As with all new presidencies, there is a time of transition as one administration takes over the work of another.   Apparently President Obama is having some tech issues.

 
Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts…

“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs.

He really shouldn’t be complaining.  I mean he did only help Obama win the presidency of the United States of a America…

Wait, I guess that means he can complain.  Someone get this man an Xbox!

[Read more →]