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.

My Jolicloud Desktop

Just showing off my desktop apps. 

Chrome Addons - Screen Capture

Since formatting my EeePC 701 I opted to give XP the boot and give Jolicloud a try. Simply put, Jolicloud is an Ubuntu derivative (Jaunty) optimized for netbooks. And let me tell you, it really breathe a new life to my aging 701.

Since going Linux, I want to be as minimalistic as possible. So I choose web apps much more readily than local apps. One such minimalistic app is called Screen Capture by Google. As the name suggests, this app captures parts or whole web pages. It does not come as minimalistic as this since Screen Capture is a Chrome extension.

The app works great. As I said, it can capture the whole or visible parts of a webpage, it can annotate, redact, and circle webpage content. The screenshot on the left was made using Screen Capture. It's as easy as clicking the icon and choosing save.

If you are a Chrome user and you need to capture webpages, definitely give this app a try.

Spiderman 2 - The Sinister 6 (GBC)

The Gameboy Color must be the most overlooked Nintendo handheld ever made. There are actually good GBC exclusive games like Dragon Warrior 3, Metal Gear Solid, and the Zelda Oracle games. As you know, I'm into less known games. I stumbled upon the Spiderman series for the GBC and I surprisingly enjoyed Spiderman 2.

I think that the controls for Spiderman 2 is very responsive. The sprite animation is fluid but does not compromise the speed at which you need to execute moves. The game overall is like an action RPG. You gain skills as you kill bad guys in this game.

The story is pretty much trivial. You are Spiderman, they are the Sinister 6, go get 'em. In this game, you really don't need much of a story to enjoy the experience. The levels are not that great, but the boss fights are at least a bit interesting, though sometimes you need to die a few times to establish the pattern of the bosses. That's fine, it adds a bit to the challenge of the game. And believe me, it needs the challenge since most of it is not that hard to beat.

If you have a GBC or an emulator, I suggest that you give this title a try. It's pretty mediocre but it's loads of fun swinging around New York as Spidey.

Watch Master Keaton Anime

Update: The Youtube video is gone, go here instead to watch Master Keaton.

Naoki Urusawa is one of the most prolific mangaka and anime creator. Look, the dude created Yawara, Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Pluto. All these titles were very notable and critically acclaimed. However, one of the most overlooked title made by Uruswa is Master Keaton.

Master Keaton is actually a very entertaining show. It is about an ex-SAS operative who is now working as an insurance investigator. Keaton is not your typical action hero. He's not all muscle like the typical Japanese hero like Goku. Keaton is just a plain looking guy - a father of one and a divorced husband. The show revolves around a lot of MacGyver like adventures from the most innocuous hijinks to the most dangerous missions.

The video above is the first episode of Master Keaton. I must admit that this is not the proper way to view this show, but you can watch it and decide if you want to buy the box set (if it's still available) online. This is a good anime to add to your Urusawa collection.

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.

My Addiction to Civilization (Snes) Continues

No post for the past couple of weeks due to my addiction to Civilization for the Snes. I know that it's not the best version of Civ 1, but I like it nonetheless. Once Civilization V for the PC goes out, life as I know it will be over for sure.

My own play-through with the game has not been that successful 'cause my civ was constantly behind on tech even though I'm just playing in Warlord difficulty. The damn Aztecs and Germans gang up on me with their riflemen and tanks, while I only have primitive cannons. I'm still learning to be good at this game, what can I say...

Anyway, enjoy this Let's Play series of Civilization 1 for the Snes. The LPer chose to play on Earth under the easiest setting as the Aztecs, I believe. He will teach you the basics of the game and some other technique like creating "canals" for easy access for your sea faring units.