Racketboy

Presented by: Mozgus, Ivo, and Racketboy
New To Together Retro? Check out the introduction to the club
What’s The Deal With This “Special Weekend Edition”?
Motivated by Blizzard’s announcement of Diablo 3 (and the rather enticing gameplay video), forum regular Mozgus suggested a revival of playing Diablo 2 on Battle.net (most likely, playing with the expansion, Lord of […]

There is no denying that there is a great deal of buzz going around about the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV. Even though some of us long-term fans would have liked the game the feature hand-drawn animations in pure 2D, SF4 looks to maintain much of its heritage in terms of overall style […]

I couldn’t help but be in pure awe after watching the trailer for the upcoming Bionic Commando Rearmed and the high-resolution screenshots that were released today on IGN.
No, Capcom didn’t ditch its plan to make a fully 3D Bionic Commando game, but instead decided to please its old-school fans with this modern 2D […]

After covering the best 2D games for the PS2 and Gamecube, it is now time to look at the XBox’s Modern 2D library.  Overall, the selection is a more limited than the PS2 and even the Gamecube in terms of variety, but there is a decent selection of fighters and run-and-guns if you are into […]

Pac-Man is one of the most popular video games of all time and it was no surprise that many companies tried cloning the game in order to make a quick buck. However, many of those clones didn’t really add much or even capture much of the original charm. Even many of Namco’s own Pac-Man spinoffs […]

When you add a console to your collection, the first thing you want to do is get a handful of games to keep you busy with your new toy. However, most of us can’t spend afford to spend fat pile of cash for a few games. This budget-friendly list should help you quickly find which […]

Street Fighter IV Announcement & Style
In case you missed it, Street Fighter IV was officially announced less than a week ago. (I knew Capcom was smart) We also got a taste off the official Street Fighter IV Teaser Trailer soon after the announcement. If you’ve watched the trailer, you know it looks […]

You can’t help but admit you like the benefits of newer consoles: wireless controllers, better video connections, faster load times. So is it so wrong to want to be able to play a bunch of old games on your new hardware? Of course not.
With classic game compilations you can easily get a solid collection of […]

Luckly for old-school gamers, there are plenty of two-dimensional games on portable gaming devices like the GBA, DS, and PSP. However, when it comes to modern home consoles like the Wii, XBox 360, and the PS3, quality 2D games are getting harder to find and often get overlooked. […]

There has been speculation and rumors about these two titles for quite a while, both Ikaruga and Rez have been officially announced for XBox Live Arcade. That’s right, Microsoft has already shown off screens of the two games at their presentation at the Tokyo Game Show Pre-Show.
(see my previous XBLA rumor coverage: Rez / […]

It Should Be Worth The Wait
You may have noticed over the last few months, that I’m being a bit more selective when I hype up a new or upcoming retro-styled release. And if you have been a racketboy.com reader long, you would also notice that Castle Crashers is one of the games I have […]

Usually, when you get a new-to-you console, you can usually find or remember the major games to check out. But what happens when you need something different to play? This is where the “Hidden Gems” come in.
Read More About My Criteria For Hidden Gems
See All The Hidden Gems Articles
Not only are all these games great […]

Capcom’s Past, Present, & Future
During the 1990’s, Capcom fueled many of my game cravings with their two-dimensional beatemups such as the Street Fighter, Final Fight, and Darkstalkers series. Many critics complained that they milked the Street Fighter series too much, but in reality, Capcom tweaked their popular franchises to perfection while still developing […]

Racketboy Reaction
With the recent success of bring the Prince of Persia franchise, it isn’t a huge surprise that Ubisoft has modernized the original Prince of Persia for an XBox Live Arcade download featuring goreous 3D graphics while maintaining the original two-dimensional gameplay. I may not be a huge Prince of Persia fan, but I […]

I’m always up for a good conversion of Pac-Man, but I have to say this new Pac-Man Championship Edition for the XBox Live Arcade looks mighty exciting. In addition to it’s Geometry Wars-inspired HD graphical style and some brand new mazes, it’s also filled with some useful features, including the following game modes (quoted […]

Xpadder is a small and simple Windows application that lets you make the most of your gamepad - and it is free!Xpadder has several features. The most basic is that it lets you map keys to your gamepad buttons. I decided to make a tutorial here to connect with the emulator guides. Some obvious uses […]

It looks like Sega is helping the XBox Live Arcade show up the Wii’s Virtual Console again.
According to SegaOnline & XBox360fanboy, Sega will be releasing a series of their Genesis/Megadrive titles on the XBox Live Arcade under the name of “Sega Vintage Collection”.

The collection will be started with the release of the original Sonic the […]

You may have read about the upcoming, remastered version of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo that will be coming out on both the XBox Live Arcade and the PS3’s online service. Since the initial announcement, we have learned a few more details and I’ve been able to piece together my thoughts on the developments.
First […]

I like like shooting games. I love fighting games. And I adore hybrid games.
I’m thinking I will enjoy Senko no Ronde.
Senko no Ronde is a hybrid 2D shmup fighting game from G.Rev (of Border Down and Under Defeat fame) that originated on the NAOMI arcade hardware, but for some incredibly strange […]

The 3D Rail Shooter genre seems like a natural fit for the Wii and the Wii-mote’s lightgun-like capabilties. And what better series from the rails shooter genre than Panzer Dragoon (and Rez, but I’m trying to stay on topic)
.
At this point, we’ll be pretty lucky if we see a Panzer Dragoon game on the […]

As one of the most anticipated games released on the XBox Live Arcade, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night would have had to be really screwed up in its XBox 360 port to not turn out well.

