A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME
Video Games, Victorian Style
Month: June 2013
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“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.” – Murray Rothbard My co-author wrote…
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When Capcom revamped Resident Evil: Revelations for console release recently, I was tempted to pick it up for the Wii U. After playing the demo though, it just didn’t quite feel right on the big screen – it was designed for the 3DS after all – so I ended up buying the original 3DS version…
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Killer 7 (Gamecube) – “At the very least you will appreciate the game’s style”. That’s what I told people way back in 2004 when they asked about Killer 7. A collaboration between Capcom heavyweights Shinji Mikami and Hirokyuki Kobayashi, and the enigmatic Goichi Suda (Suda 51) Killer 7 promised a hyper-violent and hyper-stylised video game…
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Did you know that a graphically enhanced port of SkiFree was released on the Game Boy Color as part of a compilation of PC games that included six other games, including Minesweeper and Free Cell. The Microsoft Entertainment Pack was released in 2001. Released in 1991 the original SkiFree was developed for Microsoft Windows…
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First person shooters, racing games, character action platformers, after a while they all blend into one another. An innovation one year is a stale convention the next; we all throw our arms up in the air; developers respond with a nice little token change; and the cycle repeats. Okay, okay I’m being overly dramatic to…
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Milestone – “Games Made With Passion” I admire a developer that pours so much care and attention into its games that it is infectious. Milestone – a small developer located in Milan, Italy – has lovingly crafted racing titles of both the two and four wheel persuasion since the mid-nineties. Since screaming onto the…
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Get ready for a rant about retail: So there I was at my local CeX browsing the PS2 section when I spotted it – a copy of Le Mans 24 Hours. Being a bit partial to the now defunct developer Melbourne House’s other racing game for the platform, Grand Prix Challenge, I picked it up…
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Wow, what an E3 it’s been this year. Revelation after revelation. It’s been so exciting I even tried to engage some of my non-gamer friends in conversation about DRM policy, with predictably unsuccessful results. I think we can safely say that the show has been a complete PR disaster for Microsoft. After confusing the hell…
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It is unbelievable how many developers always seem to be closing due to financial difficulties. With so much riding on each title because of increasing production values, some developers and publishers are seemingly always just one game away from financial ruin. Jester Interactive was one such company, going into administration in 2003, before a brief…
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EA Sports has pretty much a cart blanche when it comes to its stranglehold over key sporting licences – now more than ever with it extending its FIFA licence through to 2022. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you what a bloody outrage it is, that competition pushes innovation, and that NFL 2K for the Dreamcast was…
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Today I bought myself a brand spanking new Nintendo DSi XL to add to my seemingly ever growing stable of Nintendo handhelds for a paltry sum of A$40. As someone who still owns the original 3DS with its small screens, and retain my DS Lite for all things 2D, holding the XL in my hands for…
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I loved the original Luigi’s Mansion – I bought a GameCube at launch, and Luigi’s Mansion was one of the first games I got for it (along with Bloody Roar: Primal Fury, in case you’re interested). I can’t believe that was all the way back in 2002 – Nintendo sure took their sweet time in…
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The successes of the last generation of Nintendo hardware, both handheld and home console, had the effect of bringing to the forefront of peoples’ minds how far gaming has come and just how deep it runs in everyday culture. At one point everyman and his grandmother had a DS and was enjoying the trials and…
A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME 