There are plenty of horror games on a number of game systems that do stuff their own way or in a tribute. Titles like Spltterhouse, Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark, the list goes on. But how about Friday the 13th? The franchise has been around for almost 40 years and the only game it has prior to this May 2017 release is the NES game from 1988. You play this one, and you are hooked.
You can either be the good guys or the bad guy. As camp counselors, you must survive for 20 minutes, but there are ways of escaping Jason Voorhees. You have to find parts for cars and boats. Once you got them and for the cars, the keys, you can get out of harm's way. Be aware, though. Jason is one tough cookie and will stop you in those vehicles. There's always calling the cops... if you can find a phone box fuse. If they are called, you got a five minute waiting time before they show up and you go to them to successfully escape. There's also just going through those 20 minutes.
There's an assortment of counselors, some of which you will unlock over time as you play more of Friday the 13th. Each one has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some might have good stamina and repair skills with horrible composure and stealth and vice versa. It's a matter of who picks who when playing online. You will want to team up and escape, but scattering is not always a bad thing. Be aware of those skills. They will either help or hurt you. You can also set up distractions and use an assortment of weapons to stop the killer. There is health, which can be healed with first aid spray.
People can also play as Jason. There are various versions of him, each with pros and cons. Some versions may have better weapon damage or kills, and other ones might have better physical stats. Either way you must kill all the counselors Both sides will have traps that they can set. Jason has knives. He can use certain moves that are time based and need to fill up every time they are used. Either way, get rid of all seven, maybe eight if a counselor called for Tommy Jarvis. There aren't too many locations. After all, it's about being alone and fearing Jason.
It's not too bad graphically for being a Kickstarter game. There are some goofy looking models of some of the characters, but it captures the horror of being at a camp quite well. It's dark, there's only some lights in the area. The deaths are quite brutal. Add in the soundtrack and the theme of Jason, and this is the kind of game for some that will want you turning the lights off and cranking the sound up. The voice actors are believable enough to be scared and ready to wet their pants. Overall, those two facets cover strongly what should be done for something horror related.
When you play online, you get experience points and CP. The CP is currency. You can choose to upgrade the counselors and Jason. They have various perks, kills, the whole nine yards. Unfortunately, it's only a few slots, but that's perks of a horror game. You can't always carry everything. As far as other goes, there is offline play. You can customize the characters via the upgrades. Options can be tweaked for audio and gamma capabilities. Progress can be checked a little bit.
I don't have a lot of complaints about this game so far. The lack of jumping and even vaulting from fences is a bit annoying. There isn't much to say about the counselors, but with Jason, sometimes, tapping the button very quickly tires out your finger. That being said, you can still play well and get at least few counselors. Anyway, you should check out Friday the 13th. It's on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You will be having some fun in a game that is campy, cheesy, and knows when to throw the punches.
Score: 8 out of 10
Showing posts with label computers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Why Emulate?
This is a blog I've been wanting to write, but hearing about the Brazil museum fire that may have destroyed nearly all of its thousands of year old artifacts and relics, as well as a YouTube video about preserving game history, I have a reason to write this particular blog. Back in July, Nintendo sued a couple rom sites and it had a ripple effect on the emulation scene. For a number of people, including myself, emulation may be the only viable option when it comes to certain games. But why?
1. Availability: It's not a surprise that as the Internet has risen, gamers have immersed themselves in not just Nintendo stuff, but a lot of gaming history since at least the 70s. Unfortunately, when sites like EmuParadise close shop, thousands of games are lost. That's not to say they are entirely lost, but losing tons of Arcade games, DOS, and any system between the Atari 2600 and the PSP/DS, it really hurts. We can't always go to an arcade or use an old Windows 95 or XP computer. We can't always find a Sega Saturn or a 3DO out in the open in terms of both systems and games. It's sad that although Nintendo is within their rights, it hurts a lot more than they think just because they want to offer the same NES games for the fifth or sixth time.
