I frequently write and shoot video extolling the virtues of modern games, but seldom do I dive into anything retro. Well, recently I got to hang out with Muzz from NerdKO and was floored by his collection of games. Such a thing cannot be UNSEEN and amidst this treasure trove of classics I once held dear, I realized there were some pretty gaping (and damning) holes in my personal NES collection. So, here are 5 games I’m searching for and a little background on why that is. 1. Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers Not only did I adore this show growing up in the early 90s, but I fell in love with the video game as well. Even at my young age of only 7 or 8 I could tell that the game was solid compared to other platformers I’d played and I spent a good chunk of my summer playing through the entire thing with my Mom. As Chip (uh, and Dale) you’d run around throwing items at enemies and truthfully it had some of the best graphics around at the time. 2.Metroid Not Prime or Corruption or Other M but the plain old, regular Metroid. Which, if you’ll remember was a milestone for gaming really as you’d discover the hoer, Samus was a woman at the end. It was a pretty big Shymalanian reveal and Nintendo quickly garnered praise for creating a game with deceptively rewarding play and bonus points for shocking all of us after her adventure on planete Zebes. Personally I remember looking at my grandparents’ hand-drawn maps when they were busy beating this title when I was a child and can’t for the life of me remember what I did with my original copy. So, here I am, 20...

If you follow the history of console video games, it has generally followed this (very) rough progression: Low resolution 2D games of the Atari and Commodore era Rich, colorful 2D experiences with Nintendo, Sega Genesis, etc. Early 3D with the N64 3D for ever and ever from then on, with increasing graphical detail But, we can add to the long list of disruptive changes made by iPhones and similar devices the title of “2D revamped.” We’ve seen iphone hits like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds make more money than some 3D console games that cost many times more to make. Most console shooters, like Call of Duty, cost above the 30 million mark to produce, and that game is the exception; most don’t recoup their budgets. We could go into a whole conversation about the market’s shift from console games to mobile devices, but that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax. Today, let’s talk about some of the great aspects of 2D games, and why they persist and even thrive nowadays. Unmatched for jumping and platforming The best way to approach this is to consider some remakes of 2D games that were made 3D. For example, Bionic Commando. This game came out at about the same time as a visual refresh of the original Ninendo game. When the smoke cleared, people really liked the refresh in 2D, but were disappointed by the new shiny 3D version. Think about it. You have a game that’s based on grappling and swinging, then try to add 3D? By adding that 3rd dimension, there is the added complexity of aiming in the right direction to grapple. The second disadvantage of 3D here is visibility and obstruction. Even in a 3rd person 3D game (where you see the...