The Hellhole: Crash Bandicoot 2 - Emergency Broadcast

News of Microsoft's purchase of various publishers and assets prompts an emergency broadcast of another PlayStation classic: Crash Bandicoot 2. Intro antics continue to evolve in new and delightful ways.

The Hellhole: Die Hard Trilogy

What began as an off-the-cuff acknowledgement of the slightly ridiculous username "Mick Lucifer", and a generally dubious standard of quality, now becomes a title. A Very Hellhole Christmas puts the "Hellhole" name in writing with the first elaborate intro, and a second foray into broadcasting PlayStation.

This stream proves significant for both the game audio being strangely out of synch -- and capturing the gradual realization that I'm going to be unwell on Christmas Day. Testing ruled out COVID-19, but this would otherwise derail the streaming experiment for longer than intended.

The Hellhole: Porsche Challenge

Exploration into live video game streaming continues with the first attempt at broadcasting a title from the original PlayStation library. There is some noticeable crackle in audio that will be corrected in future streams. Otherwise, the novelty of wielding older tech proves amusing -- even if returning to a once favourite game proves relatively fruitless. Like riding a bike, it ain't.

Songbook: Body in Motion

CoLD SToRAGE - Body in Motion (1996) [Original Post (Day 256)]

1UP: The Actual Decade Ends and I Give A Crap!

[Roughly] this time last year, I capped off a busy blogging epoch with thoughts about the then immediate gaming past, present, and future.

This somewhat incorrectly labelled "Decade-Ending Review to a Kill" was an informal discussion based on the topics and obssessions that fuelled much of my time on 1UP to that point. It was underscored by a general sense of skepticism that accompanied the assumptions of the current console generation. Having spent significantly less time blogging in the last six months, I don't have as many thematic throughlines as I did at the beginning of 2010, but I don't expect that will have changed my feelings a great deal...

One of the biggest differences between then and now is that I'm knee deep in relatively contemporary gaming. I've learned to stop worrying and love owning a current console myself, and it is good. Owning a console myself hasn't miraculously changed my perspective on gaming and life, but the timing for me was right. For the most part, I still like the same types of things, and still have the same prejudices, but at least now I can loathe the latest first-person shooter making waves, with a wireless control in my hand, and an active internet connection.

Full Article: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9068305

Mortal Kombat: The Lost Kingdom of Aqua

I've recently been writing about and collecting information regarding a supposedly elusive unlockable Mortal Kombat character called Aqua.

MK is noted for it's secrets and wacky sense of humor, but this character seems to be the work of whichever studio handled the PlayStation port for Mortal Kombat Trilogy, specifically a late version, the Greatest Hits or Platinum Edition. Two magazine articles include screenshots, one from the Official UK PlayStation Magazine Beat 'em Up Special of 1999, and another from an Official Australian 2000 Collector's Edition: 100 Best PlayStation Games counterpart special by the same magazine. This might also suggest it was a PAL region exclusive.


With help, I was able to rip video of the character's ending sequence from a ROM, but haven't yet been able to unlock the character. I'm told it involves holding select whilst choosing Rain, but there must be some additional method to unlocking the character. Not surprising, given the lengths we've had to go to reach other characters in previous MK's, such as Meat and Noob in MK4, or Jade and Noob in MKII.


The only other video to emerge, so far, is amateur footage of the same ending sequence filmed (poorly) on a television. Not much of an addition, but we might as well start to pool all references in the one place. If you've stumbled upon this page, and you have additional info, please post it in the comments!


Edit July 2, 2011: Apparently a thumbnail screenshot has emerged from the darkened recesses of the web, which may have been partial inspiration for MUGEN creations based on the character. Edit November 6, 2011: Over on MKO, JiminyCroquet has identified the watermark as coming from a pre-Gamespot videogames.com, which explains the V. If anyone has the original fullsize image, contact me!!!

