Month in Review: April 2010

One new system, a bunch of new games, some good playing time and a huge honkin' ash cloud lingering over me.

New Acquisitions

First off, not a game but something sort-of game related. Thanks to my friend in Hong Kong I now have all three albums by The Black Mages, a Japanese prog rock group featuring the great Nobuo Uematsu who specialise in playing awsome rock-flavoured covers of Final Fantasy soundtracks. Sounds corny, but it's actually really good. I'm a big prog and metal fan anyway and The Black Mages are extremely talented guys. Great stuff for prog fans with some killer keyboards and cracking guitar work.

As I mentioned in a blog not long ago, one of my collecting aims is to acquire all the CIassic NES releases for the GBA, boxed and complete of course. This was in part galvanised by my acquisition of a couple of the games on the cheap earlier in the month and since I already owned another few it only seemed natural to round things off by buying the lot. I've picked up six in total this month, added to the four I already owned, which means there's only two left to get. One of those is the damningly elusive Ice Climber and the other is the surprisingly hard to find Dr. Mario.

After debating with myself over whether to pay the extra and import this game I finally gave in and ordered it. I was lucky enough to find a UK-based seller with a good price and I'm glad I did. I love the Megami Tensei games and am always pretty gutted when they don't make their way over to these shores. The game is a nice boxed version which comes with a soundtrack... but it turns out all the soundtrack CDs from the initial pressing are duffers. Thankfully Atlus had a nice replacement program going (which does work for international folks too!) and the replacement CD turned up in no time at all.

I went into town to get my hair cut and came home with an armful of games instead. Sounds about right for me. The three Gamecube games were from CeX and are all complete in good to near mint condition. I especially wanted Paper Mario, it wasn't particularly cheap but it's getting hard to find so I grabbed it. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence for the DS was from Gamestation and is also in very good condition.

I've already mentioned this acquisition in a separate blog so I'll keep it brief. One Sega Game Gear, fully working (including the sound) in extremely good condition, with Columns. Ten English pounds, if you please. Serious Sam: The Second Encounter was from the same carboot sale and cost a whopping 50p.

A bunch of NES games that I've picked up online over the last month. They were all cheap pick-ups except for Darkwing Duck and Spy vs. Spy, which I paid a little more for because they are both games I've wanted for ages. I'm glad I did, because Spy vs. Spy turned out to be sealed. I never usually buy sealed games, because inevitably I want to play them and not just look at them, but it's kind of cool to have a sealed NES game. The seal isn't completely intact though; there's a few bits of damage and the box isn't completely mint, so it's hardly a prime collectable.

A small selection of games to add to my Resident Evil collection. Finally, after many years of sticking with the Director's Cut and REmake, I have an original copy of the first game. Resident Evil 4 for Wii was a bargain at just £4. The N64 version of Resident Evil 2 is actually quite hard to find as a complete copy, so I bit the bullet and paid just over £12 for that, something I wouldn't normally do for a 'double dip'. But it's my favourite Resident Evil game, so I don't mind paying a little extra.

Two accessories that I found kicking about at work. As a company we are getting out of the entertainment business, so most of the remaining ents stock is subject to crazy price cuts and offers in a bid to get rid of all the tat. Of course we get the pick of the bunch before the general masses, so I picked out an Xbox 360 Play and Charge kit and a Sony DualShock 2 controller, both brand new, for £2.50 each.

A couple of pick-ups from Game Zone, two for a fiver, as usual. I've developed quite a taste for these retro collections lately, I had no idea there were so many quality pieces of shovelware knocking about on the PS2. Midway Arcade Treasures contains some of my favourite oldie arcade titles, so that was a must-have for me. On the other hand, I've never even touched an Intellivision game before, so hopefully this will be a nice introduction for me.

Finally, a pair of games from Zavvi. The Broken Sword Trilogy contains the first three games in the cIassic PC adventure series and I'm really looking forward to playing these through, the first two games especially. Resonance of Fate is a game I've had my eye on since long before release, but I didn't pick up right away as I was a little occupied with Final Fantasy XIII. But when I saw it on sale at Zavvi for £17.99 I didn't even blink before adding it to my basket. I actually had a promotional code for the website too, so when combined with a few other things the game only cost me £16.38!

Games Played

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (PC)

I've just started playing this. I've actually played this before but I couldn't really remember much about it so it's like playing a brand new game to me. It's a very traditional point-and-click adventure from the folks who made Lure of the Temptress and Beneath a Steel Sky, with a great story and a nice, understated sense of humour. At the moment I've just flown to Ireland and am in the pub. There's a surprise.

Final Fantasy XIII (X360)

I've played this quite a lot this month, even though lately I've only been able to play games at the weekend. I've really enjoyed my time with Final Fantasy XIII and have come to some conclusions about the game, namely a) I like it and b) it does not deserve the flak it has recieved. I wasn't sure at first, but now I am quite happy to say that Final Fantasy XIII is one of the best games I've played in recent times and I'd probably rank it third or fourth best in the FF series. I've now beaten the main game, after about 50 hours of play and am planning on returning to mop up marks and side-quests, maybe in between playing other games. I've also dinged another 8 achievements, for 215 points.

Game Room (X360)

Not so much a game as a nifty little foyer for all those old arcade cIassics of yesteryear. The game line up isn't great yet, in fact the only one I'm really tempted with at the moment is Shaolin's Road. Even though I'm not particularly impressed with the pricing structure I'll most likely be forking over for a few games down the line. I have no MS points at the moment though, so it's pretty moot. Having said that, just by playing around with the decor in my game room and hanging out with a couple of friends I've unlocked a few achievements, 7 for 80 points.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)

My current 'unwinding' game. There's nothing better than shooting zombies in the face for relaxing after a hard day's grind. Umbrella Chronicles is pretty good for a rail shooter - it's basically a York Notes version of RE Zero, the original Resident Evil and RE 3. It works both as a nice offshoot for fans of the series and as a good introduction to the series background for those who may have only played the latest Resident Evil games. The controls are quite good too. I've not bothered using a 'lightgun' casing for this one, it works best just using the remote and nunchuk as they are. Less hand cramp that way, although I am still finding it difficult to play Wii for long stretches of time*. Anyway, I've completed the first two episodes of this game now, with ratings of A or B on all chapters.

* I damaged my right hand as a child, so holding anything with a steady grip can be difficult for long stretches. 45-60 minutes is about my limit with a Wiimote before I have to stop completely. Standard controllers are much easier for me, even the monstrously large ones such as the 360 controller, as they don't have to be held quite so securely (I don't know about you, but I tend not to wave them around quite so much as a Wiimote).

Sacred Gold (PC)

A pretty standard Diablo-esque hack-n-slasher that I bought off Steam a few months back. It's quite a fun game - I've been playing as a Vampire - and it's absolutely huge. The game world is massive and the sheer number of quests to undertake is simply staggering. I'm only in Act I at the moment, I've been spending most of my time tracking down the more interesting side-quests. I think this is one of those games that I'll be returning to on and off for a long time, I don't think it's a game where I could just plough through to the end. Rather, it must be savoured.

Wallace & Gromit: Episode 1 - Fright of the Bumblebees (XBLA)

I bought this off the Xbox Live Arcade while it was on half-price sale. I love Wallace & Gromit, I grew up watching the shorts on TV every bank holiday and I love the recent film and new short. There's just something so quaint and quintessentially British about the whole thing and the animation is superb. Regarding the game, I think this sort of episodic adventure is perfectly suited to the license - each episode is just like one of the old shorts. I'll definately be getting the other episodes at some point down the line. I finished this one is an afternoon, getting every achievement along the way (12 for 200 points).

In Conclusion...

A pretty good month all round. Now I've finished the main story of Final Fantasy XIII I'm probably going to return to some of the games I abandoned when I started playing that and hopefully make some good progress. I've also got a few little ideas for blogs rattling about, so I might spring a couple of those on the unsuspecting masses soon...

Also, I've finally got around to updating my account over at Backloggery and should be using it much more frequently. I've just about updated all the games I can there, though the completion status for each game might not be right yet as I got lazy when adding all those games. Anyway, you can always catch me there; my account name is, of course, totalgridlock.

Just a few days after posting of my aim to get a Mega Drive at some point this millennium, I actually did manage to acquire my very first Sega console. Not a Mega Drive, but a rather splendid Game Gear.

I picked it up on a carboot on Sunday, loose but in great condition, along with Columns for a mere £10. Bargain! I've sort-of wanted a Game Gear for a while, it was never high on my priority wish list but I was getting a bit fed-up with the lack of working examples at the right price. I've had to pass on so many Game Gears in the past due to non-working sound (or even non-working screens in some cases) so I was extremely pleased that I found one - not only in very good condition and at the right price, but attached to a thoughtful seller who came prepared with batteries for testing!

You know, I do think the Game Gear is an underappreciated piece of hardware. I can't speak too much for the games (yet), but the console itself was an achievement for Sega and it deserved to do better. The screen and hardware is impressive, the console is ergonomic (if a little too heavy for my small hands) and most of the big Sega franchises make an appearance. Shame about the battery life. I'll have to dig an AC adaptor out of my crazy box of wires and whatnot.

