Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas magazine scans


Actually, these scans have nothing to do with Christmas. But I thought it best to get these out now while everyone is taking a break and I'm waiting for the lamb to finish roasting in my oven. These are scans from the few issues of Manga Mania which I own, and have a games related theme. Manga Mania used to be a monthly magazine covering manga, anime, and a tiny bit about games and "The Internet". They also serialised the whole of Akira I seem to recall. It was a great magazine, and I wished I'd bought more copies. Their games coverage was actually really poor, and reveals more by what it omits than what it covers. If you wanted Japanese gaming coverage you were probably better off buying Super Play... Still, one of the games they covered might feature in an HG101 article, so I thought it worth scanning everything. Oh, and the Cyber Drome page may rekindle some memories of the internet back when it first started. How times change! One of the articles here has nothing to do with games, but is an interview with the BBFC, and goes in depth regarding UK censorship laws, and is quite interesting! The BBFC rates, or used to rate, quite a lot of games, and I've always thought was an excellent system, since it covers America's AO rating under our "18" age rating (Restricted 18 is really only for hardcore pornography). The pages that follow the covers belong to that issue. If you're enjoying the scans that sometimes go up on the blog, we do it regularly over on he HG101 forum. Corsair has practically scanned an entire library of awesome things.

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Posted by Sketcz at 11:37 AM 9 comments
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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Inside the THQ archive (more Akira!)



During the drafting of HG101's previous Akira feature, I was able to contact Ryan Arnold, an administrator at THQ who deals with the company's data archives - he is quite genuinely, the vault keeper. Quite a few of those contacted during my investigation, not all of whom were quoted there, recommended contacting THQ in case they still had the old builds, which developers such as Black Pearl and Hand Made Software would have sent to THQ. What Ryan revealed was interesting, and also helped draw a line under the THQ investigation. I discussed his statement with him, but after several emails we agreed not to publish it - although it doesn't detail anything scandalous, some people may have been uncomfortable with the openness of it. Recently though, and after some consideration, Ryan has decided that he would be comfortable with publishing this information. As Ryan says: "It is rare that anyone cares about what a mastering lab tech has to say about the development process, and I would like to see my words become part of the public record."



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Posted by Sketcz at 4:46 AM 4 comments

Thursday, December 20, 2012

NEO•GEO X Buyer's Guide




Here's what everyone needs to know about the Neo-Geo X, based on my own experience and/or the consensus of Neo-Geo superfans:

(1) The emulation is fantastic, to the extent that Metal Slug slows down exactly the way it would on the original hardware. This is, perhaps, more important to me than it should be. 

(2) The handheld device is very good. Build quality, so far, feels solid enough -- about as solid as an original GBA, but lighter. Most importantly, the buttons and thumb-stick are responsive and comfortable. The stick, itself, has the same distinct click of an AES joystick. That, and the accuracy of the emulation, are two advantages over a PSP.

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Posted by xerxes at 11:58 PM 12 comments

Monday, December 17, 2012

Powerpak and an American NES



I recently shelled out £116 for an American NES plus Powerpak. It was actually £100, but I paid extra for postage to France from the UK. I've had several Famicoms and Famicom clones, plus a UK and French NES, but I've always wanted an American toaster NES, for 60Hz goodness. The Powerpak acts as a flash cartridge and allows (almost) any NES, Famicom or Famicom Disk System game to be played, with full Famicom audio if you do a small mod. Read on for my thoughts.

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Posted by Sketcz at 11:27 AM 7 comments
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Amazon Canada, and the HG101 Sega Book

So it's been brought to my attention by some Canadian readers that the HG101 Sega book doesn't show up on Amazon.ca. This is something I hadn't quite realized, though I now know why.

When selling books through my printer/publisher, Createspace, there are different tiers of profits based on the point of sale. I get the most profit if the purchase is made straight through the Createspace store. I get less if it's purchased through Amazon, since they take a fairly huge chunk in exchange for their exposure. And finally, I get even less than that if it's sold through a third party.

Here's the tricky part - all of the Amazons, despite having the same logos, are actually different companies that work under the same umbrella. Createspace only prints books through Amazon US, Amazon UK, and the assorted Amazon EU sites. All other Amazon sites are considered third party, including the Canadian one.

The issue I've run into is that the profit margin is so small on the color version of the book that it's impossible to sell via a third party. Literally, the profit is in the negative numbers. (Incidentally, the adventure game book was able to be sold to third parties, but the profit margin is pithy, something like sixty cents per volume sold.)

The only way to fix this would be to jack up the price another $5 or so, but this would affect the book sold in all territories, which wouldn't help much of anyone. I believe it's possible to enable sales of the B&W volume to third party sellers, since the profit margin is slightly higher, but I'm not sure if it'd be worth it, considering the color version is outselling it by a huge, huge margin. (It's also not appearing at all in any Amazon searches for me, for some reason?)

The good news is, I'm pretty sure Amazon US (or UK or EU) will ship to pretty much anywhere. The bad news is, of course, that the shipping will probably be high. But, at least you all know why things are the way they are.

