Throwback....Friday?: Sega 32X - Part 2

Welcome back to Throwback Friday with the Sega 32X! Shut up. Throwback Friday is a thing now. SO! When we last left off, I was discussing the legacy of the failed 32X add-on system for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. But even a bad system can have good games, right? Just like the 3DO! Well, let's take a look at this bad boy...

The first thing that I would like to note is how complicated it is to PLAY this thing. For example, as I am wont to do, here are photo examples. Here are the cords that you need to play on the Sega Genesis:

A power adapter, and the Genesis composite cable. Simple enough.

 So what did they add for the 32X to work? You'd figure that since it just plugs into the top where the games go, there wouldn't be any cords. You could not be more wrong. You see, not only does the 32X need its own power supply, but it also needs its own video source. So add a cord between the Genesis and 32X (if it has its own power supply and component cables, why does it even need the Genesis at this point?!), a special component cable that goes from the 32X to the TV, and if you're using a model 1 Genesis, sound doesn't go through the composite cable. So plug headphones into that headphone jack on the front. Did you get all that? Because here's what it equaled.

A huge fucking mess, if you weren't doing the math.

Believe it or not, there were also metal clamps that were supposed to hold the 32X in place with us Americans. I remember having to look up online how to insert them, they were so complicated. Back then, Sega thought that they were necessary, even though this turned out not to be true. Regardless, this was extremely freaking complicated for someone who just wanted to play the damn game that they bought/rented. But I digress. I have all these cords in their proper place, now. What do you got for me, 32X?

Knuckles Chaotix

Now here's the big fish of the console that everybody was interested in back in the day. I mean, heck, it has Knuckles on the cover, and everyone remembered playing Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles. Those were awesome! So how's this game? Well, it's....different. How? Well, for starters, you control two characters. And I don't mean like Tails following you in Sonic 2. You are forcibly linked with the 2nd person on a power ring, but almost immediately, it will feel more like a rubber band. 

Imagine those momentum mechanics of the Sonic the Hedgehog games. Now imagine that you're rubber banded with a different character, and you guys run at ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SPEEDS. So getting anywhere quickly becomes you two bouncing back and forth to go anywhere. It still works, in its own way, but it looks frustrating and chaotic when you play. (Eh? See what I did there?) Heck, I once did a two-player session of this. It quickly went from "Oh, this is a cool idea." to "Okay, now just-wait, I'm trying t-hold on for a se-WOULD YOU SIT THE FUCK STILL?"

Graphically, the game is very pretty. The colors are vibrant, and the game makes sure to show off the 3D effects every time that you enter a level, fight a boss, and even with its highly renovated bonus stages. And the animations are VERY smooth. I almost laugh at how often they're used, as it's clear Sega wanted to use this to show the 32X capabilities.

Knuckles and Mighty the Armadillo joining forces whether they like it or not. Fun fact, Mighty the Armadillo was made because Sonic was originally going to be an armadillo. 

 And to their credit, it was a good job. My major complaint with this game is the music, Not only is it not upgraded from what you'd hear in a Genesis Sonic game, but in my opinion the songs are also not memorable at all. Sure, they sound like Sonic songs, but not good ones. Imagine a game entirely made up of Mystic Cave music. Yeah, it gets a little grating when the whole game is that un-catchy. For example, here's Crystal Nightmare, which not only doesn't sound upgraded.....it almost sounds like an NES song, which is not a compliment for a game in 1995.

In short, good game. Bad Sonic game. 

Doom

This game is epitome of a mixed bag. Gameplay-wise? It's motherfuckin' Doom. You either know exactly how it plays, or should be ashamed of yourself for reading this instead of playing Doom. Nonono, go on. I'll be here when you get back. 

Graphically, the game is a pretty good port. It plays as well as the Super Nintendo version, but without the garbage pixellation of the SNES. In fact, I think this might be the prettiest console version of Doom aside from the Atari Jaguar!

That way you can see Doom in all of its Hellish beauty.

