Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Tag: retro

Are We Already Past Golden Era?

Posted on by Viljami

Games are definitely different than they used to be. Things aren’t the same. There is something almost magical about these games we today call retro games. They were games that were brand new when I was a kid or a teen.

Game developers today seem to be cautious. They don’t take risks and I think that they even like to keep it simple and make games that are going to bring them profits surely. Games are a big business. There is this certain economical responsibility. Every year games get bigger and better. Technology keeps developing. People are more into games than ever before.

So when was the so called golden era of video games? As I was growing up I picked up a lot of titles. I started playing some hours with Sega Mega Drive. Then I moved on to PlayStation and then to PC and to original Xbox all the way to the recent games that I have been also playing. That’s a long trip. Nothing will ever be like what it was when I first got to play Half-life or Diablo II back in the end of 1990s.

In my opinion we today lack inspiration and innovation. Games have advanced in graphics. There has been a lot of progress also in the design of games. Every game today seems to have elements of games we used to call role playing games. But where are the game changing innovations?

It might help for me to deal with these ideas and thoughts if I would think of it from a young persons sight. What would it be like to grow up around all this technology? Smart phones definitely have made an impact to our lives. You can play games also with mobile devices. There is even a possibility to buy a game pad for your mobile phone and play something with an emulator. So it is possible to use your phone as a retro gaming device.

The whole world keeps moving on and changing. Today you can write your thoughts on a blog and release your pictures on social media. There are lots of complications. We have divided our presence into physical and virtual. We are able to enjoy electronic devices and also to work with them.

How much does playing video games still feel like it used to feel? I don’t know. I might not even be a person that actually plays all the latest games. I do like retro games. But still I have ot ask again and one more time – are we already past the golden era of gaming??

Getting in to GameCube

Posted on by Viljami

I bought a used Nintendo Wii about one and a half years ago. I figured I could also play some GameCube games with it since it’s backwards compatible. So I got two consoles for a price of one. Nintendo Wii consoles aren’t actually so expensive. The one I got was about 80 euros.

I have learned that at least with GameCube I like to have an original gamepad. I wrote about this already earlier. I also have a memory card. Games that I currently own for GameCube are ISS 3, Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time, Dead to Rights, Wave Race – Blue Storm, Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil and NBA Courtside 2002.

I can definitely save some space because I have a console that can play Wii and GameCube games. There are some used games available. Some titles are pricy. The controller requires a bit of getting used to. It differs a lot from controllers like DualShock 4 or the Xbox’s controller. After getting used to it the game pad does work well.

GameCube might not be your choice if you want flashy and modern graphics. It was originally released in 2001-2002. It’s main competitors were PS2, Xbox and DreamCast. Out of these four consoles PS2 sold the most. Xbox was sold the second most. Third was GameCube and then there was Dreamcast. GameCube is definitely a retro console. It reminds of this great era when game developers took more risks in game design decisions.

If you are into GameCube you should check a game called Eternal Darkness. It is kind of a survival horror game. I have heard good things about it. It is although a pricy game. I can see it being sold for 170 euros in a local game shop. There are some very good Mario games released for GameCube. There is even a game where Mario’s buddy Luigi is in the main role.

I am still excited about GameCube. Resident Evil Zero is definitely worth a while. ISS 3 isn’t a bad football or should I say soccer game. You can play with Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside 2002. I just might try to grab some new games for this console. And I definitelty would like to have some time to spend playing these games that I have mentioned in this blog post.

The Original PlayStation Controller

Posted on by Viljami

So I bought Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 about a week ago. I was going to play it with the PSOne console that I’ve had for about five years already. I got my PSOne from a flee market for a low price of fifteen euros. It has worked since the day I bought it. I’ve had no issues.

I had a cheap accessory controller for PSOne. I figured that I would need a gamepad that would be more accurate and that would feel better. I first checked some prices of DualShock controllers. DualShock 1, which was for PS1 originally, was sold for about 25 euros. I found DualShock 2 and it would cost from 35 to 40 euros. As you might already know DualShock 2 was the original controller for PS2.

I have a PS2 console also. It is currently broken. It was finally not able to read any of my game discs. I still have about fifty or sixty games for PS2. So I still have some controllers. I just didn’t yet know or remember if they were in a reasonable shape and could I use them with my PSOne.

As you might also know PS2 was backwards compatible with controllers of PS1. So these controllers work with PS1 and PS2 and of course PSOne can use also them. You can play PS1 games also with PS2. And to mention also PS3 can be used to play them.

Unfortunately my only DualShock 2 controller was a  bit broken. It had been for many years in storage. It didn’t fully recognize a press to the right on the controller. I had another controller which wasn’t original one. It felt a bit wack also. I had to buy a new Dual Shock 2. I thought it was worth it.

Only a week had gone since I had ordered my fresh and cool skateboarding game. I made a new order to the same store one more time. I just had to buy also some other games. I might write something about them later. I have tested the controller and it works very nice.