PlayStation Underground

Video game magazines are an awesome thing. They let you know about the past, present and future of video game. In 1997 Sony tried something different and came out with a CD magazine call PlayStation Underground.



The first issue came out exactly 14 years ago today. It was a quarterly CD magazine that was a very great Idea. They also would release PlayStation Underground Jampacks which would give you a taste of what certain issues had to offer. The best part of the Jampacks is they would only cost $4.99. You could get 4 issues for $29.99. The PlayStation Underground was an awesome thing. It had two disks. Disc one would have interviews, codes, downloadable content and much more. Disc two would have game demos and preview videos of games. You could also unlock Easter Eggs if you hit the right button combination. On disc two of Issue 2.4 you could see the music video “Got the Life – by Korn”. In issue 4.1 there was an unlockable video tutorial for Syphon Filter 2. You had to enter a code to unlock the video and to find it out you had to look through the two discs and it would occasionally show you part of the code. When I unlocked it I found a few parts of the code and then I just guessed at the rest and got lucky. PlayStation Underground was a great idea. We had access to tons of codes, demos, videos and DLC before we had internet available on game consoles. The last issue was issue 5.1 and it was released in the 3rd quarter of 2001. The last issue was also the only issue exclusive issue for the PlayStation 2.Sony had an awesome idea realizing a CD magazine. Today we have internet magazines like EGMi (which is an awesome magazine). We can also download demos of games from our consoles. So in a time when we couldn’t do that PlayStation Underground was there.

To learn more about PlayStation Underground and what the issues had to offer click here.

Game(s) of the Day: Pokémon Black & White

Today’s game(s) of the day are Pokémon Black & White. I bought the Black Version but there aren’t too many differences between the two versions. If you have played any of the Pokémon games you know this to be true. Now Pokémon games all pretty much have the same style of game play so the originality is not very high with these versions, but if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. They really did an overhaul for the graphics. The graphics are awesome when you walk into a city it really looks like a city and you will see people walking down the street and everything. They have introduced triple battles in this version I haven’t done one yet, but I’m very excited about this feature. When you play through the game you can only catch the new Pokémon in the Unova region. Once you have beaten the Elite Four and the champion you will get to catch Pokémon from other game as well as the ability to trade Pokémon from previous DS versions of Pokémon games. One really cool thing is the inferred technology they added so that you can battle someone right then and there without got to a link station in Pokémon Center. Pokémon Black & White are awesome games if you are a fan of the series it’s definitely work picking up

Check out this video of a triple battle.

Princess Daisy's Video Game Confession

How much do you know about Princess Daisy? Find out about the real Princess Daisy when she visits the Pixel Palace and confesses to Dominic the bartender. She spills her guts and you need to know about this.




If you can't see the video click here to watch the video.

Click here to see more Video Game Confessions.

The see more of Doug Walker's videos check out That Guy With The Glasses.

Top 11 Best Black Video Game Characters

Check out my revised list.

Black History Month is a time to reflect back on all the great black people who made a different in the world. People like the North Carolina A & T Four, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and many more have made a huge impact on the world today. In Honor of Black History month I have made a top 11 list of the best black video game characters that have made an impact in video games. Why top 11? Like the Nostalgia Critic I like to go one step beyond.

11. Adam/Skate – Streets of Rage Trilogy – These guys are rock. Adam was in the 1st Street of Rage and he gets kidnapped in Streets of Rage 2. That is when his 11 year old brother Skate joins the team to save his brother. Skate is also in Streets of Rage 3 on his roller blades taking out bad guys. These brothers tie for the eleventh spot on our list because they are hardcore fighters.

10. Balrog/Dee Jay– Street Fighter Series: These guys are awesome Balrog is a Boxer who is a tough brute I remember the first time I fought him he tore me up. Dee Jay is a cool Kickboxer from Jamaica. These guys both differ in personality Balrog being a bad guy and a stone wall, and Dee Jay being a cool guy who can fight and loves to have fun. They tie for the tenth spot because they are both great boxer and great characters in the Street Fighter series.

