A Guttergamer’s Memoir of the Dreamcast
To be honest with you, I didn’t own a Dreamcast until after its retail death. Like many people, I only picked one system during console wars, and unlike that era and the 16-bit generation, the wars tend to be short-lived, or more like skirmishes. I was a PlayStation2 owner, as the double provided more games that were suited to my tastes. Even if Sega’s final console climbed to the top with the largest library of games instead of dying young, I probably would have still stuck by the PS2, if the library offered the same genres and titles I still play today.
That is not to say that I disliked, or disrespect, Sega’s swirl-halo angel back then, and this is especially not the case today. In a lot of ways, it was ahead of its time. Before “Xbox Live” became a household name, the little gray unit had a 56k modem attached to the back, making it the first mainstream console with built-in online connectivity. While the controllers tend to be awkward for the many 2D fighting games released, it made revisions on the one-stick analog model introduced by the N64’s own industry-revolutionizing controller with a somewhat sleeker feel. The Visual Memory Unit, a crossbreed between the N64’s controller-attached memory cards and Sony’s ill-fated PocketStation that never saw release outside of Japan, was a little weird in design but actually provided some very fun games.
Dragon*Con 2009 Gets Played By GGP Part 2
Now that we've taken a look around in Part 1, it's time to actually break out the hardware PLAY THIS CON!
First, we have what appears to be a drunk Mario, who just wanted to go down non-existing pipes. I think this part of Dragon*Con was programmed by back alley Taiwanese copyright pirates or something, because something wasn't right about this. Moving on…
Login or register to post comments | Tags: Beetlejuice, Cartridgepunk, Cosplay, DarkStalkers, Dragon*Con, Fallout, Fatal Fury, Final Fantasy, GI Joe, God of War, Halo, Inu-Yasha, King of Fighters, Kirby, Lego Indy, Mario, Pokemon, Punch-Out, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Strider, The Karate Kid, Tomb Raider, X-Men, Zelda
Dragon*Con 2009 Gets Played By GGP Part 1
If you're anyone in the video gaming internet business, you were most likely at the Penny Arcade Expo this past labor day weekend. Unfortunately, almost everyone here at GGP are a bunch of worthless nobodies that even understand the concept of "working on the site" and couldn't pony up the cash to fly all the way out to Seattle anyway since we're all poor. So I had to settle on Dragon*Con, a well rounded sci-fi/fantasy/anime/NERD fest located near GGP Headquarters in Atlanta.
But I couldn't just simple go and talk shit with other nerds, or explain to them the Guttergamer Philosophy. Not me, no sir, I went the full nine yards and decided to not just attend Dragon*Con, but to PLAY Dragon*Con. How did I do this, you might ask?
A Kinder, More Gentler Weird-Ass Wednesday
So my therapist told me that I needed to cut back on criticizing everything I come across that seems out of place. He suggested maybe surrounding myself with things that I find to be positive, rather than negative, and perhaps share those with the ones I care about deeply. Well I tried to explain what goes on here at GGP on Wednesdays, but he was too busy grumbling while looking at my file. For a guy that looks like a cranky George Lucas with a paddle shoved up his ass left in from his fratboy days, he sure is one to talk to be giving me the tree-hugging hippy crap as a measure to better my mental health.
But, because I won’t dismiss any advice given to me, even by hypocrites, I bring to you today… weird-ass ads that I like, and so should you.
1 comment | Tags: Arcana, Bonk's Adventure, HAL, KICKING RAD!, magazine ads, NES, Skate Or Die 2, Super NES, TurboGrafx-16
A semi-lazy Weird Ass Wednesday
Mr. Thompson does not feel like talking much. I almost wish some of you would just make up your own witty banter and talk amongst yourselves. Well here we go.
2 comments | Tags: Acclaim, Advertisement, cyberpunk, EGM, Game Boy, Genesis, LJN, Lufia, Nintendo, Sega, unreleased, useless accessories, Video Jukebox, Weird Ass Wednesday
A Guttergamer's Ode To The Game Boy Line
My love with Game Boy started not with the classic gray mammoth (pictured left), but with the see-through version. My clunker was heavy and took 4AAs, but I loved it. My first game was Mario’s Picross, a puzzle game that no one I knew owned and was probably not for my age bracket, so I swiped my brother’s copy of Donkey Kong. Eventually, I discovered more fun Mario games, and developed a healthy love for Nintendo. I’ll go ahead and say that I’m not a graphics junkie; I just want to be able to see Donkey Kong’s barrels before they hit me. What I want in a portable is: ease of carry and use, decent battery life, and a slew of fun games. Game Boy was rife with Donkey Kongs, Marios, Metroids and Zeldas, so with any system I wasn’t lacking for games to absorb much of my young life, but the changing technologies of the various ‘Boys would sometimes bring new joy, or annoyance, to my ventures.
NES Password Hacking 101.
This is a case study into hacking on the NES. This focuses on Tower of Babel (Babel no Tou), an a neat little obscure platform/puzzler from Namco. The GUTTED piece on this game will follow shortly, but for now we will be using this game as our guinea pig for this special. The password storage and verification used in this game is very simple but it is a good way to get your feet wet when thinking about console game hacking. Delving into viewing the memory and debugging functions of their favorite emulator isn't the most inviting thing about them, but things can be achieved using these often overlooked tools. What follows after the cut is a terrifying journey into world of Password hacking, memory editing and GOBLINS!
Okay, okay, no goblins.
PSN Summer Sale
I'd say we were late on this one, but considering the site just launched today, you should probably forgive me. Anyways, a number of older PlayStation Network titles are on sale until this Thusrday, July 23rd. Per the official North American PlayStation Blog, titles include WipEout HD ($14.99!), Flock! ($7.49!), Savage Moon ($4.99!), Crash Commando ($4.99!), PixelJunk Eden ($4.99!), Brain Challenge ($4.99!), and 3 on 3 NHL Arcade ($4.99!). If you haven't tried PixelJunk Eden or Savage Moon, now is the time to pick those two great budget titles up!