Games played

I played a ton of games at the various conventions I went to. That isn’t hard since arcade machines easily weigh 300 pounds. I played more than seven, that’s for certain.

Life The Universe and Everything

No I don’t know why the T is used, but the A isn’t. I only played a single game, but saw several being played.

VArt

The game I played was actually an art program. I had a terrible time figuring out how to place my lines. They looked fine from one angle, but the next one showed I wasn’t doing it right. However, once you figure out how to use it, the art within is amazing.

VArt is art you can literally walk around, and look at from multiple angles. It feels like a hand drawn penciling, only it’s all in full 3D. I used a paintbrush like program, which can make incredibly fine details so you can literally make worlds, and then see the citizens in the world, or the plants all around it.

Another form was modeling. It was based on basic modeling programs like Nendo, or ZBrush, where you would make an object, and then sculpt it to what you wanted. The artist using it was just figuring things out, but he created a character quickly, and then added small items. A lightsaber may have been added.

The Convention Itself

I really enjoyed the convention, and would recommend it to any aspiring authors. It is fairly cheap to get in. There are good panels, and people are friendly. It also has a nice place to check things out. There are panels on all sorts of subjects, and people tend to know what they are talking about at them.

However, if you are a new artist, or an expert in a field, some of the panels may not help. For example, I went to a panel on art, but it wasn’t the style I use to make art. They had pencils drawing things, and I used a mouse and keyboard. There was a panel on colonization in the world, and I pretty much dodged it like a plague.

But for the writing itself, this was a great show, and I enjoyed it.

My Brother’s Wedding

Not a convention unto itself, though it does have a lot of the same things in it. It wasn’t a cosplay show, but the actual thing with my brother and his new frau. However, we did go to an arcade, and I did play games there.

H2Overdrive

It is a sequel to Hydrothunder, which is a personal favorite arcade game. The controls and setup are very similar, and the graphics are improved. The biggest difference is the units themselves are a bit bigger, as are the screens.

I enjoyed it, and worked to keep boost with me at all times. It’s the type of game where you learn the level, and its nuances to get better. Which means multiple plays, and thus more quarters. I had a blast with this game.

Time Crisis 4

This game is super popular in arcade cultures. There are videos of people reenacting what they are doing in the game. So if you hide in the game, they hide. If they reload, they make all of the motions, and even do twists and turns as they go.

It is a shooter, but with a lot of twists to it. The first part is the two player screens are two separate screens. You see things from a different angle, and even have different people to shoot the other player may not see. In fact, you can see the other character in your screen at times. This means communication, and the feeling that you are really there.

Add to that, if you press a little lever, you step out of your hiding place to shoot. If you let it go, you can dodge the oncoming missiles. The strategy is to figure out when to hide, and when to come out guns a blazing.

You can upgrade your weapons to shotguns, rifles, and others to help with shooting down baddies. It is interesting because at moments when a shotgun should have done more damage, it really doesn’t. It also shoots as many times as you pull the trigger, so the guns don’t quite feel real.

The story is ridiculous, with you fighting off an entire army, but its called Terrorists. You and your partner look like Starsky and Hutch Japanese knock offs, who deal with things in the coolest way they possibly can. Not only that, some of the cover is ridiculous. I stopped the blast of an explosion, by ducking into a fern. Action Movie tropes are put to their fullest in the game, and make it incredibly fun.

The Craze

I’ve already talked about the arcade several times, and stand by it. This is by far one of my favorite Family Entertainment Centers, because the people who run it are fellow geeks. I could talk about details all over. For example the names of the players in lasertag are all action movie or video game references.

The laser tag was very obviously designed by people who know how the game is played. I was sniped, had someone using a mirror, and campers. People had different playstyles, and ideas. Also, the power ups were great to use.

I highly recommend you find this place in the middle of Rexburg. I know, its hard to locate, but that’s half the awesomeness to it.

Emerald City Comic Con

I played games at my buddies house, set up arcade games, and watched others play. There was a lot of gaming done, and I enjoyed most of it.

The Arcade

We had 15 games there, and I played most of them.

Donkey Kong

Actually this was a multicade with a DK shell, but I did play it. The game is a classic, with all sorts of new things and ideas setting up arcades for the single screen platformer, and then the scrolling platformer as well. The big change is heights can hurt you. If you fall, you can die. So you are constantly dodging things over jumping off a platform.

The big thing is trying to get the enemies to move in specific ways so you can dodge them easier. The barrel will go down your ladder if you are climbing it, so you have to time that. But also, other barrels may go sideways to get you in other directions. The same works with springs, fires, and so many other enemies. You have to plan it out, and time things to move around.

