Ipega Bluetooth Portable Game Controller Mini Review

Bought this thing from Lazada. I suggest if you are in the Philippines to buy from Lazada and avoid Dealextreme. Why? Because Lazada will ship in a couple of days, while DX probably 1 or 2 months.

No contest.

I love this controller. It's cheap and durable. The best thing about it is that it works. What do you want me to say? It's a controller, it controls via bluetooth. That's it. It works.

I used this thing on a few Android console emulators. It works great on GBA emulators, Genesis, SNES, NES, and even the free Playstation Portable (PSP) emulator.

I have not tried this on a DS emulator because, well, the DS requires a touch screen for most of its games anyway. And I don't want to shell out for Drastic (the only decent DS emulator). 

Also, the controller will not work flawlessly with the PS1 or PSX emulators because it lacks 2 shoulder pads. I don't know how much hassle that is, but frankly, I don't care because I prefer the PSP emulator better than the PS1, anyway.  

Capsule Review Cyberlords Arcology (Android)

(This post has been updated)

For folks who enjoyed the SNES and the Megadrive Shadowrun games, this Android game is for you.

I'm currently playing the ad-supported version of Cyberlords and so far I'm enjoying it. This game is a knock off of Shadowrun, and not in a bad way.

You control 4 characters with different skill sets. You can equip them and even give them cybernetic enhancements to make them stronger. As with Shadowrun, you take missions, but this time, from random people (not just Johnsons).

You kill enemies. You gain experience. Like I said, an almost perfect copy of Shadowrun with the convenience of touch UI and cool stylized graphics.

If you like cybernetics, running, and shadows--get this game now! There is a free ad-supported version and a paid no-ads option in the Playstore.

F-Zero GBA awesome remake

Remember the Snes futuristic racing game F-Zero? Well there was a GBA remake subtitled as Maximum Velocity. This remake have improved graphics and a little bit of a tweaked control scheme. That said, this game is still fun but balls hard. I think this version is even harder than the original. If you have a GBA, get this game. Hell, get an emulator and give this title a shot. You will be pleasantly surprised how fun this is.

DBGL - Easy to Use DosBox Frontend

If you want to play old DOS era games then you can't go wrong using DBGL. DBGL or DosBox Game Launcher is a very simple, but powerful, cross-platform DosBox frontend. All you need to do is to mount the directory where the game is saved. Once you have defined the proper directories, just click on play and you're good to go. The best thing about this is that you really don't have to tweak and fiddle with the CPU, frameskip, and other settings. Although, you can change everything, if ever you need to tweak these options.

DBGL also offer pre-made packages of full version games (like Elder Scrolls: Arena and Daggerfall) to Shareware games (like Doom and Duke Nukem). To use packages just download the package and associate it with DBGL.

Playing DOS games have never been this easy. If you still have your old copy of DOS games, just use this app, no need to re-purchase classic games from GOG. 

Fallout 2 Revisited (GOG)

I'm thankful that Good Old Games exist. Now all of us old PC gaming nerds can revisit the classics at no hassle. If you don't know by now, GOG is having a Christmas sale for 50% off of all their games. There are 15 days left, so I suggest that you take advantage of this sale right now.

Look at Fallout 1 & 2 because these titles are two of the best RPGs ever made. They are barely 3 dollars each so any cheapskate can afford both titles for barely 6 dollars.

I remember finishing Fallout 1 years and years ago. I happen to find the alien blaster so my first go was not that difficult. The next go I tried to kill all the villagers in this one town, just to see what can happen. My next playthrough, I tried to specialize in small guns like pistols. I finished this game a number of times, yet I'm still not sick of it.

My memories of Fallout 2 were a little hazy. It was a dark time in my life when this title came out. I never got to finish this game probably because of gaming fatigue. But, as I said, thanks to GOG, we can now enjoy these games again. So I'm playing Fallout 2 again using a character that is a jack-of-all-trades master of none. This means I'm having a difficult time with the game, especially in combat and thievery. Anyway, I'm almost at the end of the game, I just need to level up some more to stand a chance against the last enemies (ha, I almost wrote a spoiler there).

The best thing about old-ish PC games is that they are really well before their time. Though they were limited by technology, PC makers aspired to create the best gaming experience for the players. This is why I'm becoming a PC gamer again because of GOG. Imagine, all these boxed games are now just 5 dollars and can even run on netbooks.

I Will Play Daggerfall In Celebration of Skyrim

Also known as I can't play Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on my old PC, so I'll just play Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall instead.

Download the Daggerfall exe here for free and legally. This executable package is actually the full game wrapped in Dosbox so that you don't have to dick around with the settings.

My Wife's Hobby Blogs - Anno1777 Tips & Gardens of Time Tips

My wife is running two hobby blogs about her favorite online games. Let me just link to them here so that she could get a little Google juice to her sites.

