• Tag Archives Nintendo 64

  • GamePro (November 1997)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly were really the two biggest video game magazines throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s. I preferred EGM myself but picked up an occasional issue of GamePro. The November 1997 issue of GamePro includes:

    Features

    • Tomb Raider II – A preview of this 3D adventure game sequel for the PlayStation that, at the time, was one of the most eagerly anticipated sequels.
    • Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi – This Star Wars fighting game wasn’t really one of the best in the Star Wars franchise.

    SwatPro Strategy Section

    • Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee PlayStation ProStrategy Guide – A stragegy guide for this PlayStation classic strategy/platform game. This was an awesome atmospheric game but it got pretty hard as you progressed.
    • Vampire Savior Arcade ProStrategy Guide – A strategy guide for this arcade horror based fighting game.
    • The Fighter’s Edge Street Fighter EX Plus (PlayStation) – Part 1 of a two-part strategy guide for the latest Street Fighter game on the PlayStation. There were many.
    • Final Fantasy VII PlayStation ProStrategy Guide, Part II – The second in a three part series for one of the most iconic Final Fantasy games.

    ProReviews

    • PC GamePro – Reviews of Shadow Warrior, Fallout (the original!), Lose Your Marbles, XCar, Hexen II, Daikatana, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity, Earthsiege 3, Take No Prisoners, and Prey.
    • Nintendo 64 – Reviews of Mace: The Dark Age, Top Gear Rally, Clayfighter 63 1/3, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!.
    • PlayStation – Reviews of Nightmare Creatures, Colony Wars, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, Nuclear Strike, G Police, Mega Man X4, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, Steel Reign, Parappa the Rappa, Bushido Blade, Maximum, Ghost in the Shell, Tecmo Stackers, and Golden Nugget.
    • Saturn – Reviews of Marvel Super Heroes, Sonic Jam, Sega Ages, and Sky Target.
    • Sports Pages – Reviews of Madden 64 (Nintendo 64), NHL ’98 (PlayStation), NASCAR ’98 (PlayStation), Madden NFL ’98 (Saturn), PGA Tour ’98 (PlayStation), Jimmy Johnson’s VR Football ’98 (PlayStation), Bottom of the 9th ’97 (PlayStation), NHL Breakaway ’98 (PlayStation), NFL Quarterback Club ’98 (Nintendo 64), NBA Live ’98 (PlayStation / preview), NHL Face Off ’08 (PlayStation / preview), CART World Series (PlayStation / preview), NCAA GameBreaker ’98 (PlayStation / preview), NBA In The Zone ’98 (Nintendo 64, PlayStation / previews), and FIFA: Road to World Cup ’98 (Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Saturn / previews).
    • Role-Player’s Realm – A detailed look at Final Fantasy VII.

    Departments

    • The Mail – Letters from readers about family gaming, game endings, Saturn support, and more.
    • Buyers Beware – Readers warn about Dark Rift (Nintendo 64), used video games, and more.
    • ProNews – An animated MDK show, Diddy Kong Racing announced, Banjo-Kazooie Delayed, patent disputes, Jeff Gordon video games, and more.
    • NetPro – A look at Aliens Online.
    • Overseas Prospects – A look at new releases in Japan including F-Zero 64 (Nintendo 64), Tobal (arcade), and a re-release of Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64).
    • The Cutting Edge – A look at Sega’s next generation hardware, what would eventually become the Dreamcast.
    • Sneak Preview – Previews of Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation), Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo 64), MDK (PlayStation), Critical Depth (PlayStation), WCW Nitro (PlayStation), WCW vs. NWO: World Tour (Nintendo 64), Test Drive 4 (PlayStation), Moto Racer (PlayStation), Bomber 64 (Nintendo 64), Courier Crisis (PlayStation), Ray Tracers (PlayStation), Mega Man Neo (PlayStation), Extreme-G (Nintendo 64), Shipwreckers (PlayStation), Jet Moto 2 (PlayStation), Intelligent Qube (PlayStation), Point Blank (PlayStation), Pac-Man Ghost Zone (PlayStation), THN MotorSports Hardcore 2, AeroFighters Assault (Nintendo 64), Shadow Master (PlayStation), Deathtrap Dungeon (PlayStation), Rampage World Tour (PlayStation), and Mischief Makers (Nintendo 64).
    • Hot in the Arcades – A look at some of the latest arcade games including Armageddon from Acclaim and Vampire Savior from Capcom.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana DOS Nintendo 64 PlayStation Retro Games Sega Saturn 📎and tagged

  • GamePro (February 1997)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: GamePro – February 1997

    Along with Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro was one of the most popular gaming magazines for a long time. In 1997 is was primarily covering the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn and was also still covering the Super NES, Sega Genesis and Neo Geo. It also had a little PC and arcade coverage. The February 1997 issue includes:

    Cover Story

    • Killer Instinct Gold – A preview of ths $80 cart for the Nintendo 64 and is basically a combination of Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2.

    Special Features

    • Resident Evil 2: The Horror Continues – The first sequel to the immensely popular survival horror game on the PlayStation.
    • Have Gun Game, Will Travel – A somewhat humorous light gun game that combines both first person and side-scrolling sections. It can be played with one or two players.

    SWATPro Strategy Section

    • Mortal Kombat Trilogy – A strategy guide for Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. As the name suggests, this game is really a combination of the first three Mortal Kombat games.
    • The Fighter’s Edge: Virtua Fighter 3 – A complete move list for all characters and how to counterattack in Virtual Fighter 3 in the arcade.
    • Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey – A strategy guide for this arcade hockey game featuring various secrets and cheats.
    • Madden ’97 – A strategy guide for this early Madden game on the PlayStation.
    • SWATPro – Codes and various tips for Twisted Metal 2 (PlayStation), Tomb Raider (PlayStation, Saturn), Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Nintendo 64), and lots of other games.