MK Aqua aka; Aquilluxborg Hydroxybot links:
- Mortal Kombat: They Don't Talk About HIM Anymore... [1up.com article]
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy Aqua is Real!!! [Angefire site]
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy: Super Unlockable Aqua Ending [YouTube video]
- Amateur MKT Treasures Ending TV Footage [Yfrog video]
- Aqua Wins [Soundbyte] [YouTube video]
- Official UK PlayStation Magazine 1999 Article [ImageShack jpeg]
- Aqua Gameplay Screenshot Thumbnail [ImageShack jpeg]
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy [Wikipedia article]
- Secret character [MK Wikia]
- Rumored Mortal Kombat Characters [Compendium]
- Os lutadores "secretos" de Mortal Kombat [Portuguese Blog]
- Unlocking Aqua? [GameSpot Forums]
- You know who should really be in this game? [GameSpot Forums]
- Aquilluxborg Hydroxybot ending [GameSpot Forums]
- Unlocking Aqua? [GameFAQs Forums]
- Aquilluxborg Hydroxybot for Mortal Kombat 2011!! [Forum Post]
- Rumored Mortal Kombat Characters [Forum Post]
- Aqua in Trilogy [MKO Forums]
- When do yous think these characters will ever be offical? [MKO Forums]
- Rumor for MK10 [MK Wikia Blog]

Trying to keep up with Aqua info/references I'm finding. Thought it would be fun to try to keep track of tweets about him, too. Hit me up @TheMicker if you want, so I can add your tweet to the list.


Edit November 6, 2011: Still trying to keep up with any and all Aqua news/developments [tweet me if you've got something]! RoboMelvana has a video up with a quick preview of his MUGEN Aqua [1:47-2:48], which is pretty cool. It's a good start with some tweaks to come. Not quite 100% accurate, but you know how demanding us Aqua fanboys can be. Hope to see more like it!

Apparently a fan-art project is going to include Aqua in their drawn catalogue of characters, but not until some time next year, so I'll try to keep my eye out for that when it happens. If you weren't around earlier in the year, you might also like to find the Aqua reference in MKO's April Fools joke.

MK Aqua Fakes/Tributes
- Top Fighter 2011 II: World Battle [MUGEN]
- Top Fighter 2011 II: World Battle [MUGEN]
- sucky preview of top fighter 2000 mkviii 2: world battle [MUGEN]
- MKA KAF: Aquilluxborg Hydroxybot 1 [YouTube Video]
- MKA KAF: Aquilluxborg Hydroxybot 2 [YouTube Video]
- Mortal Kombat Aqua [DeviantART]
- Mortal Kombat Armageddon : Kreate a fighter [Forum Post]

MK Aqua on Twitter
- http://twitter.com/TRMK/status/38106471589883904
- http://twitter.com/#!/Clastichead/status/77758725640822784
- http://twitter.com/#!/Clastichead/status/88442936265687042
- http://twitter.com/#!/TravisColenutt/status/75771268691013632

AdVantage Point: Final Fantasy VII (1997)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book and let him to pick out all the advertisements for video games.
This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, stream of consciousness.

 

If, by chance, you've read a a slice of my previous meandering blog rants, you've probably observed enough to know I'm far from any kind of RPG expert, or fan. About the closest I've come to seriously playing an RPG is Wonder Boy or X-Men Legends. That said, in 1997, even I had to stand up and take notice of this hot little game setting the entire world aflame with awesome.

I say "little"...

The thing that amazes me the most about Final Fantasy VII isn't any of it's technological feats or qualities of storytelling and gameplay, but rather, the longevity of excitement it's maintained. I'm largely ignorant to most of the sequels it's spawned, but have been educated enough by Final Fantasy fanboys to know that there are diverging canons, as opposed to sequential instalments. Actually, as a storyteller myself, I find that aspect of Final Fantasy very refreshing and exciting. More companies could do with investing in the regular creation of characters, rather than grinding some of their icons into the ground. My point, however, is the awe I feel for a game that's had so many pseudo-sequels but maintained such strong dedication.

Back in 1997, the overwhelming fandom, though alien, was easier to anticipate.

The PlayStation, as I so regularly and romantically note, was already a cultural phenomenon by this time. Actually, at least where I was at the time, 1997 was becoming the turning point for the console. It was the upward movement on the parabola of it's success and that excitement was rubbing off on any release worthy of some note. The mounting anime craze in Western mainstream culture worked in tandem to give FFVII an immediate pointy-haired hook to at least the sponge-bathed of the unwashed of the masses.

