Track & Field and I have a history. No not the sporting event, I’m talking about the Konami classic Track & Field. When my brother was a kid he had the game on the NES and later picked up the Power Pad for it. For the uninitiated, the Power Pad was a floor mat controller with 12 sensors, kind of like the console version mat for Dance, Dance Revolution. My brother, sisters and I would play Track & Field in the basement of my parents house, jumping all over that mat like Lindsay Lohan jumps on an open bar. One day we made the mistake of having the dog around, he got so excited seeing people jump around that he bit me in the leg. I think my brother told him to do it, it was the only way he could beat me in the 100-yard dash.
.
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Needless to say when Track & Field became available on Xbox Live Arcade recently I bought it immediately. It’s a lot tougher as a button masher but it brings back some memories. What other titles spawn flashbacks of those heady days of yesteryear? After thoroughly searching XBLA, the Wii Virtual Console and the PlayStation Network I found some good titles, but some big guns are surprisingly absent. The big three need to quit screwing around and add the following games NOW.
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Old School Classics
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Zaxxon (SEGA, 1982) – This game was unique for its time. Gamers flew a fighter from a third-person perspective and an unusual point of view that made the game look 3-D. With revolutionary graphics and fun game play, quarters would literally jump out of my pocket any time I went near this game.
.
Excitebike (Nintendo, 1984) – A simple, yet addictive right scrolling, motocross racing game. There was nothing quite like seeing, “It’s a new record!” after getting first place.
.
Battlezone (Atari, 1980) – Now we’re talking Old School! This was an upright arcade classic that had gamers look into a viewfinder and use two joysticks to control a virtual tank. The graphics were pretty generic and the viewfinder gave kids more zits than any amount of candy they could ever consume but the game play and audio were perfect.
.
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (NES, 1992) – Easily the best Star Wars game until KOTOR and covered the entire timeline of the best Star Wars movie ever. Fight the Battle of Hoth? Train with Yoda and rescue Leia? Sign me up. This title came out before the prequels ruined Star Wars for everybody.
.
Any Madden more than 5 years old – Is there a reason this isn’t already happening? Tell me EA wouldn’t make a mint on those old Madden classics. Who wouldn’t want to see that ambulance come out on the field after cheap shotting your opponents QB? Who wouldn’t want to hear good old Pat Summerall’s drunken rambling again? Who wouldn’t want to see Terrell Davis back in a Broncos uniform? Sure you’d need to work some deals with retired players but if 2K can do it, so can EA.
.
Sunset Riders (Konami, 1991) – My love of Westerns started with this title. It was a four player shooter that three frat brothers and I blew a ton of money on. When it came out on the NES (courtesy of SEGA in 1993) I was embarrassingly giddy. Please don’t tell anyone.
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Other games I’ve mentioned before that STILL aren’t available
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NHL ’94 (EA, 1994) – Greatest. Videogame. Ever.
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Ironman Ivan Stewarts Super Off-Road (Leland, 1989) – Racing games don’t usually do anything for me but anytime I see this game (usually in an old arcade or a Chuck E. Cheese) I have to play it, dibs on the yellow truck.
.
Cyberball (Atari, 1989) – You already know about my love affair with the greatest robots-playing-football game ever, so I won’t go into details. What’s so frustrating about this title is that its been on and off the XBLA list for two years. Gaah!!!
.
Jordan vs. Bird: One on One (SEGA, 1988) – This title came out on multiple consoles but I fell in love with it on the Commodore 64. I’d clobber my poor buddy Scott (who now works for the Yahoo Search Engine) with either guy, but making it rain with Bird was the best.
.
Karate Champ (Technos, 1984) – A one-on-one tournament-style karate competition. Think of a videogame version of the All-Valley Tournament in the Karate Kid, but more realistic because a wimp like Daniel would have no chance at winning.
.
Games that should be available on every console but aren’t
.
Punch Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream – This is the Wii Virtual Console version of the 1987 NES classic Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! I guess I can understand not having Iron Mike in the game any longer (Note to self: getting arrested, biting off a guys ear and saying you’ll make orphans of a someone’s children make a you slightly less marketable) and I know this was a Nintendo exclusive but come on. Come on! Come on! This works with my mom, maybe it’ll work with Nintendo.
.
PaRappa the Rappa – This game came out on the PSP last month, this means about 5 people bought it. Don’t we all deserve to play this addictive 1997 rhythm game classic? I say yes. Don’t believe me? Don’t make me sing Chop Chop Master Onion’s Rap…because I will.
.
And finally – Bubble hockey. This will never happen because its not a videogame, its more like foosball hockey but if anybody could make this work I’d leave for the store right now. This is also hard to find, the last time I played this was at an old arcade on Lake Winnepesaukee. Some day I’m buying one for my house.
.
