About

Some History: Why I Do This

I’ve always been motivated to finish games. When I was young, games were too tough to finish, and I don’t really remember getting to the end credits of very many of them, but it was always something I would strive for while playing games. C64, Amiga and Master System games are generally brutally hard!

Somewhere around the year 1996, I found that completing games was starting to get easier. I’m not certain if it was a change in direction for game developers, or my gaming chops getting better. Perhaps some combination of both. In my early days of a PC gamer, I was finishing games like Duke 3D, Quake, Monster Truck Madness, Tomb Raider, Death Rally, and Descent II.

Skip ahead to 2008, and I was working in a shop environment, doing the boring job of working a machine, running parts. There were days when I would have to run 300 of the same thing, over and over, and my mind would wander. I got thinking about games, and thought it would be nice to have a list of games that I had finished over time. I started making a hand-written list of games that I could remember finishing, and the list grew and grew… I was actually a little impressed with myself what it looked like, as I was remembering these titles.

Later on, in 2009 I found a website called backloggery.com that would easily allow me to track what games I had played, and what games I had finished. I still keep it updated to this day.

So, why write about it?

I find that it gives me motivation to play and finish games. I have enjoyed writing about the games I play for a long time, as it gives me an outlet to get my thoughts on the experience into words, where I can go back and reminisce about it later by reading the article. I believe the earliest game I wrote a review for was Lego Racers II in June 2002.

That’s really it. I don’t expect many people to read all this stuff, and I don’t expect to make any money from doing this. It’s a self-expression thing for me, and I am really enjoying it. If you find it entertaining or interesting, I am happy!

About the Site Format

For my game reviews, I will only be reviewing games that I finish. I’m a true believer that to properly know a game, you need to complete it. This will have the unfortunate effect of having more games reviewed with a positive outcome that negative, but that’s simply because I don’t want to bother reviewing games that I don’t continue playing to the end.

While this blog is mostly focused on retro games and hardware, I will review any modern games I finish as well. I just love talking about any game that’s fresh in my mind, and my thoughts about it.

For ratings, they will be based on whether I think the game is worth purchasing and spending your time on. If I think it’s worth it, it gets a thumbs up, if it’s not, it gets a thumbs down. If it’s one of my favourite games, it will get a devil horns hand.

Skip It.

Play it.

Rock it.

About Me

Hi, I’m raskulous. I’m an avid gamer, retro gamer, and computer enthusiast. Gaming has been a part of my life as long as I can remember, and I began my gaming journey with the mighty Commodore VIC-20. Since then I have been a PC gamer primarily, with the occasional console thrown in here and there.

I have owned all sorts of computers from early Commodore systems, Amigas, and many iterations of PCs from the Pentium 150 all the way up to modern machines.

My console life started with the Sega Master System (yeah, I was one of those kids), and I also spent lots of time with various others like Gameboy, Game Gear, SNES, Xbox, Gamecube, Playstation, PSP, and the Switch.

To this day I still haven’t quite got the grasp of playing 1st and 3rd person games on a controller, and much prefer to play with a mouse and keyboard. I can limp through with a controller, but it’s not near as enjoyable for me.

Arcade Life

Like most people my age (born in 1980), I spent time in the arcades as a kid, and was sad to see them fade into obscurity. There was a good sized arcade in the Bower Mall in Red Deer, where I grew up called Wizard’s Castle. They were quite a large chain of arcades, with locations spanning all across Canada, which was great, as the games in the Red Deer location got rotated quite frequently.

While arcades still exist to some extent today, they are sadly no longer a haven for the latest and greatest in gaming technology. Arcades were often creating new control schemes and environments that the consoles in the years following would only strive to replicate.

Today’s arcades (at least the modern ones) are full of gambling machines, large scale retro games, rehashed games from the early 3D, and blown-up mobile game ports. It’s a shame.

My favourite games in the arcades were Rampage, Choplifter, R-Type, Street Fighter II, San Fransisco Rush, 1942, Gauntlet, Ridge Racer, and Virtua Fighter.

Retro Modding & Gaming

I also enjoy spending my time reading about, repairing, modding, and configuring retro. This includes computer hardware, gaming consoles, A/V setups, and handhelds. I have a decent size collection of old Commodore, Tandy, Atari, and Apple hardware, and I love gaming on older computers.