A lifetime of comics and video games in healthy doses meant I was just washed enough to be included in that bunch despite a lack of funds, or any precedent of RPG interest. Rather than blindly purchase, it was the Blockbuster rental that would provide me my only experience with FFVII. Oh, what a mythological moment it was, indeed.

 

After sitting through an FMV sequence ending with an Abe-esque locomotive transition into the real-time action, I was ready to dive into the most talked about game of the month. Dive I did, indeed, running from the trainstation into an abrupt instruction to insert the second disc.

Yes, you might notice something wrong with that scenario.
I admit, I was a little surprised, but so unfamiliar with the prospect of multi-disc console games that I was happy to go along. At least, until the second disc loaded and I got my arse kicked by whatever spider-legged mecha-monster I happened upon that toppled my chibi-bobble heads one by one. Or at least, that's the faint memory of the event. I never played FFVII again, or really gave any other Final Fantasy a shot, after that. I'm a little bit ashamed of my ignorance, but take solace in the fact that it was much less an issue of one bad experience, as much as it was relative disinterest.

If I'd known someone at the time more inclined to playthrough a Japanese RPG, I probably would've been content to contribute as co-pilot, but as that wasn't the case, it was the end of my experience. Considering that Croc featured prominently as one of the much-hyped alternatives that I actually did find myself owning, I'm not so sure my shame is entirely misplaced. Hey, like I said, at the time, anything of note was benefitting from the association of PSX hype.

Despite my.. "Negative" isn't the right word..
Despite my obtuse experience with Final Fantasy VII, even I can appreciate the nostalgia pop of it's distinct polished grime and giant sword-gun iconography. The E3 announcement of FFVII's release for PSN download did very little for me personally, but seemed like a great opportunity to reminisce, and add a very striking image to our catalogue of advertisements.

Of final note is the bold inclusion of "Only On PlayStation" in the ad.
Just another footnote to the success Sony haven't found with the PlayStation 3 when compared to it's former glory. FFVII might not have meant a huge amount to me personally, but alongside other games prominent in '97, like; Abe's Oddysee, PaRappa the Rapper, Wipeout 2097, and Twisted Metal: World Tour; it was part of a variety of exclusive options that made the console very attractive. Attractive in ways the PS3 has struggled to replicate.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8994363

Musi(c.)PSX: Open Your Mind '97 (1997)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

USURA - Open Your Mind '97 (1997)

When I renewed efforts to make use of 1up's super-cool free blogging tool, I wasn't sure how long I'd actually last.
As it turns out, almost as if to support the argument contained within some of them, something resembling an on-going discussion has formed over the past few weeks worth of posts, emerging inadvertently from common elements to a particular timeframe. I guess that's what stream of consciousness is all about.

Persistent rantings dedicated to romanticizing the PlayStation eventually led us from experimental dance music, to the Wipeout games, to overlapping influences, to the turn of the century, to the Matrix films and games. The latter subject became eerily topical with Sony's announcement to disconnect the Matrix MMO coming a day after our discussion [AdVantage Point: Matrix Online].

To round out the week I thought I'd take it easy, finishing up with the 1997 rerelease of the '92 dance classic, Open Your Mind. The title of the track comes from the line sampled in the song from the film, Total Recall, which features a handful of comparisons to the Matrix, including it's themes of uncertain realities, simulation, and pill-based escapes (from aforementioned uncertain realities).

In the various doe-eyed rants about the PSX a recurring theme has been the way the console (and generation) was able to reinvigorate imagination within the industry, effectively rendering everything established in gaming as a brand new playing field. The transition from side-scrolling 2D platformers, to 3D action-adventure games, is a prime example of this fundamental rethink.
This kind of referential adaptation by technology has been at the very heart of dance music, embodied quite purely by the practise of remixing. Open Your Mind '97 quite literally took something old, changing very little to modernize it for a re-release.

