The Console Slayer 4/1/2014.

   Since this is a comic book page/site first and foremost and because I like them so much I'd like to discuss video games based on comic books/characters. There have been a lot of them over the years but I play more retro games than modern so I haven't played a lot of the newer ones like the Arkham series (played the demo of the first game), the X-Men Legends series or the Deadpool game so I won't be touching on those. (Feel free to discuss them in the comments though.)

   I have a lot of time and experienced logged on many of the old school platformers like Maximum Carnage, Separation Anxiety, X-Men & X-Men 2: Clone Wars and others like the TMNT series. A little known gem is on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive platform based on the TV series 'The Phantom'. It plays really fun and is a solid platformer.

   I loved Maximum Carnage and Separation Anxiety on SG/SNES. They were pretty difficult and quite long. Some might have grown tired of them because of the repetitive gameplay but I found the gameplay enjoyable. I never have beaten those games legitimately (without cheating). It was SOOOO cool at the time being able to play as Venom. He played different than Spider-Man and I think kind of stole the show as far as I was concerned. X-Men on the Genesis/MD was another fun platformer. For me it became somewhat easy at a certain point after spending so much time on it but the difficulty definitely ramped up in the later stages. It had a varied selection of X-Men to choose from, each with their own unique style and abilities. There were also one-time use power-ups that provided support in the form of other (non-playable) X-Men. I have beaten it legitimately which leads me to my next point about this game: It also included a very cool, unique feature, which I'll describe with some help from Moby Games: “Near the end of the final stage the game actually requires the player to reset the system, with a light press of the reset button. This causes issues in emulation and on the Sega Nomad handheld system, effectively rendering the game not completable. It was also possible to inadvertently fully reset the system by hitting the button too hard.”

   X-Men 2 on Genesis/MD was another I spent tons of time on. A great variety of characters to choose from, again with their own unique movesets and abilities. This was the first game one could play as Magneto! (After one unlocks him of course.) I loved this game. The difficulty was moderate I'd say and I've beaten it several times. There's a decent amount of strategy involved in beating this game because some characters moves and abilities are better suited to completing some stages. A wide variety of stages to go through here. Visiting the Savage Land was very cool to me, I was only disappointed that Sinister wasn't there.

   Another game I spent some time with was X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse on SNES. I used to play it at my cousin's house as they owned an SNES and I did not. Another solid game. This one was more of a beat-em up I'd say. It featured a number of different characters and if I remember correctly, they were voiced by their TV counterparts. This was a fun game to an extent but I don't remember it holding my attention as long as the Genesis games. Definitely give these games a try if you want to play some good games based on comics, if you can get a hold of them of course. Pawn shops/thrift stores are often the best places to look. I'm a big X-Men fan, it's my favorite comic series and I do have X-Men Legends 1 & 2 on PS2 and Xbox which I plan to get to eventually, in part because I hear they're great.

   I'm sure you all have played a lot of them. What memories do you have of games based on comics? What are your favorites? Any recommendations? For today's tune I'll share one from possibly my favorite game that I've talked about today, X-Men 2: Clone Wars on Genesis. It's called 'Avalon 3'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgMIsK4CYZo

The Console Slayer 2/18/2014

   Gaming magazines. They're mainly a relic of the past now. All of us might not have grown up with them though so I thought I'd touch on them. Growing up, my first exposure to gaming magazines that I can remember was at a local Shopko. Unlike many who began with Nintendo Power, the magazine in question in my case was actually Electronic Gaming Monthly, AKA EGM. I got a subscription to it at some point of which I don't remember. My second foray into gaming mags was Tips & Tricks magazine. I loved both of these mags for different reasons. EGM was just fun and had cool features on upcoming games. Tips & Tricks was great for all of the codes & strategies it focused on. Imagine my surprise as an adult to learn it was published by Larry Flint Publications!

