Sega Roms Information

Ballz

2005-08-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ballz is a two player, 3D action, fighting game for the Sega Genesis, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the 3DO. It was developed by PF Magic and published by Accolade in 1994. The 3DO version was released as a director's cut in 1995. Ballz offered three difficulty levels over a total of 21 matches. Its distinguishing quality was that each of the characters were composed completely of spheres.

Though novel and addictive, this game fared poorly in the marketplace due to botched marketing. Accolade gave it little print advertising, but even the ads it did for the game gave little clue as to what type of game Ballz was. One just had an image of a Christmas Tree made of spheres and contained the caption "Tell your mom you want Ballz for Christmas." The box of the game also gave little hint of the type of game it was, since it depicted just a jumbled image of numerous spheres. Most people assumed it was some sort of Tetris clone.

Trivia

The opening of the game PF Magic developed for the game stated "To be the champion, you gotta have Ballz!" Due to its racy double-entendre, Nintendo demanded the wording be changed. Since Nintendo was the only manufacturer that could produce any SNES game, Accolade had little choice but to conceed. So the SNES version of the game states, "...you gotta play Ballz," while the Sega version uses the original version of the intro.

The Sega version of the game had a lot of trouble with sprite breakup, a common problem for many video games. Sega opposed to the great deal of breakup and rejected the game. Accolade and PF Magic fixed the problem by using a DSP chip on the catridge board, which fixed all instances of breakup. However, the chip added to the cost of each cartridge, forcing the developers to remove some features of the game. Therefore, many of the game's sound effects were removed—to save on the cost of the additional memory chip—and as a result some of the characters share sound effects. The entire catalog of sound effects is found on the SNES version.

Tactics Ogre

2005-08-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a tactical role-playing game game developed by Quest. It was originally released in 1995 on the Super Famicom in Japan, and re-released on the Sony PlayStation in 1997/1998. A Sega Saturn version was also released in 1996 along with the original Ogre Battle and both featured voice acting. It's the second game in Quest's Ogre Battle series (preceded by Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen) and the seventh episode in the series' storyline.

The game has a different style from most computer RPGs; the player builds up a team of several characters with changeable classes and fights on an isometric playing field. The gameplay is intermixed with expositional cutscenes revealing a deep plot, and the player has very little control outside of the battles.

Characters
Denim Powell- The main character in this game. He was born in the city of Griate, Valeria. He is the son of the village priest, Plancy. After Plancy was taken away by the Dark Knights and Griate was burned down by the Knights, Denim, his sister Kachua, and his friend Vice plan a vendetta against the Dark Knights.

Lans Hamilton- A holy knight from the Holy Kingdom of Zenobia. His identity is not well-known and he is said to have been exiled from his own country. He brings his men with him to Valeria, who are exiled as well, for a job and eventually meets Denim. Lans agrees to help Denim in his rebellious actions and accompanys him. Lans, Warren, and Canopus were characters in Ogre Battle.

Kachua Powell- Denim's sister. Daughter of priest Plancy. She follows Denim in his quest for revenge.

Canopus Wolff- Lans' companion. Nickname is the 'Wind Rider'. He is from Zenobia and has served in the revolutionary army of Destin and Tristan and restored the rightful throne of Zenobia. He follows Denim and Lans. Lans, Warren, and Canopus were characters in Ogre Battle.

This was the second game known to be directed by Yasumi Matsuno, following its prequel, Ogre Battle, with featured a considerably different game style. It has a few successors in spirit, including:

Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (Game Boy Advance)
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Nintendo 64)
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis (Game Boy Advance)
Each of these games shares similar gameplay aspects with Tactics Ogre. Ogre Battle 64 and Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis were not created by Matsuno. They were created by Quest after Matsuno was hired away by Squaresoft (Now SquareEnix) to create titles similar to the first two Ogre Battle games. Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are both Matsuno created, and were released by Squaresoft and SquareEnix respectively.

Toe Jam & Earl

2005-07-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

Toe Jam & Earl refers to a series of video games published by Sega, concerning the adventures of the eponymous characters, both aliens from the planet Funkotron: Toe Jam, a three-legged, stalk-eyed creature, and Big Earl, a giant sluglike being. All the games employ music and style derived from early-1970s funk music and culture, similar in some respects to the blaxploitation films of that period. The games were created by Toe Jam & Earl Productions Inc., of San Rafael, California.

Contents 1 Toe Jam & Earl
2 Toe Jam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron
3 Toe Jam & Earl III: Mission To Earth
4 Other Appearances

Toe Jam & Earl
The original Toe Jam & Earl, a two-dimensional action game, was released for the Sega Genesis game console in 1991. The game's premise starts with Toe Jam & Earl cruising the stars in their spaceship, when Toe Jam decides to let Earl drive. As a result, the pair crash-land on Earth, their spaceship broken into ten pieces. They must search for the pieces and reassemble their spaceship in order to return home to the planet Funkotron. As they do so, they face a variety of Earthlings that stand in their way, such as the Insane Dentist, Shopping Cart Mom, Nerd Herd, Cupid, and the Phantom Ice Cream Truck, each of which causes the player to lose health and eventually lives.

To defend against the Earthlings, a variety of power-ups are provided in the form of presents. Each present appears as a differently-wrapped package, which must be identified either by opening it or by other means. Some presents offer increased mobility for a limited time, such as the Super Hightops (increased speed), Spring Shoes (ability to jump), and Icarus Wings (flight). Other presents provide bonuses, such as extra bucks (which may be used to mail-order presents at mailboxes or to have presents identified by the Wise Man in the Carrot Suit without opening them) or extra lives. Still others are harmful, such as Schoolbook (puts the player to sleep for a time, making them vulnerable to attack) or Randomizer (scrambles all identified presents, requiring them to be identified all over again). Health bonuses in the form of food items are also found; some food items, however, cause the player to lose health rather than gain it.

The game has twenty levels, which are logically arranged vertically, one above the other. Players progress upward through the levels by means of an elevator, which appears on each map. Levels also have cliff edges, which the unwary player can fall from, landing on the next-lower level. The terrain also presents hazards such as deserts and lakes.

The game's two-player cooperative play is one of its most unique features. When two players play, the game keeps them on the same screen whenever feasible, but switches to split-screen rendering if they get far enough apart. Players can assist one another by performing a high five, which equalizes health between the two. A special present, Togetherness, allows a player to teleport to the other player's location.

Toe Jam & Earl was a hit on the Genesis platform; it has been suggested by some that, were it not for Sonic the Hedgehog, Toe Jam and Earl could have become the platform's unofficial mascots. The game appeared on top lists of rentals for years after its release, and is one of the best-remembered Genesis titles.

Toe Jam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron
A sequel to the original in the form of a side-scrolling game, Toe Jam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron was released for the Genesis in 1993. In this game, a number of Earthlings have stowed away on Toe Jam and Earl's spaceship, and are now infesting Funkotron. Toe Jam and Earl must capture the Earthlings in jars, and ship them back to Earth in rocket ships at the end of each level.

The player has a variety of "funk powers" to assist in evading and capturing the earthlings, such as Funk Move (allowing the player to pass through walls and other objects) and Funk Scan (revealing hidden items). Other bonuses are also found throughout the game, including minigames such as Jam Out (a rhythm-matching game requiring the player to press the controller buttons to match patterns shown on screen) and Hyperfunk Zones (a time-limited race to pick up bonuses). Presents and food items also show up, in a manner similar to that of the original game. Progress can be saved by means of passwords that are presented at specific points.

Panic on Funkotron has its fans, but many gamers thought the original Toe Jam & Earl was the better game of the two.

Toe Jam & Earl III: Mission To Earth
The third game in the series was originally intended for the Sega Dreamcast console, but, after Sega discontinued the Dreamcast, the game was retargeted at the Microsoft Xbox. A three-dimensional platform game, it was released in October 2002. The gameplay is primarily based on that of the original Toe Jam & Earl, though elements from Panic on Funkotron were also included.

For the more-capable platform, Toe Jam and Earl were given graphical makeovers; Toe Jam was dressed in a tank top, shorts, and a baseball cap to accompany his gold medallion, while Big Earl's polka-dot Bermuda shorts were replaced by blue denim, and he was given a knit cap. The two characters are joined by Latisha, a blue female insect-like character in blue jeans, a bra top, and gold bangle jewelry. Players may play as any of the three, and may switch between characters in mid-game using the Character Switch Platforms. (Additional playable characters may be downloaded via Xbox Live, as well as additional levels.)

The three are called upon by Lamont, the Funkopotamus (ruler of Funkotron and source of all Funk), to retrieve the twelve Sacred Albums of Funk, which have been stolen and hidden on Earth. As with the original Toe Jam & Earl, a variety of Earthlings stand in the way, many of which have carried over from the first two games. To fight against them, the player can use "funk powers" (as in Panic on Funkotron) such as Funk-Fu, a short-range energy blast, and Funkify Notes, which can be launched at enemies from a distance, to "funkify" the Earthlings and render them harmless. Presents and food items, many of which carry over from Toe Jam & Earl as well, are available to assist or hinder the player. The rhythm-matching from Panic on Funkotron also makes an appearance, in the form of Funk Rhythm, which funkifies nearby Earthlings or gives the player bonus points for matching rhythms by pressing the controller's buttons.

The levels, instead of being arranged in a linear fashion, are grouped into five zones, and accessed by collecting keys scattered throughout the levels. Each zone contains its own set of levels, as well as minigames in which the player must compete against the clock to win bonuses. The gates between zones are opened through special minigames, which must be accessed by collecting karaoke microphones, each of which requires the completion of a mission in one of the levels to acquire. Gradually, however, a more critical purpose is revealed, through cut scenes in which Lamont, in lines reminiscent of Star Wars (such as "I feel a great disturbance in the Funk"), tells the player of the existence of the "Anti-Funk," the game's final boss. Progress through the game is saved to the Xbox console's hard disk drive.

Toe Jam & Earl III received mixed reviews in the gaming community. Some reviewers felt it was one of the best platform games available on any console. Others dismissed it as suitable for fans of the original but otherwise relatively pedestrian.

Other Appearances
Toe Jam and Earl also appeared in Ready-Aim-Tomatoes!, a game packaged with the light gun for the Genesis, which involved Toe Jam fighting off Earthlings by throwing tomatoes.

Football World Cup video games

2005-07-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

FIFA has licensed Football World Cup video games since 1986, of which only a few were received positively by the critics, but given the popularity of the competition, they all did positively on the market, and the license is one of the most sought-after. Originally in the hands of U.S. Gold, Electronic Arts acquired it in 1997.

World Cup Carnival

C64 versionWorld Cup Carnival, released by U.S. Gold was arguably the worst start a franchise could have. While the license was acquired in time and was carefully planned, internal problems dragged development until it couldn't be completed nowhere near a commercially usable date. As Mexico '86 was coming closer, U.S. Gold decided to acquire the rights of an older game, World Cup Football by Artic, and re-fitting it with the licensing items, marketing it as a revolutionary title. However, this late effort was received with cynicism from everyone in the video game industry: gamers, retailers and reviewers, and started a trend of "less than what was expected" games based on football licenses. It was published on the C64, the ZX Spectrum and the Amstrad CPC.

Italia '90
There are three games named after the 1990 World Cup, all of which seemingly had the rights to display both official logos and Ciao, the mascot. One version was developed by U.S. Gold, and is a significant improvement over World Cup Carnival. With some similarities with Tehkan World Cup, the game had all teams present in the competition, and played through a birds' eye view similar to Sensible Soccer. It was released for the Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, C64 and personal computers.

The second title was developed by Sega, and has some similarities with the US Gold title, more noticiably the corner and goal kick screens. Teams are mostly based on the Mexico'86 lineups with some changes, and features player selection, with each player having individual ratings. It has a top-down view like Kick Off. Later, it was renamed to World Championship Soccer, and continued to be sold long after the World Cup ended. There is a Master System version with the official teams and calendar of the competition, but with only eight non-selectable players each side and just vertical scroll, but still some of the elements of the 16-bit version made their way into the game.

The final, and less known title was developed by Novotrade and published by Virgin Interactive. Unlike the other two titles, World Trophy Soccer was more an arcade game than a serious attempt on simulating the sport: it only had seven players aside, the game only lasted for one half and it followed a fixed playoff tree where the player had to beat all opponents. Because of that, only four teams (Belgium, Italy, Spain and England) could be picked by the player.

USA '94

Mega CD coverThe last game in the series by U.S. Gold was also the first to leave some of the mediocracy of previous titles and achieve average reviews. Keeping the same birds' eye view, but with more responsive gameplay, resembling Sensible Soccer, it was ported to most active platforms of the day: DOS, Amiga, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega CD, Master System, SNES and handhelds Game Boy and Game Gear. The Mega CD version included a CD soundtrack including two songs by the Scorpions and FMV views of 3D renders of the stadiums used in the competition.

France '98

PC coverFor the first time in a soccer game, accurate national team kits were introduced complete with kit manufacturer logos and official merchandise. The game engine is basically a remake of the FIFA 98 engine although it features some minor gameplay improvements such as ingame strategy change and more tactically accurate player positioning. And as the FIFA Series, France '98 features a song in the menu. It´s "Tubthumping", by Chumbawamba. The game also features voice-overs by Gary Lineker in the team schedules. The World Cup classic mode is also an interesting feature, with classic black and white sepia-toned graphics and commentary by Kenneth Wolstenholme creating the feeling of watching an old World Cup game. The playable teams also included several nations that did not qualify for the finals, but were considered too important to exclude. It was released for Windows, PSX, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color.

Korea/Japan '02
An amalgamation between the game engines of FIFA 2002 and FIFA 2003, the game still incorporates the power bar for shots and crosses but with a steeper learning curve and higher chances of being penalised by the match referee. The national team kits are accurate along with player likenessess and the stadia of the 2002 World Cup. It was released for Windows, PSX, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance.

Zero Wing

2005-07-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

Zero Wing is a 1989 Japanese shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Toaplan. Like other shoot 'em ups of the time, it featured no real plot, except to distinguish that the player is a lone hero who will save the universe from bad guys. However, it enjoyed a degree of success in the arcade, and was thus ported to the PC Engine and Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) in 1991.

All your base are belong to us
The reason for Zero Wing's popularity beyond its release as an arcade game and video game is due to the additions made to the European Mega Drive version. To expand on the game's plot, an introductory cutscene was added to the game. This introductory scene was poorly translated to English for the European release, with one clip reading: "All your base are belong to us. You have no chance to survive make your time!" The intro does not appear in the arcade version.

In 1999, Zero Wing's Engrish intro was re-discovered by members of OverClocked Remix, culminating in the wildly successful "All your base are belong to us" memetic phenomenon. This also popularized the introductory and level 1 background music by Tatsuya Uemura.

The console version of Zero Wing was released in North America for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) and the arcade version was distributed by Williams Electronics.

Gameplay
As per other shooters, the aim of the game is to shoot all other enemies that appear on screen and avoid crashing into bullets, enemies, or foreground scenery. There are mid-level and end-of-level boss enemies that stay with the player until they are defeated.

The player, a "Zig" fighter ship, has several ways to attack:

Using The main cannon: scatter-shot (red weapon), lasers (blue weapon) or homing missiles (green weapon).
Ramming smaller enemies with the little extra ships that appear above and below the ZIG.
Grabbing a smaller enemy and throwing it at another enemy, similar to the Kirby games.
Releasing the spherical front shield once it is collected, like in R-Type.
Soon after starting, the player encounters power-up ships. If shot, they leave behind power-ups. These run in the sequence of the red weapon, blue weapon, green weapon, and speed-up. There is also an occasional shield power-up, which attaches to the front of the ship. Once the first weapon power-up is collected, two small ships appear above and below the ZIG, and follow its exacting movements. These extra ships are impervious and can be used as shields. As they occasionally move nearer the ZIG when blocked by large enemies or foreground scenery, they can serve as a warning to the player that they should move carefully to avoid a collision.

Each of the three main weapons has three power levels. Each time the same weapon is collected, the power level increases. If a different weapon is collected, it starts back on level 1 power, unless level 3 power was already attained previously. There are also two special powerups, one in level 1-1 and one in level 4-3, which increase all weapons to a special, otherwise unattainable level 4. In the intro scenes, the ZIG's windows are green. In the game, the windows change color depending on what weapon the player has

Zombies Ate My Neighbors

2005-07-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a shooter-style video game for the Super Nintendo and Genesis gaming systems. The game was produced by LucasArts as a comical tribute to both classic and schlocky horror films of the 1950s and 1960s. In some English-speaking countries the name was considered unsuitable, and so it was renamed, simply, "Zombies". The crazed guys with chainsaws and hockey masks were replaced with lumberjacks with axes, and levels such as "Chainsaw Hedgemaze Mayhem" were renamed to suit.

Gameplay

Zombies Ate My Neighbors title screenThe player chooses between two teenage characters, Zeke and his sister Julie, both of whom can be controlled in multiplayer mode. They navigate suburban neighborhoods, shopping malls, pyramids, and other areas, destroying all variety of horror-movie monsters, including vampires, werewolves, huge demonic babies, and the game's flagship, zombies. In each of the 45 stages the goal is to rescue all surviving neighbors, at which point a magical door takes the player to the next stage. If all of the neighbors survived the player also gains an extra life.

The weapons are wild and wonderful. The most normal weapon is a bazooka, which can break through cracked walls and shoddy hedges but the firing recoil throws the user several paces backwards, but most weapons are footballs, cutlery, plates, Martian bubble guns, popsicles (originally bananas in the "Monsters" beta version), tomatoes, soda cans, and so forth.

The player also has a variety of secondary items available; these include inflatable clowns, Pandora's Boxes, health kits. Most interesting are the monster potions; there are a variety of transformations available depending on the potion's colour. The player can become intangible (able to walk on water and straight through enemies to save the neighbors), or turn into a big purple Hulk-like monster (indestructible and immensely strong, but cannot swim or use trampolines). The potion with a question mark is the most dangerous. It can give the effects of the other potions, or heal them, or hurt them, or even make them turn into a zombie, no longer controlled by the player but instead wandering aimlessly. If they come near a neighbor in this state they rush over and kill them!

The game makes several references to horror movies, including An American Werewolf in London, Child's Play, Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Tremors.

There was a sequel, Ghoul Patrol, but it lacked the heart of the original and opted for more realistic graphics and monsters, and is considered by many to have killed the series off.

Worms

2005-07-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Worms World PartyWorms is a series of turn-based computer games with the common theme of players each controlling a small platoon of worms across a two-dimensional (and, in more recent games, three-dimensional), deformable landscape. The series is decidedly tongue-in-cheek, typified by cartoon-style graphics and an eclectic and bizarre set of weapons. Worms is part of a wider genre of turn-based games in which each player controls characters who duel with projectile weapons; predecessors include Scorched Earth and Gorilla. The game, whose concept was devised by Andy Davidson, is thought to have been inspired by Lemmings, with which it shares many similarities.

Contents
1 Games in the series
2 The game
3 Weapons and tools
4 Online play
4.1 Battle Race
4.2 Bazookas and Grenades
4.3 Capture the Flag
4.4 Elite
4.5 Fort
4.6 Rope Race
4.7 Roper
4.8 Shopper
5 External links

Games in the series
The Worms series consists of, in order of production, the original Worms game, Worms Reinforcements, Worms & Reinforcements United, Worms: Director's Cut, Worms 2, Worms Armageddon, Worms World Party, Worms 3D, Worms Forts: Under Siege, and Worms 4 : Mayhem, as well as a number of smaller spin-offs including Worms Pinball and Worms Blast. The game was originally a fan project, created with a cut-down version of Blitz BASIC given away with an issue of Amiga Format magazine. It later evolved into a full commercial game, developed by Team 17 originally for the Commodore Amiga computer. These games have been released regularly since the mid-1990s, and are available for Windows and Mac based computers, Amiga systems, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Nokia N-Gage, SNES, Sony PlayStation , Sega Saturn, and PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and possibly others.

During the development of Worms 2, Andy Davidson wrote Worms - The Director's Cut, an exclusive special edition produced exclusively for the Amiga. This was, to his eyes, the pinnacle of the series. Featuring weapons not seen in any Worms game before or since, it looks like an enhanced version of the original game. Although many die-hard fans feel it is the best Worms game ever made, only 5000 copies were ever sold.

In 2003, Worms 3D was released. This was the first game in the series to bring the annelid characters into a three-dimensional environment. It features an innovative poxel engine, described as a hybrid of polygons and voxels (the 3-D analogues of pixels). This allows for pseudo-realistic terrain deformation similar in style to the 2-D games, in which the terrain was represented by a bitmap.

The latest complete game in the series is Worms Forts: Under Siege, for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. It was released in November 2004 and features the biggest variation on the gameplay that the series has yet to see. Rather than fighting only worms on a fully destructible land, your worms are able to build forts. The object of the game has changed from only killing the worms, as you can now win a game by destroying the opponent's fort.

Worms 4: Mayhem will be released in mid-late 2005, aiming to be a revamp of the original Worms 3D engine, featuring smoother terrain deformation and making extensive use of cel-shading techniques. The gameplay will be much the same as it was in Worms 3D, but new gameplay modes will be introduced.

Two new 2D Worms games, one for Nintendo DS, the other for Sony PSP, have been announced to be in production. Both will be specifically designed for the handheld systems. No release date is currently set.

The game
Each player controls a team of several worms. During the course of the game, players take it in turns to select one of their worms and use whatever tools and weapons are available to kill the opponents' worms and win the game. Worms may move around the terrain in a variety of ways, some requiring particular tools such as the "Bungee" and "Ninja Rope". Each turn is time-limited to ensure that players do not hold up the game with excessive thinking or moving.

Over fifty weapons and tools may be available, but games are usually played with a reduced and thus less complicated arsenal, the settings for which are often saved into a "scheme" for easy selection in future games. Over time players have developed and refined a large number of very different and unusual schemes that do not always stick to the traditional worms gameplay.

Other scheme settings allow reinforcement crates to be deployed, from which additional weapons can be obtained; "Sudden Death" whereby the game is rushed to a conclusion after a time limit expires; and the inclusion of terrain objects such as land mines and explosive barrels.

Most weapons, when used, cause explosions that deform the terrain, removing chunks. The landscape is an island floating on a large body of water, or a restricted cave with water at the bottom. A worm dies when it enters the water (either by falling off the island, or through a hole in the bottom of it), or when its health is reduced to zero by, most commonly, contact with explosions.

Weapons and tools
Main article: Worms weapons and tools

A feature that makes Worms known among many gamers is its wide variety of weapons. As new versions are released, new weapons are added to the collection, and very few are removed, if any. As a result, newer games offer about 50 weapons.

Since Worms Armageddon, weapons that were intended to aid as utilities rather than damage-dealers (though some of them can also be used to deal damage when used in certain ways) were classified as tools. This classification mainly differs in the fact that they don't fall in ordinary weapon crates, and instead appear on toolboxes.

Online play
In Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party, and all future games of the Worms series, there is a feature called WormNET that allows players to compete over the Internet, using a Metaserver. There are a variety of unusual schemes that have been developed and refined by the WormNET community that are often played instead of the official schemes created by the original developer of the game. Some schemes have "rules" that are not enforced by the game itself, but are expected to be followed by players for the purposes of playability.

For reference purposes aimed at new players already familiar with the game in general, these schemes are described here (victory requires destruction of all opponents unless otherwise stated):

Battle Race
In Battle Race (BR) The terrain resembles a maze and is indestructible (unaffected in any way by use of weaponry). The object of the game is not to kill the opponents' worms but to be the first player to move your worm from the "Start" to the "Finish", which often takes many turns. The Start and Finish denote small regions of the terrain, normally marked by S and F respectively, formed out of the terrain itself. At the beginning of the game all players must place their worm, and do so by clicking in the Start region. The game ends when a player reaches the Finish, and all other players are obliged to surrender.

Bazookas and Grenades
With the Bazookas and Grenades (BnG) scheme you are allowed only to use bazookas and grenades, and some close combat weapons, to attack the enemy. "Anchoring" is a common setting in this scheme, whereby the worms are denied movement unless through the use of a tool such as "Blowtorch" or "Teleport", which the player is limited to a small allocation of each. A common rule in BnG is "no baking"/"no sitting" (among other names). This means a player cannot use the 5 second fuse on the grenade; more specifically, the player cannot drop a grenade next to the opponent and allow the fuse to burn down - the grenade must explode before it comes to a rest.

Capture the Flag
Capture the Flag (CTF) is a variation of the Fort scheme (see below). In this variation, victory can also be achieved by destroying the opponent's "flag", usually a small icon drawn into the terrain.

Elite
Elites are standard games similar to the default intermediate scheme which are usually played 1v1. The difference is that there is a higher degree of skill and strategy required due to only 20 seconds per turn. There are no rules, but other noticeable differences in the set scheme include the placing of worms at the start of the game, instant mines and the rapid water increase in sudden death.

Fort
Players are divided up into two teams. Each team places their worms on a pre-decided side of the terrain, which is normally fashioned to resemble two castles with a body of water between them. Invading the opponent's fort by sending a worm to the other side is normally forbidden, as is "fishing" whereby crates on a team's fort are stolen by the enemy.

Rope Race
Rope Race (RR) is essentially a Battle Race, but with all weapons disabled and only "Ninja Rope" at your disposal. You place your worm or worms at the location marked Start. Attacking (knocking) other worms is a cow. Try to keep your parachute active, so you do not lose your turn if you fall. To win, get your worm to the location marked Finish, or in some games, there and back. If you have two worms, you can win either by getting both to Finish, or one there and back.

Roper
Ropers (aka "Propers" or "ProRopers") are popular games in which a cavern terrain is used to stage a display of considerable skill with use of the "Ninja Rope", where players attempt to kill each other by launching Land Mines, Bazookas and Grenades from the Ninja Rope after first collecting a crate (this collection is compulsory and abbreviated as the "CBA" rule (Collect Before Attack/Crate Before Attack)) Attacking a player in last position (i.e. lowest total health) is forbidden by the "ABL" rule (All But Last) unless other players' worms are also injured in the same attack (the "Piles" rule).

Shopper
Shopper (aka "Shoppa") games utilize the CBA, ABL, and AFR (Attack From Rope) rules. Players attack from a rope if the weapon is compatible, and it's required that players attack each other with whatever weapons they can collect from crates. Variations of this are W2W (Wall to Wall), in which players are required to have their worm touch both walls of the map or other designated walls before attacking. Newer variations of W2W include W3W, W4W, W5W, W6W and sometimes more. Another variation is "Fly Shoppa", in which the map contains a large obstacle in the center over which players must "fly" by launching their worms from ropes, soaring to the other side before being allowed to attack. The Shopper game has unique maps, usually of a cityscape. One of the first maps to start this trend was "City Shopping 2001", by a player called Dogma. The "City Shopping 2002" map, also by Dogma, became one of the most well-known maps in the game, for its excellent design, hiding holes, and pitfalls.

Thunder Force

2005-07-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

Thunder Force (also spelled Thunderforce) is a series of scrolling shooter type video games developed by the Japanese software company Technosoft (a.k.a. Tecno Soft). The games are known by fans of the genre for their hardcore appeal, pleasing graphics (for their time), and generally well composed Synth-rock based soundtracks.

The Thunder Force games have appeared on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, Super Famicom/SNES, Sony Playstation, and Arcade gaming platforms. They have also appeared on the Sharp X1, Sharp X68000, Sharp MZ-1500, NEC PC-8801 mkII, NEC PC-9801, NEC PC-6001 mkII, and Fujitsu FM-7 computer systems.

The series currently consists of five games:

Note: Since Thunder Force II through V have multiple difficulty and gameplay settings, the following sections are written under the assumption that the games are operating on their DEFAULT settings.

Contents [hide]
1 Thunder Force
2 Thunder Force II
3 Thunder Force III
4 Thunder Force IV
5 Thunder Force V
6 Other notes
6.1 Gold Packs
6.2 Thunder Force VI?
6.3 Trivia
7 External Related Links
8 References

Thunder Force

Thunder Force
Thunder Force (in game)Thunder Force was released in late 1983 exclusively in Japan. Known versions of it exist on the following Japanese based computers: Sharp X1, Sharp MZ-1500, NEC PC-6001 mkII, NEC PC-8801 mkII, and Fujitsu FM-7. In 1984, an add-on was released named Thunder Force Construction for the Fujitsu FM-7, and NEC PC-9801 computers. The add-on allowed players to create custom made areas.

For the most part, the setting of the Thunder Force games (excluding the fifth) are centered around the war between the "Milky Way Galaxy Federation" (good guys), and the "ORN Empire" (bad guys). In the first Thunder Force, the ORN Empire has built a large fortress named the Dyradeizer to oppose the Galaxy Federation. In addition to its high firepower capabilities, Dyradeizer is supported by shield generators hidden in various locations by ORN, which render the fortress invisible. In retaliation, the Galaxy Federation sends their specially designed fighter, the Fire Leo, to destroy the shield generators and reveal and destroy Dyradeizer.

The structure of the game consists of overhead, free-directional scrolling areas and the player's ship is armed with main shot to shoot airborne targets and a bomb shot to shoot ground enemies. Gameplay consists of flying the Fire Leo over ORN occupied areas while destroying enemy base installations and turrets. Each area has a certain number of shield generators hidden under the ground based enemy targets; in order for an area to be completed, the shield generators must be found and destroyed. After doing so, the Dyradeizer will temporally appear, giving the player a chance to cause damage to it. Once a few minutes have passed, the Dyradeizer will disappear and the player will be taken to the next area to repeat the process.

Graphic and sound wise, Thunder Force is very crude and modest compared to its successors, and is the most obscure game of the series (at least from a non-Japanese perspective).

Thunder Force II

Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II (in game)Thunder Force II was first released in Japan during 1988 for the Sharp X68000 computer. A year later, it was ported to the Sega Megadrive/Genesis game console and released in Japan (under the name Thunder Force II MD), Europe, and the United States.

Soon after Thunder Force, the ORN Empire creates a powerful new battleship, the Plealos (a.k.a Preareos). Using this battleship, ORN once again attacks the Galaxy Federation. The outcome of the attacks result in the destruction of the Galaxy Federation affiliated planet of Reda, and heavy destruction on the planet Nepura (a.k.a. Nebula), which ORN eventually captures from the Galaxy Federation. Eventually, the Galaxy Federation learns that ORN houses Plealos deep below Nebula's surface when not in use and takes the opportunity to plan an operation to take it down. They send the next iteration of their "Fire Leo" series fighter craft, Fire Leo 2 "Exceliza", to destroy ORN bases on Nepura and eventually find and destroy Plealos.

Stages in the game were split into two formats: The free-directional scrolling, overhead stage format from the previous game (referred to in game as "top-view stages"), and horizontal, forward-scrolling, R-Type-esque stages (referred to as "side-view" stages). Each stage begins in the top-view perspective, where the player has to locate the cores of a certain number of major enemy bases and destroy them. After this is accomplished, the stage continues from the side-view perspective, which plays like a traditional horizontal scrolling shooter. After the boss of the side-view sub stage is defeated, the player moves on the next stage.

Building upon its predecessor, Thunder Force II introduced a weapon system that would become the staple for the rest of the series. The player's ship now has default arsenal of weapons which include a twin, forward firing shot(the "Twin" shot), a single forward, and single backward firing shot(the "Back" shot), and a bomb shot in the top-view stages. By collecting certain items, the default weapons can be upgraded to more a powerful level. Also, the player could obtain a certain number of new weapons with various unique abilities by collecting the weapon's corresponding item (the "Hunter", a signature weapon of Thunder Force, debuts in this game). Once obtained, the weapons can be switched between at the player's desire, but once the ship is destroyed, all weapons would be unequipped except for the defaults. Because of this, it is advantageous for the player to prolong survival. The top-view and the side-view stages have different sets of weapons; losing weapons in the top-view stages do not affect the weapons equipped in the side-view stages and vise versa.

Thunder Force II also introduced the CRAW add-ons. (Also commonly referred to as CLAW, causing some confusion as to what is the proper term.) The function of the CRAWs is to circle the ship and block (weak) incoming bullets and also to provide extra firepower by firing single, normal shots. The player could collect up to two CRAW's at a time, but will lose the CRAWs upon ship destruction. Exclusive to this game is an item which temporally increases their orbit speed, making them more likely to block bullets.

The X68000 version of the game has slightly better visuals than its Megadrive/Genesis counterpart. For example, some of the top-view oriented stage backgrounds have parallax scrolling/transparency effects which the Megadrive/Genesis version lacks. This can be most readily be seen from the water in the first top-view stage. The X68000 version has clearer voice samples, including extra voice effects such as the "Shit!" exclamation heard after player's last life is lost. The X68000 version also has an introduction sequence, and a top-view stage and side-view stage that is not found in the Megadrive/Genesis version. Finally, both versions have a few weapons unique from each other (for instance, "Sidewinder" in the X68000 version corresponds to "Nova" in the Genesis version).

Thunder Force III

Thunder Force III
Thunder Force III (in game)Thunder Force III was released in 1990 in Japan, Europe, and the United States for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis game console. During the same year, it was retooled into an Arcade game and released in Japan, Europe, and the United States as Thunder Force AC. In 1991, Thunder Force AC was ported to the Super Famicom/SNES, renamed Thunder Spirits. This port was released in Japan and the United States.

The setting of Thunder Force III takes place about 100 years after Thunder Force. Apparently, despite their successes, the Galaxy Federation has not been faring well in their battle against the ORN Empire. ORN has installed cloaking devices on five major planets in their space territory that conceal their main base, making it difficult for the Galaxy Federation to locate and attack their headquarters. In addition, ORN has built a remote defense system to protect itself named "Cerberus", which is especially efficient at neutralizing large ships and fleets. Knowing this, the Galaxy Federation creates the Fire Leo 3 "Styx"; a craft small enough to not be detected by Cerberus, yet equipped with the firepower of a large starfighter. The Galaxy Federation send Styx on a mission to destroy the five cloaking devices, infiltrate ORN's headquarters, and destroy ORN's emperor, the bio computer "Cha Os".

For Thunder Force III, the free-directional, overhead stage format featured in the previous two games is removed and replaced entirely by the horizontally aligned stage format. The horizontal format becomes the new standard for the following games. Gameplay wise, among the five major planets the player will travel to (Hydra, Gorgon, Seiren, Haides, and Ellis), the game let's the player choose which planet to start on. After the first five stages are completed, the game continues for a few more stages.

The weapon system from Thunder Force II returns in this game with some modifications. Some weapons from Thunder Force II are reused or modified slightly (the enhanceable Twin shot and Back shot remain the defaults), while others are completely new and exclusive to the game. This time, when the player's ship is destroyed, only the weapon that was currently in use is lost (unless it is a default weapon of course). CRAWs also make their return and have the same behavior and functions, except now when the player collects the CRAW item, the ship automatically receives its maximum two CRAWs (again, CRAWs are lost upon ship destruction). Also, when using most weapons, the CRAWs will mimic the ship and fire the same weapon (similar to the Options in Gradius). The final new addition is that the player's ship now has a speed setting, which can be increased or decreased across four levels at the press of a button.

The main difference between Thunder Force III and Thunder Force AC is that the "Haides" and "Ellis" stages in Thunder Force III are removed and replaced with entirely different stages in Thunder Force AC. Thunder Force AC also removed the option to choose a starting stage, as the game always begins on the planet Hydra. Besides these changes, both versions play about the same.

Thunder Force IV

Thunder Force IV
Thunder Force IV (in game)Thunder Force IV was released in 1992 for the Sega Megadrive/Sega Genesis in Japan, Europe, and the United States (published by Sega under the name Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar).

Taking place directly after Thunder Force III, the ORN Empire is thought to be defeated by the Galaxy Federation, but still suffers from increasingly frequent attacks from hostile forces. The forces are discovered to be the "Vios", an army made up of allies and residual forces of ORN. The Galaxy Federation discovers the location of their headquarters on the planet Aceria and attacks, but since the power of Vios has grown greater than the previous ORN Empire, the Galaxy Federation forces are initially defeated. Once again, they develop a new small yet powerful fighter spacecraft, the Fire Leo 4 "Rynex" to eliminate Vios.