Two quick asides: Did anybody else hear the Bill Simmons podcast where he talked for an hour about the Madden series? If you’re a Madden fan its well worth a listen…Is Eli Manning a mute?!? I swear during the first Broncos pre-season game last night they showed that DirecTV commercial with Peyton, Eli and Matt Leinhart about 30 times and Eli looked completely clueless. Here’s how Eli’s script read: Scene 1 – Look at Peyton, Scene 2 – Look at Peyton again with a dumbfounded look. You know, like when you drop back to pass. Certainly Oscar worthy material. This is why I don’t draft him in my fantasy football league anymore. Speaking of fantasy football, look for a post on that soon.
.
Old School Classics
.
Zaxxon (SEGA, 1982) – This game was unique for its time. Gamers flew a fighter from a third-person perspective and an unusual point of view that made the game look 3-D. With revolutionary graphics and fun game play, quarters would literally jump out of my pocket any time I went near this game.
.
Excitebike (Nintendo, 1984) – A simple, yet addictive right scrolling, motocross racing game. There was nothing quite like seeing, “It’s a new record!” after getting first place.
.
Battlezone (Atari, 1980) – Now we’re talking Old School! This was an upright arcade classic that had gamers look into a viewfinder and use two joysticks to control a virtual tank. The graphics were pretty generic and the viewfinder gave kids more zits than any amount of candy they could ever consume but the game play and audio were perfect.
.
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (NES, 1992) – Easily the best Star Wars game until KOTOR and covered the entire timeline of the best Star Wars movie ever. Fight the Battle of Hoth? Train with Yoda and rescue Leia? Sign me up. This title came out before the prequels ruined Star Wars for everybody.
.
Any Madden more than 5 years old – Is there a reason this isn’t already happening? Tell me EA wouldn’t make a mint on those old Madden classics. Who wouldn’t want to see that ambulance come out on the field after cheap shotting your opponents QB? Who wouldn’t want to hear good old Pat Summerall’s drunken rambling again? Who wouldn’t want to see Terrell Davis back in a Broncos uniform? Sure you’d need to work some deals with retired players but if 2K can do it, so can EA.
.
Sunset Riders (Konami, 1991) – My love of Westerns started with this title. It was a four player shooter that three frat brothers and I blew a ton of money on. When it came out on the NES (courtesy of SEGA in 1993) I was embarrassingly giddy. Please don’t tell anyone.
.
Other games I’ve mentioned before that STILL aren’t available
.
NHL ’94 (EA, 1994) – Greatest. Videogame. Ever.
.
Ironman Ivan Stewarts Super Off-Road (Leland, 1989) – Racing games don’t usually do anything for me but anytime I see this game (usually in an old arcade or a Chuck E. Cheese) I have to play it, dibs on the yellow truck.
.
Cyberball (Atari, 1989) – You already know about my love affair with the greatest robots-playing-football game ever, so I won’t go into details. What’s so frustrating about this title is that its been on and off the XBLA list for two years. Gaah!!!
.
Jordan vs. Bird: One on One (SEGA, 1988) – This title came out on multiple consoles but I fell in love with it on the Commodore 64. I’d clobber my poor buddy Scott (who now works for the Yahoo Search Engine) with either guy, but making it rain with Bird was the best.
.
Karate Champ (Technos, 1984) – A one-on-one tournament-style karate competition. Think of a videogame version of the All-Valley Tournament in the Karate Kid, but more realistic because a wimp like Daniel would have no chance at winning.
.
Games that should be available on every console but aren’t
.
Punch Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream – This is the Wii Virtual Console version of the 1987 NES classic Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! I guess I can understand not having Iron Mike in the game any longer (Note to self: getting arrested, biting off a guys ear and saying you’ll make orphans of a someone’s children make a you slightly less marketable) and I know this was a Nintendo exclusive but come on. Come on! Come on! This works with my mom, maybe it’ll work with Nintendo.
.
PaRappa the Rappa – This game came out on the PSP last month, this means about 5 people bought it. Don’t we all deserve to play this addictive 1997 rhythm game classic? I say yes. Don’t believe me? Don’t make me sing Chop Chop Master Onion’s Rap…because I will.
.
And finally – Bubble hockey. This will never happen because its not a videogame, its more like foosball hockey but if anybody could make this work I’d leave for the store right now. This is also hard to find, the last time I played this was at an old arcade on Lake Winnepesaukee. Some day I’m buying one for my house.
.
Two quick asides: Did anybody else hear the Bill Simmons podcast where he talked for an hour about the Madden series? If you’re a Madden fan its well worth a listen…Is Eli Manning a mute?!? I swear during the first Broncos pre-season game last night they showed that DirecTV commercial with Peyton, Eli and Matt Leinhart about 30 times and Eli looked completely clueless. Here’s how Eli’s script read: Scene 1 – Look at Peyton, Scene 2 – Look at Peyton again with a dumbfounded look. You know, like when you drop back to pass. Certainly Oscar worthy material. This is why I don’t draft him in my fantasy football league anymore. Speaking of fantasy football, look for a post on that soon.
.
1 comment:
one you forgot to mention that i would like to see is n64's goldeneye. that was the best fps ever until halo. playing on license to kill with my friends was the best (as long as no one was allowed to be oddjob).
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