Retro

The world has always had a fascination with gold. We've used it for currency; we've crafted gifts and carved buildings out of gold. We've also taken it so far to build entire cities out of gold. Aside from diamonds the size of a skull, gold has always been valuable. Even in the future, where we have space ships and travel to other planets, it is highly sought after. So what happens when we find a way to clone gold? Most would consider this a good thing. Although the man who found out how to do just that has other plans with his gold cloning machine. This week we're looking at Blake Stone – Aliens of Gold for the “Back in my Day” review.

Kids are known for their crazy imaginations. Something as simple as clay could be a thousand different things to them. Through the years, some of them keep their imaginations close to them and rarely forget about the silly things they talked about when they were kids. I like to think that the creators of Clayfighters on the Super Nintendo were just that; big kids. That's right kids, for this weeks “Back in my Day” review, we're looking at Clayfighter.

Being let loose in Blockbuster during the mid 90's was euphoria for every early teen out there. Our eyes take on the effect of multiplying the size of the building by 100. We weave in and out of each isle of games unsure of which one we want for our two or three day weekend. We know that we must choose wisely lest we end up with a crap game. It has happened before, so we are all well aware of the dangers. I've been going down memory road for the past few reviews, so I figure to keep the journey going. This week I'm looking back on a sweet game that I picked up for my 90's weekend. The Chaos Machine for the SNES, or better known in the states as Soldiers of Fortune. This is a shoot'em up, but not the gory PC version that many are use to.

They say everyone remembers their first. For me, it was when I was nine years old, and I was hanging out with a kid who lived down the street. I don’t remember his name. I seem to recall his house smelling funny and giving me the creeps. I think his father may have been a lawyer. I do remember that he had all the newest games, all sorts of games. Games I had never heard of because they weren’t in Nintendo Power. That’s when I first fell in love; that’s where I first saw Secret of Mana.

The 90's marked an age of new ideas. New technology, new movies, and most importantly new video games. As we entered the 90's one of the most popular concepts of gaming was to create a game based off of a movie. Whether the movie was already out or soon to be released, developers everywhere wanted in on the action. Gaming companies pretty much had one sole goal when basing a game off a movie – to lure in those who were all hyped up about it. Today, we see a lot of companies doing the same, but the product that they pump out is normally a pile of steaming crap. It has been a long time since I've played a game based off a movie that was actually any good. Back in the day however, games were hit or miss and sometimes you ended up with a game that was quite golden being based off a movie. So what happens when a block buster hit has already been made multiple times and already licensed out to another company? Hit the jump to find out.

The 90s marked a slew of side scrolling action fighters like the popular Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat franchises. Others came along that weren't quite as popular, but still filled the arcade with button mashing madness, such as Real Bout Fatal Fury and the first polygonal appearance of Tekken. Every trip to the mall was a huge temptation for a kid barely in his teens. Do I spend money on things that I want in the stores or do I stand out here and blow $10 on arcade games set to insane difficulties? Fate smiled upon us kids though when all of these 2D fighter games got ported to home consoles. One of the more memorial ones for me was Samurai Shodown. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were favorites of course, but they didn't grip me as much as Samurai Shodown did.

People remember great movies, stories, and music. For video gamers, we remember great games that tell great stories, have great movies and great music. Back in the day, Thunderscape had all of these. I had played several RPG games before Thunderscape, but none that involved me having a large party and having different character skills. This week we're taking a look at the World of Aden, the setting of Thunderscape.

Time and time again we have all heard the old saying, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.” This is one of those sayings that definitely sticks for this week's review of “Odyssey, The Online Classic.” Oddly, the title of the game is strange in its own way as it is definitely not a classic of anything really, and has absolutely nothing to do with “The Odyssey” that some may be lead to think it is. Sometimes a name has nothing to do with the game, but the main concern is whether or not the game proves to be fun. Let’s take a more in depth look at what exactly is “Odyssey, The Online Classic.”

I'm sure we've got a ton of Tomb Raider fans out there. But before Lara Croft hit the Playstation (as well as the Sega Saturn and PC), Conrad Hart was fighting to save planet Earth from a whole slew of aliens. While I'm always a fan of the enormous polygon shaped jugs that is Lara Croft, Fade to Black gave me my first third person shooter experience. For all you Metallica fans, feel free to have some of their awesome guitar skills playing in the background for this review. We're taking a look at Fade to Black for the PC.

When gamers are faced with a game that is near impossible to complete with death lying around every corner, their normal reaction is to quit. This week we'll be looking at one of the most difficult games I have ever played, but have successfully completed. In Ragnarok, unlike Terminator or Legends of Valour, I emerged victorious and saved the world from certain doom. Ragnarok was one of those games that was just as difficult as the rest, but where determination proved successful. Hit the break to find out more about this awesome game back in the day.