Game of the Week - 26/02/2020

GAME OF THE WEEK - 26/02/2020
SMASH BROS. ULTIMATED
This week's game of the week is Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. So let's a go (as Mario would say!)

Smash Bros. Ultimate was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2018. This game is a beat-'em up game which features a lot of Nintendo characters and different stages, such as Deflino Plaza, and my personal favourite, Saffron City.

There is a whole host of characters that are available that the players can play and also purchase as DLCs such as Banjo and Kazooie, but there are plenty of existing characters as well such as Mario (of course), Pac Man, Kirby and Link. This game is a good example of how DLCs are used to give players more variety in the games that they play.

Geekette's Thoughts: I love playing Smash Bros. Ultimate as it is a good party game that everyone can get involved in playing. Myself and my university friends have spent countless hours sat playing this game in the student bar or before classes have become. Before university, I had never played a Smash Bros. game before, as I have never really been that good at beat-'em up games.

That's all for today, so until next time.

Peace Out,
Geekette

History of Third Generation Consoles

HISTORY OF THIRD GENERATION CONSOLES
Today we are delving into the history of third generation consoles, with 3 major consoles that every gamer may be able to recognize. Let's jump into things!

The third generation of games consoles began on July 15th in 1985 with Nintendo releasing their first home system. This system was of course the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the Famicom if you were from Japan. The release of this console marked the beginning of Nintendo's games consoles journey releasing many more amazing consoles afterwards. When the console was released, the top selling game was Super Mario Bros. The console itself went onto sell 69.91 million units in its lifecycle.

The next third generation console that was released was the Sega Master System. This console was released worldwide in June 1987, succeeding the SG-1000, which was only released in Japan and New Zealand. The Master System had sold 10 - 13 million units worldwide, with the most popular game being Sonic the Hedgehog.

The last home console to be released with the third generation consoles was the Atari 7800. This console was released in July 1987 as a successor to the Atari 5200 and was originally supposed to have backwards compatibility with the console. However, it did have backwards compatibility with the Atari 2600 and was the first games console to have the ability to play older games. The most successful game for the Atari was Pole Position II and the console sold 3.77 million units which is surprisingly low for a console.

During this era, some well known games as well as Sonic and Super Mario Bros were released, such as Final Fantasy and Ninja Gaiden.

So that sums up today's History of..., stay tuned for next time!

So until then,

Peace Out,
Geekette

Retro Game of the Week - 24/02/2020

RETRO GAME OF THE WEEK - 24/02/2020
SILENT HILL
Welcome back to another blog post! This week we are delving into the Horror genre with the PS1 classic, Silent Hill.



Silent Hill was released for the PS1 on February 23rd 1999. Which means that it is 21 years old (shock faces here). The game was based around Harry Mason trying to find his daughter in the town of Silent Hill, but lurking within the fog are scary creatures waiting to attack you. While attempting to find his daughter, Harry also has to try and figure out the mystery around Silent Hill.

This game is your typical 3rd person shooter game with many horror aspects included. The game can utilize the feature of the dual-shock controller to alert the player if Harry's health is low by making it vibrate, as the game has no health bar or ammo bar present.

One very cool feature of the game is the rendering aspects that the game used. When the game was being developed, the developers noticed that the smoke was not rendering the way that they needed it to show the rest of the map. As a result, they decided to leave the smoke to be unrendered and allow the buildings to begin to show when the player gets closer to them.

Geekette's Thoughts: I recently started playing this game and it is amazing. I am not very good with horror films normally, but I thought I'd give this game a shot. The use of the smoke covering the enemies and the buildings makes the game much more eerie and spooky. I would rate this game 4/5 as it is an amazing game, but the lack of health bar and ammo bar makes the game slightly harder to control.

So that sums up today's retro game of the week. Stay tuned for more awesome updates coming your way!