For those of you not familiar with the title, it is regarded not only as the best Castlevania game ever, […]

As one of my all-time favorite games of my childhood, I was glad to see the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game come to the XBox Live Arcade. It isn’t a deep game by any means, but it is filled with nostalgia and is loads of fun when whacking Foot Soldiers with a […]

While most of the guys in my dorm in college were playing Warcraft 2 and Half-Life, I was filling my free time with Worms Armageddon fire-fights. Whether it was a multiplayer tournament with my neighbors or a one-on-one battle with my soon-to-be-wife, Worms was always good for some intense strategy and lots of hearty […]

Note from racketboy: Ivo is back again with a remarkable review of an interesting Freeware PC shooter by the name of Warning Forever. I hope you find it enjoyable!
There are a number of excellent freeware games available for the PC, and Warning Forever is certainly one of those. You can download it from […]

Between the fact that I have been waiting years for a new game like Guardian Heroes and my love for The Behemoth’s artistic style, Castle Crashers is the most highly-anticipated XBox Live Arcade game in my book. (see my initial Castle Crashers post)
I didn’t have many doubts about the game after seeing early versions […]

As a child of the 1980’s, I was all but obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when I was a kid. (Fortunately, it didn’t make this much of an impact on me) So imagine the nostalgic thrill I’m having with the new wave of Ninja Turtles goodies resurfacing to coincide with the […]

I have been a huge fan of the indie masterpiece, Alien Hominid, for quite some time, so I’ve glad to see the attention the game is receiving for its appearance on the XBox Live Arcade. The enhanced version seems to fit in on the XBLA and the critics are eating it up…

“Commercial-grade digital distribution […]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) shared the strong possibility that Rez, a cult classic on the Dreamcast and PS2, will be coming to the XBox Live Arcade.
The rumor section in EGM has a relatively good track record, so I would not shake this rumor off too easily.
No additional information is available just yet, but if this […]

This Week: Paperboy

February 14th
400 Microsoft Points
Official XBLA Page
Screenshots
Gameplay Video

Additional XBLA Developments:
Ikaruga Confirmed?
Why Partnernet is a PR Nightmare for Microsoft
Pinball FX: New Website & Screenshots
Puzzle/Strategy/RPG Hybrid Galactrix Announced
Jetpac Refuelled Confirmed for XBLA
ESRB Hints At Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
Another World could make it to Live Arcade
Toy Wars: Looks Like Toy Commander Remade
Double Dragon Info & Screens
Rare working […]

This is basically a rumor, but there is some solid evidence that one of the games from my XBox Live Wishlist might become a reality.
According to Eurogamer, Ikaruga, the cult classic 2D shooter from Treasure apparently has shown up on the XBox 360’s top-secret (only for developers and journalists) area, Partnernet.
Eurogamer stated,
“There are two downloads […]

In case you didn’t believe me when I told you Sonic was going downhill, X-Play gives us all the reasons the avoid the new Sonic the Hedgehog for the XBox 360 in its finely-composed video segment.

I’ll go back to playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on my GP2X and try to forget that this game exists.
Similar […]

The XBox Live Arcade has slowly become the best place for classic games to find a new beginning. While the Wii’s Virtual Console was hyped as the ultimate device for housing nearly every classic game, the XBLA has been topping the Virtual Console in terms of quality and features.
The XBLA has seen a trickle […]

While the XBox 360 doesn’t try to keep up with the pace of the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, it makes up for it in quality and value.
This Week: Heavy Weapon

January 17

800 Microsoft Points
Official XBLA Page
Screenshots
Gameplay Video

Hands-On Impressions from Kotaku
Hands-On Impressions for XB360 Fanboy

Additional XBLA Developments:
Castlevania SOTN Impressions from 1UP
Preview of Assault Heroes
Last Ninja, […]

While the XBox 360 doesn’t try to keep up with the pace of the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, it makes up for it in quality and value.
This Week: Ms. Pac-Man

January 10

400 Microsoft Points
Official XBLA Page
Screenshots

Additional XBLA Developments:
XBLA Gameplay Video of Castlevania: SOTN
Next Week: Heavy Weapon
Geometry Wars and Others Headed to Vista
First Worms HD […]

It’s been an exciting week for fans of Sega’s trademark side-scrolling braweler, Streets of Rage.

First of all, an ambitious homebrew effort has been started to revive Streets of Rage with added visuals, moves, and feautures. Of course, a Dreamcast port is anticipated, but some of the community is devoted to keeping it strictly […]

One of the genre’s most associated with modern gaming (at least here in the US) is the First Person Shooter. The FPS is always the prime candidate to show up cutting edge graphics and gameplay.
And while the FPS genre didn’t really take off until the later part of the 1990’s, the First Person Shooter […]

As a young gamer, I grew up in the arcades. And in those early years I lived primarily on the grand-daddy of all beatemups, Double Dragon.
So I was more than pleased to hear that Double Dragon will officially be making its way to the XBox Live Arcade in the near future.
The original was the […]

Yes, as I speculated a while ago, SNK will be bringing a number of its solid Neo-Geo games to the next-gen download services. And as you may have noticed from the title of this post, these downloads are planned for the XBox 360’s Live Arcade and the PS3’s download service. That’s right, […]

Who thought with all this Next-Gen action going on the last couple of months we would have so many modern retro gaming news?!?
This time around we have word that the Worms series will be making its way to XBox Live Arcade — in fact it’s almost completed and ready to go!
And don’t worry — this […]

When Nintendo first announced their Virtual Console concept for the Wii (then the Revolution), many gamers were under the assumption that ALL NES, SNES, and N64 games will be available for (possibly free) download. While that rumor was eventually defeated, we weren’t quite sure what the available titles would be or how much games would […]