With unspectacular graphics and only six courses, Jeremy McGrath's Offroad is hard to recommend. Ultimately the solid gameplay can't overcome a short campaign mode and uninspired events. Worse yet, ...

This is the apex of Shinobi, one of Sega's very best Genesis games. As it turns out, this would be Joe's final adventure. This long-running franchise may have had a few ups and downs over the years,...

Not only is Starved for Death a great episode, but it also shows that The Walking Dead has more to show us than just zombie fighting. There's a story here that is unlike anything I've seen in a zombi...

In the past 30 years of gaming, players have taken control of space ninjas, animal ninjas, undead ninjas and even alien ninjas. With so many silly variations, I don't know why I'm having a hard time ...

50% Ninja Gaiden, 50% Shadow of the Ninja and 100% action. Ninja Gaiden Shadow slashes its way onto the portable scene with this exciting (albeit confusing) action game. Matthew Clarke gets to the b...

There are a few interesting ideas sprinkled throughout Zool, but this ninja comes up short in almost every way possible. What we're left with is a frustrating action game with a character I didn't ca...

Episode #186 - On Running Feuds (Ep. 186) - Did you know that there are people who are actually against game preservation? And not just anybody, but somebody who is the editor for a major video game magazine. ...

Every good ninja needs a loyal dog, or so Shadow Dancer suggests. This Sega Master System port promises HUGE characters and non-stop action, but doesn't quite deliver. Find out what Defunct Games' n...

Episode #34 - Psst. There's a ninja behind you! Of course you didn't hear him sneak in, because he's a ninja. He's a silent killer, and you're his next victim. SO TURN AROUND! Oh, phew, there wasn't actually a...

Episode #198 - If it's Friday, it's This Week in Defunct Games! Up first we're looking at Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES), the rough and tough sequel to one of the most influential beat-em-ups of all time. If ...

Inversion is yet another derivative third-person shooter with a gimmick. This time around you control gravity in the most limited way possible. Although there are plenty of strong moments, the game ...

Revenge of the 'Gator is HAL Laboratory at its best, offering charming characters and exciting action. The gameplay is strong and the game moves faster than most 8-bit pinball games. But you don't ...

Pinball Quest doesn't quite work; it's full of design issues and physics problems. But even at its worse, there's something endearing about Pinball Quest. This is a game that really tries to be uniq...

Episode #46 - After infiltrating Outer Heaven, saving the captured Snake Men, escaping incarceration and surviving the moving bridge, Solid Snake has finally discovered the truth. He wasn't supposed to have this k...

Dragon's Revenge doesn't quite hit the same highs as Devil's Crush and Jaki Crush, but it does offer enough thrills to make it worth seeking out. There aren't many games like this, even in a day and ...

Episode #109 - 2012 hasn't been kind to everybody. For whatever reason, this year has been especially mean to the old school video game download services. I'm talking about the Virtual Consoles and PSone Classics. S...

Pinball may not be an impressive game by today's standards, but you can see what Nintendo was trying to accomplish with this 8-bit title. Is the game so dated that it's impossible to have fun? ...

Armored Core V is big, explosive and full of good ideas. Too bad the game is nearly incomprehensible. Thankfully the game's strong online component and roughly one hundred levels make up for some of...

Crue Ball was originally called Twisted Flipper. EA wanted to partner with MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Unfortunately that's not what happened and we're left with Crue Ball, the one and only Motley Crue...

Episode #33 - This weekend I'm putting in a fair amount of time playing Zen Studio's upcoming Pinball FX2 expansion pack, Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles. As a result, I've been bitten with the pinball bug, wh...

M.U.L.E. is a little rough, even for an old school NES game. The graphics aren't much to look at and the game does a horrible job of letting you know what's going on. However, if you can get past th...

Episode #197 - If it's Friday, it's This Week in Defunct Games. This week Nintendo brings us two more action games, both for their home consoles. Up first it's Mega Man X2 (Super NES) on the Wii Virtual Console. ...

Klax is a great puzzle game that could have been a whole lot more. It's an addictive puzzler with an interesting visual style. Best of all, it kind of looks like Rock Band ... and I LOVE Rock Band! ...

