Classic Game of the Month: April 2013

It's been a really long time since I've posted anything OWNAGE specific but that ends this month with a brand new Classic Game of the Month. Just recently I've begun college (which yes, is part of why I haven't updated so much), but it also means that I've had access to more video games than ever. I just got my hands on a copy of Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 64 and played it for the first time. Man oh man had I been missing out all these years. Instantly a top 10 game for me.

Star Fox 64 was released in the United States June 30, 1997 and  was the first game to come bundled with a complimentary Rumble Pack - an accessory that caused the controller to shake allowing the player to feel as if they were in the game.

Story

Starting a new game brings up the image of a damaged space craft floating alone in space. Soon text scrolls up the screen and is narrated telling the history of the Lylat System:
       
"Corneria, fourth planet of the Lylat system. The evil Andross turned this once thriving system into a wasteland of near extinction. Gen. Pepper of the Cornerian Army was successful in exiling this maniacle scientist to the barren, deserted planet Venom. Five years later, Gen. Pepper noticed strange activity coming from Venom. James McCloud, Pigma Dengar, and Peppy Hare of the Star Fox team were sent to investigate. Upon their arrival, Pigma betrayed the team and James and Peppy were captured by Andross. Peppy barely escaped venom and returned home to tell James’ son Fox about his father’s fate. A few years have passed. Andross has again invaded the Lylat system. Gen. Pepper has turned to a new Star Fox team headed by Fox McCloud to save Corneria and to free the Lylat system once again."

The reborn Star Fox team consists of leader Fox McCloud, veteran Peppy Hare, engineer pilot Slippy Toad, and ace pilot Falco Lombardi on a mission to eradicate enemy forces from planets on their journey to the planet Venom, the base of Andross.

Star Fox 64 is very unique among most games. First of all, to play from the first level to the final level, one can "finish" the game in only an hour or so. That's because it's set up "Arcade Style" in that the game records a score at the end of each level and saves the top high scores. When one level it beaten, the next level that the player proceeds to is determined by the player's performance in beating that level. Thus, there are 3 total paths ranging from easy to difficult. Thus, there are 25 possible paths from the first level to the final level each with their own spin on how the story progresses. Quite literally, one of the game's biggest features is it's ultimate replay value.

Game Play

The player takes control of Fox McCloud and navigates his airship, The Arwing, through enemy infested levels in this scrolling shooter. The Arwing is equipped with a blaster that is used to attack enemy ships. The weapon can be charged up and also can lock on to opponents. The first part of most levels have the player going through a level making forward progress. What's awesome about this game is that Fox's 3 team mates are also with you and are attacking enemies as well. Occasionally, however, they may get into a tight situation and may need assistance from the player, shouting "Get this bogie off my tail".

The second mod of game play typically occurs during boss fights in what is called "All-Range Mode". All-Range Mode changes the game play into free roam flying in a closed off square battle ground. Here Fox can do U-turns and make all sorts of maneuvers to get in position to attack the enemy's weak spots.

Speaking of weak spots, the game also features localized damage; that is to say that not only does the Arwing have "health" shields, but doing things like clipping a building with the wing of the ship could cause it to be destroyed. The mechanics implement it making the ship harder to control, handling like it would with only 1 wing.

The game also sports up to 4 person mulitplayer.

Sound

The sound quality of Star Fox 64 is one of it's most memorable features. The game features full voice acting in both story sequences as well as during real time game play (although they do get a little repetitive after a long time playing). Characters are scripted to speak through their radios at various points of the game and are even have scripts for boss interactions. And yes, the ever popular "Do a Barrel Roll" and other such quotes from Peppy Hare stem from this game.

The game also has a great sound track that fits the space battling mood that game creates. The deep space levels feel very tense while the music in Corneria are more upbeat. Sound effects like radios turning on and off and warning sounds that play when too much damage has been taken are also very charming.

Graphics

The graphics in the game were a true test of 3-D space for the N64 and it does it well. Scaling of enemies that are different distances away look good and even in today's world all the fundamentals are there.The explosions are a cheesy by today's standards, but for the time it looks great.

History

Star Fox 64 is the sequel to the highly acclaimed SNES title Star Fox. Originally, this game would have been Star Fox 2 on the SNES, but was moved to the N64 for high power and graphic capabilities. This game detailed the characters full length forms, which would be later seen in the Super Smash Bros. series and later Star Fox games.

This game's success led it to having a remake version for the Nintendo 3DS entitled Star Fox 64 3D, released in 2011. This version has updated graphics, uses the touch screen for some controls and allows for saving between missions.

Reception

I can't say it enough, this game is great. It might be a little on the short side, but it's replay value makes up for hours of fun. The game's difficulty system makes it fun for all ages and abilities. Definitely a much have.


See Also:
http://www.thegeekgeneration.com/2013/03/the-geek-generation-126-do-a-barrel-roll/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Fox_64
http://starfox.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Fox_64

Classic Game of the Month: June 2012

*This month's Classic Game of the Month is a little unusual this month for two reasons. One reason is that it contains purely 3rd party content. Second, instead of being one game, it is an entire collection of retro games in one package. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you "Namco Museum 64"!*

Many editions and collections of Namco arcade games exists on various titles such as on the Nintendo Game Cube, Gameboy Advace and other systems. The Nintendo 64 version of Namco Museum was the first Nintendo released collection and it was released on November 29, 1999 and contains 6 classic Namco developed arcade games:

Game Select Screen

*Pac-Man (1980)

*Ms. Pac-Man (1981)

*Galaga (1981)

*Galaxian (1979)

*Pole-Position (1982)

*Dig Dug (1982)

Each of these games were, in their own time, very popular and revolutionary and because of that, they are all featured on this one cartridge. The games appear as they would in their original arcade machines with no modifications to graphics or gameplay whatsoever. The game also uses the N64 memory card to save high scores in each game. Games can be played in 2-player alternating mode.