2. Prices: Obviously, pirates will do whatever they can to emulate and not buy games. At times, however, we don't have all this money just to buy something like a Panzer Dragoon Saga or the Neo Geo library. At the same time, not everyone is willing to splurge 50 bucks on a used Nintendo game. Similar with availability, your choices may be limited depending on the systems you have and what games that are seen in at used game stores, yard sales. How much they are charging may make your decision easy or hard.
There's probably other reasons other people have, but that's what it boils down to. Unless you keep all your computers and have them well maintained, you have no choice but to use DOSBox. And Steam and GOG are not going to have every title due to copyright limbo, companies that have disappeared or have been bought, or losing a source code. There's a reason why Abandonware is loved. My Abandonware's top downloaded games are Doom II, Wolfenstein 3D, and WarCraft II. Thousands of DOS, Windows, and Mac games are available, but a very small amount can still be found on Steam and GOG.
Consoles suffer, too. Even with something like a Virtual Console, it only accounts for the big name titles or stuff that is owned by companies that have survived. We're talking anywhere from 5 to maybe 15 percent. Could be higher or lower, but overall, a lot of titles don't see the light of day again. Compilations have really helped since 1995-96 to help preserve a lot of arcade and console games, but there's still tons of them that have never gotten a port or anything. Licensed games suffer the worst along with any that have lost source codes. I'll go with the Crash Bandicoot trilogy. Vicarious Visions had to do the remaster from the ground up. People tremendously love Goldeneye on the N64, but it's license keeps it from being re-released.
Rambling aside, emulation is something that is dedicated by gamers. They put the effort in to make sure that a number of these titles can be looked at. From hits like Mario to the unfamiliar games like SkyRoads, it's a painstakingly approach and risk to ensure future generations can enjoy the over 40 plus years of what has been seen since Pong. Emulation will not disappear, and Nintendo's old fart executives in Japan will never understand that despite being within their rights to protect their copyright.
1. Availability: It's not a surprise that as the Internet has risen, gamers have immersed themselves in not just Nintendo stuff, but a lot of gaming history since at least the 70s. Unfortunately, when sites like EmuParadise close shop, thousands of games are lost. That's not to say they are entirely lost, but losing tons of Arcade games, DOS, and any system between the Atari 2600 and the PSP/DS, it really hurts. We can't always go to an arcade or use an old Windows 95 or XP computer. We can't always find a Sega Saturn or a 3DO out in the open in terms of both systems and games. It's sad that although Nintendo is within their rights, it hurts a lot more than they think just because they want to offer the same NES games for the fifth or sixth time.
2. Prices: Obviously, pirates will do whatever they can to emulate and not buy games. At times, however, we don't have all this money just to buy something like a Panzer Dragoon Saga or the Neo Geo library. At the same time, not everyone is willing to splurge 50 bucks on a used Nintendo game. Similar with availability, your choices may be limited depending on the systems you have and what games that are seen in at used game stores, yard sales. How much they are charging may make your decision easy or hard.
There's probably other reasons other people have, but that's what it boils down to. Unless you keep all your computers and have them well maintained, you have no choice but to use DOSBox. And Steam and GOG are not going to have every title due to copyright limbo, companies that have disappeared or have been bought, or losing a source code. There's a reason why Abandonware is loved. My Abandonware's top downloaded games are Doom II, Wolfenstein 3D, and WarCraft II. Thousands of DOS, Windows, and Mac games are available, but a very small amount can still be found on Steam and GOG.
Consoles suffer, too. Even with something like a Virtual Console, it only accounts for the big name titles or stuff that is owned by companies that have survived. We're talking anywhere from 5 to maybe 15 percent. Could be higher or lower, but overall, a lot of titles don't see the light of day again. Compilations have really helped since 1995-96 to help preserve a lot of arcade and console games, but there's still tons of them that have never gotten a port or anything. Licensed games suffer the worst along with any that have lost source codes. I'll go with the Crash Bandicoot trilogy. Vicarious Visions had to do the remaster from the ground up. People tremendously love Goldeneye on the N64, but it's license keeps it from being re-released.