Anno1777 tips & tricks

This blog is about the money making game called Anno1777. You can actually make money by playing this awesome business simulation game. Click on the link above to play the game.

Gardens of Time tips & Tricks

Do you know that this award winning Facebook game can be played without Facebook? The link above will bring you to the official Playdom site wehre you can play the full game.

Dawn of Sorrow (J2ME Mobile) - Capsule Review

If you have a Java (J2ME) capable phone then you have to search for Dawn of Sorrow and play this awesome game. Dawn of Sorrow was first released on the Nintendo DS, but now, you can play it using any Java capable mobile phone. If you want to have a close to the console Metroidvania experience, then this game is a must.

As I said, this game is a port from the DS, but it is not a complete mirror-image. This game is optimized for the mobile phone experience. Do not expect perfect controls, though the control mechanism is close to perfect. 

The story follows the convoluted story of Castlevania that started from Aria of Sorrow. I was not able to follow the story closely, but it basically involves Dracula and monster hunting - 'nuff said! With that in mind, I have to say that I did not play this game based on story 'coz the gameplay is classic Symphony of the Night stylin'. 

If you have a fairly modern mobile phone, get this game at once. It is worth the money and time.

Dragon Warrior 4 (NES) - Retro Capsule Review

When I finished Dragon Warrior 3 for the Gameboy Color, I was convinced that this series is on equal footing with the classic Final Fantasy games. Now that I'm close to finishing Dragon Warrior 4 for the NES, I can safely say that this series lives up to the hype. Dragon Warrior 4 is the best Dragon Warrior for the NES I have played so far. Just to be clear, I have not played Dragon Warrior VII for the Playstation or Dragon Warrior 9 for the DS yet. I only played the Gameboy versions and the NES versions. That said, I have no regrets playing the NES versions. Sure, the controls are a bit clunky and old fashioned, but everything else holds up - especially the story.

Speaking of story, Dragon Warrior 4 might be the first RPG that splits the plot into chapters. In this game you have 4 chapters and you play different characters in each one.

Note: This review was cut short due to my own fault. I was playing the game and I was near the end of it but I had to stop due to real life getting in the way. So here you have the abrupt ending to this article. Sorry.

Dragon Warrior 3 GBC - Capsule Review

If I had any doubts before why the Dragon Warrior series were so popular in Japan - all of that disappeared when I finished Dragon Warrior 3 for the Gameboy Color. The game has improved a whole lot from the NES version but it is still the honest to goodness Dragon Warrior 3 in every sense. Sure, the graphics were upgraded to reflect the modern aesthetics of the Gameboy Color but the gameplay was streamlined to make it more accessible to the modern gamers.

That said, Dragon Warrior is still such a traditional RPG that had critical acclaim but was mostly dismissed by gamers back then. The problem is with the grinding. If you have not played the original NES version you will think that you're grinding too much in this remake. However, people should realize that the NES version had about three times the grinding necessary than this version. I honestly did not have to grind that much to level up because the leveling had been accelerated in the game.

There are some flaws with the game, though. The biggest one is the arbitrariness of it all. For example, how the heck can you know that the Pixy Flute was located four steps below the bathhouse without using a FAQ? I talked to all the townspeople as far as I know, but I did not get this clue from anyone. Aside from this problem, Dragon Warrior 3 is a handheld RPG masterpiece. And just to prove to you how good this game is, this game convinced me to replay the old Dragon Warriors for the NES. I will start with Dragon Warrior 4 NES and then Dragon Warrior 2 NES.

If you can track this title down, then do yourself a favor and play this one to completion. It is so good to play such a traditional RPG that started it all.

Pocket Soccer - Gameboy Color

I know that this game is not on my list of  2011 retrogaming line up, but still I need to write about this awesome game.

Pocket Soccer for the Gameboy color is a great fantasy soccer game. There are a lot of features that can be found on other franchise soccer games. You can trade players in league play, you can play quick start, or just play automatically in the play offs. The players in the game are not real football stars, as far as I know, so correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm enjoying this title so much that I feel rather sad that I was not able to buy the cart ('coz I think it was released only in Europe). However, because of emulation, I can enjoy this great soccer game. I'm about a couple of hours into the game and I found out that some players have powers like super speed. I have yet to discover another power up or player skill, but even without the manual I'm still enjoying the game so much.

Even if you are not a soccer fan, you will enjoy this title immensely. I have to thank the developer of this game, Mike Follin.    

My 2011 Retrogaming Line Up

Since getting the Dingoo a320 I've been consuming a lot of retro games from the SNES to the GBC. The a320 really makes it easy for me to play games because it's portable. With this thing, I don't need to risk buying a DS and modding it, or something similar that will jeopardize the system. The a320 is cheap at merely $100 (now it's just $88, I think), it's also very durable and the battery life is about 10 to 12 hours in my case.