Now, I need some advice. That's right: I'm after your suggestions for great Game Gear games. I will hold my hands up high and say I am not the most knowledgeable gamer when it comes to Sega (I was always more of a Ninty fan) so any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated. So far, from my own knowledge and after looking around a few websites I've come up with a small wishlist:

Axe Battler
Crystal Warriors
Defenders of Oasis
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Fantasy Zone
All the Sonic games
Wonder Boy

Obviously I know about the biggies - Sonic, Streets of Rage, Ecco and so on - but what I'm really after are games that are not just stripped-down copies of their Master System/Mega Drive big brothers but either offer something a bit different or are great games in their own right. I'm still looking to get a Mega Drive soon and I will be adding Master System compatibility to either that or maybe even my new Game Gear via an adaptor, so I don't want to double up too much either. Genre-wise, I tend to go for platformers and action-adventure/RPG games, but as usual I will give anything a spin if it's good enough.

So... whatcha think?

In other news: Damn you Iceland and your silly little volcanoes! I know you've just done it to spite me, to strand two of my senior sales staff at the far ends of the earth while you cover our airspace in your dandruff, forcing me to work extra-long hours filled with stress and idiots, not only cutting into my gaming time but leaving me too knackered to do anything at all once I get home! Bah!

Not too long ago I was discussing games with a real-life friend of mine (also a collector, you should see his CIB Game Boy collection, it boggles the mind) and we got on to the topic of gaming and collecting goals. He's a very focussed collector – his games of choice are handheld titles and little else – and when he decides on something he wants he goes all out for it to the exclusion of pretty much everything else. It's a method that has served him well and he's acquired some impressive items though dedication, perseverance and a not insignificant amount of dough.

I, on the other hand, am much more... free with my collecting. I rarely set myself specific goals, preferring to sit back and see what comes my way. That way, I am always surprised when I go retro hunting, whether it be in the real world or on the internet. And, most importantly, it ensures I am never disappointed. Sure, there are particular games I want and would gladly give my left pinky for if they drifted across my line of sight – but I rarely go after them with a vengeance. It's mostly because I'm cheap, partly because I love discovering the unknown, but I much prefer waiting for a surprise bargain – even if it's something I didn't know I wanted!

In the end, we (sort of) agreed that both methods have their pros. His collection may gather more brownie points with the rare game club, but my collection is much broader and more accurately reflects my playing tastes. Sometimes it's best to have a healthy mix of the two approaches. My friend did manage to weasel a few minor collecting goals out of me in the end, mainly little things that I have never pursued with intent. Maybe it's time I started. There are some things you just can't find by accident, after all.

So I decided to make a record of what I deem to be my first official collecting targets, just so I can't back out of them when the going gets tough. Firstly, a few specific goals that should be achievable without too many problems.

Number one, I am going for the complete collection of NES Classics for the Game Boy Advance, boxed and complete. I bought the NES Special Edition SP on release day, along with The Legend of Zelda and picked up a couple more over the following months (Castlevania, Metroid, Zelda II). Now, after many years, I've decided I want them all! I've recently picked up a bunch more off eBay, now there's only three left to get. I've also been looking at the Japanese Famicom Mini releases – I've decided these are something I'd like to get but are in no way a priority. I'll pick those up when I see them.

Still to get:

#1: Super Mario Bros.
#3: Ice Climber
#11: Dr. Mario

Secondary goal: Famicom Mini series.

Progress towards goal: 9 out of 12 (75%)

Secondly, I'd like to polish off my PAL Resident Evil collection, including multi-platform releases but not different versions of the same game (such as Limited and Standard versions, Platinum releases or different language editions). I'm also not including different versions of Resident Evil 5 yet, I already have the 360 LE which will do for now until the others are a lot cheaper. There's about 15-20 individual releases I still need to get, a large chunk of those for consoles I don't own so I don't want to be paying huge sums of cash for them. Priority targets are the original PS1 Resident Evil (I only have the Director's Cut, would you believe it?), Resident Evil 2 for N64 and the remaining GameCube releases.

Brand spanking new pictures of my current Resident Evil collection can be found here.

Still to get:

Original Resident Evil (PS, Saturn, PC big box)
Resident Evil (Wii)
Resident Evil 2 (GameCube, Nintendo 64, Game.com, Dreamcast, PC big box)
Resident Evil 3 (GameCube, Dreamcast, PC big box)
Resident Evil 4 (GameCube, Wii, PC)
Resident Evil Zero (Wii)
Resident Evil Code Veronica (Dreamcast)
Resident Evil Code Veronica X (Gamecube)

Secondary goal: Box and manual for Resident Evil Gaiden (currently have cart only).

Progress towards goal: 17 out of 35 (48.6%)

A slightly less-achievable target would be my long-term plan for my NES collection. I'd love to have a complete UK collection. There's just over 200 games available and thankfully only a few are truly elusive. But NES games are nearly all pretty expensive here – especially complete copies – and I've already acquired most of the cheaper ones. But I'm keeping my eyes open for bargains and am slowly progressing towards this goal.

Some pictures of my NES collection are located here.

Progress towards goal: 111 out of 239 (46.4%)

Those are my specific goals at the moment, subject to change without notice of course! There are a few general goals in the back of my mind though, mainly hardware-related.

I need a Mega Drive. It's unbelievable that I could have spent all 22 of my years in this country and not ever owned a Mega Drive. Oh yeah, I've played with other peoples' plenty; in fact that's the main reason I never got around to buying my own. I reasoned that since half my friends still had their Mega Drives hanging about I could spend my pennies on more obscure stuff. It's not really a valid excuse any more, so I'd love to get my mitts on a good condition Model I, a couple of 6-button controllers and maybe even a Mega CD and Master System converter to go with it. I'll wait until I see a nice base unit on a carboot, they pop up often enough, then I'll likely pick up the rest on eBay. Hopefully I'll get lucky with the carboots this summer.

The other hardware goal I have is to get a MSX computer. There's so much great software out there for these Japanese machines, including early entries in many great series such as Castlevania and Metal Gear. I'd need a MSX2 with a disk drive for a lot of them, and I want a good, reliable model so I really need to do my research. The Toshiba model common in the UK looks gorgeous, but it's too basic for my needs. Luckily the MSX was fairly popular in mainland Europe, especially in Holland, so tracking a nice one down (probably a Philips) shouldn't be too hard when I decide to take the plunge.

There's lots of minor goals and targets I have, but most of those aren't 'active quests', so to speak, and generally rely on picking things up as and when I see them. These sort of vague goals include picking up '80s LCD handhelds, buying Final Fantasy and Zelda titles on the cheap, acquiring everything with Dungeons & Dragons in the title, finding lots of Star Wars games and that sort of thing. I couldn't even keep track of those, so I don't try – and frankly a lot of Star Wars games are crap so I don't want to go too much out of my way for them!

I plan to return to this in the future, maybe on a six-month basis, and see where I'm up to. It's more a record for me than for anyone else, but feel free to post a comment below. Maybe share your gaming/collecting goals if you have them? Or maybe you collect other stuff too? I remember when I was going for the whole set of first edition Fighting Fantasy game books (nearly got there, too)... how geeky is that?

Retro Revival: 8-Bit Kung Fu

Here we are, issue two of a blog series charting my adventures into the history of 8-bit home computing. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I have a large number of games for that rubbery cIassic, the ZX Spectrum – although, in a particularly poor show for a self-proclaimed retro gamer, I haven't even touched most of them! So I set out on a challenge to rectify this, bringing the results together in this blog.

After the pervasive randomness of the first blog, this one will be – as promised – a bit more brutal. That's right, this time I've focussed my efforts on beat 'em ups, brawlers and proto-fighters. Enjoy, or I shall destroy you with my (8-bit) kung fu!

Bruce Lee

The first game to bear Bruce Lee's name is an action game created by Ocean Software and published by US Gold in 1984. It is a conversion of an original Commodore 64 game by Datasoft, which was also ported to the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Atari 8-bit range, Apple II and DOS.

The loading screen for Bruce Lee is decent enough. There's a great colour image of the man himself, kicking ass as usual. Shame most of the screen is taken up by a large flashing 'Bruce Lee' and the company logo. We get that Datasoft made the original game! Apologies for the messed-up shot of the loading screen, it's actually a two-frame gif (the only way I could capture the flashing title) and the picture hasn't quite escaped the conversion process unscathed.