Rambling aside, emulation is something that is dedicated by gamers. They put the effort in to make sure that a number of these titles can be looked at. From hits like Mario to the unfamiliar games like SkyRoads, it's a painstakingly approach and risk to ensure future generations can enjoy the over 40 plus years of what has been seen since Pong. Emulation will not disappear, and Nintendo's old fart executives in Japan will never understand that despite being within their rights to protect their copyright.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Thought on Game Sizes
No review today as I want to discuss an issue many gamers know about. You just got a game that you have been wanting to play for a while. Put it in your PS4, Xbox One, or Switch. Not a minute goes by where you have to let the thing download and install the file. What gives?
From the 70s, a lot of video games didn't hold much data. It was kilobytes, something that would continue on into the 90s where Genesis and Super NES games were still small. A little bigger but still in the kilo section. As file sizes got bigger, cartridges got more expensive, hence the 70 to 90 dollar games back in the early to mid 90s. Even with CD's, a lot of them had multiple discs as companies were trying to find ways to utilize the medium. Until the Saturn and PlayStation came, it was a mixed result.
With technology, it's obvious stuff gets bigger and bigger. A CD size was not enough by 2000 and the DVD started becoming the norm following the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2000 and 01 respectively. This is where instead of megabytes, we saw gigabytes. And that number has gotten higher with each new generation since to where the games now need download time. Personally, I don't see this going down anytime soon. It might get to the point where 200 gigabyte games might be the norm.
Computers suffer from the same thing, though it's mainly digital and the emphasis on using something like Steam or GOG. Discs are an afterthought, unfortunately. Stuff is not compressed and while that might be nice, it's not nice on people who may not have enough storage to do another download. PlayStation and Xbox have been able to compensate with very good storage size for the average person. Something like the Switch suffers from not having a huge storage size and the focus is getting SD cards if you are set on playing non-Nintendo games, which even something like Zelda takes up a good chunk of space.
It's following the same route as upgrading technology, though the leap in sizes will be much bigger. We just have to grin and bear it. Nothing is going to change, and we have to live through this for a very long time. Future generations will have it much worse long after we are gone from this planet.
From the 70s, a lot of video games didn't hold much data. It was kilobytes, something that would continue on into the 90s where Genesis and Super NES games were still small. A little bigger but still in the kilo section. As file sizes got bigger, cartridges got more expensive, hence the 70 to 90 dollar games back in the early to mid 90s. Even with CD's, a lot of them had multiple discs as companies were trying to find ways to utilize the medium. Until the Saturn and PlayStation came, it was a mixed result.
With technology, it's obvious stuff gets bigger and bigger. A CD size was not enough by 2000 and the DVD started becoming the norm following the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2000 and 01 respectively. This is where instead of megabytes, we saw gigabytes. And that number has gotten higher with each new generation since to where the games now need download time. Personally, I don't see this going down anytime soon. It might get to the point where 200 gigabyte games might be the norm.
Computers suffer from the same thing, though it's mainly digital and the emphasis on using something like Steam or GOG. Discs are an afterthought, unfortunately. Stuff is not compressed and while that might be nice, it's not nice on people who may not have enough storage to do another download. PlayStation and Xbox have been able to compensate with very good storage size for the average person. Something like the Switch suffers from not having a huge storage size and the focus is getting SD cards if you are set on playing non-Nintendo games, which even something like Zelda takes up a good chunk of space.
It's following the same route as upgrading technology, though the leap in sizes will be much bigger. We just have to grin and bear it. Nothing is going to change, and we have to live through this for a very long time. Future generations will have it much worse long after we are gone from this planet.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Catacomb 3D: Id's 2nd 3D try
With Hovertank, Id Software knew that things could get better if you keep working at your projects and get better with the technology. The capabilities was there. It was just a matter of fine tuning it to where you can outline a future project and do so much more and convince people to get computers. Catacomb 3D takes the first person approach, but in human format where you only see your hand on screen. This isn't a review. Maybe down the road, I will give a detailed one, but these are quick thoughts.