The game format is mostly unchanged from the previous game (horizontally oriented and forward scrolling). However, many of the stages now stretch beyond the height of a TV screen, which allow the player more space to maneuver and dodge incoming fire. Also, the player now has the option choosing the play order of the first four stages, instead of just the starting stage like in Thunder Force III.

The weapon system is also similar to Thunder Force III. Featuring the same upgradeable defaults, and unique extra weapons that are either exclusive, or were in previous games (modified or not). Again, upon ship destruction, the weapon currently being used is lost sans the defaults. Naturally, the CRAWs return, and basically have the exact same function as their 'Thunder Force III counterparts. Like before, the maximum two CRAWs are received upon picking up the CRAW item and lost upon ship destruction. The speed setting also returns, although it is represented by a percent gauge from zero (lowest speed) to one-hundred (highest speed). Tapping the speed button will increase speed by 25 percent and holding it down will increase speed gradually by one percent.

The most significant addition to the ship arsenal is the "Thunder Sword", a very powerful lightning based frontal attack. At the game's halfway point, the ship receives an add-on part which enables the use of the Thunder Sword. From here, the one requirement of using the Thunder Sword is that the ship be equipped with CRAWs. When the ship is not firing any weapons, a charging noise is heard (followed by a chime when fully charged) and the CRAWs will appear to be surrounded with electricity. The next press of the fire button will discharge the Thunder Sword. The blast is stronger if charged longer and is at its strongest when fully charged.

Thunder Force V

Thunder Force V
Thunder Force V (in game)Thunder Force V was initially released in 1997 exclusively in Japan for the Sega Saturn with two retail versions, the normal pack which was just a standard release, and a special pack which contained a remix music CD of various Thunder Force series music (entitled Best of Thunderforce). In 1998, Thunder Force V was ported to the Sony Playstation in Japan and released as Thunder Force V: Perfect System. Shortly afterward, the PlayStation port was released in the United States via Working Designs.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The setting of Thunder Force V takes us away from the conflict between the Galaxy Federation and the ORN Empire and brings us to Earth in the future. At the very end of Thunder Force IV, the pilots of Fire Leo 4 "Rynex" were forced to eject from their ship due to a massive explosion caused by the destruction of their final target. The explosion damaged Rynex severely, but the remains of Rynex floated throughout space for some time until it was discovered by Earthlings. Upon analyzing Rynex, the Earthlings discover the technology Rynex (at this point, Rynex is renamed "Vasteel" by Earthlings and its creators are called "Vastians") is composed of is far more advanced than anything they had ever seen. Therefore, Earth scientists use the Vastian technology to build an island called Babel controlled by super computer named the "Guardian". Babel's purpose is to build ships, weapons, and devices that could utilize, or even enhance the capabilities of Vastian technology. However, a malfunction in the Guardian caused it to turn against Earthlings and use the devices it created to attack them, causing devastating causalities. In order to save themselves, the Earthlings built high-powered attack crafts that can replicate and/or enhance the abilities of the original Vasteel (called "RVR's" or "Refined Vasteel Replicas") and organize a strike force to take down the Guardian. The player takes control of a RVR-01 "Gauntlet", and later, a RVR-02B "Brigandine" and RVR-02 "Vambrace" to help accomplish this goal.

The stage format has the same horizontally aligned orientation of previous games and only stretch to the size of a TV screen as in Thunder Force III. The biggest change in the look of the game is the use of three dimensional polygons to model the game sprites and some of the scenery (instead of the two dimensional sprites in previous games). This change gives the appearance of 3-D objects scrolling against a 2-D backgrounds, which is commonly referred to as a "2.5-D" effect. Like in Thunder Force IV, the player can choose the play order of the starting stages, but now only the first three stages can be manipulated in this manner. The same speed gauge from Thunder Force IV is used, and is operated the same way.

The only difference between the weapon system of this game from Thunder Force III and IV is that there are not longer any items to enhance your default weapons (Twin shot and Back shot). Instead, they are automatically enhanced at a later point in the game and the enhanced versions become your new defaults. All the weapons have appeared in previous Thunder Force games, but a few have been changed radically (such as the "Free Range" weapon that was originally in Thunder Force IV.

The CRAWs have a few changes from previous games. They still rotate around the player's ship, absorb enemy fire, and act extra turrets for you weapons, but now a maximum of three CRAW's can be collected at a time. In addition, they remain on screen for a finite period of time upon ship destruction, giving the player a chance to recollect them.

A new feature in Thunder Force V involving the CRAWs is the use of the "Over Weapon". By pressing the appropriate button, the player's CRAWs will combine with the currently selected weapon to create a more powerful version of that weapon. Over Weapons can only be sustained for a limited period of time by using CRAW energy. As an Over Weapon is used, the CRAW will shrink in size and gradually change color from blue to red, indicating its energy is being depleted. Once all CRAW energy is depleted, an Over Weapon can no longer be used. CRAWs will recharge their energy automatically over time when not being used for firing the Over Weapon. Also, collecting new CRAWs will replace the player's existing CRAWs if they are depleted. If a CRAW is red, it will be destroyed by the next bullet it absorbs.

Graphically, the Saturn version of Thunder Force V is superior, as it features special effects not present in its PlayStation counterpart. A good comparison of the differences can be found in Stage 3 "Human Road", in which some extra graphical touches found in the Saturn game were removed when ported to the Playstation. However, the Playstation version features extra artwork, CG rendered movie sequences, game modes, and other easter eggs that the Saturn version lacks. As far as gameplay, the games have minor, if any, differences.

Other notes

Gold Packs
In 1996, Technosoft released the "Thunder Force Gold Packs" for the Sega Saturn exclusively in Japan, which contained re-releases of previous Thunder Force games. Two packs were released: Thunder Force Gold Pack 1 which included Thunder Force II and Thunder Force III, and Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 which included Thunder Force IV and Thunder Force AC. Each Gold Pack disc has exclusive CG animated introduction sequences and a few extra easter eggs, but the actual games remained mostly unchanged (although the slowdown present in the Megadrive/Genesis version of Thunder Force IV is removed in its Gold Pack version).

Thunder Force VI?
A video was made in 2000 which circulated on the Internet showing the intro sequence for Thunder Force VI. This video serves as evidence that Thunder Force VI was at one time being developed for the Sega Dreamcast console.
In 2001, a video game music album was released from the band "Noise" entitled Broken Thunder: Noise Image Soundtrack Volume 3 featuring music intended to be used in Thunder Force VI. The soundtrack is composed by Tsukumo Haykutarou, Noise band member and music composer for many of Technosoft's games (including Thunder Force V).
Internet rumors have been floating around that Technosoft, who has not been heard from since the early 2000s, are currently rehiring staff and planning to release Thunder Force VI in the fiscal year of 2006 for an unnamed game system.

Trivia
The name "Thunder Force" comes from the project name the Galaxy Federation uses for the development of their Fire Leo series of small yet powerful spacecraft, which are then used for concentrated offensive operations against the ORN Empire. In Thunder Force V, the name is used (as "Thunder Force 222") to describe the Earthling strike team that fights against the Guardian computer.
The "Leo" portion of Fire Leo apparently stands for Little, Eternal, Operation as seen in the Thunder Force VI intro video (unsure what the meaning behind this acronym is).

Syndicate

2005-07-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

Syndicate computer games

The Syndicate series was a series of violent isometric science fiction computer games created by Bullfrog Productions. There were two main titles in the series: Syndicate (1993/1994) and Syndicate Wars (1996), with an expansion pack for the former, Syndicate: American Revolt.

Syndicate was released for the following platforms:

Amiga
PC
Mac,
SNES
Mega Drive
3DO
Atari Jaguar
The expansion pack was available for the Amiga and PC, while the sequel, Syndicate Wars, was a PC and PlayStation only title, due to the significantly more demanding graphics engine, a heavily modified version of which was used in Dungeon Keeper.

The series was critically acclaimed, but reached the peak of its popularity before mass adoption of the internet, hence a relatively small online community compared to later less influential games.

Both games put you in charge of a player-named corporation - also issued was a wide choice of symbolic, simplistic logo. Syndicate Wars also provides a second playable entity, the Church of the New Epoch. Gameplay involves ordering a 4-man (or woman) team of cyborg agents around gritty cyberpunk-themed cities, in pursuit of mission goals such as assassinating executives of a rival syndicate, rescuing captured allies, "persuading" civilians and scientists to join your company, demolishing buildings, or simply killing all enemy agents. You were also required to collect the funds to finance the R&D of new weaponry and cyborg upgrades, by means of taxing conquered territories in the original game, or robbing banks in Syndicate Wars. Unlike some games, which either punish the player for civilian deaths or reward him for violent actions committed, Syndicate remains ambivalent.

The Syndicate series, particularly Syndicate Wars, was noted for its attention to detail and the intricacy of its narrative. Notable features of both games were the use of context-sensitive background music which changed to suit the mood of the on-screen action, and a high degree of interactivity, in that many objects in the first game and nearly every object in the second game could be destroyed. The visual aesthetic of both games borrows heavily from films such as Akira and Blade Runner.

Sonic 3D Blast

2005-07-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

This article is about the Sega Genesis/Sega Saturn/PC game. For the Game Gear game, see Sonic Blast.
Sonic 3D Blast (alternatively Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, or according to the minimized PC version, Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island) is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that appeared in several different platforms. The game was developed by Traveller's Tales instead of the traditional developer Sonic Team.

The game was released in Europe for the Sega Mega Drive in November 1996. The Sega Genesis version was released in North America later that month. The game was released on the Sega Saturn in North America in the very same month to make up for the cancellation of Sonic X-treme (which had been intended as the Saturn's killer app for the 1996 holiday season); the game was literally ported in a month with FMVs, highly spruced up graphics (including an all 3D special stage, considered by many fans to be the best special stage in the series) and an entirely new, Red Book audio soundtrack by Richard Jacques (who would later also produce the soundtrack for Sonic R). It was then released in Europe for the Saturn in February 1997. The Saturn version of the game was released for the PC in North America in September 1997, with the videos and soundtrack intact, as well as the notable addition of a save feature, but lacking some of the Saturn's effects (like the fog in Rusty Ruins) and a dumbed-down special stage, using sprites from the Genesis version but with the basic concept of the Saturn version. The PC version came to Europe on September 25, 1997. Finally, the game came out for the Saturn in Japan on October 14, 1999 (the same date that Sonic Adventure International was released in Japan).

The game places Sonic in an isometric projection view in a de facto 2D environment. He must collect Flickies and bring them to the big warp ring in order to advance in a zone. Each zone consists of 3 acts. There are 10 or 15 Flickies to rescue in Acts 1 and 2 (barring Panic Puppet). In Act 3 of each zone, you face Dr. Eggman in one of his machines.

The ROM used on both sides of the pond is exactly the same. The title differs depending on which country the game is in. In North America, the title is Sonic 3D Blast. In Europe, the title is Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island. The European title was used in Japan. The PC version, if minimized (for instance, if a user Alt+Tabs), uses a combination of both names, though the combined name is rarely used, with people generally favoring one region's name over the other.

Zones
Green Grove Zone
Rusty Ruin Zone
Spring Stadium Zone
Diamond Dust Zone
Volcano Valley Zone
Gene Gadget Zone
Panic Puppet Zone
The Final Fight

Criticisms
Upon its release, Sonic 3D Blast was largely a commercial failure and is considered by Sonic fans and Sega fans in general to have been partly responsible for the poor performance of the Saturn in Western markets compared to the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. For many fans today, it continues to serve as a grim reminder of Sonic's darkest era.
This game is often criticized for not being true to the core Sonic games, due to its lack of speed and rather clumsy controls (problems mostly caused by its isometric format). One high note is that the music (mostly the Saturn version) is considered to be some of the best Sonic music, and several tracks from the Genesis version were remixed in Sonic Adventure.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

2005-07-31T03:35:00.000-07:00

Sonic the Hedgehog 3, or simply Sonic 3, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released as a sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The game was released for the Sega Genesis in the United States on February 2, 1994. The European Sega Mega Drive release came later that month. The game was released in Japan for the Mega Drive on May 27, 1994. It was re-released for the Sega Saturn in 1998 as part of Sonic Jam, the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 as part of the Sonic Mega Collection and Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox in 2004 as part of Sonic Mega Collection Plus.

Plot
At the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the evil Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik had his Death Egg downed from orbit by the heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog and his companion Miles "Tails" Prower. Having not been completely destroyed, after all, the Death Egg has crash-landed on Angel Island. This island has special properties - not least the ability to float - which it gets from the magical jewel called the Master Emerald. When Dr. Robotnik learns of the Master Emerald, an all powerful jewel upon which the Chaos Emeralds base their powers, he tries to steal it to repair his Death Egg.

Of course, Sonic and Tails have to put a stop to this, collecting Chaos Emeralds as they go before Dr. Robotnik does. Unfortunately, Dr. Robotnik has tricked the guardian of the Master Emerald, an echidna named Knuckles, into thinking that Sonic and Tails are the thieves, so he tries his best to stop them.

Overview of play
As the player, you control either Sonic or Tails. Your aim is to guide them through six zones, collecting all the Chaos and Super Emeralds on the way via special 3D stages. The six zones are divided into two acts, and unlike previous Sonic games, each zone has a mini-boss at the end of the first act, and each Act 1 connects directly to Act 2, preserving shields the players may have. After a boss is defeated, a short cutscene is shown to segue into the next zone.

Zones
Angel Island Zone: A tranquil jungle island that is set ablaze by Dr. Robotnik after Sonic and Tails arrive. The mini-boss is one of the hovering flame drones that burned the jungle. Sonic and/or Tails faces off against Dr. Robotnik's own flame-wielding vehicle at a waterfall.
Hydrocity Zone: The inner workings of a complex hydroelectric dam. After tangling with a mini-boss that can spin Sonic and Tails in a whirlpool, Dr. Robotnik tries to stop them with his own whirlpool inducer as well as depth charges.
Marble Garden Zone: The marble ruins of an ancient civilization. The mini-boss uses a pair of drills to attack Sonic and Tails, both directly and by drilling into the rock above and raining debris on their heads (reminiscent of Dr. Robotnik's own vehicle in the Mystic Cave Zone of Sonic 2). Dr. Robotnik attempts to crush the pair under the collapsing ruins, and when Tails airlifts Sonic out of danger, charges at them directly with his drill. This is the only zone without any water to drown Sonic or Tails.
Carnival Night Zone: Tails drops Sonic into a playful carnival filled with ballons, pinball bumpers, and cannons to launch from, although unlike Casino Night Zone in Sonic 2 there are no slot machines. After Sonic and Tails survive the mini-boss on a slowly eroding platform, they face Dr. Robotnik, who this time drops a large sphere and uses it to create an electric storm that draws the pair towards its discharge.
Ice Cap Zone: Sonic and Tails chase after Dr. Robotnik, travelling through ice, snow, and sometimes bottomless pits. The level begins with Sonic going down a slope on a snowboard. The mini-boss attacks with an orbiting belt of ice chunks. Dr. Robonik uses a "freeze-thrower" (a flamethrower that freezes rather than burns the victim) to fight Sonic and Tails. This is the only zone that does not have an easily-comparible equivalent in Sonic 2 in terms of environment.
Launch Base Zone: Dr. Robotnik's site that houses the stricken Death Egg, with spinning elevators for facilitation of travel and alarms to keep out intruders. The mini-boss uses two flailing arms. Dr. Robotnik uses three different weapons to stop Sonic and Tails: first, a static projectile launcher at the foot of the Death Egg. When that fails, Robotnik flees to the Death Egg and Sonic chases after, leaving Tails behind. After boarding, Dr. Robotnik employs a rocket armed with lasers to fight Sonic, and then finally resorts to a large pair of arms to grab Sonic in a ball and slam him into the floor (as well as the rather impressive ability to damage even Super Sonic, though taking Super Sonic to the final battle is rare).

Multiplayer
Sonic 3 retained head-to-head racing introduced in Sonic 2, although instead of using levels from the single player game, five entirely new tracks were created for competitions. Knuckles was added as a selectable character. Players could select to play a Grand Prix of all five tracks, a single track to race on, or race the clock in time trial mode.

The five tracks are:

Azure Lake
Balloon Park
Chrome Gadget
Desert Palace
Endless Mine
The first letters of the track's names make up the sequence A, B, C, D, E.

Technical specifications
Sonic 3 had the option, unseen at that point in the Sonic series, to record the game level where a player had been and resume it at a later date - which increased the replay value tremendously as several levels sport secret passages and, although not vital to the ending of the game, allowed the collection of 7 Chaos Emeralds at a later date.

A closer inspection of the ROM by fans provides some details on the marketing scheme pulled by Sega with the release of Sonic & Knuckles. While Sega originally stated that the new "revolutionary" lock-on technology literally transformed the secondary game (i.e. Sonic 3 or Sonic 2), the analysis of the rom reveals that Sonic 3 was produced with full knowledge and possibly even having most of Sonic & Knuckles already completed to as far as Lava Reef Zone, as it provides a whole second version of the game, not an "add-on".

Sonic The Hedgehog 2

2005-07-31T03:34:00.000-07:00

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, or simply Sonic 2, the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog, is a platform game made by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It features Sonic the Hedgehog and was the first game in which Super Sonic appeared, as well as being Miles "Tails" Prower's 16-bit debut.

Release details
The game was released in Japan for the Sega Mega Drive on November 21, 1992. The Sega Genesis release in the United States came three days later, on November 24. The European Mega Drive release came later in November. It was re-released in the Sonic Jam collection on the Sega Saturn in 1997, for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 as part of Sonic Mega Collection, and on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004 as part of Sonic Mega Collection Plus.

Storyline
The story, as told in the instruction booklet, is that Dr. Robotnik (Dr. Eggman in the Japanese version), has again captured all of the animals of the world and it is up to Sonic to free them. He is also planning to use the Chaos Emeralds as a power source for his Death Egg spacecraft.

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to that of Sonic's first adventure. The player collects rings throughout the level. Getting hit when one has rings causes all of the rings to fly out of the character. Getting hit when one has no rings results in death. There are two basic moves: the jump and the spin-dash. In the spin-dash, the character curls up into a ball, prepares to dash, and speeds forward, remaining curled up. Breaking a monitor performs the action shown on it. There are various types of monitors, with contents such as 10 rings, invincibility, a shield, a speed boost, and speed-up shoes.

Sonic can collect "Chaos Emeralds" by entering into special stages in which he must collect a set amount of the golden rings before the reaching the end of a lap. Once the player has collected seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can transform into "Super Sonic" by collecting 50 rings in the real world and jumping. Super Sonic is a temporary invulnerability mode introduced in Sonic 2 in which Sonic appears golden, runs faster, and jumps higher. As time passes, the number of rings Sonic has decreases by one ring per second unless new rings are collected. When the ring count reaches zero or Super Sonic dies, Sonic will revert to regular Sonic.

The game can be played as Sonic, Tails, or both. When playing as Sonic and Tails, the screen focuses on Sonic. If Tails remains outside of the screen for an extended period of time, he flies back to meet Sonic. Tails can be played by a human player or can be computer-controlled.

Sonic 2 features a two-player split-screen competition mode. In a two-player game, the players compete on a game level for better performance in five categories: total rings collected, rings at the end of the level, time for level completion, score, and boxes opened. The person who wins more categories wins a level. After one player finishes a level, the remaining player has 60 seconds to finish the level.

Production
Sonic 2 differed from the original Sonic the Hedgehog in that it was produced at the Sega Technical Institute in the United States, and experienced Japanese Sega members such as Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara (the first game's lead programmer and game planner respectively) were brought in to work alongside the American developers. Two artists in particular stand out: Brenda Ross and Craig Stitt. Peter Morawiec and Tim Skelly also worked on some art for the Special Stages.

List of zones
Below is a list of zones in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in order of appearance in the game. Each describes the boss section of the zone, in which Robotnik attempts to defeat Sonic.

Emerald Hill Zone
A green island with big fields and beaches and other tropical islands in the distance. The boss in this zone has Dr. Robotnik in a drill-equipped dune buggy. After seven hits, Robotinik shoots the drill bit at Sonic; one more hit destroys his machine.

Chemical Plant Zone
Dr. Robotnik's chemical plant, full of tubes and floating platforms. He uses a new substance called "Mega-mack" to try to kill Sonic by vacuuming up this substance and dropping it on Sonic. As long as Sonic is ducking he cannot be hurt by this. This level is also notable for a brief rising-water section, which provides a rather steep learning curve for new players.

Aquatic Ruin Zone
An ancient ruin located in a forest valley partially submerged in water. Dr. Robotnik tries to use the ruin's technology against Sonic between pillars that spit out arrows.

Casino Night Zone
A city that never sleeps, full of pinball rooms, flashing lights, and slot machines. Dr. Robotnik tries to kill Sonic with his neon spike-ball machine.

The slot machines give out different prizes depending on when the reels land:

3 Rings: 10 rings
3 Bars: 20 rings
3 Tails: 25 rings
3 Sonics: 30 rings
3 Jackpots: 150 rings
3 Dr. Robotniks: lose 100 rings (be careful!)
In addition, a Jackpot or two can also act as a wild card or wild cards, rewarding rings even though the other reel(s) are not Jackpots. Sometimes they merely fill in for the missing icon, other times they act as doublers:

2 Tails, 1 Jackpot: 50 rings
2 Sonics, 1 Jackpot: 60 rings
2 Jackpots, 1 Tails: 100 rings
2 Jackpots, 1 Sonic: 120 rings
Jackpots and Dr. Robotniks: lose all rings (be very careful!)
A Bar will also give out rings depending on how many there are:

1 Bar: 2 rings
2 Bars: 4 rings
3 Bars: 20 rings (see above)
Note: In this case, Jackpots only act as doublers in the case of only Jackpots and Bars, i.e., two Bars with one Jackpot is worth 40 rings, and one Bar with two Jackpots is worth 80 rings, but one Bar and one Jackpot is only worth 2 rings.

Hill Top Zone
A zone on a mountain high above the clouds. The mountain is also an active volcano. Dr. Robotnik uses the volcano's lava to shoot fireballs and set the grass alight in his Lava Submarine. Depending on one's route through the level, Sonic may face an earth- or lava-quake in the Second Act.

Mystic Cave Zone
An old, dark abandoned mine inhabited by Badniks that attempt to shock or collide into Sonic. Dr. Robotnik tries to stab Sonic with sharp debris as he uses his machines to drill into the ceiling of the mine.

Oil Ocean Zone
A zone polluted by Dr. Robotnik's oil-drilling projects. The viscosity of the oil allows Sonic to run across it, although he can still die in the oil if he is totally submerged in it. The Badnik "Aquis" is found in this zone. It is a fast moving and dangerous mechanical seahorse, and is able to float around in the air, never touching the ground. Dr. Robotnik tries to kill Sonic in his submarine again but uses spikes and lasers this time.

Metropolis Zone
An extra-long level, in which Dr. Robotnik resides. There are lots of machines, including the Pipe Teleporter and screw elevators, as well as Badnik stars which explode to puncture Sonic. Dr. Robotnik protects himself against Sonic with spiraling eggs each containing a fake Robotnik.

Metropolis Zone had 3 acts, like Sonic 1. However, all the other zones in Sonic 2 had two or one. This was because Tom Payne (the artist in charge of this level) had also been assigned another level that was finally scrapped due to lack of time, leaving him to work on this third act.

Sky Chase Zone
In order to chase Dr. Robotnik, Tails uses his Tornado plane to fly into the sky to battle Concorde birds and turtle battleships. This is a very short level with one act and no bosses.

Wing Fortress Zone
After Tails's plane is shot down, Sonic jumps onto Dr. Robotnik's sky ship, where he has to avoid falling to his doom and reach the bridge to Dr. Robotnik. Sonic is ambushed and has to dodge a massive laser while the walls narrow. The laser ends up blowing the circuits and Dr. Robotnik tries to escape in his spaceship. Tails comes back with the plane and flies Sonic close to the ship using a rocket booster installed at the bottom of the plane. Sonic grabs on to Dr. Robotnik's ship and gets to the Death Egg.

Death Egg Zone
Sonic must battle against a silver Sonic robot with no rings to help him. After defeating the robot, Sonic chases Robotnik into a giant armoured battle suit, the last boss that Sonic has to destroy. After defeating him, he runs out of the exploding Death Egg and skydives back down, and is caught by Tails's plane (unless one has managed to collect all the Chaos Emeralds; in that case Super Sonic flies alongside the plane).

Secrets
Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a game activated by locking Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to the passthru cartridge of Sonic & Knuckles that was released later by Sega. The resulting game is almost identical to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, except that one plays as Knuckles the Echidna. Although some fans believe that Sonic 2 was created with foreknowledge that such an add-on device would be made later, this is incorrect. The majority of the changes to Sonic 2 are actually contained in the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge and loaded at boot if a Sonic 2 cartridge is found in the pass-through slot; the actual Sonic 2 data is accessed very rarely.

Time restrictions necessitated dropping some features and levels from the final game. Remnants of these like incomplete levels and unused sounds and graphics have been revealed through study of the internals of the game using emulators along with a debug mode.

The game's level select code, activated by playing music within the game, is 19, 65, 09, 17; Sonic programmer Yuji Naka's birthday is September 17, 1965. Its debug code is 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4; Sonic 2's U.S. release date was November 24, 1992.

Beta version
On the Internet, a widely distributed prototype of the game, better known as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 beta, has been discovered by Simon Wai, which features several incomplete zones. Only four levels can be played in "normal" gameplay; the rest have to be accessed through the level select code. Many are not playable, so the debug code is used to explore the acts. Some of the acts are empty, causing Sonic and Tails to fall to their doom immediately after beginning the level. The beta is frequently examined by hackers to determine how Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was developed.

In Asia and Brazil, the beta version was put on cartridges and passed off as the final version by pirates who are believed to have altered it slightly to stop the Sega logo from showing when the game boots up, as was common practice.

A mock-up picture exists which suggests that at one stage in development, a desert-like zone was planned in a Sonic 2 prototype, which until recently was believed to be named Dust Hill Zone. However, there is nothing to suggest that the level has ever existed in a playable format. The only official name that is known for this zone is "Sabaku", or "Desert", zone.

In addition to the renamed zones, such as Green Hill Zone which became the Emerald Hill Zone, Dust Hill Zone which became the Mystic Cave Zone, Neo Green Hill Zone which became Aquatic Ruin Zone, and Sky Fortress Zone which became Wing Fortress Zone, the following levels exist in the beta version of the game.

Wood Zone
A dense forest zone with only the very beginning of Act 1 programmed, and that itself is very glitchy. The music is the same as that in the Metropolis Zone. There are no enemies present in the Wood Zone. Without the debug mode activated, this level is cut very short due to the fact that it is impossible get past the first ramp, the characters hit the floor above instead. However, using debug, it can be further explored. The stage suddenly ends halfway through an animated (though not active) conveyor belt. Act 2 has no data.

Genocide City Zone
This level's data has either been removed, or not yet coded, and the player falls and dies immediately upon entering the level. The music used is that of Chemical Plant Zone.

Hidden Palace Zone
The Hidden Palace Zone appears to be an underwater cavern with large crystals in it. The music used is that of the 2-player mode of Mystic Cave Zone. It contains badniks never seen in the released version, such as a red dinosaur badnik. The large emerald found in this stage has at times been suggested to be the Master Emerald, however those who worked on the zone have said it was just another block to break through. At one point in the zone is a long shaft which appears as if it was intended to loop from the top to the bottom of the map, but even if one navigates to the other end, there is not much left to the stage besides an animated (but as in the Wood Zone conveyor belts, not working) water slide. Act 2 is identical to Act 1, except the player is stuck inside a wall at the start, and all objects and enemies are gone.

Some suggest that music 10 in the final Sound Test, which was unused, was intended for this level. In addition, while the art was removed from the final game, the collision data remains, and the level itself can be accessed by entering the Game Genie code ACLA-ATD4 and using the Level Select to go to Death Egg Zone. This has led some researchers to believe that Hidden Palace Zone was intended to be in the final game as a "hidden" level that could be accessed only through a cheat code.

Death Egg Zone
According to the level select, this zone originally had 2 acts (unlike in the final version). But like Genocide City, neither act has any data and the player merely falls and dies immediately. No music is played in this zone.

Shining Force

2005-07-31T03:33:00.000-07:00

Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention, more commonly referred to as Shining Force, is a 1992 turn-based strategy role playing video game for the Sega Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some steampunk elements.

(If you are looking for information on the Shining series in general, please see Shining Force Series)

Game Info
While the game is the first in the Shining Force series, it is technically the second game released in the greater Shining series, which began with Shining in the Darkness. The transition from Shining in the Darkness to Shining Force was a major change, with few elements between the two games being shared, save for the names of certain items and spells. The villain of the first game, Darksol, reappeared throughout many of the following games in the series. Another significant change was in gameplay. Shining in the Darkness was a dungeon crawler in first-person perspective, while Shining Force was a third-person strategy/RPG game.

The game was first released in 1992 in Japan, and 1993 in North America and Europe. It's been re-released in 1999 for "Sega Archives form USA" (Japanese), in 2000 for Sega Smash Pack 2 and Sega's Greatest Hits 2, both for PC, in 2001 for "Sega Smash Pack for Dreamcast", and again in 2002 for "Sega Smash Pack Twin Pack" for the PC.

The game was remade in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance under the title Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon. The changes included three new characters and the addition of "cards" allowing a certain character to use these special bonuses and abilities in battle.

Plot
As the game opens, the following is shown on screen:

In ages long forgotten... Light fought Darkness for control of the world.
Dark Dragon led the evil hordes of darkness.
The Ancients fought back with the Powers of Light.
Dark Dragon was defeated and cast into another dimension.
The Lord of Darkness vowed to return in 1,000 years.
Time passed, and Dark Dragon was forgotten by all.
Ten centuries of peace ruled the land of Rune.
Until the kingdom of Runefaust brought war to Rune.
Hordes of evil creatures ravaged the land.
Here and there, strongholds of Good still held out...
awaiting a Hero who could wield the Powers of Light!

Chapter 1
The game opens in the Kingdom of Guardiana, in the land of Rune. You play as a Swordsman whose name you choose (default is Max, that is what will be used through the rest of this article.) Max is a disciple of the famed knight Varios, who is called upon when a force from Runefaust is seen at the Gate of the Ancients. Varios chooses to send Max to investigate, so as not to scare the townsfolk with a large force. At this point you are joined by 5 other characters, and given 100 gold.

After 2 battles, you've returned to Guardiana to discover that while you were busy, Runefaust has attacked Guardiana. You arrive just in time to see Kane, one of the generals (and a boss you fight later) kill Lord Varios. The King of Guardiana tells you to stop Runefaust, and find his daughter Anri, who is away at a school for magi, and then immediately dies.

You travel to Alterone, and soon find out that Kane is pulling the King of Alterone's strings. After breaking out of the prison, you defeat the invading force, and the king apologises to you and tells you of a secret passage. You go through the passage and Chapter 1 ends.

Chapter 2
You've made your way to the town of Rindo, and you need a boat to follow Kane any further, but the mayor of town only has one boat left which he refuses to part with. You go to Manarina, and find Princess Anri, who joins the force, and meet Otrant (who is an adviser now and then again in Chapter 7) who sends you to retrieve the Orb of Truth, which allows you to meet the Spirit of the Holy Spring.

You learn from the spirit that Runefaust is trying to free Dark Dragon (mentioned in the opening credits) and are sent to go stop them by retrieving the manual of the seal (a book which has the incantation to free Dark Dragon.)

You then return to Rindo, to discover that while you were gone, the mayor's grandson has gone missing. The mayor promises that if you find him, he will give you his last boat. You meet Mishaela, another one of the game's bosses, who turns you over to one of her subordinates. This battle can be argued to be the first boss fight. When you win, the mayor's grandson comes out from behind some crates, and heads home. The mayor does as he promised and turns over his boat, however as soon as you board it, Mishaela appears and sets fire to it.

Since there are no more boats in Rindo, you head north to Shade Abbey, where another of the game's bosse, Darksol, is reanimating the dead, and has turned a birdman to stone. After defeating the zombies, the birdman and his wife offer to guide you to the town of Uranbatol to find another boat, and Chapter 2 ends.

Chapter 3
You begin Chapter 3 in the town of Bustoke, where Runefaust has forced all the men to work in the quarry looking for a weapon called "the laser eye". You also find out about the insane Zylo, who you are given a side quest to cure. After rescuing the men and curing Zylo, you continue on to Pao bridge and fight a battle against the laser eye (and others). Winning this battle ends the chapter.

Chapter 4
You're now in the travelling town of Pao, where you talk to a general of the Runefaust army, Elliot, who doesn't like the current state of affairs, but is loyal to his king. In the next battle, when you defeat him, he begs you to free Runefaust from Darksol's clutches.

The town of Pao has traveled and come back to where you are, so you re-enter it and rest and re-arm before heading to Uranbatol.

You will fight two battles in Uranbatol, the second a boss fight against Balbazak, who turns the ship over to you just before Darksol appears and kills him for his cowardice. Darksol laughs and says you wont live through the trip, but you still head out undeterred, and the chapter ends.

Chapter 5
As expected, you are attacked while en route, and the ship is damaged. You meet a mermaid from the land of Waral, and follow her back to get the ship repaired. While wandering around town, (in part on a small boat) you get knocked out after an acident, and wake up on one of the smaller islands.

You pass through a strange passage, to wind up foiling the plans of a Runefaust force trying to use the Shining Path (a mystical shortcut between lands). However, when you defeat them, the leader of that force seals the Path so you can't use it either, and are forced to take the long way of physically travelling.

You return to the main island, and the King says that the repairs are free, as a token of gratitude. You leave the island and are attacked and damaged again. The boat drifts off course as the chaper ends.

Chapter 6
You wake up in Rindo, where children run the town, and find out more about the manual of the seal, and then make your way to Dragonia, where the manual is guarded by the last of the sacred dragons. After the dragon joins you, you finally fight Kane, to discover that he was a hero who was being controlled by Darksol by means of a magic mask.

When the mask breaks, Kane is wracked with guilt, and tries to help you. The two of you find the manual, but arrive just in time to see Darksol take it. Kane pushes you out of the room, and fights Darksol alone. They both diappear for the time being.

You return to Rindo, and they suggest you should go to skull castle. You fight your way to the castle, and then fight Mishaela inside. You take the Sword of Light from her, and the chapter ends.

Chapter 7
You've arrived in the town of Prompt, where you are almost immediately imprisoned by a paranoid king. For some reason he decides you're trustworthy once you break out of prison, and he tells you that his forces that he sent to fight Darksol are failing. Kane is recovering from his battle with Darksol in the castle, and he regains consciousness just long enough to convince the King to let you go fight.

You fight your way into the tower of the ancients, and are again just in time to discover Darksol, this time retrieving the key to the seal. Kane appears, and Darksol kills him easily, but lets you live as he's on a tight schedrule.

You return to Prompt, and Otrant re-appears to tell you about the Chaos Breaker, a sword which might be able to re-seal Dark Dragon, which is made from the Sword of Light which you have, and the Sword of Darkness which Kane left in the care of the King of Prompt. You use the Shining Path and travel to Metapha, where you fight against the robot boss Chaos.

The spirit of the spring puts in another appearance and teaches you how to make the Chaos Breaker and tells you that she has used all her power to help you, and can't do any more. You return to Prompt and then travel to the gates of Runefaust.

Chapter 8
Having defeated the army guarding Runefaust, you make your way to King Ramladu's castle, where you fight two battles, the second a boss-fight against the King himself. As he dies, he tells you that Darksol was controlling his mind, and tells you to hurry, as Darksol is about to perform the rites to release Dark Dragon.