It's a simple action game that seems pretty easy to pick up and play. The action is very quick, fast and fun, with surprisingly tight controls. The player is given control of Bruce, who can kick, punch, launch flying kicks and basically pound his enemies into dust on his quest to find the fire-breathing wizard and discover the secret of eternal life. That's basically the plot right there and the game doesn't get much more complicated than that. I need to collect a bunch of lanterns before I can progress and there are some platforming elements, but everything else revolves around wanton violence. There are only two enemies (at least that I have found so far), a little guy with a big stick and a big guy with a little nappy (Mr. Sumo, I presume). Bruce is just a little stick figure with hair and this, combined with the speedy gameplay, brings to mind that silly Xiao Xiao nonsense. Because everything is so small, though, this creates a small issue where I can't actually see what's going on half the time! Bruce is white, the walls are white, the enemies are white, combine this with the charming colour bleed so prevalent on the Spectrum... although the lanterns are yellow and there are sprinklings of red and green, you can see where this might cause problems. Overall though, it's quite an easy game and I've progressed quite far with only a couple of game overs.

I love martial arts movies and I love Bruce Lee. I almost squealed when I found this tape. But frankly, the game could star anyone. The player character sort of looks like Bruce, but it's hard to tell when he's only a centimetre tall. It doesn't really matter in the end, it's a great game regardless.

Yie Ar Kung Fu

Next up is a game a lot of you have probably played before in one form or another. Yie Ar Kung Fu for Spectrum was converted from the original Konami coin-op by Imagine Software and released in 1985. My copy is included on the tape compilation 'Konami Coin-Op Hits'. Conversions of the coin-op were also released for the Nintendo NES, Commodore 64, BBC, CPC and MSX. More recently, the game was released on GBA (in the 'Konami Collector's Series: Arcade CIassics' compilation) and DS ('Konami Arcade CIassics'). It can also be found on the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii Virtual Console.

Yie Ar Kung Fu's loading screen is the blandest one to date. A plain black screen, no picture, just the game title in lazy red script and the in-your-face logos of the companies behind the game. Couldn't we at least get a Bruce Lee lookalike as on the cassette cover? I hope the game is more interesting to look at. On a side note, look at that old-styIe Konami logo... that's how we know this game is really old!

After a small loading hiccup, forcing me to watch that screen again, I'm finallly in the game. First impressions count for a lot and in this game they are not doing a lot to wow me over. The graphics are pretty appalling, even by Spectrum standards - everything is too bright and tries too hard to emulate the arcade version. At least the characters are large and it's easy to see what I'm doing. The game itself is a fairly simple one-on-one fighter; the player takes control of Oolong (what a name) and has to fight through a number of different opponents, from flying Buchu to ninjafan-wielding Lady Fan to the ultimate boss, Blues. Looking at the instruction leaflet I don't think it's a very long game, with just nine fights in total. I've managed to get up to Lady Fan without too much trouble, but she seems to kick my ass every time. There are a fair number of moves on offer - punches and kicks, flying a leaping versions of the same, jumps, roundhouse kicks, lunges, low blows - although any forms of special moves are absent. There are no combos that I can determine and victory in each bout appears wholly dependent on button-mashing. However, how is that really different to most other fighters? Yie Ar Kung Fu has a particular control niggle too - it's probably reserved for the Spectrum, which can only handle one joystick button - but to change between kicks and punches I have to press the spacebar. Not exactly easy when both hands are occupied with the joystick. I ended up sitting on the floor, using my big toe to tap the spacebar when needed. Works okay, probably does my back a whole lot of damage.

I admit I'm not exactly an authority when it comes to fighters, so I'll just say it how I see it. These early one-on-one beat-em-ups really show a lot of the early groundwork for later fighting franchises like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, King of Fighters et al. They tend to have a more traditional martial arts basis (possibly due to the cult popularity at the time of scratchy old kung fu movies) than later games, which really appeals to me. By the way, isn't Yie Ar Kung Fu the greatest title ever? Yiiiiiiiiieee-arrrrrrrrgghhh!!!

The Way of the Tiger

The Way of the Tiger is a beat-em-up created by Gremlin Graphics and released in 1986. It is loosely based on the Avenger series of gamebooks, a rather obscure series in the Fighting Fantasy/Lone Wolf styIe created by Mark Smith and Jamie Thompson in the early 1980s. The video game released for the Spectrum, Commodore 16, C64, CPC and MSX home computers. A sequel was made, titled Avenger, which wasn't a beat-em-up but a Gauntlet-styIe hack-n-slash.

The loading screen is a bit boring, with just the title and credits shown with the status bar from the game along the bottom. It's a shame since the cover art (and the art from the game books) is pretty good.

Judging from the two tapes in the case, Way of the Tiger is a large game. The master program is on one side of the first tape, with the other three sides containing the three levels from the game. In order to start playing, I had to load the master program, select a leel and load that level from the correct tape. A necessary evil considering the technological limitations, but annoying nonetheless. It didn't help that it took me four tries to load the master program - the tape was squeaky and my elderly Spectrum obviously translated the struggling whines of a tape in its death throes as data input... and threw up an error. Surprisingly, level one (which is located on the flip side of the squeaky tape) loaded without incident. After all the hassle, the game itself came as a bit of a let-down. Combat is of a basic beat-em-up variety, with scrolling levels and a reasonable variety of combat moves depending on the level. Level one consists on unarmed combat, level two is pole fighting on a wobbly log bridge and level three sees the hero take on all comers with a samurai sword. The moves are cool and the animation is pretty good for the time - enemies will clutch their affected body parts, fly through the air or crumble in pain upon a successful attack. Attacking power depends on the level of your Inner Force - a stamina reserve which is depleted when performing combat moves - whereas current health is represented by Endurance. Or it could be the other way around. All the ingredients are there for a great beat-em-up... but the whole thing is let down by a rather languid pace. Seriously, an asthmatic ant with some heavy shopping could move quicker than the supposed ninjas in Way of the Tiger. So, a disappointment.

The Way of the Tiger is an early entry in the gang beat-em-up genre, with some very interesting ideas but ultimately overshadowed by genre heavyweights such as Renegade and Double Dragon, released just one year later.

Kung Fu Master

Last, but certainly not least, we have a cIassic coin-op conversion that you may be more familiar with than you think. Kung Fu Master was a conversion of the Data East coin-op of the same name, written for Spectrum by Ocean Software and published by US Gold in 1986. The game was also ported to CPC, C64, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Apple II and DOS. Additionally, Nintendo got their hands on the rights and released their own version for the NES, simply titled Kung Fu. Yes, that Kung Fu. The coin-op is supposedly a vague tie-in to the 1983 Jackie Chan film, Wheels on Meals; the cabinet was released in Japan as Spartan X, which was the title of the film in that region. The game always seemed more akin to Bruce Lee's unfinished epic Game of Death to me, though.

The loading screen is very colourful and actually pretty nice. There is an illustration of a kung fu master doing what he does best and aside from the garish colours it isn't too badly drawn. The huge-ass company logo strikes again, though.

Anyway, the gameplay of Kung Fu Master shouldn't need too much introduction and will be familiar to anyone who has played the NES game Kung Fu... and who hasn't? It is a simple side-scrolling beat-em-up where the player has to kick and punch their way through relentless waves of enemies. Despite the unusual right-to-left scrolling at the start (initially jarring to someone weaned on traditional 8-bit platformers and brawlers) I quickly got into the swing of things and am soon beating my foes into the floor on my way up the tower. Yes, in true Game of Death styIe, I'm fighting my way to the top of a tower to beat the bad guy, save the day and probably rescue a lovely lady on the way. At the end of each level, or floor, there is a boss who must be defeated in order to progress to the next floor. I feel I have to make a special note of the graphics too - yes, they are crude, but the red, blue, green colouring is a welcome change from the Spectrum's usual palette of cyan, magenta, yellow. The hero is the little white guy and the baddies come in all flavours of purple, blue and even green.

It's beat-em up 101. The coin-op is considered one of the first brawlers, forbear to games such as Double Dragon and an early entry in the 'rescue girlfriend/hit people' subgenre. The Spectrum conversion is - taking into account the obviously inferior hardware - quite an accurate port that definately captures the spirit of the arcade game, though understandably not sprite-for-sprite replication.

I will have to leave it there for now. I really enjoyed taking these old games for a spin, they are all a little part of history in my eyes, showing the early genesis and evolution of some gaming styIes we tend to take for granted. There are plenty more 8-bit brawlers and fighters out there for home micros, including the excellent Target Renegade and contender for best-titled game ever: The Way of the Exploding Fist. I so need to find a copy of that game.

Month in Review: March 2010

A pretty large number of new acquisitions this month, anyone on a slow internet connection should probably turn back now because there's a lot of pictures. I've tried to keep them all relatively small though! I also indulged in a fair bit of gaming with some killer titles.

New Acquisitions

My first purchases of the month were a couple of proper old-school computer RPGs. Betrayal at Krondor is so minty fresh it could be mashed up and used as toothpaste; the same goes for the strategy guide. The other CD is the complete Ultima Collection, which features Ultima I through VIII, as well as Akalabeth. I already have Ultima VII (in all it's forms) and VIII, but I've been looking for a hard copy of the earlier games for a while now. This loose CD will tide me over for now.

