Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Root Beer Tapper’ serves up fast-paced arcade fun

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Root Beer Tapper’ serves up fast-paced arcade fun

In nearly five years of running my small business of selling video games, one of the constant conversations I have is about the simplicity of the classics versus all the bells and whistles of today’s modern games, and today’s topic here on Turn to Channel 3 is really about what I feel every good game […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: Capcom’s ‘Cadillacs and Dinosaurs’ deserves revival from arcade extinction

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: Capcom’s ‘Cadillacs and Dinosaurs’ deserves revival from arcade extinction

While it certainly happens today, there’s something to be said about the hidden gems of yesteryear, especially in the realm of arcade games. In the 1980s and ’90s, arcades were chock full of popular titles, so much so that there were always a few diamonds in the rough, those that fell off the radars of […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Blood Bros.’ are the unsung heroes of the Wild West of arcades

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Blood Bros.’ are the unsung heroes of the Wild West of arcades

Happy 2018, readers! Turn to Channel 3 will continue showcasing games of years past in the new year, so we begin by taking a trip back to the arcades this month with some unsung heroes of that era, if you will. Today’s topic is a game with a ton of fun and twice as much […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: Santa delivers an average holiday in ‘Daze Before Christmas’

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: Santa delivers an average holiday in ‘Daze Before Christmas’

Another Christmas is in the books, and I hope you all had a great one, but I apologize if today’s topic already feels stale and Christmas overload-ish for you, but when you look at the history of true Christmas-themed games, there aren’t many to speak of, and even less that made the trek over here […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘C. Kane’ is the classic movie/RPG parody you’ll want like Rosebud

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘C. Kane’ is the classic movie/RPG parody you’ll want like Rosebud

Recently, a colleague asked me just what makes indie games, without those big budgets behind them, so successful? My immediate response is that they tap into something that elicits a memory or make an established formula even better. In the case of today’s Turn to Channel 3 topic, it is 50 percent parody, 50 percent […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: If you love retro games, you’ll dig ‘Shovel Knight’ on the Wii U

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: If you love retro games, you’ll dig ‘Shovel Knight’ on the Wii U

I recently read an article about the success of indie games on the Nintendo Switch, which has further bolstered the already stellar roster of titles for the console. Many developers were quoted as saying that one of the reasons their games have been so successful on the Switch is because many of them harken back […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Double Dragon Neon’ burns bright as ’80s throwback brawler

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Double Dragon Neon’ burns bright as ’80s throwback brawler

Creating new content from an established franchise is difficult business. The struggle is real, as it relates to how much you borrow from the past versus creating a totally new experience for the gamer. I’ve seen just as many failures as successes in this area of game development, and today we’re going to focus on […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Tecmo Cup Soccer’ kicks NES sports games up a notch

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Tecmo Cup Soccer’ kicks NES sports games up a notch

Recently, it was revealed to me that I had sunk over 20 hours into a Nintendo Switch game called “Golf Story,” one that combines the fun of 16-bit-style golf and an equally compelling RPG factor that tells an awesome and humorous story you can’t find in any ordinary golf video game. While this may seem […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Saturday Night Slam Masters’ doesn’t need wrestling stars to throw down

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: ‘Saturday Night Slam Masters’ doesn’t need wrestling stars to throw down

Happy Thanksgiving! Football may be the sport that comes to mind today, but because we’re talking about games I’m thankful for this month, we’re going to tackle wrestling instead. Wrestling video games had not yet entered a boom when today’s Turn to Channel 3 topic burst onto the scene on the Super Nintendo in the […]

 Nick DeMarco

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: No reboot or remaster needed – ‘DuckTales’ is still an NES classic

TURN TO CHANNEL 3: No reboot or remaster needed – ‘DuckTales’ is still an NES classic

To those who are new to the retro gaming collecting scene, I am often quoted as saying that you can’t go wrong with a Disney Capcom title, and I stand firm that it is still pretty true after all these years. But what is it that makes this a constant statement of this scribe? Today […]