Masterpiece Grimlock
Takara really knows how to make these Masterpiece Transformers. Recently they released Masterpiece Grimlock in Japan. It looks like another well done figure with lots of really cool features. A few of the gimmicks that I have seen include: you can change eye color from blue to red, a light in his hand makes his sword light up, and moving his tail make his head move in dino mode. These Masterpiece figures are unfortunately quite expensive and Grimlock is no exception. Most import stores are charging $150 for this bad boy. All the others have run around $100 imported. Luckily for me, Hasbro has released most of these in the U.S. as well, so the only Japanese one I have is Megatron since I know there was never a chance of that one coming to the U.S. The Hasbro imports are usually half the cost running around $50 and even at that price it takes me a while before I bite the bullet. However, because of that I have missed quite a few. Takara reissued the prime version in White as Ultra Magnus, Starscream was also recolored for Skywarp and Thundercrack, and they also came out with an ultimate Prime that even included a huge trailer. Hopefully we’ll get Grimlock here sometime. It will probably end up as an exclusive like Starscream who was a Wal-Mart exclusive and even then I only ever saw it at one Wal-Mart.
Here are some pics a member on tfw2005.com took of the figure and last is a group shot of the figures I own.
Skype and Wolf3D for iPhone
A few new apps have been released for the iPhone the last week or so. The first is Skype. I haven’t used Skype as much as I used to, but I think an iPhone app is a great idea. The only stipulation is, that you can only use Skype for calls when connected to wifi, which I am sure was a requirement of AT&T. The service is great if you don’t have a landline and use your cell phone at home a lot. You can get unlimited calls to anywhere in the U.S. for only $2.95 a month! You can also talk to anyone on a computer with the Skype client for free. The call quality is amazing which was the thing that got me hooked on Skype in the first place. The other nice thing with this app is it works on the 2nd generation iPod touch, so now the touch is also a VOIP phone making it closer to an iPhone. Here are some screenshots of the Skype app.
Here are the links to the skype’s website as well as the subscription plans.
Now for the fun one. Last week ID released the source code for an iPhone version of Wolfenstein 3D. They also officially released the game in the app store for $5 which isn’t a bad price. Because the source code was released, someone also compiled it themselves and released it on Cydia for free on jailbroken iPhones. I decided to try it for free to give it a try and I am pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to control and use. Wolfenstein is considered the game that really kicked off the first person shooter craze. I used to play it back in the day on our 386 computer running at a whopping 16 mhz. 
ID has also stated that they are working on porting the Quake series to the iPhone and I can’t wait to see how they pull those off. Here are some screenshots from the iPhone version of Wolf 3D.
Punch Out Coming to the Wii
The classic NES game punch out is being remade for the wii. It looks like it will be a fun game with all the classic characters. A little factoid about the original. The first release of the game was called Mike Tyson’s punch out which featured Mike Tyson in the last fight. The game was released around 1990 as Punch Out and the Mike Tyson character was renamed Mr. Dream. It is said that this is because Nintendo’s contract to use the likeness of Tyson had expired.
Here are the two box arts for each version and below is the preview for the new Wii version.
Retro Weekend
This weekend I didn’t quite get a lot of time to play some games, but I wanted to save one of the best for last. The game I chose was Lunar: The Silver Star. I think many people passed or do not know about this game from the original release because it was only available on the Sega CD. Lunar is an RPG game very similar in play like the Final Fantasy series. I was one of those lucky enough to have saved up for a Sega CD and borrowed a copy of the game from a friend back in the day. Those that have played RPGs know that you can not just sit down and beat the game in a few hours. These games take some serious time. As such my plan is to go through the game every time I get a spare moment. I’ll post once I finish. After the Sega CD release the game has been reissued on other consoles. It was ported to the Sega Saturn in Japan, ported again to Playstation in japan and U.S. and the most recent is a port to the Gameboy Advance.
This game was probably one of the first RPGs to be released on the CD format. The Sega CD version has anime style cut scenes with voice dialog, but in game you still have to read text like other RPGs at the time. It also has an amazing CD quality soundtrack which was also another advantage of being released on CD over cartridge.
Here is an excerpt from the wikipedia page about the rave reviews this game received.
The English version released the following year met with a similar response, with Skid of GameFan magazine calling it “far and away the best RPG I have ever played in English”, praising the game’s graphics, sound, and story as “well conceived and executed”.[29] The magazine’s editors would later name it as the greatest role-playing game of 1993.[2] GamePro similarly reviewed it as “not just the best Sega CD RPG ever, but one of the best on any Sega system”, giving particular merit to the game’s translation.[31] Game Players described it as a “solid RPG, and well worth your time” but found fault in the game’s small character graphics that “look like every other RPG” and the virtually non-existent replay value.[32] Electronic Gaming Monthly granted the game an average 7.6 or “worthy” rating, commending the game’s background music but dismissing its battle sequences as “dull”.[28] In 2006, Lunar ranked 113th in EGM and 1UP.com’s “The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time”, celebrating the two-hundred games that were considered the best during their original release.[35]
Here are a couple screenshots from the game.
Retro Week Day 4
Tonight I spent quite a bit more time playing. First off I beat Street Fighter 2 Turbo using Ryu again. It looks like my average time with any Street Fighter 2 game is about half an hour.
Tonight I decided it was time to give the Super Nintendo some love. The game I chose was Super Castlevania IV. This game is definitely my favorite of the series even though I have always been a fan of all the games. For being a launch game they really made use of all the abilities of the Super Nintendo. The music, graphics, and sound effects go well with the game to create the spooky atmosphere. This was the first time in my life that I sat down and played straight through the game. It took me roughly two hours and a couple continues.
There was never a U.S. commercial for Castlevania IV. I think by this time the series was popular enough that advertising wasn’t needed. Instead here is a youtube clip showing what the final battle with Dracula is like. It shows right off how the game developers were able to create the mood of the game. You get the eerie music, the torches that light up as you approach them, the scrolling dark clouds in the distance, and the prince of darkness himself Dracula. Enjoy!
