NES at 35

Gaming was doing fine in Japan and Europe. North America had the arcades and computers, but consoles were struggling. Although it wouldn't be nationwide until the following fall, Nintendo got the revival of the console market in the States going with the NES on October 18, 1985 in New York. Small things that would eventually convince retailers to accept gaming again along with customers who may have felt burnt out from the era of Atari.

While progression has been key for generations, Nintendo wanted to avoid the issues that plagued the earlier era that caused the game crash a couple years prior in 1983. Some of it with some meaning, but mostly an iron fist clad that resulted in an illegal monopoly. Seal of quality label, companies not overloading with so many titles. Control of production with The Big N producing carts, exclusivity (something that is a question in gaming today). But the tactics faded away when other competitors at the start of the 90s began to take over. Sega and NEC at the start of the decade and then Sony in the middle of it.

The NES had a healthy life from late 1985 up to the very end of 1994. It was where many got to see the likes of Capcom and Konami. A rise in seeing established characters and franchises from any developer and publisher. Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, you name it. Duds from companies such as THQ. Lots of unlicensed material with Tengen being the most recognized with their big Atari ports. Genres that anyone could get into. Platformers, sports, shmups, beat em ups. The list goes on. 

It holds a special place for me since it was one of the very first systems I got to play along with the Genesis in 1993-94. I'd put it in my top five of best systems ever because it has its console games and the arcade pick up and play quality that felt more special compared to future Nintendo systems. Graphics and audio that when used well was excellent. Simplicity in controls.  One of the problems being difficulty being very cheap depending on the title and the quality of it. It may have had illegal methods, but NES still is a grand system to try out. Just make sure your systems are clean and work properly. That 72 pin connector was one of their worst ideas ever.

YouTube Videos: Oct 9-15

 

Punchy and Drunky

For goodness sake, don't do anything stupid while drunk. Like speeding 30 plus miles an hour over the speed limit. Call a cab or an Uber. The Denver Broncos don't have many options now at running back following Melvin Gordon's DUI charge. A few days ago, he was pulled over. Cops noticed the signs of intoxication. Tests were done. He'll be facing suspension for sure. Denver has to have a game plan on what could happen to him next in a month when his court appearance comes up. This is courtesy of local places in Colorado such as 9News.

New Orleans barely survived with an overtime win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. They did this without their star receiver Michael Thomas. An altercation occurred between him and second year corner Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Punches were thrown, Thomas was suspended. There is speculation on what might have happened. The thing is, Thomas has never had outside of some political tweets any sort of trouble. I can't think of any moment where he has made a nuisance of himself.

There might be a story on him having issues with the coaching staff. Possibly Sean Payton. Or that he wasn't suspended at all, but fined to set an example of what could happen next. Until things get calmer, the story probably won't be revealed until later on. We'll also have to see if Thomas starts having big issues similar to Antonio Brown. I think he's smarter than Brown and could handle stuff a lot better, but you never know. 

That's only scratching the surface in the South. Between the Atlanta Falcons and the coronavirus and Alabama's Nick Saban and their athletic director testing positive, football in October gets scarier and scarier.

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 46

 New episode.

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-46-Kid-Sue-Fire-el0kg4

Tell people about it. Support the podcast. Let's get an audience watching. It can be found on Anchor, RadioPublic, Google Podcasts, Breaker, and Spotify. 

The Walking Dead Telltale Season Two Review (PS4)

You have a hit, you should expect a sequel. The Walking Dead got its second season throughout 2013 and 14 and continued to do what the first one did. A continuation of the story is here. Some better graphics. Audio and gameplay that continued to provide what was needed. It finds its own ways to stand out without trying to repeat itself.

This time, it's not an adult you play as. You are Clementine, the seven year old from the first season. A few years older now in this one, she wants to find a place that she would call home in Wellington. However, it's not how things go plan in this apocalyptic world. With a group of survivors, she has to make those decisions that affect how the group does and if any of them live. They don't mess around with the plot and the writers don't care it's a little girl. That's what makes it intense and you want to hope for a good outcome, but with twists all around.

While there are some puzzle elements, Season Two is more linear. You get more a cinematic flavor to it. The decision making is back as is the dreaded time limit that was used for those decisions. There is some exploration, but not as much. Clem controls just like Lee Everett. Running, interacting, performing her share of tasks. There is a lot of quick time events and the style it is executed in is what would later be used in future Telltale games moving forward at the time.

It's not a huge leap in graphics, but you can see some of the improvements. Better use of the comic book style and still having that gritty style in it. Improved character modeling, but not too much. Some parts might make you a little queasy. The audio direction still creates those moments when things are cool or prepping for action. Add in another strong effort in the voice acting and it will feel like a full fledged production.

Load times are better. Maybe because it's on a newer system, I'm not sure. The difficulty is a little more easier. The only negative parts I have are the decision time limit and a couple spots where the quick time events weren't responsive. Season Two of The Walking Dead is another must buy. It doesn't stray from its ideals, but keeps it unique enough.

Score: 9 out of 10

Revamped PS Store?

Whether this story is true or not, I don't know. Sites such as The Verge talked about it with their source being a French Vita site. Sony is supposedly revamping their PlayStation Store on both the website itself and its mobile app. Come the 19th this month of October for the web and the 28th for the mobile app, things will look different. The big thing being the inability to buy PSP, PS3, and PS Vita games (their libraries and other ones like PS1 classics) from the web and mobile. You have to go through their stores on the actual systems to buy them.

