Optimal Hardware — The PC Engine (aka TurboGrafx-16) 24 March 2011 9:10 pm
What are the best ways to play PC Engine games today? How do you keep up with all the different variations of hardware and games? Can you approach this legendary console in a way that makes buying games (many of which are highly collectible) relatively affordable?
This first installment of the Optimal hardware feature attempts to answer all of these questions and more. It's one thing to know the greatest games for a console, but you have to know the best way to play them too! Find out how easy it can be to start enjoying PC Engine games here.
Top 10 Strategy Game Countdown — #1 ActRaiser 21 March 2011 10:40 pm
Grabbing the coveted #1 spot is a big deal. That one would define such a high level of excellence in terms of successfully combining real-time strategy with hack-and-slash platforming and god game city building (with a touch of shoot 'em up), along with one of the greatest soundtracks in the entire 16-bit era, during a time that this era was relatively young, seems like demanding the impossible. ActRaiser delivers. Even twenty years after its release, it stands in a league of its own. There's nothing else like it, and certainly no other strategy game that combines so many different elements from so many different genres, succeeding so brilliantly. Rounding out the top 10 strategy games was challenging at times, but from the very beginning it was obvious that ActRaiser would be at the top. It was developed by a now forgotten company called Quintet, which shut down its web site for strange, unspecified reasons in 2008. Quintet, wherever you are, whatever happened to you, hopefully you'll reappear one of these days and show the video game world what innovation and great gameplay really means.
Top 10 Strategy Game Countdown — #2 Pirates Gold! 20 March 2011 6:37 pm
Pirates started as a computer game released in 1987, but it was later ported to the NES in 1991, and then an enhanced version known as Pirates Gold! came out for the Genesis in 1993. It's a wondrous strategy game with very deep gameplay. Exploring, fencing, hiring sailors, capturing ships, and fencing against captains awaits you. It's no wonder this title grabs such a high spot in the top 10 strategy games.
Top 10 Strategy Game Countdown — #3 Jungle Strike 19 March 2011 7:33 pm
We're almost there. Clocking in at #3, this is definitely the high point for the Strike franchise. Desert Strike gave us an amazing introduction to flying a smoothly animated helicopter and hitting targets on an isometric battlefield. Jungle Strike takes the formula much further with greater variation in level design and even the ability to control four new weapon-laden vehicles. This is probably one of the less obvious inclusions in the Top 10 Strategy Games List, but it has a distinct emphasis on tactics and resource management rather than slamming the fire button.
Top 10 Strategy Game Countdown — #4 Famicom Wars 17 March 2011 7:22 pm
You've probably heard of Advance Wars on the DS. If you haven't (assuming you're remotely interested in turn-based military strategy games), then stop reading this and immediately
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they are truly awesome. Interestingly, the Wars franchise actually began here, at the #4 slot for the Top 10 Strategy Games, with the import-only Famicom Wars. The developer, Intelligent Systems, has an uncanny knack for making excellent turn-based games; they also created the long-running Fire Emblem series.
Top 10 Strategy Game Countdown — #5 Dune: The Battle for Arrakis 16 March 2011 8:45 pm
Believe it or not, Warcraft was actually released in 1993 for the Genesis / Mega Drive, only it was called Dune. Think of all the stuff you did in the first Warcraft game (released in 1994): gather resources, build structures, explore through the fog of war, give your troops commands by pointing and clicking—you do it all in Dune, too. While controlling Dune with a pad rather than a mouse is far from ideal, it remains an excellent port from the PC and easily gains a respectable place in the Top 10 Strategy games.
Sega Master System Box Art Master — Make Your Own Comparisons 12 March 2011 5:20 pm
There's something so satisfying about having almost all the box art for the greatest Sega Master System games on one page, so that you can compare them across regions at your leisure, and click each one for a larger image. There's even a surprisingly complete—still missing a few—collection of Brazilian box art scans. Enjoy!
