Archive for Tag: Paul Franzen

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    Dear Readers: Atrophy

    Columns Columns by Paul Franzen on

    Along with fellow Team GameCola member Brian Wolf, I've been playing a lot of Secret of Mana (SNES) this month. We totally rock at it (though, let it be known that I'm the only one of us to have ever cleanly completed the game). Occasionally, somebody else from our dormitory here at Rutgers University will join up with us; but as a general rule of thumb, they don't know their rabites from their cups of wishes. It's sad, really -- all these kids who claim to have played SoM in their youth are now totally out of touch with the game. It's gotten to the point where we'd prefer to have the characters be powered by AI than by an actual human being. Anyone familiar with Secret of Mana should immediately see that this is a sad state of affairs.

  • The Mystery of Monkey Island

    Blog Posts Blog Posts by Paul Franzen on

    All right, so there wasn't really much to the plot. Something bad happens to your girlfriend/fiancé/governor upon whom you have this huge crush, and you have to defeat some pirate/skeleton/zombies in order to save her. Nothing we haven't seen before in countless other outlets of entertainment. So what makes the computer series known as "Monkey Island" so special? Why are the games so enthralling? And, perhaps most important of all, why was the last installment so danged terrible?

  • Peter Pan and the Pirates (NES)

    Reviews Reviews by Paul Franzen on

    If the name of this game looks familiar, congratulations—you are one of maybe five people in the whole world who remember that old Fox cartoon Peter Pan and the Pirates.  This Nintendo title really

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    Dear Readers: GameCola – The College Years

    Columns Columns by Paul Franzen on

    This is it. This is the last issue of GameCola to be produced partly in Tabernacle, NJ. By the time you'll have started reading my opening column, Brian Wolf, Matt Gardner, Jenna Ogilvie, Neal Iannone, and myself will all have started our freshman years at college.

  • WWF Super WrestleMania (SNES)

    Reviews Reviews by Paul Franzen on

    Haven't you always wanted to don the tights of pro-wrestling legend Typhoon? Yeah, me either.

  • Ren & Stimpy: Stimpy’s Invention (SG)

    Reviews Reviews by Paul Franzen on

    Well, at least the effort was there.

  • Dear Readers: Ghostbusters: The Videogame

    Columns Columns by Paul Franzen on Comments1

    Alright guys, I'm pretty sure that GameCola's among the first to break the news on this upcoming title... but Konami's coming out with a new Ghostbusters title for Playstation 2. No word on whether or not it will be ported to any other major consoles, but PS2 is a definite.

  • Hit of the Art Show

    Blog Posts Blog Posts by Paul Franzen on

    The Shawnee Art Show displayed the best of what my school's creative talent has to offer.  There were paintings, sculptures, photographs, children's books, masks, dishes -- several of which (among th

  • Taz-Mania (SNES)

    Reviews Reviews by Paul Franzen on

    Have your parents ever told you to not play in traffic? If so, then Taz-Mania is the Super Nintendo game for your inner rebel.

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    [NSFW] Dear Readers: Cursing is Uncreative

    Columns Columns by Paul Franzen on

    I've recently decided that I want to keep GameCola's level of cursing to a minimum.