However, these are where the compliments end. The music. Just.....the fucking music, man. What happened?! Here's the 32X music. Sound familiar? That's because that mass of garbage is SUPPOSED to sound like this. 

The review for this truly is short. It looks nice, plays nice, and even keeps a good framerate even when a lot is happening on screen. But mute your TV. For everybody's sake. 

Kolibri

This game is....weird. Apparently this is one of the rarer 32X, and I was just lucky enough to come across is for $5. It probably will make sense to some when I explain that this game was made by the creators of Ecco the Dolphin, which at least helps rationalize why someone would use a supposedly revolutionary piece of hardware to make a game about  a hummingbird that goes on a quest to destroy a crystal from outer space. The bird doesn't even have a name. So who the hell is Kolibri? *googles*

Oh. Kolibri is German for hummingbird. Now it totally makes sense.

ANYWAY, so I start this game, and I have one control option other than fly around: dash. I go to the other side of the level, and nothing. After getting eaten by the damn toad in the level about a half dozen times, I finally discovered a small crystal in the middle of the level. Go to it, and you are given the powers to SHOOT THE HOLY LIVING FUCK OUT OF NATURE. Seriously, the rest of the game is just shooting wasps, dragonflies, beetles, caterpillars, and any other poor soul that happens to be in your general vicinity. 

I'm coming back for you, you lazy fuck.

Graphically, the game is actually kind of pretty. It uses a mixture of pre-rendering like Donkey Kong Country, and pixellation like Mortal Kombat. ....okay? 

Fear him. Fear what's-his-name the hummingbird.

After the first level, the game becomes a shooter. And it is fun for a little bit. The music is very calm and smooth, fitting the environment that you're immersed in. You know, before you kill everything. However, it quickly becomes dull, because the gameplay never changes. There's no boss fights, no new mechanics, and no new enemies. At least, not in the first 8 levels, because I wanted to move onto the next game at this point.

NBA Jam

Now first, I want to say that this is coming from someone who is not a fan of sports games. That being said, this game isn't too bad. It's pretty average graphically, although it did get a fresh coat of paint compared to its Genesis counterpart. Was it enough for someone to upgrade from their Genesis version back in the day?...Not really. The character sprites are slightly improved, and the crowd has a few animations. Aside from that, the only differences are that the NBA Jam logo is at the half court line, and the HUD has some more detail. 

Genesis version

32X version. (Sorry, if I makes the pictures bigger side by side,
 the blog site gets mad with me)

The main improvement was with the sounds, which were grainy and screechy like many Genesis games. In the 32X version, the voices are very clear, and the music is audible. Still, the audio does sound very.....absent, if that makes any sense. You'll still find the game absent of any noise while playing quite often, and it feels like nothing is happening.

As for the gameplay, it's easy to pick up and learn. Standard basketball rules apply, except that this is a 2 on 2, and there are no fouls. So steal and tackle away! This game even supports up to 4 players, which could be pretty fun with the right people even today. My complaint with the gameplay (and it's a big one) is why on earth can you only control one player on your team? Sure, I understand another player could play with you if you have a friend over. But why would they decide that a one player game needs a teammate who runs around and shoots at his own free will? You can make him pass or shoot, but where he moves when doing so is up to the game rather than you.

You also cannot switch between your teammates. So if the opposing team knocks you down? Well, they're going to run  straight to their goal and shoot a three-pointer. And there's nothing you can do about it because you're on the floor, and lord knows your teammate won't block it. To me, it seems like this would have been an easy fix. Oh well. On to a subject that I'm more well-versed in...

Star Wars Arcade

Oh yes, play those beautiful John Williams tunes. As soon as that awesome song began to play while the credits for A New Hope scrolled by, I was excited. I was about to see some serious shit. And when the gameplay started, it actually looked pretty good. Your goal is to shoot all of the TIE fighters before time runs out, and then you move on to the next section. 

