Old video games; Great character names

Something that I find lacking in more recent video games is the quality of names for their characters.  Also, the villains don’t say “Barf” when you beat them over  the head with a trash can or apply a roundhouse kick to their face.

I recently went back and played some of my old favorites and recalled how amusing it was to face off against Biff, Scab Boy, Lucky Luc, Slag… or to play as Blaze, Haggar, Skate, Guy, Axel, or Radd Spencer.  Yes, the quality of the games has gone up , but the novelty of the names has gone down.

Who can forget the lambastings you would get after wrecking your bike in Road Rash?

But the best names, in my opinion, came from the multitude of brawlers on the 8 & 16-bit systems: Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Double Dragon, River City Ransom…

I think that the best way to ensure that your game will have great names, however, is to make sure that you include LOTS of street punks.  Everybody knows that criminal masterminds employ hordes of street punks to keep their rackets and stuff in line.  Haven’t you ever watched Robocop?

Watch this video for a taste of street punk beat down and ridiculous enemy names.

You can pretty much be guaranteed that any self-respecting brawler that came out of the 80s would include a character or villain named: Blade (or a variation, like “Blaze”), Axel, Guy, Biff, Zack, or Ice.

My question to you, then, is this:

Which is your favorite generic old-school video game name?  If you have a better one, feel free to add it in!

Old computer parts; Nude

James Houston setting up

I know that someone, somewhere is googling this for very different reasons than I’m writing this post about (and that both scares and intrigues me).

I wanted to impart upon you a video that I ran across months ago, but recently came to my attention again.  It’s a version of Radiohead’s song, “Nude,” played completely on old computer parts (pictured above).

Here is a list of the different appliances used:

Sinclair ZX Spectrum – Guitars (rhythm & lead)
Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer – Drums
HP Scanjet 3c – Bass Guitar
Hard Drive array – Act as a collection of bad speakers – Vocals & FX

Now, of course the song sounds very different (what would you expect from a dot matrix printer turned into a drum set?), but it has its own charming aesthetic as a result.  Anybody born in the 80s will recognize a lot of the sounds being made by these machines with either grandiose hatred or twisted nostalgia.  Generally speaking, they were always accompanied by malfunctions and frustration.

Anyways, here it is:

The song doesn’t actually come in until about 1:10, but I think the noise at the beginning adds to the effect.

In other news, a friend of mine asked me how I felt about Radiohead’s album “In Rainbows” when she heard their song, Reckoner, on a mix of mine.  Even though it’s lost a lot of its hype at this point, I think it’s still a very solid album.  At this point it’s hard for them to live up to said hype, but they always put out a product that delightfully surprises most people.  The faster, more energetic songs are really catchy and I tend to lean towards those a bit more, but the slow songs definitely add a necessary break for contemplation with a more dreamlike quality about them.

My favorite song on the album (as made clear by its inclusion in the aforementioned mix) is Reckoner.  It has a great build-up that doesn’t break into grandiosity as is generally expected.  I always find a certain appeal from things that defy convention.  Anyways, I’ll leave you with the video that was released a few months back:

Adios.

Radd Spencer is my hero

So… Bionic Commando was one of my favorite video games growing up.  I mean, it has everything a classic platformer should have: guns, slow moving bullets, simple AI, and zero repurcussions from falling 30 stories.  Well, everything… except for A JUMP BUTTON!  But have no fear!  Radd Spencer has no need of a jump button with his bionic arm.  You can swing from ledge to ledge, grab items & energy, and even grab your enemies!

Oh, and did I mention NAZIS!?

Yes, in the original Japanese version of the game, the enemies you were fighting were Nazis and you had to fight a revived Hitler at the end.  They took all of that out in the US version, unfortunately.  I mean, come on!  Who doesn’t like killing Nazis?!  They’re like the perfect enemy!  Just ask this guy:

Actually, when you think about it, Bionic Commando is very similar to Indiana Jones in a number of ways (except it doesn’t tarnish its name by putting out something as absolutely terrible as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).  Blech…

Speaking of subsequent releases…

The whole reason I’m making this post is to highlight the remakes of this classic video game.

First of all, here’s a look at the classic version that we all know and love:

Oh yes, that’s my childhood right there.

Now, in August 2008, the game was re-released with amped up graphics and some really cool additions.  Watch how the game transforms:

Pure awesome.

Anyways, Capcom has been in the process of coming out with a fully 3-D version of the game similar to a lot of the modern brawlers out there.  Don’t mind the cheesy voice-over,  but check out some of the awesome gameplay:

I haven’t had a gaming system of any kind since I came to Singapore, and I don’t intend on buying one.  I know how addicted I can get and how much time I will end up spending playing.  That and I don’t really feel like getting dumped by my girlfriend in the near future…  but man oh man does that game look like fun.

Actually, I think I might have to think of way to make Radd into a halloween costume next year…