New releases for the week of mysterious frogs and head trauma

CB Droege 15 Dec, 2009 at 10:43pm ET Article published in Gaming

Blaster Master

I usually don’t feature Virtual Console releases (since they’re technically re-releases), but as it’s a slow week otherwise, we’ll take a quick look at the Virtual Console release of Blaster Master. In this classically confusing game, players take on the role of a boy named Jason as his pet frog accidentally mutates into a giant form, and tumbles through a hole in the earth. In the hole Jason finds the SOPHIA III, an experimental vehicle with some modular capabilities. Using the Sophia and many weapons that he finds along the way, Jason must traverse vast underground caverns in search of the frog. On his quest he discovers an evil mutant empire, and defeats its many leaders—including the final Plutonium Boss, who is ironically the easiest boss in the game due to his inability to turn left. Blaster Master is one of the NES’s most recognizable games, and is best known for its inherent difficulty. Due to the inability to save or continue, one only finds a few gamers who have ever even seen past the first few levels. Downloading this game might put you in store for some nostalgia, but don’t be surprised if it’s still too frustrating to actually play more than once every few months.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

The only interesting new release this week is the cross-platform Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The new entry in the prolific Silent Hill series features the same flashlight-heavy gameplay of previous titles—this time with a theme of memory, and how it shapes us. The protagonist this time is Harry Mason, a loving father who wakes up in Silent Hill after crashing his car on the deadly winter streets. His daughter missing, he sets out into the cold night to search for her, but not much else is clear to him. Along the way he’ll meet up with four women: A veteran detective who questions Harry’s motives, a young woman waiting for her boyfriend to come pick her up from a high school reunion that only she remembers, a nurse with a head wound, and an old friend that Harry can’t remember any details about. In addition, players will be subjected to “Therapy sessions” throughout the game. Not the protagonist, mind you—the therapist, Dr. K, will be speaking directly to the player during psychological test that the player will “actually experience” (whatever that means). Silent Hill Shattered Memories can be purchased in Ye Olde Icrontic Gaming Shoppe.

Following is a list of this weeks announced North American releases:

PC

Brukkon
Europa Universalis III: Heir to the Throne
EverQuest Underfoot
Manga Fighter Season 2

Wii

Diatomic
Moki Moki
Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Stunt Cars
Blaster Master (VC – NES)
Earthworm Jim 2 (VC – Genesis)

DS

Bejeweled Twist
Littlest Pet Shop
Master of Illusion Express: Matchmaker
Miami Nights: Life in the Spotlight
Reader Rabbit Kindergarten
Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam

Xbox360

Konami Classics Vol. 1

PS3

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PS2)

PSP

Army of Two: The 40th Day
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3

Comments

15 Dec 2009 ~ 11:32pm primesuspect I don't know what you're talking about. Blaster Master was an amazing game and not mind-bogglingly difficult. I beat it, and many of my friends beat it as well.

Not like Battletoads or Ghouls and Ghosts. Those games were legend. It was whispered that there had been a boy... In the faraway land of Japan... that had been able to defeat those games...
15 Dec 2009 ~ 11:33pm primesuspect On that note: Blaster Master was a freaking awesome game, and one of my favorites ever. This is an exciting virtual console release.
15 Dec 2009 ~ 11:34pm BuddyJ But could he swim through the dam level in TMNT?
15 Dec 2009 ~ 11:35pm Thrax I've never heard of Blaster Master, but I found Battletoads relatively easy, and Ghost'n'Goblins was a total mindfuck.
16 Dec 2009 ~ 12:28am TiberiusLazarus Blaster Master was a freaking amazing game. Tried to play through it so many times, but always ended up having to stop before I could finish. Was actually just thinking about those times a few days. How ironical.
16 Dec 2009 ~ 10:24am Colgere Blaster Master - Definitely an awesome game. Difficult, but not impossible to beat. Glad to see it is now on the VC, I'll definitely pick it up.

TMNT - That water level drove me nuts, but I also loved this game growing up. I think it's also on VC, will check later.

Ghosts 'n Goblins - I agree with Thrax, this game was probably one (if not THE) most difficult games ever for the NES. Once I did finally beat it, I swore I would never go through that torture again....

One game I'd like to see on the VC: Maniac Mansion. I spent more time playing this game back in the early 90s than I care to admit....
16 Dec 2009 ~ 6:29pm Cliff_Forster Colgere, With the Steam releases of many classic Lucasarts titles, I am miffed at the omission of Maniac Mansion. I just don't understand how so many marginal games made the cut and they overlooked that classic.

Anyhow, you know what the single more frustratingly difficult game ever made is? The NES classic, also yet to be released on VC, RC Pro AM. That game is so infuriatingly hard due to the the first attempt at rubber band AI. That game cost me a couple of controllers when I was a kid.

Blaster Master is tough, Battletoads also, Ghouls and Ghost's also for the truly hard core, but if you can complete all 32 of RC Pro-Am's tracks without the aid of a Game Genie, you are a God amongst gamers.

Poor kids, they will never know a truly infuriatingly difficult gaming experience. The just don't make em like they used to.
16 Dec 2009 ~ 6:48pm Winfrey Reader Rabbit Kindergarten fuck yes!
18 Dec 2009 ~ 12:43pm UPSLynx Nothing like the Wii sharing a multi-platform release with the PS2 and the PSP :/

Seriously, that drives me up a wall. Lack of AA alone in that screenshot made me first wonder if it were a DS title.
18 Dec 2009 ~ 12:47pm UPSLynx Cliff! RC ProAM! My brother and my cousin played the crap out of that game growing up, it was one of our favorites!

The notorious gold car getting that unstoppable speedboost. I remember, you could hear it rev up, and no matter how far ahead you were, you knew the race was over for you.

My cousin was the best of us three, and we would play it over and over at every family get together. He eventually got good enough that he could beat the 32 races without cheating (we never had game genie). The races restart at a harder difficulty - much like Atari games would do. I think his record was a little over 40 races before it just became too difficult to continue.

I still have that game, and Slicer and Hitman and I played it just last week at our family Christmas.