You raise the castle of the ancients from the ocean, and travel to it through Runefaust's gate of the ancients (which is the pair to the one where you fought your first battle) and are immediately are challenged by Colossus, a three headed creature. After beating him, you enter the final battle against Darksol.

As soon as you defeat Darksol, he completes the rites and Dark Dragon is freed. Darksol gives the last shreds of his power to Dark Dragon and dies. You immediately have to fight the three headed Dark Dragon (without being given a chance to revive dead players, but you do get a full heal.)

Epilogue
When you defeat Dark Dragon, he doesn't die, until you stab him in the heart, which reseals him in another dimension. You cast your Egress spell, which normally transports everyone to safety, but this time saves everyone but you. The other characters watch as the castle of the ancients sinks back into the water, and Max is officially Missing In Action, presumed dead. After the credits, theres a small scene where Max is shown talking to a farmer in a far away land, who invites him to come live in their village. Max agrees, and the game ends.

Sensible Soccer

2005-07-31T03:30:00.000-07:00

Sensible Soccer, often referred by fans as Sensi is a football video game series that was highly popular in the early 90's and still has a cult following, despite the last title being released in 1999. Developed by Sensible Software and first released for Amiga and Atari ST computers in 1992, it featured a bird's-eye view (most games until then such as Kick Off and Matchday used top down or side view), editable teams and (some claim) gameplay still unsurpassed today.

Games in the series
Sensible Soccer
Released in 1992
Platforms: Amiga, DOS, SNES, Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega CD, Sega Game Gear, Atari ST and Atari Jaguar
The "standard name" for games in the series. Console versions are based on SS 92/93, but simply named "Sensible Soccer".

Mega Drive screenshotSensible Soccer 92/93
Released in 1992
Platforms: Amiga, Atari ST
Slightly improved version of Sensible Soccer
Sensible World Of Soccer
Released in 1994
Platforms: Amiga, DOS
Includes several leagues and career mode. An updated version (SWOS: European Champion Edition) was released weeks before
Features a title song "Goal Scoring Superstar Hero" composed by Richard Joseph and Jon Hare.
Sensible World Of Soccer 96-97
Released in 1996
Platforms: Amiga, DOS
Improved version of SWOS.
Sensible Soccer 98
Released in 1997
Platforms: DOS, Windows
3D version that dropped the pin-sized players.
Sensible Soccer 2000
Released in 1999
Platforms: Sony PlayStation, Windows
Final new release in the series
Sensible Soccer Mobile
Released in 2005
Platforms: Java
Developed by Kuju Wireless 1
[edit]
Trivia
Sensible Soccer spawned several clones, amongst them Croteam's Football Glory, for which they were sued by Sensible Software.
There are still many shareware/freeware projects which are inspired by Sensible, such as Yoda Soccer or Andreas Osswald's Championship Soccer.
The graphic style of the game was used in other Sensible Software games, such as Cannon Fodder and Sensible Golf.
SWOS 1996 received a score of 96% from Amiga Power, the highest mark given for any game in their 65-issue run.
A group of fans in Serbia named "SWOS Witnesses" ("SWOSovi Svedoci" in Serbian) organized four World Swos Tournaments from 2001 to 2004. WSTs were held in Backa Palanka (2001 and 2004), Belgrade (2002) and Nova Pazova (2003). Most players were from Serbia, but there also were contestants from Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria and Lebanon.
Regular tournaments are also still held in Czech Republic, Germany and Brazil.

Mighty Max

2005-07-31T03:28:00.000-07:00

Mighty Max was an animated action/sci-fi/horror series which aired from 1993 to 1994 to promote the British Mighty Max toys, an offshoot of the Polly Pocket line. It ran for two seasons; with a total of 40 episodes airing during the show's run. It starred the voice talents of Rob Paulsen as Max, Richard Moll as Norman, Tony Jay as Virgil, and Tim Curry as Skullmaster.

The storyline follows Max, a young boy who receives a red baseball cap with a yellow M embroidered on the face. He is told by Virgil, a Lemurian who's been turned into a talking, humanoid chicken (okay, fowl, actually!), that the cap grants Max the power to travel instantly through space. Max, Virgil, and Norman, a sword-wielding Viking, travel together around the world, defending the Earth against the minions of the evil Skullmaster (responsible for the downfall of both the Lemurians and the people of Atlantis), as well as fighting a variety of supernatural monsters on the side. The show's violence and descriptions of violent acts were considered graphic by some viewers, especially when its target audience was children.

The finale episode featured Max, Norman, and Virgil in a battle against Skullmaster and their previously defeated foes with both Norman and Virgil getting killed leaving Max as the only one to defeat Skullmaster who is about to gain ultimate power. Some fans have criticized the final episode's conclusion for "looping" the end of the series into the beginning. Regardless, fans of the show to this day are vocal in their requests for the entire series to be released on DVD.

A patent was taken by Film Roman for a Mighty Max animated film in 1995, but such a film was never created. The reasons for this are unclear, but the television show had retained low popularity and the toys were also losing ground. However the show generated other merchandise such as a comic book, board game, and several video games.

The merchandising was far more popular than the show itself. Mighty Max toys were sold as playsets of varying sizes with very small (usually non-articulated) figurines inside. Each playset contained a Mighty Max figure as well as one or more villains and sometimes Virgil, Norman or both. Any Mighty Max collector would quickly accumulate hundreds of different copies of Max in various poses.

There were a small series of larger more expensive playsets with various mechanical and electronic features such as opening jaws (on an island playset shaped as a dragon's head) and lights. In 1995, due to the popularity of the playsets at the time, the McDonald's Happy Meal offered a toy playset featuring Mighty Max. Also, Mighty Max was turned into a video game for the SNES and Sega Genesis and a handheld game for Tiger Electronics and Systema.

Road Rash

2005-07-31T03:26:00.000-07:00

Road Rash is the name of a motorcycle-racing/combat video game series by Electronic Arts, originally for the Sega MegaDrive/Genesis, in which the player participates in illegal street races, and later ported for several other systems. Six games/versions were released, the first in 1991 and the last in 1999, although a 2004 licensed port for the Game Boy Advance exists.

Presented in a third-person view similar to Hang-On (although bike and rider are proportionately smaller), the player competes in road races, and must finish in the top 3 places on every race to proceed to the next level, where the opponents ride faster and harder and the tracks are longer and more dangerous. Placing in each race gives a certain amount of money which increases considerably in each level which allows the player to buy faster bikes which is needed to stay competitive. The game is over if the player is arrested (a policeman knocks the player off their bike or the player is caught stopped or on foot near a police bike) and the player can't pay the fine, or if the bike suffers more damage than it can take and is wrecked.

Aside from the high speed, big-air and spectacular crashes, what separated Road Rash from other racing games was its combat element. The player could fight other bikers with a variety of handweapons. The player would initially start off with just a punch and kick, but if the gamer timed a punch right, they could grab a weapon from another rider. The weapons themselves ranged from clubs, crowbars, nunchakus, cattle prods and even police batons. Fights between riders to knock each other off the bike would often go on at high speeds through traffic, pedestrians and roadside obstacles, with the victor gaining place and the loser gaining bike damage and losing time.

The motorcycle police officers were never friendly and they have dual antagonistic roles. They fight the player as another, usually tougher, opponent and they also serve as gameplay enforcers by policing the back of the pack and culling players who fall too far behind or choose to explore the world rather than race in it. The stakes are higher for losing a fight with a police officer: the player would be busted and fined and the race would end. If there were insufficient funds to pay, the game would be over.

Even though knocking other racers and police officers from their bikes is a permissible means towards achieving victory in the game, and it initiated the genre of motorcycle-racing/combat games, Road Rash got little to no attention in the video game controversy of the '90s. Some of this may be attributed to the designers skewed, yet balanced rules of political correctness: Violence and rewards are divided up equally between ethnicity and sex and stereotypes are balanced by representing a cross-section of characters all behaving badly. The game consistently garnered a Teen rating from the ESRB with a modifier of animated violence.

The 32-bit versions of the game featured cutscenes professionally filmed in San Francisco and Los Altos Hills that were notable for a wry sense of humor. For example, if the player was arrested, then the game would show a brief movie clip of a motorcyclist being handcuffed to a police officer's motorcycle (which would then start moving), or a clip of the arrestee being placed in the trunk of a police cruiser. The actors were were both professional stuntmen and the games designers and featured the company bike- a red Ducati which is still on display at EA headquarters. The 16-bit versions featured animations as cut scenes. The possible game triggers for cut scenes in all the versions are: race win, level progression, game win, wreck and busted.

The game's title is based on the slang term for the severe friction burns that can occur in a motorcycling fall where skin comes into contact with the ground at high speed.

Sound
The original Genesis version featured a Rob Hubbard soundtrack, however later versions released on CD formats featured music tracks from bands such as Soundgarden, Swervedriver, and Therapy?. Months before Road Rash was even released for the 3DO it received 3DO's 1994 "Soundtrack of the Year" award. The last version featured garage and unsigned bands who got a chance to be in the game by sending in their tapes.

Releases
When Road Rash debuted on the 32-bit home game consoles they were initially ported from the 3DO version of the game. All of these games were called Road Rash despite being 4th in the series. Derivative works were reengineered up for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 64 platforms or reengineered down to Sega Mega-CD and the handheld consoles. In 2000 due to a restructuring at EA the key design, technical and artistic forces behind the Road Rash series left EA. At the time of its demise, Road Rash was EAs 2nd most profitable series in which it didn't have to pay royalty or licensing fees. EA attempted to resurrect the series with a PlayStation 2 version but was unable to complete it.

Version History

V.1 - Road Rash 16-bit
All Races took place in California locales on progressively longer 2 lane roads.
V.2 - Road Rash II 16-bit
All Races took place in North America, 2 lane roads.
V.3 - Road Rash III 16-bit
All Races took place in 5 of 7 countries (Brazil, Germany, Kenya, UK, Italy, Japan and Australia) on 2 lane roads. 15 bikes, bike upgrades, night racing (in Japan), 7 Weapons including mace, taser.
V.4 - Road Rash 32-bit
All Races took place in California locales(The City, The peninsula, Pacific Coast Highway, Sierra Nevada, and Napa Valley) on multilane roads with brief divided road sections.
V.5 - Road Rash 3D 32-bit
All Races took place on routes laid out through a single interconnected road system- hence the title 3D.
V.6 - Road Rash: Jail Break 32-bit
An interconnected road system and 2 player cooperative play- with a sidecar.
Titles and release dates

Road Rash
V.1
Sega Genesis,1991 original
Atari ST, 1992 {Peakstar Software)
Amiga, 1992 {Peakstar Software)
Sega Master System, 1994 (ported by Probe, published by US Gold)
V.2
Game Boy, 1994
Game Gear, 1994
Internet- AOL Games Channel, 2001
V.4
3DO, original 1994
Sega Mega-CD, 1994
PlayStation, 1996
Sega Saturn, 1996
Microsoft Windows PC, 1996 (Papyrus Design Group)
Game Boy Color, 2000 (3d6 Games)
Road Rash II
V.2
Sega Genesis, 1992 original
Nintendo, never released
Road Rash 3: Tour De Force
V.3
Sega Genesis, 1995 original
Road Rash 3D
V.5
PlayStation, 1998 original
Road Rash 64
V.5
Nintendo 64, 1999 (THQ)
Road Rash: Jailbreak
V.6
PlayStation, 1999 original
Game Boy Advance, 2004 (Destination Software, Inc)

Premier Manager

2005-07-31T03:25:00.000-07:00

Premier Manager is the name of a football management video game series started in 1992. Published by Gremlin Interactive, it was first developed by Realms of Fantasy, later passed to Spanish company Dinamic Software. The later games are published and developed by Zoo Digital, who bought the rights from Infogrames and hired some members of the original Gremlin staff.

Until the Championship Manager series matured with the second version, the brand Premier Manager was the leading name on the popular managing video game market.

It should not be confused with EA's Premier League Manager short-run series.

Games in the series
Premier Manager
Developed by Realms of Fantasy
Released in 1992
Platforms: Amiga, DOS, Atari ST, Sega Mega Drive (in 1996)
manage, train, hire, build facilities and scout opponents of an lowly English team.
Premier Manager 2 - The New Season
Developed by Realms of Fantasy
Released in 1993
Platforms: Amiga, DOS
minor improvments over PM, plus european competitions
Premier Manager 3
Developed by Realms of Fantasy
Released in 1994
Platforms: Amiga, DOS
Refined version of Premier Manager 2.
Premier Manager 97
Developed by Dinamic Software
Released in 1996
Platforms: Windows
A Sega Mega Drive version based on Premier Manager 2 with the same name was released.
Gremlin passed the developing to Dinamic Software, who made the popular PC Fútbol series. Unsurprisingly, the game was PC Premier 5 without arcade mode. For the first time, gave the player the option to coach a Premiership team from the start.
Premier Manager 98
Developed by Dinamic Software
Released in 1997
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation
Simple update of Premier Manager 97. Bugs ironed, squads updated, and nothing more. It turned to be the last game to achieve moderate success and positive reviews in the series.
Premier Manager Ninety-Nine
Developed by Dinamic Software
Released in 1998
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation
Slightly improved version of the two previous games, based on PC Fútbol 6. The final game in the series released by Gremlin.
Premier Manager 2000
Released in 1999
Platforms: PlayStation
Premier Manager 2002-2003
Developed by Zoo Digital
Released in 2002
Platforms: Windows
Premier Manager 2003-2004
Developed by Zoo Digital
Released in 2003
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance
Premier Manager 2004-2005
Developed by Zoo Digital
Released in 2004
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance
Premier Manager 2005/2006
Developed by Zoo Digital
Released in 2005
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance

Pete Sampras Tennis

2005-07-31T03:24:00.000-07:00

Pete Sampras Tennis was the first game of three of this celebrity endorsed tennis video game series, released by British software house Codemasters. It was followed by Pete Sampras Tennis '96 still in Sega's 16-bit console and later by Pete Sampras Tennis '97, released for the PlayStation and Windows/DOS.

Gameplay

Singles on lawnWhile Pete Sampras Tennis uses all three control pad buttons, the game play remains simple yet realistic, for its time. While serving, the A button sends the ball automatically, and B allows the player to control the ball speed and direction, and is the only way to score aces against the best players. During play, A lobs, B sends a normal shot and C, if pressed alone performs a top spin shot, if in conjunction with left or right on the D-Pad the player dives in that direction. It is also possible to aim the ball by pressing any direction on the D-Pad before there is contact between the racket and the ball.
Expert players are able to win against any computer player without giving a point away, since the AI isn't very well developed (and there are no difficulty options) and its hard to miss a ball. The most usual tactic is to lure the opponent into the net (by making low shots), and then expect he bounces against a mid-height ball close to the net, or if he manages to return, call in a long lob, leaving the opponent with no chances of returning the ball. With harder hitting characters, it is possible to make strong and accurate returns after the serve, which the computer-controlled player rarely manages to return.
While managing to make perfect use of the lob and normal shot aim is essential to play the game, top spins can be more a nuisance than helpful. Since it shares the same button as dives, and a good top spin shot requires additional power control (by either pressing up or down), Sega's 8 direction pads, if broken or dirty, or even simply if the finger slipped, top spin shots often ended up turning into a dive, the ball passing helplessly by the player.

Characters
The only real tennis player is (unsurprisingly) Pete Sampras. All players, however, have different ratings for base line, service, speed and volleys, and there is a noticeable difference between left and right handed players. Not all players can be used in the World Tour mode, as some of them are actual opponents.

Events

Pairs on Hard CourtThere are only three surfaces to choose from (Grass, Hard and Clay) and there aren't any differences between them (which is considered the biggest flaw in the game). There are several places where matches and tournaments in the Huge Tour take place, and they are accurate on the kind of surface that tournament actually uses: London (Wimbledon) is played on grass, Paris (Roland Garros) on clay, New York (Flushing Meadows) on hard court, etc. Each surface has three different sets, with the scoreboard on the left, right or middle. This is probably one indication of the court in use: most games during Huge Tour tournaments are played in the sided scoreboard courts, except the final.

Game modes
The game has three main modes: Challenge match, Tournament and World Tour.

Challenge Match
Challenge matches are simple head-to-head matches, where everything can be customized, from game length (1/3/5 sets), location and the kind of game (singles or doubles). All players can be chosen (including opponents in the World Tour), and if the J-Cart is in use, 4 players can play simultaneously.

Tournament
Tournament is the "party" mode. From four to eight players can compete head to head in a knockout competition until the best two matchup in the final. Although it is not possible to change the match length (5 sets only), each player can choose an handicap, from none to three sets.

World Tour
The single-player only game mode, the world tour is a one set only, composed by 18 rounds across the globe. Some of the players are not available (Sampras included) since they are opponents during the tournament. Since the game is easy, this mode can be beaten in few days.

By inserting the Zeppelin password, two extra modes are unlocked: Crazy Tennis and Huge Tour.

Crazy Tennis

Crazy TennisCrazy Tennis is one arcadish mode where players get points from simply hitting the ball. There is one overall sense of wackiness in this mode, as some lower balls are blocked by a popup racket on the net, some powerups increase the size of the ball or allow direct control of its path, and there is even a cameo from Dizzy, who walks on the net and works as a piñata. After five hits Dizzy breaks, giving several points to the last player who hit the ball. Players can get points from hitting the ball, breaking Dizzy and winning the point, which aggregates all the points played since the last service (which is done automatically by a machine, instead of a player). The game is timed, and both players must achieve the target score - if one of them reaches the timer without the required score, the game ends and the player with the higher score is declared winner.

Huge Tour
The huge tour is a complete competition, nearly a season simulation. There are both men, women and mixed tournaments, for the highest rewarded a minimum place in the ranking is required. So, in order to win the Australian Open (the season opener) one must first complete a season first. Up to eight players can compete at the same time, the match length is the official: five games for men, three for women.
It is strange as how this mode is only included as a cheat extra. However, the lack of a fatigue meter suggests this was either an actual extra mode or one incomplete feature that the developers decided to include in the cart.

Mortal Kombat 3

2005-07-31T03:22:00.000-07:00

Mortal Kombat 3 is the third game in the Mortal Kombat series. It was updated into Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and later Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

New characters
MK3 introduces:

Cyrax: yellow Lin Kuei cyber ninja, ordered to assist Sektor in capturing the renegade Lin Kuei Sub-Zero.
Kabal: a mutilated Black Dragon.
Motaro: Centaur general of Shao Kahn's extermination squads and the game's Sub-Boss.
Nightwolf: Native American shaman).
Sektor: red Lin Kuei cyber ninja, volunteered for automation to prove his loyalty, ordered to capture Sub-Zero.
Sheeva: Shokan warrior, Sindel's personal protector, rival of Motaro.
Sindel: resurrected queen of Outworld.
Kurtis Stryker: riot cop, lone survivor of an attack on a major city by one of Shao Kahn's extermination squads.

Returning characters
Jax, Kano, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Sonya Blade, Sub-Zero, as well as a hidden character: Smoke, who first appeared in Mortal Kombat II, converted into a cyber-ninja, and Noob Saibot a hidden warrior you can only fight with a Kombat Kode.

New to the series
MK3 introduced the "Run" button, accompanied by a "Run" meter, allowing the character to run.
MK3 also introduced "chain combos", also known as "dial-a-combos" (many other fighting games at the time had similar combo systems). These supplement the existing juggle combo system, but critics contend that dial-a-combos are redundant and needlessly add to the learning curve of the game.
MK3 introduced the long-rumored Animality, where the character transforms into an animal in order to kill your opponent.
MK3 also introduced "Mercy," allowing a beaten foe to recover a sliver of life and continue fighting. This is necessary to perform an Animality.

Storyline
Fed up with continuous losses in tournament battle, Shao Kahn who had lost the Outworld tournament in 1994, enacts a 10,000 year-old plan. He would have his Shadow Priests, led by Shang Tsung, revive his former Queen Sindel, who unexpectedly died at a young age. However, she wouldn't be revived in the Outworld. She would be resurrected in the Earth Realm. This would allow Shao Kahn to cross the boundary lines and reclaim his queen. By 1995, the plan was ready and operating.

When Sindel is reincarnated in Earth Realm, Shao Kahn reaches across the dimensions to reclaim her. As a consequence of his action, the Earth Realm becomes a part of the Outworld, killing billions instantly. Only a few are spared, as Raiden protects their souls. He tells them that Shao Kahn must be stopped, but he cannot interfere; due to his status, he has no power in Outworld, and Earth Realm is partially merged with Outworld.

Shao Kahn has unleashed extermination squads to roam throughout the Earth Realm and kill any survivors. Also, Raiden's protection only extends to the soul, not to the body, so his chosen warriors have to fight the extermination squads and repel Shao Kahn.

Mortal Kombat 3 follows Mortal Kombat II, and precedes Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and Mortal Kombat Advance.

Mortal Kombat II

2005-07-31T03:21:00.000-07:00

Mortal Kombat II

Developer Midway Games
Publisher Midway Games
Release date 1993
Genre Fighting
Modes Up to 2 players
Cabinet Standard
Arcade system Midway T Unit hardware
CPU: TMS34010 (@ 6.25 Mhz)
Sound CPU : ADSP2105 (@ 10 Mhz)
Sound Chips : DMA-driven (@ 10 Mhz)
Monitor Raster resolution 400 x 254 (Horizontal) Palette Colors 32768
Input 8-way joystick, Buttons: 5 (HP, LP, BLOCK, HK, LK)
Ports Arcade, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Sega 32X, Game Boy, Game Gear
Mortal Kombat II is the second game in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

New characters
Baraka: Tarkatan warlord.
Jax: A member of the Special Forces and a longtime comrade of Sonya Blade, who enters the tournament to rescue Sonya from Shao Khan.
Kintaro: Shokan warrior, general of Shao Kahn's army, and Goro's successor.
Kitana: Shao Kahn's personal assassin, and step-daughter.
Kung Lao: Shaolin monk and friend of Liu Kang, who seeks to avenge the destruction of the Shaolin Temple.
Mileena: Shao Kahn's personal assassin, and Kitana's clone.
Reptile: Shang Tsung's personal bodyguard.
Shao Kahn: the Emperor of Outworld.
Reptile appeared in the original Mortal Kombat, but this is the first game where he is playable and contains his own moveset.

MKII also contains three hidden unplayable characters. They are incredibly fast and very unbalanced.

Smoke: Sub-Zero's friend, emits puffs of smoke from his body.
Jade: Another Outworld assassin, who cannot be hit by projectiles.
Noob Saibot: Evil dark ninja, a lost warrior from a previous Mortal Kombat.

Returning characters
Johnny Cage- Hollywood movie star who joins Liu Kang in his journey to Outworld.
Liu Kang- The Shaolin monk who is the reigning champion of Mortal Kombat. Travels to Outworld to seek revenge for the death of his fellow monks.
Sub-Zero- The Ice Warrior returns to resume his mission from the previous tournament, and vows to complete his failed objective this time.
Scorpion- The Hell spawned spectre who returns to the tournament to once again assassinate Sub-Zero, the man who murdered him long ago...
Shang Tsung- The evil sorceror who has convinced Shao Khan to spare his life after losing the last tournament, with a new evil plan to appease his master Shao Khan, who in turn also restores Tsung's youth, making him more mobile and agile. Is also the man Sub-Zero has been sent in to kill.
Raiden- The Thunder God who returns to Mortal Kombat to stop Shao Khan's evil plans of taking the Earthrealm as for his own.
Sonya Blade and Kano also appear in Mortal Kombat II as background characters. They are seen chained to the pedistals that link to Shao Khan's throne in the "Khan's Arena" stage.

New to the series
As Midway's technology and experience improved, they increased the resolution of their characters and stages and improved the character designs. The series' story begins to flesh out in this game as well.
MKII's characters have multiple Fatalities and more special moves, and stage Fatalities have been added for the Pit II, the Kombat Tomb and the Dead Pool.
In addition to more Fatalities, MKII also introduces the Babality (turns your opponent into a diaper-clad infant) and Friendship (do something nice to your opponent rather than kill them) finishers.
Dropped the Test Your Might minigame.

Storyline
One or two years following his defeat, Shang Tsung begs his master, Shao Kahn, to spare his life. He tells Kahn that the invitation for Mortal Kombat cannot be turned down, and if they hold it in Outworld, the Earth Realm warriors must attend. Kahn agrees to this plan, and restores Tsung's youth. He extends the invitation to Raiden, who gathers his warriors and takes them into Outworld. The tournament is dangerous, as Shao Kahn has the home field advantage, and an Outworld victory will unbalance the furies and allow Outworld to subsume Earth Realm.

Mortal Kombat II follows Mortal Kombat and precedes Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

Trivia
Mortal Kombat II is considered the best game in the series.
After the low sales of the Super NES port of the first game against the Genesis one, Nintendo didn't censor the blood and fatalities as they did before in the Super NES port of Mortal Kombat II, altough they slapped a warning label in the front of the game box. As a result, the Super NES version sold much better than any other version and was considered at that time the best port of the arcade game.

Mortal Kombat

2005-07-31T03:20:00.000-07:00

This article concerns the fighting game. For the movie based on the game, see Mortal Kombat (movie).
Mortal Kombat

Developer Midway
Publisher Midway
Release date 1992
Genre Fighting
Modes Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet Standard
Arcade system Midway Y Unit hardware
Main CPU: TMS34010 (@ 6.25 Mhz)

Sound CPU: M6809 (@ 2 Mhz)

Monitor Raster resolution 400 x 254 (Horizontal) Palette Colors 32768
Input Joystick; 6 buttons
Mortal Kombat is a 1992 fighting game by Midway. It was popular because of its realistic, digitized graphics mixed with bloody and brutal action. This differentiated it from the hand-drawn, more anime-like graphics of competing games like Street Fighter II.

Overview
Mortal Kombat was developed as a reaction to the popular Capcom game Street Fighter II, with simpler controls and digitized graphics. Some say the game's graphic violence was gratuitous, and was only included in order to generate a public outcry and controversy that would garner publicity for the game.

Although highly controversial, the mix of realism and violence propelled Mortal Kombat to widespread renown. The game included many innovations over earlier fighting games such as Street Fighter II. These innovations included digitized graphics, fatalities, and a specialized control system.

An example of the game's innovations was the Fatality, a special finishing move executed against a beaten opponent to kill them in a gruesome fashion. For example, one character would grasp a defeated, wobbling opponent by the head, then rip the head and spine out of the opponent's body, which then crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood. Fatalities could only be executed after you had defeated your opponent in combat, and served as an ornamental restatement of victory rather than a dynamic of gameplay.

The game's violence and graphics were not the only innovations Mortal Kombat brought to the fighting game world.

Mortal Kombat introduced a new combo system called juggling. Juggling is an aspect of gameplay that became a recurring element in games that followed. The juggle involved following an initial successful combat hit with moves that kept the opponent in mid-air, hence rendering the opponent unable to defend subsequent moves of the juggle until falling to the ground and standing again.

Mortal Kombat also deviated from Street Fighter in the way moves were performed. Street Fighter (and many other fighting games) performed all special moves in variations of circles on your joystick followed by a button press (half circle back, half circle forward, forward then half circle forward). Mortal Kombat was the first to introduce moves that not only were not-half circles (tap back, tap back, punch) but also introduced moves that did not require a button press (such as tap back, tap back, then forward).

These innovations allowed Mortal Kombat to succeed where so many Street Fighter clones had failed.

Legacy
Midway created five sequels for the arcade and home systems, each one bloodier, more brutal, and stranger than the last. Mortal Kombat 4 brought the series into 3D, replacing the digitized fighters of the previous games with polygon models, while Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was the first in the series to skip arcades altogether and go directly to consoles, a symptom of U.S. arcade market's dramatic decline. The newest installment in the series, Mortal Kombat: Deception, was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 platforms in October 2004 (with a Nintendo GameCube version released in February 2005). Following a gameplay style very similar to the one found on Deadly Alliance, Deception also features several new gaming modes, such as a Tetris-like puzzle and a chess game, as well as a suicidal finishing move for each character, usually performed to prevent the opponent from doing a fatality.

Finishing moves in later games included the Animality (turning into animal to violently finish off the opponent), the Brutality (decimating an opponent into pieces with a long combination of hits or combo), the Friendship (offering one's opponent a token of friendship), and the Babality (transforming the opponent into a baby). The Babality and Friendship moves were created as a jokey non-violent finishing move, a swipe at the US Congressional Investigation for Violence in Videogames who came down harshly on the Mortal Kombat games. Purists, fonder of the earlier style, were upset by the introduction of such finishing moves, yet Mortal Kombat's "purely violent" and dark gameplay was once again implemented after the release of Mortal Kombat 4.

Throughout the series, the game was noted for its simplicity of controls and the exotic special moves it featured.

Easter eggs and secrets
Mortal Kombat was among the first titles in the fighting game genre to include secret characters, secret games, and other Easter eggs. Mortal Kombat 3, for example, including a hidden game of Galaxian. In the 1992 original, by executing a Fatality when fighting on The Pit stage (the bridge) without taking any damage or pressing the block button in the winning round, the player could fight Reptile, a merge between the Sub-Zero and Scorpion characters. In Mortal Kombat II, Reptile would be developed into a full character with his own special moves and would be available from the outset. Carrying on in this tradition, if the player won 50 consecutive fights he/she would come face to face with the black ninja Noob Saibot, which originates from the last names of the lead designer John Tobias and lead programmer Ed Boon spelled backwards. It was pioneering ideas like these that has made Mortal Kombat one of the most memorable of the beat 'em up genre. Other Easter eggs appeared in Mortal Kombat II. After landing a strong upper-cut against the opponent, the face of Dan Forden, a lead programmer, would appear in the lower-right corner of the screen and shout, "Toasty!". If the player very quickly held down and hit the start button before Dan's head left the screen, they would then instantly begin a new stage against a secret character named Smoke (a grey-costumed version of Scorpion that emits puffs of smoke). Another secret character was named Jade (a more difficult, very fast, green-costumed version of Kitana). To fight Jade, a player would have to defeat their opponent before the mystery "?" stage using nothing but low kicks. In The Living Forest stage both Smoke and Jade could sometimes be found peeking behind the trees during battle.

Another Easter egg actually came about from a rumored glitch. In the original arcade version of the first Mortal Kombat, a rumor stated that the game would sometimes present problems due to a bug and mix two characters together. This would usually be two of the ninja characters, resulting in a ninja in a semi-red suit. The computer would display his name as "ERMAC", short for "error macro." As word spread, people thought they had found a secret character. That wasn't the case, yet in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, it was decided to make an actual Ermac character. Also, glitch characters occurred in the very rare instance of a player reaching Reptile on an endurance level (rare due to the fact that not only did one have to have the condition's set for being able to reach Reptile, but then one was required to beat two characters without being hurt or using the block button on the harder levels). Once Reptile was defeated, the second character would jump down. As Reptile used a special green colour pallette, the following fighter (a normal fighter) would be a jumble of the characters original colours plus Reptile's green colours.

However, one of the most fascinating elements of Mortal Kombat was completely unplanned and out of the programmers' hands. Following the release of Mortal Kombat II, a myth culture was created around the game. The most famous one is the Goro myth. In the first game, Goro was a four armed monster that acted as a miniboss to the game's main boss, Shang Tsung. Many fans were convinced that Goro was hidden somewhere in Mortal Kombat II and many were obsessed with finding him. The UK's GamesMaster magazine (also a popular TV Show on Channel 4) received numerous letters asking about where to find Goro. Much searching was done, both by fans and the computer game press, until in 1995 GamesMaster concluded, "We are positive Goro isn't to be found in Mortal Kombat II, we are positive he would have been found by now."

Two similar non-existent hidden characters were "Torch", and "Hornbuckle." In Mortal Kombat II there is a location called The Pit II. Far in the background of this stage there is another bridge across the chasm. Standing stationary on this bridge are two fighters: one of them is a Liu Kang sprite with green pants who was named Hornbuckle by fans. One of Jade's hints was "Hornbuckle who?", which people thought was the name of a hidden fighter, and was apparently given to the guy opposite "Torch" on the Pit II. If you watch the ending credits, one of the programmers last names is Hornbuckle. Just a bit of MK humor. The other fighter, is a humanoid character that seems to be made of fire. As these two characters never move, it's been suggested that the "other fighter" is actually a funeral pyre. Finally, there is a cloaked figure who floats in front of the window during fights in The Tower, and Portal stages in MK2. This character was dubbed Cloak by fans, and was assumed to be a hidden character.

The character of Torch, who had been very popular with fans, eventually showed up as a playable character in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Unfortunately, due to trademark issues, he had to be called Blaze instead of Torch. Despite Cloak's popularity with fans, he has never shown up as a fighter (playable or otherwise) in any Mortal Kombat game.

Storylines
The annual Shaolin Tournament promises to be a good one. The best of the best will gather from far and wide to put their skills to the ultimate test. It seems like it will be a wonderful day of fighting.

When everyone leasts expects it, a seemly old sorcerer and a strange four-armed creature appear and corrupt the tournament. This Shokan warrior was the half-human, half-dragon fighter named Goro, who became the ultimate fighting champion by defeating the Great Kung Lao. Because this 2,000 year-old monster has been the undefeated champion for the past 500 years, he made little work of all participating fighters. This was all part of Shang Tsung's plan to tip the balance into chaos and help the Outworld conquer the Earth Realm.

However, this was going to be a bit impossible. In 1992, Raiden, the thunder god, saw this and he would go and take care of Shang Tsung. However, even though he had the powers of a god, this was going to be a bit of a problem. He would need some Earth Realm-born fighters to help him out. Of course, Liu Kang would help, since it's his country's tournament. Other fighters also took part in the melee. They included martial artist/movie star Johnny Cage, Lin Kuei ninja Sub-Zero, and Shirai Ryu ninja Scorpion.

Kano, the Black Dragon's most diabolical thug, was getting chased a by a U.S. Special Forces Unit, led by Lt. Sonya Blade, when we received a vision from Shang Tsung to lure them towards his tournament. Once Kano arrives, he would have his personal army ambush them. Kano manages to get away and into the tournament, while most of the Special Forces Unit got caught in the surprise attack. So, Sonya had no choice but to take part in the tournament, in order to save her team.

Raiden would also participate in the tournament, but he would have to take the form of a human in order to do so. So, the tournament was set. With the Earth Realm already having lost 9 tournaments in a row, our heroes must avoid handing the Earth Realm its 10th loss in a row, or all of humanity will crumble to the darkness of the Outworld.

Bosses
Mortal Kombat featured two bosses. One was a sub boss (in which you'd have to face before challenging the main boss of the game). The Sub Boss of the game was a four armed shokan warrior named Goro, a half human, half dragon beast. Despite fact that he wasn't really fast, he was considered to be tough to beat. Upon defeat of Goro would the player then have the right to face the game's boss Shang Tsung. Tsung was an old man who was in fact incredibly fast and shot out skull fitreballs at will. He also had the ability to morph into any character of the game and not only assume their identity but their special moves too (Goro was the character Tsung most notoriously morphed into on a continuious basis). Upon defeat, the many warrior souls that Shang Tsung used during battle would leave his body and then would he be engulfed in flames.

Mortal Kombat's trend of using the sub boss would set the trend that the future Mortal Kombat games would follow. While most sub bosses would be hideous monsters like a Shokan, Centaur or an Oni, Mortal Kombat: Deception would break this trend by replacing the character Noob Smoke as a sub boss.

Movies and television
Mortal Kombat was adapted into two major motion pictures, Mortal Kombat, and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Both had a poor critical reception at the time they were released, but the first movie was a major financial success, eventually grossing over $125,000,000 worldwide and starting the Hollywood career of Paul W. S. Anderson. A third movie, Mortal Kombat: Devastation, is said to be in pre-production as confirmed officially, and will be released some time between 2005 and 2006.

