Retro Corner: The Ballad of Evander Holyfield’s “Real Deal” Boxing

After a year in the retro collecting game, I decided it was time to start up my Sega collection and relive that glorious period from when I was 6-10 that I identified as a bad ass rebel (read: glasses clad asthmatic) Sega kid. Sure there were plenty of flashy Genesis games I wanted to add … Continue reading Retro Corner: The Ballad of Evander Holyfield’s “Real Deal” Boxing

Reliving the Revolution With Metal Gear Solid

I can vividly remember tearing through issues of Gamepro and Electronic Gaming Monthly back in 1998 trying to piece together just what this crazy looking game, Metal Gear Solid, was going to be. The images were unlike anything I'd seen before, and the idea of a stealth game seemed like an extremely foreign concept to me. After months of waiting breathlessly, I was thrilled to finally dive in on the day that my pre-ordered copy arrived at the local Babbage's at last. Over the ensuing months, I didn't just play the game; I devoured it - running through it four times in fairly quick succession until I had every last nook, cranny, and terrorist deeply implanted into my brain. The promises of those magazine articles had come to fruition, and everything from the crazy uses of the camera to the seemingly endless cinematics, heavy mature rating, and meta-nature of it all felt absolutely revolutionary to my 13-year-old self.

The Wonder of Super Metroid 25 Years Later

There's something undeniably magical about every time I step into the well traveled bounty hunter boots of Samus Aran in the SNES Classic Super Metroid. Whether it was the awe of 9 year-old me experiencing the massive world for the first time or the nostalgic joy and appreciation of journeying through Zebes for the 12th or so time 25 years later, I never stop smiling when immersed in this world. That first time playing it, I knew it was something special, but looking back now after over two decades of games that have emulated the perfection crafted by Nintendo, it's still crystal clear why this title changed the gaming world as we know it and launched a thousand Metroidvanias.