Not too long ago, I brought you my “Top Ten Video Games of 1987“. Now it’s time for me to unleash my “Top Ten Video Games of 1988″ on you. 1988 was an interesting year in games and in the world. We saw Dan Rather clash with George H.W. Bush on television concerning Bush’s known role in the Iran-Contra scandal. Who would have known that we’d still have a Bush in the White House twenty years later? Hustler won their case against Jerry Falwell in the Supreme Court. Although it was a satirical story made up by Hustler, one still has to wonder if Falwell had sex with his mother in an outhouse. The world may never know!

Oliver North along with John Poindexter were indicted on conspiracy charges against the United States (North went on to found organizations such as the Freedom Alliance, where they used the skills of Jack Thomspson, the lawyer all gamers love, to go after Ice T and the song “Cop Killer”). Kirk Gibson hit perhaps the most memorable home run in World Series history. 1988 was certainly a very interesting year, but let’s talk about the games…

Here are my picks for top ten video games of 1988:

1. Dragon Warrior 3 (NES)
   
2. Mega Man 2 (NES)
   
3. Bionic Commando (NES)
4. Ninja Gaiden (NES)
5. Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES)
6. Contra (NES)
   
7. Shinobi (Arcade)
8. Phantasy Star (Sega Master System)
9. John Madden Football (Apple II)
10. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

You are probably wondering why I didn’t find room for Zelda II on the list. Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of the game. I felt it was stretched out too long, the game wasn’t put together well and was nowhere close to the great game we saw with the original Zelda. Despite my feelings for Zelda II, the NES certainly dominated my year in gaming. I was still more of a Sega guy at the time, but they really had nothing to compare to NES games of that year.

Dragon Quest III was certainly the greatest video game on 1988. According to Wikipedia, the game is the single reason why the Japanese government outlawed releases of Dragon Quest games on school days. Of the ten games I listed, Dragon Quest III is perhaps the most timeless. It’s as fun today as it was 20 years ago.

Whale image via Shirt.Woot

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: Apple II, Clash, Contra, Dan, Dragon, game, George H.W. Bush, Hustler, III, Jack Thomspson, Jerry Falwell, John Madden, John Poindexter, Kirk Gibson, NES, Oliver North, Quest, Sega, Simon, time, Top, United States, video, wasn, world, year, zelda, Zelda II

Some sad news surfaced today. The “Shogun of Harlem” Julius Carry III passed away last night, but few details are available. Sho’Nuff was probably one of the greatest villains in movie history. Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon is a 1985 martial arts epic, produced by Rupert Hitzig and directed by Michael Schultz. While the film was a critical disappointment at the time, it was a financial success and is considered by many to be one of the greatest cult classics of the 1980s. Carry’s most famous line from the film was “Kiss My Converse” which has been used time and time again by other films and in rap songs and videos. Carry was 56 when he passed away.

I will never forget the final fight of the film where we learn about the “glow”. The following scene is perhaps my favorite fight scene from any film:

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: Berry, Carry, Dragon, fight, Film, Gordy, Harlem, history, Julius Carry III, Michael Schultz, movie, news, night, Nuff, Rupert Hitzig, scene, Sho, Shogun, time, Today

[Editor’s Note: Walking down the aisles of your favorite retailer you’ll see movies that you’ve never heard of. Even if you’d like to know how they fare no one cares enough to review them! That’s where “Movie Watch” comes in…oh, and we’ll try to cover movies on Xbox Live from time to time. Because if you’re gonna spend those confusing Microsoft points on something other than games, it better be worth it, right?]

The movie adaptation of the PlayStation 2 game, Yakuza, will be screening tomorrow at the IFC Center in New York for the Asian Film Festival at 2:10PM. How does it fare?

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written by Carlos Macias \\ tags: check, Dragon, Editor, Film, game, Gotoku, Hollywood, Kazuma, Majima, movie, New York, retailer, Ryu, story, time, Tokyo, Watch, Yakuza

To think I first played you when I too, was a wee young strapping lad. I remember the time when I first approached your arcade cabinet. First of all, getting to you was a difficult task. Going to ‘Big Mouth’ in North

Bergen, NJ was not the nicest crowd of kids. Your cabinet had a smell of freshly glued artwork on the side and your screen was nothing I’ve seen before. I looked on as others played before me, trying to find a spot where my quarter can sit (letting everyone else know, I had next).

Finally, it was my turn. I was a bit intimidated by the colorful screen and superb graphics. One thing you forgot to mention, a joystick and ONE button? How the hell was I supposed to throw a haduken. Action Button? Oh well, I managed to play but could never get out of the way of those bats!

written by Juan Perez \\ tags: Arcade, Big, Birthday, button, cabinet, Dragon, Happy, lad, Lair, Mouth, NJ, NorthBergen, screen, task, time, wee

Most games tend to stay far and away from the date that big releases happen. This week’s biggie is Metal Gear Solid 4 and its sure to satisfy fans of the series and the uninitiated, as well. Feel free to check out this writer’s recent preview of the game on Xomba. Shameless plug? Oh, yes, we know.

The more interesting games that decided to stand their ground and take on Konami’s latest this week is Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit which plays out just like the previous iterations but with prettier graphics and a new single-player campaign. Don King Presents: Prizefighter is, as the boxing hype man has proclaimed, the best game there ever was AND ever will be. We believe him, of course.

Check out the full list of games dropping this week after the break…

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written by Carlos Macias \\ tags: ball, Burst, Detective Chronicles, Don King, Dragon, EVE Online, game, Gear, Jake Hunter, June, Limit, Metal, Metascore, NASCAR, Presents, Prizefighter, Solid, Unrated, Week

I’ve never been a fan of Dragon Ball Z, but I heard it sells, and I’ve seen some people buy it, but is it good?  Check it out with the free demo, why don’t cha.  Of course you got your DLC’s for Rockband and Guitar Hero, check out the Playstation Blog for all the songs this week.  Here’s the creme of the crop… in my opnioin.
Playable content

• Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit demo (free)
• Overlord: Raising Hell demo (free)

Add-on content

• Hot Shots Golf “Alex” Character ($1)
• Hot Shots Golf “Gloria” Character ($1)
• Rocketmen: It Came From Uranus ($5)
• Rock Band DLC (listed after the break)
• 21 Karaoke Revolution tracks
• 5x Overlord wallpapers

This week’s Rock Band DLC is as follows:

• “Hanging on the Telephone” - Blondie ($2)
• “Train in Vain” - The Clash ($2)
• “Kool Thing” - Sonic Youth ($2)

Via PS3Fanboy

written by Juan Perez \\ tags: Alex, ball, cha, character, Demo, DLC, Dragon, fan, Gloria, Golf, Hero, May, Overlord, Playstation, PSN update, Rock Band, Shots, store, update, Week