Game Gallery #9

It has once again been far too long since I did one of these gallery posts - something I must address henceforth - but they were mainly intended to showcase big name games of the past, in any case. Then why am I using this gallery post to showcase a Speccy homebrew game that, to my knowledge, not many people know about, you probably aren't asking. Well, because 1) I like it, and 2) it has pretty graphics for a Speccy game - a wonderful system, but one for which colours are not often seen in huge numbers. Check out the colours here, especially the borders of each level.

Maze Games #15

Druid (1986)
By: Electralyte Software / Firebird Genre: Maze Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Atari 8-bit First Day Score: Acolyte
Also Available For: Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MSX2, Tatung Einstein, Famicom Disk System

Like many games of its time, Druid was released on a wide variety of systems including the Speccy, my old favourite of the time. Instead of looking at that version for this here review, however, and even ignoring an excuse to do another review on my newest favourite system, the MSX2, I decided to take a look at what was, to my knowledge, the original version, and on a system I've never played a single game on before. Well, I say 'system' but it's actually a number of systems that fall under the 'Atari 8-bit' umbrella, but more on that another time. For now, let's concentrate on the splendidly-named game in question which recently returned to my brain after many moons away. I don't think I even heard about it in its day, in fact, and few details have reached my ears since, so I was quite excited to recently learn that it's apparently like Gauntlet.

TV Shows #32

Constellation Season One (2024)
Developed By: Peter Harness
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Jonathan Banks, James D'Arcy, Rosie Coleman, Davina Coleman, William Catlett, Julian Looman, Barbara Sukowa, Henry David, Sandra Teles, Carole Weyers

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 50-58 Minutes per Episode (approx), 8 Episodes

Tagline: "Reality is a conspiracy"

I've never been particularly good at reviewing films and TV shows but I can at least usually explain the backstory concisely enough without giving away spoilers. Then a show like this comes along where even attempting to outline the basic premise is likely to result in a spoiler (or several)! It's a show that was recommended to me and one I was immediately interested in because... sci-fi. At first it seemed like it might be a reasonably normal such thriller, too. It stars Noomi Rapace, who I have previously not seen in anything, as Johanna Ericsson, a Swedish ESA astronaut aboard the International Space Station. She has a husband and daughter at home with whom she is chatting when... SUDDENLY!!... Shaking, alarms, loss of power... something has collided with the ISS and it has caused havoc!

PS4 Purchases #14

Mass Effect - Legendary Edition by 11 Bit Studios / Dead Mage (2019)

I was going to start this post by saying that anyone who knows me knows that Star Control 2 is my favourite game of all time, but then I remembered that my wife of 16 years wouldn't be able to tell you that if you held a gun to her head! But anyway, it is, and its many other fans often ask each other for recommendations of other games that remind them of SC2. One of the names that keeps cropping up in these discussions is Mass Effect - a game/series famous enough for even me to have heard of it. I've never played any of them, naturally, but I've long wanted to. I nearly bought the trilogy boxset for my PS3 but found it a bit pricey, so upon hearing about a remastered version of the first three games for PS4, I swiftly wishlisted it, and soon after procured it for just twenty English pounds.

Crap Games #14

Rigel's Revenge (1987)
By: Smart Egg Software / Mastertronic Genre: Text Adventure Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: ZX Spectrum First Day Score: 16/50
Also Available For: Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64

Unlike most of the games so far in this feature, I never saw Rigel's Revenge getting slated in reviews of the day. I don't remember even seeing any coverage of it at all, in fact, and I found out many years later that it was actually very well received, so why is it here? Well, that's entirely down to me and my good friend Luke, I'm afraid. It was a cheapie budget release which we both had for our respective 8-bit micros (Speccy for me, CPC for him) and we both hated it. I'm not even sure why if I'm honest, but I recall Luke once angrily refusing to even acknowledge it as a legitimate computer game! With advancing years comes a more mature and rational mindset, however (in theory, at least), not to mention an enthusiastic appreciation of the 80s and the games released during that glorious decade, so after recently remembering this game randomly, I decided to give it another try to see if it really has sucked all these years, or if Luke and I were just idiotic youths without any taste.

TV Shows #30 - Part 2

Reacher Season Two (2023)
Developed By: Nick Santora
Starring: Alan Ritchson, Maria Sten, Serinda Swan, Shaun Sipos, Ferdinand Kingsley, Robert Patrick, Domenick Lombardozzi

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 42-56 Minutes per Episode, 8 Episodes

Whether you were already a fan of the Jack Reacher books or not, I don't think there were many people who weren't enthused by Alan Ritchson's already-iconic portrayal of the title character in the first season of Amazon's adaptation. The Cruise films were good as films but I now see they weren't so good as Reacher films. The first season of the show was. Well, a good adaptation. You know what I mean. Part of the reason for this was the impact of Ritchson's portrayal; the 'Holy crap, look at this guy!' factor, if you will. Seeing him scare a lairy guy into obsequiousness with a stare; sussing a murder crime scene before the lead detective has even had time to get a coffee; taking out a room full of violent criminals without breaking a sweat. Up until the first season, most of us didn't know what he was capable of. Now we do know, so the big question is: since the second season loses this aspect, amongst other things, can it possibly be as good and as satisfying as the first?