Ms PacMan

Another multicade, but it had mostly different versions of Pacman. The most difficult was Pacman dark, where none of the lines appeared on the screen, so you had to have them memorized to move around correctly. It actually got stuck on that, and people were really annoyed.

There was also neon form of it, and even the great MS. PacMan as well. Your job is to collect the dots, and dodge the ghosts as best as possible. There are cool powerups which you can use to eat or defeat the ghosts, but they only last for a little while. So you time it to eat the ghosts when they are close by, and get a big score addition by eating them all.

Street Fighter II

The classic that wowed the arcades. This unit had some fuzziness to the characters which normally isn’t there. Also, I think the response time was slightly off. Otherwise the unit was working very well.

There is a trick with Street Fighter II games where you select the playable characters on the second player controls. If you defeat any character, they are counted as beaten in the game. So you can get through everything to the bosses really fast. After that, it’s a painful slog, because you have not been preparing your reflexes very well.

The fighting genre started with earlier games, but this game came with combos, super moves, and multiple characters to work with. It meant you can have cool styles, and ideas as you move forward. The slower Dhalsim has a longer reach, or Chun Li is way faster and lighter on her feet. It’s a classic game, and everyone enjoyed it.

Trog

It’s like Pacman, but with more graphics, and weirder things happening. You are trying to collect all of the items, while being chased by dinosaurs. Also, once the items are collected, you need the key, and then you have to head to the door to escape. All the while pterodactyls drop things, dinosaurs that fill the screen go after you, and other stuff.

The game is weird, and thus hard to describe, but it is a bunch of fun.

Gravitar

Imagine Asteroids only you can shoot friends, and you are inside of a cavern. It is more based on the game Space Duel which was created for giant computers found in universities. The controls are pretty easy to figure out, but you have to work it a lot more delicately than the games you are accustomed to.

The entire thing is vector graphics, so its simple lines instead of colored characters. The gameplay is fun, but very difficult. You have to master it before you can really enjoy it.

Time Soldiers

This is a dual stick shooter with one stick. The stick has a knob at the top you can twist, which changes the angle of the shooter. The game is two player, and you can blast all sorts of things throughout time.

It’s a late 80’s style game, so the environment is over several screens large, and you have to explore them to find the keys to get out. The monsters constantly attack, and you have to shoot them out of the way as you search for keys.

I would recommend this game to someone who already has a few games, but not as the only game to own.

Multi Williams

Joust is one of my all time favorite games. A buddy and I will end up playing it whenever we are at a classic arcade. Since this unit has Jouse, it is already winning.

It also has moon patrol, and others ready to play. The controls and games play exactly as they should, so you have a great setup for someone who wants these games, but doesn’t have a lot of room.

Fire

Of the pinball games played, I enjoyed Fire the most. I didn’t play it often, and it is a brutal game, but it was also a lot of fun.

Classic Console Games

My buddy has a very large collection of NES, Super NES, and Sega Genesis games. So whenever I visit, I play a bunch as a way to relax.

Double Dragon Genesis

This is a classic game, where you beat up characters to win back your lady love. There is a version for this game on just about every console. The most famous one is for the NES.

The problem with this port is the response time to button taps. I never knew when a punch would be thrown, or if my combo would actually work. The graphics are about par with the arcade, but the animations and other parts are toned down a bit. Honestly, I would get the NES version.

ToeJame and Earl

A classic game for the Genesis, and one of the weirdest games I have ever played. Everything is slower, but with a big emphasis on style. So your character moves like they are dancing, and is dodging babies, fairies, busses, and other things.

There are no weapons, you are merely exploring to find the elevator to go to the next level. Along the way you can buy powerups that can help you out. For example, you can get an innertube to cross water. If you fall off a cliff, you end up on the previous level.

The continues are infinite, but the sanity is limited. It’s the type of game you would enjoy, but it will be difficult to play all the way through, because of how long and weird it gets.

Mickey Mania Genesis

There are two versions of this game. The Genesis version doesn’t have all of the cool graphical effects. The enemies are a little bit easier to figure out, and the bosses have less detail. I think an entire level is skipped in this version. The sound is great, and the hit detection is way easier.

Mickey Mania SNES

Mickey Travels through levels that represent classic cartoons he has been in. For example, the first one has him running about on Steamboat Willie, in black and white no less. Slowly color comes, but it looks sepia toned. The best part is the animations, as characters move like they did in their cartoons.

