Retro Reviews
Old-school reviews.
Retro Review: Einhänder (PS1)
Release Date: Nov 20, 1997 Developer: Square Co., Ltd. Publisher Square Co., Ltd. The shoot-‘em-up is one of my favorite video game genres. The love began with Tempest in the arcade, and it hasn’t subsided. What has subsided, however, is the genre. Nobody seems to be interested in making too many shooters outside of the indie space. Cuphead tided me over for a bit, but that’s a run-‘n-gun game. I ...[Read More]
Retro Review: Super Star Wars (SNES)
Release Date: June 1, 1992 Developer: Sculptured Software, Inc., LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC Publisher: JVC Musical Industries, Inc. Once upon a time, I was in love with the Star Wars universe. It wasn’t all-encompassing; I loved Star Trek as well. But back in the day, an upcoming Star Wars movie would whip me up into a frenzy. My love wasn’t so all-encompassing that I’d go to the theater ...[Read More]
Retro Review: Mega Man 2 (NES)
Release Date: December 24th, 1988 Developer: Capcom Co., Ltd. Publisher: Capcom Co., Ltd. When I saw the announcement that Capcom was resurrecting the Mega Man franchise for the Blue Bomber’s 30th Anniversary, you bet I was aware. As a result of the news, I scrapped the Retro Review I was working on and started this one. Simultaneously, I worked on my write-up for the Mega Man 11 announcement. I w...[Read More]
Retro Review: Rampage (Arcade)
Release Date: 1986 Developer: Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc. Publisher: Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc. Every time Hollywood decides to adapt a video game into a movie, I cringe. The track record for video game movies is littered with horrible adaptations. There are more sincere efforts that failed to strike a chord like Super Mario Bros. and Doom. There’s the Resident Evil series, whic...[Read More]
Retro Review: House of the Dead (Saturn)
Release Date: March 1998 Developer: Sega AM1 R&D Division Publisher: SEGA of America, Inc. Last year, I decided to do a Halloween-themed Retro Review. I took a look at Castlevania: Symphony of the Night because I love the game. But in a twist, I chose to look at the Japanese SEGA Saturn version. The game was different enough compared to the U.S. PlayStation version that it made it a novel revi...[Read More]
Retro Review: GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64)
Classic game with a couple of flaws Release Date: August 25th, 1997 Developer: Rare, Ltd. Publisher: Nintendo of America, Inc. Nostalgia is a bit of a double-edged sword. I’ve often gone back to play games I remember playing when I was younger and enjoying. Several times, my experience now differs greatly from what I remember. It happened when I replayed Sonic Adventure for a previous Retro Review...[Read More]
Retro Review: Tron (Arcade)
Release Date: 1982 Developer: Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc. Publisher: Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc. Arcade is king! Disney is an absolute monster nowadays. In addition to their own IPs and those belonging to the uber-animators at Pixar, the acquisitions of Marvel and Lucasfilms have given the House than Mickey Built access to a vast treasure trove of marketable content. Back in 1982...[Read More]
Retro Review: Night Trap (SEGA CD)
Release Date: October 15, 1992 Developer: Digital Pictures Publisher: SEGA No. Just…no. Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition just got an August 11th date for the physical PlayStation 4 release. The PS4 and PC will see a digital release on August 15th. Many people, including Digital Crack Podcast mate Dv310per – a smart and thoughtful fellow gamer who is nevertheless wrong – are excited about...[Read More]
Retro Review: Road & Track Presents The Need for Speed (3DO)
Release Date: 1994 Developer: Electronic Arts Canada Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc. I feel the need… The Need for Speed series is the longest-running video game racing series. It’s a very successful series, boasting sales of over 150 million copies across multiple generations of consoles. As a fan of the racing genre, I have cut my teeth on many entries in the venerable series. There have been t...[Read More]
Retro Game Oddities: Street Fighter “Sequels”
Ha-WHO-ken! (This is a new series that will look at odd dealings in video games. Hopefully, this will be a weekly series. Considering who’s writing it, however, that remains to be seen!) Way back in 1987, Capcom released Street Fighter in the arcades. I’ve spoken about the game before. Short version: it isn’t all that hot. Slightly longer version: player one is Ryu only, player two is Ken on...[Read More]
Retro Review: Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast)
Release Date: September 9, 1999 Developer: Sonic Team Publisher: SEGA “Froggy! You swallowed my lucky charm!” – Big the Cat Many times, nostalgia plays cruel tricks on me. Case in point: my ex-wife and I gave my son a SEGA Dreamcast for Christmas 1999. Included with the console were some extras we picked out. They included an extra controller and two games: Soul Calibur and Sonic Adventure. ...[Read More]
Retro Review: Pepsiman (PlayStation)
This calls for a Coke Release Date: March 4, 1999 Developer: KID Corp. Publisher: KID Corp. May has been a brutal month for me. Between personal and health issues, my duties for Digital Crack have suffered. Unfortunately, so has my gaming. My PS4 and Xbox One have lain silent since the first of the month, and I normally have one online almost around the clock. My Raspberry Pi has fared better only...[Read More]