It’s the Game Advisor

Game of the Month: R-Type Final (Playstation 2)

 I prepared for this for a month in advance, and still I was blown away. This last episode of the classic 2D shooter is inspiring to say the least, and has more features than I have room to name (I mean that VERY literally!) It uses 3D graphics and backgrounds in a 2D atmosphere, so even though you’re rotating around a giant armada ship, or inside a desolate city, you never have to do more than go up, down and get a power-up. You can find 99 ships, all with different lasers, shields, etc. And every one of them is….umm……incredible (for lack of a better word.) The music is very appropriate and even good in some areas, the different modes will keep you busy when you get sick of the regular game, and its VERY challenging without ever being impossible! This is the kind of game that took us where we are today (which makes you wonder why they don’t make games like these anymore.) It’s dramatic, simple, and as deep as the Atlantic Ocean. It’s even priced $20 less than a regular PS2 game! What a deal……..What a deal.
Game Gadgets and More: Nintendo DS
We’re going to try something new this month. As you can tell by the deceptively clever title (which I did all by myself!) this is where we talk about interesting new add-ons or contraptions for your gaming system, or just whatever is abuzz in the gaming community.
The Nintendo DS. Nintendo introduced us to their new hand-held system just recently. No one knows anything about it, yet everyone is talking about it. Why is that? Because it’s going to have not 1, not 1 and a half, but TWO SCREENS! (DS stands for Dual Screen from what I’ve heard.) And so far, that’s all we really know about this new hand-held. I’ve heard rumors that it could possibly play GBA games and maybe even GAMECUBE games (which explains the whole mini-DVD thing…) but will mainly play its own games. No word on games, no sketches of what it looks like, and lots of talk flying around. Still, the 200% increase of the number of screens available will ultimately set this system apart from the competition (but you can bet SOMEONE is going to try to upstage Nintendo with a 3-screen handheld) and possibly redefine how games are played. Imagine playing a football game where the action is on the top screen and the play is on the bottom!
Well, when I find more information on this, I’ll write a follow-up in the months to come.

Answer to Last Month’s Question: What was it again? Umm…..oh yeah, Capcom franchises! Well, they did the Mega Man games, Ghosts and Goblins (long time ago,) Darkstalkers, Final Fight, Breath of Fire, a bunch of X-Men games, they made Street Fighter, as well as the HUNDREDS of incarnations Street Fighter took on (Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo X anyone? Yeah, that’s what I thought.) And many more. Capcom is never going to go under, it will be alive during the second ice age! (Maybe even the third!) 
This Month’s Question: Who is Shigeru Miyamoto (Shig-guh-roo My-ya-mah-to) and why does he have about 64,000,000 fans worldwide?