Steam / GOG Downloads #9

1001 Spikes (2014)
By: Nicalis, Inc. Genre: Platform Players: 1-4 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: PC
Also Available For: PS4, Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Mac

I can't recall how I first came upon this game but pixelly platformers always catch my eye, and it wasn't long before this example reminded me of a specific, not to mention notorious game from the 80s. Can you guess which one from the screenshots here? Yes, that's right, it's Rick Dangerous! If you've ever played Core Design's game you'll know exactly what that means, but if you haven't, allow me to explain. I believe in general terms the genre is known as 'precision platformer' but in the case of Rick Dangerous, it would be better described as 'cheap death platformer'. Cheap deaths are generally frowned upon in the gaming world but it didn't stop Rick Dangerous from being pretty popular. Does this much newer game from Nicalis Inc. share its appeal? Let's find out :)

MSX Round-Up #3

I guess this makes me a bit of a weirdo, but one of the most memorable things about Golvellius for me was Randar, the awesome shopkeeper. This might seem to suggest that Golvellius sucks ass but it is a mighty splendid game, particularly the versions for the MSX2 and the mighty Master System. But in spite of its splendour, I still carry with me joyful memories of the cheerful blue fellow in addition to fond memories of the game itself. I guess I just like cute/amusing/weird characters in games!

As you've probably already seen for yourself, Randar is basically a blue sphere with rudimentary feet and a perpetually happy face. Well, I assume he's a sphere - I guess he could be a two-dimensional blue circle, but he is awesome nonetheless. He is friendly and helpful and his warm personality could brighten up the gloomiest day. He even speaks in a semi-medieval stylee! Such is my affection for this odd character, imagine my happiness, not to mention surprise, when I found out he had his own entire games! Three of them! Which he alone was the star of! Unfortunately, I also soon found that they're all RPGs of all things - a genre I admire but seldom play.

Film Review #124

Road House (2024)
Director: Doug Liman Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Conor McGregor, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Austin Post

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 121 Minutes

Tagline: "Take it outside"

Only a few weeks ago my good friend Luke came to visit me for a few days. We don't see each other often these days so we had decided in advance on a few old classic films we wanted to watch while he was visiting and one of them was Road House. It was a popular film with our generation, of course, but I realised that it must've been at least 25-odd years since I'd seen it. Even more surprisingly, I found that I still knew a lot of the dialogue to the point where I could recite lines before they were spoken! Anyway, it was great to see it again after all this time, and it was great to see Luke again too. We watched a few other films, then he left and I got back to the various shows I'm watching on my streaming services... BUT THEN!! What did I see? Road House was showing on the bit at the top of the screen where Amazon spams new stuff, and then I vaguely remembered hearing something about an upcoming remake, but I'd forgotten all about it. Should I risk watching it?

Overrated! #9

Hard Drivin' (1988)
By: Atari Genre: Drivin' Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Arcade First Day Score: 44,091
Also Available For: Mega Drive, Lynx, Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

When I recently had the brainwave to include this notable game in my 'Overrated!' feature it seemed like a superb idea and I congratulated myself accordingly, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it's a game that was ever all that highly rated to begin with. I mean, I seem to recall the conversions getting decent reviews in the many magazines of the day but it's not really a game that gets mentioned nowadays, nor as far back as I can remember after its release. I first played it on my trusty Speccy and it was pretty good, all things considered, but fairly soon after I did actually find its arcade progenitor too. I seem to recall it being a pretty pricey game for the day but I had to try it, obviously. It was housed in a large sit-down cab and was one of those machines that made it seem like a big deal. It even had a key to start it! Once I started playing it, however, I was rather less impressed.

Top Five Master System Budget Games

I've done a lot of Top Fives here over the years. Most are nonsense, of course, some even embarrass me now, but some I was and remain quite pleased with. Examples of the latter were often the most difficult to compile too, insofar as it being difficult to narrow it down to five and/or determine the order, but I'm not sure I had as much trouble with any of them as I have this one.

For those not in the know, if you were lucky enough to own Sega's wonderful Master System, here in the UK at least (but probably elsewhere too), Sega were apparently well aware that mere school kids couldn't often afford £24.99 for new games, so they had a range of cheaper games that cost, as I recall, from £9.99 to £14.99.

Some of these stank of rhino manure but some were great, and were a valuable lifeline for cash-strapped MS owners such as myself. I had several at the time and have acquired others in the intervening years, but when the idea for this Top Five entered my brain, I immediately thought of 8 or 9 candidates and just couldn't decide which ones to leave out.

I've been back and forth on several of my choices already, and will probably do so again after I click 'publish', but it will be too late then. Behold, then, the current version of this list showcasing the best of Sega's helpful budget range:

Film Review #123

Freelance (2023)
Director: Pierre Morel Starring: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater, Alice Eve

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 109 Minutes

Tagline: "Retirement didn't suit him."

