With Spring Break underway, Old School Gamer takes a look at five games from previous console generations you need to revisit!
Game of Thrones: Episode One: Iron From Ice: Make no bones about it, great games, just like great television or film, live and die on great writing.
Despite taking just a little under two hours to finish, “Game of Thrones: Episode One: Iron of Ice” has this in spades.
Fueled by wonderful presentation, top-notch voice-over work and a plot that will have you begging for more, Telltale’s take on the HBO a hit show feels just as authentic, sometimes reeking in blood, but always maintaining its wits, charm and devilishly addictive nature.
For better or worse, “Game of Thrones: Episode One: Iron of Ice” feels like an extended episode of the show.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies: Capcom’s Phoenix Wright series has always been a diamond in the rough for Nintendo and “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies” on the 3DS may be the most charming of all.
Simply put, if you loved this series before, your affection for this game will be more passionate than a fox with nine tales or a killer whale with a mustache (if you don’t get those references, you haven’t played the game yet). Regardless of several aesthetic and gameplay improvements, if you weren’t a fan before, this title won’t change your mind.
Like a great TV drama, the Phoenix Wright series requires you to fall in love with both the story and the characters. More an electronic and immersive graphic novel than a fully-fledged video game, the series isn’t for casual button mashers. Just like some gamers prefer first-person shooters over RPGs, the group that prefer this hybrid title will instantly fall in love with “Dual Destinies.” Those who would rather spend their time looking through a sniper’s scope, than reading a plethora of text can’t and won’t appreciate what the series has to offer.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen: The first major expansion for the “Dragon’s Dogma” series, “Dark Arisen” comes with plenty of new weapons and enemies. For those who haven’t played the series yet, Capcom provides the type of title here that like an “Elder Scrolls,” “Fallout” or “Diablo” fan can quickly get attached to. But unlike the aforementioned games, regardless of how strong you are, there are enemies in the game that can quickly kill you. That sense of vulnerability is hardly found in an RPG like this. Add in the size of the world and the sheer depth of the story and you have an epic RPG experience.
The game plays like a combination of “Skyrim” and “Shadow of the Colossus.” The typical Action/RPG fanfare is all there, but the combat system, which allows you to jump and climb on large enemies, is super intuitive and fun. The three different types of classes and the ability to switch them up makes for rewarding and different gameplay.
Devil’s Crush: Originally released on the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990, “Devil’s Crush” was quietly regarded as not only one of the best console pinball games during that time, but one of the best games on the system. Gamers unfamiliar with both the game and console pinball games in general will also find it an entertaining tribute to a genre long forgotten.
While the gameplay is simple, as the game consists of just one three-tier table, the game’s difficulty makes up for its lack of depth and gives the game the versatility needed to be truly enjoyable. However, despite the game’s solid difficulty, it’s the core gameplay that will force gamers to come back for more. You see, this isn’t your normal pinball game.
The table for instance, consists of living things, ranging from sorcerers, demon birds, soldiers and a beautiful queen that ends up turning into something quite different. Throughout the game, you’ll start to see things on the table change and that’s where most of the fun is had. Seeing the progression of the queen on the second tier is an experience no other pinball game has reproduced since and the game’s mini-bosses also add a luster and depth that sometimes make the game feel like something more than your average pinball game.
As a matter of fact, after a few hours with the game, you’ll be positive it isn’t.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow: Dawn of Sorrow may be the best Castlevania game since “Symphony of the Night” reestablished the series on the Playstation.
Taking place after the last game on the Gameboy Advance, Aria of Sorrow, gamers will see that the journey of Soma Cruz has just begun. After finally learning to tame his demonic power in the previous game, Cruz must now put his power to use in deterring a demonic cult from reviving the dark lord once again, using any means possible.
Those that are familiar with the series will find that Dawn of Sorrow looks and plays remarkably familiar to Symphony of the Night. On the gameplay front, like most games in the Castlevania series, Dawn of Sorrow controls remarkably. Veteran and newbie gamers will find controlling Soma’s actions a synch after only a few short minutes of gameplay.
Patrick Hickey, Jr., is the founder and editor-in-chief of ReviewFix.com and a lecturer of English and journalism at Kingsborough Community College, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the past decade, his video game coverage has been featured in national ad campaigns by top publishers the likes of Nintendo, Deep Silver, Disney and EA Sports. His book series, "The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Game Developers," from McFarland and Company, has earned praise from Forbes, Huffington Post, The New York Daily News and MSG Networks. He is also a former editor at NBC and National Video Games Writer at the late-Examiner.com
