Gamertell

I can’t wait for my copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots but I don’t want to say goodbye to elite agent Solid Snake, whom we’ve grown to love while following his adventures.

We pray that rumors of an end are not true and continue to pose theories about why the series could never end.  Even so, as a preemptive memorial to help cope with the denial that this may be the absolute last game for Snake, here is a look at the MGS franchise....

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George Broussard and John Romero. Titans of another lifetime. This clip from a local newscast tries to get to the bottom of what all the kids were talking about in 1992, illustrating how neither could find that charming line between hubris and coy self-promotion.

But there’s more to this clip than just hindsight. There really is that jittery feeling of something big about to happen. The narrator’s gushing over “texture mapping” is barely half the story…

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There comes a time when a hardcore fan must ask the value of a mint condition, piece of history which takes one back to a happier time. Apparently, if that piece of history is a factory-sealed copy of Chrono Trigger, then it is worth $540. A recent eBay auction by nyescott is selling a perfect, brand new copy of the title.

The price on Chrono Trigger may rise even higher, as the auction still has 18 hours left. It ends February 3, 2008, at which time one lucky fan will be the winner of this priceless game. So far there have been 36 bids on the game, which originally started with an opening price of $25. 

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The PlayStation 2 may be the role-playing game (RPG) giant today, but it wasn’t always so. Back in the early 1990s the Super Nintendo, aka the Super Famicom, was undoubtedly the place to go for a large variety of solid RPGs. It featured great games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire, Lufia, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG and Ultima. That may seem like a long list, but there were even more great RPGs which didn’t make it stateside.

At this point, it is possibly pointless to look for some of these old classics. They might occasionally pop up on eBay, but its not worth selling a kidney or lung to buy them. There are shady ways of acquiring these titles, but that isn’t recommended as it is illegal.

Today Important Importables honors Live A Live, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, Star Ocean and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Another Story.

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Whenever I get nostalgic for those bygone days of videogames known as the early 1980s, I question my sanity when I come across things like this bit of videogame inspired lovliness.

In an old box of comic books I unearthed for an upcoming garage sales, I found issue 304 of Flash published by DC Comics, Inc., in December 1981. On the cover it features the dark profile of one of the weirdest comic book villains - Colonel Computron. Oh yeah, you read that right. Col. Computron - reducing Flash to a poorly pixelated videogame. The cover reads:

“When Colonel Computron plays the game, Flash… the name of the game is DEATH!”

Now that is some ‘80s greatness right there.

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With the recent releases of Punch Out and Ninja Gaiden on the Wii Virtual Console (see this week’s update for more information), I was spurred to pick up a Wii points card in order to download some nostalgia.  With old-school gaming on my mind, I opted to bypass the major chains and walk into a store specializing in games from all eras.  Browsing through a selection ranging from 2600 to 32X to PS1, I squealed with glee at the gaming goodness before me.  Reality soon crashed faster than the video game industry did in 1983, however.  My euphoria was crushed when I saw the highway robbery they called a sticker price. 

$90 for an NES? 

Probably worth it but not for someone with my budget.

I picked up the card and returned home.  I logged into the shop channel and my smile returned as I browsed the selection of titles from the Golden Age of Video Games.  I quickly ran out of points by adding classics such as Tecmo Bowl, Punch Out, Super Castlevania and more.  For a lot less than eBay, I was able to play such classics with little difference from the originals.  In fact, the only noticeable changes I have seen so far is the lack of real players in Tecmo Bowl and the difference in controller design forcing me to rethink moves long hardwired into my brain.

With the Neo Geo rumored to be added to the Virtual Console soon, I’m left with one question: Why did nobody ever think of this before?