Old Game Plus

In this episode we explore the lowest of low-end graphics and sound to uncover of the essence of video gaming.  Special attention is paid to the Game & Watch series, various terrible American-made LCD games, the Dreamcast VMU, Sony Pocketstation and the Pokémon mini. Please don’t forget to back our Kickstarter to develop a true sequel the Tiger Electronics’ MC Hammer LCD game. We’re calling it MC Hammer 2: U Still Can’t Touch This.

We’re kidding about the Kickstarter. Or maybe we’re not. Music for this episode is courtesy of Tristan Perich, Mister Beep, MC Hammer, Masato Nakamura and Quad City DJs!

Old Game Plus Episode 19: 1-Bit Gaming

Here, at long last, is the serious look back on the venerable Metal Gear series that absolutely no one has requested. Worry not, there’s more on offer than a recitation of tasteless Internet memes interspersed with giggling. Or is there, Mr. President? Join hosts Auston and Allan, both as ourselves and as laughably poor David Hayter and Jeremy Blaustein impersonators, for an occasionally serious, always guttural discussion of Hideo Kojima’s brilliance and stupidity, restraint and excess!

Musical selections for this episode are provided by the Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater OSTs.

Old Game Plus Episode 18: Metal Gear…

http://www.oldgameplus.com/static/audio/Old_Game_Plus_Episode_18_Metal_Gear.mp3

The Future Is Now! Our 17th episode is devoted to the venerable Neo-Geo platform. We’ll take you through the nearly a decade of beloved titles and SNK shenanigans beginning with the launch of the MVS in 1990. Learn how to make an arcade-quality Neo-Geo controller from an old Martha Stewart Tea Cozy, a Sanwa competition joystick and a handful of microswitch buttons! Unquestioningly absorb a mountain of dubious Neo-Geo trivia! This is the real winner of the 16-bit console wars, folks!

Music for today’s episode was ripped directly from the Neo-Geo CD versions of Baseball Stars 2, Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2,King of Fighters ’98 and Samurai Shodown 3.

Old Game Plus Episode 17: MAX 330 MEGA PRO-GEAR SPEC

In this, our 16th episode, we recapitulate the definitive conflict of the early 90’s: the 16-bit console wars! Is there any room for cogent argument in this schoolyard debate? Will we be able to maintain civility? You’ll have to listen to find out. Then, head back to our blog at oldgameplus.wordpress.com to vote on who you think ‘won’ the debate.

This episode features music from Chrono Trigger, Shining Force, Final Fantasy VI, Street Fighter II, Streets of Rage 2, Herzog Zwei, Earthbound and the inimitable 2080.

Old Game Plus Episode 16: SNES v. Genesis

Old Game Plus celebrates July 4th (and 6th) by diving into a handful of titles set in Axis of Evil nations. Join your hosts Auston and Allan for a face-palm session as we rapidly lose faith in the medium’s ability to connect gamers with world culture without the mediation of an Apache AH64-D Longbow’s targeting system. If you have anything to contribute to our discussion of North Korean tractor simulators, please comment on the blog!

Music for this episode is courtesy of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Desert Strike (Genesis), Prince of Persia (Sega CD), Guerrilla War (NES) and Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director’s Cut.

Join us next time for I don’t know what!

Old Game Plus Episode 15: Axis of Entertainment

This week’s episode presents an eclectic history of arcade and home console racing games. Special attention is given to Gran Trak 10, Nurburgring, Sega Turbo, Out Run, Hang-On, Lucky and Wild, Daytona USA and Gran Turismo, to name a few. Because we simply couldn’t resist, we also discuss the most over-the-top, big-budget, location-specific arcade amusements known to man. If you manage to make it all the way to the two-and-a-half hour mark you will find a brief meditation on the Kickstarter game auteur craze.

Important Note: If you possess information pertaining to the Sega amusement machine known as Murder Lodge please comment on our blog at oldgameplus.wordpress.com. Thank you.

Music for this episode is sampled from Night Driver, Hang-On, Out Run, Lucky and Wild, F-Zero, Gran Turismo 2 (U.S. Release), Daytona USA, and San Francisco Rush 2049. Also, back by absolutely no popular demand, are our own vocal stylings!

Tune in next week for a tour of the Power Rangers series, apparently. Or perhaps not.

P.S. Daaaaaayyytooooooooooonnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Old Game Plus Episode 14: Super Turbo Hang USA

For our thirteenth episode we discuss listener comments from 2010 before veering off into a discussion of game glitches and the hilarious lengths to which we have gone and continue to go to to play yesteryears’ classics. Somewhere in this 2 hour epic there’s also a bit on Irish game developers David Perry and Terry Cavanagh.

Unless you, our audience, can convince us to do otherwise, our next episode will tackle the various makes and models of racing games. So, drop us a line or we’ll see you at the finish!

Old Game Plus Episode 13: Mailbag and Malfunction

In celebration of the recent (ahem) release of Duke Nukem Forever we are pleased to present an exhaustive history of the series that also touches on contemporary titles such as Commander Keen, Doom and Extreme Paintbrawl.

You’ll laugh when we reveal that the series’ signature atomic iconography was actually lifted from the MS-DOS port of Mega Man. You’ll cry as we explore how the open, iterative development process that made Duke Nukem II and 3D such triumphs failed to evolve to meet the demands of triple-A game production. This is an episode no long-haired Texan first-person shooter developer should miss!

The music for this episode comes courtesy of ftp.3drealms.com which, inexplicably, is both live and loaded with bizarre archival content. Check it out!

Old Game Plus Episode 12: Duke Nukem Now, Duke Nukem Forever!

Old Game Plus rises from its grave to discuss the Nintendo 64! Cringe as we give beloved top-tier titles such as Zelda: The Ocarina of Time short shrift so that we may babble endlessly about a handful of forgettable first-person shooters — most of them shoddy PC ports! Personal experiences and insights are shared, including the one trick you need to dominate at Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey. Get ‘N’ or get out!

Our Kenji Eno podcast has been delayed indefinitely, but tune in next time for “Duke Nukem Now, Duke Nukem Forever”

Old Game Plus Episode 11: Episode 64

This episode delves into the tragic legacy of the Sega Dreamcast. After a quick analysis of its forward-thinking hardware we mediate on a handful of its most compelling titles: Jet Set Radio, Power Stone, Skies of Arcadia, Space Channel 5 and, of course, Shenmue. Why did Ulala hit so many magazine covers? Can current Sega money maker Yakuza be thought of as a re-worked and re-imagined Shenmue? How would the Dreamcast library have been received in the casual, Wii-dominated post-PS2 marketplace? Was 9/9/99 a turning point in the evolution of gaming? Deep questions for all of us.

Music for this episode is taken from only two games: Jet Set Radio and Space Channel 5.

In our next episode we plan to tackle industry bad boy Kenji Eno’s complete works – stay tuned for that. In the meantime, your comments, suggestions and vitriol are welcome on our blog at oldgameplus.wordpress.com

Old Game Plus Episode 10: The Sega Dreamcast