PixlBit

Here's the last week I spent in Gen 2 and the current gen.

Pac-Man 256 - I managed to unlock all the powerups in the standalone version of the game. The next thing to do is level them all up to maximum, but I'll save that until next year. 

Dragon Buster 1-2 - I discovered these within the Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1-2 on Xbox. I like their very simple dungeon crawls, only, I can't seem to beat the final dragon in either game. 

Close to the Sun - I finished the game. It didn't give me a very good idea of what was actually going on scientifically or the relationship between the final two personalities you meet. Some pretty simple explanations were given, actually, but I wasn't satisfied with those. Too simple. The game also sets up a sequel possibility. Overall, I enjoyed it. I may try and find all the collectibles I missed. 

Dead Space Remaster - I'm almost finished with the story. I love how this game builds tension and excitement from chapter to chapter. I feel like story mode is a little too easy. You get more pickups than you need and leveling your gear doesn't feel that meaningful. You hardly take any damage in fights either, but that's not to say they aren't tense and exciting. The game does a great job at surprising you and making enemies feel dangerous. I fight like mad and then realize I was mostly invincible on this difficulty. Fantastic game! I may play it again on harder difficulties and see how I do. 

Gen 2 Wrap Up:
By and large the remakes I played of Gen 1 and 2 games are better than the originals. Games like Neo Breakout control better and have more variety; VCTR-SCTR also controls better than Asteroids, Lunar Lander or Solaris; Pac-Man 256 and Championship Edition 1-2 both make Pac-Man more exciting and playable; Space Invaders Infinity Gene turns Space Invaders into a shmup with exciting design and variety. 

So why keep a Retron 77 around and Atari carts? I guess I still like playing Stampede in its original form. 

Oh, and I tried the C64 Mini. Its keyboard isn't functional. You have to use a virtual one within the games, which is awkward. Also there are no instructions for the games. You just have to look them up online. Temple of Asphai was difficult to play this way. I hear that another C64 Mini is out there with a working keyboard. Anyway, I didn't get much time with it last month, but I'll do more with it next time. 

Gen 3 Begins Comprising, roughly, the years '84-'89:
I set up my Retron 3 and got Chris Scullion's The NES Encylopedia out from the library. I've been consulting IGN's top 100 NES games list and gearing up to watch some of Jeremy Parish's Video Works NES videos. 

I'd put a pic here but Onedrive is not coming up. I hate technology! 'Til next week. . .