The franchise also sparked two TV series, the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and the live-action Mortal Kombat: Conquest. Neither series ran for more than one season despite the popularity of Conquest. In 1995 an animated TV movie was released titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins.

Ports

Mortal Kombat cartridge for the Game Gear.From a marketing perspective, the 1993 launch of Mortal Kombat for video game consoles by Acclaim was probably the largest launch of a video game up until that time. A "Mortal Monday" TV campaign featured a flood of TV advertisements, which were unusual for video games at that time, and all four home versions of the game were made available for sale on the same date.

When the first game in the series was released for the SNES in North America, Nintendo of America held a strict "Family Friendly" policy towards the content of the games released on their systems, this included the removal of graphic violence, religious imagery and themes; mention of death, sexual themes, and other sensitive subjects. Henceforth, the first Mortal Kombat game on the SNES had the blood recolored gray in order to pass it off as sweat, and the various Fatality moves were graphically changed to be less gruesome. The SNES version was graphicaly superior to the Genesis port, but all violence was censored. The success of Mortal Kombat on Genesis drove Nintendo to rethink its censorship policies.

After this, Nintendo began to concede on their policies, and the SNES version of Mortal Kombat II was released with the violence fully intact with a warning label on the game's packaging. Nintendo later allowed other publishers to make games with sensitive subject material following the advent of various video game content rating systems. In Japan, the game was also released for the Japanese version of the SNES, the Super Famicom.

Ports:

Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive (1992) - the American Sega Genesis version was censored, but entering a secret code (a-b-a-c-a-b-b) restores the blood and the actual fatalities from the arcade version. In 1993 a Sega CD version of the game was released with arcade quality sound, a grainy version of the famous Mortal Monday commercial and loading times. The Sega CD version did not require a code to be entered and this was given an MA-17 rating by the Video Games Rating Council.
Amiga (1993)
Game Boy (1993)
IBM PC (1993)
Sega Master System (1993)
Sega Game Gear (1993)
SNES/Super Famicom (1993) - Because Nintendo of America had a problem with the depiction of blood, the SNES replaces blood with yellowish sweat and all fatalities that involve decapitation or mutilation are modified or replaced.
The game has been ported illegally to the Famicom in Asia. It has appeared in several multicarts in China.

Sequels
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat Gold
Mortal Kombat Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
Mortal Kombat: Deception
There was also a separate game starring the character of Sub-Zero called Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. This was a platform game rather than a fighting game. This and as well as having an extremely complicated storyline and sluggish gameplay, the game received negative reviews from its inception and it became widely regarded as a disappointing and lackluster endeavour.

Another interesting Mortal Kombat game is Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, which is an action game that was originally supposed to star Jax and Sonya. Due to Midway cutting a lot of corners after Tobias left, Sonya wasn't in the game. This game was an even bigger failure than Mythologies, and the series has fallen to its lowest point in 1999, a few years after reaching its peak with Mortal Kombat 3 and its updates (UMK3 and Trilogy). This caused Midway to take some time off and refocus.

Another game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, has been confirmed and will be released in September or October 2005.

Plot continuity
One interesting aspect of the Mortal Kombat series' plot is that every single game features a different ending for every character. Because many endings in a single game will contradict each other, only one or a few per game are considered canon, and the true endings are never known until the next game is released. The result is that when a new Mortal Kombat game is released, fans speculate about which ending (or endings) are real.

Nearly every game's canon ending involves the good guys emerging triumphant over evil, though this trend was broken with the release of Mortal Kombat: Deception, which revealed that Earthrealm's warriors in Deadly Alliance had failed to prevent Shang Tsung and Quan Chi from resurrecting the Dragon King's army, and that all of them (including Raiden) had died as a result.

Mortal Kombat crossovers
Mortal Kombat has also been the focus of several extremely popular game modifications, including hacks to the original Mortal Kombat PC games (MK2: Kintaro's Vulgar Version), and the integration of console artwork and audio into other game engines, including but not limited to the original Quake and Unreal engines (Mortal Kombat Quake TC).

Micro Machines

2005-07-31T03:19:00.000-07:00

Micro Machines were a line of toys made by Galoob (now part of Hasbro) in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Micro Machines were literally that; tiny 'N' scale component style "Playsets" and vehicles (approx 1 inch / 2 cm long) including miniature cars, trucks, trains, emergency vehicles, tanks, boats, helicopters, monster trucks, and motorcycles. The list enlarged over time, with many special editions being released in limited numbers (for example, the 'Bigfoot' monster truck Micro Machine). Star Trek and Star Wars models were also made, as were models from other science fiction franchises.

Contents
1 Video games
1.1 Micro Machines
1.2 Micro Machines 2
1.3 Micro Machines 3
1.4 Micro Machines 64
2 External Links

Video games
The toy range spawned a range of related computer and video games on several formats (including Amiga, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy, PS2).

Micro Machine games are departures from normal computer racing games; instead of powerful Formula 1 cars, you race toy cars around home-made courses, such as Dad's desktop or Mom's kitchen, each with its own obstacles.

Micro Machines
Release year: 1993 The first game in the series laid the foundation of the gameplay: a top-down racing game with miniature vehicles. The tracks were themed very differently, races take place on a billiard table or in a garden.

Micro Machines 2
Release year: 1995 Not only do you have cars that require different handling techniques for each course, but in Micro Machines 2 you even get to steer a hovercraft or a helicopter. There are also different playing modes which include innovative "head-to-head", in which you get points when you're so fast you drive out of the screen while your opponent is still in the back part of the screen.

Micro Machines 3
Release year: 1997 The last PC-game in the series featured 3D-graphics and 8-player multiplayer matches.

Micro Machines 64
A 3d console version of the game

Moonwalker

2005-07-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

For other uses of the term "moonwalk", see moonwalk.

Moonwalker, also known as Michael Jackson: Moonwalker, was a movie released in 1988 by singer Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film is a collection of short films about the entertainer, several of which are long form music videos from Jackson's Bad album.

Contents
1 Original release
2 Plot
2.1 Man in the Mirror
2.2 Jackson's biography
2.3 Badder
2.4 Speed Bunny
2.5 Leave Me Alone
2.6 Smooth Criminal
2.7 Come Together
3 Arcade game
4 External links

Original release
Moonwalker was originally released to co-incide with Jackson's 1987 album, Bad. During the cinema release for Moonwalker, Jackson was also embarking on a world tour.

Plot
The movie consists of several segments, including (in chronological order):

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Man in the Mirror
The music video to Jackson's song Man in the Mirror acts as the opening segment to the film. This short film features a montage of clips of children from Africa, Martin Luther King, and other historical figures.

Jackson's biography
A short biographical film about Jackson, covering from his birth, to the release of the Bad album.

Badder
A parody of the music video for Bad's title song, featuring children filling the roles of various people in the original clip.

Speed Bunny
The Badder clip moves into a second short film, referred to as 'Speed Bunny', that makes extensive use of Claymation techniques, and acts as the music video to the song Speed Demon. In the film, Michael, in an attempt to avoid overzealous fans, disguises himself as a rabbit(named Spike), but ends up taunting the fans into chasing him. During the chase, he morphs into other celebrities, including Sylvester Stallone and Pee-Wee Herman. After finally losing the fans, he removes the costume, which comes to life and dances with him. In the end, a policeman tells him he is in a "No Moonwalking Zone", and just as jackson was expecting a ticket, the officer was also a fan and ironically, asked him for his autograph.

Leave Me Alone
The fifth segment of the film is the short film for the song Leave me alone, and features an animated music video focusing on media interest in Jackson's life.

Smooth Criminal
The main segment of the film centers around the song Smooth Criminal, where Jackson is a 1930's style gangster, with the 'power' to morph into a spaceship, or a futuristic car. This long form version of the music video includes the "Smooth Criminal" short form clip, where Jackson dances through a 1930s style New Orleans jazz club. The antagonist is "Mr.Big" Frankie Lideo played by Joe Pesci with an entire SWAT-like foot soldier army of heavily-armored black-clad henchmen who have Michael outnumbered and outgunned. The supporting characters are three children; one named Katie who was captured by Lideo's stormtroopers and almost became a test subject for his new drug.

Come Together
The film closes with Jackson performing a cover of The Beatles' song Come Together - it must not be a coincidence that one of the child actors in this movie is John Lennon's son, Sean.

Arcade game

Box cover of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker video gameMoonwalker was developed into an arcade and video game by company Sega. The home version of the game was released for Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive and Master System home video game systems. The games involved the player controlling the pop star in a quest to save children that had been kidnapped by an evil gangster. The game's levels and music were borrowed from the music video and the player had the ability to destroy enemies by making them dance. A sequel was planned, but after the accusations that Jackson molested children in 1993 Sega did not feel it was appropriate to have a game where the pop star saved children.

Lemmings 2

2005-07-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

Lemmings 2: The Tribes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Lemmings 2: The Tribes

Developer(s) DMA Design
Publisher(s) Psygnosis
Release date(s) 1993
Genre Puzzle
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: Everyone (E)
Platform(s) Commodore Amiga, various
Media Three 3 1/2" floppy disks, Cartridge
Input Mouse, Gamepad
Lemmings 2: The Tribes is a computer game released in 1993, as the first real sequel to the popular puzzle game Lemmings. As the original, it was developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis. The gameplay remained mostly the same as the original game, requiring you to lead all the lemmings to their exit by giving them the appropriate "skills".

Overview
Numerous changes and additions were made in this sequel. First of all, there was an introduction movie explaining the storyline of the game. Secondly, there were now many, many more skills available to give to the lemmings, unlike the eight in the original game. There was still a total of 120 levels, but in this game they were divided into ten levels for each of the twelve tribes.

Lemmings 2 was not quite as popular as Lemmings, and was not ported to other systems as much as the original game was. Despite this, it was well received and considered by many as a worthy sequel. One apparently common complaint was that the many different skills were too confusing to players, despite the game's "Practice Mode".

Storyline
Once upon a time, the twelve lemming tribes of Lemming Island lived happily and peacefully. One day, however, a great darkness fell upon their land, as foretold in an ancient prophecy. This prophecy told that the only way the lemmings could survive was by evacuating their island, using the power of the Lemming Talisman. This talisman consisted of twelve pieces, one owned by each tribe. With the help of the Guide that has helped them before, all lemmings must now reach the center point of their island in order to escape their doom.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Lemmings 2 differs from the original in the following ways:

As mentioned before, there are many more (over 60) skills available in the game, although no more than eight are available in each level. Some of the skills are similar to the original ones (like digging and building variants), others are all new (several flying skills, for example). One interesting skill is the "entertainer" which will play a musical instrument and have nearby lemmings do a dance. The instrument and dances they do vary by tribe.

A practice mode is added instead of the two-player mode. In this mode, any type of skill available can be selected for the player to experiment with. There is a choice of four different practice levels.

Each tribe's levels can be started at any time, and progress can be saved from the main menu. The player starts out with 60 lemmings for each tribe, but only one lemming needs to make it to an exit in order to progress to next level. The amount saved will then be the amount left in the next level. As some levels may require several lemmings to complete, the player might have to replay an earlier level to save more lemmings for the following ones if they realize they do not have enough.

The player will be rewarded with a bronze, silver or gold medal, depending on how many lemmings are saved in the level. This will also dictate the type of the talisman part received once all the tribe's levels are completed. To watch the end sequence and credits, all golden talisman parts need to be won.

Each tribe has its own graphics set, its own music track, its own "traps" and its own exit animations. Skills however, are not limited to a tribe. The twelve tribes are: Classic, Circus, Cavelem, Shadow, Space, Outdoor, Beach, Sports, Egyptian, Highland, Arctic and Medieval.

A new fast forward button and fan button have been added to the controls. The fast forward replaces the release rate button in the original game, which would let you release more lemmings at a time. Now the whole game is sped up, so you can skip longer waiting times. The fan button turns the cursor into a fan, which is used to push around any flying lemmings or to affect wind-powered elements.

Smaller additions include:

Instead of just dying, lemmings can now hurt themselves, taking a second to get back up to continue walking.
Trampolines will let lemmings jump and bounce about.
Cannons and catapults in levels will launch a lemming away.
Levels can span vertically as well as horizontally (mostly because of the flying skills).
Lemmings with permanent skills have their colours switched for easier identification.

Ports
Known ports of the Amiga game include: DOS, Nintendo Super Famicom (SNES), Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Megadrive, (Genesis), Acorn Archimedes and Atari ST

The next game in the Lemmings series after Lemmings 2 is All New World of Lemmings (1994), which continues the storyline with the Egyptian, Shadow and Classic tribes.

The Lost Vikings

2005-07-31T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Lost Vikings is a side-scrolling action game which was developed by Blizzard Entertainment (then known as Silicon & Synapse) and released in 1992 by publisher Interplay Entertainment.

The game is based around three vikings, Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce and Olaf the Stout, who get kidnapped by an alien for an inter-galactic zoo and become lost in various periods of time. The purpose of the game is to control the three characters (who all have separate abilities) in order to solve puzzles to escape and get back home.

The game was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, then subsequently released for the Amiga, DOS, and Sega Megadrive (Sega Genesis in North America) systems the next year. Blizzard re-released the game for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

The game's sequel, Norse by Norsewest: The Return of the Lost Vikings, features the original three characters plus two new playable characters, a werewolf and a dragon. The gameplay and storyline remain largely the same, though the pre-existing characters all have new or modified abilities.

The vikings have also shown up from time to time in other Blizzard games. Olaf can be unlocked as a hidden character in the 1993 game Rock 'N Roll Racing. They most recently appeared as Mobs in Blizzard's MMORPG World of Warcraft in the dungeon Uldaman.

Lost Vikings II contains some other links to World of Warcraft. In the "Dark Ages" period of time, Erik the Swift accidentally gets teleported to the Swamp of Sorrows, which is a region in World of Warcraft. Additionally, a recurring NPC in Lost Vikings II is Little Timmy, who is a rarely appearing character in Stormwind City, another region of World of Warcraft.

Kid Chameleon

2005-07-31T02:27:00.000-07:00

Kid Chameleon was an arcade video game released for the Sega Genesis. The premise of the game was that your character could change into different masks (like a chameleon) to use different abilities. It is a platform similar to Super Mario Bros.

Two series of comics based on the game were featured in Sonic the Comic.

Story A new VR arcade game arrived in town and every kid played it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until kids began to disappear. The game's boss, Heady Metal, had freed himself from his scripted AI and was using his new freedom to kidnap every kid who could not beat the game, which was all of them. Until now. Kid Chameleon enters the game and must defeat every level, every boss and Heady Metal himself if he wants to save the others.

Characters As Kid Chameleon moves through the game's levels, he gains access to masks that transform him into 9 different characters. Each character had his own special abilities and his own amount of hit points (number of times that character could be hurt). Kid Chameleon, without any of the masks had only two hit points; this meant that he died after getting hurt just two times, which really increased the game's difficulty. Luckily, the game's other characters helped him out quite a bit, which were Iron Knight, Red Stealth, Berzerker, Maniaxe, Juggernaut, MicroMax, EyeClops, SkyCutter and Cyclone, which each had their own special abilities or attributes. Iron Knight had the most hit points and could scale walls. Red Stealth, a samurai, had a sword. Berzerker had a running charge attack. Maniaxe throws axes. Juggernaut was a tank that shot laughing skulls. MicroMax was a fly that could stick to things. EyeClops was a man from the future whose ray gun revealed hidden blocks. SkyCutter rode a hoverboard and could fly on the ceiling. And Cyclone had a flying ability. The sheer amount of variety in gameplay due to the various characters is part of what gave Kid Chameleon such an addicting style; few levels repeated the same structure and they usually had specific strategies and characters to be beaten.

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Madden NFL

2005-07-31T02:10:00.000-07:00

Madden NFL is an American football video game developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA) for EA Sports. The Madden NFL series consistently is one of the top selling video games in North America every year. The first version of the game was released in 1989 for the PC, as "John Madden Football". The first console version for the Sega Genesis followed in 1990 with a Super Nintendo version available a year later. EA Sports has released annual updates for all versions since 1991's "John Madden Football '92". The series gained full NFL licensing and became known as "Madden NFL" with 1993's Madden NFL '94; NFL players licenses came two years later.

The game is currently available for Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. EA has already released CGI renderings for Madden NFL 06, or Madden NFL: Next Generation as it is also known, which is scheduled to come out next year for the Xbox 360 next-generation gaming console from Microsoft.

The game is named after John Madden, a well-known football commentator and formerly a successful football coach during the 1970s. Madden insisted that he would only give his endorsement to a game that was as close to real life football as possible.

The game has grown, refined and matured over the years, adding many new features. Among these is voice commentary, allowing players or watchers to hear the game being called as if it were a real game on TV. The commentary is by John Madden teamed with his regular broadcast partner, which meant Pat Summerall until he retired; the role is now filled by Al Michaels, John's regular broadcast partner on Monday Night Football.

The original version of the game was commissioned by EA founder Trip Hawkins in 1984, and originally ran on an Apple II. EA had just shipped the hit Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One and would soon begin work on Earl Weaver Baseball and World Tour Golf, which together were the foundation for the EA Sports line of video games. The Apple II was not fast enough to show all the players running in real formations on the field. After several years of unsuccessful experiments the game finally shipped in the late 1980's and did not sell well.

When the Sega Genesis video game console gained popularity in the early 1990s, EA tried again. Producer Rich Hilleman brought in veteran sports game designer Scott Orr, who had founded 1980s Commodore 64 game publisher GameStar and had led the design of their games. The team of Orr and Hilleman designed and led the development of what is today still recognizable as the modern Madden Football, the highest revenie generating video game franchise in North America in game history.

There are multiple modes of play, from a quick head-to-head game to running a team for a whole season or even multiple seasons. Online play, which was a new feature for Madden NFL 2003 was only available for users of the PlayStation 2 console or a Microsoft Windows PC until earlier this year. At E3, Microsoft and EA Sports released a press statement announcing that games made from July on will now be Xbox Live-enabled. In August of 2004, EA Sports released Madden NFL 2005 and thus became a fierce competitor in the Xbox Live Community.

On December 13, 2004, EA Sports announced it had secured exclusive rights to the NFL for the subsequent five years, precluding any other game company from selling a football game using NFL players, teams, stadiums or other licenses. This move was widely criticized as an attempt by EA to establish a monopoly over football video games. Although the cancellation of the 989 Sports' NFL GameDay* and Microsoft's NFL Fever had removed two key rivals from the market in the holiday season of 2004, EA was facing increased competition from Sega/Take Two's ESPN NFL 2K5 whose lower selling price was undercutting EA's market share for NFL games.

* Although 989 Sports can’t produce football games with NFL content or superstars it has since started on work on a football game with a fictional league and fictional players called Road to Sunday

Contents [hide]
1 The Madden curse
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

The Madden curse
Prior to 2000, all of the Madden NFL game box covers prominently featured John Madden only. When EA started to have NFL players on the cover of the Madden NFL games, some people speculate there was a "Madden curse" after noticing a pattern when Atlanta Falcons' star player, Michael Vick was injured during the 2003 preseason after appearing on the cover of Madden 2004. Some of the people that believed in the curse stated that the player featured on the box would get injured or simply have a weak season.

The first NFL player to be on a Madden NFL cover was Barry Sanders in 1999, on the 2000 version of the game. He shared the cover with the customary picture of John Madden. However, a week before training camp began in 1999, he abruptly retired, ending his career and leaving the Detroit Lions without their star running back of the previous 10 years. Sanders' part in the curse is debated because he is not soley pictured on the box.

Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans, who graced the 2001 box, was the second cursed player. He was cursed by bobbling a pass in the playoffs, which was then picked by Ray Lewis, who returned the ball for a touchdown. He was also injured the following year. After appearing on the cover, George never rushed for over 4.0 yards per carry since.

In 2002, it was Daunte Culpepper, of the Minnesota Vikings, who had a lackluster year and feuded with his star receiver Randy Moss. In the two years that followed, the usually efficient Culpepper threw for 32 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.

Marshall Faulk, of the St. Louis Rams, who was on the 2003 box suffered an injury and had a bad season overall. He has yet to break 1,000 yards rushing since.

The aforementioned Michael Vick, of the Atlanta Falcons, suffered a broken fibula in a pre-season game against Baltimore. Ironically this happened the day after Madden 2004 was released. The result of that injury would be that the Falcons would suffer a painful 5-11 year. The most recent version, Madden 2005, featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens. He had an injury that kept him out of the last game of the regular season against the Miami Dolphins. The Ravens won, but missed the playoffs altogether.

Electronic Arts officials point out that Ray Lewis and former Tennessee Titan Eddie George appeared on the covers of the 2005 and 2001 versions, correspondingly, and had successful seasons without injury. [1]

Philadelphia Eagles' star quarterback Donovan McNabb will be on the cover for the upcoming Madden NFL 06.

References
^ "McNabb has history with 'cursed' products". ESPN. URL accessed on June 21, 2005.

See also
NFL Blitz
NFL Street

Golden Axe

2005-07-31T02:08:00.000-07:00

Golden Axe is a side-scrolling arcade fighting game released in 1989 by Sega. The game places the player in control of one of three warriors each bent on revenge against the vile dictator Death Adder. Death Adder has taken over the once peaceful land of Yuria and murdered their friend and partner, Alex. According to the Killer List of Videogames, Golden Axe is the most important arcade game of the year 1989. Several ports of the game were created, most notably for the Sega Genesis and Sega Master System. Several sequels followed.

The game focuses on three heroes: An axe wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, from the mines of Wolud whose twin brother was killed by the soldiers of Death Adder. A male barbarian, Ax Battler, wielding a two handed broadsword looking for revenge for the murder of his mother. And a long-sword wielding Tyris Flare, a female amazon, whose parents were killed by Death Adder.

Contents [hide]
1 Story
2 Gameplay
2.1 The Duel mode
3 Ports and Remakes
3.1 Golden Axe (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive)
3.2 Golden Axe (Sega Master System)
3.3 Golden Axe (PC Version)
3.4 Sega Ages 2500: Golden Axe
3.5 Golden Axe for RealArcade
3.6 Golden Axe in Sega Smash Pack
4 Sequels
4.1 Golden Axe II
4.2 Golden Axe II: The Revenge of Death Adder
4.3 Golden Axe III
5 Spin-offs
5.1 Golden Axe Warrior
5.2 Ax Battler
5.3 Golden Axe: The Duel
6 External links

Story
The very existence of Yuria is now threatened - Death Adder has kidnapped the king and his daughter, the beautiful Princess, and he is holding them captive in his castle. Death Adder has also found the Golden Axe, the magical emblem of the land of Yuria, and plans to destroy it and kill the royal family unless all the people of Yuria bow to his will, swearing an oath of allegiance to his evil regime and accepting him as ruler.

Gameplay
Progress is made through the game by hacking and slashing your way through a plethora of Adder's henchmen, including the standard grunts armed with clubs and maces, right up to skeleton warriors and knights. Aiding the characters in this quest is their ability to cast devastating spells hurting all enemies on screen. The force of this magic depends on the number of blue 'magic potions' the user has collected whilst progressing through the game. The male warrior Ax, limited to 4 bars, is able to cast Earth type magic. The dwarf Gilius, limited to 3 bars, casts lightning magic and finally Tyris can cast devastating fire magic and can store up to 6 bars.

The various steeds found in the game (bizarrians) can be ridden when the enemy rider is knocked off or if you find one dormant. These mounts add further attack prowess to the player by allowing them to attack groups of enemies at a time by swiping the bizarrian's tail and, in the case of the larger dragons, can deal heavy damage by breathing fire.

[edit]
The Duel mode
The Duel mode was added to most ports. The main part of this mode was single-player only, although there was a slightly altered two-player option.

In this mode, the player battles enemies in waves. A handful of enemies attack, then when they are defeated the player moves on to the next group of enemies. Sometimes even bosses appeared to challenge the player.

The player had to make do with the health they started with for the duration of this mode, there were no thieves or other sources of health, and the player could not use magic at all.

If played in two-player mode, The Duel became a one-on-one battle against the other player with no enemies or stages.

Golden Axe II featured this mode, but Golden Axe III did not. Instead is had Vs. Mode, basically the two-player feature from The Duel, but added enemy AI so a player could play alone against a computer opponent. There was also one more character added to the lineup, the bird boss from the story mode.

Ports and Remakes
Various ports of Golden Axe exist for various platforms including the PC, Amiga and Commodore 64. The ports of the most significance are listed below.

Golden Axe (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive)

Golden Axe box art, Mega DriveThe Sega Genesis version of the game retained the gameplay of the arcade game, while adding two extra levels and two extra modes of gameplay, The Duel and Beginner (an easier and shorter quest with an alternate boss at the end). Due to technical limitations the graphics took a very noticeable hit, and some complex animations had to be cut, but despite not being nearly as colorful as the arcade originals fans considered the extra levels and modes to more than make up for this loss.

Golden Axe (Sega Master System)

Golden Axe (Sega Master System)The Sega Master System version of the game retold the original story from the perspective of Ax Battler, who was called "Tarik" in this game. While the game was only one-player, it featured all the levels from the arcade game as well as all the magic powers in the arcade version.

Golden Axe (PC Version)
The version of the game for IBM PC compatibles came out in 1990. This particular port was masterfully done, with quality of graphics in 256 color VGA mode rivaling that of the arcade original. The overall number of levels was expanded to eight through the addition of two extra stages. The game supported all major graphics adapters available at the time, including VGA, EGA, CGA, Tandy and Hercules. Although the game would run on a 4.77 Mhz IBM PC XT, at least a 16Mhz IBM PC AT was recommended for fluid scrolling and animations in VGA mode.

Sega Ages 2500: Golden Axe
As part of the Sega Ages series of remakes, Sega released a 3D remake of Golden Axe for the PlayStation 2. Originally released in Japan as a budget release (it sold for only 2500 yen), the title has generally been poorly received due to its lackluster graphics, poor animation, and shoddy hit detection.The game is now available in the United States as part of the Sega Classics Collection, a multi-pack of other Sega Ages remakes.

There is some theorisation by fans that this and other Ages remakes were actually planned for the original PlayStation but were somehow delayed, and then were tidied up for release on the Playstation 2. This theory going some way to explain the unusually limited graphics.

Golden Axe for RealArcade
A re-release of the original Golden Axe was planned for Windows systems, through Sega's partnership with Real Networks' 'RealArcade' subscription-based game download service, however it never progressed beyond the beta testing stage.

Golden Axe in Sega Smash Pack
Sega made a collection of their games, called Sega Smash Pack for the PC and Sega Dreamcast which was basically emulated version of several Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games (including Golden Axe) on one disc.

THQ's Sega Smash Pack for the Game Boy Advance included a port of the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Golden Axe. The game did not feature multiplayer simultaneous play in arcade mode (though it did support multiplayer for The Duel). The small screen size made gameplay harder than in other ports and there were some notable flaws in presentation. For these and other shortcomings, some fans criticize it as being far worse than the Genesis version, despite being on a technologically superior platform.

Sequels
Golden Axe II
Each of the heroes from the first game return to battle the forces of evil villain Dark Guild in this Sega Genesis/Mega Drive exclusive. Released in 1991, the game featured new magic for each of the heroes with the trademark magic pots from the first game replaced by spell books this time around. Because of the removal of the thieves and the addition of the spell books, many fans strongly dislike the game.

Golden Axe II: The Revenge of Death Adder
In 1992, Sega released an arcade exclusive sequel to Golden Axe. Entitled "The Revenge of Death Adder", the game featured a group of new heroes and four-player simultaneous play. The game featured improved graphics and sound over the original game. Note that this is completely different from the Genesis Golden Axe II.

Golden Axe III
Released in 1993, the third Golden Axe game on the Mega Drive went unreleased in the United States, despite all the ingame dialog being in English. The game was available for a while in North America on the Sega Channel, Sega's modem-based game downloading system.

In this game, a new set of heroes battle the scourge of Damud Hellbringer. This game boasts an incredible number of truly branching paths to choose during gameplay (in Revenge of Death Adder they usually looped back onto one another after a very short while) as well the largest number of playable characters in any Golden Axe game for the Genesis/Mega Drive. Despite the loss of Gilius Thunderhead the dwarf and Duel mode, some Golden Axe fans consider this to be the pick of the console releases.

Spin-offs
Golden Axe Warrior
This Sega Master System title told another epic tale about the Golden Axe. Unlike most of the other games in the series, it was an adventure game much like The Legend of Zelda and Dragon Warrior before it. Even though it was basically a Zelda clone, its monetary system was horns and it is to be imagined that the hero cut these off of the enemies he killed (much like Conan in the film Conan the Destroyer) and their monetary value was like a sort of ivory.

Ax Battler
Released for the Sega Game Gear, this adventure title followed the legend of the character Ax Battler. Unlike its console counterpart, it was more based on the second Zelda rather than the first. The player moved around a top-view overworld and enemies randomly attacked. However the player couldn't see them like in Adventure of Link, so it was much like the Pokemon games' grass, where the Pokemon are completely invisible and suddenly choose to attack. When a battle began the game zoomed down to a platform-style fighting engine. After killing the foe (or the foe wounding them) the hero returned to the overworld.

As a Golden Axe first, the player could learn new attacks and moves at the training dojos in each town. The monetary system in this game was pots, the traditional Golden Axe magic-usage item - they doubled as both currency and as an offensive attack.

Golden Axe: The Duel
The last original Golden Axe game was released in 1994. Unlike the games before it, Golden Axe: The Duel was a one-on-one fighting game featuring characters who appear to be descendants of some of the characters in the original game. The title was released for both the arcades and the Sega Saturn console. It had a poor reception in both markets; Golden Axe fans shirked from its Street Fighter-like combos, but fans of the more popular fighters didn't think it had anywhere near enough combos.

Gods

2005-07-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

Gods is a 1991 video game by The Bitmap Brothers where the player is cast as Hercules in his quest to achieve immortality. The game was first made for Amiga and Atari ST computers and then ported for various other platforms. Not unlike other Bitmap Brothers' games, Gods was highly praised by critics thanks to the quality graphics, the music (as it was common with Bitmap Brothers, an external musician assured the game score, this time John Foxx as Nation 12) but mostly for the enemy AI, which would adapt not only to the player position, but also to his skill. Bonuses are awarded for reaching certain parts of the level under a certain limit of time or number of lifes, bringing an object to a room or simply by playing poorly, where the game helps the player.

Title screen (MD)Although at first Gods might seem a "jump and run" platformer, it becomes soon evident that while precise and timed jumping are required to progress, planning each move carefully yelds better results health-wise than attempting to speedrun a level, and there are some puzzles (often involving levers and objects) which require the player to go back and forth in the level, since there's only a three space inventory where objects required to get bonuses (such as keys) or to complete a level can be carried. The console versions (especially the Mega Drive/Genesis port) run at a considerably higher speed, which increases the difficulty level greatly.

First levelWeapons work somewhat like those found in SHMUPS. There are several weapons available in the levels or to buy, and up to three of each can be used simultaneously. It is also possible to vary the focus of the weapons: to destroy more enemies at the same horizontal level as the player, a tight angle is advisable, but in levels with open spaces and enemies in higher places, a difuse aim might prove more useful. There are also other weapons, such as bouncing axes that can be used to take on enemies at a lower level or fireballs.

There are four levels, each with a Guardian at the end. After completion of a level the player meets a trader, and depending on the wealth accumulated during the game (by catching diamond-shaped jewels or bags) can buy more powerful weapons or items (Xenon 2: Megablast uses the same idea).

Ghouls 'n Ghosts

2005-07-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

Ghouls 'n Ghosts (大魔界村 Dai makai mura in Japan) is a platform game developed by Capcom and released as an arcade game in 1988 and for numerous other formats including Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST and Sega Genesis. A sequel to the arcade game Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985, also available for numerous formats), Ghouls 'n Ghosts also has an alternative version, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (SNES, 1991), a spin-off series consisting of Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy, 1990), Gargoyle's Quest II (NES, 1992) and Demon's Crest (SNES), and a quasi-sequel, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory (2001).

The series is known for its spooky setting and music, its difficult gameplay and its humour. Players take on the role of Knight Arthur, who must recover his bride's (Princess Prin Prin) soul from Lucifer. They have to run through a series of ever-stranger settings, jumping, throwing daggers and holy water, destroying undead, collecting treasure, fighting bizarre bosses, and often stripping down to their boxer shorts.

In the Gargoyle's Quest spin-off games, players control Firebrand, a gargoyle enemy. The setting of the main series remains, while gameplay is a combination of jumping, shooting, flying, and includes RPG elements.

Some conversions of the game, at least Commodore 64 and Amiga, are famous for good background music. For those conversions Tim Follin composed some new tunes and made new arrangments based on original arcade game music.

External link
The Killer List of Video Games entry on Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghouls_%27n_Ghosts"

Fantastic Dizzy

2005-07-31T02:04:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Dizzy (The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy outside Europe) is a 1993 video game developed by Codemasters. It was published to several platforms, including Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, NES, Amiga and DOS.

Contents
1 Story
1.1 Characters
1.2 Locations
2 Concept
2.1 Stars
2.2 Objects
2.3 Minigames
2.4 Lives

Story
In the game, the evil wizard Zaks cast an evil spell on the Yolkfolk, and kidnaps Dizzy's girlfriend Daisy, and it's up to Dizzy to undo Zaks' doings and rescue Daisy from the castle in the clouds.

Characters
Fantastic Dizzy has all charcters in the series, 16 total. While the most of the Yolkfolk were harmed by Zaks, the evil wizard and final enemy in the game (Daisy was kidnapped by him, Denzil frozen inside a ice cube and Dora was turned into a frog), others have other problems (Grand Dizzy is ill, Dylan lost Pogie, a purple fluffy and Dozy is, quite normally, sleeping). Other characters include the Good Wizard Theodore, which grant an extra life to Dizzy if he completes his puzzle, Blackheart the Pirate, who has his ship docked in Keldor, the Palace Guard, who lets Dizzy get inside the city if he bargains with him, Prince Clumsy, looking for a princess, Rockwart the Troll, Shamus the Leprechaun and the Shop Owner.

Locations
There are several places for Dizzy to visit, including the whole complex of the Yolkfolk secret treehouse, with it's lifts and houses, the mine, where a dragon lives, the neighbour city of Keldor, where the Pirate ship and the Castle are, the grasslands, Carber Bay, the cemetery (including a grave) and finally the Zaks' very own Cloud Castle.

The game engine is able to scroll horizontally, but not vertically. As soon as Dizzy climbs a ladder or jumps to a off-screen platform, new screens are loaded to memory. It is also able to render day and night cycles and also rain (which gives Dizzy a sad face).

Concept
The game is hard to qualify in a genre: while it seems at first a platform game, Dizzy is vulnerable to all enemies while unable to eliminate them, and puzzles are completed by bringing an object to a location (in the same fashion as Gods and adventure games), and also has to capture all 250 stars scattered in the game. It also has several arcade minigames based on older games in the series (like Bubble Dizzy).

Stars
Scattered around the game world are 250 stars which must be collected to grant access to the final confrontation with Zaks. While most of them are accessible in the regular parts of the game, others are placed inside the minigames, which forces the player to run through them as many times needed to get all stars. If the player tries to reach the tower without the stars, Dizzy is stunned by the electric door.

Objects
To complete the game, Dizzy has to carry items (three at a maximum) like keys and objects to be used to solve puzzles like a match, a weight or cymbals to certain spots in the game. Some objects are not meant to be traded, given to another characters or placed, but used to reach other destinations (like the rope, the swimfins or the aqua-lung) or to protect from danger (the umbrella).

Minigames
While most of the is passed in the slow-paced platform sections, there are three minigames required to complete the game, plus one to get all the stars.