My current project is getting my entire retro gaming console setup running through RGB SCART & Component Video, all available through an Extron matrix switch. It’s a long process of cabling and modding, but I’m nearing completion now, and can’t wait to enjoy the setup in it’s completed state.

I spend as much time as I can retro gaming, and have been digging into the Master System, NES & TG16 libraries more than ever before. I am thoroughly enjoying the higher difficulty of some of these games, and the length of them allows me to slog through one in a day or weekend, and move onto another game. It’s seemingly a lost art in modern gaming. Modern games are rife with player retention tactics, through farming mechanics, achievements, and excessive open worlds.

Modern Gaming

And finally, despite ripping on them in the last paragraph, I love modern PC games. I usually keep one online competitive game on the go at any given time, and Rocket League is the one that’s been holding my attention since late 2015. I’ve racked up over 2000 hours, and I’m currently a Champion II/III player.

I try to stick to 2-3 modern games at any given time, and I play mostly 1st person shooters, shmups, platformers, RPGs, and ARPGs. Check my backloggery link below for the current details of what I’ve finished recently, and what I’m currently playing.

Visit My Backloggery Page

I use backloggery to track what games I am playing, and which ones I have finished. It’s not an exhaustive list of all games I own, nor all the games I have ever played. I’m mostly concerned about games I put considerable amounts of time into, and games that I finish.

Current PC Specs

CPU:
Mobo:
RAM:
GPU:
M.2:
SSD:
Cooler:
GPU Cooler:
PSU:
Case:

Monitor:
2nd Monitor:
3rd Monitor:
KB:
Mouse:
Controller:
Headset:

AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Asus X570 Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi
G-Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB 3600 Mhz CL16
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2
Corsair Force Gen.4 1 TB NVME M.2
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
NZXT Kraken Z73 AIO (CPU)
NZXT Kraken X62 AIO (GPU)
Corsair HS850i PSU
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X Glass ATX Anthracite Grey

Qnix QX2710 27″ IPS OC @ 110 Hz
Samsung 2443BW 24″ @ 60 Hz
Lenovo ThinkVision T24i-10 24″ @ 60Hz (Portrait Mode)
Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid TKL w/ Cherry Blues
Logitech GPro X Superlight Mouse
Xbox Series X Controller
Logitech GPro X Headset

Recently Finished Retro Games

These are displayed in categories chronologically for the hell of it. It’s just a little thing I like to keep track of, I guess. I add a new console when I finish a game for that system, so things are in a sort-of-chronological order. This is only from 2017 onward (when I started collecting retro games and systems).

PC
  1. Tyrian 2000
  2. Stargunner
  3. Wolfenstien 3D
  4. Wolfenstein 3D: Nocturnal Missions
  5. Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny
  6. Doom
  7. Doom II
  8. Doom: Ultimate Doom
  9. Doom: Sigil
  10. Heretic
  11. Doom 64
  12. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
NES
  1. Jackal
  2. Super Mario Bros.
  3. Super Mario Bros. II
  4. Super Mario Bros. III
  5. Donkey Kong Jr.
  6. Donkey Kong
  7. Mega Man
  8. Mega Man II
  9. Gun-Nac
  10. Life Force
  11. The Legend of Zelda
  12. Gradius
  13. Contra
  14. Tiger Heli
  15. Dragon Warrior
SNES
  1. Super Mario World
  2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  3. Disney’s Aladdin
  4. Top Gear
  5. Super Bomberman
  6. Super Bomberman II
  7. Super R-Type
  8. R-Type III The Third Lightning
Gameboy
  1. Super Mario Land
Commodore 64
  1. Jumpman
  2. Portal
Sega Genesis
  1. Sonic The Hedgehog
  2. Super Fantasy Zone
  3. The Steel Empire
Sega Master System
  1. R-Type
  2. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
  3. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
  4. Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
  5. Shinobi
  6. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
  7. Bomber Raid
  8. Wonder Boy
  9. Fantasy Zone
  10. Astro Warrior
  11. Sapo Xule: S.O.S Lagoa Poluida
  12. Astérix
Nintendo DS
  1. New Super Mario Bros.
  2. Giana Sisters DS
Xbox
  1. Halo II
  2. Brute Force
Game Gear
  1. Jurassic Park
  2. GG Aleste
  3.  
Turbografx 16/PCE
  1. Power Golf
  2. Blazing Lazers
  3. Fantasy Zone
Arcade
  1. Fantasy Zone
  2. Golden Axe
  3. Sunset Riders
VIC-20
  1. Choplifter
TRS-80 Color Computer
  1. Revenge of the Mutant Miners
Nintendo 64
  1. Star Fox 64

