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CultureTotal RecallHow the NES Made That Funky Echo Sound
Ever wonder how NES games like Ducktales were able to make that distinctive “echo” sound? Wonder no more, with this handy explanation. NES Audio: Demonstrating Reverb/ Echo with Ducktales [Retro Game Audio, via Go Nintendo] Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhat Does The Future Hold for Mass Effect‘s Painfully Punched Reporter?
“Kalisah Bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerlund News.” Say those words to any Mass Effect fan, and they’ll probably get a funny look on their face: A grin that’s half-silly, half-guilty. “Oh, man. I punched the crap out of that reporter.” What started as a somewhat shocking, offhand bit of violence in Mass Effect reached meme status…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 3, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Most Horrifying Moments In Gaming (For A Ten-Year-Old In The 90’s)
My love for video games started when my dad bought a Super Nintendo home in the mid 90’s. But as much fun as I had playing then, my young, impressionable brain was also scarred by a handful of gaming moments that left an indelible mark on my psyche. Even if those moments don’t scare me…
By Nick Vannucci Published March 2, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallNo One Lives Forever Had the Smartest Bad Guys
There were a lot of things to love about the No One Lives Forever games. The groovy music, the fresh-feeling 60’s spy motif (Austin Powers be damned!), the fearless, funny heroine Cate Archer. But even when compared to those things, the game’s writing stands apart. The villains’ banter, in particular, stands out. In a day…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 2, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallPossibly the Greatest Movie Homage Ever Included in a Video Game
Forget what the Driver series has become over the years. When the first game was released, back in 1999, it had a very clear vision: take a badass movie and make a badass video game out of it. But wait, was there a movie called Driver? No. There was one called The Driver, however, which…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 1, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhy a Colonial Assassin’s Creed Makes Complete Sense (and Sounds Awesome)
It’s becoming increasingly likely that the next major instalment in the Assassin’s Creed series takes place during the American War of Independence. Which shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s been suspected for years now that the game would be set around there. Seeing what appears to be final proof, though, has a lot of us excited.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 29, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallIn Loving Memory of Namco’s Ace Driver
The 1990s were a great time for arcade racing games. Daytona, Cruis’n USA, the original Ridge Racer…but for all the quality on offer there, my friends and I spent more time and money on one game than any other. And that game was Namco’s Ace Driver First released in 1994, Ace Driver doesn’t look terribly…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 29, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
It’s the Last Chance Saloon for Joy Division
This background art is from SNK’s Fatal Fury 3. Drink it in. It’s glorious, no? Then, when you’re done, take a closer look at the full image below (click to embiggen), and read some of the stuff written on the buildings. [via SpecSNK] Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 28, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallDeath Race, the World’s First Scandalous Video Game
What is it with cars and killing people that gets the mainstream media so upset? Decades before series like Grand Theft Auto and Carmageddon were earning tut tuts and disapproving looks, an arcade game called Death Race ended up squarely in the sights of TV networks, newspapers and magazines. Taking more than a few cues…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 28, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Prepare for a Good…Sponking? Spanking? Oh Sega.
Going by the old adage “it’s not racist if it’s France”, this Dreamcast commercial plays on one of Europe’s oldest rivalries in an attempt to sell the Brits on the console’s pioneering online play. And if the French can’t rouse them? Germans stuffing their faces with sausages should do the trick Total Recall is a…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 28, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Chris Rock Could Have Been in Jak and Daxter
It is the year 2000. Comedian and actor Chris Rock is nearing the height of his powers. Sony’s stable of video games, on the other hand, was not. Sure, the PlayStation had been a breakthrough, but the world-devouring juggernaut that was the PlayStation 2 was in its infancy. So you can maybe understand why, when…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 27, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The First Mass Effect‘s User Interface Sure Was Terrible
I still think fondly back on when I played the first Mass Effect. It had so much going for it, and I was so excited about the game—I remember tearing through the campaign, loving the story, and tolerating the somewhat janky combat and technical issues. I also remember the interface. It was something that I…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 25, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
No Rage Quite Like Asteroids ‘Roid Rage
We’re back with a second episode of Retro Rumble, where guys compete to get high scores in olllld (really old!) video games. This time around, they’re playing Asteroids, which is a good deal more colorless than you may have thought. I know I’d have ‘roid rage if someone kept calling me “son” while I was…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 24, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWant Some Rye?
Course ya do. This line, from 1993’s Return to Zork, gets me every time. Put a couple of beers in me and I’ll start asking it of people who have no idea what I’m talking about, but fuck ’em, because if they don’t want any rye then they’re not worth my time anyway.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallHow Some of the Best Adventure Games Ever Made…Were Made
If you’ve ever played an old adventure game from Sierra – so King’ Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory, etc – you need to see this old documentary showing how some of those titles were made. While the bulk of the clip is taken up with hyping the then-upcoming King’s Quest VI, there…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
A Beautiful Collection of Awesome Nintendo Logos
I like the games and the hardware, of course, but one of my favourite things about Japanese video games from the 1980s were the logos. And some of the best ones came out of Nintendo. I’m not talking about the company’s primary logo, either. I’m talking about the series of logos drawn up for the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWho Needs The Wizard When You’ve Got Surf Ninjas?
The Wizard, a 1989 movie starring Fred Savage, was little more than a 100-minute commercial for Nintendo. Surf Ninjas, a 1993 movie starring Ernie Reyes, Jr., Rob Schneider, Leslie Nielsen (doing his best M. Bison impersonation) and Tone Loc, was much the same for Sega’s Game Gear handheld. Only it was way better. The film…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallSega Lost the Handheld Race Long Before it Lost the Console Race
People are still, a decade on, shedding tears over Sega’s last home console. We get it, it’s sad, but let’s not forget that other Sega gaming machine that was killed off by stronger competition. The Sega Game Gear. When Nintendo released the Game Boy in 1989, arch-rivals Sega decided it had to have a dog…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012