As I said in the Hovertank review, (http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/04/hovertank-dos-review.html) John Carmack was a genius with engines. Whatever he did with Catacomb 3D, there was decent improvements. It's the little details like the walls actually having textures and not being random colored walls. Enemies looked a bit more detailed and the hand sprite is not bad.
The way the game plays, it's like a lot of Id games. Part of it is like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and though published by them, Heretic. You have ways to heal yourself, use special weapons. There are lots of secrets with enemies. Like the Commander Keen games before this, you're hunting for keys. It feels like a big blueprint for how to be successful and be one of the most recognized companies in the world. Everything feels set up so that when Id did make Wolfenstein, they knew what worked and what didn't.
On May 5th, a review of Wolfenstein will be uploaded to this blog to commemorate 25 years of its original release in 1992. Hope to see you then. Do check out Catacomb 3D.
As I said in the Hovertank review, (http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/04/hovertank-dos-review.html) John Carmack was a genius with engines. Whatever he did with Catacomb 3D, there was decent improvements. It's the little details like the walls actually having textures and not being random colored walls. Enemies looked a bit more detailed and the hand sprite is not bad.
The way the game plays, it's like a lot of Id games. Part of it is like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and though published by them, Heretic. You have ways to heal yourself, use special weapons. There are lots of secrets with enemies. Like the Commander Keen games before this, you're hunting for keys. It feels like a big blueprint for how to be successful and be one of the most recognized companies in the world. Everything feels set up so that when Id did make Wolfenstein, they knew what worked and what didn't.
On May 5th, a review of Wolfenstein will be uploaded to this blog to commemorate 25 years of its original release in 1992. Hope to see you then. Do check out Catacomb 3D.
Monday, March 6, 2017
Sonic and Knuckles Collection (PC)- 20 years later
Around 1995, Sega started tinkering with some of their games and putting them onto computers. Their first few games were ones that were on the Genesis and Sega CD like Comix Zone and Tomcat Alley. After that, it was mostly arcade ports, Saturn ports, and original titles to boot. With their feet planted into that market, they continued in stride when they released Sonic and Knuckles Collection in early 1997. It is a very unique game considering it was for Windows 95, the current operating system at the time. With that in mind, has the game changed at all and does it hold up after 20 years?
This is one of those games that I would log a lot of hours in. Whether it was from Windows 95 in 1998 to mainly XP, this and Doom II kept me very busy during the 2000s. Until getting the Genesis version of Sonic and Knuckles in December 2011, this was my only way of playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I never realized that the game would not work on newer computers like Windows 7. With Windows 10, someone has made a program a few years ago that allows a few Sega PC games to work on modern computers titled Sega PC Reloaded. With that, it felt like the 2000s all over again playing it on Windows Millennium Edition and XP.
The overall package is you get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, both coming out originally in 1994 on the Genesis. They can be played individually or combined together for Sonic 3 and Knuckles. While that seems ludicrous today, the idea of having more than just one game on a medium was a novel concept in the mid 90s. At that time, there was Super Mario All-Stars on SNES, Namco Museum on the PlayStation, and Midway doing compilations of games from Atari, Williams, and themselves. Sega did a few with 6-Pak in 1995, and Sonic Classics in 97. Also included was the entire Blue Sphere game, which on the Genesis, had to be using the original Sonic 1 cartridge on top of the Sonic and Knuckles cart. Computers were getting in on this with Microsft having an arcade compilation of Namco arcade releases as a big example.
Graphically, nothing was changed for the compilation. Windows 95 was more than capable of doing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Even Windows 3.1/ DOS was doing ports of Mortal Kombat really well. The only thing I noticed was the colors looking a little sharper. Otherwise, all the same backgrounds, areas, and animations are intact. I did notice on a few Special Stages that the floor glitched while playing on Windows 10, but it was only two stages. I don't know how many are affected by this, but it's probably quite a bit if you include the Blue Sphere game. Nevertheless, it still looked as amazing as it was on the Genesis.
Unlike most games today where it can be emulated, Sonic and Knuckles Collection was from an era where Sega re-tooled certain parts. The audio went through a change to MIDI formats, which really stands out compared to modern re-releases of it. Sound effects are a bit clearer, but the same. Most of the soundtrack came through intact, but a good chunk of Sonic 3's music was replaced with original tracks. Some of which sounded really good, while a few others sounding out of place. Like what a few others have said on the Internet, there are two possible scenarios.
