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http://www.defunctgames.com The latest articles from Defunct Games. http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/251 Christmas came a little early for all the mascot-loving PlayStation Plus subscribers, because this week’s update brought us three classic platformers. That’s right, fans of Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch have a lot to celebrate this month, as PlayStation 5 owners finally have access to Jak & Daxter, as well as both Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. That’s genuinely exciting news, but are any of these games worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Edge and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Get ready for some cartoon shenanigans and double-jump your way into a new episode of PlayStation Plus Review Crew! Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1782 A love letter to Wario, Antonblast is the most mid-90s game you’ll play this year. Between the chaotic art style and inventive level designs that have you jumping in and out of the foreground, this side-scrolling platformer is full of surprises. You’ll look forward to each new boss battle, with each bigger and crazier than the last. Sure, some of the levels do drag on a bit too long and the way the stages are chopped up is a little annoying, but you’ll be having too much fun to even notice these minor issues. In a year filled with great platformers, Antonblast is one of the best. Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1781 Making a sequel to a beloved cult classic film can be fraught with dangers, but the 2002 version of The Thing manages to perfectly capture the fear and paranoia that made the 1982 movie so iconic. The characters are a bit bland and the narrative isn’t all that compelling, but the squad-based gameplay is both fun and full of tension. You never know when one of your teammates will turn on you, making each playthrough an unpredictable experience. While some of the stage designs and gameplay quirks feel a bit outdated by today’s standards, Nightdive has done a wonderful job expanding on the best elements of the original game and giving fans something that they can be proud of. The Thing: Remastered is yet another solid upgrade for Nightdive Studios. Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/250 Oh Nintendo, you tricksters! Last week, when they announced that the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Tetris would be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online, we thought that as it. But here we have the great Alexey Pajitnov revealing that the December 12th update will also include Tetris DX, one of my favorite versions of the 40-year-old puzzle game. That’s cool news, but are either of these versions worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Zone, Nintendo Power and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Get ready to experience a little bit of déjà vu in this puzzling episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/249 If you’ve been on this Nintendo Switch Online adventure with me, then you’ll know that there were long stretches where Nintendo didn’t release anything. Now, with only a few weeks left in the year, suddenly we can’t go a day without Nintendo announcing something new. Just one day after revealing the release date for Tetris, they give us Donkey Kong Land III on the Game Boy. And that’s not all, because Japanese subscribers (or those who can cleverly switch regions) were treated to the Game Boy Color remake from 2000. That’s cool news, but is this game actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Nintendo Power, Gamers Republic and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when this game first came out. I sure hope you’re ready to complete the trilogy, because we’re going bananas in this episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew! Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/248 A few months ago, while announcing the existence of Tetris Forever, Nintendo revealed that their Nintendo Entertainment System version of Tetris would be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service later in the year. Many assumed that this would coincide with last month’s release of the Tetris compilation, but that didn’t happen. We instead got Donkey Kong Land. And then Donkey Kong Land 2. The good news is that the wait is almost over, because Nintendo will finally get around to re-releasing their version of the game on December 12. That’s cool news, but is this game worth playing? To answer that question, I flipped through the pages of Game Zone, Nintendo Magazine System, Aktueller Software Markt and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when Tetris was first released. I sure hope you’re ready to match horizontal lines, because it’s time for another puzzling episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/matchup/7/ In this corner, we have the ruler of rolling starts, Daytona USA, the arcade smash hit that was destined to be the Saturn’s first killer app. In the other corner, we have Ridge Racer, the PlayStation launch game from Namco that came ready to compete. These two racing games represented the first major battle in the 32-bit console war that pit the Sega Saturn against the Sony PlayStation. But what did the critics say 29 years ago? Was it hotly contested or was there a clear winner in this fifth-generation showdown? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer & Video Games, Die Hard Game Fan and more classic magazines that reviewed both of these racers back when they first came out. Today we’re going to see where the critics landed and maybe, just maybe, settle this debate once and for all. Watch yourself, the next corner is tough, because this is going to be a speedy episode of Magazine Match-Up! Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1780 If you already own the 2017 version of Shadowhand, then don’t bother with this repackaged version. Shadowhand Solitaire offers the same characters, the same art and the same story, all while simplifying the head-to-head combat. In an effort to make the game more friendly to casual gamers, Grey Alien has removed one of the best and most compelling elements from the original game. While that’s disappointing, there are still hundreds of puzzles to solve and a gripping story full of twists and turns. I would say that you’re better off buying the original game, but Shadowhand Solitaire is here to give you the choice. Choose wisely. Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/247 519 days. That’s how long it has been since Nintendo uploaded a Genesis game to the Nintendo Switch Online. Now, after a year and a half, the long wait is finally over and three classic Genesis games have been added to the Expansion Pack. I’m talking about games like Mercs, Vectorman and ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. That’s genuinely exciting (and unexpected) news, but are any of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Die Hard Game Fan, Mean Machines Sega and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Try to contain your excitement for another episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/246 It hasn’t even been a full week since the original Donkey Kong Land hit the Nintendo Switch Online, and Nintendo is back for more jungle fun! That’s right, Diddy and Dixie are back in Donkey Kong Land 2, the newest game to hit Nintendo’s subscription service. That’s pretty cool, but is this game actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Nintendo Power, Computer & Video Games and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when this game first came out. I sure hope you’re okay with being drip-fed Donkey Kong games, because that’s precisely what’s happening in this episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/245 After two months of exclusively supporting the Expansion Pack with games like Turok 2, Banjo-Tooie and F-Zero: GP Legend, Nintendo has finally thrown a bone to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Or is that a banana? That’s right, we’re monkeying around this week, because Nintendo announced the Game Boy classic, Donkey Kong Land. That’s cool news, but is this game actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Die Hard Game Fan, Game Informer, Hyper and more classic magazines that to see what the critics said back when this game was first released. Get that DK rap ready, because it’s time for another hairy episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew! Fri, 22 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1779 With its stylish visuals and addictive turn-based combat, there’s a lot to like about VED. It walks the line between fantasy and science fiction, giving us an ambitious story full of warring factions and colorful characters. While I love that it swings for the fences, the sloppy storytelling and an insufferable hero get in the way of the adventuring. Still, if you can overlook some writing issues and characters who are constantly making weird decisions, you’ll find a fun role-playing game with a lot of fresh ideas. And, if nothing else, VED is a masterclass on how to do amazing world-building in a short amount of time. Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/egmranks/82 Believe it or not, EGM reviewed a total of 11 games in the extended Shining universe. That includes a lot of Shining Force games, as well as Shining Wisdom, Shining Tears, Shining Soul, Shining the Holy Ark and more. Sadly, they did not get around to reviewing Shining in the Darkness, the first entry in the long-running series. They also missed out on a bunch of the PSP games released after the magazine was shuttered. That sucks, but I think you’ll agree that we have more than enough games here to make a great list. What we’re going to do today is countdown the best and worst Shining Series games using Electronic Gaming Monthly’s own words and scores. There’s no editorializing here, we’re just going to focus on what the critics said back when these games first came out. I sure hope you brought some powerful sunglasses, because the future is bright when EGM Ranks Sega’s Shining Series. Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/244 Here we are at the end of the week and Nintendo didn’t announce a single game for their two subscription services. Sony did announce classic games for PS+ owners, but they are Blood Omen 1 and 2, which we covered earlier this month when we looked at the complete Legacy of Kain franchise. Thankfully, Square Enix has come to the rescue by releasing the much-anticipated Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, the first of three announced updates to 8-bit entries in the Dragon Quest series. With everybody excited to dive into this brand-new remake, I wondered what the critics thought of the original games back in the 1980s and 90s. Were these early installments as celebrated as they are today? To answer those questions, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Video Games & Computer Entertainment and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. Get your sword and shield ready, adventure seekers, because this is Dragon Warrior Review Crew. Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1778 Now that we’ve looked at the Wider World of Atari, Digital Eclipse returns with an Atari 50 expansion pack that chronicles the very first console war. Through interviews, archival footage and a bunch of games, we see the VCS battle Mattel’s Intellivision, a more powerful piece of hardware from a fierce competitor. While not as flashy as the main game, this expansion offers a surprisingly great selection of games, including real stand-outs like HardBall, Antbear, Dark Cavern and Frogs & Flies. While I have a few small issues with the presentation and lack of additional Lynx and Jaguar games, none of this should overshadow what could very well be the final chapter in one of the greatest video game compilations of all time. Wed, 13 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/matchup/6 In this corner, we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, the Super NES beat ‘em up based on the arcade smash hit. In the other corner we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, a console-exclusive brawler that brought the Turtles to the Genesis for the first time. These are two of the most-popular beat ‘em ups of all time, and an important part in the Genesis vs. Super NES console war. But what did the critics say 32 years ago? Was it this hotly contested or was there a clear winner in this 16-bit showdown? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Mean Machines, GamePro and more classic magazines that reviewed both of these brawlers back when they first came out. Today we’re going to see where the critics landed and maybe, just maybe, settle this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debate once and for all in this pizza-loving episode of Magazine Match-Up! Wed, 13 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/courant/1777 Tetris Forever is more than a collection of 18 games; it’s a harrowing history lesson into the complicated story of bringing Tetris to the world. It’s also a celebration of the puzzle game, taking us on a guided tour of the evolution of the franchise and its continued relevance in the industry. Through compelling interviews and amazing archival footage, we feel like we’re actually there every step of the way, and all that’s before we’ve played a single game. You don’t have to love Tetris to enjoy this newest entry in Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master Series, but I have a hunch that Tetris Forever will make you fall in love with the story of Tetris. Mon, 11 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/243 Here at Defunct Games, we love Nightdive. Over the last few years, they’ve managed to breathe new life into a lot of outdated first-person shooters through expertly-made remasters. This includes loving updates of the Turok games, Blade Runner, Dark Forces and even The Thing. With so many classic games getting the Nightdive upgrade, I thought it might be fun to give the Atari-owned company the Review Crew treatment, starting with two 3DO games that were recently re-released – Killing Time and PO’ed. That’s genuinely cool news and I love that these lesser-known shooters are getting a second-life on modern consoles, but were these games worth playing back in 1995? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Next Generations and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. I sure hope you brought a swimsuit, because this is the debut episode of Nightdive Review Crew. Fri, 08 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/egmranks/81 Believe it or not, EGM reviewed a total of 18 games in the Tetris franchise. That includes many versions of the classic computer game, multiple attempts to refresh the series and even a few oddball spin-offs that you might have forgotten about, like Wordtris and the Blastris game that came with the Super Scope. Unfortunately, Electronic Gaming Monthly didn’t share their opinion of Hatris or the Nintendo-published Tetris game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. But even without those titles, I feel like we have a strong list that covers a surprising amount of consoles. What we’re going to do today is countdown the best and worst Tetris games using nothing more than Electronic Gaming Monthly’s own words and scores. There’s no editorializing here. We’re just going to focus on what the critics said back when these games first came out. So get ready to line things up perfectly, because this is what happens when EGM Ranks Tetris. Mon, 04 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.defunctgames.com/reviewcrew/242 There hasn’t been a new Legacy of Kain game in two decades, but 2024 was a great year for the series. Not only are we getting a brand-new remastered collection of the first two Soul Reaver games, but Evercade also released their own compilation that included both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. That’s cool news, but are any of these games worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer & Video Games, Next Generation and more classic magazines to see what the critics said about the entire franchise back when the games first came out. Get ready to push some crates, because this is a blood-sucking episode of Legacy of Kain Review Crew! Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800