Retro Game of the Day! Mickey Mousecapade
Mickey Mousecapade by Capcom for NES, released 1988.
Ahh, the Disney Games of Yore. I HAVE Said it again and again, though modern-day games based on Walt Disney franchises have little to no cachet with the current gaming scene, other than being a quick buck/good for pleasing gamers who are too young to know better, the days of 8 and 16-Bits were a different story altogether. More often than not, if a Disney title released on a Sega or Nintendo, it was most likely going to A. look wonderful and B. be a blast to play. Of course, in the earlier period, this was not even always the case either. To wit:
Mickey Mouse(capade?) was announced in a very early issue of Nintendo's own magazine. A brightly colorful screenshot trumpeted the expected arrival of this new platformer; a Mario-crazy world would be pretty excited to see what could be in store. Even still, Mickey Mouse seemed pretty "kiddie" so this was not going to be something that people would rob stores for. The game released very soon following, and rather than part with a good $50 I decided to give it a rental. The game was not bad, but it wasn't very good either.
First of all, though it bore the Capcom name right on the box, this was hardly a Capcommy experience. Developed by Hudson Soft, the game bore more than a passing resemblance to another title released under that group's own label at the time, Milon's Secret Castle. Looking at the two games now, they look like brothers - though Mickey is the shorter, fatter brother with not many friends. MM stars Disney's Dynamic Duo, tasked with rescuing a "mystery friend" (Alice from Wonderland). The player guides Mickey through the levels, while a nigh-invulnerable Minnie trails behind, aping his actions (she can't be killed by touching enemies, though she can at times be spirited away and thus require rescue - other times, if she falls into a pit then you will eat it, too!) The upswing of this is that Minnie can be armed and used for extra firepower. Essentially, she's the Mouse Option!
This game is not bad, it was fun to pick up at it's release and like many platformers of the day, suffered from lazy/cheap design but not so much that it was a dealbreaker. The game is fun (to a point) and kind of cute, if exceedingly simple. It is tough in the way those old NES titles were (requiring lots of repetition and patience) and most modern gamers would likely get tired of it after a few minutes of play - including myself!
Still, the game has it's charm and it is interesting to witness the birth of Disney gaming in the Second Age of Videogames. From here, Capcom went pretty hog wild with the Disney licenses, putting actual TLC into the game development and giving to us some of gaming's greatest adventures (Duck Tales, SNES Mickey's, etc)
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! by Nintendo for NES, released in 1987. Yep - everyone knows 
In 1987, Nintendo was the hot thing and Mike Tyson was the other hot thing. the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of this was realized in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, a sport boxing title released with considerable fanfare for the console. "Power, Power, now you're playing with Power!" went the 
The original 2-screen arcade had been lighting up arcades for years, and though the tech had to be considerably downsized from the original incarnation to fit on the tiny NES cart, what resulted was still quite impressive. Unlike many NES games at the time, Punch-Out!! was a rich and colorful game, featuring very large and distinctive character sprites - all very well-animated, all dripping with character. Immediately it was evident that a lot of love and care was put into the development of this game's presentation.
The game itself was fairly simple - survive a few rounds in the ring versus your opponents, discover ad exploit their weaknesses as you advance through the rounds. The game started off easy enough, but quickly became quite challenging (after the first.. 
Perseverance was key, and patience paid off - the journey through the entire game was a rewarding payoff (and certainly a workout for the thumbs!) The characters kept on getting bigger and badder, but the big prize waiting at the end was quite tempting.. " A dream match with Tyson himself, and a chance to take home the World Video Boxing Belt!"
It didn't take me too long to progress through the ranks - I have to admit, i was able to trounce every fighter in this game save for 2 - Mr. Sandman (big truck of a dude) and of course The Man Himself. I could never take down Tyson, he was too tough, too quick. Even the next-to-last bout with Super Macho Man was pretty cake, I could send that guy to the ring with one hand tied behind my back. But Tyson.. he was something else.
A ridiculously popular game back in the day, with a reputation that's well-deserved and long standing. There were always crazy rumors about this game (I remember reading an article in the Boston Globe saying schoolkids claimed that a character in the game would pull a rifle from the crowd and snipe at Tyson if you could last long enough) - type in the Nintendo Hotline Number and hear a busy signal at the password screen (this one was true!) and of course, the true weirdness was when Tyson fell from grace and even had his name and likeness stripped from the game altogether (replaced with the generic "Mr. Dream," bah!) To me and many others, this will always be 
Iron Tank - The Invasion of Normandy by SNK, released on the NES in 1988.