You're given the choice of two views: cockpit, or behind your fighter ship like you're watching a scene in the movie. Either one works pretty well, and again, for 1994, this looks pretty good. Star Fox had only come out a year before, and there were almost *no* textures in that game. Now hold on. I'm not saying that this game is better than Star Fox by any means. I'm just stating that what was presumably going to be yet another mediocre port of an arcade game at the time actually turned into something that was at least relatively comparable in a graphical sense to a major Nintendo title. 

^ 1994

As we all know, though, graphics aren't everything. How does it play? Well, as I said, the goal is to destroy the enemy fighters. The controls are very easy to manage, and it feels very satisfying to blow up the empire scum. Something that you will discover quickly, though, is that getting the TIE Fighters in your sights is quite frustrating. You'll either find yourself getting mad that they just stay behind you even when you slow down, or turning frantically to get them in your sights, but missing since your ship is far more sluggish than them.

I understand that the system can only render you moving so fast, but by the 3rd stage (each stage just has you kill increasingly larger numbers of fighters before time runs out), I was doing anything that I could to get the TIE fighters in my sights, and nothing worked fast enough. And one life is all you get. So this game is fun, but unforgiving.

In conclusion, the Sega 32X was an interesting idea that, in my opinion, could have had relative success (at least to the level of the Sega CD, if not the Saturn) if Sega had combined the 32X and CD into one console like they had originally intended. Instead, the library became very small, losing titles originally announced for it like a Castlevania game. It's okay. That game didn't have many assets that would have been enjoyed anyway. They only went on later to be used in a game called Symphony of the Night. Wait, shit.

Good job, Sega. GOOD JOB.

But honestly I can see why the 32X failed. The games are not all that bad, but the library was far too small, and the games focused more on their technological gimmicks than the gameplay. So the console was most certainly of poor design, but I may have the uncommon opinion of enjoying the games on the 32X more than the 3DO.

What are your thoughts? Any games that I missed, or opinions of mine that you disagree with? Let me know!

Hey, guys! I got a position writing more things! If you want to see more content that I write, keep your eyes peeled on operationrainfall.com, where I write journalism articles about niche and Japanese games. Or go to twitch.tv/dococarina, where you can watch me scream incoherently while I suck at video games!

Event Review - Summer Games Done Quick

Over the past week, speed-runners from all across the nation have pooled together to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. Throughout the week, several popular franchises were played such as the Mario, Metroid, Halo, Castlevania, etc. SGDQ 2015 raised $1.25 million for Doctors Without Borders. In this article we will review some of the highlights of SGDQ 2015.

Donkey Kong Country Block

Towards the beginning of the marathon, there were a few games featured from the SNES classic Donkey Kong Country block, in particular, Donkey Kong Country, DKC Glitched any %, Donkey Kong Country 3, as well as a donation incentive for DKC 3 Lost World. If you would like to check out some of the recordings from the DKC block, you may do so here.

Resident Evil 3

Something I haven't seen before, and thought was really cool, was the Resident Evil 3 speedrun. It was a really neat way to start the week, and fans of the game should check out the link here

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

One of my favorite game franchises, in this run, the speedrunners do a 100% run of MP2 in just a few short hours. By far one of my favorite speedruns of the whole marathon! You may watch here

The Legend of Zelda: Swordless Run

In this speedrun, the objective is to get through the NES Legend of Zelda without using a sword, impossible right? Just another challenge for the world's greatest gamers. You may view here

Donkey Kong 64

Really cool speed run of one of my favorite N64 titles. You may watch here

I Wanna Be The Boshy

One of my favorite speedrunners, of a crazy awesome game. You will find this speedrun hopefully hilarious! You may view the insanity here

Pokemon: Blue

Really cool glitched 151 pokemon speedrun. Oh by the way theres an incentive after this game, for a blindfolded Pokemon Blue run, so thats a thing! you may view here

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Great speedrun of a true classic. You may view here

Super Mario 64 Any % Race, Super Mario 64 120 Stars 

Probably one of the major highlights of the marathon. Both of these runs are insane and worth a watch. The any percent run is here. The 120 Stars race is here

Super Metroid 4 Way Any % Race

THE MAIN EVENT of the marathon, 4 way race, with the donation incentive of Kill the Animals vs. Save the Animals finally being revealed. Super exciting, and some of the very best of the speedrunning community compete here

The Finale: Chrono Trigger Co-Op 100%

Two awesome runners slam one of the greatest RPG's of all time in just a little over 5 hours. You may watch the game here

All in all, there were TONS of games featured at SGDQ 2015, a lot of money was raised for a good cause. All of the speedruns were archived and uploaded to YouTube for your viewing pleasure. What is your favorite game to speedrun? Would love to hear back from you!

