Ný here. I just wanted to take a short break from my Turkey Day kitchening to review a game that is very dear to my heart. A game that I feel captures perfectly the spirit of Thanksgiving.

I have fond memories of playing Custer’s Revenge as a little girl. As a historically accurate portrayal of the Battle of Little Bighorn, Custer’s Revenge is not only a fun game for children, it is also very educational.

Custer’s Revenge is also a great source of moral and social lessons, though it was not without controversy. Released by Mystique for the Atari 2600 in 1982, in a time when interracial relationships were still seen as taboo, Custer’s Revenge broke through these social barriers. It is unfortunate that the world was not yet ready for such progressive thinking in a video game. Because it featured a romance between a white man and a Native American woman, Custer’s Revenge was the subject of much criticism in the gaming industry and it was eventually pulled from the market.

At it’s heart, Custer’s Revenge is an amazing story of love and loss. Even though their people tried keep them apart, General Custer was willing to brave arrow-fire to be with Revenge, the Native American woman for whom his heart so longed. If you are able to help General Custer survive the long trek to the other side of the screen, the star-crossed lovers can finally be together. Custer’s Revenge is truly a romance for the ages.

In Custer’s Revenge, General Custer is able to put racial and cultural differences aside and freely give of himself to his Native American lover, just as the white men freely shared their bounty and blankets with their Native American brethren at the very first Thanksgiving. It almost brings a tear to your eye!

The gameplay itself is very engaging. You can easily spend hours dodging those arrows in order to help General Custer to the other side of the screen so he can be with his love, Revenge, at long last. Though the controls are somewhat complex, they aren’t difficult to learn.

The graphics are also very well done. The character sprites are very detailed and life-like. The animation is smooth and the sprites’ movements feel very natural. Mystique really made the characters come to life! The textures used in the backgrounds are also very realistic and make you feel like you are actually there, in the wild west!

The soundtrack for Custer’s Revenge is very catchy. The music featured in the game does a great job of capturing the emotions of the characters.

Custer’s Revenge is a great game for all ages. It is sure to remain a classic for years to come.

Gameplay: 8.5
Soundtrack: 9
Graphics: 8.5
Replay Value: 10
Overall: A-

Much like Guns N’ Roses (or just Axl) did with their mega super smash “Chinese Democracy”, the developers at 3D Realms have done a great job of building up suspense surrounding a long awaited hit. Duke Nukem 3D sits in my top 10 all time PC games much like it probably does in many other people’s. It was very innovative from a game play perspective,very humorous from a dialogue perspective, and all in all a great game to play.

Every year or so, I hear Hans talking about something new regarding Duke Nukem Forever and we have a chuckle about it and how it’s never going to happen. Well folks, it looks like that day has finally come. I know that there has to be a ton of work involved in developing a game, but 12 years? The problem that I have with all of this is that Duke Nukem became a household name about 15 years ago. I know that there is typically 15 minutes of fame for people, but this was a successful franchise which could have generated many more games and much more revenue. The folks working on Quake, Doom, and Unreal continued to produce successful titles over the years. Gamers can be patient for a few years while a new title is being developed, but this was doomed once we hit the 21st Century. So I raise my champagne glass and toast what was a great series, especially Duke Nukem 3D. Let God sort them out!

This next one is an old favorite from Bad Dudes, also known as Bad Dudes Vs. The Dragon Ninja in the arcades. In it, you had to rescue President “Ronnie” from ninjas. Take a close look during the credits to see a burger in the president’s hand. I’ll let the rest speak for itself.

Both of these endings had me keeling over with laughter and disbelief. If only more games had endings like these.