Some people might say that Castlevania is Konami’s greatest creation, while others may say Metal Gear. Some may find Silent Hill to be the crown jewel of Konami, while others may say Dance Dance Revolution. I humbly suggest that they are all wrong (though Castlevania would come close). As a matter of unarguable fact, Konami’s greatest contribution to the world of gaming has been Contra. This can be evidenced by the fact that the “Konami Code” was not made popular by Castlevania, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, or Dance Dance Revolution, but earned its fame through the efforts of Contra. Today, a new entry in the Contra series makes its debut in the form of Hard Corps: Uprising. Read the full story

The third episode of Marooners’ Talk, Episode 002, is now available on our site for listening and download in MP3 format! It should be available on iTunes this weekend, so make sure you keep your eyes open and your iTunes accounts ready to automatically download, since you must have subscribed by now. Episode 002, “Bo Knows Podcasting,” is a bit longer than the first two episodes, but it was fun, so tough. Read the full story

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The Bionic Commando games have a very 80′s feel to them, whether you’re playing the original or the attempts to revitalize the character in recent years; in my opinion, simply using the word “Commando” in a title or in reference to the main character provides the 80′s connection. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, of course. If played by the right person, and taken in the right context, a game that has that dated feel to it can be a great deal of fun. Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 definitely has the 80′s feel to it, in more ways than one. Read the full story

Generally, when I hear the word “Spelunker” I give an immature giggle. In fact, as I wrote “Spelunker” in the previous sentence (and in this sentence again), I giggled. Childishness aside, there is a reason I’m focusing on the word “Spelunker”, and that is the arrival of Spelunker HD on the PlayStation Network from Tozai Games. I remember discovering the original Spelunker on NES a couple of years after it was originally released, when I was but a wee lad. My most vivid recollection of the game was frustration mixed with intrigue. To put it more simply, the game was fun, but difficult. It was, dare I say, Nintendo Hard. Read the full story