Episode #58 - There is nothing worse than a Lifetime original movie. Between demonizing men and stereotyping women, these low-budget movies end up helping nobody. Recently Lifetime opened up their archives for th...

Episode #44 - Solid Snake junkies the world over have every reason to be excited, and not just because we're half way through Cyril Reads Metal Gear. As it turns out, Konami chose this week to launch Metal Gear So...

Hook isn't a bad action game, but it's also not very original. Unfortunately it's the disappointing source material that ultimately brings this Sony ImageSoft game down. But you don't have to take m...

Forget about maturely tackling this country's complicated drug laws, Midway decided to turn NARC into an ultra-violent action game full of blood and guts. Was this the right move? Find out when...

Episode #23 - DGC On Demand (Ep. 23) - Last week fans of the Alien franchise took to their local movie theaters to make Prometheus the number one movie in the country. It was such a big hit that even video game cri...

Zoop feels like a cynical attempt to cash in on the sudden success of Tetris, Columns and Dr. Mario. Unfortunately, most of those puzzlers had peaked years earlier, leaving Zoop to compete in a world...

Episode #15 - Defunct Games Vs. (Ep. 15) - Between the 15 minute long demonstration of Wonderbooks and Microsoft unveiling SmartGlass, there wasn't a whole lot at E3 2012 that caught my eye. Just as I was about to...

Episode #32 - Last week we hid in terror as aliens attacked from all sides. Thankfully that won't be the case when we look at A Week Full of Four Letter Words! These are five of the most diverse games you'll ever...

Episode #196 - If it's Friday, then it's This Week in Defunct Games! It's a week full of swordplay! Up first we look at The Last Blade, one of SNK's very best fighting games. If that's not enough, we're also digg...

Treasure returns with the ultimate action game. Alien Soldier stacks you against 25 of the ugliest bosses in the galaxy. And did I mention that you blow up a planet at one point? Find out what...

Episode #88 - The celebrate the launch of Prometheus, Defunct Games is taking a look at fake Alien games that used real Alien imagery. It turns out that a lot of games have "borrowed" the H.R. Giger's alien design...

No chest bursting, face hugging or acid blood. This is not that kind of Alien game. Instead we are given a generic 2D shooter, complete with uninspired power-ups, minimal levels and sluggish control...

We continue our trek through space with yet another non-ALIEN game. Today it's Alien Olympics 2044 AD for the Game Boy. This Track & Field clone has all the right moves, but can it really win gold&#...

Episode #57 - Guerilla Scrapbook (Ep. 57) - On-disc DLC, online passes and DRM? What the hell is going on with this year's E3 press kits? Defunct Games investigates the growing trend of major game compa...

Tengen offers a competent, if unspectacular, port of an arcade hit. Alien Syndrome may not look like much, but the simple gameplay and fun shooting mechanic makes this easy to recommend. Plus it has...

Episode #24 - With E3 officially starting today, we thought it would be fun to look back and some of the best press packets from E3 and the Consumer Electronics Show over the years. From Sega's rock-infused box to...

Episode #185 - Despite featuring exciting first-looks to some of their biggest titles, there was something missing from Sony's E3 2012 press conference. Instead of propping up the PS Vita, Sony opted to spend most ...

Episode #8 - Will Nintendo announce launch games for the Wii Up? Will Sony be able to convince gamers to buy a PS Vita? Will Halo 4 work without Bungie? I have so many E3-related questions to ask...

There's nothing worse than an alien storm, unless you're playing the Genesis game of the same name! Alien Storm is more than just a sci-fi tinged Golden Axe rip-off; it's a genuinely fun two-player b...

Episode #108 - It's that time of the year again; time to drop everything and make a trek to southern California for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). This is something of an off-year, with no system an...

Episode #31 - We're back with another themed week! For the next five days we will be looking at five different ALIEN-themed video games. But don't get too excited, Ripley, because none of these games have anythin...

Episode #195 - If it's Friday, it's This Week in Defunct Games! This week we have two titans of 2D gaming squaring off. In the Wii corner it's Metal Slug 3, SNK's action-packed Neo Geo game. But don't get too exc...

We end our week-long look at RoboCop and The Terminator with ... RoboCop vs. The Terminator. Can Robo fight off OCP and take down Skynet all at the same time? It seems unlikely, but I bet he'll...