StarCraft is a 1998 military science fiction real-time strategy game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. In 2000, StarCraft 64 was released In North America for the Nintendo 64, co-developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Mass Media Inc. and published by Nintendo. Continue reading “StarCraft 64”
Day: May 28, 2020
Re-Volt
Re-Volt is a racing video game developed by Acclaim Studios London and published by Acclaim Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Dreamcast.
In October 1999 Acclaim Entertainment released the Re-Volt Car Editor which allowed players to export and edit, or create new cars for the PC version using 3D studio. The editor was simply discovered in the Acclaim Studios London office and as such was released as an unapproved and unsupported piece of code.[5]
In early 2000, a sequel titled RC Revenge was announced and later changed to RC Revenge, and was released in August 2000 for the PlayStation, followed by an enhanced port of the game a few months later called RC Revenge Pro for PlayStation 2.
Space Invaders
Space Invaders: The Original Game[a] is a 1994 fixed shooter video game developed and published for the Super Famicom in Japan by Taito. Several ports were released for other platforms, including the Sega Saturn and PC Engine CD. The player assumes control of a laser base that must fend off waves of incoming enemies, who march down in formation towards the bottom of the screen. It is the fifth entry in the long-running Space Invaders series, and the second game to be produced for a home platform following the PC Engine remake Fukkatsu no Hi.
The Original Game serves as an updated version of Space Invaders DX, released a year prior for arcades, lacking the “Parody Mode” featured in the latter. The Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions add several new features, such as an arranged soundtrack and a new “Kawaii Mode” featuring more cutesy, cartoonish backdrops. It was produced by Keisuke Kasigawa and composed by Katsuhisa Ishikawa, with Space Invaders creator Tomohiro Nishikado being credited for the original versions. The Original Game was met with a mixed response from critics, most of which felt the game’s price point was too high with its large lack of content. It was followed by Space Invaders ‘95 in 1995.
Tecmo World Cup Super Soccer
Tecmo World Cup Soccer is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1990 by Tecmo, as its name suggests it is a soccer game focusing on the World Cup.
Tecmo World Cup Soccer is not to be confused with Nintendo World Cup of the same year, nor Tecmo Cup Soccer Game released in September 1992, is a port of Tehkan World Cup adapted to the NES hardware. Although the two games appear virtually identical, Tecmo World Cup Soccer lacks some of the speed and fluidity of its arcade progenitor. While the gameplay is ostensibly unchanged, the lack of support for analog control in the NES version renders it a digital-control-only game that requires almost completely different tactics.
Rayman
Rayman is a side-scrolling platform video game developed and published by Ubi Soft. As the first installment in the Rayman series, the game follows the adventures of Rayman, a hero who must save his colourful world from the evil Mr. Dark. Originally designed for the Atari Jaguar in 1995, a PlayStation version was developed and released in time for the North American launch of the console on 9 September 1995; and further ports were created for Sega Saturn in 1995 and MS-DOS computers in 1996. The game has appeared in various other formats, including versions for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Network, DSiWare, and iOS and Android devices.
The mobile versions of Rayman were removed from digital stores in July 2018. On October 29, 2018, Sony revealed that the game would be one of 20 games pre-loaded on the PlayStation Classic, which was released on December 3, 2018.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega. It is part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and follows Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992). After Doctor Robotnik‘s spaceship, the Death Egg, crash-lands on a mysterious floating island, Sonic and Tails attempt to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to stop it from relaunching. Sonic 3 introduces Knuckles the Echidna, the island guardian, who lays traps for Sonic and Tails. Gameplay is similar to previous entries, with players traversing side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies.
Development began in January 1993, shortly after the release of Sonic 2. It was initially developed as an isometric game similar to Sonic 3D Blast (1996), but became a conventional 2D platformer due to time constraints. Sonic 3‘s production took place simultaneously with Sonic & Knuckles; they were developed as a single game until time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split it. The Sonic 3 cartridge can be attached to an adapter on the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge, creating a combined game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Pop musician Michael Jackson reportedly composed portions of the soundtrack, but left the project and went uncredited.
Sonic 3 was released for the Sega Genesis in North America and Europe in February 1994, and in Japan the following May. As with its predecessors, it was a critical and commercial success, with critics seeing it as an improvement over previous installments. It sold over one million copies in the United States, making it one of the bestselling Genesis games. Alongside Sonic & Knuckles, a Windows port was released through the Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997). The game has also been rereleased via emulation and compilations for various platforms, including Sonic Mega Collection (2002) and Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009).
Battle City
Battle City is a multi-directional shooter where the player commandeers a tank to destroy the enemy and protect their base.
Mario Bros.
Mario Bros. is a platform game published and developed for arcades by Nintendo in 1983. It was created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Italian-American plumber Mario and his brother Luigi exterminate creatures emerging from the sewers by flipping them on their backs and kicking them away. The original versions of Mario Bros.—the arcade version and the Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System (FC/NES) version—were received positively by critics.
Mario Bros. has been included as a mini-game in all of the Super Mario Advance series and numerous other games. Mario Bros. has been re-released for the Wii‘s, Nintendo 3DS‘s, and Wii U‘s Virtual Console services in Japan, North America, Europe, and Australia. It has also been re-released through Nintendo Switch Online.
Fighting Force
Fighting Force is a 1997 3D beat ’em up developed by Core Design and published by Eidos. It was released for PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo 64. Announced shortly after Core became a star developer through the critical and commercial success of Tomb Raider, Fighting Force was highly anticipated but met with mixed reviews.
The four characters have various reasons for taking on Dr. Dex Zeng, a criminal mastermind with an army at his command who predicted that the world would end in the year 2000. After New Year’s Eve 1999, Dr. Zeng believed that there was an error preventing the apocalypse, so decides to correct it by destroying the world himself. The action starts with a police cordon around Zeng’s office skyscraper, moving to such locales as a shopping mall, subway and Coast Guard base before finally ending at the top of Zeng’s island headquarters.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is a survival horror video game developed by Capcom and released for the PlayStation in 1999. It is the third installment in the Resident Evil series and takes place in two parts, before and after the events of Resident Evil 2. The story follows Jill Valentine and her efforts to escape from a city infected with a biological weapon. Choices through the game affect the story and ending. The game uses the same engine as its predecessors and features 3D models over pre-rendered backgrounds with fixed camera angles.
Originally planned as a spin-off featuring a different protagonist, Resident Evil 3 was designed to have more action-oriented gameplay than previous Resident Evil games. It features a larger number of enemies and introduces the Nemesis creature, which periodically pursues the player. Accompanied by a major marketing campaign, Resident Evil 3 received positive reviews and sold more than three million copies worldwide. Critics praised the game’s detailed graphics and the Nemesis as an intimidating villain, but some criticized its short length and story. Resident Evil 3 was ported to Dreamcast, Windows and GameCube to varying success. A remake of the game was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in 2020.
Bubble Bobble 2
Bubble Bobble Part 2, known in Japan as Bubble Bobble 2 (バブルボブル2) is a game in the Bubble Bobble series. While it was never released in the arcade, two versions of the game were developed independently from each other (for the NES and Game Boy formats), with each game receiving a different storyline as a result. The Game Boy version is known in Japan as Bubble Bobble Junior (バブルボブルジュニア).
Tekken 3
Tekken 3 is the third installment of Namco’s premier 3D fighting game franchise. Converted from the arcade to the PlayStation, Tekken 3 ran on the technology called the System 12 board. It is a step better than Namco’s System 11 board, which is nearly identical to the PlayStation. The trick was to pull off a conversion to fit with the console’s architecture and technology, and they did just that.