By Natalie Sit
Children like three things during their birthdays: pizza, games and animatronic animals. The ’80s and ’90s saw those very ideals become a reality in a sprawling fantasy world of talking mooses, raccoons and mice. In Calgary, the first was Bullwinkle’s. Before the current south Schanks sports bar, there was the talking moose. Bullwinkle’s main attraction… Continue reading Of mice and children
I’m not sure why we never came up for air. Maybe it was a subconscious urge to be as far removed from the surface as humanly possible. All I know is, for any kid growing up playing hockey on Nintendo rather than outside, the basement was their refuge. Like Superman’s icy Fortress of Solitude, it… Continue reading Up from the basement
By Robbie White
Nintendo, Sega and Sony are all synonymous with video games, however none of them got their start in that industry. Nintendo started out making playing cards in 1889, Sony with electric rice cookers in 1946, and Sega with photo booths in 1954. However, it would be the gaming industry where they would face off against… Continue reading The console wars
By Chris Tait
rom the same people who brought us Sony and animated porn, a new abomination has arisen, a daemon so foul its name alone brings shudders to many. Dance Dance Revolution proves once and for all that there really is an East-West cultural front. For the fortunate uninitiated few, DDR is one of those Japanese “life… Continue reading Dance puppets
What are your respective organization’s positions on Bill 43? Pelley: It was quite a shock to see the initial first-reading of Bill 43 but it’s been gratifying to work with the stakeholder groups. There were a number of problems with Bill 43 at the beginning of the summer but it looks like they’re going to… Continue reading U of C stakeholders discuss Post-Secondary Learning Act
By Falice Chin
Capcom’s classic game that combines Tetris-style puzzles with Street Fighter combat makes Puzzle Fighter one of the most addictive video games of all time. With its theme inspired by Street Fighter Alpha 2, its characters are caricaturized to about one-tenth of their original height and three times their body width. Naturally, they are just adorable.… Continue reading Puzzle Fighter (1996)
By Robbie White
In 1993, Nintendo was feeling pressure from the various 32-bit consoles such as the Panasonic 3D0 and Atari Jaguar. Also their biggest competitor Sega had its new 32X system on the horizon. Nintendo’s answer was to push its Super Nintendo to the limits with the Super-FX chip. Star Fox was the first game to use… Continue reading Star Fox (1993)
By Andrew Ross
I have to start with a disclaimer: I never shelled out the $30 for the full version of Wolfenstein 3D. Being a kid without an allowance, I didn’t have the means for such largesse, so I was restricted to playing the first dungeon. Of course, I played that first dungeon over and over, until I… Continue reading Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
What modern man has not, at some point in their life, yearned to conquer the world? Civilization was perhaps the first computer game to quench this thirst. In charge of a civilization on an extensive map, filled with enemies and resources, your job is to explore the map, manage resources, confront your enemies and conquer… Continue reading Civilization (1991)
By Andrew Ross
Wing Commander does not require much of a computer, it ran perfectly on my family’s 386, but was unplayable on our Pentium 166. Despite being a relatively low-tech game, Wing Commander is still one of my favourite games of all time. This game was the reason to own a joystick. What was so great about… Continue reading Wing Commander (1990)