Dragon's Lair (Blu-Ray)

I was one of those idiots that spent quarter after quarter on the Dragon's Lair arcade game just so I could beat it. I thought it would be impressive to show off the ability to beat the game that most people didn't even have the guts to play. While it did prove to be quite rewarding with the girls who loved to stand next to me while I blew through it, it probably wasn't worth the sheer amount of money it took for me to get to the point where I could beat the game. I mean slaying dragons ain't cheap! Thankfully, Digital Leisure released a Blu-Ray edition of the game that not only looks way better than the actual arcade game ever looked, it also retains all of that frustrating and overly pointless game play that was so popular back in the 80's.

You don't really have a lot of control in Dragon's Lair. You basically have to input a specific direction or sword button push at a specific time in order to keep Dirk moving in the right direction. If you press the wrong direction or at the wrong time, he generally dies a very cruel death. Each room has its own specific moves and you have to slowly but surely learn them. To those who've never played this game before, you will most likely want to stay away from it, as it can be terribly frustrating for those who are not fond of the classic arcade game. Nostalgia might be the only thing that keeps you from throwing your controller or Blu-Ray remote through a wall. But for those of us who still love to play a round or two of this classic, this Blu-Ray edition is absolutely outstanding. It looks and sounds incredible. Just be sure that you know what you're getting into when you buy it. This game is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, a very nice trip down memory lane for those of us who stuck all of our lunch money into this brutal arcade game.

Imagic review marathon underway!

When it came to Atari 2600 gaming, I was always way more interested in the Activision and Imagic titles than any of the first party offerings. In fact, of the 40 game cartridges I owned back then, probably 35 of them were made up of these Activision and Imagic games. This is mainly what prompted me to do an Imagic game review marathon on Colecovision Critic. Over the next week I'll be reviewing only Imagic titles, so if you're a fan of their games, don't forget to check it out. I already have the Wing War and Dragonfire reviews uploaded to the site and I'll be putting up reviews for Fathom, Nova Blast, Moonsweeper, and Tournament Tennis over the next few days. So far the response has been incredible so I might do another one of these "marathon" type review sessions again sometime soon. With me you just never know. : )

You can click on the Imagic logo to surf on over to Colecovision Critic and check out the Imagic reviews for yourself.

It's official...HD-DVD is no more!

Toshiba has officially thrown in the towel in the next-generation high-def format war, and HD-DVD will now take its place in a nice tidy landfill next to Atari's E.T. game. Those in Alamagordo, NM might keep an eye out for the trucks coming any day now. I ended up selling my Xbox 360 HD-DVD player about a month ago once it became highly probable that Blu-Ray was going to win the high-definition format war. Maybe Toshiba should have picked up the tab to allow Microsoft to bundle the Xbox 360 system with the HD-DVD drive built in. It worked awfully well for Sony and their Playstation 3 system. Oh well, the reasons for the Blu-Ray win will likely be lamented for years to come, but now I just look forward to finally getting Transformers and Evan Almighty on Blu-Ray. I would imagine that execs at Universal and Paramount are busy today figuring out what to do with all of their HD-DVD backstock, not to mention getting their movies out on the Blu-Ray format now after sticking to the HD-DVD format longer than even its creators. Ouch! Toshiba should be commended for making a swift decision to call it a day and move on to something else. I'm sure their stockholders are breathing a sigh of relief since this now won't drag out for months. Well I'm going to go put my last HD-DVD movie up in the closet for keepsake. Another casualty of the constantly moving technology machine that we call life.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #1 Jumpman Junior

