Two-Player Mayhem!

So, as I said in my first post, my best friend of twenty years is moving to Minnesota for his job.

We've definitely had some great memories, triumphs, and certain things that are better left forgotten. But one of the things that we will never forget and will always share is our love for video games. Even while he's in the land of 1000 Lakes and I'm in the Golden State, we can still kick butt together through Xbox Live or PC gaming. To honor his departure, we had our last beer and taquito fueled all-nighter playing our favorite two-player games on our favorite console, the NES.

This is a list of what we played throughout the years, and our favorites for whatever strange reason. So here we go!



5. Contra Force

Okay, so don't get me wrong. We do play the original Contra and Super C, but Contra Force holds a special place in our hearts. The four characters have their own special weapons that can be upgraded. How can you go wrong with dudes named Burns, Iron, Smith, and Beans? When we first played through I thought they were A-Team rejects. But as the game went on it was fun to play as the different teammates and their various weapons. The levels were interesting enough. The one where you jump from chain to chain took a few tries. Maybe we were retarded, but on the overhead level with the boats we didn't know where to go. We just kept running back and forth shooting. Of course you needed to go on one of the smaller boats! Duh! The boss fights are definitely interesting. I remember one dude who was three times bigger than any other character, and another boss who would run around and you had to chase him throughout the level. Some might argue this isn't a true Contra game (being it was originally titled Arc Hound in Japan and never released), but it's still some fun run 'n gun two player action!



4. Double Dragon II

Before Scott Wolf graced us with his presence in the movie, and the laughably bad cartoon (http://youtube.com/watch?v=mIkxocQoaHA) there was the game. Double Dragon taught me never to trust anyone named Abobo and to watch my back for shadow warriors. My bud and I enjoy taking on the roles of Billy and Jimmy Lee and kicking and punching our way to save Marian. In the first game, you could only trade off with your friend to control the character. But DDII featured both brothers in simultaneous beat down action. This game is especially memorable for all of the traps. There are many numerous AND annoying traps. The one that gave us the most trouble was a level that had a bunch of jumps you had to make in a row. Wow, what an unnecessary hassle. Despite the traps, it's fun to co-op your way through while taking out dopplegangers with Hyper Uppercuts and Whirlwind Kicks!



3. Battletoads

Ah yes, one of the most infamously difficult games for the NES. What can you really say about Battletoads? Rash and Zitz had to rescue fellow toad Pimple and Princess Angelica from one of my favorite NES baddies, the Dark Queen (she's really hot). The road to their rescue was definitely not easy. The game features some crazy difficult levels. The first two aren't bad, but the difficulty ramps up (literally) when you jump on your hover bikes and maneuver past inconveniently placed walls and crevasses. That level gave us the most trouble. It took a couple tries to make the second of the big jumps. Now honestly, this is the one game on the list that we never beat! It was just that hard. Even with Game Genie codes. Still though, with the memorable characters, awesome music,and just plain silliness, Battletoads lives up to the hype.



2. River City Ransom

This is it right here. The ultimate beat 'em up. High school gang kids destroying each other over a kidnapped girlfriend. But if you ask me, Alex and Ryan didn't need a reason to kick some serious butt. Featuring such memorable gangs as the Frat Guys and the Generic Dudes, RCR made you wonder where the teachers were during all this. You basically ran around the city beating up gang leaders until you found out where main baddy Simon was. The game play was simple enough, but the cool part was buying food and books to upgrade your stats and learn new moves. You could grab a Tuna Roll, Cornish Hen, Merv Burger, Roman Shake, or Love Potion, or relax in the sauna. Plus, you could take out the "Infamous Dragon Twins" Randy and Andy. HAHAHAHA!The game continues to have a cult following.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI1ETfJ_HSM)


BARF!

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II The Arcade Game & The Manhattan Project

Yeah, I was a HUGE TMNT fan when I was a kid. Along with Ghostbusters, these were the two franchises that I worshipped. More than Transformers, He-Man, or Thundercats. So when I got my first NES, this was one of the first games I played. Even today, me and my friend burn through this game and its sequel, The Manhattan Project. You picked your favorite terrapin ninja (mine was Leo), and fought your way up to who else but the Shredder. Sure, the gameplay is very simple, but the fact that it was the Turtles keeps us engaged. Waves of Foot Soldiers in all the colors of the rainbow (and then some) would try and stop us, but their attempts were feeble. Even the desperate ninjas with machine guns and lasers were no match. Who knows how many Foot Soldiers were blown up during our twenty year rampage? I could discuss these games in great length and give you all a play-by-play as we wield our NES game pads yet again, but Rocksteady needs to be taught a lesson. Sorry Shredder, but you will never dine on turtle soup!

Gas or Games?

You know those commercials with the talking cars made by Chevron? Yeah you do.
Well I saw one recently with one car complaining to another that it doesn't
get the same Techron gas as the other. Shut up please! The last thing I want to see on TV is anything about gas. Gas, and the lack of it in my car, has prevented me from doing a few things this summer.
This includes purchasing items that entertain me, like video games.

So, the question is, where will my funds be spent this summer?

The last game I bought was GTA IV, and it is definitely a game that can suck up your life.
The last time I filled the tank of my 2002 Toyota RAV4 it cost me $3.99 a gallon.
It's been nearly three weeks since then and gas around my city is up and around $4.50.
This has caused me to change my driving habits and walk to my destinations whenever possible.
I had a free pass to ride the local light rail and buses when I was in school, but that ship has set sail. Ahh regrets...

Now, the Swedish kid who's been staying at our house since November says us Americans are spoiled, and that our gas prices are nothing compared to Sweden.
He is correct in that Scandinavia indeed pays about $6.50 a gallon, but they tax everything there. And kids get paid monthly to stay in school, but that's another topic.
Of course, our dollar is worth less than Euros and Krons, public transportation is not as good, our cars aren't as fuel efficient, we pay for our own healthcare...etc.

What this really translates into is that summer is going to be rough on my wallet.

I'll be using the train more to visit friends/watch baseball in San Francisco, but even that has been affected by gas prices. More cars at the station I park in, less seats on the train, me running across busy expressways across traffic Frogger style to make the bullet train.

This has also led me to do something I've avoided my whole life, budget.

Which games will I indulge myself with in the upcoming months?
Let's take a look...Wii Fit, Metal Gear Solid, DBZ: Burst Limit, Soul Calibur 4, Bionic Commando, Top Spin 3, Madden 2009, Battlefield: Bad Company, Resident Evil 5, Final Fantasy IV, Alone In the Dark, Hellboy, Ghostbusters. Narrowing down the list to two or three titles will be tough.

How will you spend your summer cash?

The End of the Beginning

So here we are. June. The weather is reaching 90 degrees +. Gas is almost $4.50 a gallon. My brother will be coming back from Cal Poly soon, our Swedish exchange student will be departing back to Västerås, and my best friend will be moving to Minneapolis.

This initial post is just to get oriented with what this blog is "all about". Basically, anything that tickles my fancy is fodder for my musings. Video games, funny videos, interesting articles, sports, and lessons in life. So read up.