At last, the wait is over. You have no idea how glad I was that Final Fantasy XIII was released on 360, I really didn't want to have to fork out for another console just for this. I bought the game and the guide brand new, pre-ordered of course to ensure they got here on release day. The game arrived fine and on time (thanks, Royal Mail), however the guide was kicked around by the Home Delivery Network for a week before getting here. I've already stopped using Amazon thanks to HDNL, looks like Play are next. When will online retailers stop using these cowboys? Anyway, the game is pretty darn awesome.

It's amazing what you find lying around. I almost didn't see this, in fact it was only the WHS logo that caught my eye. I looked closer simply out of mild curiousity: I work for Smiths, and just wondered what sort of rubbish we used to sell. Turns out we used to sell rather snazzy accessories for the 8-bit home computing market of 80's Britain. This is basically just a souped-up mono tape recorder, optimised for use with the ZX Spectrum et al. It's solidly built and works like a dream. I've already swapped out the Sony tape recorder I usually use with my Speccy.

Three brand new games courtesy of Zavvi online, costing £17.95 apiece. Considering Silent Hill and Crystal Bearers had only been released a couple of weeks earlier, that's pretty good going. I also wanted Magna Carta 2 before it disappeared completely from the shops (note to self: pick up Tales of Vesperia and Divinity II soon).

A selection of games from two seperate visits to Game Zone, a new shop that has opened just across from where I work. It's not the same as the nationwide rental store Game Zone, these guys only have about three stores that are all fairly local. Anyway, they have pretty good prices on used stuff; PS2 games are all 2 for £5, which is great if you find something worthwhile.

I picked these up in a charity shop for 50p each. I don't have a Mega Drive, but I was going to stay with some old uni friends that weekend who do have a Mega Drive, and wanted something we could play together and have fun with so I picked the only non-sports title I could find. I think Whizz (the PS1 game) is a PAL exclusive, and it's not bad for 50p.

A selection of items from eBay, all from different sellers and all games I've wanted for a while. The Sam & Max/Day of the Tentacle twinpack continues my adventure binge. Both this and Might & Magic VI are games I should have bought years ago, but I always put off buying them even when I saw them everywhere for like £2.99 new. I guess I thought I'd always have the opportunity to buy them... then they disappeared and I had to resort to eBay. I didn't have to pay too much for them though. The War of the Worlds is based on the Jeff Wayne musical and it is quite different from the PC game. I'm a big WOTW fan, so it's nice to finally own a copy. The black cart is the Codemasters release of Super Adventure Quests (aka Quattro Adventure) for the NES.

A brace of Channel F cartridges! I've owned a Channel F (the Adman Grandstand version) since last year but I've never managed to track down any carts for it. I know they are pretty hard to find everywhere, but here it is like trying to find Bigfoot. I could have bought some off eBay US, but the shipping would have killed me. So I patiently searched the European eBay sites, always coming up empty until now. Two auctions, two sellers, both ending at a grand total of 99p. Videocart 3 is complete, Videocart 2 is loose, but both are in good nick for their age.

I love freebies. My brother came home to visit for a week this month and brought presents. He gets all kinds of stuff for free, but since he has to keep up the appearance of being a man I get gifted everything of the plushy variety. It's nearly always Warcraft related, but I don't care because they're so damn cute!

Two new games from PC World and their mega clearout. Might & Magic IX was around £3, Banjo Kazooie was just under £5.

I've longed for the good old days of the real expansion pack and a part of me wishes all this DLC and micro-transaction nonsense would just die, already. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (what a mouthful) is a real nostalgia trip in that sense. Yet just like the main game, it manages to be traditional and fresh and exciting, all at the same time. I love Dragon Age and hope there's a ton more expansion packs on their way! I bought this new on release day. Red Faction Guerilla was a freebie, it came with my brother's copy of Metro 2033, and since he already has the game he gave it to me. It's disc-only, but it's a free game.

A selection of games bought used from CeX. The two GameCube games are kiddy games, but they were cheap and Billy Hatcher is actually quite good (it's by the Sonic Team). Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel completes my Fallout collection and Might & Magic VIII is just another cIassy addition to my PC RPG pile.

Two used DS games, ticking another couple off my wishlist. Blue Dragon was under a fiver in Game, it's mint and complete. Devil Survivor was from eBay, it is quite literally 'as new'. I've been looking for a reasonably priced copy of the first Megaten DS game and finally I found one. It was never released in Europe, which usually means I have to go down the import path and get hammered with the shipping. Luckily I found this from a UK seller, just in time to start my hunt for the second game, Strange Journeys. While we're on the subject: does anyone know if the soundtrack CD that comes with Strange Journeys is included with all copies of the game? None of the import sites are very specific and I don't want to pay through the teeth if I won't even get the soundtrack!

Another acquisition from Game Zone, a used but mint copy of Zelda for Wii (it's still even got the unused Club Nintendo card in the case). The PS1 games were cheap pick-ups from a charity shop, not games I especially wanted but solid additions to my collection.

Two more games from a charity shop, The 7th Guest and Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Both are disc and case only but were very cheap and are in great nick. I actually owned The 7th Guest once before, but it was sold off in the great PC game cull of the early noughties. I'm glad I got another copy. Riven for PC and Return of the King for PS2 were picked up on the first carboot of the season, it was a bit gloomy so there weren't many sellers, but the morning wasn't a total bust. I can't wait till the weather gets a bit better, carboots are great for game hunting.

Games Played

Discworld (PC)

I've been on a bit of an adventure binge lately. It's been a real nostalgia trip for me. The first Discworld game isn't one I'd played before (I've only ever played Discworld II and Noir) but now, having finally played it through, I am suitably impressed. I'm a huge Pratchett fan - I love the books, the TV adaptations, you name it... and the games are sublime. High time for another installment, I think, maybe in episodic form a la Sam & Max?

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (PC)

I was really looking forward to the first proper expansion for Dragon Age. I loved the main game and thought it was a great mix of traditional role-playing and modern technology in a brilliant setting. I make no secret of the fact that I dislike the way DLC is usually handled; high prices for little content is a worryingly prevalent trend these days. So I was pleased when Awakening was announced as a full-blown expansion, just like in the good old days. While I wouldn't say it was a huge add-on, it is at the least a good-sized one, featuring a satisfying story, new characters, further character options and around 20 more hours of gameplay. I really enjoyed this one.

Dragon Quest Swords (Wii)

I've played a few Wii games this month, but the major focus of my attention has been Dragon Quest Swords. It's basically a Wii version of the old Kenshin Dragon Quest TV game, a game that is perfectly suited to the Wii's controls. It's a shame then that the whole thing was so poorly implemented. The controls are not sensitive enough for the fast-paced gameplay and are also utilised in an awkward way. I ended up with cramp after only a short time playing. It's not such a bad game overall though, I still had fun with it and will no doubt persevere to the end.

Final Fantasy XIII (X360)

Ah, the biggie. I was really hyped for this as I'm a pretty big fan of the series. I am not a mindless sheep, however, and am able to see that even my favourite games have flaws. Final Fantasy XIII is flawed. It is big, it is pretty, the story is good, the characters are fun and the gameplay is mostly excellent... but there is something missing. At first I thought it was the linearity of the game - although most FF games are linear to a degree, this one literally has you walking in a straight line for the first ten or so chapters - but in reality I'm not too fussed about that. I was at first, but I thought about it and realised that some of my favourite games are strictly linear. Some exploration would have been nice, but I can live without it. I love good stories and in my opinion (contrary to some), FF XIII delivers that in bucketloads. So what's the missing ingredient? I have no idea (yet), but I'm just not feeling the wow factor quite as much as I was hoping. At the moment I'm on Chapter 10 and have dinged 11 achievements for 230 points.

Full Throttle (PC)

Full Throttle is a great game, an adventure cIassic to the bone. I love the biker theme, mixed up with a bit of Mad Max and a whole lot of cIassic Lucasarts humour. I even like the action sequences (I know many don't) - the bike fighting reminds me of Road Rash and the destruction derby looks like something straight out of Micro Machines! I finished this over several evenings, thanks to the retro-enabling power of ScummVM.

King's Quest (PC)

Since I recently picked up the King's Quest collection, I thought I'd go right back to the beginning, where it all began for Sierra adventures. King's Quest is short and crude by today's standards, but it is still a joy to play. Difficult but never frustrating, funny but never cringe-inducing, it's easy to see where later Sierra adventures (and others) had their roots. I don't like King's Quest as much as Space Quest, but that's probably because I grew up with Space Quest. Once again, I got this running via ScummVM, which I encourage all adventure fans to check out if they have trouble running their games on modern systems.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (X360)

I didn't play this much this month, as my 360 gaming was taken over by Final Fantasy XIII, but I did manage to make some progress. I've finished the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in story mode and am working on completing each hub to 100%. I've also finished Raiders of the Lost Ark in story mode, which got me one more achievement, for 15 points.

In Conclusion...

I am aware that today is 1st April, and that traditionally one is supposed to post a spoof or something else funny. Truth is, I forgot today was April Fool's Day until I was already home from work and it was much too late then to muck about trying to be funny.