    ProReviews

    • PC GamePro – Reviews of Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Duke Nukem 3D Plutonium PAK, SkyNET, and MDK.
    • Nintendo 64 – Reviews of Killer Instinct Gold, and Cruis’n USA.
    • PlayStation – Reviews of Tomb Raider, Dark Forces, Ten Pin Alley, Power Slave, PitBall, Burning Road, Robotron X, Hardcore 4×4, The King of Fighters ’95, Dare Devil Derby, Starwinder, Iron and Blood, Samurai Showdown III, Tempest, Machine Head, and Tunnel B1.
    • Saturn – Reviews of Bug Too!, Crusader, Virtua Cop 2, Area 51, Virtual On Cyber Troopers, Batman Forever: The Arcade Game, Spot Goes to Hollywood, and Crime Wave.
    • Super NES – Reviews of Street Fighter Alpha 2, Prince of Persia 2, Incantation, and War 3010: The Revolution.
    • Genesis – A reviews of Williams Arcade’s Greatest Hits.
    • Sports Pages – Reviews of NFL GameDay ’97 (PlayStation), NBA Hang Time (Nintendo 64), Andretti Racing (Saturn), Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition (Saturn), NBA In The Zone 2 (PlayStation), NFL ’97 (Saturn), NHL ’97 (Saturn), NBA Hangtime (Genesis), NBA Shoot Out ’97 (PlayStation), FIFA Soccer ’97 (Nintendo 64),
    • Role-Player’s Realm – Reviews of Dragon Force (PlayStation), Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (PlayStation), and Persona (PlayStation).

    Departments

    • Head-2-Head: Letter from the GamePros – Discussion about 3DO’s upcoming new M2 system.
    • The Mail – Letters from readers about 3DO, secret codes for Twisted Metal 2, Tecmo’s Deception, and more.
    • Art Attack – Reader submitted artwork.
    • Buyers Beware – Modifying your PlayStation to play Japanese games, Nintendo 64 controller problems, Xband support, and more.
    • ProNews – N64 and PSX game releases delayed, including Shadows of the Empire, Curis’n USA, Tetrisphere, Turok, Mission Impossible, and others; Virtual Boy discontinued; and more.
    • NetPro – How to play online games via TEN.
    • Overseas Prospects – A look at Sony PlayStation Expo ’96 in Chiba, Japan. Some new games shown include Final Fantasy VII, Puzzle Fighter, Rockman (Mega Man) 8, Ace Combat 2, Soul Edge, and more.
    • Sneak Previews – Previews of upcoming games including Spider (PlayStation), City of Lost Children (PlayStation), WCW vs. The World (PlayStation), League of Pain (PlayStation), Carmageddon (PlayStation, DOS), Rush Hour (PlayStation), Peak Performance (PlayStation), and Test Drive: Off-Road (PlayStation DOS, Windows 95).
    • Hot at the Arcades – A look at Mace: The Dark Age, a 3D fighting game from Atari Games.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • NFL Blitz (Nintendo 64)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The field used to be a bit more varied when it came to football video games. These days, it seems like Madden is the only thing anybody plays. NFL Blitz is another series of football games that was first introduced as an arcade game in 1997. It was also ported to a few home platforms, including the Nintendo 64, the following year.

    NFL Blitz was definitely more of an arcade style game vs. being a strict simulation of the game. For instance, there were only seven players per side instead of eleven and each player could typically perform a number of rolls. It wasn’t unusual, for instance, for a wide receiver to also pass the ball. There are no timeouts (though the clock stops after every play) and extra points are automatic but can be randomly missed on occasion. Also, a lot of things that would be penalties in a real NFL game are not penalties in NFL Blitz. Late hits, pass interference, and things that would normally be considered unsportsmanlike conduct are all just fine in this game.

    These differences mostly serve to create a more fast paced and exciting game. This would have been especially important in an arcade setting where a true simulation would just take too long. Those that are dead set on a more accurate simulation of the game might not find this one satisfying but it is still a fun football-like game.

    NFL Blitz was a popular game on the Nintendo 64. Despite the liberties taken with realism (or maybe because of them) it is still a blast to play. Back in the day, most football games took quite a few liberties. Street Sports Football, Tecmo Bowl, and Cyberball are a few of my favorites that come to mind. None of them approached the realism of a modern day Madden (and most didn’t try). It never stopped them from being fun.

    Like Madden, NFL Blitz was a series of games of which this was only the first. In addition to the Nintendo 64, the first game was also available on the PlayStation, Windows, and Game Boy Color. I think that the Nintendo 64 version was the most popular though. Perhaps because fewer football games were available on that system. It also tended to get higher review scores that the PlayStation and Windows versions though they all seem to have been well regarded. NFL Blitz 2000 and NFL Blitz 2001 were sequels that were also released on the Nintendo 64. There were also later sequels but these were released on newer systems.

    If you are a fan of football video games then this one is worth checking out even if you prefer your games with a bit more realism. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any re-releases so you’ll have to track down an original version for the system of your choice or make do with emulation. I suspect that the use of NFL licenses means that this game will never be re-released.

    Screenshots above are all from the Nintendo 64 version of the game.


    📂This entry was posted in Nintendo 64 Retro Games 📎and tagged