Cheers!

UltimateDave469 

Throwback Thursday - Sega 32X (part 1)

You know what I love? Persona 4. Been pouring a lot of time into that game recently, and can't wait for the sequel this winter.

*cough* ahem....

You know what I do not love? Failed Sega consoles. Now I know what you are thinking: "But Doc, there aren't any bad Sega consoles! They were Nintendo's only rival! The yin to their yang! GENESIS DOES WHAT NINTENDON'T. THAT ONE REALLY CATCHY COMMERCIAL TOLD ME SO!" Well, my dear reader, that's because you simply have not been watching closely enough. You see, everyone's beloved Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive for you overseas gamers) was released to market in 1988 in Japan, and 1989 in North America. Compared to the Super Nintendo in 1990 and 1991 respectively, this meant that they got an early jump into the upgraded 16-bit graphics market, but the Super Nintendo had two years' worth of technological advancements on their side.

Thus, once the Super Nintendo had been on the market for a few years, Sega felt that they needed to release add-ons to the Sega Genesis to extend the console's life-span until their next full-console release. Enter: The Sega 32X add-on system.

How did it work? Simple...

Just stick it in your Genesis! Yes, Sega fully intended that sex joke. 

Announced in June 1994, this add-on boasted 32-bit graphics. The idea was to once again jump ahead of Nintendo in the graphical ladder, since the SNES only had a 16-bit processor. Not only that, but Sega needed a way to compete with the 3DO (as I mentioned in my last two entries), the Atari Jaguar, and this new "Playstation" that Sony was announcing. True, Sega was working on their next console, the Saturn, but they were afraid that it would take too long to reach the market, and they'd miss their opportunity to impress consumers with 32-bit games.

Originally, the 32X was going to be marketed as a completely separate system. However, when pitched to the Sega of America research and development head Joe Miller, the idea was considered,

 "...just a horrible idea. If all you're going to do is enhance the system, you should make it an add-on. If it's a new system with legitimate new software, great. But if the only thing it does is double the colors...."

And so, it was agreed that this 32-bit system would be produced as an add-on for their popular Genesis console. Remember, the idea for the add-on was to get their 32-bit games out earlier than the Sega Saturn would be able to, as well as provide a cheaper alternative to those who couldn't afford a Saturn (Its debut price was $399 compared to the 32X's $160). However, this decision quickly caused Sega to hit obstacles during the manufacturing stage.

For starters, this idea for a 32-bit add on was only created in January of that same year. So in order to release an entirely new piece of hardware within the same year required a vast amount of resources and teamwork. Sega was already under way producing their Saturn hardware, with 32-bit processing units. However, with the 32X also suddenly on the assembly line, Sega found out that maybe doubling the amount of  32-bit chips you need isn't a good idea. They quickly suffered a shortage, which delayed the manufacturing of both, mainly the 32X. Not only that, but language barriers made it difficult for the teams in Japan and the U.S. to develop this add-on within a year.

In June 1994, the 32X was shown to the public at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. Meanwhile, the Sega Saturn made its debut to the public at the Tokyo Toy Show...in June 1994. it seemed that tensions were rising within Sega, with the American team placing their faith in the 32X add-on, and Sega of Japan giving priority to the Sega Saturn.

In August, Sega promised 12 games at launch, and 50 more would be on the way in 1995. The 32X was released in November 1994 in North America, just in time for the holidays. Japan received the add-on shortly after in early December.