Historically, wrestlers trying to act has rarely gone too well, but in recent years that appears to have changed. Cena is just the latest one to swap the squared circle for the silver screen, and as quickly as Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista, he's found himself headlining big-budget films. Obviously, like the other two, he's something of a man-mountain and is accordingly more than competent in action scenarios, but it's actually his comedic delivery that made me something of a fan of his - something I never really was in his WWE guise, in fact. This is his latest 'vehicle' where he is once again a military dude, or more accurately Mason Pettits, an ex-military dude this time, who was forced to retire from the US Special Forces after his final mission to assassinate 'Paldonian' dictator Juan Venegas (Raba) was ambushed and he was injured. Since recovery, he has been working unhappily as a lawyer and is in an increasingly unhappy marriage to Jenny (Eve).

Random Game I've Never Heard Of #15

Banana (1986)
By: Victor Musical Industries Genre: Puzzle Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo NES First Day Score: 2,170 (yes, I'm crap at puzzle games)
Also Available For: Nothing

Selecting the next game to review for this series of posts isn't usually a very complicated matter - just look at lists and see if any names stand out! For some reason, I've always enjoyed games that feature fruits and vegetables. They usually take the form of collectibles for bonus points but here was a game that was actually named after a fruit! The reason for this is unclear but it made it stand out to me in any case. A quick perusal revealed that it was a pretty early release for Nintendo's sprightly Famicom and never made it out of Japan for some reason, which goes some way to explaining why I hadn't heard of it. I also soon learned that it was a puzzle game starring a nameless mole, who for review purposes we'll call Gronk, and it's his job to rescue a nameless female mole, who we'll call Fleeple. She must be a bit of an airhead too, as she apparently gets re-kidnapped (or lost, or whatever is going on) prior to every single stage of the game! C'mon Gronk, sooner or later you've just got to accept that anyone who takes such bad care of themselves perhaps doesn't deserve to get repeatedly rescued.

The Best of X68000 Cover-Art - Part 1

The X68000 has long been a system that has interested me. As well as looking cool, it hosts some great games including some famously-awesome arcade conversions. I would like to cover it more here but, like most Japanese home micros, it's a pain in the arse to emulate and it's certainly not a realistic system to buy. Due to the high cost of the actual system as well as most games for it, and no doubt for numerous other reasons, it's not one that's popular with collectors, at least in this hemisphere. It doesn't seem to get mentioned much at all really, from what I've seen. As a result of all this, not only have I not played many games for it, but I haven't even seen many of the physical games, even online, so I found myself wondering what the cover-art was like for them. After a little effort, I have found some cover scans and have taken it upon myself to choose the most eye-catching ones! Here is the first of what will probably be four posts on the subject...

38 Man Kilo No Kokuu...

Air Combat...

Game Boy Games #5

Choplifter II: Rescue and Survive (1991)
By: Beam Software  Genre: Shooting Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo Game Boy First Day Score: ???,???
Also Available For: Nothing

I've never really been a handheld gamer for some weird reason - it was always the home consoles that interested me - so when I saw that Choplifter III had been released on the SNES I was mildly startled. I had long enjoyed the original game on my delightful Master System, and here, apparently, was the third game, but what in the blue blazes had happened to the second game? The answer wouldn't find my eyes until many moons later but it turned out that Choplifter II was a Game Boy exclusive of all things. Crikey, I exclaimed! Once I got over the shock of this unexpected news and considered the game for a moment, I was immediately sceptical that such a game would work on the small, blurry screen. The view of the action would have to be much more zoomed-in so you could actually see stuff for one thing, and that would open you up to being killed by something when it scrolled onto the screen right next to you. I suppose I should play the game before condemning it for my imagined slights (to partly quote Thor from The Avengers) though, huh?!

Top Five John Hughes Films

If you asked someone old enough to name the best films of the 80s, you would very likely hear names like Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, but I'm confident a majority of the John Hughes filmography would be mentioned too. When I say that, I'm only counting the films he actually directed as well as wrote, rather than the far greater number for which he has only a writing credit. That only leaves eight films, but nonetheless, for many, his films define 80s cinema, especially if you grew up in that decade as I did. Here are my pics for his finest efforts:

5. Sixteen Candles (1984)

I suspect many had a bit of a thing for teen hottie Molly Ringwald in the 80s and this was the first of her 'big three' releases in successive years, but I was only seeing it for the first time here. She stars as Sam Baker who is hoping for big things following her imminent 16th birthday, only to find her family all forgot about it! They are a little preoccupied with her older sister's wedding the day after but even so! Aside from that there isn't too much of a story though. She goes to school as normal where she gossips with her friend, crushes on senior Jake (Michael Schoeffling), gets chased around by geek Ted (Anthony Michael Hall), goes to a school dance, etc. There isn't much more to it really, it's kind of a 'slice of life' 80s high school comedy that happens to take place on and just after the main character's birthday. It's possibly most famous these days for Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe), a foreign exchange student whose racially-stereotyped scenes are, frankly, not very funny, but I enjoyed most of the rest of it. Ringwald and Hall are great and share some nice scenes, and the general 80s-ness is wonderful too. Not sure Sam should've given up her panties so readily though - lord only knows what ends up being done to/with them...