The first one is the sound cards. Windows 95 was capable of doing real music, but most companies were still using MIDI formats at the time. Possibly some of those tracks from the Genesis version would not have survived on the PC style music. The other one is because of fearing musician Michael Jackson. Jackson was hired to work on Sonic 3's soundtrack in 1993, but news of his molestation scandal late that summer forced Sega to drop him. Whatever music he did was kept on the Genesis version while others scrambled to get undone parts finished. Jackson would later go on to do Stranger in Moscow around the same time Sonic and Knuckles Collection came out, based a little bit on the instrumental part of the Sonic 3 credits. Whether he would have put up a lawsuit, who knows what he would have done. Whatever the case, Sega took it with extreme caution and put in original music to replace the ones that Jackson did.
Getting into the games, they are as if you were playing them on the Genesis. Every bug, secret, and ways of playing are here. The levels and their designs are left intact. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all play like they were back in 94. They use the same features, like Tails flying to get to certain areas that are inaccessible to the others. It's vice versa for the others as well. Every TV box is here. The Special Stages and Bonus Stages are all here. This was a port that showed that computers meant business and could handle the 16-bit games very well, if not, maybe better.
This game does allow two player co-op as Sonic and Tails. It means it also allows stuff like Gravis controllers, joysticks, etc to be used along with the keyboard. Whether there is enough room near your computer is up to the individual. Competition is still here in Sonic 3 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles, All the stages and the power ups are the same as you do five laps in one of the areas. When it's all said and done, this is the kind of compilation one would want, even with it being a straight port.
Not much can really be said on the Blue Spheres game. It's like an extended version of the Special Stages, except with thousands upon thousands of stages. One can do each stage individually or collect all the rings in one so they can go ten stages ahead. Thankfully, there is the password feature when finishing a stage like in the Genesis version when you have Sonic 1 put on top of Sonic and Knuckles. This is a nice bonus to have.
With it being on a computer, here's what Sonic and Knuckles Collection does. You can reset any time you want. You can go to the Blue Sphere game whenever or switch to another game of the three. Screen sizes are here and depending on the computer, it can go faster than you think due to what I've read as the refresh rate. I remember Millenium Edition and XP running it pretty fast in full screen and going extremely fast in the smallest screen. I think that problem might be fixed with modern computers though whether that is using Sega PC Reloaded or on it's own on other modern Windows systems like 7, I don't know. Other PC stuff includes a sound test, changing the controls, allowing a menu bar, and allowing a joystick. There is a help section, but I would not use it on any post XP computers. With Windows 10, it takes you to the Microsoft Edge website.
To answer the original question, it still holds up after 20 years. Outside of how you feel about the music, nothing changed. This is one of the greatest platformers ever, and one of the great compilations of its time. Try to get your hands on this version. The disc shouldn't cost that much. This is 90s gaming perfection.
Score: 10 out of 10
This is one of those games that I would log a lot of hours in. Whether it was from Windows 95 in 1998 to mainly XP, this and Doom II kept me very busy during the 2000s. Until getting the Genesis version of Sonic and Knuckles in December 2011, this was my only way of playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I never realized that the game would not work on newer computers like Windows 7. With Windows 10, someone has made a program a few years ago that allows a few Sega PC games to work on modern computers titled Sega PC Reloaded. With that, it felt like the 2000s all over again playing it on Windows Millennium Edition and XP.
The overall package is you get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, both coming out originally in 1994 on the Genesis. They can be played individually or combined together for Sonic 3 and Knuckles. While that seems ludicrous today, the idea of having more than just one game on a medium was a novel concept in the mid 90s. At that time, there was Super Mario All-Stars on SNES, Namco Museum on the PlayStation, and Midway doing compilations of games from Atari, Williams, and themselves. Sega did a few with 6-Pak in 1995, and Sonic Classics in 97. Also included was the entire Blue Sphere game, which on the Genesis, had to be using the original Sonic 1 cartridge on top of the Sonic and Knuckles cart. Computers were getting in on this with Microsft having an arcade compilation of Namco arcade releases as a big example.