There are bits and pieces of cool effects, like a wall that moves around the camera, or a platform that twists. The bosses are different from the Genesis version, and seem a bit harder as well. There is also a level where you are being chased by a Moose that does not show up in the Genesis version.

I prefer this version, but that’s because I played it as a kid. I bet if you grew up playing the Genesis version, it would feel better.

Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge

This game has great graphics, really cool animations, and quite a bit of whimsy. It can also be beat in a matter of minutes. We explored the game, and helped various characters get the items they asked for, by playing mini puzzle games. These were fun games, but ultimately it felt a bit short.

Actraiser

By and far my favorite of the games played. I got so into this game, I missed the ferry. Infact, as soon as I realized I had missed the ferry, I decided to play the game more.

It has multiple parts. The first part is a side scrolling action game. The controls are not as precise as Castlevania IV, or others. There are multiple paths to take to get further into the game. The big thing is finishing the level, and beating the boss.

You are then given a top down Sim City like world where you have to lead it against the enemies attacking the city. You tell the people to move toward a summoning area, and your character shoots down the enemies being summoned. As you shoot, each enemy gives you magic power. The more power, the more things you can do. This can also work with the more people you have, but killing monsters does it faster. However, the monsters carry people away, which makes you lose power.

Once the city has destroyed the various summoned areas, and other things, the next 2D sidescrolling level shows up. It will be a lot like the first one, only harder. Luckily, if you built up the citizens as much as you could, your levels have risen up enough to take on this level pretty easily. The boss will appear, and once defeated, the land is blessed forever.

Then you move onto the next land, and hope to bless it as well. A seriously fun game that I would recommend to anyone.

Secret of Mana

I only played this one for a little bit, before I realized I need to dedicate a week or two playing it. It’s a top down Zelda like game, where you have multiple weapons to choose from. Also, you can raise your level up by killing various monsters. So there is a classic RPG, and Zelda idea combined.

It gets more interesting because you have three characters, but only control one. You can assign them weapons, or have them heal you as needed. In fact, you can grab some friends, and play all three characters at the same time.

This is a Squaresoft game, so there is a story, but I didn’t really find out much from the brief time I played it. It is a well known game, and is on many lists for games to play on the SNES. I agree with that sentiment, though I need more time to find out how much.

Modern Console

I played a few modern games as well during the ECCC event.

Battlefield 1

A multiplayer deathmatch game with vehicles, and different classes set in a very large map. The series is known for doing insane things, like jumping out a plane, launching an RPG, and then landing back into the plane.

The game makers decided to reference World War I. The company is French, and that is considered the worst war to have happened to France in the last century. They lost nearly the entire generation of young men at the war. Every time you die, or go into a cutscene, it references someone who was lost. They based everything on weapons of the time, so if you see a truck, it is based on the trucks used during the war.

The problem is the war itself had an incredibly diversity of technology. The advancement is staggering. They started off with kites, and ended with airplane bombings. The war had two fronts, the Western or French side, or the Eastern or Russian side. The Russian side was a constant destruction. Russian soldiers were not issued guns, they were told to pick one up from a fallen comrade. The French side was very slow. They would have attack times, and people were so accustomed to the trenches, the German officers had doorbells installed.

Instead of being the slow, scary, disease filled nightmare of a war it was; Where generals were literally trying to convince you to commit suicide for your country, even though you knew the men on the other side; it is just like any other battlefield game.

My buddy drove a truck with a giant gun on it, up a mountain to shoot down a sniper. He was within inches of the guy, and then fired.

The graphics really aren’t the greatest either. They work, but there is no point where I was amazed by what I saw. It looked like a shinier PS3 or Xbox 360 game.

If you want to play a Battlefied game, and learn some small bits of history, this game would be perfect. They give you information, and even talk about the war, and battles. But if you want a feel for that war, you won’t enjoy this.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Switch

You can read in the notes how someone let me play their console. I smiled the rest of the day. In fact, even writing about it now, I am starting to smile again.

The controller works like a normal controller, only it has the ability to sense movement. I could play it in that dock you see in the picture, or have the controller sides out on their own. It was also just as easy to have the controller sides on the console itself. The biggest surprise was how much the Switch weighed. The Wii U controller is much lighter, but doesn’t have as many cool add ons.

The game itself is bliss. You look in a direction, and head in it. I climbed a mountain, and then snowboarded down on a shield. I found enemies, and found that the controls worked wonderfully with what I had. The big thing to notice was that the enemies were not leaving me alone. I was choosing one out, but the others were fine in attacking at any time. My best bet was to hit, and then move away. I swam in a random lake, and even found a metal sword.