Next week's E3 will almost certainly attempt to roll out familiar elements repackaged for a rerelease in 2009 and 2010. Among them, the expected announcement of Sony's PSPgo. Also on the way will be more news from Steve Harris, who will also be dusting off the old to make it new with the timely resurrection Electronic Gaming Monthly. So there's the tenuous tie between music and game for the weekend. Super!

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8991759 

Musi(c.)PSX: Superthruster (1999)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Sly & Robbie - Superthruster (1999)

If you've been reading the entire series of these music-derived articles, you could be forgiven for thinking me a deranged lunatic convinced the PlayStation was the centre of the universe. While I'm not sure I appreciate the inference of insanity, I have to wonder if, in this gaming world gone mad, the perspective of a madman isn't the most clear of all.

The focus of most of these blog entries has been on the significance and contribution the PSX made to electronic music, and vice versa. It's fair to say, however, that the PlayStation was a very different thing to very different people.

By 1999, the Sony PlayStation was firmly established as a household name.
This feat, particularly as a global phenomenon, could not have been achieved through the exclusive sensibility of Sony's trendy, Euro, youth driven marketing stratagems. As much as the vivid cool of electronic urbana was able to infuse the clunky grey box with a sexy beeping soul, it was a darwinist math that inevitably demanded broader interests to support the machine.

The PSX had to offer much more than the paninaro of it's time to expand it's reaches across the gaming market. Sega's bungling business meant rising to the role of a console for all Europe was simple, but regardless of it's clunky ineptitude, the tragically unremarkable Nintendo 64 put the Nostalgia in NTSC, and had the confidence of fists stained with the blood of a blue hedgehog.

A congregation of entertainment movements was needed to unite the efforts of the techno-fashionista and common man.

Experimentation created a conversation of common interest between the professional ranks of niche interests, like skateboarding and wrestling. Sony's early line-ups established a strong enough base upon which emerging trends could position themselves to further interact with hardcore and casual fanbases, alike. This commercial discussion re-established gaming a vital tool in cross promotional marketing, encouraging fans to feel increasingly involved with their interests.

CD-based technology meant many of these games could challenge alternative mediums through high quality sound and video. Even before the WWF Smackdown! games introduced exclusivity to wrestling on consoles, FMV challenge promos like those seen on broadcasts made playing Warzone on the PSX a valued unique experience.

Though significant for decades prior, the PSX era coincided with a mainstream boom for anime in Western culture. Now a staple of Saturday mornings, it's hard to imagine a world where the wide-eyed kinetic style of Japanese animation wasn't so prevalent.

1995 gave the world a name to rally behind with the release of Mamoru Oshii's cinematic adaptation of the Masamune Shirow manga, Ghost in the Shell.

This rallying point engendered a renewed sense of familiarity that boosted interest in other iconic titles (like 1991's Akira), and gave way to a phenomenon. While Nintendo were well primed to capitalize (and fund) the trend with titles like the Pokemon franchise; the PlayStation arguably connected Western audiences to Japanese development in ways that mirrored their perception of the "genre" as something exotic and adult, whilst pandering to familiarity. (Unlike the import-heavy favourites of the Dreamcast).

The 1997 PSX-exclusive, Ghost in the Shell, contributed a relevant example despite it's relative obscurity today, and in-game graphical removal from the anime style. Animated sequences closer to the manga in design were enough to pick up the slack, making it a smooth segue from the film deeper into the niche, and a rival to more direct correlation seen on the Sega.

This, of course, is the long way round to introducing today's musical feature.

The Sly & Robbie track quickly became a staple of my listening at the time, which, also coincided with casual interests in anime. Early experiences in gaming, ie; Street Fighter II, helped prepare me for the animation titles that would be popular at the time, and made connecting with softcore Japanese titles on the PSX a fun fad for all. I'd like to think I've never been nearly as ignorant to the culture as that implies, but it's a touchstone for the importance of these congregating interests.