So what went wrong?

Well first, the Sega Saturn was released in Japan on November 22, 1994: ONE DAY after the 32X's release in North America. Thus, the whole point of making a 32-bit add-on before their 32-bit system came out was rendered moot, and basically resulted in them releasing two products at the exact same time, causing competition with themselves. And.....marketing basically disappeared for the 32X shortly after release since Sega could, you know, advertise their actual console now. And predictably, publishers like Capcom and Konami quickly shuffled over to the Saturn as well for obvious reasons.

Since the Saturn was selling very highly in Japan, Sega of America was told to focus on the Saturn, and cut all support for Genesis products and add-ons. By the end of 1994, only 665,000 32X units had been sold worldwide compared to nearly 500,000 Saturns in Japan alone. Six months later, the Saturn came to North America, and had already sold one million units (again, mostly in Japan).

In the end, of the roughly 62 games that were promised for the 32X, only 34 were released, and 6 games that required both the 32X and Sega CD add-ons. How much money would you need to spend just to be able to buy those games?!

Sega Genesis was $190
The Sega CD priced at $299
And the 32X was $160.

This came to a total of *types furiously on a calculator* $649. So you wanted to make 32-bit games for people that couldn't afford a Sega Saturn, and made them the same price as the 3DO. Good job, Sega. So how much is the 32X worth, now? I got mine three years ago for $5 at a flea market, if that tells you how little demand there is for it.

But surely there must have been good games for the add-on! How can you go wrong with titles like these?!

                                   

Virtual Racing, NBA Jam, a Star Wars game, a game about a Sonic the Hedgehog character, motherfuckin' Doom?!

Well....tune in for the next part where we check out the games.

Throwback Thursday, A Weekly Classic Game Discussion - Volume 4

In the early to mid 1990's, there was not a bigger franchise in video gaming than Donkey Kong Country. The franchise redefined what it meant to be an action/adventure game. While the first game in the franchise was very innovative for its time, the pinnacle of the DKC Trilogy was Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) - 1995

Synopsis:

Donkey Kong Country 2 takes place directly after the events of Donkey Kong Country, where Donkey and Diddy Kong defeat K Rool. K Rool returns, and abducts Donkey Kong, and it is up to Diddy and Dixie Kong to save the day. Throughout the course of the game, you will acquire your animal buddies such as Rambi, Squawks, etc. to help you throughout your quest. The game features multiple new baddies, features, etc. All in all this is the defining game of the Donkey Kong Country Trilogy!

Gameplay:

DKC 2 takes place as a 2D platformer with 3D modeling. The game features very smooth controls, and allows you to take control of various animal buddies, which are also very smooth controls, and will feature a variety of environments that are challenging, but also immerse you into the game. This game's difficulty varies from level to level, some levels are not challenging at all, other levels will make you cringe at the difficulty.  I have the game on SNES as well as on a SNES Emulator, and the game difficulty is amped up due to the lack of smooth controls on the emulator. Visually this game still holds up really well graphically today, and has probably the most memorable soundtrack of the DKC trilogy.

All in all, this game, is a gem, with tons and tons of replay. The game, while challenging, is very doable to win the main story. However, if you want to 100% this game, you have to complete one of the hardest levels in video gaming history in Animal Antics. This level is ruthless, and you will spend hours beating it! The game is very rewarding, and recommend to all gamers.

Final Rating: 10/10

In Memoriam - Satoru Iwata

The world was shocked, and saddened to learn of the passing of Satoru Iwata, the beloved President and CEO of Nintendo. Mr. Iwata left behind a monumental impact on the video game industry as a whole, while keeping the two most important things to the Video Game Inustry in mind: The Gamer, and having fun! The vision of Mr. Iwata was ahead of its time, and was revolutionary for all gamers, past, present, and future.

We here at The Gamer's Code would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Iwata family, as well as the Nintendo family, and to all gamers. We honor his legacy by continuing to enjoy our love for video games, and tell stories of our favorite games to our loved ones.

