A Nerdicus Year in Gaming : Top Ten List of 2013

With 2013 coming to a close, I figured what better way to end it than by taking a look back and listing my favorite games of the last year. Now this will be a quickie, as I'll just speak a little bit about each game.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has kept up with my little attempt at a video game based Blog for the last few months. Last month happened to be my highest traffic month, so I really appreciate everyone stopping by and putting up with my retro reviews and retrospectives. Means a lot!

Without further adieu, here's my own personal 2014 top ten list. It may surprise you.

10) STARBOUND

I debated even putting this on the list, because it is still in development. But it's been a form of addiction for me ever since the early release came out. Take Terraria and add in a slew of planets, quests, and critters and you've got yourself absolute brilliance. I've seriously lost sleep on this game so far, and the more it progresses, the better I see it coming. 

It's turning into another MINECRAFT for me.

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Nerdicus NES Review #44 : Arkanoid

Title : Arkanoid

Publisher : Taito

Genre : Breakout

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1987

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $10 - $15 (upwards of $100 with the controller)

Ah, Arkanoid. The classic and seemingly perfect breakout game. Endless hours of fun, and countless incidents of absolute frustration when you lose your last damn "ship" on the later levels. Seeking a puzzle / breakout game that will make your hands clammy? Look no further than this classic example of breakout perfection.

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Nerdicus NES Review #43 : Archon

Title : Archon

Publisher : Activision

Genre : Strategy

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1989

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $4-$7

I'll admit it. I was a member of the Chess Club in Junior High School. I didn't care if that stamped a giant NERD label on my forehead. I loved chess. The strategy, the thought process involved, and the utter satisfaction in defeating your opponent. Now being an uber nerd throughout my youth, I was of course obsessed with the fantasy element. Dragons, Wizards, Knights. You name it, I loved it.

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Nerdicus NES Review #42 : Arch Rivals

Title : Arch Rivals

Publisher : Acclaim

Genre : Sports

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $4-$7

Looking at the box art, I don't even know what to expect with this. Are we going to be slipping on banana peels and giving each other wedgies on the basketball court? I mean, I don't mind parody sport games as there were quite a few on the NES that I actually liked, but this just looks absolutely ridiculous. 

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Nerdicus NES Review #41 : Antcipation

Title : Anticipation

Publisher : Nintendo

Genre : Board game

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1988

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $3-$4

I always found Anticipation to be a really odd choice for a video game. If I wanted to play a board game, I'd play an actual board game. Board games are meant to be played on a table, surrounded by family and friends. I like to hold the cards, or game pieces, and be interactive in person. Not on the screen. I love video games, don't get me wrong, but this was the one genre of game I truly did not understand.

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Nerdicus NES Review #40 : American Gladiators

Title : American Gladiators

Publisher : GameTek

Genre : Sports / Gameshow

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1991

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $4-$8

When I was a wee lad, American Gladiators was the Pinnacle of late 80's early 90's television. It was something I watched all the time, especially when there wasn't anything else on TV at the time this aired. It was also something I dreamed of being a part of. What other opportunity did we have to watch fake "super stars" battle against normal human beings. Warriors such as NITRO, and LASER were waiting to kick your arse and spit on your grave. ALL IN THE NAME OF GLORY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM!

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Nerdicus NES Review #39 : Amagon

Title : Amagon

Publisher :  Sammy / Vic Tokai

Genre : Platformer Action

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1989

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $5-$8

Ah, Amagon. Also known as Tostuzen! MACHOMAN! in Japan. Ahem, I think the game would have sold much better if it had a name like that in the US. Anyway, I remember first seeing this game at RKO video, which was a local video rental store about 10 blocks away from my house. The cover art pulled me in as a gullible six year old kid. I mean, come on. Dinosaurs, robots, machine guns, and giant schwarznegger-esque warriors? How is a kid to resist! I rented it at least a half dozen times in my meager attempts of beating this game, but never did when I was a kid. It was just to damn frustratingly hard.