So - it has long been lost to the tides of time, but still a few of us remember a Golden Age of 8-Bit Nintendo - a period where there were so many (relatively) quality titles released, many of them would be overlooked (Some would say the current generation of games is going through a similar era). Iron Tank was one of several games that just "appeared on the scene" with little fanfare, and not many remember it (much less mention it) since - yet it was a well-constructed game, quite an enjoyable experience to play, and (get this) it still is a very fun time to be had even now. Let's pick it apart!
The game takes place during a decisive WWII battle - you are deposited deep into enemy territory, tasked with fighting a lonely one-man war against the Germans all the way to Berlin.
Essentially, what we have here is a fine iteration/spin-off of a much older SNK Classic Ikari Warriors, with one major difference - in that game, occasionally your soldier would come across a "super-tank" power up which could be boarded for a limited time, and nigh-invincibly used to mow down tons of enemy soldiers and equipment. Someone over at development had the bright idea "hey - how about we just take that small aspect and make it the 
You know what - it works very well! Unlike Ikari, you're going to be battling several other machines in this title (got to keep the fight fair!) and so the enemy's arsenal scales appropriately. Sure, there's still plenty of wimpy foot soldiers to mow down, but they are supported by plenty of heavy artillery to match your own.
The game is very well-designed, in that it stands up as a very playable title today. To keep things interesting there are several branching paths to the endgame, so you have a few different ways to play. Also, the general handling of the tank is unusual (you have a machine gun as well as your shells, and firing each properly takes getting used to - but it feels unique to this game and is satisfying). Unfortunately the general SNK "power up system" is present, which always felt like an uninspired afterthought in many of their games "Oh, we'll just use boring-looking letters to power 
The biggest problem I had with this game, is that the screen grabs looked relatively drab (even at the time) compared to other things that were going on with the NES. This is incorrect - the game has wonderful pixel art, and all the characters have a lot of personality despite some heavy cartoonishness. The whole game flows really well and it is quite a treat to play. Sadly I never got too far in it, during my youth - I am definitely going to put some time into this gem now. Don't miss out on Iron Tank!
Night Trap by Digital Pictures for the Sega-CD, released originally in 1992. And then ported to a slew of other platforms over the next couple of years, of course (3DO, Sega-CD+32x, PC)
Haaaaang on a minute. This column is entitled "Retro 
Night Trap is one of those games which has a special place reserved for it in the long, storied History of Videogames. It looks like muddy digi-crap now, but in its day this was considered a groundbreaking departure from the likes of Mario, for several reasons. Most notably, the game seemed to be about "protecting hot teen ladies from getting raped!" Whaaa-aaat?
Yeah, the premise of the game was that there was a sleepover being held in some house, parents nowhere to be seen. A bunch of teenyboppers were parading around in their undies, and some vampire-type creatures called "augers" infiltrated their house in attempts to catch them and "drain their blood," played out in relatively violent sequences (laughably cheesy, and rather tame - but compared to what other videogames of the day looked like, this was a rather huge leap). This one went all the way to the Senate! This was the catalyst of Congressional Hearings on Violence in Video games. Not even joking!
Would that Night Trap (or "Night Rape," as the Senate would likely have referred to it) have been an actual good game to deserve such attention. As a member of "Sega Control Attack Team," or S.C.A.T. (no comment), you were monitoring the house with surveillance cameras. When the vampires entered a room, if you activated a "trap" at the proper time you'd be able to snag the villians and save the girls. Gameplay consisted of knowing which security codes would be necessary to activate which traps during which times. Miss too many vampires and you'd be kicked out of S.C.A.T., and be admonished by Dana Plato.
All in all, a silly game, not really very fun, but there were those who enjoyed its novelty, and for that you can't really knock it. It does deserve its place in history (before Hot Coffee, there was this!) and is absolutely symbolic of a path videogames could have gone down (Full Motion Video, semi-interactive sequences which remove the play from the action resulting in much more "passive gameplay." I am particularly glad that phase of gaming has passed, but they are interesting to look back at.
If you want to see what all the hubbub was about, easy enough to find all the clips on YouTube - or dig up one of the playable versions for your system of choice.
Mega Man 2 by Capcom, released for the NES in 1988. Or rather -the NES was constructed especially in anticipation that someday Mega Man 2 would be designed to run on it, and maybe some other games too.