So I'll just leave you with one of my favourite pranks of years gone by.

Retro Revival: Spectrum Heaven

Remember the ZX Spectrum?

I have a ton of old Spectrum games on tape and what is really shocking is that I've played just a small handful out of the whole bunch. It's an oversight I've been meaning to rectify for a while, ever since I picked up a Spectrum on a carboot last summer. I acquired a couple of boxes of games around the same time, dug everything I could find out of the loft, and promptly couldn't be bothered to load anything more than a couple of times, even though I get nostalgic every time I look at the machine.

Growing up in Britain it was only natural that my initial introduction to the world of video games was through old computers, rather than consoles. I'm talking Spectrums, Commodores, BBC Micros, Orics, Dragon 32s, those yellowing Acorn Electrons that every former British schoolchild of a certain age remembers with either nostalgia or horror (or both). Real geek machines. Rubber-membrane keyboards, daisy-chained peripherals and notoriously unreliable tape-based loading. I'd like to say that those were the good old days but truth be told, most of these glorious machines were breathing their last (or stone cold dead already) when I was old enough to really get into gaming in the early 90s. Sure, we had a Spectrum (and a Commodore, and I mucked about with BBCs and Acorns at school), but I missed the true glory days of the 8-bit home computer... and I know I missed out on gaming gold.

So that is the purpose of this blog. To educate myself and hopefully a few others about some of the cIassic home computer games of the 1980s and have some real retro fun along the way. Many of the games below may have passed under the radar of many non-UK retro gamers. Maybe you live in a country that didn't have such a sordid love affair with the microcomputer, or maybe (like me) you're just that bit too young to remember when games came on tape and the only real question was: Which was better? Commodore or Speccy?

I've dug deep into my box of tapes and pulled out a fair few titles for this blog series (and with the number of games I want to take for a spin, it will have to be a series). Most of these are amongst the better-known Spectrum games and I've tried to cover a few genres. Hopefully this should be enough to provide a feel for the machine and personally, I'll feel better once I've actually played a Jet Set Willy game and seen what all the fuss is about.

For authenticity I actually played each of these games on my cranky old ZX Spectrum+ (picked up on a carboot last year), hooked up to a WHSmith Computer Program Data Recorder (a souped-up mono tape recorder optimised for loading Spectrum games) and plugged into a 14" colour CRT in order to see all 16 colours and actually play the games as they were intended. Then I fired up ZX Spin on my PC – with legal tape images from World of Spectrum – for the screen grabs.

Enjoy!

Jet Set Willy II

First up is a game most people should have at least heard of. Jet Set Willy II is the third game in a series starring Miner Willy that began with Manic Miner, followed by the first Jet Set Willy. The game was created by Derrick Rowson (rather than the original's Matthew Smith) and published in 1985 by Software Projects. My copy is contained on the compilation 'Hit Pak Six Pak' and took much fast-forwarding and rewinding to locate. Jet Set Willy II was also available on the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16, Commodore 64 and MSX.

Firstly, something many people remember fondly of the Spectrum and other tape-based machines of the time were the wonderful loading screens each game came with. Often highly detailed and usually much more interesting than the awful box-art, loading screens gave the poor player something to look at during the five minutes or so it took to load a typical game. Except that the loading screen for Jet Set Willy II isn't very interesting at all. Willy sipping champagne on the moon? Wish you were here? If you say so.

On to the game itself. Gameplay follows a basic 2D platform formula that hasn't changed much in 25 years. Given control of Miner Willy (seen here wearing a rather dashing top hat), I can run left and right and jump up, enabling me to steer Willy through a bizarre mansion, collecting items and avoiding enemies. The rooms of the mansion are extremely hazardous and the enemies are downright perplexing. Don't touch the toilet seat! Thankfully the player is given a plethora of lives – all of which I managed to use up in an impressive 90 seconds. Game over. I love the Monty Python foot that squishes the unsuccessful Willy though. From then on I am much more careful, something that seems to pay off in a big way as jumping across gaps, timing elevators and avoiding enemies requires absolute pixel-perfect precision. This gives the game a different feel to the more forgiving platform games we are used to (Mario, for instance); it is a slower paced, more strategic game. Is it frustrating? Yes, but it's also incredibly satisfying to clear even a single screen. I haven't got very far yet, though. In one room is a bed, guarded by what looks like a large green dinnerlady. She won't let me past until I collect all the items from the mansion... which is a shame since most of the items are protected by insane jumps or enemies such as the infamous macaroni on wheels. After I died (again) I left the title screen running for a bit and it showed a trailer of sorts for the game. Some of those later rooms are... disturbing.

Which brings me on to my next point about these old Spectrum games. They are weird. Mostly British, mostly designed by lone teenage bedroom programmers, they have a whacked out sense of humour and a pervasive randomness that you'd never get away with these days. Imagine if Viz, Monty Python and the kitchen sink got together and made a game. You'd play it too if it only cost £1.99.

Everyone's a Wally

Another... oddity. Everyone's a Wally was created by Chris Hinsley and Neil Strudwick and published by Mikro-Gen in 1985. Aside from Spectrum, the game was also released on CPC and C64. It is the third entry in a series starring Wally Week, preceded by Automania and Pyjamarama. For a while I mistakenly believed the game was based on some old newspaper comic or something, turns out it isn't and is in fact an original creation by the game designers. Pretty darn original, in fact.

The loading screen? Another dud, I'm afraid, with just a blue and white drawing of the game characters in that rather worrisome Spitting Image styIe so popular in the 80s. Boo. I'm not really making a case for the lost art of the loading screen, am I? Hmm.

Anyway, the game is a sort of side-scrolling adventure where I am thrust into the shoes of Wally, a fat, yellow gang member who must crack open the bank safe in order to pay the gang's wages. In order to do this he must adventure about town, solving puzzles, completing challenges, collecting items and gathering clues. It's a pretty big game from what I can see, and exceptionally well-planned for it's time. I can also take control of the other gang members who have different items and possible different skills, making the game a multi-character adventure, likely amongst the first of it's kind. Anyway, in the game I can do the usual – jump, go left and right, enter buildings and interact with objects. I can also get electrocuted, hit by a person-sized postage stamp or eaten by a sea lion, amongst many other dreadful ends. Alright then. It took me a while to work all this out, and so far I've progressed through the game solely by trial and error. Wally only has two lives, but he has a generous health bar...although admittedly that doesn't help me much when I accidentally activate the phone box and am transported into a little shooter mini-game in which I can rotate and shoot ineffectually at a never-ending stream of little electricity bolts until I inevitably succumb. It must have something to do with the fuse I am carrying around, but I don't know what. Upon game over, I am presented with a nice text screen detailing my accomplishments. The gang has earned £0 but can't have it 'cos the safe wasn't opened, and that's where the money is. £0, eh? Geez, I suck.

Despite my ineptitude, it is a good game. I have no idea whether it was ground-breaking or not at the time, but I can see so many features that would become staples of later puzzle-based adventures. Multiple characters, mini-games, a large explorable area and a wicked sense of humour. Worth the accolades.

Jack the Nipper

If you thought the previous two games were odd then this one takes the dummy. Created in-house and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1986, Jack the Nipper is probably one of the most unique games I've ever found on any system. It is available on Spectrum, CPC, C64 and MSX.

Before we get to the gameplay, the loading screen. Finally something a bit more interesting to look at during the five minute load time. It is a nice colour image ( admittedly, it does look like it was drawn by a five year old) showing a haloed baby Jack silently pleading innocence while mum and dad stand by and wag their fingers. Looks like he's caused a bit of a mess – teddy's missing a few parts and the walls are falling down!

Now, the gameplay. In Jack the Nipper the player is given control of the eponymous Jack, a hell-raising, Stewie-channelling baby whose sole purpose appears to be to cause mayhem and wreak havoc wherever he crawls. The point of the game is to increase Jack's 'Naughty-o-meter' by pulling pranks while avoiding the dreaded nappy rash. If I let Jack's rash meter get too high, he will lose a life. Parents and other adults are the main causes of nappy rash, alongside ghosts, monsters, aliens and pets – and that's just in the house! It takes me a while to figure out how to leave the house (one of the Spectrum's more endearing features is the seemingly random key set-up most games employ) but once I do I am fairly astonished at the scope of the game. What strikes me about Jack's world is that it is an open world – a real precursor to today's sandbox games, years before The Elder Scrolls reinvented the styIe and Grand Theft Auto made it cool. In the game I can go anywhere in the town and do whatever I like, for better or worse, with only a loose objective: be as naughty as possible. How to be naughty? Well, so far I've figured out plenty of ways! One of my favourites is putting the battery in the plug socket in the microcomputer shop to blow up all the computers. I've also put dye in the launderette's washing machines, used dad's credit card and assaulted a sleeping cat with a horn. Me-ow! The biggest prank in the game is probably freeing the prisoners from jail, it seems quite elaborate and I haven't quite got there yet. Jack is also armed with a pea-shooter for extra brattiness, although the projectile it shoots is so slow-moving that most targets have walked out of the way before it gets anywhere close.