9. Mr. Sandman – The Punch-Out!! Series: This guy has been in every punch out that I can remember he is very notable for having very fast and explosive moves. He is one of the toughest guys to fight in any of the Punch Out games. I remember in Super Punch-Out!! on the SNES after knocking him down twice he jumps up and comes at your with a barrage of attacks and you have split seconds to get in and hit him. If you are not quick to dodge him you will get knocked out even if you haven’t been knocked down once.

8. Mike Tyson – Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!: If you have ever reached Iron Mike Tyson in this game you know how bad ass he is. He can knock you down with just two punches and that’s only if you have full health. Tyson is beatable but its takes and lot of trial and error and I have yet to beat him. I will defeat him one day though. He was a great boxer in real life and he is a great boxer in the video game world.

7. Eddy Gordo – Tekken 3 – He is an excellent fighter in Tekken 3. He is a master of the Brazilian fighting style Capoeira. He is also a break dancer which really helps his fighting. He can beat you up while walking on his hands.

6. Michael Jackson – Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker – Michael Jackson wasn’t only a great singer and dancer. He was an awesome Video Game character as well. He could use magic to make his enemies dance and after then dance they would die. He didn’t just defeat his enemies with Magic and Dancing he also was able to transform into Robo-Michael. When He became Robo-Michael he could fly around and shoot laser and missiles and annihilate his enemies. For this reason he claims the number 6 spot on the list.

5. Captain David Anderson – Mass Effect Trilogy – Captain Anderson isn’t a playable character in Mass Effect, but he plays a very important role in the success of Commander Shepard’s Mission. He also help Shepard in his pursuit of becoming a Specter. Captain Anderson is an awesome role model and Mentor to Shepard. Captain Anderson is also voiced by Keith David making him even more awesome because Keith David is awesome too.

4. Barret Wallace – Final Fantasy VII – He has a gun arm do I really need to say anything else? I will say something else thought he is an awesome party member for Cloud and he is very powerful as well. His limit brakes are awesome his level 4 limit brake is called Catastrophe and he pulls hot magma out of the ground into his gun arm and he destroys his enemies with it.

3. Roland the Solder – Borderlands – Roland is a true solder. He can regenerate his ammo and if a team member is low on health he has an ability where he can shoot his teammate and it heals them. He is a natural leader and he is an essential person you want to have on your team.

2. Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson – The Halo Series – Sergeant Johnson is a take no crap kind of guy. He always has a cigar in his mouth and will fight whatever is in his way. He once hijacked a Scarab and then teamed up with the Arbiter to take out the brute Tartarus. His one liner are awesome as well.

1. Augusts Cole a.k.a. Cole Train - Gears of War Trilogy – Cole is the best character in all of Gears of War. He is there so that you don’t shoot Baird because Baird is a jackass. Cole is by far the best character on this list. The first time you encounter him you know he is a true bad ass. He always has something cool to say and he it freaking awesome. He gets the number one spot because you can’t stop the train baby.

Other Notable Characters: Sergeant Foley – Modern Warfare 2, Zack – Dead or Alive Series, Coach – Left 4 Dead 2, Louis – Left 4 Dead, Romeo – Halo 3: ODST, Shaq – Shaq Fu, Doc Louis – Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! & Punch-Out!!, Fortune - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Jacob – Mass Effect 2, Jax – Mortal Kombat Series, Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2

There are so many other characters that haven’t been named and there will continue to be more in the future so you may see a new list next year. We will just have to wait and see.

Final Fantasy VII remake rumors. Is it really coming out?

We have all heard the rumors about a remake of Final Fantasy VII. Final Fantasy VII is not only my favorite Final Fantasy game it is my favorite game of all time. I love this game and to see a remake of in my opinion the best video game of all time would be awesome. This game did so much for the series and it was the first Final Fantasy on the Playstation. It also has made a few spin-off games and a great movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. This was the perfect sequel. I’ve been hearing rumors for a long time. I then came across a blog post today saying that a remake of Final Fantasy VII has been confirmed on the PS3 (to check out the blog post click here). The post says the game is expected to come out during the 4th quarter of 2012. That should give me plenty of time to save my money to buy a PS3. That’s right I don’t own a PS3 yet I would like one and if they release a remake of FFVII I will be getting a PS3 just for this game. I really hope the rumors are true and that this remake of FFVII is confirmed. I want a remake of FFVII made and it needs to be done as long as they do take away from the first game. All the game needs is a graphics upgrade the story needs to say the same. I came across a technical demo of a trailer for a remake of FFVII and it shows the intro of FFVII with upgraded graphics I hope you enjoy this video.

