Pixelated (or polygonal) apocalypses?

Here's something you probably couldn't have guessed about me: I'm a big fan of apocalypse novels. I just finished reading one, in fact: Susan Beth Pfeffer's This World We Live In.

The completion of that novel got me to thinking: Why haven't I played any post-apocalyptic games? The answer, sadly enough, is that I've never thought of it.

Even if I had, though, I wouldn't know where to start. After all, the only post-apocalyptic game I'm aware of is Namco's Fragile (aka Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, below), a Wii game I have every intention of picking up at some point.



Other than that game, though, I'm stumped.

Have any of you played any worthwhile post-apocalyptic games--especially RPGs--over the years? If so, which ones?

Professor PC Engine

I've decided to post all of the PC Engine reviews that I write as part of "The Great Gaymathon" on this blog as well as my PC Engine blog, iwasateenagepcenginefan.wordpress.com.

The reviews on the latter blog are going to be called "PCE Reviews," by the way--with the "PCE" part standing for "Punchy, Concise and Entertaining."

In order to communicate that fact to the readers of said blog, I created the following drawing:

Interestingly enough, tomorrow's Great Gaymathon review will focus on one of my favorite PC Engine games. Can you guess which one?

The Great Gaymathon Review #1: Donkey Kong (Famicom)

Game: Donkey Kong
Genre: Platformer
System: Famicom
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: 1983

Ask a random stranger--yes, even that old lady with the bird in her hair--what she thinks about the Famicom version of this classic quarter-muncher, and she's sure to tell you, eyes mid-roll and nose upturned, "Well, it certainly isn't as good as the arcade original." That it isn't. After all, it's missing an entire stage--the cement factory, as it's called by Donkey Kong fanatics--for starters. It's also missing the "How high can you get?" screen and a few between-stage animations. Other than that, though, this 8-bit adaptation is amazingly spot-on, especially considering its age. That's not the only reason to pick up a (complete-in-box) copy of this early Famicom release, though. Another: It sports a pretty cool piece of cover art (as you can see in the scan above and in this photo).

See also: 'Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about The Great Gaymathon'

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about 'The Great Gaymathon'

Remember how I promised in this post to play, over the course of the next year or so, all of my games--not necessarily to completion, mind you--and then write about them under the guise of "The Great Gaymeathon"?

Well, after a few months of hemming and hawing I'm finally giving it a go--although I've since changed the name of this little project to "The Great Gaymathon." (The "e" in the previous version just didn't sit well with me.)

I've already written a handful of these posts and I'll be publishing them in a staggered fashion over the next few weeks. Don't expect feature-length reviews that end in multi-star recommendations, though; rather, think of them as short, but hopefully sweet, repositories of information.

Each one will use the same format, by the way: They'll start with a bit of basic information--title, genre, developer, publisher, system and release date--about the game in question and then continue on to a snappy review (likely no more than about 10 or so sentences) and scans of its front and back cover art.

Look for the first Great Gaymathon review--which focuses, appropriately enough, on one of Nintendo's maiden Famicom releases, Donkey Kong--tomorrow.

See also: 'The Great Gaymeathon'

An artful look at Bonk's arcade cousin, BC Kid

Like any good Bonk--or, PC Genjin, as he's called in Japan--fan, I consider the character's PC Engine outings to be (basically) the only ones worth my attention. As a result, I've ignored pretty much all of the spin-offs that have been released for the GameBoy, the Famicom and the Super Famicom--I'm just going to ignore the later atrocities--over the years.

I haven't ignored all of the Bonk spin-offs, though; the arcade-only BC Kid, for instance, has always intrigued me despite the fact that it was developed by Kaneko rather than Red and Atlus.

Artist and blogger Curtis Bathurst seems to share my interest in BC Kid, at least as far as the game's aesthetics are concerned. In a recent post, Bathurst critiques the game's promotional art (right) as well as its in-game graphics.

Although he isn't a big fan of either, he ends his post on a positive note saying, "I find it wildly exciting that there was ever a coin-op Bonk’s Adventure and I love rummaging through the ‘net in search of bits and scraps about the game."

If you're at all interested in graphic design--especially as it relates to the world of gaming--I highly recommend heading over to Bathurst's site and reading his post about this quirky quarter-muncher.