ColecoVision To iPhone Games – Part 16

In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie’s Halo & Halo 2, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Nintendo’s Metroid and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone Apps reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this sixteenth part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

– This light-gun, laserdisc based arcade hit from the early 1990s was progressive in many ways. Interestingly, it was one of the very first arcade titles to charge a full dollar to play. In an era where even fifty cent games were a rarity, Mad Dog McCree was certainly testing the financial limits of the typical arcade gamer. That aggressive pricing strategy was, however, more than merited due to the unique experience the game provided.  Arcades across the world had never seen a game like MDM before, as the characters and settings in the game were made up of real people in actual locations. Taking place in the Old West, MDM put the player in the shoes of an unnamed cowboy – The Stranger – on a classic mission to save the damsel in distress.

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MDM begins with an instructive tutorial, to give the player a sense of the style of game play that awaits them and a chance to master the games reloading maneuver.  As the story unfolds, the player must successfully complete various shootouts and gunfights in order to proceed. The only interface the player has with the game is through a handgun, which serves to heighten the immersion factor immensely. All decisions in the game are integrated so as to allow for the choices to be seamlessly made with the handgun, and movement through levels is taken out of the player’s hands to ensure that all they need focus on is gunning down the bad guys. This process was made all the more arduous depending on the particular difficulty setting of the game. While most arcade locations were set at a more forgiving level, some less merciful arcade managers saw fit to crank up the difficulty levels and force the players to truly channel their inner gunfighter.

MDM deserves a spot in this pantheon of progressive video games because it was one of the very first titles to prove that video games need not strictly reside in the world of pixels.  If the laserdisc had not allowed for such quick seek times, the game simply would not have worked. Instead it reacts almost instantly to player input and creates a rewarding, nearly real-time interactive experience. Arcade players the world over were stunned at this technical accomplishment, and the game’s staggering financial take only cements this notion.

MDM deserves praise because it absolutely defines the term ‘progressive.’ The game was the polar opposite of just about every arcade game of the time, yet still managed to deliver a quality gaming experience. For pushing the envelope into an entirely new universe, forever changing what people expected of video games and, perhaps most importantly, bringing new types of players to the video gaming space, MDM deserves its place in this series and among the all-time greats.

Link below on how to get GameCenter on OS4.2.1 iphone 3g only not shore if it works on ipod touch 1st 2nd 3rd or 4th gen or iphone 3gs test at own risk www.youtube.com this is for people that want the GameCenter app and didnt get it after jailbreaking your iphone to OS4 WARING: PLEASE READ BELOW. im not shore if the later release of redsn0w will have the gamecenter app ready but if you cant wait for it heres the download link below.im not responsable for any problems that you may have installing this use at your own risk GameCenter OS4 www.megaupload.com As some have noted, Game Center (now in version iOS 4 Golden Master) is not included in the final version of iOS 4, Game Center is provided by Apple in the fall. installation below. Here’s how to install this Game Center on iOS four freshly jailbroken! The Game Center is a platform that allows you to undefined users to meet and play together, discover each other games, a social network made in Apple. Required: iOS 4 jailbroken. Game Center.app Know connect with SSH. My advice for the moment, for users of iTunes 9.2, using Winscp (with wifi) to connect through ssh on your iDevice. Follow these Steps : Unzip the downloaded file. File Transfer Game Center.app in / private / var / stash / Applications. Then right click on the folder and set permission 0755. Reboot the iDevice. If this does not work, in the file after the transfer, save files and game center french.Iprog with permission 0777 my website www.daddyezee.webs.com …

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ColecoVision to iPhone Games Part 20

by Greg McMullin

In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie’s Halo & Halo 2, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, Nintendo’s Metroid and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone Apps reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this twentieth part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

– Developed by DMA Design (now Rockstar Games) and released in 2001, Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3) is one of the most controversial, successful and excellent videogames of all time. Its two predecessors, GTA1 and GTA2, were successful top down games that explored the same themes as GTA3, but from a more limiting 2D perspective. As the game moved into 3D and new gameplay opportunities became available, new groups of consumers began to take notice. Upon its release, GTA3 was given universally positive reviews and began to not only fly off store shelves, but see sale prices on internet auction sites that doubled and even tripled its retail value. The game became an overnight sensation and an absolute must own for videogame players across the world.

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Of course, with this success came some (success fueling) controversy. Many religious, family and conservative groups came out against the game and its unprecedented levels of violence. Considering that the game allowed the player to be intimate with a prostitute, stab and shoot innocent people in the street, carjack police officers and run down old ladies, the controversy seems well deserved. However, the game never demands these actions of the player. Instead it sets them loose in a real world environment and allows them to complete their missions in any manner they choose. While violent acts are certainly a requisite part of the game, senseless and excessively brutal acts of violence are not. Despite the controversy, the game is one of the most beloved and respected of all time, and the incredible level of freedom it allows for will be the focus of this entry in our ongoing series.