Mine carts: Dizzy can travel in the carts found in the mine into other places in the game, collecting stars along the way. There are a number of dangers in the rails, from falling rocks, dead ends and carts in the opposite direction. Nearing the end, both cart speed and number of dead ends increase.
Castle Capers: A minigame based on the Operation Wolf concept, Dizzy, armed with a crossbow, has to get a 5 hit advantage over the trolls, who are occupying the castle. However, if the trolls get the same advantage, Dizzy loses a life.
Bubble Trouble: Based on a previous Dizzy game (Bubble Dizzy), Dizzy has to reach a small island before his oxygen wears out. To do so, he has to ride air bubbles formed in the sea bed, and jumping into the platforms in the sides or other bubbles before they burst. Larger bubbles endure more, but are slower, while smaller ones are fast but burst shortly after Dizzy rides them.
Theodore's magic puzzle: The extra life minigame is regular a 4x4 shuffling puzzle, which has to be completed in inside a time limit. As the number of lives increase, so does the complexity of the puzzles.

Lives
Dizzy can be harmed by all enemies in the game, but also by staying inside water too much time without a aqua-lung. He also dies immediately after contacting with some parts requiring an object to be safely transposable, such as the spikes at ground level in the Yolkfolk tree house (which require a plank) or the plant near his house (a can of herbicide) or some other parts in the game where Dizzy isn't supposed to go. While he isn't harmed by butterflies of any kind of falls, he remains sit down dazed, and can be harmed by a rat or a snail in a potentially dangerous situation. Fruit takes a bit of the damage, a gemstone clears the gauge. It's possible to reach a dead end in the game if, for instance, the player drops the rope at a platform that can only be reached with it.

FIFA Soccer Game Series

2005-07-31T02:01:00.000-07:00

The FIFA Series is a popular series of football (soccer) video games, released yearly by EA under the EA Sports label since late 1993. The series is one of the most profitable and well known video game franchises. While there was no major competition when EA released both the first titles in their Madden NFL and NHL series, football video games such as Sensible Soccer, Kick Off or Matchday Soccer were being developed since the late eighties and were already well-known names when EA announced a football game as their next addition to the EA Sports label.

Contents
1 History
2 Games in the series
2.1 FIFA International Soccer (aka FIFA '94)
2.2 FIFA Soccer '95
2.3 FIFA Soccer '96
2.4 FIFA '97
2.5 FIFA '98: Road To World Cup
2.6 FIFA '99
2.7 FIFA 2000
2.8 FIFA 2001
2.9 FIFA 2002
2.10 FIFA 2003
2.11 FIFA Football 2004
2.12 FIFA Football 2005
3 Other titles
4 Extrenal links

History
The key points of EA's massive advertisement were the isometric view of the ground (when all other games used either top down, side scrolling or birds' eye views), detailed graphics and animations and of course, the FIFA endorsement (although it did not feature real player names). It was shipped for Christmas 1993, named FIFA International Soccer, and was released for most active platforms of the time.

While FIFA 95 did not add much other than the ability to play with club teams, FIFA 96 pushed the boundaries. For the first time with real player names, the PC, 32X and Sega Saturn versions used EA's Virtual Stadium engine, with 2D sprite players moving on a 3D stadium. FIFA 97 had crude polygonal models for players and added indoor football, but the pinacle was reached with FIFA 98:Road to the World Cup. Improved graphics, a complete world cup with qualifying rounds (including all national teams registered in FIFA) and refined gameplay. Months later, World Cup 98, EAs first officially licensed tournament game, improved Direct3D support, gave each team a unique kit and broke the sequence of poor video games based on tournaments started by US Gold's World Cup Carnival in 1986 and continued until Gremlin's Euro 96.

The following years' releases were met with criticism: buyers complained about poor gameplay, bugs that were never fixed, bad support and little improvement over the previous title. That led to a decrease in the games' popularity, but fans were still willing to give EA a tabula rasa each year. As both emulation and the console market expanded, FIFA was being challenged directly from other titles such as Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer (known as Winning Eleven in Japan and the U.S.). By FIFA 2003 EA made a determined effort to improve the game, and a year later, included a new mode (Football Fusion) that allowed the ability to play games from TCM 2004 using FIFA's engine, and when Konami announced that PES3 would also have a Personal Computer release, EA doubled the efforts the revive the series.

As it is now, FIFA is less popular than Pro Evolution Soccer on most of the consoles. However it still has a lead on PC market due to lower hardware requirements (opposed to the what most believe to be bloated requirements on Konami's title) and appeal of Football Fusion feature.

Games in the series

FIFA International Soccer (aka FIFA '94)
Tagline: "FIFA International Soccer has it all... experience sheer brilliance."
Cover: David Platt shielding the ball in England vs. Poland; Pat Bonner punching the ball away from Ruud Gullit in Netherlands vs. Republic of Ireland.
Released for: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Mega CD, Game Gear, SNES, DOS, Amiga, 3DO. Game Boy
Released weeks before Christmas 1993, this greatly hyped football title broke with traditional 16-bit era games by presenting a isometric view rather than the usual top-down view (KickOff), side view (European Club Soccer) or bird's-eye view (Sensible Soccer). It only included national teams. The Mega CD version included some features from the next title, and is a highly polished version of the original version.

FIFA Soccer '95
Tagline: "The best console football can get."
Cover: Eric Thorstvedt (Tottenham Hotspur) flying for the ball, Alexei Lalas heading the ball in a Norway vs. USA match.
Released for: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, FamiCom (Pirated only),DOS. Game Gear
Using the same engine only with minor retouches, the game featured more teams (now with 8 club leagues), faster gameplay and more animations.

FIFA Soccer '96
Tagline: "Next Generation Soccer."
Cover: Ronald De Boer chasing Jason McAteer in Republic of Ireland vs. Netherlands.
Released for: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega 32X, SNES, DOS, Sega Saturn, PSX, Game Boy.
1996 was the year that saw the dawn of the first 32-bit systems, giving developers the power required to work with more complex 3D designs. Although there were several 3D football games released before (mainly on the SNES), those were usually sluggish and confusing. FIFA '96 for the 32-bit systems still relied on 2D sprites for players in a 3D stadium (the engine was called Virtua Stadium), but was much more fluid than any other preceding game (except the Actua games by Gremlin Software). The 2D versions had improved player sprites, and for many the game reached its 2D peak with this game. The CD versions had commentary from John Motson for the first time.

FIFA '97
Tagline: "Emotion Captured"
Cover: David Ginola (for most versions)
Released for: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES, DOS/Windows, Sega Saturn, PSX, Game Boy
The biggest change was the inclusion of 6-a-side indoor soccer mode and polygonal players, with motion capture assured by David Ginola. This game features a then unprecedented number of playable leagues from England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and even features the Malaysian league for the first time with complete team rosters.

FIFA '98: Road To World Cup
Alternate Titles: Rumbo a la Copa Mundial (Spanish), En Route Pour La Coupe du Monde (French), Die WM-Qualifikation (German)
Tagline: "Your only goal - qualify"
Cover: There were several covers for this game. Among them, David Beckham, Andreas Möller, Raúl and Ginola were featured.
Released for: SNES and Sega Mega Drive (PAL only), Windows, Sega Saturn, PSX, Nintendo 64.
Considered by many the best game of the series, it had a refined graphics engine, team and player customization options, 16 stadiums, better AI and the popular "Road To World Cup" mode, with all FIFA-registered national teams. The most ambitious of the entire series, it even features many accurate team rosters with even national reserves for national callup when playing in the round robin qualification modes.

British band Blur composed the well known "Song 2" for the game. American band Crystal Method also did 4 songs for the game, More, Now Is The Time, Keep Hope Alive and Busy Child.

FIFA '99
Tagline: "All The Clubs, Leagues and Cups"
Covers: Dennis Bergkamp (Main), Rui Costa (Portugal)
Released for: Windows, PSX, Nintendo 64
This title was probably the last good one in terms of quality in the series. The indoor mode was not revived, the gameplay, although with increased fluidity, was generally frustrating, but the increasing number of websites dedicated to the game and a larger number of leagues (which came to a problem when the Portuguese League rights' owners tried to pull the game out of the shelves locally) ensured good sale. Graphically, it was a major improvement over FIFA '98, with the inclusion of basic facial animations. Fatboy Slim's "Rockafella Skunk" was the music used in the intro.

FIFA 2000
Alternate titles: FIFA 2000 - Major League Soccer (US).
Covers: Sol Campbell (Main), Simão Sabrosa (Portugal), Eddie Pope (US), Mehmet Scholl (Germany)
Released for: Windows, PSX, Nintendo 64 in beta release only.
Although graphically slightly superior than older versions, the gameplay was an unrealistic portrayal of the sport. The gameplay was fast, simple and had a clear arcade feeling which failed to keep hardcore fans happy, especially with rival games such as ISS: Pro Evolution gaining in reputation. The leagues also featured many unlicensed teams, which substituted their real names for that of their home cities. Not surprisingly, this title was one of the most poorly received of the entire series. For the first time, U.S. Major League Soccer clubs were included.

Robbie Williams provided the theme song with "It's Only Us", after doing the same for Actua Soccer 3 (released a year earlier) with "Let Me Entertain You."

FIFA 2001
Covers: Paul Scholes (UK), Thierry Henry (UK), Lothar Matthäus (Germany), Edgar Davids (Netherlands), Ricardo Sá Pinto (Portugal), Ben Olsen (US)
Released for: Windows, PSX, PS2. An N64 beta version does exist of this game via THQ, also relased on Game Boy Color
This title had a new graphics engine, which allowed each team to have its own kit, and for some players, their own face. Slighly tweakable physics made the game a modding favorite for its fan community, which grew immensely at the time of this game. Despite the improved engine and the inclusion of 17 leagues, it still did not please many fans. With the release of more powerful hardware and emulators capable of running PlayStation games, by 2001 FIFA started to lose market to Konami's ISS: Pro Evolution series, a series only native to the PSX format.

FIFA 2002
Covers: Thierry Henry (UK), Gerald Asamoah (Germany), Sibusiso Zuma (South Africa).
Released for: Windows, PSX, PS2, GameCube. GBA
With Konami's franchise taking the lead, EA decided to introduce power bars for shots and passes, actually improving the game. However, it was noticed by many players how the game seemed to predetermine results on higher levels. Doing away with ordinary colour pennants as club emblems, the license included official club emblems for the first time. The power bar could also be customised to suit the gamer's preference. A card reward system licensed from Panini was also introduced whereby after winning a particular competition, a star player card would be unlocked. The question often arose as to what merits a gamer achieves from this system of awards as it would not improve the playability in any way.

FIFA 2003
Covers: Roberto Carlos, Ryan Giggs, Edgar Davids (Main); Landon Donovan (US / Canada).
Released for: Windows, PSX, PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance.
With the series clearly trailing in both market and fan / critic appreciation, EA completely revamped the outdated DirectX 7 graphics used in FIFA 2001 and FIFA 2002 and introduced new T&L graphics, faturing more detailed stadia, players and kits. An Elite league composed of the best european teams was also inluded (this feature was first present in FIFA 99), but the gameplay was more rigid and frustrating than most other games on the market.

FIFA Football 2004
Cover: Alessandro Del Piero, Thierry Henry, and Ronaldinho
Released for: Windows, PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance
While not adding much to the engine (except some fluidity), the biggest inclusion were secondary divisions, which allowed the player to take lower ranked teams into the top leagues and european matches. Gameplay had a new feature dubbed Off the ball, which required the player to control two players at the same time to execute some plays; although the feature looks good in theory (using the analogue pads to control the second player), the execution is too cumbersome to be used properly, and could not be used at all if no directional pads were available (which gives a slight indication on how console-oriented the gameplay was). The online mode was boosted as the main feature, and it alone helped the game climb to the top of the charts. Another key feature was the Football Fusion, which allowed owners of both FIFA 2004 and TCM 2004 to actually play games from the management sim'.

FIFA Football 2005
Cover: Patrick Vieira, Fernando Morientes, and Andriy Shevchenko
Released for: Windows, PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, PSP
Improving the career mode, the game was extensively advertised and released much sooner than the usual late October date to avoid proximity with the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 and the EA Big release, FIFA Street. While most critics still considered it to have inferior gameplay to Konami's series, it was acknowledged to have improved significantly since the 2003 edition and had a less steep learning curve (favouring the on-line mode and casual/novice gamers). The game featured a return of create-a-player mode, as well as an improved Career mode.

Other titles
Outside the yearly series, but also from EA Sports:

Zico Soccer and Tactical Soccer, two Super Famicom titles released only in Japan where the player does not control the players directly, but gives orders to them.
FIFA 64 (first FIFA game released on the Nintendo 64 in late 1997 and similar to FIFA 97)
World Cup 98 and 2002 FIFA World Cup
Euro 2000 and Euro 2004
Stars series (2000 and 2001)
Champions League 2004-2005
FIFA Street released in 2005, part of EA's 'Street' series of console video games.
Management games

FIFA Soccer Manager (1997)
Total Club Manager (also known as Fussball Manager) series
Premier League Manager '99, 2000

European Club Soccer

2005-07-31T01:59:00.000-07:00

European Club Soccer is a 1992 football videogame by Krisalis released for the Sega Mega Drive mostly based on Manchester United Europe, released one year before for the Commodore Amiga, among other platforms. Like the the previously endorsed game, European Club Soccer focus on european competitions, but with only on the European Champions Cup, which can be explained by the lower capacity of the console and the lack of differences between competitions other than the number of teams. If the player won the Champions Cup, the ending credits will only appear if the player beats a South American team in the Intercontinental Cup.

Until the release of FIFA Int. Soccer roughly two years later, it was considered the best football game in the console and the one with more detailed graphics.

Contents
1 Game modes and options
2 Teams
3 Gameplay
4 Alternate versions
5 External Links

Game modes and options

title screenThe game only allows to play friendlies and the Champions' Cup. Options allow to choose game length (from 4 to 90 minutes), difficulty and player change control.

There are two known cheat codes: adding "THREE SHREADED WHEAT" in different lines allows the player teams to shoot harder with simply button touches, "QUITTER" allows quitting and still winning the match.

Teams

Team selection
Kit designEuropean Club Soccer has dozens of teams from all across Europe (around 170), and each country was represented by at least two teams. In addition to correct club names, it also has perfectly recognizable imitations of team badges and kits, although the plain kits (which can also be changed with an editor) mean teams with other than plain kits like Juventus, FC Porto or Celtic F.C., for instance would have their kits simplified (Juventus had a silver shirt, Porto blue and Celtic green). Player names, on the other hand, were made by mixing names found on real squads, with some poor results. Portuguese teams, for instance, had a large number of Yugoslavian players in the early nineties, and that was reflected by players with names such as Valentim Ivic (of Valentim Loureiro and Tomislav Ivic, then Boavista FC chairman and SL Benfica manager, respectively). Names could not be changed, and since the game lacked a battery (like the vast majority of games then), it does not store changes done to kits and passwords were used to resume tournaments (example of a password sheet).

Gameplay

During the gameGameplay is simple, and works only with two of the buttons of the gamepad - B was used to pass the ball low, and C to lob the ball. While a typical button to shoot is absent, if a button button is held pressed, when released the ball goes at a much higher speed. The directional button could also be used to give aftertouch in lobbed balls and change direction or touching the ball backwards with the heel in low passes. Optionally, the A button can be used to swap to the nearest player, if the automatic option is disabled.

There are several ways to score goals, including crosses from the line, high balls, fooling the goalkeeper, strong shots and also free kicks, but the way the game is more recalled for is simply making a lob from the center circle (the precise spot changes according to the quality of the team) with a midfielder, and head the ball from the top of the area, taking advantage of the misplaced goalkeeper, that dives to knock the ball where it is supposed to hit the grass.

The game puts several tactics at the disposal of the player, while the computer has a predefined tactic for each team. Each tactic has it's own advantage: the 4-3-3 tactic using a sweeper is the only one that allows a player to recover if the goalkeeper is beaten and 4-4-2 allows great midfield control from the wings, for instance.

Alternate versions
While European Club Soccer was only released for the european Mega Drive, the Japanese market received J. League Champion Soccer and the Genesis World Trophy Soccer. The first, as the name points out, it's based on a league system with J-League teams, and the later replaced european clubs with worldwide national teams, but with a much more limited selection. The winning screens on both games feature a player and a goalkeeper raising the champions cup, which removes any doubt of what was the original title.

External Links
Genesis Collective page

Duke Nukem 3D

2005-07-31T01:55:00.000-07:00

Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter developed by 3D Realms and released on January 29, 1996 by Apogee Software, featuring the adventures of Duke Nukem, based on a character that had appeared in earlier platform games by the company: Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II.

Contents
1 Synopsis
2 Humour
3 Gameplay
3.1 Level design
3.2 Weapons and equipment
3.3 Monsters
3.4 Multiplayer
4 Criticism
5 Successors
6 Unofficial add-on packs
7 External Links

Synopsis
"Murderous aliens have landed in futuristic Los Angeles, and humans suddenly find themselves atop the endangered species list. The odds are a million-to-one, just the way Duke likes it!"
Taking on the role of Duke Nukem, players must fight through 28 levels spread over three chapters (later versions of the game added a further chapter, with an extra 11 levels). As usual for a first-person shooter, players encounter a whole host of different enemies, and can engage them with a range of weaponry. As well as killing aliens to free the Earth, players must also puzzle-solve to progress through the various levels. Some puzzles allow access to extra, hidden levels.

Humour
Duke Nukem 3D is mainly notable for the (often crude) humour it introduced into what had previously been a fairly humourless genre, including a stream of one-liners from the title character. Many of these related to the frequently gruesome deaths meted out by the Duke ("That's gotta hurt"), or to interactions with useable props such as toilets ("Ahhh, much better"). The game also references many films and other games, usually humourously. For instance, when the player comes upon a corpse that closely resembles the player character in Doom, Duke comments, "That's one doomed space marine". This quote became famous after websites dedicated to Duke Nukem 3D began reporting that Doom's publisher, id Software, had filed a lawsuit against Apogee Games and 3D Realms, trying to obtain an injunction to remove it (the suit was ultimately unsuccessful).

The game freely plundered many themes from cinematic sources, notably the Alien and Evil Dead film series. There were also cameos from Indiana Jones, Star Trek, Star Wars, The Hunt for Red October (the submarine USS Dallas in Episode 1, Mission 3), 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Terminator. In the Atomic Edition, the game contained references to Dirty Harry, Mission Impossible, and Independence Day.

Gameplay
Level design
A notable quality of the game was the immense interactivity and realism of its levels. While many past first-person shooter games like Doom took place within relatively confined corridors, usually in gloomy, claustrophobic bases, the levels of Duke Nukem 3D took the player through attractively rendered street scenes, military bases, deserts, flooded cities, space stations, moon bases and even Japanese villas. Levels were also designed in a fairly non-linear manner such that players could advantageously use air ducts, back doors and sewers to avoid enemies or find hidden secrets (also good in deathmatches). As well as being highly detailed (for the time), these locations were also filled with objects that the player can interact with (including light switches, toilets, pool tables, arcade games, closed-circuit cameras and, infamously, strippers). While these rarely had a crucial role in play, they gave Duke Nukem 3D an immersive feel greater than that in its rivals. As previously indicated, they also usually added considerably to its humour.

An extra "feature" in the game that could be exploited by players was warping (i.e. teleportation from place to place very quickly). This feature would only operate at some very specific locations in the game, and usually only under complex sequences and/or simultaneous moves. Many players particularly liked these warps as they were very difficult to find and because they were able to convey powerful advantage during play. In fact, the warps were nothing more than an unwanted bug in the software, more specificaly in the 3D engine. 3D Realms eventually fixed most of the warps in version 1.5 (also known as Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition). However, for many experienced players the warps contributed a lot to their enjoyment of the game, and many people kept playing with the earlier version v1.3d (in which the warps were allowed), instead of using the v1.5. Most of these warps were an indirect result of the Build engine's inability to support rooms on top of other rooms. The developers had to work around this problem by overlapping different rooms to give the illusion of different floors. Crouching or jumping around in certain spots inside said overlapped rooms would occasionally confuse the game and warp the player to another "floor." This concept can also be seen in underwater portions of the game - crouching down on the surface of the water would actually teleport the player to a completely different sector shaped to look like an underwater room. However this behaviour is intentional and was used to create the illusion of being underwater.

[edit]
Weapons and equipment

Duke Nukem engages some enemies with a freeze gunThe game also featured some of the most varied weapons in any first-person shooter game. Traditional weapons such as pistols, shotguns and machine guns were augmented by the inclusion of a range of more imaginative weapons, some of which, even today (Summer 2005), are still unique to Duke Nukem 3D. Pipe bombs with remote triggers and laser trip bombs allowed the player to set traps for enemies to blunder into. A freeze gun locked enemies in a block of ice long enough for Duke to smash them with a well-placed shot or boot. A shrink ray would turn enemies into vulnerable miniature versions of themselves, that again were at the mercy of Duke's boot (using mirrors, the shrink ray could also be used on Duke himself to complete objectives that required a shorter stature).

Aside from weapons, Duke's inventory also included a series of items that could be picked up during play. A portable medkit allowed a player to heal themselves whenever they chose to. Steroids sped up player movement making transit through hostile territory easier (additionally, they rendered the player immune to the effects of the Shrink Ray, especially useful in multiplayer mode). Infra-red goggles allowed players to see enemies in the dark. The "HoloDuke" device would project a hologram of Duke that could be used to distract enemies. Protective boots allowed the player to cross dangerously hot or toxic terrain. Where progress required more aquatic legwork, an aqualung allowed the player to take longer trips away from air. Perhaps most impressively, a jet pack allowed the player to range fully in 3D, often to reach carefully hidden weapons caches or extra health, although typically jet pack availability was restricted to avoid making levels too easy.

Monsters
The game featured a wide range of monsters, some of which were bona fide aliens, others mutated humans. As usual for a first-person shooter, the Duke encountered a large number of lesser foes, and a small number of boss enemies (usually at the end of chapters). Like the Duke, these enemies had access to a wide range of weapons and equipment (some weaker enemies have jet packs). In keeping with the general tone of the game, Duke's enemies frequently experienced humourous deaths, or engaged in amusing, everyday activities (e.g. using the bathroom).

See also the main article on Duke Nukem 3D monsters.

Fans may have happy memories of Duke Nukem 3D's network gaming maps. In particular, fort was the pick of the community maps especially for 2 or 4 player mode. The game can be played either in Death Match with or without monsters or in co-operative mode versus the monsters, a feature ever less frequent in newer first-person shooter games.

See also main article on multiplayer Duke Nukem 3D.

Criticism
The game has been heavily criticized by some feminists, who allege that it promotes pornography and murder. For example, Media Watch wrote that:

"Duke Nukem 3D moves the "shooter" through pornography stores, where Duke can use XXX sex posters for target practice. Duke throws cash at a prostituted woman telling her to "Shake it, Baby" his gun ever ready. In Duke Nukem bonus points are awarded for the murder of these mostly prostituted and partially nude women. Duke blows up stained glass windows in an empty church or goes to strip clubs where Japanese women lower their kimonos exposing their breasts. Duke is encouraged to kill defenseless, often bound women." [1]
However, such critiques appear to selectively use facts, invent them, or take them out of context to further political agendas. For instance, in the example above, while the Duke does visit the "Red Light District", this is only a single level out of almost thirty (most of which take place in more traditional settings such as space stations, underwater cities and deserts). Also, the Duke does not score extra points for killing women (there is no scoring system in the game at all) and, in fact, killing women summons alien forces - it is not encouraged. Furthermore, the bound women the Duke encounters are infected with alien parasites, a direct homage to the movie Aliens, not an allusion to BDSM.

George Broussard, the president of 3D Realms, defends the game, noting its success and arguing that consumers obviously do not find the content abusive or immoral. However, success with some consumers is clearly not evidence that Duke Nukem 3D is more widely acceptable. Significantly, the only women that appear in the game are either strippers, prostitutes, cheerleaders or alien prisoners. Consequently, while the game's treatment of women (which is extreme even by the standards of video games) could be viewed as an ironic, over-the-top send-up of Hollywood action-film stereotypes, it is easy to see why it causes offence (even if this was never intended by the developers).

Years later there would be a similar controversy about the Grand Theft Auto series distributed by Take-Two Interactive. Coincidentally, Take-Two Interactive is the distributor for Duke Nukem Forever, the sequel to Duke Nukem 3D.

As a result of a gunman's rampage through a movie theatre in Brazil, Duke Nukem 3D was banned in that country along with Quake and Doom and several other violent first-person shooters, due to Duke Nukem 3D's opening level "Hollywood Holocaust" (Episode 1, Mission 1) where Duke inevitably gets into a firefight with aliens inside a cinema.

Successors
The source code to the Duke Nukem 3D executable, which used the Build engine, was released under the GPL on April 1, 2003. However, the game content still remains the sole property of 3D Realms. The game was quickly ported by enthusiasts to modern OSes, including Microsoft Windows and Linux. The warps have been re-enabled in all the ports, which satisfied most of the players. As of today 2004/2005, these ports gave the game a second life in multiplayer games through the Internet and a growing community is still actively playing.

Duke Nukem 3D's graphic engine was revolutionary for its time since the levels were fully 3D in the sense of geometry. However, Id software's Quake is still regarded as the first fully 3D game because it made additional innovations into lighting and shadows (via use of light maps), whereas Duke 3D still used the existing texture mapping pioneered in Doom. Duke 3D and earlier games like Doom have thus been re-referred to as 2.5D instead of 3D after Quake's release. Quake also had polygon enemies and objects while Duke 3D still used 2D sprites. Finally and most importantly, Duke 3D was intended to be played like Doom or Star Wars: Dark Forces with the keyboard arrow keys as the main movement AND aiming (turning). Dark Forces and Duke 3D did have crouch and jump and lookup/lookdown but those were only intended for "ocassional" use (sniping or swimming), but this was cumbersome since a player would often have to change hands and as a result the player could not fully appreciate the geometry of the levels under the expectations of fast-paced action. Quake on the other hand pioneered the fluid mouse-keyboard combination; using the mouse to look/aim and the keyboard to move/strafe, a control scheme still in use today.

Today, the long-promised sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, is still in production after 8 years of development. Duke Nukem Forever last made a public appearance at the E3 of 2001, where a video trailer of the game was released, citing again the "When It's Done" release date. However, even that recent appearance no longer represents the true state of the game, which has been rebuilt from the ground up several times.

Unofficial add-on packs
Although Plutonium Pak is the only official add-on pack, some companies have marketed their own add-on packs for Duke Nukem 3D. Three well-known add-on packs are Duke Caribbean, Duke it Out in D.C., Duke Nuclear Winter, and Duke Xtreme.

Duke Caribbean: This game supposedly takes place after Duke Nukem 3D. Duke relaxes on a tropical island when he discovers that the aliens are having their own "vacation". This add-on pack has often been praised by players.

Duke it Out in D.C.: Duke Nukem has been called out to rescue President Clinton from an abduction.

Duke Nuclear Winter: The aliens have taken over the North Pole, and kidnapped Santa Claus. Duke Nukem must fight the aliens to rescue him. Although this add-on has been praised for its Christmas theme, it has still been criticized for unoriginality and poor level design.

Duke Xtreme: This add-on pack contains around 50 levels and many utilities for Duke Nukem 3D. This pack has often been criticized for its many software bugs.

External Links
Official Duke Nukem 3D homepage
Planet Duke (GameSpy)
Icculus.org Duke3D Port
Category at ODP
Polaris Map Central -- Many files and resources

What is actually needed to play Duke Nukem 3D multiplayer games through the Internet on a PC with Windows XP:

Rancidmeat's Duke Nukem 3D Windows Port (Duke3d_w32)
or

JonoF's Duke Nukem 3D Windows/Linux Port (JFDuke3D)
and

Internet Client/Server -- Manage multiplayer games on the internet through the Rancidmeat and Jonof ports under Windows XP.

Columns

2005-07-31T01:49:00.000-07:00

Columns (also called Jewels) is a puzzle arcade game and console game with many similarities to Tetris, which was released by Sega in 1990.

Description
The game takes place inside a tall well-shaped playing area, as in Tetris. Columns of three different symbols (such as differently-coloured jewels) appear, one at a time, at the top of the well and fall to the bottom, landing either on the floor or on top of previously-fallen columns.

Whilst a column is falling, the player can move it left and right, and can also cycle the positions of the symbols within it.

If, after a column has fallen, there are three or more of the same symbols connected in a straight line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, those symbols disappear. The pile of columns then settles under gravity. If this causes three or more other systems to become aligned, they also disappear and the pile settles again. This process repeats as many times as necessary. It is not uncommon for this to happen three or four times in a row - it often happens by accident when the well is becoming crowded.

Like Tetris, the columns fall faster and faster as the player progresses. The goal of the game is to play for as long as possible before the well fills up with symbols.

Ports and sequels
Two sequels were produced titled Columns II: The Voyage Through Time and Columns III: Revenge of Columns. Because Columns was made by Sega, versions were made available on the Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Game Gear, Saturn, and Dreamcast. Additional versions of the game have also been made available on TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2.

As with Tetris, Columns has been cloned many times on different computers. There was an Amiga clone called Squigs, and there is also an online Java game heavily based on it called Yahoo! towers, which allows up to eight players to compete against each other.

Cosmic Spacehead

2005-07-31T01:48:00.000-07:00

Cosmic Spacehead (released as Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade in the NES) is a 1993 video game developed and published Codemasters for the Sega Mega Drive\Genesis and Master System, NES, Amiga and Personal computers, featuring adventure game elements, with locations connected by platform sections.

Cosmic (Linus in the NES version) is an alien from the planet Linoleum who crashed into the legendary planet Earth. Expecting a hero's welcome, Cosmic soon found his fellow Linomen were skeptic of the existence of the so-called "planet Earth" and decides to return to it, this time with a camera. However, he is flat on the planets' currency, Linobucks, and must deal across the planet to get a new cosmic car and a camera. In his adventures, Cosmic deals himself out of Linoleum (including using a fake ID for Larry Flint to compete in a bumper car contest), quash a robot revolution in Detroitica and gets gas from an abandoned space station.

Each major location of Planet Linoleum has a teleporting device, which can be activated using a card. However, they often leave Cosmic with a side-effect, required to complete a puzzle. To travel between adventure sections, Cosmic goes through arcade sections, where he has to reach the other side of the level, avoiding free falls, enemies and collecting Cosmic candy at the same time (after collecting 15, an extra life is added). Cosmic dies at the smallest contact, so instead of speed running a level (which can be done, since the levels are small), it's more advisable to learn his foes' movement patterns and wait for a safe opening (this is particularly true in the NES version, where Linus can't change direction when jumping). Passwords are scattered at key locations.

Like other Codemasters games, Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade was not licenced by Nintendo. was released as a stand-alone cartridge, as well as one of seven game for the Aladdin Deck Enhancer. The Mega Drive version was included in a "Codemasters 2-in-1" with Fantastic Dizzy.

All but the NES version include a two player mode named Pie Slap, reminiscent of Armor Ambush for the Atari 2600. While the Master System version is similar in graphics to the NES version, the gameplay is closer to the remaining versions. In the PC, Mega Drive/Genesis and Amiga versions, the art style is different from the NES version, much richer and closer to 60s cartoons like The Jetsons.

Chaos Engine

2005-07-31T01:47:00.000-07:00

The Chaos Engine is a top-down shoot'em-up computer game developed by the Bitmap Brothers and published by Renegade Software in 1993. It was first released for the Amiga (an enhanced version is available for AGA Amigas) and later ported for DOS, SNES, Atari ST, AmigaCD32, RISC OS and Sega Mega Drive / Genesis (USA releases of SNES and Sega versions were renamed to Soldiers of Fortune).

The setting, loosely inspired by the novel The Difference Engine is a steampunk-inspired Victorian era England. Baron Fortesque, a grand inventor has succeeded in his greatest creation yet - the Chaos Engine. Unfortunately (for the rest of the proud kingdom), the Engine then proceeds to both capture and assimilate its creator, then starting to change the countryside for the worse. Vile monsters and destructive automatons appear everywhere, bringing the citizens on the verge of panic. This lures in a number of mercenaries, on a potentially rewarding quest to find the root of the problem and swiftly bring a full stop to it.

The player(s) get to choose two mercenaries from a group of six to take on the task of defeating the mad baron, Fortesque and the Chaos Engine itself. In one-player mode, the computer AI controls the second player, so that one never has to fight the chaos alone. The six "heroes" for hire (and their choices of weapon in parentheses) are the Navvie (cannon), Thug (shotgun), Mercenary (machine gun), Brigand (rifle), Gentleman (pistol), and Preacher (lightning gun).

There are 4 worlds, each consisting of 4 levels. The worlds (in order of visitation) are "Forest," "Workshops," "Fortesque Mansion" (a haunted house, in a sense), and "Sewers," each with its own dynamic industrial-inspired musical score. The players must traverse through each level, picking up power-ups, gold and keys to pass through the various puzzles and mazes. A number of "nodes" must be activated via weapon fire to open the final doors at the end of the level. Secret routes and hidden items are plentiful along the way, and between levels the players are allowed to buy weapon upgrades with their collected riches. Finally, at the end of the sewers the players will face up to the Chaos Engine itself in a last battle.

Developers included Steve Cargill, Richard Joseph, Simon Knight, Dan Malone, Eric Mathews, Mike Montgomery, Farook Shamsher and Haroon Shamsher.

The sequel, Chaos Engine 2 appeared in 1996 for Amiga computers only. It pits the player characters against each other as prisoners of baron Fortesque, and is basically a competition game instead of a co-operation one.

External links
Secrets of the Chaos Engine at AMIGAGAMES.COM
The Chaos Engine series at MobyGames
The Bitmap Brothers website

Cannon Fodder

2005-07-31T01:44:00.000-07:00

Cannon Fodder was a short run of war video games developed by Sensible Software, a mix of both real-time strategy and action games. The first version of the game was made for Amiga but it was later converted for many other formats. The gameplay is much better when a player uses mouse instead of gamepad (as with Megadrive conversion). Only two games in the series were released, but spawned through most active systems at the time of the release. The series have a clear humourous line, and soldiers are seen as mere cannon fodder. The pre-mission screen shows a hill with a grave for each dead soldier, with recruits lining up in front of it. On top of the screen, a sports-like score appears. The tag line for the first game was "War has never been so much fun", and for the second (with a more sci-fi background, which included some alien missions) "War has only been this fun once before". The first Cannon Fodder game is widely considered as a video game classic (especially the original Amiga version that contains a humorous title song with lyrics) while the second game, Cannon Fodder 2, was complained to have a too high difficulty level hampering its gameplay (though also the first game gave lots of gray hairs for gamers).

Contents
1 Overview
2 Corn Poppy controversy
3 Pacifism vs. Warmongering
4 References
5 External links

Overview
In both games the player is in charge of a commando team of from one to eight elements that can be broken up to three groups. All units have a machine gun with unlimited ammo, but grenades and rockets can be found on the location. The players' machine guns do not harm its units, but grenades and rockets do, and are the only weapons capable of destroying a building (they may be shot while in the crate). Player units can also die if hit by debris caused by building explosions, hit man-traps, quicksand, and obviously, enemy fire. Units usually walk on foot, but several vehicles are available in some missions. The games are split in several missions, which are usually split into phases. Dead soldiers are replaced by "fresh meat" at the start of each phase. Each soldier that survives a mission is promoted, and receives small increases in rate of fire, accuracy, and range.

Corn Poppy controversy

Title Screen with the poppyThe corn poppy, used by World War II veterans, was also used as the logo for the game. The Royal British Legion reacted strongly against the usage of the Remembrance Day poppy, since it could induce buyers in error, believing the game was endorsed by them. Virgin removed the poppy from the box, but it remains in the title screen. Later versions of the game had a tongue-in-cheek opening screen that read "Sensible Software is not affiliated with the Royal British Legion".