I hope this game is going to be remade I am optimistic that it will be but you never know. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and I hope all you Final Fantasy VII fans are going to do the same.

My Top 11 Games of 2010

Well 2010 is over and we are in 2011 and it should be another great year in gaming. Here is a top 11 list of games that I thought were the best of 2010 that I played. Why top 11? Like the Nostalgia Critic I like to go one step beyond.

11. Lego Harry Potter Years 1 – 4 - I love the Lego games. I grew up playing with Legos and its great they makes games based on great movies and comic books like Star Wars and Batman. Lego Harry Potter brings you to Hogwarts in the Lego Universe and its tons of fun.

10. Super Street Fighter IV – This game is more than just an expansion of Street Fighter IV. It added more characters and more game modes it’s an awesome game from the Street Fighter series and it keeps its old school feel.

9. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Finally a 3D Castlevania that is very good. This game is awesome and Konami bringing on Hideo Kojima for this game was the best thing they could have done. This game is awesome and it has a very awesome battle system.

8. Bioshock 2 – This is the sequel to one of my favorite FPS games. You take control of the first Big Daddy and you get to dual weld weapons and plasmids. It’s a great sequel to a great game with a great story line. Bioshock 2 keeps the eerie dark atmosphere that made me love the first Bioshock.

7. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies – The Dragon Quest series is a solid series and Dragon Quest IX is a perfect addition. Every Dragon Quest game has a similar party/battle system and that’s what keeps people playing these games.

6. Donkey Kong Country Returns – When I heard they were making a new Donkey Kong Country and E3 I was so happy. This game is just like the original games. The multiplayer is the best in this game you can play simultaneously with a 2nd player. This is an awesome addition and if you played the any of the older Donkey Kong Country games you will understand what I mean. me

5. Halo Reach – This is the Halo that was perfect for Bungie to go out with. This game was awesome with a solid single player campaign, but the multiplayer is where this game excels. With more options of game play, better matchmaking, and best of all a beefed up Firefight which is my opinion was the biggest improvement to multiplayer. I’ve been a Halo fan from the beginning and this is an awesome game for the series.

4. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair – This is a great 2D Castlevania and the best part of this game is that it’s multiplayer. This game was designed to be played multiplayer you can play single player, but you should build up a character first before you play single player. You can choose from a great cast of characters which include: Soma Cruz, Alucard, Jonathan Morris, Shanoa, and Charlotte Aulin. You can also download an extra level and extra characters which include: Yoko Belnadas, Julius Belmont, Maria Renard, and Richter Belmont. Some characters may share similarities but there are have their differences. This is a great game for the Castlevania fans

3. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty – When this game finally came out all the Starcraft fans flocked to the store to get this game. It took Blizzard long enough to release it, but if you know Blizzard Entertainment they will not release a game until they believe its fully ready for release. Even after its released they are constantly releasing update patches. This is a perfect sequel to an awesome RTS. If you are a fan of Starcraft you must game this game. If you aren’t a fan of Starcraft or Real Time Strategies you might want to check this out because it’s an RTS anyone can get into. The reason is not only does it have solid multiplayer it has a solid single player campaign and not many RTS games have the best story line for a single player campaign.

2. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn – This is the must own game for the Nintendo DS. This Golden Sun game is the best in the series. They have improved on everything in the game. The first two Golden Sun on the Game Boy Advance in fact Golden Sun is the reason I went out and bought a Game Boy Advance just so I could play Golden Sun. The battle system in Dark Dawn is better because if you played the first two games if everyone targets the same enemy and that enemy is defeated the remaining characters that haven’t attacked will just defend. In Dark Dawn they just switch to the next enemy and attack them. Golden Sun is a solid series you don’t have to play the first two Golden Sun games to get into Dark Dawn. Dark Dawn takes place 30 years after the 2nd game ends. Regardless of if you have played the first two Golden Sun games or not this is still a must own.

