It's pretty dry on the PlayStation front this week, outside of another update to Gran Turismo HD, which enables new features such as enhanced wheel support. While we had one reader request our take on downloadable PSP titles, it doesn't seem that the demand is strong enough for us to jump in just yet, even though we downloaded Wipeout just for the hell of it. We'll likely reserve our judgment for the future, and see how the demand for this sort of coverage grows. If you want it, let us know in numbers. Now, on to a big two weeks for Virtual Console...
Virtually Consolicious!
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Publisher: Sega
Console: Sega Genesis
Wii Points: 800 ($8.00 USD)
Alex Kidd was roshambo'ing well before any of us adopted the term to describe a sudden and painful attack on our wedding tackle. In this 1989 Genesis title, which was considered the "next-gen" update to the Sega Master System series, players took on the role of the titular young man in a fairly run-of-the-mill platformer. In the face of NES competition, it stood head and shoulders above more than a few games, but after mid-1991, Master Kidd was quickly forgotten as Sega made a blue rodent its new mascot. In retrospect, Alex Kidd couldn't really even hold up well against the amazing Super Mario Bros. 3. Of course, I could never have told my pre-teen self that, or my head would've exploded.
With that in mind, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle has not aged too well, and that's coming from someone who's got major, major nostalgia value attached to the game (it was one of the first Genesis games I owned as a child). Visually, it's okay, but overall, the experience really isn't that great seventeen-odd years later. Thumbs down.
Star Fox 64
Publisher: Nintendo
Console: Nintendo 64
Wii Points: 1000 ($10.00 USD)
"Do a barrel roll!"
It wasn't just Goldeneye that made the Nintendo 64 such a powerhouse during the summer of 1997. Indeed, within the first year of Nintendo's launch, there were some very heavy hitters. One of them set the standards for what we've come to expect from gaming. That would be Star Fox 64. It was one of the first Nintendo titles to feature fully sampled dialogue, and also was the first N64 game to utilize the Rumble Pak. It was also a ton of fun.
Star Fox 64, with all of its exceptionally fun space-shooting action, should serve as a reminder that this series was once great, before two mediocre GameCube outings tarnished its reputation. Visually, the emulation and sound hold up very well, and the controls map to the Classic Controller with an exceptional ease. If you're a fan of the series, then odds are, you've already dropped ten bucks on it. If you've been curious about the games, but haven't ever tried one out, this is a great place to start. Now, if only we could get the original SNES game soon...Thumbs up.