Pacifism vs. Warmongering
The game was also criticised by the media for what was then considered excessive violence and glorification of war. While the violence, quite tame by modern standards but still rather gratuitous (it is possible to wound a soldier so that he bleeds to death while screaming in agony, until he is shot again or finally dies of blood loss), is clear, the claims that the game glorifies war are ironic - the game itself is a satire on war and those that revel in war, and makes numerous statements to this effect, including in the title song (with phrases such as War has never been so much fun), the poppy, and the queue of recruits signing up to enlist next to the hill full of gravestones of deceased soldiers. Each soldier has a name, and when one dies, the player is reminded of the casualties by name at the end of the level.

References
Darwinia makes a reference to Cannon Fodder's intro with a bootloader which simply reads "This game is not in any way endorsed by SENSIBLE SOFTWARE"

External links
Poppy controversy
Cannon Fodder Amiga version info page
Cannon Fodder 2 Amiga version info page

After Burner 2

2005-07-31T01:40:00.000-07:00

After Burner II is a arcade-style flight game released by Sega in 1987. In the game, you fly a F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, gunning down enemies while avoiding incoming fire. Like Out Run, another Sega arcade game, After Burner came in several versions, the most famous being a large, servo actuated, sit-down cabinet which resembled a cockpit and moved according to the motion of the plane onscreen. There was also a much less thrilling upright version.

After Burner had numerous home console releases, including versions for the Sega Master System, Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive, Sega 32X, NES, FM Towns Marty, Amiga, and Sega Saturn.

In Shenmue 2, the arcade version is a playable unlock.

External links
KLOV entry on After Burner II
After Burner Station

Lemmings

2005-03-26T03:07:00.000-08:00

Lemmings

1990 Amiga computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis, was one of the most popular computer games of its time. Several games magazines of the time awarded the game maximum review scores.

Psygnosis, traditionally known for producing games with good graphics but with poor gameplay, had its greatest success in Lemmings. The game was unique and based around concepts previously untried. The player had to guide a group of up to 100 lemmings home by telling individual lemmings to climb, explode, build, block, dig, bash, and mine. (The "lemmings" of the game — small, green-haired beings that mindlessly walk en masse into any danger in their path — are not the same as real-life lemmings, although they were named for the popular myth that real lemmings behave in a similar fashion.)

Of the numerous sequels the only one to achieve the success of the first was Lemmings 2: The Tribes, which added twelve specialist tribes of lemmings, each with their own type of level and specialist workers.

Despite its innovations and popularity at the time, the game did not give rise to a new genre.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Lemmings was radically new for its time. Rather than controlling the actions of the tribe of lemmings, the player must choose from a list of preset options. True to Newton's laws, lemmings continue to do whatever they are doing until something begins to act on them. That is, a walker will continue to walk until he is assigned an order (or dies).

The main difficulty in surmounting the puzzles of Lemmings is not solving the puzzles, but more in executing them in an efficient way. Some levels are easy to see and plan but when actually attempted become more formidable than first expected.

There are 8 orders to give to lemmings:

Climber: For the remainder of the level, the lemming will climb up walls it encounters.
Floater: For the remainder of the level, the lemming will parachute down falls (without splatting).
Bomber: After five seconds, the lemming will explode and carve a small chunk from the surrounding terrain.
Blocker: For the remainder of the level, the lemming will hold his position and act as a wall.
Builder: The lemming will build a 12-step-long bridge upwards and sideways.
Basher: The lemming will dig horizontally through the wall he is touching.
Miner: The lemming will dig diagonally down through the floor he is on.
Digger: The lemming will dig directly down through the floor he is on.
There is also a further "genocide" order which allows the player to rapidly set all the lemmings to "bomber". This order can be used to restart the level if the player realises failure is imminent, or to bring the level quickly to a close if enough lemmings have already been saved.

A lemming who has been set as both a "climber" and a "floater" is referred to as an Athlete.

Lemmings are very delicate creatures and will die when any of the following occur:

Fall down from too great a height.
Fall off the map.
Walk into water, lava, or goo.
Step into a trap, such as a spring-loaded trap, compressor, etc.
Ordered to explode.
Each level has a certain quota to be achieved in terms of lemming percentage. If the player can save the required number of lemmings, he wins and moves on to the next level.

The original Amiga Lemmings also had 20 two-player levels. This took advantage of the Amiga's ability to handle two mice simultaneously. Each player would be presented with their own view of the map (vertical split screen), could only control their own lemmings (green or blue), and had their own base. The goal was to save more lemmings (colour irrelevant) than the other player. Gameplay would cycle through the 20 levels until neither player got any lemmings home.

Ports
The popularity of the game on the Amiga led to its rapid porting to other platforms, and is considered to be the most widely-ported video game of all time. Known ports include: 3DO, Acorn Archimedes, Amstrad CPC, Arcade (prototype only), Atari Lynx, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga CD32, Commodore CDTV, DOS, Macintosh, Nintendo Famicom (NES), Nintendo Game Boy, TI-83 plus, Nintendo Game Boy Color, Nintendo Super Famicom (SNES), OS/2, Palm, Philips CD-I, SAM Coupé, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Megadrive (Genesis), Sinclair Spectrum, Sony PlayStation, and Windows.

NES (1992) Atari Lynx (1992) SMS (1992) Game Boy (1994)

Two-player levels were ported only to some of the other systems, including the Super NES, the Sega Genesis and the Atari ST.

Sequels
Xmas Lemmings (1991) - Holiday Lemmings in North America, expansion
Oh No! More Lemmings (1991) - expansion
Lemmings 2: The Tribes (1993)
All New World of Lemmings (1994) - The Lemmings Chronicles in North America, a.k.a. Lemmings 3
3D Lemmings (1995)
Lemmings Paintball (1996)
The Adventures of Lomax (1996)
Lemmings Revolution (2000)

Allusions
In the original Lemmings title, each difficulty level (Fun, Tricky, Taxing, and Mayhem) had one level with its own unique graphics and music. Each of these levels borrowed the graphics and music from another Psygnosis title. The levels are:

Fun: "A Beast of a Level" used the graphics from Shadow of the Beast.
Tricky: "MENACING!!!" used the graphics from Menace.
Taxing: "What an AWESOME Level" was based on Awesome.
Mayhem: "A Beast II of a Level" was taken from Shadow of the Beast 2.
The unique levels were removed from later versions (Lemmings for Windows, Lemmings for Game Boy Color, and the Lemmings which came with Lemmings Paintball).

In the expansion/sequel Oh No! More Lemmings, many of the level titles were allusions to pop culture.

Similar games
Pingus is an open-source game inspired by Lemmings.
Mormels is a freeware game inspired by Lemmings.
Pikmin is a Nintendo game some people claim to be similar to Lemmings.

External links
Lemmings Universe (http://lemmings.dreamhosters.com/) - Lemmings Info and Discussion
Garjen Lemmings Website (http://www.garjen.co.uk/Lemmings.php)
Lemmings on the web (http://193.151.73.87/games/lemmings/)

Double Dragon

2005-03-26T03:04:00.000-08:00

Double Dragon (spelled in kanji as 双截龍) is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-Kun series. The original game was designed by a man named Yoshihisa Kishimoto, who originally conceived the game as a Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun sequel using the localized version (Renegade) as a basis. The game was heavily influenced by martial arts films, especially those of Bruce Lee's such as Enter the Dragon. The recently released Double Dragon Advance was planned by Muneki Ebinuma, who previously designed Super Double Dragon and was also involved in Double Dragon '95 as a fight choreographer.

The series stars twin brothers, Billy and Jimmy Lee, who are masters of a fictional martial arts called Sou-Setsu-Ken (双截拳) as they fight against various adversaries and rivals. Double Dragon has had several sequels and has been ported to several different platforms. Due to the popularity of the game series, a cartoon and movie adaptation have also been produced.

Contents [showhide]
1 Characters

2 Double Dragon Game Series (official games)

2.1 Double Dragon (1987)
2.2 Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)
2.3 Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (1990)
2.4 Super Double Dragon (1992)
2.5 Double Dragon (1995)
2.6 Double Dragon Advance (2003)

3 Unofficial Games

3.1 BattleToads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (1993)
3.2 Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994)
3.3 Rage of the Dragons (2002)

4 Double Dragon Adaptations

4.1 Comic Book
4.2 Cartoon
4.3 Live-Action Movie

5 See also

6 External links

Characters
Billy Lee - The hero of the series. Billy began his martial arts training along with his brother at an early age, mastering several fighting styles and techniques as he grew up until he reached adulthood, when he became the Sou-Setsu-Ken succesor. Since he's the main character, Billy's role is often assigned to the first player and usually wears a blue outfit. He had blond hair in the original Arcade versions, but was subsequently changed to brown hair in the main home versions. According to the instruction manual in the Japanese version of Super Double Dragon, Billy is a master of the Southern-style of Sou-Setsu-Ken, which teaches flexible techniques. Billy's favorite weapon is the nunchaku.
Jimmy Lee - Billy's older twin brother and the assistant instructor of their dojo, where they teach the Sou-Setsu-Ken art form to students. In the original Double Dragon, Jimmy was secretly in love with Billy's girlfriend, Marian, a rivalry which would lead to a battle between the brothers at the end of the game. Jimmy's role in the series is usually that of the second player and wears a red outfit. He originally had brown hair in the Arcade versions, but was changed to blond hair in the home versions. He was also given a different hairstyle to set the character apart visually from Billy. In Super Double Dragon, Jimmy uses the Northern-style of Sou-Setsu-Ken, which specializes in strong techniques. His preferred weapons are the bo and kali sticks.
Marian Kelly - Billy's girlfriend. The earlier games originally conceived Marian as a female martial arts instructor, but her abilities were rarely shown and she usually played the role of a damsel in distress within the games. Later games in the series made her into a policewoman and then as a leader of a positive street gang, based on her portrayal in the Double Dragon cartoon and movie respectively. Her canonical full name, Marian Kelly, is revealed in the Japanese version of Super Double Dragon (Return of Double Dragon) through the manual.
Willy - Leader and "Big Boss" of the Black Warriors and the final boss of the first Double Dragon and of the arcade version of Double Dragon II. Unlike other enemies in the series who fight the Lee's with martial arts or melee weapons, Willy is armed with a machine gun. His gang is renamed the Shadow Warriors in Double Dragon Advance.
Mysterious Warrior - In the NES version of Double Dragon II he is the leader of an armed group (sometime referred as the Shadow Warriors in the localized versions) which includes the remnants of the Black Warriors. He uses the deadly fighting style of Gen-Satsu-Ken (幻殺拳), an evil counterpart of Sou-Setsu-Ken.
Duke - In Super Double Dragon, he leads the Shadow Warriors and is a former childhood friend of the Lee brothers.

Double Dragon Game Series (official games)

Double Dragon (1987)

Double Dragon (arcade)The arcade version of the game was originally developed by Technos released in 1987 and distributed worldwide by Taito (who are often mistakenly credited for creating the game). The original Double Dragon was one of the earliest beat-em-ups or side-scrolling fighting games in which a player fights against a swarm of adversaries using martial arts or other close-combat techniques. Set in a post-apocalyptic version of New York, the goal in Double Dragon was to rescue your character's kidnapped girlfriend, Marian, from a gang known as the "Black Warriors". A single player would play as the game's hero, Billy Lee (in blue, who earned the unofficial nickname of Hammer by Taito), while a second player could join in as his brother, Jimmy Lee (in red, nicknamed Spike by Taito). The enemies in the game would use several techniques against the player, including the usage of weapons, which during such a case the enemy could be disarmed and have his or her weapon taken by the player. There were total of four stages or "missions" in the game, each with a different boss waiting at the end of the stage. The leader of the Black Warriors and the final boss in the game was Willy, who fought using a machine gun against the player. If two players manage to beat the game together, the game would force both of them to fight against each other and see who would win Marian.

Technos Japan developed their own home versions of the game for the Famicom/NES in 1988 and Game Boy in 1990. Both of these versions were localized and published worldwide by a video game company named Tradewest (a subsidiary of LeLand Corp.), which also earned them a worldwide license for the Double Dragon brand (excluding Japan). The NES version in particular took various liberties with the game. The level designs were redone abit (more platform-oriented areas such as a cave and a mountain were added), a learning system was added (player could no longer perform all their techniques from the start, but had to earn them through experience points) and most notably of all, two players could no longer play simultaneously in the main game, but instead they had to alternate turns. Jimmy Lee, the character originally assigned to the second player in the Arcade version, appears as the final boss after the player defeats Willy (the explanation provided by the developers explained that Jimmy was the true mastermind behind the Black Warriors and Marian's kidnapping). To compensate for the lack of a proper 2-Player Mode, Technos added a new versus mode featuring large-sized characters in which the player could choose between the Lee brothers and five of the enemies in the game (the mode was limited to "mirror matches" however).

The Game Boy version of the game was based on the NES version, however the learning system was dropped and the player no longer fought Jimmy at the end of the game (despite the misleading information Tradewest provided in the manual of the localized version).

In addition, due to Double Dragon's popularity, various licensed versions of the game has been produced by different companies over the years. Sega managed to get a license directly from Technos Japan to produce a version for their Master System game console. This version was very close to the Arcade game and has sometime been compared favorably over Technos Japan's own NES version.

Tradewest themselves handed out the license to various western developers such as Accolade, Virgin Games and Telegames, resulting in creation of various home versions for various platforms such as the Sega Genesis, Atari 2600 and Atari Lynx over the years, although most of them were usually seen as being of pretty poor quality. A common trait between these versions is that even though they were intentionally based on the arcade game, they often used the (loosely) translated storyline and character information for the packaging and manual of the localized NES version (such as depicting Jimmy as a bad guy) from Tradewest, which they reused despite the discrepancies between the Arcade and NES versions.

In 2004, Million Corp. (the current copyrights holder of the Double Dragon) handed the license to Bandai's wireless division to produce a Mobile Phone version of the original Double Dragon.

Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)

Screenshot of Double Dragon II (Arcade)
Box cover of Double Dragon II for Megadrive (the NES version was censored due to the skin Marian is showing)Due to the success of the first Double Dragon game, an arcade sequel was made by Technos in 1988. The premise of the game this time have Billy and Jimmy going after Marian's killers, who is murdered right in the beginning of the game. The Arcade version was essentially an updated version of the first game, although the conventional punch and kick control set-up was abandoned and replaced in favor of a two-way attacking system (inspired by Technos Japan's previous beat-em-up, Renegade) in which the functions of the attack buttons depended on the direction the character was facing. Many of the returning characters were given major facelifts (some more noticeable than others), while Billy and Jimmy traded their original blue and red outfits for black and white respectively.

Technos Japan developed a home version for the Famicom/NES (released at the end of 1989) just like did with the first game. This time, the 2-Player simultaneous mode was kept (Jimmy's betrayal in the first NES version of the game was conveniently ignored), with the option to turn the friendly fire on or off, however even more liberties were made in this conversion. Cut-scenes were added which served to narrate the storyline through text and static images, the stages were completely changed (with the NES version featuring twice the amount of stages of the Arcade version) and new enemy characters were added (Willy, the main bad guy in the Arcade version was removed and a nameless character takes his place as the main villain and the new end-boss). The NES version also featured a different ending in which Marian is restored to life. The worldwide publishing rights for the NES version went to Acclaim this time, who made a few minor changes made to the localized version.

Technos Japan also made a Game Boy version of Double Dragon II in 1991, which was unrelated to the Arcade and NES versions and was published by Acclaim for the western market. This was actually a heavily localized version of the Japanese-only game, Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantou-hen, with the game's graphics and sound altered to fit in with Double Dragon's style.

Licensed adaptations of the game were made for the Sega Mega Drive by Pal Soft (based on the Arcade version) and for the PC Engine by Naxat Soft (based on the Famicom version). Neither of these versions were released outside of Japan. Even though Tradewest lost the worldwide console rights to Acclaim, they still managed to keep the PC rights for themselves and thus they ported the game to various PC platforms with Virgin Games' cooperation.

Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (1990)
In 1990, Technos released the third game of the series. The Arcade version of the game was not made in-house by Technos, but instead Technos contracted another company (East Technology, makers of Silent Dragon, Operation: Wolf 3 and Gigandes) to develop the game for them. The premise of the game has the Lee brothers going on a world tour in search of the Rosetta Stones with the help of a fortune teller named Hiruko . The engine from the first two Double Dragon arcade games was not used, but instead East Technology remade the game from scratch with a new engine, revamped graphics and a 3-Players co-op mode (the third player controlled Sonny, a previously unseen third member of the Lee brothers). Its most notable and controversial feature allowed the player to purchase power-ups at certain shops by inserting additional tokens (credits) to the machine. Player could purchase new characters (which would serve as extra men when the player's character dies), weapons (they could no longer be taken from enemies like in previous games), energy (up to 150% the default amount), attack power (which actually increased your character's speed and agility) and tricks (the whirlwind kick and a special overhead technique would be unlocked for the player). Double Dragon 3 was not as popular as the previous two titles partly because of this feature, although it was only included in the US and Worldwide versions of the game. A later Japanese version of the Arcade game dropped the shopping system altogether in favor of a more conventional character select mode, in which the player could choose between the four character types presented in the game (Lee, Chin, Ooyama and Urquidez brothers) from the very start. The player began with all their special moves as default techniques as well and weapons were merely found lying on the floor, waiting to be picked up by the player.

Once again, Technos Japan produced a Famicom/NES version of the game in 1991, although this time it was developed internally by Technos themselves. The premise of the game was kept, but several major changes were made to enhance the gameplay. The player now began with an optional weapon which could be used anytime in additional to your character's primary fighting method (although it had limited uses), while additional characters could be played as in addition to the Lee brothers after defeating them as bosses (the player could now change characters anytime during gameplay). Once again, Acclaim published the NES version outside of Japan and made some major changes in the localized version (released under the title of Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones), most notably increased difficulty and a completely altered storyline.

Acclaim also made their own home versions of Double Dragon 3 for the Sega Genesis and Game Boy based on the Arcade version under the title Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game. Both of these versions are generally seen as poor in quality. In addition, Tradewest produced ports of the Arcade version to PC platforms, similar to the ones they did for the first two games.

Super Double Dragon (1992)
Released in 1992 for the Super Famicom/SNES platform, Super Double Dragon (originally titled Return of Double Dragon: "Sleeping Dragon" has Awoken in Japan) was the first true Double Dragon title made specifically for the home market. The game played similarly to the first two Double Dragon games, however the player could now block enemy's attacks and grab their fists and a Power Gauge was also added which allowed the player to perform special techniques by filling the gauge while holding the shoulder buttons. One of the most unique aspects of Super Double Dragon involved the Lee brothers' appearances (the characters now head-swapped, making them more distinct) and their techniques, in which their basic techniques differed from each other (the Japanese version explained that Billy and Jimmy mastered different factions of their martial arts-style, Sou-Setsu-Ken). Technos Japan developed the game internally and the worldwide publishing right was once again handed to Tradewest. Despite the nearly simultaneous release, the localized version by Tradewest was based on a much earlier build than the Japanese version (which featured more music, refined gameplay and the latter half of the final stage, missing in the localized version).

The developers originally intended to include cut-scenes similar to those found in the NES versions of Double Dragon II and III, but they were left out due to time constraints despite the fact that most of the necessary data was already inserted to the ROM. As a result, the policewoman Marian (who is mentioned in the game's packaging and manual) never actually appears in the game, while the main villain, Duke, had his backstory left a mystery (he was originally written to be a former childhood friend of the Lee brothers).

Double Dragon (1995)
Also known as Double Dragon '95, this was a competitive fighting game released for the Neo-Geo platform in all three formats (MVS, AES and CD-ROM). The game was produced as a tie-in for the Japanese release of the Double Dragon live-action movie and thus various aspects from the game (such as Billy and Jimmy's transformation technique) were derived from the movie. The game played like any typical fighting game at the time, with the most notable features being the lack of specific punch and kick buttons and a charge meter for super moves which required less capacity as the player's energy decreased. There were up ten immediately playable characters and two unlockable bosses. Billy, Jimmy, Marian (who was now a female gang leader like in the movie), Abobo and Burnov were the only immediate characters from the previous games, with Burnov (a fat masked man originally from Double Dragon II) being the only character not featured in the movie. A revised version of Koga Shuko (the movie's antagonist) served as the game's final opponent, with Duke (the main villain in Super Double Dragon) was reimagined as Koga's bodyguard. The rest of the characters were made specifically for this game.

A PlayStation version of this game was released in Japan by Urban Plant.

Double Dragon Advance (2003)
Developed by Million Corp. (a company founded by ex-Technos employees) for the Game Boy Advance and published by Atlus. Double Dragon Advance was a remake of the original Arcade version of Double Dragon which featured new stages, techniques, weapons and enemy characters (most of them derived from the subsequent) in addition to those found in the original game.

Unofficial Games
When Tradewest received the worldwide license for the Double Dragon brand, the company was initially involved in nothing more than merely localizing Technos Japan's home versions of the original for the NES and Game Boy (and later Super Double Dragon) or producing their own versions for other platforms. However, as the years went by, Tradewest eventually began taking more liberties with the license, lending the Double Dragon brand to various tie-ins such as comic books, a cartoon series, and a motion picture (see Double Dragon Adaptions), as well as any merchandise spun by those products. Eventually, this led to the production of two Double Dragon games without Technos Japan's direct involvement, essentially making them unofficial installments.

BattleToads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (1993)
Developed by Rare under contract by Tradewest (who also held the exclusive worldwide rights to the Battletoads license) and released in 1993. The game was initially released for the NES and was followed by versions for the SNES, Genesis and Game Boy, although they're all virtually identical (excluding superficial aspects). The game features Billy and Jimmy teaming up with the Battletoads to fight off the evil attack on earth made by Colossus, a large battleship. The game mechanics and style heavily favored Battletoads' more comical style in contrast to the darker and serious mood of the Double Dragon games. The Double Dragon characters in this game (particularly the villains) were very out of character: the boss named Roper was actually a misnamed Willy and the "Shadow Boss" was nothing more than a character by Rare created specifically for this game, despite being touted as the Double Dragon's main adversary. The characters of this game were mostly from Battletoads series.

Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994)
Based closely on the Double Dragon cartoon series that was airing at the time, this "fifth" installment in the Double Dragon series was a competitive fighting game developed by Tradewest's parent company, Leland Interactive Media. Double Dragon V was critically panned by both, critics and Double Dragon fans for its poor presentation (including their out-of-character potrayal of the Lee brothers) and completely derative gameplay. Double Dragon V was released for the SNES, Genesis and Atari Jaguar platforms, with each version generally recognized as becoming progressively worse.

Rage of the Dragons (2002)
A Japanese/Mexican co-production between Noise Factory and Evoga, Rage of the Dragons was originally conceived as a sequel to the Neo-Geo version of Double Dragon, but the rights were unavailable to the developers. As a result, Billy and Jimmy had their surname changed to Lewis and Abobo was renamed Abubo. The game was a competitive fighting game which featured a tag-team system similar to the one found in Capcom's "Versus" series. However, Rage of the Dragons is a Double Dragon game by association only.

Double Dragon Adaptations
Due to the popularity of the Double Dragon games, Tradewest lent the brand name to various tie-ins in the US, including adaptions of the game in media outside of the games themselves. Unfortunately, these adaptions strayed from their source material and were very unpopular as a result, with the Lee brothers often depicted as superheroes who inherited their powers from artifacts such as swords or amulets (depending on the adaption) instead of being skilled martial artists like in the games.

Comic Book
During the latter half of 1991, Marvel Comics published a six-issue limited series (22 pages each) based on Double Dragon. This was the first of several Double Dragon tie-ins produced in the US under license by Tradewest. Written by Dwayne McDuffie for the first four issues and by Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich during the last two issues. In the comic, Billy and Jimmy were the inheritor of a supernatural force known as the "Dragon Force" and the first twins to share this power. Their main adversary in the comic was a demonic mob boss named Nightfall, who was previously a close friend of their parents and was responsible for their mother's death. The comic also featured Marian as a policewoman, a role she would later take in Super Double Dragon, as well as in the cartoon series. The most humorous or saddest aspect of the comic book, depending on how you look at it, was the introduction of Billy and Jimmy's long-lost father, a character by the name of Stan who bears the likeness of Stan Lee, although Stan's full name is never mentioned in the comic.

Cartoon
The Double Dragon cartoon was produced by DiC Entertainment and ran for 26 half-hour episodes between 1993 and 1995. The premise of the show had the Lee brothers separated at birth, with Billy being raised by a wiseman known as the Eldest Dragon. In contrast, his brother Jimmy was raised by the evil Shadow Master to become his right-hand man. As a result, the Lee brothers met each other as adversaries after being reunited as adults. However, by the end of the second episode, Jimmy is betrayed by the Shadow Master, which leads the brothers to set aside their difference and fight against the greater evil. The Lee brothers made use of magical swords which contained special powers and added dragon masks to the brothers' outfit. During the course of the series, the brothers recruited allies in their war agasint the Shadow Master. The voice of Billy and Jimmy were provided by Michael Donovan and Scott McNeil respectively.

Live-Action Movie
In 1994, a live-action Double Dragon movie was produced starring Mark Dacascos as Jimmy Lee and Scott Wolf as Billy Lee. It was directed by James Yukich and written by the team of Paul Dini (of Batman: The Animated Series and others) and Neal Shusterman. A review of the movie by the Washington Post was not complimentary.

The Jackie Chan movie Twin Dragons (1992) includes "Double Dragon" as an alternate title, according to the Internet Movie Database, although it is completely unrelated to the video game series.

See also
Battletoads & Double Dragon

External links
The KLOV entry on Double Dragon (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_id=7619)
The KLOV entry for Double Dragon II (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7623&letter=D)
The KLOV entry for Double Dragon III (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7622&letter=D)
Double Dragon Advance from Atlus.com (http://www.atlus.com/dda/index.html)
The Double Dragon Dojo (http://www.classicgaming.com/doubledragon/index.htm)
IMDb entry on the Double Dragon movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106761/)

Desert Strike

2005-03-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Strike series

Strike is the common name of a series of video games created by Mike Posehn released originally between 1991 and 1997 by Electronic Arts for a number of systems, but most notably for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis where the first three titles were released with great success. In the game, the player controls a helicopter (although in the following titles some levels require the player to successfully control other vehicles such as a Hovercraft, a Stealth bomber, a Motorcycle and even on foot). The series are composed by five games, and despite their high popularity during the 16-bit era no plans for a revival exist.

Contents [showhide]
1 Overview

2 Games in the series

2.1 Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
2.2 Jungle Strike
2.3 Urban Strike
2.4 Soviet Strike
2.5 Nuclear Strike

3 External links

Overview
The game is very simplistic in its nature. The player controls a helicopter equipped with three ammunition types, and limited fuel and defense capacity. While there are refits for all items scattered around the map, armor is more easily repaired by capturing and delivering POWs or allied soldiers to a drop point. If either armor or fuel reach zero, the aircraft crashes and a life is lost.

Levels are composed of several missions that must be completed sequentially, as the defenses of more advanced objectives are much stronger. A typical level starts by requiring the player to rescue a MIA soldier who carries information, then destroy a radar or power facility, followed by disabling the defenses that were serviced by the target of the previous mission, then capturing an enemy general for additional information and finally destroying another building. Between the levels, cut-scenes with the story developing take place.

There are several kinds of enemies, from foot soldiers armed with nothing more than a handgun to powerful Anti-aircraft artillery and enemy helicopters. Each enemy has its own damage per round and firing speed capacities, and the player must balance their ammo, fuel, the target's ability and decide if it's better to deploy a powerful missile (such as a Hellfire in Desert Strike) to destroy an opponent, or save them and use the chain gun or weaker missiles to disable it. Other than the occasional (usually useless) soldier, the player has no backup, and must deal with the opponents on his own.

The player can lose a game in several ways; by losing all lives, destroying the main drop point, killing an important person (allied or enemy) or failing to complete a mission in a specified time.

Games in the series

Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf

Firing a missile at a Radar dish in Desert StrikeReleased originally in 1992 for the Amiga, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System and SNES, and later (1994) for DOS Personal Computers. It was also released for most portable platforms; the Atari Lynx was the first, in 1993, followed by the Game Gear (1994), Game Boy (1995) and finally Game Boy Advance versions, the final in 2002.

The story follows the player, a AH-64 Apache pilot in a conflict inspired by the Gulf War. A year after the Gulf War, General Kilbaba takes over a small Arab Emirate and plans to start World War III, and the player must open way for ground troops by disabling most of his defense and offense, and finally take on the "Madman" himself.

Jungle Strike
This time, the player is at the controls of a RAH-66 Comanche in a crusade against the son of General Kilbaba, who allies with a notable drug baron to take his revenge on the United States.

Although called Jungle Strike, the first mission is played in Washington D.C., where the player must protect the presidential motorcade from terrorists infiltrated into the city. Later in the game, the player is also able to drive a hovercraft, a motorcycle and a stolen F-117 Nighthawk. In a double ending, the player returns to Washington to be decorated by Bill Clinton (who is actually credited in the ending sequence), and must deal with the threat inside the city for a second time.

Released originally for the Mega Drive/Genesis and the SNES in 1993, it was later ported to the Amiga (1994) and finally DOS, Game Gear and Game Boy in 1995.

Urban Strike
The final 2D title, it was released in 1994 for the Mega Drive/Genesis, one year later for SNES and the Game Gear, and finally in 1995 for the Game Boy.

In a fictional 2001, a millionaire, former presidential candidate and fanatic cult leader named H. R. Malone plans on toppling the government using a super weapon being constructed, and the player must deal with the threat again.

Like Jungle Strike, Urban Strike starts on a completely different setting than the name suggests, this time in Hawaii. The biggest new feature were foot missions, where the player was required to actually drop at one point and proceed without the helicopter from there.

Soviet Strike
Released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn and the Sony Playstation.

Set after Desert Strike and before Urban Strike. (whether it occurs before or after Jungle Strike is unknown)

Upon the fall of the Soviet Union, an ex-KGB leader, known only as "The Shadowman", gathers a large military force to attempt to start a nuclear war, capturing various territories along the former communist bloc, and setting up various military installations.

The player this time must free these territories and destroy the increasingly more dangerous weapons across five stages, ending with a climatic encounter with the villain in Moscow as he takes control of the May Day Parade and attempts to assassinate president Boris Yeltsin and the entire Russian cabinet, whilst at the same time launching nuclear weapons from the heart of the Kremlin.

This is the first Strike game to feature cinematic cut-scenes, introducing new characters such as General Earle, "Hack", Andrea Grey and Nick Arnold, your co-pilot - who seems to get into more trouble than he stops.

This section is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strike_series&action=edit).

Nuclear Strike
Released in 1997 for the Sony Playstation and Personal computers, and in 1999 for the Nintendo 64.

This section is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strike_series&action=edit).

External links
MobyGames series page (http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGroupId,134/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_series"
Categories: Section stubs | Computer and video game franchises

Comix Zone

2005-03-26T02:58:00.000-08:00

Comix Zone

Screenshot from the start of Comix ZoneComix Zone is a 1995 action game for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Play involves defeating enemies with punches, kicks, and holds, managing your inventory, and solving puzzles.

The game's most remarkable feature is that it is set within the "panels" of a comic book. Each level consists of two "pages", and secrets are discovered by shredding the "paper" and revealing items. Dialogue is rendered within talk bubbles with the typical comic font. sprites and backgrounds possess the bright colors and dynamic drawing style favored by superhero comics.

The plot concerns Sketch Turner, a cartoonist that is trapped in his own comic book. The villain of his story gained life due to an unusual thunderstorm, and decided to entrap him in his world. Inside the comic book, he meets General Alissa Cyan, who believes he's a superhero that came to save their post-apocalyptic world from the evil.

The game is hidden within the Japanese version of Sonic Mega Collection and is locked part of all region versions of Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is unlockable with having a Sonic Heroes game save, or is unlocked over time.

Bubsy

2005-03-26T02:57:00.000-08:00

Bubsy was the star character in a series of video games released by Accolade for the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Atari Jaguar, the personal computer and Sony PlayStation in the early and mid-1990s.

Though the games were platform games similar to Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, the bobcat never came close to the popularity level of the two bigger name mascots.

Bubsy was however popular enough to appear in a pilot episode for an animated cartoon in 1993.

Contents

1 Bubsy's abilities

2 List of games

2.1 Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

2.1.1 The basics
2.1.2 Game mechanics

2.2 Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales
2.3 Bubsy II

2.3.1 The basics

2.4 Bubsy 3D

2.4.1 The basics
2.4.2 Game Mechanics

3 Glitches

3.1 Bubsy in: Claws encounters of the furred kind
3.2 Bubsy 3D

4 External links

Bubsy's abilities
Bubsy has two key abilities.

Jumping - Bubsy can jump more than twice his own height.
Gliding - Bubsy can glide, which cuts his acceleration by 1/4, allowing him to cross large gaps. Gliding can also be used to prevent losing a life from great falls and, when used on certain objects, allows him to bounce up much higher than a regular jump could.

List of games

Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

The basics
The first release of Bubsy was in 1993. The game features five main worlds with three levels in each and a final level after completion of the first 15 levels. Bubsy collects yarn balls coming in four different colors. There are at least 500 yarn balls in each level, some with over 1000. Bubsy's enemies are primarily woolies, rabbit-like beings of a tan color from the planet Rayon. Bubsy, however, cannot go into water. This game has a medium difficulty.

The game is like a cartoon where, if you run into a wall at high speed, Bubsy becomes dizzy with birds flying around his head. There are several such cartoon-like animations in the game.

Game mechanics
The game has fairly simple mechanics. You move Bubsy left and right along the screen with the D-pad and jump with the B button and glide with the A button (these controls can be swapped in the options menu). Enemies are defeated by simply jumping on top of them. Touching an enemy while not falling will cause Bubsy to lose a life. You score points for collecting yarn balls, defeating enemies, and finishing the level. Gliding allows Bubsy to cross large gaps and, if used correctly on certain objects, can allow for up to 4 times the height. There are plenty of powerups around, in the form of a T-shirt, mainly extra lives. The game has quite a few glitches, the most noticeable one is the background scenery.

Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales
Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales was released in 1994.

Bubsy II

The basics
Bubsy II features five zones and it also features three levels of difficulty. Bubsy II was released in 1994. Bubsy collects trading cards in which he can use to buy various items. The game mechanics are much different from Bubsy in: Claws encounters of the furred kind. Bubsy II is just as cartoony as the games that have been released.

This section is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bubsy&action=edit).

Bubsy 3D

The basics
Bubsy 3D is the first and only of his games in 3D. It was released in 1996. Bubsy 3D is a sequel to the original in terms of the story and takes place on the woolies' home planet, Rayon. Bubsy 3D has 16 main levels and two boss levels. Bubsy has to collect 32 rockets, which are not neccessary to finish the game, in order to escape from planet Rayon. He also collects atoms. The graphics are very simple in their nature, even for the time era the game was made in. A dense fog covers the entire area. Bubsy actively speaks throughout the game at random times based on various actions you do. Bubsy's goal is to defeat the two queens of Rayon, Poly and Esther. Bubsy 3D is medium-hard in difficulty.

Game Mechanics
Bubsy can jump very high, he can glide, and, in some levels, swim. Bubsy defeats his enemies by simply jumping on top of them. There are plenty of platforms around, some of which move around. The controls are fairly simple, however, except in the water levels where it can be quite confusing.

Glitches

Bubsy in: Claws encounters of the furred kind
If Bubsy falls any faster than 32 pixels per frame, the foreground objects disappear by row or get copied always in the direction Bubsy is going in. The only way to obtain such speed is by gliding onto the eggs repeatedly for a very long time (best done in levels 4 and 5).
The backgrounds have misplaced pixels making them scroll horizontally incorrectly and unrealistically.
In level 8, there's a spot by a giant exclamation point with a woolie just to the left of it that, if you die and return to here, you'll continually die forever until you run out of lives.
You cannot pass 80 lives, otherwise all lives and the score get reset once you die or complete a level.
In the first level, where the water slides are up high and near a wall toward the end of the level, Bubsy can become dizzy from slamming into the wall and slide down the slide at slow motion.
In level 1, where the bridge crosses a large pool of water at the end of the level, if you just walk into the water from here, Bubsy will stay put on the bridge showing the secret of the drown animation.
At the very beginning of level 2, jump and fall over the edge and try to land on a steep cliff without gliding. Bubsy will tumble, then, when just about out of bounds, splashes into water that you cannot see.