Thank You for Your Vision, as well as Legacy Mr Iwata!

- The Gamer's Code Staff

LoL eSports: A Primer - North America

So, you want to follow LoL eSports. Maybe you had friends talking about doing Fantasy drafts, maybe you've been playing for long enough that you can't help but notice all the buzz about it, or maybe you've got greater aspirations than just solo queue. Either way, we're going to just dip our toes into eSports, and build a little foundation of what's going on, so that we can build discussion on what's going on with the game professionally and internationally.

First things to understand? The game is broken down regionally. There's North America (NA), Europe (EU), China (LPL), Korea (LCK), and Tiawan (LMS). Now, there's other regions, but due to their size, they're often marginalized into regional events leading to a wildcard. Before we go any further, Season 1 was won by a European team: Fnatic. Season 2 by Taiwan's TPA Assassins. Season 3 by South Korea's SKT T1. And last year's world championship was taken home by another Korean team: Samsung White.

So, for those on the outside looking in, what do some other regions have that we don't? What's keeping North America out of that top slot (I'd expect we won't take it this year either)? The answer is twofold in my opinion. Let's start with how we structure season play relative to other regions. In NA and EU, we play one game a day, two days a week. Over the course of our 9 week season, we play each team twice, once on the blue side, the other on the red side. Consider that China's teams play three days of games, and when teams play, they play one game on each side and then the match is recorded as win, loss, or tie. Korea plays four days, with teams still playing two games, but each of their games are best of threes. That's right, Korean teams have to play the equivalent of our playoff games every single week. We aren't playing nearly as many games as other regions. Plain and simple. It doesn't help that competition in our regions doesn't appear as strong as other regions either. In fact, after our poor turnout at MSI, TSM got ranked 20th in the world power standings. Our best team isn't in the top 5, or the top 10, and barely makes it into the top 20.

That addresses where or why or how we've been characteristically weak, but doesn't quite hit why we're so much worse off this season than I feel we've been in the past. For that, I'm going to link a facebook post from Amazing.

Anyway, I wanted to kinda get something off of my chest that has been bugging me for quite a while now regarding my...
Posted by TSMAmazing on Sunday, June 28, 2015

That, for me, hits the nail on the head at every conceivable level. If you haven't been watching the NA teams play, watch the other regions first. Watch their shot calling, their decision making. In a day and age where Faker says the NA mids are among the most mechanically skilled players he's ever seen anywhere, to see us rated where we are is the clearest indicator of what Amazing is talking about, and he's played over here, and for TSM no less. The big ways to track this, watch where and how towers go down. Watch dragon and baron control. NA has become timid, and it's a problem that feeds in on its self. Don't expect a strong showing from us at worlds this year.

Throwback Thursday: A Closer Look at Uncommon Consoles - Part 2

And we're back!

When we last left off, I had finished discussing the legacy of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. But history and console features can only tell you so much about a console. What games are on it? Well, that's what we're going to take a look at today. Before I get started, there are a couple things I thought were worth pointing out.

First, you may have noticed that pictures of the console in the previous entry showed only one controller port. What is this blasphemy? I thought that the 3DO had multiplayer games! Well, it does. So where do the other controllers plug in?

To the back of the console? One of the other outlets on your TV? Or do they expect you to *gulp* SHARE CONTROLLERS?!

Oh, nope. Controller port is on the controller. Where else would it be?

In order to play this with another friend, they had to plug their controller into your controller. Keep in mind: Some games on this console could support as many as eight players at a time. Which means that somewhere out there, there was a conga line in the early 90s that was playing Twisted on the 3DO, and you missed it.

And I just KNOW that's a painful regret that you'll never get rid of.

The other interesting thing that I wanted to point out is that this was one of the very first consoles to use only compact discs instead of cartridges. So the packaging for these babies was totally smaller that its competitors, righ-HOLY SHIT.

Super Mario Kart for reference

It is the size of three, I repeat, THREE SNES games.