Because of each game's powerful impact on the gaming industry, here at OWNAGE, we've decided to dedicate this month to each game. So rather than bore you to death with a 12 page research paper, each week, I plan to release in-depth reviews for each one with all 6 games sharing the spot light this month! 

With 6 games to take care of, look for about 2 game reviews each week.

Retro Review: Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros.

One of the most popular Nintendo fighting series was born in 1999 with the release of Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. This game started the Super Smash Brother's series which currently has 3 game in total with a 4th one recently going into development. It's sequels are Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The game gathers up 12 of Nintendo's finest and pits them against each other to prove which fighter is the strongest.

Retro Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Congratulate me as I’ve just recently completely the timely N64 masterpiece (hehe, “Time”ly) known as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Released in the later half of the N64’s life time, the game has been critically acclaimed as one of the best videogame of all time by gamers of all genres.

A Work in the Making

Although the game was released in America on November 23, 1998, development originally was going on hand in had with Super Mario 64 – a game released at the launch of the Nintendo 64, production of the game took much longer going through a ton of revisions and rewrites. Packaged into a 32-megabyte cartridge, Ocarina of Time was one of the largest (in terms of data) games ever released for the N64.

Plot Overview

Ganandof - The Antagonist

This incarnation of The Legend of Zelda starts off with the hero of the story, Link, a child of the Kokiri village located deep in the forest. Considered an outcast for not having a fairy like the rest of the children, one day Link is greeted by a fairy named Navi after suffering a terrible nightmare. Turns out Navi was sent by the Great Deku tree who later informs Link that he is destined to save Hyrule from Great King of Evil Ganondorf as well as rescue the kingdom’s princess, Zelda. Link navigates through multiple dungeons while collecting and using various weapons and power ups. Probably the most exciting twist in the story is the use of time travel; switching between young and adult Link in order to solve puzzles and move the game forward.




TV Commercial

Game Play

Young and Older Link

The game sports elements from three genres: Action, Puzzle solving, and Role-playing and each genre is prominantly displayed from the revolutionary fighting style, the time consuming mysterious dungeons and the beautiful story that leads the hero through the quest. The game itself is largely a Roam Free game with Hyrule field acting as the central hub for the game. Most side quests can be done in any order and many tasks can be started and finished later when new abilities become available. The differences between “Old” and “Young” Link makes areas more interesting the second time around as new things can be collected and the changes of scenery.

Link's gear

Battle System

Typical of the The Legend of Zelda series, Link’s trusty weapons are his sword and shield. Attacking foes head on requires both patience and reflexes as they are in real time and open to a 3-D plane of movement. Other weapons and upgrades, including a slingshot and a bow and arrow, as well as magic spells increase the hero’s range and power.

"Z-Targeting"

The most revolutionary aspect of the fighting style is a targeting system referred to as “Z-targeting” (activated by pressing the “Z” button when played on the N64). This ability allows Link to focus on single targets while still moving around. It allows for the player to quickly dodge and jump away from attacks and make more precise and powered up attacks without missing the foe. This type of targeting would later be used in other video games (Such as the  MegaMan Legends series). Whether the player chooses to target or attack head on, the fighting system of the Legend of Zelda is one of the best real time weapon based adventure games available.

A Truly TIME-less Video Game

Gamecube remake
Box art

Although Ocarina of Time quickly gained a direct sequel in “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask”, video games aren’t always about what’s next. The high replay value and average play through time of over 30 hours led Nintendo to port this game…Not once, not twice, but (including the Wii’s Virtual Console port) but FOUR times. A Gamecube re-release including Ocarina of Time and the director’s cut: “Ocarina of Time: Master Quest” and a bundle game “The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition” featuring ports of The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask.

The most recent version is a complete recreation that was released in the early days of the Nintendo 3DS titled “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D”. With real 3-D and enhanced graphics, this verson took Link through the game in smoother and detailed graphics that exceeded the N64 and Gamecube versions.

Also good to know, the original N64 version was released in 3 different cartridges with each subsequent one fixing glitches and sporting minor changes from bugs to censorship. The original cartridge was released in all gold – one of the few games to be released on a non-gray cartridge. Later incarnations would be in the standard format

Recommendation

I totally and completely recommend this game to be a part of any serious gamer’s library. There’s no excuse not to have a copy considering how it’s available on at least 4 systems. I give this game a full 10 out of 10, a five star ranking, 2 thumbs up and MC Hammer Bro. seal of approval. 

The Triforce

Making Progress

Well, with about 10 days since my last post, I've been able to get some stuff done. The most exciting thing would be my first video game Review/Recommendation. In that section, I'll go over some of the goods and bads as well as the fun stuff after playing through the video game.


This time around, I reviewed the amazing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64. So go check that out for me will ya?



Aside from that, I've been working on what else I can do to make this Blog exciting and entertaining so that I can please my followers even when I'm not currently updating. Hopefully I'll come up with something and I'll continue to have the support of my followers.

Oh, and with the holidays approaching, I promise to have some good content to post come the end of the month.

Back in a Flash

MC Hammer Bro.