E3 : Extergaming

E3 Exergaming

E3 2004

By Steve Fulton

(Originally published on Gamerdad.com)

Exercise and gaming.  Ever since Nolan Bushnell introduced the first arcade dance-game through Bally/Sente in 1987, the very idea of getting exercise while playing video games has enthralled people like myself, who get bored after 30 seconds on an exercise bike, and can’t get to the gym on any consistent basis, yet could play video games all-day everyday.

While there have been dance pads, and other devices that have incorporated exercise and gaming in the past, E3 this year seemed to take this niche to another level.    One huge segment that I glossed-over, and wish I had not, were “drum” games like Donkey Konga.  Since these games only use a drum as a controller, and don’t force players to move their fat behinds, I did not include them here, but rest assured, exercise can ber obtained fro, those devices, as well as the following ones.

E3 Embraces The Classics

E3 Embraces The Classics
E3 2004
By Steve Fulton
Originally published on Gamerdad.com


E3 2003 was a huge disappointment for me.  It was my first time attending, and I my hope was to see all the cool new games, but at the same time, view some of the vast array of classic compilations that were starting to pop-up with amazing frequency.  As well, the newly formed Atari (Infogrames) would be there, showcasing why they had changed their name to that of world’s first great video game pioneers.  It looked like a bonanza for a classic gaming fan like myself.  However, it was not to be.  Besides a few trading-card based classic games for the  GBA, there were almost no golden-age games at the show.  Atari's booth (as this year) was closed to the public, and I could not find a way to worm my way in.  E3 it seemed was simply a show-case of tired, me-too 3D games with little room for innovation or reverence for the truly amazing game of the past. It was waste of my time, and a missed opportunity. I wasn't even sure I would ever attend the show again.

Review : Demon Star Secret Missions : PC

Demon Star: Secret Missions 2

PC

By Steve Fulton

“A frantic, kinetic 2D shooter unequaled on the PC platform”

Scott Host of Mountain King Software has been making shooters for the PC since 1993 with Galactix.  He followed that game up with the amazing (for it’s time) Raptor: Call Of Shadows and a few years ago with Demon Star.  All of these games featured sumptuous 2D graphics mixed with some of the best scrolling shooter action since Xenon 2: Megablast on the Atari ST and Amiga.   Obviously, the commercial market for a 2D scrolling shooter is not what it used to be, so Host went independent a few years ago, and never looked back.  

Demon Star: Secret Missions 2 and  both of it’s prequels are pretty much unequaled on the PC when it comes to scrolling shooters.  These games have everything you would want if you are hankering for classic 2D game play, and don’t know how to satisfy the hunger: dozens of enemies, tons of bolt-on weapons, boss-battles, multiple scrolling environments, and most notably, Multiplayer action.  You can play with a friend on the same computer, or even over a network.

Review : Big Mutha Truckers : PS2

Big Mutha Truckers
PS2
By Steve Fulton
(Originally published on Gamerdad.com)

Slam The Hammer Down, Blow The Doors Off This One And Give It A Big 10-22
To a 7-year old in 1977, Star Wars was the coolest thing ever conceived.  The second coolest thing was Evel Knievel and his insane jumps on motorcycles with factory suspensions.  The third coolest thing however, was American trucker phenomenon.  The mid 1970’s saw independent truckers and their CB lingo pull out of the truck stops and drive head-on into the American psyche.  Like most great American pop-culture mishaps (i.e. disco, 50’s sock hops, teenage scientists, wire-fu, bullet-time, etc.), it all started in the movie theatre.  It began with White Line Fever in 1975, continued with The Last Of The Cowboys starring Henry Fonda in 1976, reached an apex in 1977 with Burt Reynolds and Smokey And The Bandit, and petered-out (cut-off by the success of Star Wars) with the Sam Peckinpah directed Convoy in 1978. It is no coincidence that the last great western of 70’s, Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales, was released in 1976, smack-dab in the middle of trucker-movie era.   For a few short years (until Han Solo shot-first and rose above all comers), truckers replaced cowboys as the quintessential outlaw-heroes of the American West.   What drove this fascination with 18-wheels vehicles, and the people (mostly men) who piloted them?   The open roads and convoys of big rigs were like the romantic, wide-open spaces, wagon trains, and cattle drives of the western era.  “Smokeys” were like the corrupt town Sheriffs, or worse, the ruthless Pinkerton men.  Knowing the complicated CB language was like having a ticket into a private, FCC thumb-nosing party.   This was post-Vietnam, and heroes for kids were in short supply. As silly as it may seem, the truck-driver of the mid-70’s seemed to embody the All-American spirit of freedom, independence, free trade, and the dream of making your life into anything you want it to be.