Bandango
04-29-2009, 10:25 AM
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCFT.jpg
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play Mario, Spy Hunter and Space Invaders all at the same time? Me neither! But thanks to a tip from Shawn Elliot’s horrific Twitter feed, I now know exactly what that would be like. ROM CHECK FAIL by Jarred ‘Farbs’ Woods is the game equivalent of a video mashup and, as far as I know, a completely unique invention. The concept is simple. Your emulator has gone fubar and all the ROMs in your completely legal ROM collection are being accessed at once. The result is a fantastic single-screen arcade shooter that’s challenging enough to keep you coming back for more.
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF2.jpg http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF3.jpg
Anyone who has ever fallen to the temptation of emulators will get the idea behind this game’s unique look. Art assets ripped straight out of classic games are complimented by the static-y bit blur of a broken ROM. Imagine Link in a Mario world fighting bad guys from Gauntlet to the music from Pacman. Sounds crazy enough. Now imagine the character, the level, the bad guys, and the music all changing at once in an explosion of pixel malfunctions. This change happens every ten seconds or so, and that’s when things get going.
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF4.jpg http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF1.jpg
ROM CHECK FAIL doesn’t only switch art assets during these crazy bit-splosions; it changes mechanics as well. Each time a new character replaces the current one, their abilities change too. Mario can run and jump, Link moves in four directions and the Asteroids ship controls like the Asteroids ship. Similarly, each new enemy takes on their native behavior from the game they were pulled from. This can make for some sticky situations. Say you have everything on lockdown as the jet from Defender. Well, assets may change and boom, there you are as Pacman charging headfirst to your death into a mass of colorful lines from Qix. This can be mighty frustrating sometimes, and most of your deaths will happen immediately after these asset switches, but that’s also what makes the game fun.
I played for a good half hour before I reached the end and even after beating it I can still imagine myself coming back. It was time well wasted and I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a mindless romp.
ROM CHECK FAIL is:
-unique and artful.
-fun and challenging.
-good for a quick play.
Jarred ‘Farbs’ Woods’ website-
http://www.farbs.org/
Direct download-
http://games.lastchancemedia.com/farbs/ROM%20CHECK%20FAIL%20Setup.exe (http://games.lastchancemedia.com/farbs/ROM%20CHECK%20FAIL%20Setup.exe)
Former GFW Editor Shawn Elliot’s twitter feed (entirely NSFW)-
http://twitter.com/ShawnElliott
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play Mario, Spy Hunter and Space Invaders all at the same time? Me neither! But thanks to a tip from Shawn Elliot’s horrific Twitter feed, I now know exactly what that would be like. ROM CHECK FAIL by Jarred ‘Farbs’ Woods is the game equivalent of a video mashup and, as far as I know, a completely unique invention. The concept is simple. Your emulator has gone fubar and all the ROMs in your completely legal ROM collection are being accessed at once. The result is a fantastic single-screen arcade shooter that’s challenging enough to keep you coming back for more.
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF2.jpg http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF3.jpg
Anyone who has ever fallen to the temptation of emulators will get the idea behind this game’s unique look. Art assets ripped straight out of classic games are complimented by the static-y bit blur of a broken ROM. Imagine Link in a Mario world fighting bad guys from Gauntlet to the music from Pacman. Sounds crazy enough. Now imagine the character, the level, the bad guys, and the music all changing at once in an explosion of pixel malfunctions. This change happens every ten seconds or so, and that’s when things get going.
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF4.jpg http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/RCF1.jpg
ROM CHECK FAIL doesn’t only switch art assets during these crazy bit-splosions; it changes mechanics as well. Each time a new character replaces the current one, their abilities change too. Mario can run and jump, Link moves in four directions and the Asteroids ship controls like the Asteroids ship. Similarly, each new enemy takes on their native behavior from the game they were pulled from. This can make for some sticky situations. Say you have everything on lockdown as the jet from Defender. Well, assets may change and boom, there you are as Pacman charging headfirst to your death into a mass of colorful lines from Qix. This can be mighty frustrating sometimes, and most of your deaths will happen immediately after these asset switches, but that’s also what makes the game fun.
I played for a good half hour before I reached the end and even after beating it I can still imagine myself coming back. It was time well wasted and I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a mindless romp.
ROM CHECK FAIL is:
-unique and artful.
-fun and challenging.
-good for a quick play.
Jarred ‘Farbs’ Woods’ website-
http://www.farbs.org/
Direct download-
http://games.lastchancemedia.com/farbs/ROM%20CHECK%20FAIL%20Setup.exe (http://games.lastchancemedia.com/farbs/ROM%20CHECK%20FAIL%20Setup.exe)
Former GFW Editor Shawn Elliot’s twitter feed (entirely NSFW)-
http://twitter.com/ShawnElliott