New piece: Sponsored Sprites

[Pjalne]

www.encyclopedia-obscura.com/gamesprodplacement.html

I've done this over the last three weeks or so, so I suspect it's a little fudged in the seams. Still, the nature of the reviewed items should be interesting in itself.

[Wes]

Great article, Per! I really liked the Snickers in Biker Mice (which I don't remember very well, sadly) stuff, but the real draw was the Ajinomoto mayo section. I've got a thing for cooking weird foods (tuna pancakes, for example ;D), so I'm definitely going to have to try recreating some of those dishes. You wouldn't happen to know if Ajinomoto mayo has some special flavor to it, do you? Like maybe wasabi mixed into it? I wouldn't be surprised...

Also, are you familiar with the Zool games? Chupa Chups lollipops were all over the place in those. I'm planning on reviewing those at some point, given that I spent so much time playing Zool 2 on the 286... Yeah, Zool and I go way back.

[Pjalne]

Can't say I've heard about those. I thought I had until I read the 286 bit, I remember a game by the same name on the SNES.

[Wes]

The first Zool game did show up on the SNES and Genesis (and I think it was on the Game Gear too), and the sequel was later released on the Atari Jaguar. But I'm almost certain that I used to play it on the 286 -- so there's something weird going on here with the dates. It's entirely possible that the original Zool was an old PC game that was later ported to consoles, but I dunno. It's also possible that I'm just wrong and used to play it on the P100, but given that I had a SNES around then I doubt it...

If you've played it, this'll jog your memory: the game was so goddamned bright and the screen was so goddamned cluttered that it was hard to tell enemies apart from powerups apart from the background itself (and I just fired up the rom of the first one tonight, so damnit I know). The second one was a little better in that respect, but still...goodness.

[Professor Hazard]

I dunno if I can ever eat a Snickers again, remembering it in context with that syringe-wielding guy.

[Pjalne]

Snickers I'm okay with, it's the mayo that's causing trouble.

[Wes]

I totally want some of that mayo. It's gotta be great to warrant there being an entire game about it...and I totally need to make those tomato rings. Speaking of food, I should have a new culinary experience up on SC tomorrow (i.e. tonight sometime after 12 AM).

Oh, and I just went over to ebay to see if anyone was selling any Ajinomoto mayo. No dice, but I did see this... Clearly that mayo is awesome if it warrants having its own postcard. "Greetings from Japan; the mayonnaise is excellent." I want some.

[Pjalne]

Wow, I wish I had that.

[Corinnette]

I remember the Biker Mice From Mars... it was a decent enough show. They weren't exactly like the Turtles... There were only three of them, and their anthropomorphic rat mentor was named Stoker, rather than Splinter. So clearly... totally original.

You make an excellent point about Mars bars, perhaps if they hadn't let this video game slip through their fingers they wouldn't have been discontinued in favor of the second-rate Snickers w/almonds...

[Professor Fandango]

To my recollection, Biker Mice was pretty slow in comparison to the Turtles, ironic as they were on motorbikes.

And, you know, Snickers was originally called Marathon.

[Mess]

Twix were called Raiders.

I remembered the Snickers thing, but only after I read about it. And yes. Zool. The Ninja from the N'th dimention.

[asgromo]

You know what you needed? Something about that Doom-engine based Chex cereal game from several years back.

I don't know if any of you know what I'm talking about... You played a hero shaped like a Chex piece, and you walked about 4 or 5 large levels sending the evil "Flemoids" "back to their own dimension" with your special ray "shooting thingie that isn't a gun because that wouldn't be appropriate for small children." I think there's an article and a download on The Underdogs...

On a second matter altogether- an article on "Polybius" would be crazy awesome.

(Search for it if you don't know what it is, the whole thing is hilarious.)

[Professor Hazard]

Not only do I remember Chex Quest or whatever it was, I'm sure I still have several copies of it. GREAT GAME.

[Mess]

Quick Google search resulted in not only a review, but also the game itself.

doomworld.com/newstuff/chexquest.shtml

[Pjalne]

Damn, you're right. I should at least have mentioned it.