Since it's already 2011, it's time again for my annual retrogaming line up. And without further ado, here is my list of games that I will play (maybe) for 2011:

1. Dragon Warrior III - GBC
2. Dragon Warrior IV - NES
3. Phantasy Star - SMS
4. Phantasy Star II - Genesis
5. Phantasy Star IV - Genesis
6. Shining Force III: Final Conflict - Game Gear
7. Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel - GBC

That's the magic seven line up for this year. Now, I will be busy this next few months, so I can't promise to write reviews for all of these. But, if I finish one or two of these games, I will surely write at least a capsule review.

Master of Orion Still a Great Old Game

It's been almost five years since I last wrote about Master of Orion. My last entry was about how to run Master of Orion (MOO) in Windows XP. However, because of the awesomeness of Good Old Games (GOG), you don't need to worry about that. GOG games can play in XP, Vista, and even Windows 7 in my experience.

So, instead of pirating the game, I bought it a few months ago but I hardly had time to play it. Needless to say, I played MOO yesterday and was once again sucked into the world of space exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination.

First, off I played as the Psilon(s) because they are the easiest race for me since I want to be always ahead in technology. Once I got awesome armor, planetary shields, scatterpack VII missiles, and high energy focus, I started to mass produce medium sized ships and began harassing my neighboring planets. They were all annoying me and they were breaking every peace treaty we had. I had to kill them all using my superior tech. They had stacks of medium, large, and small space ships. I only had one medium sized ship I equipped with class III shields, ECM, zortium armor, tachyon lasers, and fusion bombs. My lone ship named "Revenge" survived an armada of ships with nary a scratch on her.

I'm still playing the game but now I only have the Silicoids and Darloks to contend with. The Silicoids are way behind me in tech, while the Darloks are a little closer to my tech level. The annoying Darloks will be my last conquest - save the most annoying one for last so I can have the last laugh. Maybe, just maybe, the Darloks can have the last laugh if I don't play my cards right.  

Buy MOO 1 & 2 here on GOG for only $5.99. I'm not affiliated with GOG in anyway. I'm just a customer just like you. If I will ever pimp out an affiliate link I will mention that it is an affiliate link.

BTW, don't forget to build missile bases on your planets so that you can leave it without any ships guarding it and still be able to defend.

Batman - Chaos In Gotham (GBC)

If you have been reading this blog for a long time (and I know you do because this is the most popular site on the web) then you already know that I suck at action games. This game, Batman -Chaos in Gotham is a good licensed beat 'em up for the Gameboy Color. Obviously, it's an action game, so I suck at it, but somehow I managed to finish it.

As you can see from the video above, the game is very faithful to the Batman - The Animated Series (BTAS) cartoon. The graphics is good looking and the animation is fairly fluid for a GBC game. It's not the best Batman game in the world, but it has a certain charm that kept me on my toes enough to finish it. The story 'aint that complicated either but it is easy to spoil so I won't go into any detail.

If you are hungry for a good handheld game, Chaos in Gotham can sate a bit of your Batman videogame craving - at least for a little while.

Treasure Hunter G - 100% English Translation

Treasure Hunter G is a highly overlooked RPG from Squaresoft. It was released at about the end of the Snes life cycle and was never released in North America. Thanks to Metalhawk the English speaking fans can now enjoy the game in 100% English.

I'm just on the third town, so I have not played much of the game. I find the gameplay awesome from the short time that I played it. Basically, the combat is like that of Final Fantasy Tactics. You have characters that you can move around with something similar to action points. You can then choose to use an item, defend, use physical attacks, or use magical attacks/support.

The graphics in this game is equal to that of Tales of Phantasia. It's gorgeous for a 16-bit title. Sadly, the characters and storyline is very generic. Can you believe that the main characters were named Red and Blue? The lack of an original story is one of the many reasons why this title was highly overlooked.

That said, there is nobody stopping you from trying out this game in emulation. If you can ignore the generic storyline, the gameplay of Treasure Hunter G is a solid 5 of 5 in my opinion.

Click here to get the game. P6XCMP4BZCMC

The Not Exhaustive List of Where You Can Play Old Consoles Online

This is the not very exhaustive list of where you can play old consoles online. If you have been living under a rock, then you may not know about websites using emulation to allow visitors to play old console games on their sites. Some of these sites are, of course, highly illegal and you will probably burn in hell for taking part in such travesty.

Now that that's out of the way, here is the list.

1. Vizzed - This is the most awesomest online emulation site on the web today. Go take advantage of them now, while Nintendo is not looking. Vizzed has almost all retro console--from the NES and the SMS to the Gameboy advance and the N64. Go visit them now!

2. Play Sega - This is a legal endeavor by Sega Corporation. They have a few titles you can play for free, but they do have a VIP-like system where you buy points to play premium games. It's still worth your time to check out if you are a Sega fan.

