FORMATION Z
Formation Z was first released (developed and published) by Jaleco on 1984 as an arcade game, and later developed for the NES/Famicom. Known as “Aeroboto” outside of Japan, it was the second game to be published by Jaleco. A side-scrolling shoot ’em up, it takes place in 2701 where the player controls a robot tasked with aero fighter missions to stop an alien super weapon from destroying the Earth. It’s thought to be the earliest game where the player was in control of both humanoid and vehicle transformation as demanded by the game’s environment. It is also one of the first horizontal scrollers of the genre with some degree of vertical scrolling.
STAR WARS EPISODE I: RACER
While it had already been released on a few other systems in the previous year on April 4th, 2000, Star Wars Episode I: Racer was released on the Sega Dreamcast today. Developed by LucasArts, and subsequently published by both LucasArts and Nintendo, the game was ultimately released on PC, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Mac, and Arcade platforms. By 2011, the game held the Guinness world record for best-selling sci-fi game, ahead of other series like Wipeout or F-Zero. Featuring both single player and multiplayer modes, the title follows a fairly typical racer-reward system that allows players to spend prize winnings from tournaments to unlock track champions or upgrades.
THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE
It’s hard to believe that only two years ago, Bethesda and Zenimax took The Elder Scrolls universe online with The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited. Since it’s original release on PC, the game has since been ported onto both the Xbox One and PS4 platforms as of June last year. Meeting mixed reception following the launch of the title, TES:O has attempted to carve its own niche spot out of the growing MMORPG market. While originally released with an active subscription model (much like World of Warcraft), this was eventually dropped in favour of micro-transactions.
At this point, the game was re-released and rebranded as “Tamriel Unlimited.” In addition to dropping the subscription, other improvements were made at this time, proving to be quite favourable in reviews from that point forward. The game, much like other Elder Scrolls titles, is set on the content of Tamriel. Players find themselves exploring a world set roughly 1000 years before Skyrim, and 800 years before either Morrowind or Oblivion. The game has continued to develop, releasing multiple patches and downloadable content packs. This includes anticipated quests from both the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood.
Images © Bethesda and LucasArts
My Life, or Something Like It 