This is for a cd-based game, right? Why on Earth did they use such huge boxes? To my knowledge, the only games to have larger cases were the Neo Geo cartridge games, and at least those made sense!

But enough about the design of the console and products. You came here to see the games, right? Well, let's dive right in. No, I already told you. I'm not reviewing the porn discs. First up is Gex. And why shouldn't it be? Gex was the anticipated mascot of the console, and is considered by many 3DO players (all 100 of us) to be one of the best games it has to offer.

GEX

Gex is a game with a theme of satire surrounding the Hollywood world, with multiple levels having a different theme, such as: horror, kung fu, adventure, and cartoon animation. The platforming is pretty standard stuff that you'd see in a Mario or Sonic game. You have a jump, attack and run button, and platform across the level. However, Gex does have features that make it stand out from the crowd. First, Gex is a Gecko. So they gave him the ability to cling to most walls and ceilings, as well as certain areas with a background wall.

The more important distinction is that the goal of this game is not to get to the end of the level. If you just platform your way to the exit and leave, you will not progress in the overworld map, and will need to start over. And while this game sold very highly on the 3DO (and produced two sequels that sold even more on other consoles), this is where my interest in the game dwindles. I probably have 2-3 hours logged into this game, AND I HAVE NOT BEATEN A SINGLE LEVEL. You see, the goal isn't to reach the end of the level. In every level, there is a hidden tv remote, which you must find before reaching the end. Only then will the level be completed, and a new one opened up.

The problem with this is that even the starting levels are huge, with branching paths to reach the end, like a Sonic the Hedgehog level. This forces you to either play the same level over and over, hoping that you find the hidden area with the remote, or backtracking from the exit to find it. Hopefully if/once you do, you don't fall into one of the many pitfalls. While there IS a health counter in the top right corner, this game is not afraid to place many insta-death pits around for you.

Sure, the levels are fun to platform through, but personally, the fun factor disappears when I'm forced to go back through the same level again and again for what should be considered a collectible just so that I can progress to the next level, and do it again. In short, it's an okay game that'll entertain you for 30 minutes to an hour. I highly recommend the 3D sequels, which are far improved.

THEME PARK

Allow to first start off by saying HOLY BALLS, THIS GAME HAS BEEN ON EVERY GAMING PLATFORM KNOWN TO MAN. To be quite honest, I have never actually played this game before. The closest that I played was this game's sequel, Sim Theme Park World, on pc. The premise of this game is that a Willy Wonka-esque character breaks into your home, and basically warps you all to a theme park against your will. I know it's supposed to be setting up a nice intro for you to build a park, but when the Wonka-clone says "even your pets can come", and the dog begins begging him to not be taken away, you have to wonder why put the intro in at all. 

Look. Look into his eyeless face, and know the true abyss.

As for the gameplay, the only thing that I could think about as I played it was "Roller Coaster Tycoon", a game which I've poured far more hours into. This game honestly feels like a prototype to Roller Coaster Tycoon. As you would expect, you place pre-built rides and shops into the park grounds, and carve walking paths for your guests to navigate the park. You can also hire entertainers, janitors, and mechanics to maintain everything. 

Basically everything that you can build in the first level all in one screen.

My first major complaint is how to control the game. Yes, I know that this is a simulation game without a keyboard, and understand that there's going to be limitations due to that. However, if you give me the option upon creating a park to say it's my first time playing this game, then a tutorial for the controls would be greatly appreciated. The most tutorial-esque thing I could tell was that the Wonka director stays at the bottom of your screen, and lets you know when to raise or drop prices, but gives no help in regards to how to do anything. 

Eventually, I began to understand the method to the madness, and built four rides, and three stores. No more were available, so I basically sat waiting for the director to give me advice, or for a ride to break down so I could make sure that a mechanic fixed it.In all honesty, the game basically plays itself after about fifteen minutes, it's so easy. With only those three rides, the director kept insisting that I raise my park's admission. Before I knew it, every guest was being charged $100 just to gain admission, and all the while the director informed me that I was "a shrewd businessman."