The dungeons were like a teaching area for the weapon they were introducing. It felt like Half Life 2 with the way the new mechanics worked.

It is a perfect game, and I fully intend to buy it as soon as I can.

Round 1 Arcade

I went to Round 1 as a way to dodge traffic, and relax a little after a really busy convention. This is my favorite modern arcade, and I have talked about it before with a bit of gushing. It feels like it did back in the day, when you would wander the arcade looking for fun games, and seeing what there was. Only everything is bigger, and better now.

Gunslinger Stratos

The dual wielding shooting game, deathmatch game is difficult to describe, and a lot of fun. Each gun is a controller you can use to move your character around. But also a lightgun ready to fire. Hooking up the two guns in different ways makes a different gun attack. Even cooler, if you aim the guns away from the screen, you get a cool slash attack.

The biggest complaint I have about the game is the camera. It aims you directly at the opponent, so you know where they are at all times. This is really annoying though, because they may be on top of a building, and thus the camera is pointed so I have no way to move around in.

There are multiple characters, and each one has their own style and stats. I chose a robot kid, but there is also a samurai, a couple teenage girls, and other cool stuff. The graphics are a ton of fun, and I destroyed a part of the city as I hunted down my enemies.

I play this one every time I go to Round 1, so it should come as no surprise that it is a favorite. There is no way they could translate this to a console, and I am fine with that.

Nesica

This is an arcade console for multiple games. I played King of Fighters 2002, and then Blaz Blue. The first game is a three versus three game. You choose three characters, and then who goes first, second, and last. Each character has a different style, and does better against others. Thus, you should choose out how you will use your characters vs the ones up next.

I made it to the fourth round of battles, but it became really tough, and I didn’t know how to choose which character for what. However, I enjoyed it, and laughed as the backgrounds, or fighting characters did something cool. It’s a big time Neo Geo fighter, so characters require a very complex movement to get a super move out, which means they came out at random.

Blaz Blue is another fighting game, and I lasted all of two matches. I know very little about the game, or how to play it. Still though, the Nesica is really awesome, and I recommend it.

Ghostbusters

The biggest problem with this game, was aiming the controller. It didn’t really feel like it was aiming, and I had to guess a lot if I was even on the screen. The animations were fun, but after a point, I didn’t care about the game at all.

Stomp Game

I don’t know what the game is actually called, but you stomp on it. The floor has a projected image of things you need to stomp on, and registers whenever you hit the right target. I laughed a couple times as I stomped on attacking aliens.

The style is sort of a shooter, only you are stomping. Things are a bit slower, because you have to move to the spot to really hit it. However, they had multiple angles, and timers, so it meant moving quickly, and remembering dancing lessons from long ago. I recommend it, especially if you have friends with you.

New Pacman and Galaga

These are new versions of the old classic games. If you have played them before, you know what to do. They add all sorts of graphical effects, and bright happy lights to enjoy. The challenges are bigger because it means you are collecting tickets for the prize desk.

As a Pacman game, I enjoyed turning big, and having the big lights and explosions happen as I did things. I think it was slightly faster than what I am accustomed to, but I was never any good at the game anyway.

The Galaga game has new strategies, like having all ships at the same time, or three lives. Plus waves of enemies attacking. They added a ton of effects, so it feels like a high end version.

Batman

This driving game is not a racer. Instead, you have missions like destroy the enemies, or shoot down the car. Batman is ignoring his no kill rule I think. The Batmobile is responsive, and you have to recognize the signs that appear telling you where the enemy went, otherwise you get lost in Gotham. You have to defeat the enemy within the time given. As a bonus, I got the Batjet for a little while, and destroyed enemies from the air.

It’s a sleek racer, that has a lot of style to its graphics. That means it should age well, and continue to be fun for years to come.

Luigi’s Mansion

An arcade shooter version of the classic Gamecube game. Honestly I like this version better. This is the superior ghost busting arcade game as well. You have to hit the ghosts with the flashlight to make them real, and then suck them down with the vacuum. There are also coins hidden everywhere for extra points. It takes some great thoughts to capture some of the ghosts, because they may be hidden, or behind something. You work to grab them as you move through the mansion, and find newer, harder to capture ghosts.

The controller is a giant vacuum, with a flashlight. It takes physical work to aim the light, and then move the vacuum. I laughed a couple times as I figured out how the controls worked, while ghosts moved around me.

With the sit in version of the game, you get surround sound, and other features that add to the enjoyment of the game. It is a lot of fun, and should be even funner with more friends.