Of all the Commodore 64 games I had, it was Jumpman Junior that I played more than any of them. I still consider this one of the greatest video games ever made, mainly due to its simple, yet addictive game play design. Jumpman Junior creator Randy Glover admits that he was obsessed with Donkey Kong and it shows in his design of this game. There are tons of girders to cross and ladders to climb. But instead of jumping barrels, your job is to disarm the many bombs that are set up around the level. The downside is that disarming these bombs can cause parts of girders to disappear, fires to spring up, or other dangers to pop up. You've also got an annoying bullet chasing you around constantly which makes your task even more difficult. The Colecovision version of Jumpman Junior is absolutely perfect in every way. It looks, sounds, and plays exactly like the personal computer versions do. If you've never tried a version of this game out, do yourself a favor and track it down. It's been available on just about every single computer out there, not to mention a few choice game consoles. This is a game I hope Epyx brings to the Wii Ware or Xbox Live Arcade at some point. It's too good a game not to.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #2 Ladybug

I was never a huge fan of the "maze" games from the 80's. I liked them, but I certainly didn't love them. That is until I found Ladybug. There was just something special about Ladybug that set it apart from the Pac-Man games of this era. My best friend that lived next door got this game the day his family bought him the Colecovision and of all the games he had, it was Ladybug that I loved playing the most. And of course it was his least favorite game, so I rarely did get to play it much. He said the game was too "kiddy" for his taste. This is the same guy who spent most of his Colecovision time playing the Smurf game. Go figure. Ladybug is also the first arcade game I ever bought and restored. I still have it in storage from when I moved back here. I need to go get it and make sure it's still there. If you've never tried out Ladybug, you should give it a go. It's like a more playable version of Pac-Man with a few unique twists and turns thrown into the mix. It was almost my #1 pick for this list, but when it came down to it, my numero uno is pretty far ahead of the rest of the pack. I'll have it up tomorrow. I dug it out last night and I haven't been able to put it down since.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #3 Turbo

I loved Turbo in the arcades, and when my best friend got this game along with the Steering Wheel controller for Christmas, I spent as much time playing it as I could. At the time, having a steering wheel controller was just unheard of, and it was so great to be able to play a racing game with such arcade realism to it at home. It even came with a gas foot pedal and the ability to use the Colecovision controller as a gear shifter. The play control using the wheel was fantastic and I still find myself playing this one fairly often. In fact, I dug the steering wheel out last night and played an hour or so of the game to get ready for this #3 entry in the Top 10. There were a few other games that worked with the steering wheel controller that were available for the Colecovision system, but Turbo is still the best one.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #4 Dragonfire

As much as I love the Atari 2600 version of Dragonfire, the Colecovision version is easily the best one of all. The graphics are much better and more detailed, and even the sound effects make the Atari 2600 version pale in comparison. The 3-D treasure room level looks cool, but I don't really care for how it plays. It feels a little awkward when compared to the 2-D style of the Atari 2600 game. The archer and the moving drawbridge add a lot more playability to the game and when coupled with the sharper visuals and sound effects it makes this one of the best the Colecovision has to offer. This game has gotten a bit rare so you might have to pay a little more for it. Once you play it, though, you'll see that it was worth the extra dough.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #5 Mr. Do's Castle

As much as I love the original Mr. Do, this pseudo-sequel ranks higher on my list just based on its more engaging play control and variety. The local grocery store had this arcade game in it and since my mother always felt the need to drag me there when she spent two hours shopping for groceries, I logged some serious playing time on this baby. This is another game that I didn't own until several years ago. I just didn't think it was available for any systems I owned back at that time or you can bet I would have bought it. This ColecoVision version is a bit on the rare side so expect to pay in excess of $45 for it if you can locate one on eBay. It's worth it as the ColecoVision version is very close to the arcade game in terms of audio, visuals, and game play. I love the original Mr. Do, but this is just a much better game overall.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #6 Frenzy

I loved the game Berzerk in the arcades and when I heard that there was a sequel, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Frenzy was everything you could possibly want in a Berzerk sequel. More action and better level layouts. This was one of the first carts I tracked down once I finally bought a Colecovision system and I've been playing this one ever since. It's extremely faithful to the arcade version, even to the point that it's tough to tell which is which unless you have them both side-by-side. The game could have been a little more difficult for my personal taste, but it's still one of those games that I can sit in front of the TV playing for hours at a time. It's a tough one to put down. I will recommend that you use the Super Action Controllers if you have them, as they make moving around a lot easier than using the standard Colecovision controllers.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #7 Pepper II

