So it’s a new month, and a new THUMBS! This month I will be going back, waay back, into my memories of the before-time, back when I actually rented games, and bring to YOU the one true treasure that was worth the elusive RE-RENT. I also have a couple more new games, as well as an almost forgotten RPG of the PSX era. And then I present the one game that, perhaps, might change the face of the world as we know. Yes—it is that profound, and if you don’t believe me, go check it out yourself, because it is out there on the WEB! Wanna know what the hell I am talking about?! READ ON!
Blades of Steel (NES)
OH YES! It is the GREATEST hockey game of all time! Yessiree, this game holds the distinction of being my most rented game. Right above that classic The Goonies. The fact is I never even paid much attention to hockey until long after I had played this game for the first time. This game never even made me want to watch hockey. I don’t really remember much about the gameplay (standard NES hockey stuff I imagine), but what I do remember is one aspect: the fighting! See I THINK, at least it was for me, the first hockey game that featured the ability to toss down the gloves and bust open your pixeled opponent! Okay well you didn’t see blood and the characters were all only two colors. But it was FUN. It wasn’t a very easy thing to achieve either, so most of the playtime of this game was spent with me and a friend having our lil’ hockey dudes running into each other over and over until the fight screen popped up. GOOD TIMES!
Captain Eric’s Super Thumbs say… Thumbs UP!
Samurai Warriors (PS2)
Now this game is EXACTLY like Dynasty Warriors…and yet, somehow better. I can’t really explain it because every time I think of a reason, I remember that Dynasty Warriors is pretty much exactly the same. Historical characters from their culture, real weapons used in their respective time frames…so I really don’t know why this one’s better. I mean, both games are great; any game that lets you chop down opposing armies with a sharp object and a bow is good in my book! I think the graphics may draw you in more than with Dynasty Warriors, and the missions are more fun due to there being only two sides; but yeah, it is a fun game when you’re just in the mood to watch solider after solider fall before you as more just keep on coming!
Captain Eric’s Super Thumbs say… Thumbs UP!
Legend of Legaia (PSX)
So when I started playing this game, I thought it would be another average little Final Fanatasyish RPG. Upon seeing the beginning graphics, well, I still was thinking the same thing. Going through the story…I was still thinking the same thing. Notice the pattern? But wait! It is about to get interesting, because once you enter combat, you realize that this ISN’T just another Final Fantasy “I am a teenage hero here to save the world” kinda game. Well technically it is…the story is nothing really new, just a bit bland and generic sometimes. However the combat system really makes the game enjoyable. The magic…okay well the magic is pretty much standard with slight differences, like leveling up on use. But we aren’t MAGES here, are we?! Oh no, we all know that bashing stuff is the way to go, and in that sense this game shines! With a unique combo system that may or may not have been borrowed at times by Shadow Hearts, the battles are a lot more exciting than usual and seem to move at a much more quick pace, even though they probably are just as long/short as your average RPG. The fun of the battles comes from you not just attacking but choosing different areas to attack, and forming them into combos that do more damage. Really a fun lil’ time and a refreshing change from the mash-and-wait approach to most RPG fights.
Captain Eric’s Super Thumbs say… Thumbs UP!
Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo (PS2)
Have you ever wondered what your copy of Mario 64 would be like if, instead of starring the incomparable Mario and his all-star friends, it was instead occupied by that strange clayish bald guy and his dog that pop up from time to time?! Well of course you haven’t; that would just be plain silly. Of course you have more important things to do, such as reminisce on how great the last edition of THE THUMBS was. HOWEVER, if you were wondering what it would be like, you can stop right now, because they have made a game for you! Really now, that’s basically what this game is; no real need to go into it deeper. Take out Mario, thrown in a dog, presto, new game. Wonderful. Now I know here at the ‘Cola we have sort of some fetish for giving lameass cartoony games wonderfully high grades, but I’m sorry, I just can’t do it. No matter how much someone’s kid out there may or may not love this game, ENRIQUE must take a stand!
Captain Eric’s Super Thumbs Say… Thumbs Down.
Zork Thompson (PC) – http://home.cwru.edu/%7Etss9/zorkthompson.swf
Very few times in one’s lifetime does a videogame make you stop and think about how truly wonderful life is. This is that game for our lifetime, my friends. This MASTERPIECE will probably never be touched by any game for the next thousand decades, give or take an eon. From its pristine and picture-perfect graphics for a game of its type to the intense and insightful decision-making that it requires, it will undoubtedly be the game from which all other games are judged. It is a FLAWLESS production that I was truly humbled to be in the mere presence of.
Captain Eric’s Super Thumbs say… Thumbs UP!
So, I will leave you all with that. GO. PLAY. ENJOY! And be enlightened to the one true eye-opening game of our generation! You will not soon forget it. And worry not, the sleepless nights where you try to comprehend the true enormity of its greatness won’t last longer than a week or so, and you will be a stronger person for it!