So until next time,

Peace Out,
Geekette

Star Wars: The Old Republic Gameplay

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC GAMEPLAY
PART ONE - THE BEGINNING
Hey all,

So I have been rather busy recently with stuff going on at university and work, but I have managed to squeeze a bit of time and do a bit of Star Wars: The Old Republic gameplay. Here it is and enjoy:

https://youtu.be/QDVkheXNC8s

So until next time,

Peace Out,
Geekette

Retro Console of the Month - December

RETRO CONSOLE OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER
NINTENDO PLAYSTATION
Today I am going to talk about a console that almost was, but never released to the public. In honor of the PlayStation's 25th Anniversary, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the console that started it all, the Nintendo PlayStation.


Cast your mind back to 1988. Sweet Child O' Mine was released by Guns 'N' Roses, Beetlejuice was released in cinemas and VHS tapes were still being used everyday. Sony had signed a deal with Nintendo to develop a CD-ROM add on for the SNES to move them away from the use of cartridges. Both companies wanted to develop a new age for games consoles, and using CDs was going to put them on the up and up. But why did this console not come to be?

One of the reasons was money. There was a dispute between Sony and Nintendo on how much money each company would get. Sony wanted to keep all of the profits made from the CD licenses, but Nintendo disagreed with this.

Another reason (which is speculated) is that Sony wanted to work with 32-bit processors and create 3D games, but Nintendo were less impressed with this idea and wanted to stick with the 16-bit processors.

By 1992, everything had fallen apart between Sony and Nintendo. When showcasing the console in 1991, Sony were left in the dark about Nintendo collaborating with Philips (the DVD player company) to continue pursuing the SNES CD-ROM. Sony and Nintendo parted ways starting the rivalry between them. Sony went on to release the PlayStation in 1994, with Nintendo following in suit with the N64 in 1996.

What happened to the prototypes made? Well for all we know, 200 prototypes were made. One of them was found in 2015, and shown to be fully working. But they do go for £89,000! (About $100,099.99).

What do you think of this retro console? Would it have been a success if released or an utter failure like the Sega Dreamcast (shudders)? Leave your thoughts below!

So until next time,
Peace Out - Geekette

Game of the Week - 04/12/2019

GAME OF THE WEEK - 04/12/2019
LUIGI'S MANSION 3

Hey all and welcome back to another blog post! This week's game of the week is the new Luigi's Mansion game that was released on the Nintendo Switch on October 31. Let's dive right into it!

Luigi's Mansion is a game series developed by Nintendo that was originally going to be released by on the N64, but was delayed and eventually released on the GameCube in 2001. It spawned a sequel that was released on the 3DS in 2013. The general concept of this game is that Luigi wins something in a competition he never remembers entering (in the first game it was a mansion, in the latest release it is a holiday in a hotel), and Luigi being Luigi goes and accepts the prize.

The latest game follows Luigi, Mario, Peach, and the toads as they go on a holiday to a nice, luxurious hotel, or so they thought! I won't give to much away but the main game is about Luigi fighting some ghosts with the infamous Poltergust and help from a familiar face, Professor E. Gad.

I brought this game on day 1 release and haven' stopped playing it since. I love the concept of the game and the fact that they have so many familiar faces returning such as Professor E. Gad and of course, the Polterpup!

Have you played this game? What are your thoughts on the latest addition to the Luigi's mansion family? Leave a comment below!

So until next time,
Peace Out - Geekette

Retro Game of the Week - 03/12/2019

RETRO GAME OF THE WEEK - 03/12/2019
GRAN TURISMO
Hey all,

I'm back with a new post and it happens to be the time for Retro Game of the Week! This week's game is the PS1 classic, Gran Turismo.

I decided to review this game as it is one of my favorites and it happens to be the 25th Anniversary of the PlayStation being released!

Gran Turismo is a driving game that was released on the PlayStation in 1997, but it did take 5 years to complete! The game featured a simulation mode where the player had to qualify to complete in different events with their licenses and the categories. There is also an Arcade Mode where the player could select from a number of cars and tracks. My personal favorite choice is the New Dodge Viper.

I have fond memories of playing this game when I was younger and it was one of the very first games I had played (even though I was never very good at it!).

That concludes today's post on the Retro Game of the Week. I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for the next post!

So until next time,
Peace Out - Geekette