In examining the landscape of videogames of 2001, a few notable titles stand above the crowd. Microsoft’s Halo was one of the most successful titles of that year. The game was a first-person shooter which, despite offering some tactical freedom, was a pretty linear affair. Serious Sam, a shooter for the PC which would go on to snap up many game of the year awards, was also very linear and allowed for little exploration. Metal Gear Solid 2, another all time classic, also released in 2001, and though it is a fantastic game, it offered very little in the way of freedom or exploration. GTA3 was just so very different from the games of its day that it demanded notice and, to the delight of all who played it, absolutely over delivered on quality.

The absolute brilliance of GTA3 lies in the fact that the player could sit down with GTA3, day after day, and have endless amounts of fun – all without ever engaging in the storyline or making any actual progress. Epic police chases, side missions playing as a fireman or police officer, stealing cars, amassing large amounts of cash, searching for jumps to launch cars and motorcycles, searching for hidden items and simple exploration are aspects of the game could have made up a high quality stand alone title based solely on their own merits. When added to the game’s riveting storyline, they were the ingredients that made this game the successful soup it became.

For its unprecedented freedom, astoundingly expansive game world, unparalleled gameplay options and nearly limitless ways to extract visceral excitement and pure fun, GTA3 is one of the greatest video games of all time and absolutely demands its place in this series.

Video of the InfoNES emulator running natively on the iPhone. Binaries & source available at code.google.com
Video Rating: 3 / 5

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ColecoVision to iPhone Games ? Part 22

In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie’s Halo & Halo 2, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, Nintendo’s Metroid and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone Apps reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this twenty second part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

Soldier of Fortune 2 (PC) – Developed by Raven Software and released on the PC in 2002, Soldier of Fortune 2 (SOF2) quickly became a favorite of hardcore first person shooter fans. Running very well on the Quake III engine, SOF2, on the surface, seems to be a pretty typical game. The main character is a mercenary named John Mullins who is tasked with stopping a germ warfare attack on the United States. He accomplishes this by single handedly taking on armies of men with all manner of machine gun, pistol, rifle, shotgun, grenade and throwing knife that he can get his hands on. Battles in SOF2 can be very intense, as enemies can be numerous, aggressive and accurate with their shots. The storyline is about what you would expect from a first person shooter and there are no serious technical issues present in the game. All in all, it is an above average first person shooter with few memorable aspects. However, one of those aspects is not only memorable, it is progressive, daring and, unfortunately, lacking in many of today’s modern games. That aspect of the game is the realism of combat, and it makes up the focus of this entry in our series.

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In playing a modern first person shooter from the current generation, we see fairly typical death animations from fallen characters. Take the latest Halo game, for example. In playing a game of Halo the Master Chief is given some fairly heavy weaponry. The shotgun, Spartan Laser and rocket launcher are some of the more potent weapons available to the Chief, and he uses them often throughout his journey. Players think little of rounding a corner only to run right into an enemy Grunt, because one blast to the chest from a shotgun sends the Grunt on a one way trip to the afterlife. What bothers many players is that the point blank shotgun blast to the bare chest of that tiny alien produces a small amount of blood and an otherwise untarnished torso. Where are the effects of that mighty weapon? Where is the tangible damage? The answer, unfortunately, is nowhere. Game makers of today seem to have an unwritten agreement that they will not show the impact of these powerful weapons, even when the game world is otherwise full of realism. Beyond a couple of shining yet rare examples (Fallout 3, the GTA games), this agreement remains intact. However, eight years ago SOF2 shocked gamers the world over by introducing realism to its game world.

In SOF2, the weapons do damage. Now, we are not talking about producing clouds or specks of blood on an enemy’s chest, or triggering a death animation, we are talking about realistic damage. If you shoot an enemy in the leg with a shotgun in SOF2, that enemies leg will cease to exist, and the one legged enemy will scream in pain as he falls down and tries to shoot you back while writhing in his pain filled rage. The visceral feedback and reward the player feels when their heavy weapon attack results in mutilated enemies may have been a bit too violent for some, but the level of immersion it offers cannot be underestimated. SOF2 was an adult game, made by adults, for adults. It is for this reason that the level of violence is perfectly acceptable. Video game makers often talk of how they struggle to make their game align with the real world, yet they so often take players out of the experience by making the violence such a disconnected and artificial experience.

The developers at RavenSoft had the courage to make the violence in SOF2 more realistic than any game had up to that point – and very few have since. What’s more is that they did not rely on that violence to hold up their game, but rather used it to better immerse the player in a game world, give the character and his struggle some true weight and tension and show a side of war that too many games choose to ignore. For these reasons, SOF2 deserves its place alongside some of the most memorable and progressive games of all time.