1. Mass Effect 2 – This is the best game of 2010 it came out in January 2010 but nothing could top it. This game is a masterpiece. The guys at Bioware really know how to make a game. Mass Effect 2 improves on the first Mass Effect in so many ways. The best part of this game is that you can import your character from Mass Effect and continue the story in Mass Effect 2. This is so great because people remember who you are I remember doing something good for someone and they said in the first Mass Effect they owed me a drink. When I bumped into her again she did just that. The Character development is so great and the great voice acting is awesome especially from Keith David (who is awesome in everything he does) as Captain David Anderson who depending on your choice in Mass Effect will be Councilman Anderson or Admiral Anderson in Mass Effect 2. You don’t have to play the first Mass Effect to enjoy Mass Effect 2, but in my opinion the game is much better if you import a character from Mass Effect 1 into Mass Effect 2.

There were many great games that were made this year. Sadly I was not able to play every game. So there are a few Games I haven’t played from 2010 that I want to play and demos don’t count. Here is a top 5 list of best games of 2010 based on looks and reviews alone.

5. Rock Band 3 – If you played Rock Band 1, 2 or even Lego Rock Band there isn’t too much of a difference between the games except a few upgrades and new playlists. Then Rock Band 3 comes along and added a keyboard and a pro guitar/bass. I really want to try out the keyboard and I’m not too crazy about trying out the pro guitar because it’s just another guitar to buy and I already have 2 guitars. It’s cool they are trying to make the game more realistic so that it feels like a real guitar. They have made a lot of innovations to this series and that’s why I want this game.

4. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX – I love Pac-Man. I have played the original Pac-Man Championship Edition and it was fun but this game looks awesome and it had very good reviews. I can download this game from the Xbox Live Arcade but I’m running out of space on my hard drive I still haven’t upgraded from a 20GB hard drive and once I do I can download this game.

3. Red Dead Redemption – This game have gotten perfect scores across the board. I’m not too big a fan of western games but this game might change my mind. The game looks awesome and what I’ve heard it truly lives up to the hype.

2. Kirby’s Epic Yarn – I love Kirby games. This game looks awesome and seems to be simple fun. The game has gotten decent reviews. I like Kirby games and I really want this game.

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops – Some people would say I’m stupid for not getting this game the day it came out but I really couldn’t. I still haven’t played it but I really to play this game. I’m a huge of the Modern Warfare series and I’ve been told that Black Ops stays true to Call of Duty. Black Ops wasn’t made my Infinity Ward but most people don’t seem to care. I really want this game because Modern Warfare 1 & 2 are my favorite FPS games to play online. Once I can I will be getting this game and I hope I can get it very soon.

Well that’s the games of 2010 that made an impression on me. I’m looking forward to see what the games of 2011 will bring to the table. I will also not forget the games that came out in the past years. There are still many games I need to play and I hope to get to play all these games very soon. I hope you all are ready to play some games this year because there are some great games coming out like: Marvel VS Capcom 3, Pokemon Black & White, Mass Effect 3, Hopefully Diablo III, and many more. I hope everyone has a great year of gaming.

Game of the Day: Punch-Out!! 1984 Arcade

Today’s game of the day is Punch-Out!! the arcade version.

This game was released in 1984 and is the first game in the Punch-Out Series. The first game I played in the series was Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! The first time I played the game was December 31, 2010 when I came across the game in the arcade at my local mall. You don’t see many arcades around anymore where you can play a game for 1 quarter. My local mall is small and hardly has anything in it but it has a nice arcade but that’s another blog post. I was so excited to see this game so I played the game. The game play style was different but the strategies for beating characters like Glass Joe or Bald Bull are along the same lines. The controls are a little different but the Punch-Out series has kept the same feel for all its characters throughout the series. This game is awesome and it’s always nice to see where one of your favorite game series started. If you get a chance to play this game do it so you won’t regret it. I took some pictures and a video with my cell phone and I apologize for the low quality for the video and pictures my camera isn’t the best with quality. I hope you enjoy this quick video I shot and the game play video I found on YouTube.

More Pictures



My Video

Punch-Out!! the arcade game by madcupid

Game Play Video