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Nerdicus NES Review #38 : Alpha Mission

Title : Alpha Mission

Publisher :  SNK

Genre : Vertical Shooter

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1986

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $2-$4

Yay! Another vertical shooter! I haven't played one in so long........ahem - I have inserted heavy sarcasm there in an attempt to make a valid point. Anyway, so this bad boy comes from the early years of the NES right before it hit its prime around 1988-1990. And as far as vertical shooters go, this one isn't too bad. It's pretty much ripped straight from the arcade, and graphically isn't too far off.

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Nerdicus NES Review #37 - All-Pro Basketball

Title : All-Pro Basketball

Publisher :  Vic Tokai

Genre : Sports

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1989

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $3-5

Well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Sport games. Ugh, how I hated them on the NES. Seriously, I think ICE HOCKEY was one of the only ones I actually enjoyed playing when I was a kid. Biased since I'm a huge hockey fan, and the fact that you have guys that look like Mario and Luigi. Oooh...they need to make a Mario Hockey. Sorry, side tracked.

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Nerdicus NES Review #36 : Alien Syndrome

Title : Alien Syndrome

Publisher :  Tengen

Genre : Run and Gun

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1988

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $6-$8

Looking for a mindless, alien shoot 'em up? Then look no further than ALIEN SYNDROME by our favorite non-licensed Nintendo publisher, Tengen. This game actually started out in the Arcades and moved on to the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM before being shoved into the NES library. 

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Nerdicus NES Review #35 : Alien 3

Title : Alien 3

Publisher :  LJN

Genre : Platformer / Action

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1993

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $5-7

You're all gonna die. The question is how you check out.

Before we get started on this, let me go on to say that I am probably one of the few people that actually enjoyed the movie, Alien 3. Not long ago I was involved in a very long and grueling twitter debate at the lack of appreciation this movie receives. I realize it doesn't quite fit as well as the second one did (which is still my favorite), and the premise is a little bit off the wall, but it's not a bad movie. I think of it as more of a stand alone movie in the Alien series. I mean, come on it's not as bad as Alien Resurrection which is just absolute garbage.

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Nerdicus NES Review #34 : Alfred Chicken

Title : Alfred Chicken

Publisher :  Mindscape Sunsoft

Genre : Platformer

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1994

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $20-$30

So, yeah. Um.......where do I begin. Oh, okay. So the title is Alfred Chicken. Yup, uh.......basically.....erm. Let's see how do I say this? This game has to be the result of publishers being high out of their minds while developing a game. First of all, this came out in 1994 for the NES which is already way past the NES lifespan. Secondly, it's not like this is based off a cartoon or anything. Although I don't even know if I would watch a cartoon like this. This was just some cockeyed disturbed mascot attempt. It's not funny, and it's not fun. 

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Nerdicus NES Review #33 : Adventures of Gilligan's Island

Title : Adventures of Gilligan's Island

Publisher :  Bandai 

Genre : Action Sidescroller

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $10-$14

Come on, everybody! All together now! Just sit right there, and you'll hear a tale! A Tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship...okay fine, don't sing. Bastards.

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Nerdicus NES Review # 32 : Al Unser Jr. Turbo Racing

Title : Al Unser Jr. TURBO Racing

Publisher :  Data East

Genre : Racing

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $1-$3

I'll say this right now. I'm not a fan of racing games. Not then. Not now. I've never even owned a racing game for the modern consoles besides Gran Turismo. In fact, the only racing games I DO own and play religiously, are the Mario Kart games. Give me Forza with spike turtle shells, and I'll play it all the time. But just driving around in laps without anything extra is too monotonous . I need the action / battle aspect, or I'll suffer from extreme boredom.

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Nerdicus NES Review #31 : Airwolf

Title : Airwolf

Publisher :  Acclaim

Genre : Combat Flight Simulator / Shooter

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $3-5

Happy Cyber Monday, folks! My apologies for the lapse in having a Friday post, but ya know it's the holidays and we should all be spending that time with family. But, now that the holidays are over (for now anyway), it's time to go back to some good old retro gaming in between my bouts of watching Netflix on my PS4.

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