An excellent example of a game that pushes the Spectrum to the limit. Sure, the graphics are presented in garish two-tone throughout, but that is offset by the detail of the game world and the large number of characters on screen at once. The vibe I get from the game is one of pure fun and it is often laugh-out-loud funny, especially when a prank goes down just right. What other game has you wreaking havoc with a baby, for Pete's sake?

Well, I think I'll leave it there for now. I've spent some quality time with three games, connected by nothing other than a sense of the ridiculous (and that they are all really, really old). Next time, I think I'll go for something a bit more brutal.

Month in Review: February 2010

I got a lot of gaming done this month, I had a bit more free time than usual so I took advantage, in between watching the Winter Olympics of course. And marvelling that the only thing we seem to be good at, winter sports-wise, is hurling ourselves head-first down a icy track on a tea tray...

New Acquisitions

Baten Kaitos is a game I've wanted since I got a GameCube. I managed to pick up the sequel (which was never released in Europe) last year along with a Freeloader, but the first game always eluded me. eBay came to my rescue however with a nicely priced auction. I also picked up the original Silent Hill and Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels from eBay. Both are excellent games, in excellent condition. I have fond memories of playing the first Space Hulk game on PC back in the day (and before that, the old GW board game) so I'm looking forward to playing Blood Angels soon.

Two official strategy guides. I picked up the Wind Waker guide used from a charity shop, it's in nice condition and will no doubt serve me well whenever I get around to playing the game. Pokemon Platinum was a free pick-up from the penny stock at work (penny stock is what we call all the old deleted crap that has fallen off the product file). It's odd that a strategy guide was in there but hey, I won't complain. I don't have the game however, so it's likely that this will be junk shop trade fodder at some point.

A stack of PS2 games from various sources. Forbidden Siren was a minty fresh used pick-up from CeX, while Zone of the Enders was cheap in a charity shop. I've never played ZotE, but I've heard some nice stuff about it and I know wafle's a fan so it comes highly recommended! The others were from a 4 for £10 deal at Game, just some stuff that looked decent and for £2.50 each it wouldn't matter so much if they were rubbish. The retro collections look like the pick of the bunch, especially the Capcom one.

Four new games, bargains all. As you may know, I love House of the Dead and used to play it all the time in the arcades. I think the Wii is the perfect platform for this type of lightgun shooter, between HotD and Resident Evil I've got enough to keep me going for a while. HotD 2&3 was £12.95 from Zavvi online, and Bayonetta was a mere £17.95 from the same! Brutal Legend was courtesy of Play and Lego Indy 2 was from HMV. Seems like my 360 backlog is increasing much faster than I can play them...

A bunch of stuff I picked up on eBay that really takes me back to my childhood. As much as I love consoles, I'm also a real PC gamer at heart. Or, at least, I used to be. I'm starting to lose faith, not because of the games but because of the completely crap and insultingly pathetic attitude most publishers have towards the platform. Sorry, but I'd rather play a game on a console than be branded a pirate. Anyway, back to the acquisitions. Here we have some real cIassic adventure games, gems from my youth. The King's Quest and Police Quest collections are the proper old-school releases from the mid 90's (not the recent budget releases) and feature all the original games in those two series. I've had the Space Quest collection for years now, so these two fit right into my collection. I also got Gabriel Knight 2, which I have never played but looks like a great FMV-based adventure. There's no boxes with any of the games, but since I keep all my empty PC 'big boxes' in storage anyway it's no great loss. The EA compilation was something I found kicking about with some old hardware in the loft, so that's not really a new acquisition but it's there anyway.

Some more great old-school adventures. If you know anything about me, you know I love Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, so it's somewhat surprising that I've never owned the first Discworld adventure game until now. I've had the second game since I was about ten, and I've had Noir for years too, but never the first. Well, I have it now. I also got Beneath a Steel Sky (awesome sci-fi point-n-clicker) and Dragonsphere, which I've never heard of before but also looks decent. Dragonsphere has some odd packaging too, instead of being in a box or case it's in a weird hardback book - almost like a big digipack - with the manual attached and the spindle for the CD on the inside front cover. Never seen a PC game packaged like that before.

Last, but certainly not least, I finally picked up Lands of Lore II. With this series I made the mistake of starting with the third game, which was (to put it mildly) a bit crap. It was only when I picked up the first game in a charity shop last year that I released the series did, at one time, have a spark of greatness. So when I saw a cheap, complete copy of game number two on eBay I decided to give it a go. Hopefully it's more like LoL 1 than 3, eh? Also, not only is the game itself mint and complete, I also found the seller's original boot floppy and a copy of the walkthrough printed in 1997 in the box! That made me smile. Makes me wonder what insights to my own gaming history are hidden away in all those PC big boxes in the loft...

There's one more new acquisition for this month. I didn't take a picture though, it didn't seem worth it. Since last year I've been running the Release Candidate of Windows 7 on my main PC. That expires soon, so the other week I had to bite the bullet and buy a retail copy. Near enough one hundred squid. Gah. Love the OS though, still needs a few wrinkles ironing out but it blows Vista out of the water.

Games Played

Beneath a Steel Sky (PC)

I've always had a soft spot for the point and click adventures of yesteryear, so it didn't take much convincing to add this to my now playing list. I've never played this one before, but I've heard many great things about it. Now, having played it through (in a single afternoon, no less) I can safely say that the praise is justified. It's a great cyberpunk/post-apocalyptic story with a wicked sense of humour. A little on the short side and there's nothing too tricky in there puzzles-wise, but I heartily recommend it. As you can see above, I snagged a hard copy of the game, but it's also available as a free, legit download these days and is easily playable on modern systems via SCUMMvm or DOSbox.

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PC)

One that has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I really like the Brothers in Arms series of games, of all the WWII shooters that are about I'd say they are my favourites, even over Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. I like the more tactical approach they have while still retaining the intensity of the best shooters. This third game in the series is probably the best yet, adding in some great indoor sections and featuring some killer set-pieces. I played through this in a few evenings.

Eye of the Beholder (PC)

A really old one from the archives! I actually only installed this to show my friend how to use DOSbox and ending up playing for about three hours! Eye of the Beholder is a fantastic AD&D dungeon romp that may seem slow and cumbersome by today's standards, but is still addictive and fun in it's own way. I love all these old RPGs, especially the first-person ones like this and Ultima Underworld. I'm now about halfway through the game and my desk is well and truly covered in scribbled post-its and hand-drawn maps.

Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

I've hardly played this at all this month, I've been occupied more with 360 and PC games. I've mostly just been building my levels a little bit for entering the Henne Mines.

House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii)

Finally completed this one. I've now played through the game in Story mode and in Director's Cut mode. It's a really fun shooter, really trashy but I love the whole grindhouse sleaze feel of the thing.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (X360)

I've only just started playing this one. So far I've completed the three Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hubs in story mode. The basics are no different from previous Lego games but there's some welcome tweaking throughout and a different level structure (the hubs, for one). I love these Lego games, so I have no doubt much fun will ensure. Five achivements so far, for 85 points.

Mass Effect (X360)

I decided, since I was having so much fun with Mass Effect 2, to give the first game another whirl, with a different sort of character, this time a goody two-shoes Infiltrator. Not as much fun as being a total *****, but it had its moments. The game is every bit as good as I remember... and yeah, I probably prefer it to the sequel. Just a little. It just seems that much more epic somehow. And boy, did I miss that bouncy ole MAKO in ME2. I also downloaded the second piece of DLC, Pinnacle Station (I've had Bring Down the Sky for ages) and had fun with that, though I'm a little disappointed at the lack of actual content. Anyway, this quick run-through plus DLC gave me another 10 achievements, for 265 points.

Mass Effect 2 (X360)

Ooooh, this was so much fun. Much improved combat, great characters, awesome stuff. If I have a complaint (other than the dreadful planet scanning), it's that the pacing felt a little off throughout. The story just didn't have the epic space opera feel of the first game (probably because it was so much darker and personal) and it felt like 90% of the game was the prologue. I had just got my team together, spending so many hours recruiting and gaining their loyalty without doing much towards the main goal... then BAM! Endgame. It made the story feel rushed, which is amazing since I must have poured over thirty hours into the game. Don't get me wrong, it's still one of the best games I've played in a long time, but I missed the lengthier plot of the first Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2 is also rather generous with achievements: just in completing my first playthrough I dinged a further 33 achievements for 720 points (bringing the total to 840).

Medal of Honor: Airborne (PC)

Not content with playing through one WWII-themed shooter, I had to try another. I wanted to play the last Medal of Honor game before the new reboot comes out. I must say, it's a pretty fun game. The action is fast-paced and the levels are well-designed; I especially like the open-plan design. But (and it's a big BUT) it's just too damn short. Less than five hours from start to finish. Sorry, but I like my games to have a little more meat on the bones. It isn't helped by the fact that the missions are completely stand-alone, with no over-arching plot or story. It just doesn't put you in the shoes of a soldier the way BIA always has done.