And then he takes the money, and runs while I deal with the angry mobs. Insidious bastard.

Aside from that, you try to earn a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time. These goals, though, are extremely easy (The first level allowed up to 48 years to accomplish your goal). In all, I felt no challenge, and felt like moving on to another title after about half an hour. If you can, pick up Theme Park World on the pc, as it's a great game the likes of Roller Coaster Tycoon. 

THE LAST BOUNTY HUNTER

This game was released as a sequel to the Mad Dog McCree series, which should be causing red alarms to go off for anyone who knows about the series. And this game is just like the McCree series. Heck, I might even argue that it's worse. The video quality is so fuzzy, it's hard to see any of the faces of the people talking to you. The whole series also had an issue with the audio de-syncing from the video, meaning that you wouldn't hear dialogue until the character in the video was already halfway through the next sentence. It was almost like watching an old western parody of Godzilla dubs.

But maybe this game's gameplay improved upon its predecessors. In fact, the box even says that this game is compatible with the 3DO light gun! Maybe I can pick one up online, and try it out! Oh. Maybe not. Okay, so the controller it is. I'm not sure if the gun even would make it easier, but holy balls is this game difficult. I had the game set to easy, and was never able to beat any of the four outlaws.

In order to beat a level, you have to do it all in one go. You die in one shot, and it's back to the beginning of the level. Your gun treks sloooooowly across the screen, and to make it better, the enemy positions are randomized each time, so there is little more than a one second gap to aim at them before they shoot and hit you first try.

In truth, the game actually is a little fun, it's just a shame that you won't get anywhere given the difficulty with a controller. To make it better, you get three lives. After every death, a resident of the town will mock you for your failures. They oddly laugh at you every time, more like you were inconvenienced or lost a game of cards than, oh I don't know, GOT SHOT AND KILLED TRYING TO PROTECT YOUR HIDES.

If you don't have the gun accessory for whatever console you find this for, I say give it a pass. If you do have the gun however, it's worth a few laughs with a friend and some light drinks. 

Or heavy drinks. I'm not your mom. 

NEED FOR SPEED

Huh, I'll be darned. A 3DO game that I solidly enjoyed. For those who didn't know: Yes, the Need for Speed series, a franchise which still runs strongly today, made its debut on the 3DO. And for 1994, this game looks beautiful. The 3D graphics are actually very well polished, even by Playstation 1 standards a few years later. The cutscenes play smoothly, look decent, and hell, even the narrator doesn't do a bad job making sure that you're geared to go. I'm not even going to apologize for that pun.

As someone who is not a big fan of the Gran Turismo or Need for Speed series, I still had some fun with this game. Perhaps the only/main complaint that I have is how easy it is. Having never played it, I picked the controller right up, and immediately beat my opponent by a landslide. Three races in a row. So I'm sure that I'd have much more fun playing this with a second player. 

Hey, man. You wanna pla-oh, right. Shit.

Editor's note: Upon further investigation, it seems that the 3DO version did not have multiplayer. The future ports of this game to other consoles had that feature.

Not surprisingly, Need for Speed was very positively received. In fact, the lowest score that I can find for it was an 8/10 from Electronic Gaming Monthly. Good or not, most people did not think that any of the games, even this, were worth the price tag of the 3DO (remember, $599 when this game came out). So....Electronic Arts took their big hit, and brought it over to the newer consoles that were sure to bring them better success.

Spoiler alert: It did. Okay, I'm seriously done with the car puns, now.

 And as for the 3DO, its flames quietly died out in North America, and it was quickly forgotten by many while Sony and Nintendo took the spotlight. But for those of us who remember the 3DO, we can treasure the legacy that it left. Whether it be with its good games, or its bad. 

Very, very bad.

Well, that's all for the 3DO segment of this series. Did you guys learn anything about the console? Did I forget to mention your favorite game? Let me know in the comments. What console shall we look at next time? Stay tuned!

* Doc would love it if you'd join his other gaming bits. He has a twitch page that you can follow here, and announcements for the livestreams take place here.