It was a time of intertwining interests and expanding horizons.
A chance to share and communicate through different mediums.
It was a time for shiney skyscrapers and full frontal nudity. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8991086

Musi(c.)PSX: Donkey Rhubarb (1995)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Aphex Twin - Donkey Rhubarb (1995)

Looking back, I'm not sure there's an artist that captures the romance of the PlayStation era quite like Aphex Twin.
His work branches the period definitively with a catalogue of tracks running the gamut of electronic styles. From the mid-nineties happy hardcore bouncing of Donkey Rhubarb, to the characteristic grinding metal sequences and abstract dance showcased in Windowlicker (1999), it's as if Aphex Twin was laying sounds to match the diversity of the PlayStation line-up.

The association isn't entirely coincidental.
The slick techno chic of electronic music was working hand-in-hand with the aesthetic of the Sony PlayStation and the lifestyle ethic the brand was selling. The PSX represented an excitement and urban fashion that made the console a staple of youth culture and built on the goodwill established by early gaming experiences of Gen X and Y. Gaming was elevated as the PSX became a vital piece of social communication, even if only for a few rounds before heading out to opening clubs.

To establish this brand, Sony tapped plenty of the right sources to spread their concept.
The shouting and energy of nineties promotion was rechanneled and tweaked for a modernist approach. Print and television campaigns sold the PSX vibrancy through artistic and abstract imagery, tapping in to an unspoken chic that was attractive, fun, and a little smart.
One such example is the "Mental Wealth" commercial directed by Chris Cunningham, who was also responsible for the now iconic Aphex Twin videos; Come to Daddy, Rubber Johnny, and Window Licker.

The inevitable overlap of the association between two cultures was typified by the future-racer series, Wipeout, which actually did eventually include Aphex Twin on the soundtrack of their 2005 PSP exclusive, Wipeout Pure.
The song, Naks Acid, came from a limited edition 12" shared with LFO, whose track, Flu Shot, was also featured in the game.

Above of all else, Aphex Twin represents similar ideas (and ideals) to the PSX.
His music, within it's space, could appeal to a range of listeners. At times it was harmonious, rebellious, intellectual, mindless, commercial, alternative. It was a level of experimentation that seemed in sync with the shifting sands of the PlayStation catalogue. It was an intriguing time. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8990907

Musi(c.)PSX: Nocturne (1995)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Secret Garden - Nocturne (1995)

Judging from other blogs I've been reading, you don't really expect me to say a lot, but I feel I'd be short sheeting you if I didn't at least elaborate a little...

Admittedly, this probably isn't what I would look back upon with fond nostalgia for the days of the PlayStation, but there's something to be said for the theory that all things are connected. Norway just won the Eurovision Song Contest, and guess what? They did the same in the first big year of the PSX - 1995! Connection obtained!

I personally associate the PlayStation with much of the Euro/UK outlets and design I came to enjoy. Watching this year's Eurovision, I was pleasantly rewarded by the Russian network's design sense for the show, which reconnected me with that modern, clean, light motif that only the Wii still seems to have some reference to. It was a good time. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8989529

Musi(c.)PSX: Windowlicker (1999)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker (1999)

Make mine a 99!
(Video edited to just the music)

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8989015

Musi(c.)PSX: Eisbaer (1997)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Groovezone - Eisbaer (1997)

1997 was a great time to own a PSX.
By this point, the console was well and truly entering a mainstream in flux. I'd like to think the Playstation could be described, not just out of romantic nostalgia, but historic fact, as the centre of the universe at that time.
I don't necessarily mean to suggest Sony were secretly pulling the world's strings like a dog in a UFO ending, but there was a definite energy about the period that seemed to congregate around the circular lid of the Playstation console.

Cheesy Eurodance music videos reflected a literal influence from the growing excitement of 3D gaming, but this "energy" wasn't restricted to the peroxide-frosted ravers looking at the world through orange tinted lenses. The proliferation of the PSX in it's mid-life meant connecting with a vast range of people, interests, and brands. It was becoming as much an icon of high fashion as it was family-friendly home entertainment. It was all things, to all people.

Sponsored in part by the growing accessibility of the internet, various topics of interest were able to expand well beyond their niche audiences.
The Playstation created an interactive discussion with licensed gaming properties that scattered growing trends around the globe, personally inducting fans through an exciting exchange of information. The early WWF releases and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remain bold examples of how the world consumed entertainment during this time.

