The HD age dawned three years ago in the video game world and brought novel gaming concepts, breathtaking graphics and crystal clear sound. Video games had never seemed closer to reality. And then something happened: the technological prowess of the consoles was also harnessed to revive ancient classics of video gaming. That means that today’s Xbox, Playstation and Wii aren’t just showing off the latest in visual fireworks, but now also have been put to work on long-lost, but well-loved classic titles as well.
That includes a new iteration of the Prince of Persia game, designed to return the series to its roots. It’s been almost 20 years since the prince first stumbled his way through dank dungeons to rescue his beloved princess.
“In terms of the core gaming concept, nothing has changed to date. It’s still about rescuing women and getting through levels using acrobatic tricks,” said Jan-Erik Sjovall, an animation artist working Ubisoft’s Montreal offices.
Want to see if differences from the original Prince of Persia game are really just marginal? No need to dust off your old computer and floppy disks. Microsoft’s online Xbox shop offers a glimpse.
“Xbox live provides a graphically spruced-up version of the original game from 1989. It really is still as much fun as it was back then in front of the PC,” video game journalist Christoph Adrian said from Berlin.
The online shop system integrated into the Xbox 360 is a good source for classic games. Adrian cites the August release of Bionic Commando as a “perfect implementation” of a game originally published in 1988. With 130,000 units sold, it has been a tremendous success for its publisher, Capcom. The high sales seem to involve more than just a wave of nostalgia.
“Even 20 years out, Bionic Commando is still a damned good game,” Adrian said.
Old games in new clothes are particularly common on the Nintendo DS. Gaming masterpieces such as the arcade classic Metal Slug or the Final Fantasy series have been finding their way out of the archives and into the hands of the console players. Some titles, including Final Fantasy IV or Sim City, certainly benefit from the specific input options for the Nintendo DS, namely the touchscreen and stylus.
Sarah Giblin does not play modern video games.
She nevertheless is a big fan of the old arcade-style video classics: “Naturally I don’t have space for hundreds of arcade games in my apartment,” the 23-year-old singer says of her unusual hobby.
One alternative is collecting the individual circuit boards that formed the heart of those arcade games and inserting them into an arcade-game shell when they’re wanted.
Another opportunity to play old classics is MAME. It’s free software that lets fans play arcade games play on the PC, the Mac, or on cell phones. The MAME system has just one big disadvantage.
“It’s illegal to play arcade games downloaded from the Internet — unless you own the circuit boards,” said Giblin. Configuring the games on the PC is also no simple matter, even for a specialist like her.
“If you want to play a non-pirated classic, then look through some game collections,” she said. Original versions of Tetris and Pacman are available for the iPhone, for example.
Yet not every reanimated video game from the old days is good: “The ports can sometimes be anything but ideal,” says Christoph Adrian.
Games collections in particular are often of questionable quality.
“The companies often just try to repackage their old games as retro without making any changes,” Adrian said.
These loveless implementations can make for a nostalgic travel through memory lane to the early days of gaming, but the fun is often quite muted.
“We’ve gotten a bit spoiled after 30 years of video game history,” Adriad said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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