Breaking it all Down

The Nintendo Power Retrospectives – Part 15

Alexander Case — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:18:20 +0000

This week we conclude of the Best of the Rest for 1988-1989, with the last 10 titles on the list.

Opening Music: ‘Super Buck II’ by Estradasphere – http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00577/
Closing Music: ‘Of Whips and Strings’ by Super Guitar Bros. – http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02480/

Games:

Rygar
Bad Dudes
Town & Country – Wood & Water Rage
1943
Rampage
Double Dribble
Top Gun
Milon’s Secret Castle
Mega Man
Castlevania

Filed under: Video games, videos Tagged: 194x, Bad Dudes, Capcom, Castlevania, Data East, double dribble, gaming, Konami, mega man, NES, Nintendo, Nintendo Power, Retro Video Games, Rygar, Tecmo

Film Review – Heaven & Hell

Alexander Case — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:38:10 +0000

This week I’m reviewing a little known film from the Shaw Brothers. How little known is it? So unknown that I couldn’t find an IMDB page for this film!

Heaven & Hell property of Shaw Brothers Films, Distributed in the US by Image Entertainment.

Filed under: Hong Kong Action Movies, videos Tagged: film, Kung Fu Films, Martial arts film, Movie Review, Shaw Brothers

Nintendo Power Retrospective – Part 14

Alexander Case — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:26:41 +0000

In this episode of the Nintendo Power Retrospectives, we continue our way through the Best of the Rest, with two movie licensed games, two puzzle platformers, and two shoot-em-ups.

Opening Music: ‘Super Buck II’ by Estradasphere – http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00577/
Closing Music: ‘Mounted-Machine Gun Funk’ by Beatdrop – http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00677/

Titles reviewed this episode:
Ikari Warriors
Rambo
California Games
Kid Niki
Solomon’s Key
Gradius
Bubble Bobble
Xevious
Robocop
Jackal
Paperboy

Filed under: Video games, videos Tagged: kid niki, Licensed Games, NES, Nintendo, Nintendo Power, Nintendo Power Retrospective, Retro Gaming, video game

Video Game Review – Vanquish

Alexander Case — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:09:00 +0000

This week I’m finally getting back to reviewing a more current video game – Vanquish, a joint by Shinji Mikami and developed by Platinum Games. That’s a good pedigree for Gameplay, but how is it for story?

Excerpt from the William Tell Overture
Performed by Kevin MacCloud

http://www.incompitech.com

Released under Creative Commons license.

Filed under: Video games, videos

Nintendo Power Retrospectives – Part 13

Alexander Case — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:12:25 +0000

This week in the Nintendo Power Retrospectives, I start with the “Best of the Rest” of Nintendo Power’s first year, reviewing the first 11 titles (out of 33) that made the Top 30 but weren’t featured in Nintendo Power proper.

Titles reviewed this episode:
Ring King
Section Z
Mario Bros.
Side Pocket
Ghosts ‘N Goblins
Spy Hunter
Rush ‘n Attack
Pinball
Zanac
Kung Fu
Baseball

Filed under: Video games, videos Tagged: Ghosts'n Goblins, Mario Bros, NES, Nintendo Power, Nintendo Power Retrospective, Retro Gaming, Video games

Book Review – The Sapphire Rose

Alexander Case — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:27:43 +0000

This week I’m finally reviewing the final installment of David Eddings‘ Elenium trilogy with The Sapphire Rose.

Art Credits

Henry V – Renaissance Films
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
~Gentleman Thief~ by The Gryph
~Have Fun Storming The Castle~ by SneakingSoul
Knight Tournament (Photo) by RavenPine
Howard Pyle
Berserk – Kentaro Miura
Granny Weatherwax – Paul Kidby
Christian Nauck
Sir Galahad – George Fredrick Watts
Sir Bedivere – Aubrey Beardsley
Cover art from The Diamond Throne

Music Credits

Nazgul On Your Back
Written and Performed by
Weirdland

http://www.weirdland.fr/

Released under Creative Commons License

In the Hall of the Mountain King
(Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46)
Composed by Edvard Grieg
Performed by Kevin MacCloud

http://incompitech.com

Released under Creative Commons License

Filed under: Books, videos Tagged: book review, David Eddings, Fantasy Literature, Speculative Fiction, The Elenium

Nintendo Power Retrospective – Part 12

Alexander Case — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:54:38 +0000

This week I’ve come to the end of Nintendo Power’s first year, and boy is this issue weak on games to review. On the bright side, one of these is a classic from Capcom. We also have the results of the first annual Nintendo Power Awards, which can best be described as a mixed bag.

Opening Music: ‘Jazz Plumber Trio’ – Remixed by DJPretzel – http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00055/
Closing Remix: ‘Air Shooter’ – Remixed by Joshua Morse – http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02208/

Games:
Mega Man 2
Faxanadu
Fester’s Quest
Clash at Demonhead

Filed under: Video games, videos Tagged: Capcom, Clash at Demonhead, Falcom, Faxanadu, Fester's Quest, Mega Man II, NES, Nintendo, Retro Gaming, Sunsoft, Vic Tokai

Film Review – Is Paris Burning?

Alexander Case — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:54:59 +0000

This week I’m doing another film review – this time of a World War II Ensemble film – Is Paris Burning?
Naturally, this includes some discussion of this sub-genre as a whole.

Also, I apologize for not getting into the French New Wave stuff as much as I would have liked.

Filed under: film, videos Tagged: film, Film criticism, Is Paris Burning?, World War II

Nintendo Power Retrospective – Part 11

Alexander Case — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:38:29 +0000

This week we come to the second to last issue of Nintendo Power’s first year, featuring another classic title in Ninja Gaiden, and two classically bad titles in The Adventures of Bayou Billy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with an underrated gem.

Opening Music: ‘Jazz Plumber Trio‘ – Remixed by DJPretzel
Closing Music: ‘Eyes Behind The Mask‘ – Performed by VikingGuitar.

Games Featured:
Ninja Gaiden
Hudson’s Adventure Island
Strider
Cobra Triangle
The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Spoony’s Review of The Adventures Of Bayou Billy.
AVGN‘s Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
GameCenter CX – Ninja Gaiden.
GameCenter CX – Hudson’s Adventure Island.

Where Nintendo Power Once Stood, A Phoenix Arises (awesome-robo.com)
Nintendo Power Is Gone, But Nintendo Magazines Live On (kotaku.com)

Filed under: Video games, videos Tagged: Capcom, CES, Cobra Triangle, Games, Hudson, Hudson's Adventure Island, Konami, NES, Ninja Gaiden, Nintendo, Nintendo Power, Power Glove, Rare, Retro Gaming, Strider, Tecmo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Adventures of Bayou Billy, video game

Book Review – The Runestaff

Alexander Case — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:03:03 +0000

I’ve come to the last installment of the story of Dorian Hawkmoon with Michael Moorcock‘s book, The Runestaff. Now, the question is, how satisfying is this conclusion?

Image Credits
The Sword of the Dawn
Published by First Comics
Script by Roger Salick
Art by Rafael Kayanan
All used for purposes of criticism

The Runestaff
Published by First Comics
Script by Roger Salick
Art by Rafael Kayanan
Used for purposes of criticism

Writing and Michael Moorcock: What I’ve learned… (d20darkages.blogspot.com)

Filed under: Books Tagged: book review, Dorian Hawkmoon, Eternal Champion, fantasy, First Comics, Hawkmoon, Michael Moorcock, Rafael Kayanan, Runestaff, Sword of the Dawn