   I wrote in to Tips & Tricks but they sadly never published my letter.
It was advantageous to hang on to the various issues of Tips & Tricks because they alternated codes all the time. EGM was somewhat well known for their April Fools joke features such as the infamous 'Shen Long in Street Fighter II' prank. (On a side note, there is a reference to this character in the game however.)
I sadly traded my considerable collection of gaming mags to a friend in High School. At least it was for his Sega Genesis and all of his Genesis games.

   Now-a-days the point of gaming magazines like Tips & Tricks is practically moot with the advent of the internet. Same goes to a certain extent for mags like EGM when the gaming news industry is so prolific. Hardly anything is a surprise these days with leaks from online retailers and the like.

   So what memories and/or experiences do you all have with gaming magazines? Any at all? Which mags did you read/follow/subscribe to? What did you look forward to? Lets hear it.

   For today's tune I chose a cool soundtrack: Super Contra (Contra 2) on NES! I particularly recommend track 1 (Lightning and Grenades) and track 6 (Under the Feet).

The Console Slayer 2/4/14

   Music. We all have our own tastes with music. Today I'm covering a topic I've been meaning to write about since before I even started this column. Music from the classic era, say 16-bit era (SNES/Genesis/Mega Drive) and before.

   During these periods, the audio hardware's capability was limited. For those that cared enough to make a game with a great soundtrack, before game soundtracks were even referred to as such, it was quite the creative challenge. A few companies that immediately come to mind with a lot of games with great music are Capcom and Konami.

   To really understand and appreciate the music from these early eras, one must experience it. (Coincidentally, it's one reason I always include a favorite game tune of mine with every column). As an aside, some of my favorite game music composers to name a few are first and foremost, Yuzo Koshiro, famous for the music from one of my favorite beat-em-up series of all time: Streets of Rage. Another favorite of mine is Michiru Yamane, famous in part for the immortal Castlevania: Symphony of the Night soundtrack. Some others are Manami Matsumae and Yasuaki Fujita both famous for the early, excellent Mega Man trilogy and Kinuyo Yamashita famous for the soundtrack to the original Castlevania.
The work these masters created is indelible. To understand what they were able to achieve with the limited hardware of the time (Castlevania: SotN being an a more modern exception) one must understand the limitations. I don't want to bore anyone with the technical limitations so suffice it to say they were many. To hear some of the music of the composers I mentioned and to realize those limitations to make music more memorable than a lot of modern music, I think does a service to the composers and gives appreciation they deserve. So in order to achieve that appreciation, I'm going to include some playlists from some of my favorite game music ever. I hope their greatness shines through. They are some of my “must hear” soundtracks for game fans.

   Streets of Rage 2 composed by Yuzo Koshiro. I can't recommend this one highly enough. Possibly my favorite game soundtrack of all time. I'm sure I'm a bit more partial to it because the second system I ever got/owned was a Sega Genesis and the first game I got with it was Streets of Rage 2. If you like electronic music or dubstep, I HIGHLY recommend this soundtrack. It's amazing.

   Mega Man 2. I don't think I need to say much about this one. A classic soundtrack.

   Mega Man 3. A lot of people debate over whether MM2 or 3 was better as well as the soundtracks. I'll let you decide.

   One of the series that IMO has the some of the greatest music ever composed for it. This franchise was so blessed to have a lot of really talented composers work on it. Castlevania on NES. I cannot explain the greatness of this soundtrack. It must be experienced.

   Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. Kind of the black sheep of the Castlevania series but IMO it had a solid soundtrack.

   Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. Another awesome soundtrack from the 8-bit era.

   (Super) Castlevania: IV. One of the best soundtracks on SNES (16-bit). A masterpiece.

   Super Metroid. A great soundtrack that really enhanced the isolated nature of the game. Many compared the sense of isolation to original Alien film. There are some inspirations from that film in the Metroid series. This game consistently places in the top five SNES games in lists. I think the music is some of the reason why.

   What is some of your favorite game music?