Graphically, nothing was changed for the compilation. Windows 95 was more than capable of doing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Even Windows 3.1/ DOS was doing ports of Mortal Kombat really well. The only thing I noticed was the colors looking a little sharper. Otherwise, all the same backgrounds, areas, and animations are intact. I did notice on a few Special Stages that the floor glitched while playing on Windows 10, but it was only two stages. I don't know how many are affected by this, but it's probably quite a bit if you include the Blue Sphere game. Nevertheless, it still looked as amazing as it was on the Genesis.
Unlike most games today where it can be emulated, Sonic and Knuckles Collection was from an era where Sega re-tooled certain parts. The audio went through a change to MIDI formats, which really stands out compared to modern re-releases of it. Sound effects are a bit clearer, but the same. Most of the soundtrack came through intact, but a good chunk of Sonic 3's music was replaced with original tracks. Some of which sounded really good, while a few others sounding out of place. Like what a few others have said on the Internet, there are two possible scenarios.
The first one is the sound cards. Windows 95 was capable of doing real music, but most companies were still using MIDI formats at the time. Possibly some of those tracks from the Genesis version would not have survived on the PC style music. The other one is because of fearing musician Michael Jackson. Jackson was hired to work on Sonic 3's soundtrack in 1993, but news of his molestation scandal late that summer forced Sega to drop him. Whatever music he did was kept on the Genesis version while others scrambled to get undone parts finished. Jackson would later go on to do Stranger in Moscow around the same time Sonic and Knuckles Collection came out, based a little bit on the instrumental part of the Sonic 3 credits. Whether he would have put up a lawsuit, who knows what he would have done. Whatever the case, Sega took it with extreme caution and put in original music to replace the ones that Jackson did.
Getting into the games, they are as if you were playing them on the Genesis. Every bug, secret, and ways of playing are here. The levels and their designs are left intact. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all play like they were back in 94. They use the same features, like Tails flying to get to certain areas that are inaccessible to the others. It's vice versa for the others as well. Every TV box is here. The Special Stages and Bonus Stages are all here. This was a port that showed that computers meant business and could handle the 16-bit games very well, if not, maybe better.
This game does allow two player co-op as Sonic and Tails. It means it also allows stuff like Gravis controllers, joysticks, etc to be used along with the keyboard. Whether there is enough room near your computer is up to the individual. Competition is still here in Sonic 3 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles, All the stages and the power ups are the same as you do five laps in one of the areas. When it's all said and done, this is the kind of compilation one would want, even with it being a straight port.
Not much can really be said on the Blue Spheres game. It's like an extended version of the Special Stages, except with thousands upon thousands of stages. One can do each stage individually or collect all the rings in one so they can go ten stages ahead. Thankfully, there is the password feature when finishing a stage like in the Genesis version when you have Sonic 1 put on top of Sonic and Knuckles. This is a nice bonus to have.
With it being on a computer, here's what Sonic and Knuckles Collection does. You can reset any time you want. You can go to the Blue Sphere game whenever or switch to another game of the three. Screen sizes are here and depending on the computer, it can go faster than you think due to what I've read as the refresh rate. I remember Millenium Edition and XP running it pretty fast in full screen and going extremely fast in the smallest screen. I think that problem might be fixed with modern computers though whether that is using Sega PC Reloaded or on it's own on other modern Windows systems like 7, I don't know. Other PC stuff includes a sound test, changing the controls, allowing a menu bar, and allowing a joystick. There is a help section, but I would not use it on any post XP computers. With Windows 10, it takes you to the Microsoft Edge website.
To answer the original question, it still holds up after 20 years. Outside of how you feel about the music, nothing changed. This is one of the greatest platformers ever, and one of the great compilations of its time. Try to get your hands on this version. The disc shouldn't cost that much. This is 90s gaming perfection.
Score: 10 out of 10
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