In Conclusion...

Well, that's that for another month. Hopefully I'll get lots of gaming done this month too... with a certain big RPG coming out on the 9th I reckon that won't be a problem!

Month in Review: January 2010

My first monthly blog of a whole new decade, kicking off the year with one of my most anticipated new games and some golden oldies too.

New Acquisitions

Three used games I picked up on a shopping trip. I've wanted Super Smash Bros. Melee since I got a Gamecube, I'm really looking forward to kicking my brother's ass with that next time he drops by. The PS2 games were just a couple of cheap pickups, stuff that's been on my 'low-priority' wish list for a while.

The latest edition of the Guinness Gamer's World Records. I've got the previous two editions of this book so I had to pick this one up too. I got it on a half-price sale at work and with my discount on top I only paid £6 and change. It's a nice book with lots of info about games released over the past year, lots of random gaming trivia and some whacked out record attempts.

A rare mature Wii game, picked up new for under a fiver from Zavvi's Mega Monday sale. I haven't had a chance to play this one yet but it looks pretty good and a nice change of pace from typical Wii fare.

A gem from the days of the PS1. I picked this up on eBay after mijahi over at the CCU posted about it. I'd completely forgotten the game existed until that point! I do have fond memories of playing it years back though, so I made a point of getting hold of it again. It's a real work of comedy genius if you like our dry Brit-wit or have a Python-esque sense of humour.

A stack of games bought online from CeX. They are all used and vary in condition from fair (Champions: RtA) to near mint (Demon Stone, The Suffering). None are anything particularly outstanding but all look like solid additions to my collection and have been on my radar for a while. Most importantly, they were all extremely cheap. Dirge of Cerberus cost a bit more than the others but that's because it is subject to the Final Fantasy tax. Anyway, I need to play my PS2 more often so I'll be taking one or two of these for a spin soon.

Finally, my pre-order of Mass Effect 2 dropped through my door on Friday, with the Terminus Armour code popping into my inbox just in time for me to start play. I've been really hyped for this game, even more so than I was for Dragon Age! I loved the first Mass Effect so I am really looking forward to spending lots of quality time with this baby. The Collector's Edition Guide also arrived on Friday.

Games Played

Borderlands (PC)

I played this a lot at the start of the month and have completed my first playthrough, which took around 40 hours doing all the side-quests I could find. By the end of the game I'd hit level 36 with my Siren. I really enjoyed Borderlands, like I mentioned in previous blogs I think the whole styIe and feel of the game is pretty unique and fun. I'm not going to do another playthrough just yet, I've got too many other games on my plate, but I'm sure I'll return to it at some point.

Dead Space (X360)

With my 360 in the living room (i.e. on the big telly) I don't get as to play it as often I'd like and when I do it's usually in bite-sized chunks of an hour or so. Even so, I'm working my way slowly but surely through Dead Space, which if I'm honest is proving to be much more of a challenge than I'd banked on. I'm usually pretty good at survival horrors, but I'm dying rather a lot in Dead Space. No complaints. I like a challenge. I'm still only on Chapter 9 though. I've racked up 11 achievements this month, for 180 points.

Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

As part of my New Year's resolution to play on my PS2 more I've started to work my way through a rather large backlog of unfinished games, picking a title at random off my shelf. I never got that far into Final Fantasy XII the first time around; nothing in the first few hours gripped me enough to want to keep playing. I was pretty disappointed with the game on its initial release. The battle system put me off and the story and setting seemed bland. This time I made a point of sticking with the game though, and I've found it gets more enjoyable as time goes on. I still don't like the combat system much, but I've got used to it and this time I plan on sticking with it till the end. The story is actually quite good once it gets going. 26 hours in, I'm currently in and around Jahara.

Mass Effect 2 (X360)

Easily my most anticipated title of recent times, I popped this in on Friday night and found myself instantly hooked. I can't say yet whether it's better than the first Mass Effect, but it sure is good. There are some nice improvements to the combat and the story seems strong so far... but there's also the whole dull planet scanning thing which has already pissed me off no end. Bring back the Mako! Anyway, I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time with Mass Effect 2 over the next couple of weeks. For my first playthrough I've imported my level 59 (so close!) Soldier from the first game; so far I've recruited the Professor and Archangel and I'm working on Jack. I've also dinged 12 achievements for 120 points.

Quake 4 (PC)

One from the archives, a PC game from a few years back that I just never got around to playing. Quake 4 has the best single-player story of any Quake game and follows on nicely from a personal favourite of mine from way back, Quake 2. I remember the first time I played Quake 2 after acquiring a 3D accelerator graphics card (a Voodoo 2, natch) and being stunned at the visuals. Quake 4 is pretty stunning too, even for a game that's over four years old it still looks and plays great. Like most modern shooters though, it's way too short. I blasted through in around 8 hours.

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)

I bought this at Christmas from the Steam holiday sale. It looked like my sort of game but after a couple of hours of play I'm not so sure. It has a hyper-realistic thing going on that, while good intentioned, just makes the whole thing unnecessarily difficult, fiddly and a bit boring. I like a challenge but playing the same section twenty times because my gun has jammed despite only being a fraction below optimum condition or whatever other little pedantic issue the developers have put in to spite me... not my idea of fun. Frustration, more like. The rocking motion as your character walks around also makes me feel a little off too... which is weird because I never get motion sickness! Anyway, I've played about three hours (most of that replaying the same sections over and over) and have just entered the Garbage. I might play a bit more at some point, but I'm in no rush to. Glad it only cost me £1.24.

Tinker (PC)

Free stuff rocks. Therefore Tinker rocks. It's just a little puzzle game from Microsoft that is free to download using the Games for Windows client. It reminds me a little of Chips Challenge. Also, it has achievements! I've ticked off 4 for 40 points.

In Conclusion...

I managed to get quite a bit of gaming in this month, finishing two games and making fair progress on a couple of others. Mass Effect 2 is probably going to eat most of my time from now on. When I can muscle my way in front of the big TV, that is.

Here we are, the final part of of my Games of the Decade blog.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Release date: 23 November 2007
Platform: Xbox 360 (also available on PS2, PS3, Wii and PC)
Developer: Neversoft
Genre: Music/Rhythm

An usual choice perhaps, but still a deserved one. These days, the rhythm game is a genre milked beyond a joke, but only a few years back Guitar Hero was wowing music game fans as the best in what was still a pretty fresh genre. Before going all-out with multiple instruments, before scraping the barrel with artist-specific releases, Harmonix rolled out a tight, polished guitar-only rhythm game with a killer rock track list and fun, addictive gameplay. Easy to pick up, difficult to master, accessible to casual and hardcore gamers alike, Guitar Hero was a nice breath of fresh air that removed a lot of the taboos surrounding casual games. Alright, so Konami did it first in the arcades, but Harmonix and later Neversoft brought the fun home. It all seems so simple, in retrospect. Guitar Hero III is probably the pinnacle of the series, tweaking and polishing the gameplay introduced in GH1 and 2 and providing the best track list yet.

Me, Myself & Guitar Hero III: I remember playing the first Guitar Hero in the Student's Union bar at university. They had a PS2 hooked up to a big TV in there, usually loaded with a racing game or some such. But one night we trundled down for a few bevvies and discovered a pair of hammered freshers rocking out on plastic guitars with a small crowd of bemused onlookers. I had a go and loved it from the outside. Granted, all I played all night was Smoke on the Water on easy, but it got me hooked. My brother bought me Guitar Hero III for my birthday and since then I've had many happy hours rocking out – alone or with a friend, it's all great fun. Hit me with your best shot.

Mass Effect

Release date: 23 November 2007
Platform: Xbox 360 (later ported to PC)
Developer: Bioware
Genre: Sci-Fi Action Role-Playing

On first glance, a generic third-person sci-fi shooter with War and Peace pasted in between levels. Upon actually playing the game, Mass Effect is revealed to be a beautiful and unique action-RPG, space opera in its purest form. Coming from Bioware, the studio that gave us such plot-driven heavyweights as Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, to say Mass Effect is a thinking man's game should come as no surprise. A refreshing step away from sci-fi clichés, Mass Effect does not paint humanity as some kind of master race, but rather a community struggling to make their voices heard in a universe that is much bigger, older and wiser than we could ever have imagined. It isn't a perfect game; the combat isn't as polished as something like Halo and the interface leaves something to be desired, but those are small flaws in an otherwise breathtaking piece of art. Cinematic and sweeping, Mass Effect is one of those games that sucks you into its fight against evil and doesn't let go until the sequel comes along. Oh, would you look at that.

Me, Myself & Mass Effect: Mass Effect was the first Xbox 360 game I ever played and for me a major selling point for the console. As it was still a 360 exclusive on initial release, the only way I could play the latest opus from my favourite developer was to take the plunge and splurge on a shiny new console. Thankfully my brother bought one for me for Christmas! I played the game pretty solidly for weeks, truly captivated by the story and the slick action and have since returned to the Normandy on many occasions. Favourite 360 game? You bet.