Bubsy 3D
In level 2, on the second fan from the end of the level near the rocket, if you glide facing the mountains while beneath the platform, Bubsy will fly up incredibly high, so high that you can't see the level below. This trick can be applied to in two other levels, but you don't get as high.
If Bubsy goes out of bounds, he dies from water or slime, even though there isn't any present.
In one of the dome levels, if Bubsy gets in the right spot near a wall, he'll go inside the terrain and everything disappears. It's very hard to return to normal.
In level 2, if you pause the game while jumping up into a UFO, various sound tracks play continuously, including some otherwise hidden in the game. This trick is very hard to accomplish.
With the coordinates cheat code active, entering a coordinate that does not exist or is out of bounds causes the game to freeze.

External links
A Bubsy fan site (http://www.bluies-island.com/BubsyHQ/)
Mobygames' entry for the series (http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGroupId,794/)

Blockout

2005-03-26T02:56:00.000-08:00

The original Blockout game was created by California Dreams in 1989, designed by Alexander Ustaszewski and Mirek Zablocki. Blockout is the first official Tetris clone not directly published by Spectrum Holobyte. To imagine what the game looks like, picture regular Tetris board and add a third dimension to it. It is seen from top view, so instead of falling down the y-axis, the blocks fall down the z-axis (that is, "into" the screen). You are allowed to move the blocks in the x and y axes, and move forward in the z-axis. Your goal is to fill 3D layers (starting from the further-most one) with blocks. Unlike in most Tetris clones, here you are allowed to rotate the pieces in any way imaginable (including the z-dimension).

Don't be fooled by the slow pace in which the blocks fall in early levels - it's quite difficult even then. In fact, the game would be quite tricky even if the blocks didn't advance at all. Filling the squares can become rather impossible, especially if you play with the optional 3D pieces feature (normally you play with regular Tetris pieces).

However, the difficulty of the game is not due to poor design like some believe and there is very little luck involved in the game-play. It requires a strong grasp of the 3D world, coordination, strategy and concentration.

The game was playable on many different types of machines due to multiple graphics mode and efficient code. And the graphics are quite good for the time! That is, they include perspective, Backface Culling, and smooth rotation.

The game allows to configure a pit and set of pieces, but most players play preset modes that are known to be most strategic:

Flat Fun: Uses the standard Tetris set of pieces and a 5x5x12 pit. This mode is easiest to learn but can still be rather challenging if played for a high score (the speeds after level 5 or so make it absolutely vital for the player to think of the perfect placement for a piece as soon as it appears). The best strategy on this mode is to fill 5 whole layers while leaving a hole somewhere near the centre and then filling it with a 5-block piece.

3D Mania: This is the mode most commonly played by experts. It is set in a 3x3x10 pit, and includes odd 3D pieces that make it absolutely necessery to think in pure 3D. Each piece is carefully designed to be usable in numerous ways based on rotation. The expert's way of playing this mode involves building 2 layers with a single hole in the middle and then closing them with a 3-block L shaped piece. However, playing like this is very risky since it may be a long time until such a piece appears. This is why it may be a good idea to play this mode one layer at a time.

Out of Control: An interesting and challenging game, but not as strategic as 3D Mania. In this mode you will see pieces from both the previous modes (3D pieces and standard pieces) and also some 'extended' ones. This means a standard piece with some sort of an extention. For example, a _|_ piece can be extended in the x, y or z direction. Uses a 5x5x10 pit.

Other features of the game inculde:

Demo Mode: This is not a pre-recorded game of an expert playing but a well programmed bot that plays a perfect game at any given setup (including user specified ones).

Practice Mode: A game where the pieces are not moving downward with time. It can be applied to any mode and is very useful for beginners and experts who want to improve their strategy. Just like with music, it's always a good idea to start slow and move your way up. Needless to say that practice mode scores are not recorded in the High Scores file.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_out"

Battletoads

2005-03-26T02:55:00.000-08:00

Battletoads

An animated series called Battletoads (upon which the games were based) was made by DiC Entertainment in the early 1990s.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NES Title ScreenBattletoads is a video game franchise. The first game, entitled simply "Battletoads", is a 2D scrolling video game from Rare Ltd. for the Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Game Boy (as Ragnarok's World), and the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in 1991. It was arguably the most graphically advanced video game for the NES, at a time when the game market was turning to Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

An arcade version of this game was released in 1994 by Rare, but developed by Electronic Arts.

The distinctive music of the Battletoads series was composed by David Wise.

Contents [showhide]
1 Story

2 Gameplay

3 List of Games

3.1 Comeback

4 External links

Story
Three teenaged, mutant toads affectionately named after skin disorders (Zitz, Pimple and Rash) have to save Princess Angelica from the evil Dark Queen, ruler of Planet Ragnarok, with the assistance of Professor T. Bird and his space ship, The Vulture.

Gameplay
Play consists of three different types of levels: racing, "snake", climbing/falling, and water. In the racing levels, half the battle is memorizing all the obstacles that are ahead of you. "Snake" levels involve climbing twisting, twirling snakes to the exit. Climbing/falling levels are a race to the top or bottom of the level through deadly, complicated obstacles. There is also a water level full of sharks, electric eels and other baddies.

The game is a balance of challenge and skill: it is very challenging but not impossible, and luck plays almost no part.

List of Games
There are several other games in the franchise, for Nintendo and Sega consoles:

Battletoads (Game Boy): game for Game Boy. Takes place chronologically before the first Battletoads game, and features levels and some characters not seen in other Battletoads games.
Battletoads & Double Dragon: very similar to the first game, a semi-official crossover with the characters from the Double Dragon series with a few liberties taken. Released in 1993 for the NES, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Super NES.
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs: game for Super NES and Sega Master System. The characters are bigger and the graphics are better. Also starring Pimple, Zitz and Rash. Released in 1993.
Super Battletoads: arcade version released in 1994
Battletoads in Ragnarok's World: Game Boy version of the original game, Released in 1993.

Comeback
In 2004 the lead designer of Rare's Game Boy Advance team's lead designer stated that 'a Battletoads game would be really cool on the GBA - there's nothing to confirm at the moment, but hopefully we can do one in the future.' [1] (http://www.rareware.co.uk/extra/tepidseat/gbateam/index.html) in response to a question whether a new Battletoads game was in development.

External links
The KLOV entry on Battletoads (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=B&game_id=7058)
MobyGame's entry on the Battletoads series (http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGroupId,551/)
ClassicGaming - The World of Battletoads (http://www.classicgaming.com/battletoads/index.html)

Art of Fighting

2005-03-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

Art of Fighting (yūko no Ken, in Japan and in video game music archives), or AOF (or RnK in video game music archives) for short, is a fighting game series created by SNK. It is one of the many SNK series that ties into The King of Fighters.

Contents
1 Gameplay

2 Story

3 Games

3.1 Art of Fighting series
3.2 Other games involving characters from Art of Fighting

4 Characters

4.1 Characters From Fatal Fury
4.2 Characters With Appearances Outside this Series
4.3 Other Characters

5 External links

Gameplay
Art of Fighting was the first fighting game with a super bar, and introduced the "spirit gauge" and "desperation move" (the equivalent of "super combo", often used with SNK fighting games) into the fighting game vernacular. A spirit gauge is a manually charged super combo gauge where all special moves will utilize and drain, with greater amounts of power dealing greater amounts of damage.

Story
The central story of the original Art of Fighting is a typical damsel-in-distress story set in the fictitious city of South Town (a common setting among SNK video games), where the duo of Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia try to rescue Ryo's sister and Robert's love interest, Yuri Sakazaki. It takes place before the Fatal Fury series, since Jeff Bogard, father of Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury, is alive at the time Art of Fighting took place, according to what Takuma Sakazaki said during the ending.

Although the story starts this way, future games would focus more on the struggles of the Sakazaki family and their fictitious style of karate known as Kyokugen-ryuu (meaning "Extreme style"). The more recent games containing the Sakazaki family are outside the Art of Fighting series, mostly the King of Fighters series.

On its own, the Art of Fighting series seems to take place in the late 1970's or early 1980's, judging by the birthdates of its characters (Ryo's AoF birthyear is 1957). When SNK Playmore brought the characters from its many games together for the King of Fighters, they adjusted the birthdates (moving Ryo's to 1971, for example) to have the characters interact with each other without having to remake character sprites to account for age. This does create a discrepancy within Takuma Sakazaki's history, as he was originally a contemporary of Jeff Bogard, who is killed in the early to mid 1980's. The actual-aged Ryo can be seen in Buriki One.

Games

Art of Fighting series
Art of Fighting
Art of Fighting 2
Art of Fighting 3 - The Path of the Warrior (Ryuuko no Ken Gaiden in Japan)

Other games involving characters from Art of Fighting
Fatal Fury Special - Ryo Sakazaki appears as a secret boss
The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '95
The King of Fighters '96
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '98 - The Slugfest
The King of Figthers '99: The Millennium Battle
Capcom Vs. SNK - Millennium Fight 2000
Capcom Vs. SNK 2 - Mark of the Millennium 2001
The King of Fighters 2000
The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to the Ultimate Battle
The King of Fighters 2003

Characters

Characters From Fatal Fury
Geese Howard

Characters With Appearances Outside this Series
These include characters that have appeared in The King of Fighters as well as the SNK VS. Series.

Eiji Kisaragi
Kasumi Todoh
King
Mr. Big
Robert Garcia
Ryo Sakazaki
Ryuhaku Todoh
Takuma Sakazaki
Takuma or Ryo may also appear in their alter-ego form of Mr. Karate.
Yuri Sakazaki

Other Characters
Jack Turner
Jin Fuha
John Crawley: Inspired by Guile of Street Fighter.
Karman Cole
Lee Pai Long
Lenny Creston
Micky Rodgers
Rody Birts
Sinclair
Temjin
Wang Koh-San
Wyler

External links
GameFAQs entry for Art of Fighting (http://gamefaqs.com/console/neogeo/data/7366.html)
GameFAQs entry for Art of Fighting 2 (http://gamefaqs.com/console/neogeo/data/7367.html)
GameFAQs entry for Art of Fighting 3 (http://gamefaqs.com/console/neogeo/data/7368.html)

Alex Kidd

2005-03-26T02:51:00.000-08:00

Alex Kidd is a monkey-like boy hero who prior to Sonic the Hedgehog was Sega's former mascot.

His games were on the Sega Master System and the Sega Megadrive and Sega Genesis systems.

His first game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, was released in 1986. Many fans of the system consider his first game to be a true classic.

His other games:

Alex Kidd and the Lost Stars, 1986, arcade, and 1989, Master System
Alex Kidd BMX Trial, 1987, Master System
Alex Kidd in High-Tech World, 1989, Master System (known as Anmitsu Hime in Japan - the game was originally based off of the Anmitsu Hime anime and manga)
Alex Kidd and the Enchanted Castle, 1989, Megadrive & Sega Genesis
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, 1990, Master System
After 1990, Sega ditched Alex Kidd in favor of Sonic the Hedgehog as their mascot.

Ecco the Dolphin

2005-03-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

Ecco the Dolphin

Screenshot of Ecco The Dolphin for the Sega Megadrive and Sega Genesis.Ecco the Dolphin is a series of Japanese action games taking place underwater for the Sega Mega Drive (in Japan and Europe), the Sega Genesis (in North America), and the Sega Dreamcast (worldwide). These games have been ported numerous times. The games are named after their main character, Ecco. They are known for being highly difficult.

The Ecco the Dolphin games hinge on the idea that cetaceans are sapient beings and have their own society under the waves. In the Mega Drive/Genesis games, humans are barely acknowledged and never by name. The cetaceans also call themselves "Singers." In the Dreamcast game, dolphins and presumably other cetaceans have united with humans in a cross-species society.

Contents [showhide]
1 Storylines and ports

2 Ecco the character

3 Mega Drive/Genesis storyline

3.1 Ecco the Dolphin

3.1.1 Ecco the Dolphin gameplay
3.1.2 Ecco the Dolphin storyline

3.2 Ecco: The Tides of Time

3.2.1 Tides of Time gameplay
3.2.2 Tides of Time storyline

3.3 Ecco Jr.

4 Sega Dreamcast storyline

4.1 Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

4.1.1 Defender of the Future gameplay
4.1.2 Defender of the Future storyline

4.1.2.1 Isle of Tranquility
4.1.2.2 Man's Nightmare
4.1.2.3 Dolphin's Nightmare
4.1.2.4 Domain of the Enemy

Storylines and ports
The Ecco the Dolphin games can be divided into two distinct storylines: the Mega Drive/Genesis games (Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, and Ecco Jr.) and the Sega Dreamcast game (Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future).

Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time were both re-released on the Sega CD and Game Gear, and Defender of the Future was re-released on the Sony PlayStation 2. Ecco the Dolphin was also re-released on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance as part of the fourth Sega Smash Pack, along with Sonic Spinball and Golden Axe. However, this port is often looked down upon by Ecco fans, who were annoyed that almost all the music was taken out of the Ecco port — only a roughly 30-second loop of a song remained.

Ecco the character
Ecco is a young adult bottlenose dolphin. He is very strong and intelligent, even for a cetacean. He is also able to use many unusual powers, such as shapechanging and using his sonar as a weapon. He has five distinct markings on his head; they are stars that form the constellation Delphinus.

Mega Drive/Genesis storyline

Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco the Dolphin gameplay
The original Ecco the Dolphin was a game released in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. It was developed by Novotrade. The gameplay was essentially side-scrolling, although it scrolled vertically as well, since Ecco is a swimming creature. Attacking enemies was accomplished by making Ecco ram into them at high speeds. Swimming could be made progressively faster by tapping a certain button, and the speed could be maintained by holding it down. Players could perform a purely aesthetic spin in the air when jumping out of the water. Two unique features of the game played on actual dolphin habits. One was a sonar map that could be brought up by making Ecco "sing" (this was also how he talked to other Singers as well as interact with certain things such as clams and Glyphs) and then holding the button down to make the "song" return to him, a la echolocation in real dolphins. The other was the fact that Ecco, being a mammal, had to surface periodically for air, or else find an air vent. Ecco would drown if his 'air meter' ran out. His health was measured by a separate meter; it was depleted by enemies or when his air meter had run out, and it was recharged by eating fish, "singing" to clams, or, later in the game, singing to special Glyphs and statues. Ecco's song could be optionally 'upgraded' at two points in the game; one allowed it to be used in combination with a charge as a long-range weapon, and the other made singing at a shark temporarily disorient it.

The Glyphs were crystals that would respond somehow if Ecco sang to or touched them. Some blocked paths, and a 'key Glyph' had to be found in such cases to pass. Others gave information, and a few in later levels would replenish health and air and give Ecco temporary invulnerability.

The original Ecco had what is considered by many to have a very high level of difficulty. Among many other things, the twisting underwater passages in many levels, combined with the air limit, often led to death and frustration. Many jumps out of the water, over small islands and ruined buildings, were also difficult. Some levels featured moving obstacle courses where a mistimed movement meant instant death. The game featured infinite tries and levels divided up with a password system.

Ecco the Dolphin storyline
The storyline followed young Ecco as he searched for his pod, who were ripped from the sea by a mysterious storm. At first, he was searching for the Big Blue, a gigantic blue whale, on a tip from an orca that the Big Blue might know where his pod had gone. The Big Blue happened to live near the North Pole, and so Ecco went to the frozen north. On finding the Big Blue, he was disappointed; all that the whale knew was that storms of the kind that had taken Ecco's pod had been occurring every 500 years. The Big Blue pointed him in the direction of a being known as the Asterite.

Ecco left the frozen north and found the Asterite. The Asterite probably communicated telepathically; as the Big Blue put it, "We feel great energy of thought from the Asterite, but it will not sing to us." The Asterite made Ecco a deal. First, Ecco had to use a time machine built by the Atlanteans to go back in time and find the Asterite's missing globe. Then, empowered by this globe, the Asterite could help Ecco.

So, Ecco swam to the sunken city of Atlantis. There, besides the time machine, Ecco found a library. He learned the cause of the storm; it was a harvest of Earth's waters that was conducted every 500 years by the Vortex life forms. The Vortex had lost their ability to make their own food; and so, every 500 years, they would harvest from the waters of Earth.

Ecco travelled back in time 65 million years with the Atlantean time machine. The game originally was going to have him meet ancient cetaceans, before they came into the sea, as part of the story, but this scene was taken out of the final game due to time constraints. However, the messages can still be found in the prehistoric levels.

Ecco fought the Asterite of the past (the young Asterite was apparently considerably less trusting than the older version) and stole one of its globes. For whatever reason, this opened a time portal and Ecco was flung back into his present. He gave the Asterite its missing globe and in return received the power to turn his sonar into a deadly weapon against the Vortex (that is, without combining it with a charge attack), as well as the ability to breathe while underwater. Ecco made a return trip to Atlantis to travel back to the hour of the Vortex harvest, going with his pod this time. The final three levels were an upward-scrolling obstacle course, a scrolling maze that killed Ecco if he could not keep up with the scrolling, and a final fight with the Vortex Queen. Keeping with the high difficulty level set by the rest of the game, losing to the Vortex Queen meant going through the long and difficult previous level.

Eventually, the Vortex Queen was vanquished and Ecco rescued his pod. Exactly how they got back to Earth is never explained, but get back they did, and there was

Ecco: The Tides of Time

Title screen of Ecco: Tides of Time[edit]
Tides of Time gameplay
Tides of Time was the direct sequel to the original Ecco, released in 1995, again developed by Novotrade. The controls for the first game were kept, and Tides of Time maintained the same high level of difficulty as its predecessor. New puzzles were added, such as following another dolphin around and a 'scavenger hunt' of sorts later in the game. One of the more unique additions was the Metaspheres, which could transform Ecco into different animals. The transformations were level-specific, and included a seagull, a jellyfish, a shark, a school of fish, and at one point a Vortex drone. A few quasi-3D levels were also added into the game. The health meter, the air meter, and the Glyphs returned in Tides of Time. Both the "charge song" and the "confusion song" upgrades returned from Ecco the Dolphin and were usable from the start of the game.

Tides of Time storyline
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Tides of Time picked up right where the original Ecco the Dolphin left off. It turned out that the Vortex Queen was far from vanquished, and had in fact followed Ecco to Earth to build a new hive for herself. Ecco lost his powers from the Asterite early on, and soon after met a dolphin with unusually long fins. She was his descendant, Trellia, and had come to take him to her present in Ecco's distant future.

Trellia's future was a dolphin paradise. The dolphins had evolved helium sacs, and could thus fly; they also displayed limited telekinetic powers. The ocean had developed its own mind, and waterways that floated through the skies (called the Skyway in Tides of Time and reproduced as the Hanging Waters in Defender of the Future) apparently connected all the more normal waters of Earth. There were also a few floating basins of water. Ecco travelled through this future for a while, and found the Asterite.

The Asterite told Ecco that something was amiss. When Ecco used the time machine to save his pod, he split the stream of time in two. One possible future for Earth was this bright, happy future of flying dolphins; the other was a dead, mechanical world, sucked dry by the Vortex. The Asterite itself had been 'killed' in the past by the Vortex Queen; how it was talking to Ecco then wasn't explained until later. The Asterite sent Ecco back to his own time after their conversation.

Back in his own time, Ecco ended up having to piece the Asterite together by bringing the globes that made up the creature back together. The final pair of globes had been taken by the Vortex to their future; thus, Ecco had to get there and retrieve them before the Asterite could help him defeat the Vortex once and for all. The Atlantean time machine was not an option; it could only go into the past. The problem was solved when two Vortex drones captured Ecco and took him to their own future.

The Vortex future was full of strange machines reminiscent of the final levels of Ecco the Dolphin. None of these levels auto-scrolled, however. One of the more unique levels was Gravitor Box, in which gravity was manipulated in unusual ways. Ecco did eventually find the Asterite's last two globes, and once the player beat the boss guarding them, another time portal opened to Ecco's present.

With the Asterite complete again, it was able to bestow Ecco with the same powers as it had last time — breathing underwater and a song that could destroy the Vortex. It also called all of Ecco's fellow Singers to help with the fight against the Vortex. Ecco himself fought the Vortex Queen; however, she again escaped, reverting to a larval state and bolting for the Atlantean time machine. Ecco followed her into the past. The Vortex Queen found creatures she could not rule over, and eventually the Vortex kind was forced to simply integrate into the ecosystems of Earth. Ecco was never heard from again, lost in the tides of time.

There was a third game in the series planned that would have continued this storyline, but it was never released. Both Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time were ported to the Sega Game Gear.

Ecco Jr.
Ecco Jr. was something of a side game, released in 1995. It had the controls and basic gameplay of the other two Mega Drive/Genesis titles, but was very much geared towards younger players, lacking the extreme difficulty of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time. The story was that a younger version of Ecco went to see the Big Blue, completing tasks such as herding seahorses, swimming through rings, and finding lost balls for sea lions along the way. Two other playable characters were introduced: Kitenee the baby dolphin and Tara the orca. They were interchangeable with Ecco and each other at any time; every character had a different voice but not much else was different between them. The game had a password system, though all the passwords were included in the instruction manual, and a "Parent's Menu" that had, among other things, facts about real dolphins.

Sega Dreamcast storyline

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

Defender of the Future gameplay
Defender of the Future was essentially the old Genesis/Mega Drive gameplay put into three dimensions. It was released in 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast, again developed by Novotrade; they had by then changed their name to Appaloosa Interactive. Ecco's sonar was kept as a means of interaction with other cetaceans (no longer called Singers in the game) and certain environmental objects, and a sonar map could be brought up but was often regarded as being inferior to the old 2-D version. The same style of movement was kept with slight alterations for the demands of a 3-D game. The control stick now only changed the direction Ecco was facing; pressing left and right changed the direction he faced horizontally, and pressing up and down changed the vertical direction. To actually move foreword, the player had to tap a button to gain speed and hold the same button down to maintain it. Out of the water, Ecco could perform the purely aesthetic flips in the air from the original games. Charging foes was kept as Ecco's standard attack, though the designers added a homing feature. The health and air meters also returned, though the health meter could be increased by collecting power-ups called Vitalits, and the meters had a slightly different look compared to the Genesis games.

Some new moves were introduced in Defender of the Future. One was a quick 180º turn, useful for battles. Another was a means of stopping quickly; when Ecco had already stopped, the same buttons would make him swim backwards. A third new move was the tailwalk; Ecco would raise his upper body out of the water and was able to look at things above the surface; this had limited use in gameplay but was a good way to see small graphical details.

The graphics of the game are generally regarded as being some of the most realistic ever used in a Dreamcast game. Many reviewers have commented that Ecco looks like a real dolphin. One of the most major complaints against the graphics is the high level of fog; other reviewers have pointed out that visibility in the ocean is often much reduced from what it is above the surface. There were also some pop-up problems with distant objects. The few cutscenes used the in-game graphical engine.

Defender of the Future continued the legacy of high difficulty set by its predecessors. The levels were again divided up, but the password system was dropped in favor of a memory card save file. The game has few loading times in the levels; the levels were loaded all in one go just before they started, and these load times could be moderately long.

The "charge song" and "confusion song" returned in Defender of the Future, but in different forms. The "charge song" was given a name, the Power of Sonar, and was part of a set of five temporary power-ups that could be activated by collecting icons. The powers were:

Power of Vigor (Ecco moved faster and did more damage when charging enemies)
Power of Sonar (Sonar did damage to enemies)
Power of Air (The air meter was temporarily doubled)
Power of Endurance (The health meter was maxed out to double the normal maximum; it couldn't be replenished it reached the level the player had already obtained, and would be lost if the player made it to the next level of the game)
Power of Stealth (Ecco became temporarily invisible)
The "confusion song" was named the Song of the Shark, and it too was part of a larger set of songs. These songs were permanent and activated by singing at the right thing. They were:

Song of the Shark (confused sharks)
Song of the Turtle (turtles would follow Ecco around)
Song of the Fish (schools of fish would follow Ecco around)
Song of the Ray (made manta rays go in the direction the song pointed; made smaller sting rays panic and flee)
Song of the Plant (made a certain kind of plant spray ink)
[edit]
Defender of the Future storyline
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Defender of the Future bore a different storyline from that of the Mega Drive/Genesis games; it is generally regarded as an alternate universe. The story was written by science fiction author David Brin, who had already written a few stories about intelligent dolphins. The storyline and game were divided into four parts:

Isle of Tranquility
At the dawn of the 30th Century, dolphins and humans had been together in a cross-species society for 500 years. Together, they had set out to explore space, offering peace and friendship to all who would welcome it. But space had its dangers; a violent species known as the Foe decided Earth was a good planet to take over. However, the dolphins and humans drove them to the brink of defeat, and so the Foe sought vengeance on Earth. The few caretaker dolphins who had been left behind on Earth were not entirely defenseless; they were protected by a creation of theirs they called the Guardian. It was a gigantic, sentient being made of a crystalline substance; it projected a force field over the entire planet. Undeterred, the Foe began making suicide attacks on the field, searching for a weak point.

The player was given this background information before being thrown into the game. Soon after the game started, the Foe found their weak point, destroying the field and breaking the Guardian. Isle of Tranquility followed Ecco around until he managed to get to the dolphin city of Atlantis (apparently different from the Atlantis of legend) and repair the Guardian. He accessed the city when no other dolphin could by temporarily becoming a fish using the Ancient Power of Metamorphosis (obviously an homage to the Metaspheres). He was too late to stop the Foe invasion.

A Foe ship caused a rip in the time continuum and headed back in time in order to stop dolphins and humans from uniting into one society. Ecco was caught in the wake of the time vortex, and ended up witnessing the Foe steal the Noble Dolphin Traits of Intelligence, Ambition, Compassion, Wisdom and Humility. Ecco used the Ancient Power of Metamorphosis to become a flying Foe unit and destroy the ship; this scattered the globes containing the Noble Traits across history. With the traits gone, however, the future was already changed. Dolphins became weak and gullible; humans enslaved and exploited them. When Ecco returned to 'his' present, 500 years after the Foe attack, humans had already gone extinct and dolphins were barely sentient animals.

Man's Nightmare
The Man's Nightmare levels were based around human technology, with heavily polluted water. The dolphins Ecco met were divided into three subtypes: the Crimson, dolphins with red paint worn on their flippers; the Circle, white dolphins who showed an eagerness to operate machinery; and the Movers, orange and white dolphins with the build of orcas that had once apparently been the muscle of the dolphins when they had been enslaved. The dolphins didn't know humans were extinct. Some of them thought they had been left to test their loyalty, and spoke of a great Engine of Salvation that the Chosen One would activate with the Labor Harness. Ecco managed to put on the Labor Harness, which allowed him to control human machines by singing at them, and headed off to activate the Engine of Salvation while looking for the globes that contained the Noble Traits.

After Ecco managed to find the Noble Trait of Intelligence and touch it, it was sent back in time and began affecting the Circle, Movers and Crimson. They figured out the truth of man's extinction and his "Engine of Salvation"; it was really a weapon that had been designed to fight the Foe, but man and the Foe had destroyed one another before the weapon had been completed. The player's new task became stopping the weapon from activating; the reward was the Noble Trait of Ambition and progress into the next section of the game.

Dolphin's Nightmare
With Intelligence and Ambition both sent back, history changed. Dolphins became aggressive creatures and forced humans from the seas, never to return. They built their own independent society under the waves, and some above them; this level set featured the Hanging Waters as an homage to the Skyway from Tides of Time. The dolphins seen in this section of the game were divided into two subtypes; the Clan dolphins were militaristic orange-and-white (lower ranking) or black-and-white (higher ranking) creatures who lorded over the green Outcasts. Both subtypes looked down their beaks at whales; the Clan, for instance, used a pair of captured humpback whales as living power generators for their Hanging Waters.

The level set started by throwing Ecco into an Outcast village that had been cut off from their food supply by the Clan. After getting fish back to them, one villager helped him reach the nearby Clan outpost. There, Ecco found and rescued the leader of a secret resistance group that had formed in the Outcast village. The Resistance, it turned out, had been keeping watch over the Noble Trait of Compassion, but were afraid to touch the globe. The Clan had their own Trait which was later discovered to be Wisdom; they wanted the Resistance's globe for themselves. Ecco sent Compassion back and infiltrated a large Clan base. He tattooed himself with the rank of general and managed to get the Hanging Waters activated so he could fight the Clan's leaders, the three Exalted Ones. The third Exalted One had the globe of Wisdom; Ecco sent it back, and history changed again.

Domain of the Enemy
With all but one of their traits restored, dolphins (evidently) united with humans. However, without the final Trait of Humility, the society was heedless of the Foe's danger, and was defeated. Earth was taken over, and the Foe Queen herself became the guardian of Humility. There was not a lot of plot development in this final stretch; all that happened plot wise was that Ecco destroyed a Foe hatchery and slew the Foe Queen to gain back Humility and restore his own future.

Double Dragon

2005-03-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

Double Dragon

(Redirected from Double Dragon II: The Revenge)
Double Dragon (spelled in kanji as 双截龍) is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-Kun series. The original game was designed by a man named Yoshihisa Kishimoto, who originally conceived the game as a Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun sequel using the localized version (Renegade) as a basis. The game was heavily influenced by martial arts films, especially those of Bruce Lee's such as Enter the Dragon. The recently released Double Dragon Advance was planned by Muneki Ebinuma, who previously designed Super Double Dragon and was also involved in Double Dragon '95 as a fight choreographer.

The series stars twin brothers, Billy and Jimmy Lee, who are masters of a fictional martial arts called Sou-Setsu-Ken (双截拳) as they fight against various adversaries and rivals. Double Dragon has had several sequels and has been ported to several different platforms. Due to the popularity of the game series, a cartoon and movie adaptation have also been produced.

Contents [showhide]
1 Characters

2 Double Dragon Game Series (official games)

2.1 Double Dragon (1987)
2.2 Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)
2.3 Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (1990)
2.4 Super Double Dragon (1992)
2.5 Double Dragon (1995)
2.6 Double Dragon Advance (2003)

3 Unofficial Games

3.1 BattleToads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (1993)
3.2 Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994)
3.3 Rage of the Dragons (2002)

4 Double Dragon Adaptations

4.1 Comic Book
4.2 Cartoon
4.3 Live-Action Movie

5 See also

6 External links

[edit]
Characters
Billy Lee - The hero of the series. Billy began his martial arts training along with his brother at an early age, mastering several fighting styles and techniques as he grew up until he reached adulthood, when he became the Sou-Setsu-Ken succesor. Since he's the main character, Billy's role is often assigned to the first player and usually wears a blue outfit. He had blond hair in the original Arcade versions, but was subsequently changed to brown hair in the main home versions. According to the instruction manual in the Japanese version of Super Double Dragon, Billy is a master of the Southern-style of Sou-Setsu-Ken, which teaches flexible techniques. Billy's favorite weapon is the nunchaku.
Jimmy Lee - Billy's older twin brother and the assistant instructor of their dojo, where they teach the Sou-Setsu-Ken art form to students. In the original Double Dragon, Jimmy was secretly in love with Billy's girlfriend, Marian, a rivalry which would lead to a battle between the brothers at the end of the game. Jimmy's role in the series is usually that of the second player and wears a red outfit. He originally had brown hair in the Arcade versions, but was changed to blond hair in the home versions. He was also given a different hairstyle to set the character apart visually from Billy. In Super Double Dragon, Jimmy uses the Northern-style of Sou-Setsu-Ken, which specializes in strong techniques. His preferred weapons are the bo and kali sticks.
Marian Kelly - Billy's girlfriend. The earlier games originally conceived Marian as a female martial arts instructor, but her abilities were rarely shown and she usually played the role of a damsel in distress within the games. Later games in the series made her into a policewoman and then as a leader of a positive street gang, based on her portrayal in the Double Dragon cartoon and movie respectively. Her canonical full name, Marian Kelly, is revealed in the Japanese version of Super Double Dragon (Return of Double Dragon) through the manual.
Willy - Leader and "Big Boss" of the Black Warriors and the final boss of the first Double Dragon and of the arcade version of Double Dragon II. Unlike other enemies in the series who fight the Lee's with martial arts or melee weapons, Willy is armed with a machine gun. His gang is renamed the Shadow Warriors in Double Dragon Advance.
Mysterious Warrior - In the NES version of Double Dragon II he is the leader of an armed group (sometime referred as the Shadow Warriors in the localized versions) which includes the remnants of the Black Warriors. He uses the deadly fighting style of Gen-Satsu-Ken (幻殺拳), an evil counterpart of Sou-Setsu-Ken.
Duke - In Super Double Dragon, he leads the Shadow Warriors and is a former childhood friend of the Lee brothers.
[edit]
Double Dragon Game Series (official games)
[edit]
Double Dragon (1987)

Double Dragon (arcade)The arcade version of the game was originally developed by Technos released in 1987 and distributed worldwide by Taito (who are often mistakenly credited for creating the game). The original Double Dragon was one of the earliest beat-em-ups or side-scrolling fighting games in which a player fights against a swarm of adversaries using martial arts or other close-combat techniques. Set in a post-apocalyptic version of New York, the goal in Double Dragon was to rescue your character's kidnapped girlfriend, Marian, from a gang known as the "Black Warriors". A single player would play as the game's hero, Billy Lee (in blue, who earned the unofficial nickname of Hammer by Taito), while a second player could join in as his brother, Jimmy Lee (in red, nicknamed Spike by Taito). The enemies in the game would use several techniques against the player, including the usage of weapons, which during such a case the enemy could be disarmed and have his or her weapon taken by the player. There were total of four stages or "missions" in the game, each with a different boss waiting at the end of the stage. The leader of the Black Warriors and the final boss in the game was Willy, who fought using a machine gun against the player. If two players manage to beat the game together, the game would force both of them to fight against each other and see who would win Marian.

Technos Japan developed their own home versions of the game for the Famicom/NES in 1988 and Game Boy in 1990. Both of these versions were localized and published worldwide by a video game company named Tradewest (a subsidiary of LeLand Corp.), which also earned them a worldwide license for the Double Dragon brand (excluding Japan). The NES version in particular took various liberties with the game. The level designs were redone abit (more platform-oriented areas such as a cave and a mountain were added), a learning system was added (player could no longer perform all their techniques from the start, but had to earn them through experience points) and most notably of all, two players could no longer play simultaneously in the main game, but instead they had to alternate turns. Jimmy Lee, the character originally assigned to the second player in the Arcade version, appears as the final boss after the player defeats Willy (the explanation provided by the developers explained that Jimmy was the true mastermind behind the Black Warriors and Marian's kidnapping). To compensate for the lack of a proper 2-Player Mode, Technos added a new versus mode featuring large-sized characters in which the player could choose between the Lee brothers and five of the enemies in the game (the mode was limited to "mirror matches" however).

The Game Boy version of the game was based on the NES version, however the learning system was dropped and the player no longer fought Jimmy at the end of the game (despite the misleading information Tradewest provided in the manual of the localized version).

In addition, due to Double Dragon's popularity, various licensed versions of the game has been produced by different companies over the years. Sega managed to get a license directly from Technos Japan to produce a version for their Master System game console. This version was very close to the Arcade game and has sometime been compared favorably over Technos Japan's own NES version.

Tradewest themselves handed out the license to various western developers such as Accolade, Virgin Games and Telegames, resulting in creation of various home versions for various platforms such as the Sega Genesis, Atari 2600 and Atari Lynx over the years, although most of them were usually seen as being of pretty poor quality. A common trait between these versions is that even though they were intentionally based on the arcade game, they often used the (loosely) translated storyline and character information for the packaging and manual of the localized NES version (such as depicting Jimmy as a bad guy) from Tradewest, which they reused despite the discrepancies between the Arcade and NES versions.

