Collector’s Log #3: Calm Before The Incoming Storm

So… I went a little bit overboard when it came to Thanksgiving Weekend. Promotions at both J2Games and eStarland hooked me, and a few other games elsewhere caught my attention. This means that I’m going to need multiple Collector’s Log entries to break down the arrivals, so that I don’t write a novel-length post with a ton of photos.

Without further ado, let’s check out the first game:

DragonHeart: Fire & Steel is a “new to me” game that’s been on my want list for awhile. I literally know nothing about this, other than that I think it’s based on a movie and… oh, yeah– that’s the Acclaim logo! The back of the case makes it look like a hack & slash game, with a weird dragon riding sequence somewhere in there. It looks very “Year One PlayStation”, which might have some charm. This could also be wishful thinking.

The game was developed by Funcom. Not the typical Acclaim development ally, from what I recall. Wait… Funcom was responsible for the NBA HangTime ports on the Super NES and Genesis? I guess I learn something new every post. I also recall the team developing Speed Punks for the PlayStation, a game that I’ve heard about but played little.

Once I get around to playing it, I’ll share impressions. It’s kinda cool going into a 30 year-old game blind, though.

Next up:

After really enjoying the first two Xtreme games, getting the third back when it first came out in 1999 was a no-brainer. Seeing that 989 Studios logo in the lower right, as opposed to the Sony Computer Entertainment logo that the first two games sported, probably should’ve served as a warning– because 3Xtreme is… well… not good.

I guess it more unremarkable than anything, aside from the stylistic change of going polygonal everything from the sprite-based earlier games in the series– a 989 Studios staple style of the time. I remember ejecting from this game quickly and eventually using it as trade credit for something else. Maybe my opinion will change after 25+ years. For now, though, this serves the purpose of completing my Xtreme series set.

Now entering the ring…

The PlayStation has its share of titles representing “the sweet science”, like the Contender games, Mike Tyson Boxing, HBO Boxing, and the Knockout Kings trilogy. One uniting factor to all of these is that I absolutely stink at them. I’m no pro at Punch-Out!!, either, so… yeah. I definitely see the appeal to these games, though. The presentation (for the time) is solid, and the Knockout Kings games are more approachable than most while still delivering some pseudo-realism.

As with 3Xtreme, this upgraded copy of Knockout Kings 2001 completes a series set. Unlike 3Xtreme, however, I have no personal experience with this one. When this originally came out, I had moved on from FuncoLand and was working in ISP tech support– so my game-buying was less scattershot and much more targeted to things I *knew* I would play. So this qualifies as a “new to me” game.

Wrapping things up…

I passed on NHL Powerplay ’96 when it first came out. Sony’s NHL FaceOff was enough for me at the time on PlayStation, and I was still playing 16-bit hockey since EA was pretty late to the 32-bit party. At least based on some accounts, I have slept on this game for far too long. It’s apparently quite good. As a sports video game fan, I really don’t have a valid excuse for not having played this yet– and I’ve owned a copy for years now. This is an upgraded copy, complete with magazine quotes on a sticker. And that K-A ESRB rating sure makes me feel old.

What’s notable here is that Radical Entertainment developed this. Why is that notable? Well, the team would go on to develop ESPN National Hockey Night for the PlayStation… a game that ESPN cancelled at the last minute and FOX picked up. The game was reworked and renamed to FOX Sports NHL Championship 2000— a game that legit has some of the best presentation in a hockey game for the PlayStation console. In fact, it sits only behind NHL ’98 in my personal ranking of favorite PlayStation hockey games.

Upgrades continue to be a recent theme of these recent additions. When you’re over 1,150 game deep, there just isn’t a large number of games I can add that I don’t yet have and are interesting enough to me to add. There’s definitely a small list of wants, but those are also mostly triple-digit costs each and are games that I need to see in person before shelling out the money.

As we get closer to year’s end, I’ll share my collecting goals and thoughts for 2026 in a post here. For now, though, it’s time to wrap things up and wait for the next batch of games to come in. There are some legit new additions to my library coming, as well as some notable upgrades… and more common upgrades that have some personal significance. For sneak previews of these, check out my BlueSky and/or Threads social media accounts for photos and quicker-hitting thoughts.

See you next time!