Shoot ’em Ups
(Retro and non-retro)

  1. Ikaruga (Gamecube)
  2. Sine Mora (PC) 1cc
  3. Tyrian 2000 (PC) 1cc
  4. Jackal (NES) 1cc
  5. Stargunner (PC) 1cc
  6. R-Type (SMS) 1cc
  7. Gun-Nac (NES) 1cc
  8. Super R-Type (SNES)
  9. Syder Arcade (PC) 1cc
  10. Life Force (NES) 1cc
  11. Gradius (NES) 1cc
  12. Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender (PC)
  13. R-Type III: The Third Lightning  (SNES) 1cc
  14. Bomber Raid (SMS) 1cc
  15. Blazing Lazers (TG16) 1cc
  16. GG Aleste (GG) 1cc
  17. Fantasy Zone (TG16) 1cc
  18. Fantasy Zone (SMS) 1cc
  19. Fantasy Zone (Arcade) 1cc
  20. Super Fantasy Zone (Genesis) 1cc
  21. Astro Warrior (SMS) 1cc
  22. Sapo Xule: S.O.S Lagoa Poluida (SMS) 1cc
  23. Choplifter (VIC-20) 1cc
  24. Tiger Heli (NES) 1cc
  25. Star Fox 64 (N64) 1cc
  26. The Steel Empire (Genesis) 1cc
  27. Sky Force Reloaded (PC)

Full Chronological List
(Retro only)

  1. Tyrian 2000 (PC)
  2. Jackal (NES)
  3. Super Mario World (SNES)
  4. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
  5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
  6. Super Mario Bros. II (NES)
  7. Super Mario Land (GB)
  8. Disney’s Aladdin (SNES)
  9. Super Mario Bros. III (NES)
  10. Stargunner (PC)
  11. Jumpman (C64)
  12. Top Gear (SNES)
  13. Super Bomberman (SNES)
  14. Super Bomberman II (SNES)
  15. Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis)
  16. R-Type (SMS)
  17. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS)
  18. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World (SMS)
  19. Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS)
  20. Halo II (Xbox)
  21. Donkey Kong Jr. (NES)
  22. Donkey Kong (NES)
  23. Mega Man (NES)
  24. Mega Man II (NES)
  25. Gun-Nac (NES)
  26. Super R-Type (SNES)
  27. Life Force (NES)
  28. The Legend of Zelda (NES)
  29. Gradius (NES)
  30. R-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES)
  31. New Super Mario Bros. (NDS)
  32. Giana Sisters DS (NDS)
  33. Brute Force (Xbox)
  34. Shinobi (SMS)
  35. Wolfenstien 3D (PC)
  36. Wolfenstein 3D: Nocturnal Missions (PC)
  37. Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny (PC)
  38. Doom (PC)
  39. Doom II (PC)
  40. Doom: Ultimate Doom (PC)
  41. Doom: Sigil (PC)
  42. Doom 64 (N64)
  43. Heretic (PC)
  44. Jurassic Park (GG)
  45. Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS)
  46. Bomber Raid (SMS)
  47. Wonder Boy (SMS)
  48. Power Golf (TG16)
  49. Blazing Lazers (TG16)
  50. GG Aleste (GG)
  51. Fantasy Zone (TG16)
  52. Fantasy Zone (SMS)
  53. Fantasy Zone (Arcade)
  54. Super Fantasy Zone (Genesis)
  55. Astro Warrior (SMS)
  56. Sapo Xule: S.O.S Lagoa Poluida (SMS)
  57. Choplifter (VIC-20)
  58. Contra (NES)
  59. Tiger Heli (NES)
  60. Astérix (SMS)
  61. Golden Axe (Arcade)
  62. Sunset Riders (Arcade)
  63. Portal (C64)
  64. Revenge of the Mutant Miners (CoCo)
  65. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (PC)
  66. Dragon Warrior (NES)
  67. Star Fox 64 (N64)
  68. The Steel Empire (Genesis)

Thanks for reading.

I hope you enjoy what you find on my site, and I will do my best to keep the content flowing as long as I can. Please feel free to comment anywhere on the site, as I would love to hear from you.

– raskulous