Fallout 3

Release date: 31 October 2008
Platform: PC (also available on X360 and PS3)
Developer: Bethesda
Genre: Sci-Fi Action Role-Playing

I will admit I was a sceptic too. I was unsure whether Bethesda had the chops to pull off the latest entry in one of my favourite RPG series. Sure, they gave us those massive (and massively detailed) Elder Scrolls games, but there was nothing there to suggest they could do the same with Fallout's depressingly post-apocalyptic yet darkly humourous world. Bethesda proved the naysayers wrong by making not only their best game yet, but the best Fallout game to date too. It's a huge game, totally free-roaming, stuffed to the brim with colourful characters and frenetic action. If you could teleport right into one of those old isometric Fallout games, this is what you would see. Retro-chic, echoes of The Bomb, a bleak vision of a once all-too possible future. Bethesda managed to keep enough old-school elements to please the fans (the story of a lone Vault-Dweller, the VATS combat system, Vault Boy, Dogmeat) while injecting plenty of fresh ideas, taking Fallout into the mainstream and introducing a whole new generation of fans to one of the best alternative universes ever seen in a game. You don't have to have played those old geeky PC RPGs to enjoy Fallout 3 (though I highly recommend them); Fallout 3 has something for everyone.

Me, Myself & Fallout 3: Being a pretty big fan of the original games I had Fallout 3 pre-ordered months in advance. The Collector's Edition to boot. Yes, I was worried I might be buying a turkey, but at least I'd have a Vault Boy bobblehead with which to console myself. Thankfully it all turned out rather good and since then I've been playing the game almost constantly. I've made two complete run-throughs of the main plot, spent hundreds of hours simply exploring the wasteland, bought four out of the five DLC packs and cannot wait for New Vegas.

It occurs to me that there is nothing from 2009 in there. That was done purposefully for two reasons. One, there wasn't anything released in 2009 that floated my boat quite as much as the games detailed in these blogs (although Dragon Age came close). And two, with such a recently released game, I wouldn't have spent the same huge amount of time with it, I wouldn't have been able to play it for months on end or keep returning year after year. It's hard to compare a new release with a game that one has been playing on and off for two, five, ten years. The test of time is an important one. But who knows? Maybe something from last year will turn out to be The Best Thing Ever after all. Ask me again in ten years.

Continuing this blog with another handful of gaming greatness from the last decade:

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Release date: 2 May 2002
Platform: PC (also available on Xbox)
Developer: Bethesda
Genre: Fantasy Role-Playing

Like Arena and Daggerfall before it, Morrowind pushed PC role-playing to the limits. Technically astounding in its day (aside from a plethora of bugs, some of which sadly remain: you haven't experienced Morrowind until you've got yourself stuck in a bush!), the third Elder Scrolls chapter was a fantastic example of a truly open-ended game experience. Follow the storyline or make your own path, it really doesn't matter. You are free to do whatever the heck you like and believe me, there's enough to keep you going for hundreds of hours; something that many sandbox games these days claim to provide but rarely deliver. From a technical standpoint, the game has since been leapfrogged by its own follow-up Oblivion, but in my eyes Morrowind is a deeper, more interesting game. The world of Morrowind, with its lava-encrusted mountains, stinking mud flats and eastern-inspired architecture is completely different from the bland, generic fantasy setting of Oblivion and so many other modern RPGs. No other game could employ a giant flea as a method of transport. Morrowind is huge and unique and, with the help of a brace of expansions and a couple of patches to iron out the wrinkles, I still thoroughly recommended it.

Me, Myself & Morrowind: I actually bought this on a whim not long after release, although I'd previously enjoyed playing Daggerfall a few years previously and knew the experience was likely to be similar. The first time I played through I didn't take too much time exploring the world, preferring to plough straight on through the main quest. I returned to Morrowind after purchasing the add-on packs (Tribunal and Bloodmoon) and this time I was much more thorough and found myself totally sucked in. I remember having the map of Vvanderfell pinned to my bedroom wall for months. I even had little coloured sticky dots for points of interest! Now that's geeky.

Burnout 3: Takedown

Release date: 10 September 2004
Platform: PlayStation 2 (also available on Xbox)
Developer: Criterion
Genre: Modern Street Racing

Ah, Burnout. That gem of a racer that forgoes the usual street racing bores of tuning and blinging your ride in favour of crashing your four-wheeled beauty as spectacularly as possible. Smash, crash and blast your way through the opposition for cash or glory. What could possibly be more entertaining? Burnout 3 is the pinnacle of the series, improving and polishing the game modes introduced in the first two games almost to perfection. It is also notable for retaining a healthy challenge and requiring a modicum of skill – something that went right out the window in the sequels. The game features a long and varied career mode, excellent pick-up-and-play modes and some of the best multi-player around. Forget that online Net Play nonsense, I'm talking crushing your living room rivals into the closest barrier and watching them burn.

Me, Myself & Burnout 3: I never used to play racing games. I'd played Rad Racer, Mario Kart, Wipeout and not much else. I'd never dabbled in 'serious' racing games, whether they be street racers or motorsport simulations, and it was initially just the Crash Mode that attracted me to the Burnout series. I watched my cousins having a blast with Burnout 2's Crash Mode one Christmas, had a go and got hooked. I picked up Burnout 3 not long after and found that the fun transferred over to the racing elements just fine. What's more, the fun was never-ending! To this day, it's my favourite racer and my number one choice for casual gaming.

Half-Life 2

Release date: 16 November 2004
Platform: PC (also available on Xbox, later ported to X360)
Developer:Valve
Genre: Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter

The original Half-Life broke ground within the PC gaming community, taking a tired, over-cooked and increasingly generic first-person shooter genre and injecting a healthy dose of – gasp! – plot. Featuring scripted sequences and dazzling set-pieces that took you on a heart-pounding rollercoaster ride throughout Black Mesa, Half-Life was a rare example of a shooter with a brain. Fast-forward six years and Half-Life 2 does it all over again, only bigger, better and infinitely prettier. Although the claustrophobic setting of the first game was fitting, the sequel strikes a careful balance between corridor crawls and breathtaking open environments that will leave you picking your jaw up off the floor. Half-Life 2 thankfully retains the strong narrative tradition of the first game with a killer storyline, showing a wider view of a world in turmoil following the events in that game. The set pieces are huge, the scripts well-written. Throw in some vehicle levels, intense combat and probably the best weapon ever and you have a game that has not only stood the test of time (hard to believe it's now over five years since release date) but is still able to induce that first-time 'Wow!' factor amongst gamers.

Me, Myself & Half-Life 2: The original is one of my favourite games and was my shooter of choice for many years. I bought Half-Life 2 on release day – I still have nightmares about those early days Steam activations – and was blown away from the start. I've always kept my rigs reasonably up-to-date so I was able to take advantage of the pretty graphics from the get-go. Jaw-dropping. I must have played the original game through three times in a row and since then about once a year on average. Episode 1 and 2 dragged me back in and although Valve's promise of a steady stream of episodic content has long gone out the window, I still have hopes for Episode 3. The only thing that annoys me about Half-Life 2 is that I had to buy the damn thing again when the Orange Box came out. No publisher should make you do that.

Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King

Release date: 13 April 2006
Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Level 5
Genre: Fantasy Role-Playing

Believe it or not, Dragon Quest VIII was the first main-series Dragon Quest game to reach the UK. It may seem surprising then that it was such a hit here, but once you start playing the mystery disappears. DQ8 was popular because it is brilliant. Gameplay-wise, it's pretty tradiational in it's JRPG trappings. Exploration, party members from all walks of life, loot, levelling, all sorts of weird and wonderful monsters, attack, heal, cast spell, run away, you get the picture. What makes Dragon Quest VIII stand out from the crowd is its loving presentation (the cel-shaded graphics were designed by Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama), dry humour and a lengthy storyline that, while involving, never hurrys you too much and allows you to explore this colourful world at your leisure. It's hard to put into words how much fun this game is. It's definately one of the top RPGs on the PlayStation 2, probably one of the best RPGs on any console, and one that I urge you all to sample.

Me, Myself & Dragon Quest VIII: I've actually owned three copies of this game. I bought my first copy second hand and never really got around to playing it for a while. When I finally did, I found the disc was buggered. It looked fine, and even played fine for a few minutes (which is how it slipped by my initial testing). Too long since purchase to take it back, so I picked up another copy. I play it this time, probably sinking about 60 hours into the game before I stupidly managed to lose the disc. I left it in someone else's PS2 and forgot about it (although how I managed to retrieve the memory card but forget the disc is beyond me). So I had to buy a third copy. Good job it was cheap as chips back then. Finished the game this time, just in time for my second copy to be returned to me. I still have that spare kicking around somewhere. Want it?

Yeah, there'll be a Part 3, no question about it. Hopefully I can get it out before Mass Effect 2 drops through my door on Friday (hopefully Thursday if Play.com are on the ball, hehe) and eats up all my free time.