MM2 is one of those "Greatest of the Greats" in the annals of videogaming history. It's almost silly to even write about it, as it's a game everyone knows and loves and reveres. It's sort of like writing a review of the air - if air were 
Nevertheless, the game was a follow-up to the sleeper hit (and likewise excellent) first game in the series, and improved on its predecessor in nearly every way. Better graphics, better music, better characters, better stage design, password back-up. If there's one place in which MM2 faltered, it was perhaps that is was a little too easy (the first game was a bit of a beast by comparison!)
For the people in third world countries who have never seen a TV or video game, here's a quick primer - Mega Man 2 is a platformer featuring a little boyish robot who bears more than a striking resemblance to Astro Boy. Armed with a pea shooter, he must conquer 8 different stages and their "robot master" bosses - in any order, as selected by the player. Beat a robot, and obtain his MP-powered weapon. Each robot has a counter (weakness of a single other robot's weapon), this can be quickly discovered by looking online but 
This game screamed quality from the first previews that were printed. Huge, colorful enemy sprites dressed up the initial screenshots, no other NES games looked quite like this. The first mega Man adventure was surely impressive, but looked absolutely clunky compared to this stellar sequel.
Each world was marvelously designed and lovingly rendered, in a fashion that few games outside of anything bearing a name other than "Super Mario Bros." ever would be. The game oozed love and replayability, and it's certainly one of the games I had to play through over and over again just because it was so much fun from start to finish.
I'll take this moment to recommend a rock band now - there's more then a few bands who make it their shtick to play cover bands of old NES chiptune music and the like. Mega Man 2 has to be one of the most covered NES soundtracks ever, and no band does it better than a group known as The Megas. These guys crafted an entire album lovingly devoted to Mega Man 2, all of their songs are based on each robot and level - and they've done a hilarious job of fleshing out each characters' personality in song. Air Man is bent on world-destruction and raining terror from above "who only has the power to push others away," Flash Man is a closeted admirer of Mega Man, Bubble Man is a self-loathing robot ashamed of only being able to fire pathetic bubbles at his rival. the band's hilarity is only matched by their production quality. See for yourself as they perform at the Good Hurt in Venice, CA this coming weekend (Sat Dec 19). No, I am not connected to the band, but you can bet I am extremely excited to see this show! Check out another up-and-coming videogame coverband Tanuki Suit Riot who will be opening for them, while you're there!
Someday.. someday.
The Games For Windows Live Client, part of which can be seen in most Games For Windows Live Games, has now been officially updated in the UK and EU.
The latest trailer for SEGA's "Sonig & Sega All-Stars Racing" for the Xbox 360 was revealed today and it came with some "shocking" news.
Today's Retro Game of the Day is Rolling Thunder 2 by Namco - a rather sharp run 'n gun, or "slow Contra," that appeared in arcades and then ported to Sega Genesis in 1991.
Let me start by saying this - Namco, have I got your ear? Headcase Games would 
Back on track - Rolling Thunder 2 was a sequel to an earlier Namco hit, unsurprisingly titled Rolling Thunder. A staple of my bowling-alley videogaming days, I never heard (or expected) a sequel to the slow-paced but stylish blaster, but suddenly one appeared out of thin air for the Genesis (I never crossed paths with the arcade). It looked pretty funky in the magazines (funky as in.. I don't know if I am interested in this!) and a further rental cemented the notion.
Turns out I was wrong! Years later on a long plane trip, I picked up an old copy of this to keep occupied "it's Rolling Thunder, how bad can it be?" I put the first stages through their paces and got a little more into the meat of the game. I was surprised to find a very enjoyable and well-put together little adventure in there. Under my nose all of this time!
RT2 puts you in control of a high-class secret agent, Bond style, or his femme fatale accomplice - or the 
I was shocked to play through the levels and see how different and varied they got. Not outstanding, but definitely bigger and more involved than I had expected. The design got pretty tight as well, with decent platforming/shooting and a special front/back technique that is unique to the series. That was a further iteration of the "ducking into a doorway/closet" seen in the first game, and it lends itself to some pretty interesting gameplay elements this time around.
All in all, Rolling Thunder 2 is one of those games which represents the best of what I love about a game or film experience - I come in with little or no expectation, and come out pleasantly surprised and eager for more. I am very curious to pick through the 3rd installment at some point! In the meantime, a big thumbs up for number 2, give it a play and enjoy!
EA's second installment of the "CO-OP" Based "Army Of Two" game isnt set to be released for quite some time, however recently on Xbox Live Marketplace, and on the Playstation Network a decent size Demo has been uploaded for all other us gamers to download and enjoy.