This is sort of annoying for me too, of course, because I'd love to be able to sell this on Amazon JP, where I think some readers might be interested in it. But it doesn't look to be in the cards, at least for now. It's actually much better than it used to be, when Createspace only worked with the US site. That meant I got screwed over with the adventure game book on European sales, since I was getting practically nothing for every volume sold over there, at least when it was first published. It's fixed now, at least.


Posted by Discoalucard at 9:11 PM 4 comments

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Sega Arcade Classics Vol 1 - Update

Just a quick note that the color and black & white copies of the Sega Arcade Classics Vol. 1 book are now both back in stock at Amazon after being unavailable for a bit. The PDF copy is still available too, of course. It's all so rad that forum mascot Cptn. Murphy has traded in his SNK love for some Sega adoration. Anyway, someone in the previous entry's comments requested a video to see what the book looks like, so herein you can awkwardly hear me give it a flip through and explain the background behind it:

I've also created a preview PDF, which shows off a handful of full pages from the full product. Take note that this preview is SLIGHTLY different from the one for sale on the site, since it was generated from the book's file and has to take into account gutter margins. Since the book is designed as spreads, the PDF is meant to be set as "Facing", with the first page viewed alone on the right side.

Posted by Discoalucard at 9:49 PM 8 comments

Monday, December 3, 2012

Update 12/3 - Sega Arcade Classics Vol. 1 now available! Also, Bad Dudes, Ninja Princess, Little Big Adventure and Final Fight

HG101 Presents: Sega Arcade Classics Vol. 1 is now available for purchase! You can purchase color and black & white copies from Amazon, for $9.99 and $25 respectively, or download a PDF copy for $4.99. More details can be found at the link, but we've spent the past several months hard at work on this, and I think it turned out quite excellent! It covers a good chunk of long time Sega favorites like Shinobi, Alex Kidd, Space Harrier and After Burner, and the design is patterned after 90s-era video game magazines, at least inasmuch as it's filled with as many images as possible. I think you all will enjoy it!

We've still got a regular update to go along with the book announcement. Ninja Princess is an early Sega title that technically would quality as a "run-and-gun" in the spirit of Commando, except it takes place in feudal Japan, so there's more shurikens and magic than anything. Most gamers probably know it through its sorta sequel The Ninja for the SMS, which regretfully replaced the female protagonist with a generic dude. This article is not featured in the current volume, but we're planning a second volume that focuses on some of the lesser known Sega games, so please support the first volume so this can come to fruition!

In a more typically manly fashion, we also have a review of Bad Dudes and its pseudo-sequel Two Crude Dudes, the famously super American beat-em-up where you beat up ninjas, rescue President Ronnie, and then go out for cheeseburgers. And on the computer side is a look at Little Big Adventure, also known as Relentless to American gamers, a duo of French developed action-adventure games with quite a bit of imaginative charm.

The spotlight article is an overhaul of the Final Fight article, which was initially one of the first articles for the site back in 2004 and was long in need of an overhaul. And Your Weekly Kusoge is the frightening Pogo Bunny, featuring the most unintentionally tragic heroes in video gaming.


Posted by Discoalucard at 9:52 PM 7 comments

Friday, November 23, 2012

GC9X Dispatch - Do This, Don't Do That

Robo-fairy-parent observes.

This month’s game, Wonder Project J, is often described as a “raising sim.” It’s about a robot boy named Pino whose creator is arrested right before he comes to life. Pino is raised by the robo-fairy/living cursor “Tinker” and an invisible god-like entity, “the player.” The gameplay basically consists of bringing various objects to Pino’s attention and praising or chastising him based on what he does with it. Pino’s first reaction upon seeing a cat, for example, is to punt it. *RIGHT CLICK* That’s baaaaaad, Pino.

As longtime readers/listeners probably suspected, I’m old. I’m old enough to be married and have a two year old son. So, for obvious reasons, this game feels a bit familiar. Especially the substantial portion of it I spend telling a little boy to do something and watching him ignore me in the most extravagant ways possible.

But that is something Pino shares with other things besides two-year-olds. Puppies, for example. Or Siri.

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Posted by xerxes at 11:17 PM 3 comments
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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Update 11/19 - HG101 Book Sega Arcade Classics Vol. 1, Sakura Taisen, Super Locomotive, Hybrid Heaven, Block Out

First things first - HG101 is proud to announce our next book project: Sega Arcade Classics Vol. 1. This 166 volume contains of over seventy classic games originating from the 1980s and 90s arcade scene. All articles have been updated, revised, and expanded from the ones currently featured on the site. Furthermore, you won't very long to get a copy either - it's in its final stages of production, and should be ready for purchase in early/mid December. Both black & white and full color paperbacks will be available through Amazon, priced at $9.99 and $25 respectively (the latter just enough to quality for free super saver shipping) but PDFs will available straight through the site for those with tablets and eReaders.