In 2004, Million Corp. (the current copyrights holder of the Double Dragon) handed the license to Bandai's wireless division to produce a Mobile Phone version of the original Double Dragon.

[edit]
Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)

Screenshot of Double Dragon II (Arcade Game)
Box cover of Double Dragon II for Megadrive (the NES version was censored due to the skin Marian is showing)Due to the success of the first Double Dragon game, an arcade sequel was made by Technos in 1988. The premise of the game this time have Billy and Jimmy going after Marian's killers, who is murdered right in the beginning of the game. The Arcade version was essentially an updated version of the first game, although the conventional punch and kick control set-up was abandoned and replaced in favor of a two-way attacking system (inspired by Technos Japan's previous beat-em-up, Renegade) in which the functions of the attack buttons depended on the direction the character was facing. Many of the returning characters were given major facelifts (some more noticeable than others), while Billy and Jimmy traded their original blue and red outfits for black and white respectively.

Technos Japan developed a home version for the Famicom/NES (released at the end of 1989) just like did with the first game. This time, the 2-Player simultaneous mode was kept (Jimmy's betrayal in the first NES version of the game was conveniently ignored), with the option to turn the friendly fire on or off, however even more liberties were made in this conversion. Cut-scenes were added which served to narrate the storyline through text and static images, the stages were completely changed (with the NES version featuring twice the amount of stages of the Arcade version) and new enemy characters were added (Willy, the main bad guy in the Arcade version was removed and a nameless character takes his place as the main villain and the new end-boss). The NES version also featured a different ending in which Marian is restored to life. The worldwide publishing rights for the NES version went to Acclaim this time, who made a few minor changes made to the localized version.

Technos Japan also made a Game Boy version of Double Dragon II in 1991, which was unrelated to the Arcade and NES versions and was published by Acclaim for the western market. This was actually a heavily localized version of the Japanese-only game, Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantou-hen, with the game's graphics and sound altered to fit in with Double Dragon's style.

Licensed adaptations of the game were made for the Sega Mega Drive by Pal Soft (based on the Arcade version) and for the PC Engine by Naxat Soft (based on the Famicom version). Neither of these versions were released outside of Japan. Even though Tradewest lost the worldwide console rights to Acclaim, they still managed to keep the PC rights for themselves and thus they ported the game to various PC platforms with Virgin Games' cooperation.

Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (1990)
In 1990, Technos released the third game of the series. The Arcade version of the game was not made in-house by Technos, but instead Technos contracted another company (East Technology, makers of Silent Dragon, Operation: Wolf 3 and Gigandes) to develop the game for them. The premise of the game has the Lee brothers going on a world tour in search of the Rosetta Stones with the help of a fortune teller named Hiruko . The engine from the first two Double Dragon arcade games was not used, but instead East Technology remade the game from scratch with a new engine, revamped graphics and a 3-Players co-op mode (the third player controlled Sonny, a previously unseen third member of the Lee brothers). Its most notable and controversial feature allowed the player to purchase power-ups at certain shops by inserting additional tokens (credits) to the machine. Player could purchase new characters (which would serve as extra men when the player's character dies), weapons (they could no longer be taken from enemies like in previous games), energy (up to 150% the default amount), attack power (which actually increased your character's speed and agility) and tricks (the whirlwind kick and a special overhead technique would be unlocked for the player). Double Dragon 3 was not as popular as the previous two titles partly because of this feature, although it was only included in the US and Worldwide versions of the game. A later Japanese version of the Arcade game dropped the shopping system altogether in favor of a more conventional character select mode, in which the player could choose between the four character types presented in the game (Lee, Chin, Ooyama and Urquidez brothers) from the very start. The player began with all their special moves as default techniques as well and weapons were merely found lying on the floor, waiting to be picked up by the player.

Once again, Technos Japan produced a Famicom/NES version of the game in 1991, although this time it was developed internally by Technos themselves. The premise of the game was kept, but several major changes were made to enhance the gameplay. The player now began with an optional weapon which could be used anytime in additional to your character's primary fighting method (although it had limited uses), while additional characters could be played as in addition to the Lee brothers after defeating them as bosses (the player could now change characters anytime during gameplay). Once again, Acclaim published the NES version outside of Japan and made some major changes in the localized version (released under the title of Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones), most notably increased difficulty and a completely altered storyline.

Acclaim also made their own home versions of Double Dragon 3 for the Sega Genesis and Game Boy based on the Arcade version under the title Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game. Both of these versions are generally seen as poor in quality. In addition, Tradewest produced ports of the Arcade version to PC platforms, similar to the ones they did for the first two games.

Super Double Dragon (1992)
Released in 1992 for the Super Famicom/SNES platform, Super Double Dragon (originally titled Return of Double Dragon: "Sleeping Dragon" has Awoken in Japan) was the first true Double Dragon title made specifically for the home market. The game played similarly to the first two Double Dragon games, however the player could now block enemy's attacks and grab their fists and a Power Gauge was also added which allowed the player to perform special techniques by filling the gauge while holding the shoulder buttons. One of the most unique aspects of Super Double Dragon involved the Lee brothers' appearances (the characters now head-swapped, making them more distinct) and their techniques, in which their basic techniques differed from each other (the Japanese version explained that Billy and Jimmy mastered different factions of their martial arts-style, Sou-Setsu-Ken). Technos Japan developed the game internally and the worldwide publishing right was once again handed to Tradewest. Despite the nearly simultaneous release, the localized version by Tradewest was based on a much earlier build than the Japanese version (which featured more music, refined gameplay and the latter half of the final stage, missing in the localized version).

The developers originally intended to include cut-scenes similar to those found in the NES versions of Double Dragon II and III, but they were left out due to time constraints despite the fact that most of the necessary data was already inserted to the ROM. As a result, the policewoman Marian (who is mentioned in the game's packaging and manual) never actually appears in the game, while the main villain, Duke, had his backstory left a mystery (he was originally written to be a former childhood friend of the Lee brothers).

Double Dragon (1995)
Also known as Double Dragon '95, this was a competitive fighting game released for the Neo-Geo platform in all three formats (MVS, AES and CD-ROM). The game was produced as a tie-in for the Japanese release of the Double Dragon live-action movie and thus various aspects from the game (such as Billy and Jimmy's transformation technique) were derived from the movie. The game played like any typical fighting game at the time, with the most notable features being the lack of specific punch and kick buttons and a charge meter for super moves which required less capacity as the player's energy decreased. There were up ten immediately playable characters and two unlockable bosses. Billy, Jimmy, Marian (who was now a female gang leader like in the movie), Abobo and Burnov were the only immediate characters from the previous games, with Burnov (a fat masked man originally from Double Dragon II) being the only character not featured in the movie. A revised version of Koga Shuko (the movie's antagonist) served as the game's final opponent, with Duke (the main villain in Super Double Dragon) was reimagined as Koga's bodyguard. The rest of the characters were made specifically for this game.

A PlayStation version of this game was released in Japan by Urban Plant.

Double Dragon Advance (2003)
Developed by Million Corp. (a company founded by ex-Technos employees) for the Game Boy Advance and published by Atlus. Double Dragon Advance was a remake of the original Arcade version of Double Dragon which featured new stages, techniques, weapons and enemy characters (most of them derived from the subsequent) in addition to those found in the original game.

Unofficial Games
When Tradewest received the worldwide license for the Double Dragon brand, the company was initially involved in nothing more than merely localizing Technos Japan's home versions of the original for the NES and Game Boy (and later Super Double Dragon) or producing their own versions for other platforms. However, as the years went by, Tradewest eventually began taking more liberties with the license, lending the Double Dragon brand to various tie-ins such as comic books, a cartoon series, and a motion picture (see Double Dragon Adaptions), as well as any merchandise spun by those products. Eventually, this led to the production of two Double Dragon games without Technos Japan's direct involvement, essentially making them unofficial installments.

[edit]
BattleToads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (1993)
Developed by Rare under contract by Tradewest (who also held the exclusive worldwide rights to the Battletoads license) and released in 1993. The game was initially released for the NES and was followed by versions for the SNES, Genesis and Game Boy, although they're all virtually identical (excluding superficial aspects). The game features Billy and Jimmy teaming up with the Battletoads to fight off the evil attack on earth made by Colossus, a large battleship. The game mechanics and style heavily favored Battletoads' more comical style in contrast to the darker and serious mood of the Double Dragon games. The Double Dragon characters in this game (particularly the villains) were very out of character: the boss named Roper was actually a misnamed Willy and the "Shadow Boss" was nothing more than a character by Rare created specifically for this game, despite being touted as the Double Dragon's main adversary. The characters of this game were mostly from Battletoads series.

Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994)
Based closely on the Double Dragon cartoon series that was airing at the time, this "fifth" installment in the Double Dragon series was a competitive fighting game developed by Tradewest's parent company, Leland Interactive Media. Double Dragon V was critically panned by both, critics and Double Dragon fans for its poor presentation (including their out-of-character potrayal of the Lee brothers) and completely derative gameplay. Double Dragon V was released for the SNES, Genesis and Atari Jaguar platforms, with each version generally recognized as becoming progressively worse.

Rage of the Dragons (2002)
A Japanese/Mexican co-production between Noise Factory and Evoga, Rage of the Dragons was originally conceived as a sequel to the Neo-Geo version of Double Dragon, but the rights were unavailable to the developers. As a result, Billy and Jimmy had their surname changed to Lewis and Abobo was renamed Abubo. The game was a competitive fighting game which featured a tag-team system similar to the one found in Capcom's "Versus" series. However, Rage of the Dragons is a Double Dragon game by association only.

Double Dragon Adaptations
Due to the popularity of the Double Dragon games, Tradewest lent the brand name to various tie-ins in the US, including adaptions of the game in media outside of the games themselves. Unfortunately, these adaptions strayed from their source material and were very unpopular as a result, with the Lee brothers often depicted as superheroes who inherited their powers from artifacts such as swords or amulets (depending on the adaption) instead of being skilled martial artists like in the games.

[edit]
Comic Book
During the latter half of 1991, Marvel Comics published a six-issue limited series (22 pages each) based on Double Dragon. This was the first of several Double Dragon tie-ins produced in the US under license by Tradewest. Written by Dwayne McDuffie for the first four issues and by Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich during the last two issues. In the comic, Billy and Jimmy were the inheritor of a supernatural force known as the "Dragon Force" and the first twins to share this power. Their main adversary in the comic was a demonic mob boss named Nightfall, who was previously a close friend of their parents and was responsible for their mother's death. The comic also featured Marian as a policewoman, a role she would later take in Super Double Dragon, as well as in the cartoon series. The most humorous or saddest aspect of the comic book, depending on how you look at it, was the introduction of Billy and Jimmy's long-lost father, a character by the name of Stan who bears the likeness of Stan Lee, although Stan's full name is never mentioned in the comic.

Cartoon
The Double Dragon cartoon was produced by DiC Entertainment and ran for 26 half-hour episodes between 1993 and 1995. The premise of the show had the Lee brothers separated at birth, with Billy being raised by a wiseman known as the Eldest Dragon. In contrast, his brother Jimmy was raised by the evil Shadow Master to become his right-hand man. As a result, the Lee brothers met each other as adversaries after being reunited as adults. However, by the end of the second episode, Jimmy is betrayed by the Shadow Master, which leads the brothers to set aside their difference and fight against the greater evil. The Lee brothers made use of magical swords which contained special powers and added dragon masks to the brothers' outfit. During the course of the series, the brothers recruited allies in their war agasint the Shadow Master. The voice of Billy and Jimmy were provided by Michael Donovan and Scott McNeil respectively.

Live-Action Movie
In 1994, a live-action Double Dragon movie was produced starring Mark Dacascos as Jimmy Lee and Scott Wolf as Billy Lee. It was directed by James Yukich and written by the team of Paul Dini (of Batman: The Animated Series and others) and Neal Shusterman. A review of the movie by the Washington Post was not complimentary.

The Jackie Chan movie Twin Dragons (1992) includes "Double Dragon" as an alternate title, according to the Internet Movie Database, although it is completely unrelated to the video game series.

See also
Battletoads & Double Dragon
[edit]
External links
The KLOV entry on Double Dragon (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_id=7619)
The KLOV entry for Double Dragon II (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7623&letter=D)
The KLOV entry for Double Dragon III (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7622&letter=D)
Double Dragon Advance from Atlus.com (http://www.atlus.com/dda/index.html)
The Double Dragon Dojo (http://www.classicgaming.com/doubledragon/index.htm)
IMDb entry on the Double Dragon movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106761/)
Category at ODP (http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Fighting/Double_Dragon_Series/)

Altered Beast

2005-03-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

Altered Beast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Altered Beast (arcade version)

Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Release date: 1988
Genre: Fighting game
Game modes: Up to 2 players (simultaneous play)
Cabinet: Standard
Controls: joystick
System hardware/Arcade system
This game runs on the Sega System 16B CPU: M68000 10 Mhz
Z80 5.0 Mhz

Sound: YM2151 4.0 Mhz
Nec uPD7759

Monitor
Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster, standard resolution
Notes
Developed during the Golden Age of Arcade Games
Altered Beast (Jyuohki in Japan) is a 1988 arcade game developed and manufactured by Sega. After its initial arcade release, it was ported to several home video game consoles.

Contents

1 Game description

2 Ports

3 See also

4 External links

Game description
Altered Beast is a platform/fighting game that puts the player in control of a hero who has been raised from the dead to rescue Zeus' daughter, Athena. The player battles undead and demonic hordes, controlling the shapeshifting hero. He must defeat several levels in order to save the kidnapped goddess. The game takes place in a setting resembling Ancient Greece, complete with gods, temples and ruined Ionic columns.

The player must battle armies of fictional and undead creatures to his goal of defeating the evil sorcerer Neff, who is holding Athena captive. Along the way, the player has to obtain "Spirit Balls" (power-up orbs which increase his strength and appearance) from defeating two-headed white wolves. When three are collected, the hero transforms into a beast with exceptional abilities.

The hero from Altered Beast, fighting against the undead (arcade version screenshot)The game contains several levels which the player must battle through. At the end of each level is a "boss" creature, which is Ned himself in different forms. The enemies the player encounters differ depending on level as is the beast the hero transforms into. These beasts include werewolf, dragon, tiger, bear, and the more powerful golden werewolf (other beasts can be seen in the Japanese NES version and the Game Boy Advance version). Each beast has its own special abilities, such as the dragon's ability to fly. Between each level are small animations giving the player glimpses of Athena's peril.

The game was moderately successful, the player's ability to transform into different creatures being a big draw. The game actually does have an ending where the player rescues Athena. At the completion of the game (upon Ned's defeat in the city of Dis), Zeus thanks you for your help, whereafter the game treats the player to a long series of credits.

Altered Beast was produced as a standard upright only with custom artwork on the cabinet. In most versions, the game's controls consist of an eight-way directional and three buttons, one each for "punch", "kick" and "jump." The game has single player and cooperative two-player modes.

Ports

First level in the Sega Genesis versionAltered Beast was ported to several platforms after its original release in 1988. It was released for DOS, NES, Atari ST, Amiga, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Commodore 64 and Game Boy Advance (a new version named as Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms). Of note is the Sega Genesis version, which was the original pack-in game for that system in North America.

A PlayStation 2 version of Altered Beast is currently in development, but will be a completely different game, in a modern context.

See also
List of arcade games
List of computer and video games by name

External links
The KLOV entry on Altered Beast (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=A&game_id=6873)
MobyGame's entry on the home versions of Altered Beast (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId,2019/)
Category at ODP (http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Action/A/Altered_Beast_Series/)

Earthworm Jim

2005-03-06T23:14:00.000-08:00

Earthworm Jim

Jim firing his gun in Earthworm Jim 2, for Super NintendoEarthworm Jim is the name of a platform game starring an earthworm who battles evil with the help of an "ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit". It was developed by Shiny Entertainment, released for the Sega Genesis in 1994, and subsequently for the SNES, Game Gear, Game Boy, Mega CD, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows. Upon its release it was received very well, praised for its detailed, humourous animation and polished gameplay, and becoming the first game ever to get a 100% review in Games Master magazine. A special edition of the game was released for the Sega CD, which featured CD quality music, better graphics, and expanded levels [1] (http://curmudgeongamer.com/article.php?story=20021219163453983).

The storyline involved many colorful characters. Jim himself was at first an ordinary Earth earthworm who did very earthworm-like things such as flee from crows. One day, in the space above Earth, the evil Psy-Crow had cornered a rebel spaceship pilot who had stolen an ultra-high-tech indestructible super space-cyber-suit, built by Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. The suit had been commissioned by Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt so that it would make her as beautiful as her twin sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. In the ensuing space fight, the suit was dropped to Earth, and fell on Jim. By a stroke of luck, Jim managed to land within the collar of the suit, and it ended up mutating him into the large and intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) superhero he is today. Jim overheard Psy-Crow talking to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt about the scorch marks left by the suit, and how she would soon be as beautiful as Princess What's-Her-Name. Jim thus set out to rescue the princess, fighting many enemies along the way.

It has three sequels. Earthworm Jim 2 was released in 1995 for the Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, SNES and PC (and later for the Game Boy Advance). Earthworm Jim 3D (1999, PC, Nintendo 64), and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy (1999, Game Boy Color).

Shiny's game Sacrifice involved an earthworm-like god called James.

Contents
1 Other media

2 See also

3 External links

3.1 Fan sites

Other media
An animated television series based on the games was produced and created by Doug TenNapel, and aired from 1995 to 1996, with Dan Castellaneta providing the voice for the title character. Other voices were provided by Andrea Martin and Ben Stein.

Two separate Earthworm Jim comics were published: one in the United States, and one in the UK. The latter was based more on the cartoon series than the original games. Aside from featuring the same characters, the two comics were completely unrelated.

See also
List of Game Boy Advance games
List of Sega Genesis games
List of Sega Saturn games
List of SNES games
Tommy Tallarico
Dave Perry

External links
IMDb entry for the Earthworm im cartoon series (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111948/)
GameFAQs entry for Earthworm Jim (Game Boy Advance) (http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/search/go.asp?dir=portable%2Fgbadvance&id=32470&lv=2&pg=1)
GameFAQs entry for Earthworm Jim (Game Boy Color) (http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/search/go.asp?dir=portable%2Fgbcolor&id=24883&lv=4&pg=1)
GameFAQs entry for Earthworm Jim (Sega CD) (http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/search/go.asp?dir=console%2Fsegacd&id=8512&lv=13&pg=1)
GameFAQs entry for Earthworm Jim (Sega Genesis) (http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/search/go.asp?dir=console%2Fgenesis&id=6365&lv=6&pg=1)
GameFAQs entry for Earthworm Jim (SNES) (http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/search/go.asp?dir=console%2Fsnes&id=8969&lv=14&pg=1)
GameFAQs entry for Earthworm Jim (Windows PC) (http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/search/go.asp?dir=computer%2Fdoswin&id=23760&lv=9&pg=1)

Fan sites
Lemm's Earthworm Jim Fan Site (http://lemm.nomoretangerines.com/ewj/)
Earthworm Jim The Greatest Soil Munching Annelid (http://ewj-tgsma.nomoretangerines.com)
Roberts Earthworm Jim fan site (http://www.geocities.com/rcm_ca/ewjsite/)
Jordan's Earthworm Jim page (http://www.geocities.com/super_mario_lover/)
Earthworm Jim Comic Scans (http://ensho.net/ewj/)
Doo's Earthworm Jim fan pics (http://doo.nomoretangerines.com/ewj/)

Streets of Rage

2005-03-06T23:10:00.000-08:00

Streets of Rage

Streets of Rage (known in Japan as Bare Knuckle) was a popular side-scrolling beat'em up video game series made by SEGA, composed of three games, spawning from 1991 to 1994. Although it was one of the most popular series for the Mega Drive/Genesis, it was neither updated to the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast, or any other console SEGA worked after quitting making home hardware in 2001. Altough they ported Die Hard Arcade to the Saturn, were reportedly interested in Eidos' Fighting Force, and SEGA Japan even produced a demo of a side-scrolling beat'em up that was rejected by SEGA of America, ignoring the popularity of the series in the early 90s, it is very unlikely it will return with a new, commercial, title.

Contents

1 Characters

2 Streets of Rage

3 Streets of Rage II

4 Streets of Rage III

5 Soundtracks

6 External links

Characters
Axel Stone
Playable character from 1 to 3, Axel is the front man of the series. Turns slowly from an all-around to a bruiser in the end of the series
Adam Hunter
Playable character in 1, kidnapped in 2, appears in the end of 3 to rescue the team from the exploding island.
Blaze Fielding
Like Axel, is a playable character on all games. As the female in the group, she's not as powerful as Axel but compensates by being faster (one of the most common formulas in this kind of videogames).
Max
Only playable in 2, Max is by far the slowest character in the series, but also the hardest hitting.
Eddie (Sammy) "Skate" Hunter
Playable character in 2 and 3, the kid brother of Adam. Known as "Sammy Hunter" in Bare Knuckle and "Eddie 'Skate' Hunter" in the western versions, "Skate" being his nickname, as he is always on rollerblades. Fast, but the weakest of all characters. Also, in Streets of Rage 2, he was the only character who could dash.
Dr. Zan
A former syndicate henchman, Zan tells Blaze about the robot conspiracy in 3. Zan is himself part robot, a cyborg.
Mr.X
The Syndicate head, Mr. X survived two encounters with the SoR team, but in three is nothing more than a brain. Armed with a Tommy gun, he is the final boss in all three games.

Streets of Rage
Released in 1991 when SEGA's 16 bit console needed a increase of sales against the SNES, which boasted most of Capcom's arcade ports such as Final Fight. The story resembled a typical '80s street cop movie: an evil crime syndicate has taken control of a nameless city and three young police officers (Axel, Blaze and Adam) decide to turn on the badge, and take it on by themselves, walking the streets and fighting criminals, until they face Mr. X, the mastermind himself.

Gameplay controls were simple, attack and jump, but effective enough to keep movement smooth. The third button was a "call for help" which would cause the screen to whip back to the begining of the level, from which a police car would arrive and a launch a rocket at the player's current location. The resulting explosions would affect all the enemies on screen but leave the player intact. Each character has a stronger point: Axel and Adam are both hitters (with almost no differences) and Blaze is the fastest of them.

A port for Sega's Game Gear handheld appeared on 1992, and on the Master System in 1993. It was also released in two official SEGA game packs.

Streets of Rage II

A year after, SEGA refined the successful original title. Better music (still by Yuzo Koshiro, inspired by early '90s club music), more defined graphics and moves, plus two new characters. The "rocket" screen-clearing attack was replaced by a special attack that could be used several times in a level and to release from enemy holds, but wasted players' energy, and now all enemy characters also had their own power bars. A two-player versus arena mode was also added, and although it did not provide match for other dedicated versus fighting games for the same platform such as Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, it was considered a nice addition. Overall, Streets of Rage 2 is regarded the best game on the series, and one of the best side-scrolling beat'em ups of the 16-bit era.
In the story, Adam is kidnapped by Mr. X one year after the trio were believed to have destroyed the syndicate. Then, with help from Max, a wrestler, and Adam's kid brother Skate they go on defeating Mr. X on his island hideout.

Streets of Rage III
1994 was the year the series saw its end. Streets of Rage 3, packed in a 24 meg cartridge, was an enhanced version of the previous title that, with several enhancements such as a more complex plot, multiple endings, lenghtier levels, better scenarios (with interactive levels and the return of traps like pits) and faster gameplay (with dash and make dodge moves). Weapons could now only be used for a few times before breaking (in the previous titles an object would only disappear when it was dropped for the third time), some bosses could be played after being defeated and a few cutscenes were added to give the story depth. Max gave place to Zan, a cyborg, who was important for plot reasons.

While translating this game from Japanese for American and European audiences, SEGA of America altered it significantly. The most notable changes were that the playable miniboss Ash was removed because he was clearly homosexual, the costume colors were changed, and the plot was rewritten, leaving many gaps in the narrative. In the original Bare Knuckle 3 the story was dealt with a new explosive substance called Rakushin, discovered by a Dr. Gilbert (who later turns out to be "Zan"), and the disappearance of a military general. In the American and European versions of Streets of Rage 3, all references to Rakushin was removed, and the general was replaced by the chief of police, and a scheme to switch city officials with robot clones was invented. Also, Bare Knuckle 3, even in the highest difficulty setting, was significantly easier than Streets of Rage 3 on default difficulty.

Soundtracks
There were 2 soundtracks, both composed by Yuzo Koshiro, but they are very hard to find today. I have not been able to find any evidence of a Streets of Rage 3 soundtrack. I suggest you use the internet to do a

search for the other two, as you most likely won't find them for sale at record stores.

Streets of Rage 1 soundtrack
This is original soundtrack, and not much is know about it. All I was able to find was a photo of the front cover.

Streets of Rage 2 Soundtrack
This is the easiest Streets of Rage soundtrack to find. Composed and played by Yuzo Koshiro, this is said to be one of the greatest soundtracks by him, and it shows the power of the Sega Genesis soundchip. The music is decribed by Yuzo as "hard-core techno. The CD contains 20 tracks. The track list is as follows:

Go Straight
In The Bar
Never Return Alive
Spin On The Bridge
Ready Funk
Dreamer
Alien Power
Under Logic
Too Deep
Slow Moon
Wave 131
Jungle Base
Back To The Industry
Expander
S.O.R. Super Mix
Max Man
Revenge Of Mr.X
Good End
Walking Bottom
Little Money Avenue

Streets of Rage 3 Soundtrack
I only managed to find a little bit of info about the Streets of Rage 3 soundtrack, in the form of a quote. Yuzo said that "The music was developed using an "Automated Composing System" which created "fast-beat techno like jungle"."

External links
Streets of Rage Online (http://www.classicgaming.com/soronline/) Yuzo Koshiro's Official Site - In Japanese (http://www.ancient.co.jp/)

Sonic The Hedgehog

2005-03-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

Sonic the Hedgehog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about the video game series and the character. For the video game, see Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis).
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonikku za hejjihoggu) is the flagship character and mascot for the video game and arcade game (and formerly game console) company Sega, which has released a series of video games in which he either stars or plays a role. Sonic was competing head-to-head with Nintendo's mascot, Mario, for over a decade until Sega left the console market. His games are now on various Nintendo systems and other consoles.

Sonic replaced Alex Kidd, who was Sega's mascot prior to 1990. Naoto Oshima designed the character while Yuji Naka (who would later become head of the Sonic Team division) was the main programmer. The "game planner" was Hirokazu Yasuhara. The music of the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Megadrive and Genesis was composed by Masato Nakamura of the Japanese band Dreams Come True.

Sega promoted the game's use of "Blast Processing", supposedly a feature of the Sega Genesis which allowed it to draw sprites faster, but which in reality simply referred to the console's fast CPU clock rate.

Sonic was an early example of the "obscure anthropomorphic animal starring in a platform game" character archetype that was later seen in characters such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Blinx, and Sly Cooper.

Sonic is a blue, 15 year old hedgehog who lives on the planet Earth (or Mobius in various other American or European continuities). He has the ability to run at supersonic speeds, hence his name. American sources often say that Sonic's favourite food are chili dogs.

His blue pigmentation was explained in an issue of gaming magazine GamePro as being the result of getting caught in an explosion involving cobalt, but this is probably not canonical. Stay Sonic, a book about the character written by Mike Pattenden and published only in the UK, provided an alternative explanation, which later became the basic origin for all subsequent UK publications. This origin is covered in detail below.

The premise of the games revolves around Doctor Eggman (Doctor Ivo Robotnik in the earlier releases in North America and Europe) trying to take over the world by turning the animals into robots (often called Badniks, though this is an US/EUR term and hasn't been used since Sonic Adventure). Sonic is charged with saving them. In later games he is joined by Tails (Miles "Tails" Prower), Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, Cream the Rabbit and a host of other characters. Sonic must collect rings to protect himself from the robots, and as long as he has at least one, he is invulnerable save for drowning or being crushed. He ultimately must collect the Chaos Emeralds from the Special Stages in order to become his most powerful form, Super Sonic. However, Sonic's quest does not necessitate collecting the Emeralds himself; he must only prevent Eggman from collecting them and dooming the world with their power, as well as deal with numerous other foes, such as Metal Sonic (Mecha Sonic), Fang the Sniper (formerly Nack the Weasel in the West, still Nack in the comic books), Shadow the Hedgehog, and Rouge the Bat.

Sonic has numerous abilities, including Homing Attack, where he hits enemies while jumping, and Light Dash, where he can run along a path of rings, even in the air. He is a poor swimmer, however, and will drown in water after an amount of time, even as Super Sonic. (However, as Hyper Sonic in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, he can stay alive in water.)

In the SatAM cartoon, Sonic's love interest is Princess Sally Acorn; in the video games Amy Rose believes she is Sonic's girlfriend (Sonic, however, is quite repelled by Amy's constant advances but in the modern day Sonic TV show Sonic X, there is a bit more of a mutual vibe between Sonic and Amy); Breezie hedgehog in Adventures of Sonic the hedgehog cartoon; and both Sally Acorn and Mina Mongoose in Sonic's Archie comics.

One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named "sonic hedgehog" after the character.

Sonic is also incredibly popular with the fangaming community, with possibly more fanmade games than any other video game star.

In all games after Sonic Adventure, Sonic is voiced by either Jun'ichi Kanemaru or Ryan Drummond. In the TV shows, he is voiced by five different actors (specific to each show): Jaleel White, Masami Kikuchi, Martin Burke, Jun'ichi Kanemaru and Jason Griffith.

Contents [showhide]
1 Origin of Sonic

1.1 Games Version
1.2 Former US/UK Version
1.3 Sonic The Comic Version
1.4 Archie Comics Version

2 Games

3 Television series

4 Books

4.1 Comic books
4.2 Game books
4.3 Novels
4.4 Others

5 External links

Origin of Sonic
Due to the many differences between universes, Sonic's history and world varies greatly. These are some of the backstories.

Games Version
We know very little about Sonic's past; he was supposedly born on Christmas Island and that he has frequented around South Island, and that he and Dr. Eggman have a fierce rivalry. Beyond that, though, his past is a complete mystery. Sonic is something of a nomad; he travels from area to area of the Earth searching for new things to see and do, rarely stopping for anything or anyone unless he's needed, often times getting himself involved in Eggman's schemes to take over the world.

Former US/UK Version
The origin of Sonic's blue colouration and super speed was first featured in a promotional comic strip in the US Disney Adventures comic and later described in more detail in Mike Pattenden's Stay Sonic book. It was used in most subsequent UK publications (including Sonic the Comic and the "Martin Adams" series of Sonic novels published by Virgin). Although an official Sega book, it should not be taken as canon for anything else; neither the video games themselves nor their translated manuals make any mention of it, and the Japanese backstories were adopted for the Sonic Adventure games.

Sonic was originally an ordinary brown hedgehog with few remarkable qualities. But one day, he accidentally burrowed his way into the secret underground lab of Doctor Ovi Kintobor, a kindly scientist who wanted to make the world a true paradise by removing all evil from it using his Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor machine. Of course, Sonic found that a laudable goal, and helped Kintobor by searching Mobius for the seventh and final emerald that he required to contain all the negative energy that he had gathered using the ROCC. Kintobor also helped Sonic to increase his speed using a treadmill he designed himself. Sonic eventually ran so fast that he broke the sound barrier, the resultant shockwave fusing his quills together and turning his body cobalt blue.

Sonic failed to find the seventh emerald, but Kintobor apparently deduced a way to complete the transfer of the chaotic energy to the six emeralds without it. Before initiating the process, the pair planned to eat - but opening the fridge, the found it to contain only one rotten egg. Holding it in his hand, distracted by it, Kintobor walked back over to the ROCC, only to trip on a cable and fall, his hand slamming into the ROCC control panel. The machine overloaded and exploded, bathing Kintobor - and the egg - in chaos energy, and scattering the golden rings that comprised it across the planet. Doctor Ovi Kintobor had been transformed into the evil Doctor Ivo Robotnik.

Sonic The Comic Version
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Sonic the Comic's version is identical to the former US/UK Version, but it also later featured a story involving time travel that revealed that Sonic himself was responsible for Kintobor's accident. His foes, the Brotherhood of Metallix, had travelled back and removed the rotten egg from the fridge, preventing Robotnik from being created and leaving them free to dominate the planet. In order to prevent this future, Sonic had to replace the egg, and pulled the cable that tripped Kintobor - thereby making himself responsible for the creation of his greatest enemy.

Archie Comics Version
The Archie comic series offers another angle on the origins of the person who would become the dreaded Dr. Robotnik. On the planet Mobius, humans (known as "Overlanders") existed for a time in a state of hostilities with the anthropomorphic animal beings Sonic and his friends represented. Julian Ivo fled from Overlander civilization after some transgression, and was subsequently taken in by King Acorn (Princess Sally Acorn's father) of Mobotropolis. Ivo became an important advisor to the King, but ultimately staged a coup (with the help of his nephew, Snively) in which he seized power and renamed both himself (to Ivo Robotnik) and the city he had come to rule (to Robotropolis).

Games
See List of games featuring Sonic the Hedgehog

Television series
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (AoStH, US) - Sonic voiced by Jaleel White), Robotnik voiced by Long John Baldry
Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM, US) - Sonic voiced by Jaleel White), Robotnik voiced by Jim Cummings
Sonic Underground (US, France) - Sonic voiced by Jaleel White
Sonic the Hedgehog (Anime, Japan) - Sonic voiced by Masami Kikuchi and Martin Burke
Sonic X (Anime, Japan) - Sonic voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru and Jason Griffith

Books

Comic books
Sonic the Hedgehog (Shogakukan, Japan)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics, US)
Sonic the Comic (Fleetway, UK)
Sonic fan-made dōjinshi have also been released in Japan.

Game books
A series of six Sonic Adventures gamebooks were published in the UK by Puffin:

Book 1 - Metal City Mayhem, James Wallis
Book 2 - Zone Rangers, James Wallis
Book 3 - Sonic v Zonic, Nigel Gross and Jon Sutherland
Book 4 - The Zone Zapper, Nigel Gross and Jon Sutherland
Book 5 - Theme Park Panic, Marc Gascoigne and Jonathan Green
Book 6 - Stormin' Sonic, Marc Gascoigne and Jonathan Green

Novels
Stay Sonic, Mike Pattenden. Developed the "Kintobor origin" (first introduced in the Disney Adventures comic) in more detail. This background was used as the basis of most subsequent UK Sonic stories.
James Wallis, Marc Gascoigne and Carl Sargent (under the pseudonym of Martin Adams) wrote four Sonic the Hedgehog novels based on the origin established in Stay Sonic. They were published in the UK by Virgin.

Book 1 - Sonic the Hedgehog in Robotnik's Laboratory
Book 2 - Sonic the Hedgehog in the Fourth Dimension
Book 3 - Sonic the Hedgehog and the Silicon Warriors
Book 4 - Sonic the Hedgehog in Castle Robotnik
Michael Teitelbaum also wrote a series of Sonic novels:

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog: Robotnik's Revenge
Sonic the Hedgehog: Fortress of Fear
Sonic the Hedgehog: Friend or Foe?
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic X-Treme

Others
Where's Sonic?
Where's Sonic Now?

External links
Sonic Central (http://www.sega.com/sonic/) - Official website.
The Green Hill Zone (http://ghz.emulationzone.org/) - A website dedicated to chronicling every Sonic Team game designed to date, including all of the Sonic games.
Sonic the Hedgehog Information Treasury (http://database.ssonicnet.com) - A Sonic community-driven wiki.
Sonic CulT (http://sonic-cult.net/) - A Sonic game research site.
Sonic Stadium (http://www.sonicstadium.org/) - A popular fansite.
Sonic Fan Games HQ (http://sfghq.emulationzone.org/) - A site containing downloadable Sonic the Hedgehog fangames