I can still sit down and roll this game over at 999,999 points and love every second of it to this very day. They had this game at this diner in the town where we used to go vacation during the Summer. The first time I played it was in 1983, but when I went back there last Summer, they still had this same game and it was still going strong. Hard to believe since that's been over 25 years ago. And yes, I even stuck a few quarters into it just for old time's sake. Maze games were really popular back in the early 80's, but Pac Man ruled the scene while great maze titles like Pepper II and Ladybug somehow got swept under the rug. It's a shame since Pepper II is one of the most clever games you'll ever likely play. If you have a Colecovision, pick up a copy of this game. It's a real steal for the $5 it goes for on eBay.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #8 Looping

Looping is one of those games that people generally either love or hate. They got this arcade game in at the little diner across the street from my high school and I was late going back to school after lunch many times because of this game. The great thing is that most of my friends hated it, so no one other than me usually played it. The game is simple. You have to fly your plane around and take out the specified targets in order to open the gate to the pipes portion of the level. This is where you get to do some fancy flying in order to navigate your way around the maze of water pipes. Then it's on to the last section of the level where you have to take on the Twinkling Monster and finally make your way to The End. And that's what it was literally called. A simple design but one hell of a fun game. Since I didn't own a ColecoVision and there wasn't an Atari 2600 version, I never owned this game at home until many years later when I finally picked up a ColecoVision system. And of all my ColecoVision games, Looping is still one of my favorites to this day.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #9 Mr. Do

Now here's a game that I shoved a few thousand quarters into while on vacation in 1985. We went to this dumpy motel in Alamagordo, NM and the only game they had in the lobby of this motel was Mr. Do so guess what I spent most of my time doing. The good thing was that I got introduced to a game that I had never played before and I loved it. I even bought it for my Commodore 64 computer shortly after that. It wasn't until recently that I got to play the Colecovision version and found out that Mr. Do was bleached for this version. The Colecovision version is still a very solid port and a great game if you've never tried it out.

Corbie's ColecoVision Top Ten - #10 Slither

Yes I know that Slither is a blatant Centipede knock-off, but it's also a pretty darn good one. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Slither is an overall better game play experience. Slither was packaged with the Colecovision Roller Controller and about the only downside to the game is that you must have this controller in order to play the game on the system. Think of the game as a prehistoric version of Centipede. You're piloting a space ship and you'll have to fire your laser blasts at the slithering snakes that are making their way down the screen towards you. You'll also have to deal with the many assorted dinosaurs that will also attack you from time to time. You move around just like you do in Centipede and the trackball makes it a fairly arcade-faithful rendition of the game. I never actually owned this game back in the day but I always wanted it after watching Drew Barrymore's character play it in the movie "Firestarter" years ago. If you like a solid arcade shooter that's low on originality but high on action, give Slither a try.

ColecoVision Crazy!

Well I set out to prove that I could locate a brand new Colecovision system and accessories and that's what I finally did. Over 25 years after these things were released, you can still find them brand new in the box if you look hard enough. That's also a good example of just how abrupt the video game crash of 1984 was. I just got in the Colecovision system this evening and I haven't take a shot of it yet, but damn it's nice and smells so good. The Super Action Controllers, Turbo Steering Wheel, Roller Controller, and Atari 2600 Module were all new in the box as well. I also managed to snag about 20 Colecovision games that were still sealed up in their boxes. It's like 1983 in my game room all over again.