A decade later, the experimentation and excitement of the PSX era can still be felt.
The legacy of this period might not be entirely positive, particularly as profitable properties attempt to hold on to their former glory through conservative business practises counter-intuitive to the era that defined them.

The PSX was a development of technology that invigorated gaming and connected with a world that was striving for something new. It was the mainstream induction of gaming in ways Generation X had always imagined, allowing the practise to enter homes across the globe. It was an important time in entertainment history. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8988149

Musi(c.)PSX: Breathe (1996)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994. A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

The Prodigy - Breathe (1996)

I'm not sure I could think of a song more anthemic to the era than this one.
A bit like Keith Flint's misappropriation as the lead-man behind Liam Howlett's The Prodigy, I could probably make a vague connection between this song's presence in the era, and my eventual purchase of a PSX in '97.

After doing the Master System and Genesis thing in the years prior, it was a logical progression to look forward to the Sega Saturn. It wasn't that I had anything against Nintendo, but with it's clunky handling and ugly red hues, it just stood to reason that the brand was the lesser option for spoon fed windowlickers. The 64 didn't show up until 1996, but like most Nintendo consoles that followed, it was fast a non-issue, worthy of note only for a small handful of familiar releases.

Familiarity was definitely a factor in this new age of console gaming, but what quickly became apparent was that this was unlike any generation before it. Genres that had previously been restricted to unfeasible dimensions exploded in ways only possible on machines that boasted 3D design across their line-up. Everything old was new again, and decisions now more than ever had to be made based on brand new available information.

Platformers and fighting games had been deal-makers in the 2D era, but as important as they still were, suddenly a good racing game had it's place. Never before on home consoles had the thrill of racing opponents in a match of speed and skill been so thrilling. The illusion of movement was transferred from scrolling backgrounds to realistically manoeuvring vehicles, and the results were electrifying. Wipeout -- a game I'll mention often -- played a major hand in veering a Virtua Eye for a Console Guy away from the Sega, over to the new challenger.

In those early days accessibility gave the PSX a slight edge, but as my world was changing in 1997, a new friend's enthusiasm for the Playstation made understanding it's range that much easier.

With the sounds of Breathe echoing throughout a period where all bets were off, the then upcoming sequel to Sony's combat racer, Twisted Metal, somehow emerged as one of several straws that broke the camel's back. It was as if the grungy BPM of Keith Flint and Prodigy were beating in time with the punk-clown symbol of Twisted Metal. The time for a decision had finally arrived and there was only one possible answer: Sony's "PSX" -- the Playstation.

Through the PSX came several years of enjoyment and exploration.
The Saturn faded into obscurity, and that PSX loving friend drifted into the post-Nirvana punk that permeated through the era, but our overlap was defined by the versatility and excitement of the Playstation. It was the race to the year 2000, when humanity was at it's most excited and ambitious. It was the culmination of video game theory and the troubleshooting execution of everything we had imagined. It was an exciting time. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987663

Musi(c.)PSX: Born Slippy .NUXX (1995)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994. A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Underworld - Born Slippy .NUXX (1995)

In the interest of trying to make use of this blog, without forcefully contributing to the glut with more of the same, I look back on a time I have great appreciation for. It was a time when gaming was part of the pop culture zeitgeist in an assimilative way. In many ways I believe the PSX was the console that gave gaming to the masses and finally confirmed to anyone uncertain that this was a pasttime to be enjoyed by all.

Bursting onto the scene with a bold step toward multimedia entertainment and modern 3D console gaming, the PSX was more than just a platform. It's wide range of titles were enfused with a chic lost on mainstream gamers who now clamber backward to the likes of the Wii. It was a console reaching for a future that culminated in the PS2, more thrilling in it's chase of what was to come, than the malaise of it's established successor.

Music was so much a part of my time with the PSX.
I listened to the Wipeout games as much as I played them. When I wasn't doing that, I was soaking in some of the similar music of the time, whilst playing other titles. The PSX was a Silver Age for video gaming. A time of hope, imagination, excitement, experimentation. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987356