The biggest thing to note is that the interior looks much, much nicer than the adventure game book. While this volume is substantially shorter, it's also much more carefully designed, with layouts that are designed after the enthusiasm of 90s game magazines. The color volume is pricey, but it's definitely worth it.

This update is more than just a book announcement. Topping the list of articles is a 10,000+ word feature of Sega's Sakura Taisen (also known as Sakura Wars). Somewhere in my apartment, there's a scribbled piece of paper, started back in 2004, that had all of the series I initially wanted to cover here at HG101. Sakura Taisen was one of them. I bought a whole bunch of the games, but the article never took off. So eight years later, William Van Hecke picks up the slack to deliver an expansive look at Sega's unique SRPG series, which heavily influenced titles today like Persona 3/4 and Valkyria Chronicles. The only game in the series to reach American shores was the fifth game, but it came far too late to make much of an impact. Meanwhile in Japan, it was so popular that there was a stage show based on it.

While the upcoming Sega book focuses on mid 1980s and early 1990s arcade titles (and its progeny), Sega has a lot of history before then, much of which isn't covered anywhere in great detail. We have a second volume planned to cover these titles, one of the first of which is a look at Super Locomotive. It's...bizarre. You are a sentient locomotive, who's being chased for some reason? And you have to attack with them steam clouds? Huh. That's interesting. I'd never really heard of this one before, because it never got ported anywhere. But otherwise, it seems to be also recognized for totally ripping off Yellow Magic Orchestra's song Rydeen. It's a great rendition of a great song, in spite of the plagiarism.

Block Out is basically Tetris in 3D (though not affiliated with Pajitnov's own 3D Tetris variant, Welltris). The article also covers Welltris, along with Nintendo's 3D Tetris. Bullet Witch is an early Xbox 360 title was one of the first games developed by a Japanese company and was released by Cavia. Like many of their titles, it has a number of flaws, a few of which were exacerbated during localization, but it remains interesting enough to cover in this extensive manner.

The latest episode of the Game Club 199X podcast focuses on Hybrid Heaven, Konami's bizarre sci-fi wrestling RPG for the Nintendo 64, which we've also posted an article for. Page 21 of the iOS Shooters article covers StarCannon, xFighter 2, Ace Striker and Above the Sky. And Your Weekly Kusoge is Paris-Dakar Rally Special, a seemingly innocuous Famicom racer which is much goofier than it looks. There's no Spotlight Article this update, as I've been busy finishing up the proofs on the Sega book, but you can expect to see some of the updated articles included on the site as well.


Posted by Discoalucard at 9:18 AM 3 comments

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Halloween Update #2 - 10/30 - Alone in the Dark, Project Firestart, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Clive Barker's Undying/Jericho, Shadow of the Comet/Prisoner of Ice, Zombie Raid, Parasite Eve 1, Braindead 13, Folklore, DreamWeb, Fright Night

In case our last update didn't disturb you enough, we're continuing our coverage of the macabre with a second, massive batch of articles. The largest of them is Alone in the Dark, widely considered the originator of survival horror and the game Resident Evil very deliberately copied its concept from. But there is actually an older game that fulfills all criteria for survival horror, and that is the C64 cult classic Project Firestart. This is an expanded reprint of a Making Of that originally appeared in Retro Gamer, so it includes a lot of quotes from co-designer Damon Slye and other people involved with the production. Amnesia: The Dark Descent on the other hand is a much more modern examples of the genre, and certainly one of the best in recent years since both the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series have more or less jumped the shark.

Not survival horror but first-person shooters are the two games made with creative input from renowned horror writer, director and producer Clive Barker, Undying and Jericho. Another duo, Shadow of the Comet & Prisoner of Ice are two Call of Cthulhu-based point & click adventures by Infogrames. The article has previously appeared in The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures, and now finally makes its transition to the site. We couldn't get a House of the Dead article this time, but we're running Zombie Raid by Sammy, which might as well have been a long-lost precursor to SEGA's series. We don't have that much lightgun shooter coverage on HG101, so this is gonna redeem that a bit.

We usually tend to cover only complete series, but we made an exception for Parasite Eve 1, in an entertaining analysis by Pat R, author of our humorist retrospective on the Final Fantasy series. Contuing towards even brighter tones, Braindead 13 is a very cartoonish FMV-based game in the vein of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. Folklore might also seem a bit misplaced on first looks, as it's set in a phantastic world vaguely influenced by Celtic mythology. But so is Halloween in a way, and Folklore revolves around the pagan festival of Samhain, which used to take place on October 31st, and many consider the originator of modern-day Halloween.

For our spotlight we've dug out the disturbing psycho thriller DreamWeb, since it's been recently made available as freeware after its addition to the list of games playable in ScummVM. Your Weekly Kusoge this time is Fright Night, a crappy, movie-licensed Amiga game where you run through your house as a suburban vampire and suck the blood from dozens of intruders into your home. And of course our iOS shooter coverage continues with page 20.


Posted by derboo at 5:01 PM 4 comments
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