RSS Feeds
racing
Namco Brings Back Pole Position On iPhone
Posted by Mike Fahey at 2:00 AM on October 1, 2008
Prepare to qualify! Namco Networks, the mobile game development and publishing arm of good old Namco Bandai has futzed around with a classic racing title and dropped it on the iPhone for a whole new generation (read: market) of gamers to enjoy. Pole Position: Remix takes the primitive gameplay of the original Pole Position, tacks on some rather nifty new controls, and charges you $9.99 for the privilege of playing it.
"Pole Position: Remix is a fun and intuitive game that anyone can take for a spin," says Scott Rubin, senior vice president, Namco Networks. "Similar to playing a racing game in an arcade, Pole Position: Remix makes you feel as if you are actually getting behind the wheel and racing on the track, screeching around turns and breaking to avoid a crash."
In a fit of nostalgia I downloaded the game this morning. It's solid, and the controls are fun, both the tilt steering and the on-screen thumb-controlled steering wheel options. It's just the gameplay really hasn't aged all that well. I need some sort of nostalgia alarm that locks my wallet when the feeling hits. If you just can't resist, PP:Remix is now available at an Apple Apps Store near you.
As it generally goes when there's high profile Wii release such as Mario Kart, the Virtual Console is keeping a low profile this week, releasing only one game on the Wii Shop Channel for your classic gaming enjoyment. At least they aren't skimping out on quality as well as quality, as this week's release is none other than Double Dragon, the story of two brothers' fight to rescue one girlfriend from a shadowy organisation hell-bent on learning the secrets of their martial arts. We are introduced to Billy and Jimmy Lee, as well as Billy's girlfriend Marion, who gets shot to death in Double Dragon II, making the tragedy of the first game all the more poignant. Double Dragon for the NES (500 points) will be available today for those of you requiring a tiny break from all that furious karting. 
Ask and you shall receive! SNK Playmore today announces that several of their most popular NeoGeo arcade titles will be heading to the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. This marks the first actual arcade gaming titles released on Nintendo's system, even if they did technically run on a console as well. Classic titles slated for the system include Fatal Fury, World Heroes, and Art of Fighting, with more titles expected to be announced in the months to come. The games will carry a hefty price tag of 900 Wii Points a pop, second only to N64 titles (at 1000 points a piece). I was reading comments from our Virtual Console update just this week and recall someone calling out Nintendo for not having NeoGeo titles for download. Well here you go, that guy. Grats!
Football season is upon us and with Tecmo Bowl already out for the Wii Virtual Console, there's only one NES pigskin game worthy of a commemorative rerelease. This morning sees NES Play Action Football (500 points) take the field. Sporting 10 real teams with real players, it is one of the most technologically advanced NES games out there, as well as being one of the few to use voice clips. For those of you who would rather be a ball than play with one, spin up Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the Genesis (800 points) and relive Sonic's first meeting with Knuckles the 
Dammit, I was trying to enjoy my Labor Day off but Nintendo had to drag me back with a special quadruple VC Update. I'll be quick, as I have a lot of nothing to get done today and an increasingly small amount of time to do it in. On the NES side of things we have Adventure Island and Donkey Kong Jr. Math (500 points each), a classic side-scrolling platformer and a baby monkey themed learning tool respectively. Were I Nintendo I would have patted myself on the back and stopped right there, but no, they had to bring us the adventures of an elf named Nigel with Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole for the Genesis (800 points), sort of a isometric Tomb Raider only with a more feminine main character. Finally we have Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure for the TurboGrafx16 (600 points), which adds an all-new two-player mode to the classic Bonk formula. There you go. Four titles guaranteed to make me have to get up off my ass and write a post on my day off. Go Nintendo! 
As of this writing I've not seen hide nor hair of Nintendo's weekly Virtual Console update press release, so I got up off my ass, walked into the living room and then got back on my ass to see for myself what had been updated, and it isn't a bad selection this week. Kicking it off we have Breath of Fire II for the Super Nintendo (800 points), one of my favourite games from the SNES era of RPGs. I'd daresay a true classic. Next we have Ghouls 'n Ghosts for the Genesis (800 points), the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins an prequel to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Finally we have Super C for the NES (500 points). The sequel to Contra, Super C sees Mad Dog and Scorpion fighting against their former comrades in arms, now possessed by aliens and transformed into horrifying creatures by...you know what? You run, you shoot stuff. It's Contra, before it got kinda crappy. Love on it. There you have it - three excellent titles and not one crappy TurboGrafx 16 title. The PR guys must have been so shocked they forgot to send the release!
Not just another retro arcade title compilation that screws with the classics with often hilarious results, Atari Classics Evolved for the PSP is over 70 games in one! Not only do you get 11 classic Atari arcade titles like Asteroids, Battlezone, Tempest, Super Breakout, and Pong in both original and evolved versions, but you also get more than 60 Atari 2600 classics. Over 60 games that were once a whole lot of fun but now only amuse for a good minute before that "Hey, I remember this!" feeling wears off. Games so simple you can close your eyes and accurately play them using only your imagination. Hell, they might even be better that way. Having said that, I still plan on picking up the compilation when it hits this autumn, if only for the joy of peer-to-peer wireless Pong. 
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is just a week away, and the VC Metroid Madness continues with the release of Super Metroid (800 points) on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. This is what I think of whenever people talk about Metroid. I'd go as far as calling it one of the best 2D adventure games of all time. Of course the sheer awesome exuded by Super Metroid doesn't take anything away from this week's other two entries, which were...um. *rereads press release a few times* Oh yes! Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (800 points) for the Sega Genesis, which features Joe Shinobi realising he screwed up years earlier and Neo Zeed is still alive and kicking. Instead of committing seppuku for his failure he tries to sweep the whole thing under the rug. Amateur. Finally we have Neutopia, the complete and utter Zelda ripoff from Hudson Soft for the TurboGrafx 16 (600 points). Still a fun game - just not a very original one. Hit the jump to see what Nintendo's crack press release writing team has to say!
It's Metroid Monday! Today's VC update brings Samus Aran's debut video game to the Virtual Console lineup. Metroid for the NES (500 points) introduced the world to that five note musical intro that still gives me happy chills every time I hear it. It's part of the Month of Metroid leading up to Metroid Prime: Corruption's release on the 27th. Shining in the Darkness for the Genesis (800 points) is not, but it is still a fine example of a first-person dungeon romp RPG. Rounding out this week's trio is Cratermaze (600 points), a maze game featuring a time travel theme. Opi must rescue his friends from the villainous Zenzombie using...bwahahahahaha! Zenzombie! That's so awesome. Anyway, two excellent games including an opportunity to brush up on your Metroid skills in time for the big day...or you could just battle the evil Zenzombie *wipes at tears*. Your choice! 
