The
problem with the endless rush of technology is that computers and
game consoles are quickly discarded in favor of the newest model.
For a creative medium with a long, rich history, this is a serious
problem for the video game. Classics like Elite to M.U.L.E.
to Revenge of Shinobi, to name a few, are needlessly lost by the
wayside.
It
would be as though the entire history of vinyl was lost in the age
of the Compact Disc, without any cataloge upgrades. Imagine that
only a handful of vinyl records were reissued on CD.
The
Emulators
Most
of videogame history would be lost if not for the efforts of some
dedicated programmers. In December, 1996, Nicola Salmoria began
working on his single hardware emulators, which led to the creation
of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) in early 1997. An
emulator is a software program that mimics the performance of an
older computer, allowing you to run all those old videogames.
Salmoria's
project led to an ever-growing team of programmers, adding to the
original program. Today, MAME supports over 2100 arcade titles from
the '70s to the mid-'90s, and Mr. Salmoria still coordinates the
project.
The
Gens Emulator and Herzog Zwei
Since
that time, emulators have been made that mimic virtually every game
console and home computer ever made. Currently, the best Genesis
emulator is called Gens.
This
little gem runs Genesis, Sega CD, and Sega 32X games perfectly;
the games look and sound as vibrant as the day they were new. There
are also several different graphics modes to smooth and improve
Genesis graphics.
Another
excellent feature of Gens (and many other emulators) is the ability
to play online via the Kalleria network. All you need are friends
to play against.
The
software roms themselves are very easy to find, if you know where
to look, especially for a successful game system like the Genesis.
Naturally, due to copyright laws, I cannot show you where to go,
but you should find Herzog Zwei without my help. Until next time,
good luck. |