3. Game Oldies - This is another highly illegal site, I'm certain, that has some Sega, NEC Turbographics16, and SMS games.

4. Virtual NES, PlayNES, and Nintendo8 - Guess what these sites emulate? I'm sure Nintendo of Japan have no English speaking employees and Nintendo of America is not connected to the Internet at all.

Well, that's all for now. Leave a comment if you have any other site you want to contribute to the list.

Dragon Warrior 2 - I Give Up

Dragon Warrior 2 for the Gameboy Color is a game that is superior to the first one in almost every way. The game has a larger map, an epic storyline, and this time you control three characters.

You play as the three heroes with the lineage of Loto. There is the tank hero, the mage hero, and the mage heroine. The world is just staggeringly large and the graphics are somewhat improved from the original. So, why am I giving up on it?

I honestly, don't know. It is just as grindtastic as the original, yet I find this version tedious and repetitive. It can be just as engrossing as the original, but I find this one lacking the first one's style and panache.

Maybe I will revisit this game again in the future. Though, replaying this game is so far down the hopper since I have yet to finish Reviera and Swordcraft Story 2.      

Let's Play Zelda 2

The video above is a great Let's Play video of Zelda 2, the hardest Zelda I have ever played. Of course, I only played the original Zelda, Link's Awakening DX, and Oracle of the Ages. So I'm not a Zelda expert by any stretch of the imagination.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I finished Battle of Olympus and Crystalis - two of the most difficult action RPG for the NES. I beat both games thanks to the miracle of save states. I thought that beating Olympus and Crystalis will prepare me for Zelda 2. Nope! Zelda 2 is harder than both games combined. I hate fighting against armored and shield wielding opponents. I get killed or I get my health down so low that I never get a fighting chance against sub bosses. Yep, you heard me right, sub bosses. Not even the goddamn big boss of the dungeon.

Regardless of the difficulty, I can't seem to put down my console when playing Zelda 2. It is a testament to the awesome game play and immersiveness of the title. A lot of people claim that Zelda 2 is the black sheep of the Zelda franchise, but I really enjoyed this game even if I suck at it.

The controls of the game is responsive, I just really suck at it. I can't seem to get past the first dungeon at my current level. I read somewhere from someone that he allegedly leveled up before going into the first dungeon and yet he could not finish the first dungeon.

Kudos to the LPer in the video above. He makes playing Zelda 2 look easier than it really is. I have been enjoying a lot of LPs lately. I just like watching these great gamers beat a game.

I recommend that you play Zelda 2 if you have the skills. If you suck like me, then I suggest that you stick with  the original.

NES - Battle of Olympus

This game is hard as nails. Battle of Olympus is an old NES action/RPG that is highly overlooked. It copies a bit of Zelda 2, but it has improved a lot of it greatly. You play an unnamed hero out to prove yourself to the Greek gods of old. Frack the storyline, though. This game is the shit. This must be one of the very first implementation of a Metroidvania gameplay. Much as I hate using that term, that is the best description of the gameplay of this game.

Like I said above, this game is very difficult. I feel that this game is even more difficult than the NES Crystalis. The most dangerous creatures in this game are the small bats, slime, and maybe the birds. Don't worry about boss fights like the Cyclops or Hydra. If you are man enough to survive the little pests, you will have no problem dealing with the bosses for the most part.

The video above is a Let's Play series for this game. As you can see on the 12 episodes, this game is a killer. You can die in levels where you face small but speedy enemies. The screen in some of the levels gets fast and furious even if you are equipped with the best sword in the game.

I have not yet finished the game. I have to load save states multiple times to even get through a lot of the stages. I'm now going for the Pegasus, which is no small task as you can see from video 5 of the Let's Play series.

I'm still charging my Dingoo as I write this post, so it will be some time before I can get back to the game. If you are a retrogamer, this game will satisfy your Action/RPG cravings. It's hard and frustrating, but you will not be able to drop your controller.

Edit: I beat the game after a thousand loads of save states. Any idea what NES games I can play now? I'm planning to play Castlevania 3, Dragon Warrior, or Zelda 2.

Shadowrun for the Genesis (Revisited)

This Let's Play series for Shadowrun on the Genesis inspired me to finish the game without using any cheat codes whatsoever. This Let's Play or LP is one of the funniest LP's I've ever seen.

The LPer, Chilitomatonoodle, is a funny guy. The LP is not yet finished because Chilitomatonoodle got stuck on the quest to find the dragon, but it's still worth watching and waiting for the next installment.

Just go Southwest and West, Chilitomatonoodle! Please continue your great work!

Shadowrun must be the best RPG on the Sega Genesis (Megadrive), not withstanding Phantasy Star 4. If you are a retro gamer, emu gamer, you have to play this great game. This game is one of the first GTA like sandbox games.