New Strider Game Announced!!!

Capcom has announced that they are publishing a new Strider game for both current and next gen Microsoft/Sony consoles, as well as the PC. The game, which is being developed by Double Helix (the development studio currently working on the new Killer Instinct game for the Xbox One) will be released in "early 2014." Click HERE to read all about it, as well as to look at additional screenshots/video not posted below.

Here is a quick comparison between the old and new (click the link above to see several more screenshots of the game in action):

Strider For the Sega Genesis

Strider in 2014

Gameplay footage:

I cannot wait to jump back into the boots of the ninja Hiryu....2014 cannot come soon enough!

Nostalgia: Do You Experience It? Also, A Hypothetical Situation.

Nostalgia: Do You Experience It? Also, A Hypothetical Situation.

Many gamers experience a phenomenon referred to as nostalgia. What this is, for those who do not know, is a feeling of longing for the past that is fraught with (often times) bittersweet sentimentality. Specifically, in reference to video games, nostalgia is a longing for a time in which certain video games systems, and certain video games, were current. The gamer was younger, and they were experiencing beloved games from what is now their past as brand new, cutting edge, and exciting. An example of this is someone remembering their  birthday in 1991, a day during which they received a Sega Genesis console with two games and they spent 10 hours that day playing those games with their brother, and hours more every day of the week for years afterwards. They remember this and they long for those days. They wish they could go back to them, and they feel like nothing these days reaches that level of emotional impact and/or just plain fun.

Ninja Gaiden (Arcade), II (NES) and III (NES) Heading to the 3DS?

Possibly fantastic news for old school Ninja Gaiden fans: Ninja Gaiden (arcade), Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES) and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES) appear to be heading to the 3DS via the virtual console feature.

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?title=ninja+gaiden&fromHome=fromHome

That is, if you believe the listings for said games on the ESRB's website (linked above; screenshot below). I do, as news pertaining to the addition of other games heading to digital distribution channels like Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console have been leaked via ESRB listings in the past.

Please, please let this be true! If it is, that means there will be FOUR Ninja Gaiden titles on the 3DS (there's (apparently...unless it has been cancelled) an original Ninja Gaiden title in development for the little handheld that could). FOUR!

If this is indeed true, will you be purchasing any of these? I know for sure I will buy Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (one of my all time favourite games). Ninja Gaiden arcade is a probable, but not certain buy. Depends upon the price. I'm not a big fan of it but it's decent. I'll probably skip Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, as I don't really like that entry in the series.

P.S. As of now, the first NES Ninja Gaiden title (simply titled Ninja Gaiden) is not listed for the 3DS. I don't know why, and I hope that changes, because it's an excellent game, and even though I own it on the NES and the Wii I will still purchase it for the 3DS. It's not as good as the sequel that was released a year later on the NES, but it's a very good game in its own right.

Ninja Gaiden theme - Xianning

Ninja Gaiden 4-2 忍者龍剣伝 ファミコンギター 鮮烈のリュウ

忍者龍剣伝 NINJA GAIDEN on piano

My Gaming History Pt. 2

This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I recall my 20+ gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Part Two (Part One can be found HERE)

And so, morning, as mornings inevitably do, came.

And so did I.

My Gaming History Pt. 1

Welcome to part one of a new several part long blog series on The Thoughtful Gamers. This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I, magx01, recall my 20+ year long gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Ninja Gaiden Series Retrospective

Final Fantasy. Sonic the Hedgehog. Super Mario. Half-Life. Metal Gear. Halo. Resident Evil. Kirby. Call of Duty. Dragon Quest. Diablo. Gran Turismo. Ask a gamer what video game series is their favourite, and you'll often hear them name one of the above, along with a multitude of other diverse answers. One series that, for reasons I cannot understand, seems to get overlooked, even though many of the entries in the series are among the best of the genre on their respective platforms. The series to which I am referring is none other than Ninja Gaiden.