If true, this was coming. I'm not enthused about it, but look at the Wii. That came out the same time as the PS3, and Nintendo shut down the Wii Shop in January last year. I can see Microsoft doing something like this in a year or two with the 360 and shut it down. Online, there is somewhat of a panic on forums. Some thinking it's all shut down. No, not yet. My biggest gripe with the PS3 store is that it is a bitch to scroll. Not so much the searching, but the bad frame rate. I'm not kidding. It can be slow as molasses.

The inability to buy PSP games is a bummer, but not a shock. It was discontinued about six years ago and the store was shut down in early 2016. There are still a lot of games physically for it, though. Only a matter of what digital games were exclusive and which ones made it to PS3. I don't know when PS3 will shut down entirely, but probably another year or two. It's hard to guess with these types of systems because some still game on it and the 360. Some say you can't find the titles on the scrolling menu. Not true. I was told about using the search feature and those ones not on the list came up when manually typing the title names.

I can't comment on the Vita since I've never played one. Never wanted one when it was brand new in 2012. More interested in playing Xbox 360 at that time and my family got a PS3 that Christmas. I'm assuming it has a similar situation to the PS3. Now, welcome to the future. In ten years time, we could see it not be able to download and purchase Vita games, PS1, and PSP games. It's inevitable. Same with the Wii U, 3DS, Switch, Xbox One, and any future consoles.

I can see homebrew coming in at some point. There will be a way. Also, gaming emulation still has its rough patches to deal with despite plenty of work being done for the last 15 years of gaming. PS3 has shown various progress. The Wii U and 3DS have their own emulators. PSP does. It's a matter of getting the thousands upon thousands of games to function and to preserve any of the digital only releases. Where will gaming take us in this decade? I don't know. But the preservation and attempt to keep interests in these systems alive will keep providing a legacy in what they offered. Get what you can from PS stores if you think this story is true, mainly PSP owners.

YouTube Videos: Oct 2-8

 

Drifting Suit

Sites such as Wired and Nintendo Life have reported on this. Since the launch of the Switch three and a half years ago, people have experienced what is called drifting. Analog sticks that are not centered anymore. While use causes that kind of wear for anything since the Nintendo 64, it's popped up more often. There have been lawsuits. The most recent coming from a ten year old and their mother. I will not reveal their names, but here's the skinny.

According to the sites, the ten year old has had a Switch for a couple of years, Their Joy-Con controllers experienced drifting. They got another set of controllers and not even a year went by and they drifted. While that may not be everyone's exact story, it's something that has been too common. Like anything with analog controls, it varies. But the stories that pile on all around, something's not correct at whatever manufacturing plant Nintendo has. They have been fixing them for free lately, but it may not be enough.

Nintendo's lawyers don't think it's a big deal. It kind of is. The Switch will probably be gone in roughly four to five years. Maybe three. Even if you do it yourself, people will want to be sure they are getting a system that has been properly taken cared of. These drifts will be a concern for the next ten years. Some people hold on to systems after they die out. Though it will not kill them severely (a light slap, really), the Switch is the only system they have now. It is still doing well, but they have to do much better. They can't keep being ignorant on problems that cause them to still be the love or hate company in gaming.

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 45

 New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-45-Sketch-Me-a-Fiery-Attack-ekmqvu

The Walking Dead Telltale Season One Review (PS3)

Let me preface this by saying I don't care for the television show of the same name. Anyway, The Walking Dead games is something only in the last couple of years I've enjoyed. My first experience was back in 2016 on the Xbox 360 with a demo and have since played it on PlayStation 3 version. It's a fantastic game that showcased what Telltale was great at, but also caused them to die.

The focus is on criminal Lee Everett. On his way to jail, it's the day of the zombie outbreak. Things spiral out of control. He manages to free himself and looking for help, meets seven year old Clementine in an empty neighborhood. With the two, they find themselves in situations where they have to survive on their own and with other survivors who have their own dilemmas. The bond between them brings a lot of emotion to it and you feel for specific characters.

A lot of the gameplay is based on choices. Older games from Telltale were more in tone with classic point and click games. There is some of the element in it, but the focus is more on a story and cinematic experience. It's choices include minor and major changes depending on the characters and situations. The choices are through a time limit, which is something I've never been huge on from the developer. A lot of their titles after that used this method.

The graphics are more of a comic book look, which is fitting. A little gritty with good animation. A step above some of the older games that Telltale made. Nothing that screams next generation, but its fine. The audio direction was well done. Music that creates tension and the action that occurs against the zombies and humans. Calm times before things get bad. Strong voice acting rounds out that facet of the game.

The controls work well with Lee. He interacts with objects and the conversations with other people. When needed, there is some quick time events, but they are not too common. There are a few puzzles here and there. It's designed to be linear with point A to point B moments. Not much exploration. But there is a mix of retaining some of the old elements and interjecting it with the new approaches. It is a bit easy and what you experience is up to you. Load times will be the main concern on a system like the PS3 and Xbox 360. 

The first season of The Walking Dead game is a must have for any system. Getting it right the first game is a necessary step to build a set of games.

Score: 9 out of 10