So just what the heck is all this useless rambling about? Well I'm setting up another Top 10. Beginning tomorrow I'll be posting my Colecovision Top 10. I'm still doing a few screenshots at the moment but I should have them finished by tomorrow afternoon when I'll post #10. Until then I'm going to go play some more Colecovision. It's like taking a trip back in time in here right now. I'm one Iron Maiden poster away from this looking just like my bedroom did back in junior high. : )

Another nail in the coffin?

I got this in my inbox this afternoon from Amazon advertising the sale of over 100 HD-DVD movies. It would truly seem that all signs are now pointing to the demise of the HD-DVD format. Despite the fact that I originally picked Blu-Ray to win the format war, there was a time when I was beginning to think that HD-DVD might actually take over. At the end of the day, I don't really care who wins as as long as they narrow it down to one format, which they should have done in the first place. I think it's a win for consumers that this format war might be coming to an abrupt end. It might end up saving a lot of people some serious time and money in the long run. If you see any large truckloads of HD-DVD movies heading towards Alamagordo, New Mexico, at least you'll know why. E.T. has been needing some company anyway. : )

Birthday Twist!

Since today is my birthday I thought I'd tell a story of one of my birthdays that didn't quite go according to planned. It was my 12th birthday in 1983. I had been wanting a Colecovision system since the last Summer when it was released and had hinted about all a human being can hint. My grandparents went easy on the Christmas and promised my sister and I that they would make it up on our birthdays since my grandfather was getting a fairly large retirement check in January. I just knew that the Colecovision was in the bag. And that was further confirmed to me when I was snooping through my grandmother's closet and found my present about two weeks before my birthday. The box was the same basic size and shape as the Colecovision box and it was about the same weight. I had no doubt in my mind that it was a Colecovision system and I was so excited I couldn't see straight.

The day before my birthday my other grandparents had sent me a birthday card and in it was $50. Just to show you how sure I was that my other present was a Colecovision, I went to the local department store here and bought the Colecovision game Lady Bug. I even unwrapped it ahead of time and read through the instruction booklet. Are you beginning to see how confident I was that I was getting a Colecovision system for my birthday. Of course as you can imagine by now, it didn't work out that way.

My whole family met at my grandparent's house for my little party. They made us all eat dinner first before I could open my presents which made it even more grueling than it already was. Then the moment of truth was at hand. My grandmother went to her bedroom and brought out my present. She handed it to me and I ripped into that thing. And you can only imagine what the look on my face must have been when I saw that my Colecovision was actually a Commodore 64 computer. It seems that a friend of my grandfather had just bought his son one and had told my grandfather how great it was. I don't think in all my 37 years of life that I've ever been as disappointed as I was at that moment. I did manage to hide it quite well and would certainly never have let on since my grandparents were nice enough to buy me something so nice in the first place, but I honestly felt like I was going to throw up right there on the spot.

I had even made the mistake of telling most of my friends that I was getting a Colecovision so I got to go home to a bunch of friends who were making fun of the fact that I was wrong about what I was getting. Maybe that's why over the years I've been so obsessive about the Colecovision system. Who knows. But I have to also be thankful for that Commodore 64 computer because it provided a lot of hours of fun for me and is really where I first began to enjoy using computers. And since that's my main form of employment now and the means with which I've acquired my current Colecovision collection, I guess things worked out quite nicely in the long run. I do sometimes wonder what ever happened to that Lady Bug game though.

REZ released on Xbox Live Arcade!

For those of you out there who haven't yet played Rez, let me tell you, you don't know what you're missing. This is one of the coolest shooters out there. Trust me, there's nothing else like it. It blends vector-style graphics with pulsing music and sound effects to form one of the strangest, yet enjoyable shooter experiences you've likely ever encountered. And now that it's in full HD and featuring Dolby digital surround sound, Rez has never looked or sounded so good. This has always been one of the most underrated shooters out there, so it's nice to see the game given another chance on the Xbox Live Arcade. If you can appreciate something unique and special, give Rez a try. I had forgotten how outstanding this game really was. Now all we need is Ikaruga!