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CultureTotal RecallHow Sam & Max Hit The Road Taught Me To Love Words
People who know nothing about video games like to sling mud. They’ll say that games rot your brain, waste your time and distract from your studies. I’m here to tell you that that’s a lie, and I have proof. Be sure to click the video above to see how educational this game can really be.…
By Chris Person Published February 21, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallScrew the Vita, Let’s Talk About the Other NGP
The PlayStation Vita is out today in the US. Before it was known as the Vita, you may remember it was called the NGP. Which was a little awkward, since there had already been a handheld gaming system called the NGP. And it sure wasn’t made by Sony. While Sony’s NGP stood for “Next Generation…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Sunset, Big City
You know, last week, I was so excited to be posting awesome Metal Slug art as part of our first Background Story that I forgot to say it was from Metal Slug. Which, turns out, only made it more fun. So let’s do it again. Guess the city and you’ll be halfway to guessing the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Laziest Box Art in Video Game History
I have a fetish for old Sega Master System box art. If I could have that pattern made into a tablecloth, curtains and bedsheets, I would, and when my wife complained, I would just stare at her, like what is wrong this stuff is perfect. Some of my favourites from the system, though, are also…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallHalf-Life 2‘s Most Magical Moment
Well, if we’re going to be doing more recent games for Total Recall, we’d better talk about Half-Life 2 sooner rather than later. As is true for so many people, HL2 is one of my favorite games of all time, an evergreen gem that I replay about once a year. It’s hard to put my…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 18, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Grim Death Never Looked So Lovely
Over at the International House of Mojo, they’ve put together a terrific retrospective on the equally terrific adventure game Grim Fandango. It’s a fun, comprehensive retrospective, but what really grabbed me was the illustration that Colin Panetta did for it, of a skeleton that’s recently been “planted.” Death-by-flowers has long been one of my favorite…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 17, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallMy Addiction to the Original Saints Row
Programming note: Check the arrow for more on “Recent Recall.” These days, Saints Row is very much a household name in gaming. It’s a critically successful franchise, a game that has become notorious through its marketing and gimmickry, but also by being a whole lot of fun. The Saints Row concept really came into its…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 17, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhy People Give a Shit About a 1988 PC Role-Playing Game
Brian Fargo, whose credits include Bard’s Tale and the original Fallout, wants to make a new Wasteland game. This is a very good idea. It’s also a very good idea that Fargo wants to be involved, because there wouldn’t have been a Fallout without Wasteland Released in 1988 on the PC, Wasteland was a pioneering…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 17, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallRetro Rumble Episode 1 – Don’t Pee in the Pool
You know how outfits like Major League Gaming are full of sponsored kids playing the latest game at breakneck speeds? This is the exact opposite. Welcome to Episode 1 of Retro Rumble, where a bunch of guys play (usually) terrible old video games to see who is the best. Or, least terrible. Today the crew…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWe Asked The Red Carpet: Were Old Video Games Actually Bad? Or Good?
I have a nearly irrational dislike for retro video games. I assume most of the old “classics” wasted my youth with their needlessly bottomless pits and/or a hunger for my quarters. Do old video games deserve my scorn? Will no one speak up for the quality of these things? I sought an answer to my…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 16, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe TurboGrafx-16 was more exciting…
…than a Nintendo Entertainment System. Which wasn’t really a fair comparison to make, but hey, this was the late 80s. Video game advertising was a killing field back then. Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll find Total Recall stories every Mon-Fri…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallNo, System of a Down Did Not Make a Zelda Song. But This Guy Did.
Let’s give a man his dues! For over a decade now, there’s been a kinda-famous song about Zelda on the internet that many people believe was written and performed by System of a Down. It wasn’t. The song, simply called “Zelda”, was actually written (and sung) by a man named Joe Pleiman. It was released…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
A Salute to Dani Berry, a Transgender Video Gaming Pioneer
There are plenty of legends in the world of video games whose names will fly off the tongues of casual fans. Nolan Bushnell. Trip Hawkins. Shigeru Miyamoto. Will Wright. Sid Meier. It’s a shame, then, that so few can name another of the all-time greats, Danielle Bunten Berry. The designer, born in 1949, is important…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallIt’s Time for a Magical Sound Shower
Ah, Magical Sound Shower. Could there be a better soundtrack for driving around a two-dimensional landscape in an expensive car with a sexy lady beside you? No. No, there could not. The original piece from the original Outrun was composed by Hiroshi Miyauchi, but I very quietly prefer the campier version from Outrun 2, which…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING FROM NINTENDO?
It’ll bring…well, the complete opposite. Which is a pity. Wall-mounted control pad dispensers in dimly-lit sci-fi corridors would be great! Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll find Total Recall stories every Mon-Fri between 11pm and Midnight ET.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallHey, is That Indiana Jones Rescuing Princess Leia?
It sure looks like it. This is Challenger, a Famicom game released in 1985 by Hudson. Look at the cover art and you’d be forgiven for thinking this was some shitty Lucasfilm clone, lifting its two biggest properties and dropping them in an unlicensed video game rip-off. That would be a little harsh. Sure, at…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Amazing Place Where Mario & 80’s Pro Wrestling Came Together
That amazing place being the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, which in these episodes below went all-out and brought in both Sgt. Slaughter and Rowdy Roddy Piper as guest stars. Aside from their wrestling fame, you may know the Sergeant as a GI Joe character. You should also hopefully know Piper as one of the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Winter Isn’t Coming, It’s Already Here
The real stars of video games aren’t the characters. They’re awfully fickle, and easy to kill. But background art? It’s forever. Welcome to Background Story, which will run most days as part of our new, expanded Total Recall programming block [via noirlac]
By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
When EA Sports Accidentally Put a Game’s Source Code on a Demo Disc
In 1997, EA Sports released a demo disc for the latest iteration of its FIFA football series. Anyone picking this disc up got a lot more than they bargained for. Late last year, Blackbird Interactive’s Yossarian King (whose studio is now working on Hardware) wrote a piece on industry blog #altDevBlogADay about building engines. Tucked…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 5, 2012