Platform / Puzzle Games #1

Morph (1993)
By: Millennium Interactive  Genre: Platform / Puzzle   Players: 1  Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Commodore Amiga  First Day Score: 38,950
Also Available For: Amiga CD32, SNES

Hey! Who remembers Morph? He was a weird brown thing made from plasticine who changed shape and lived in a box and who had his own TV show when I was a kid. I think only British readers will know who I'm referring to, but whether you remember him or not is irrelevant because this game is nothing to do with him! This Morph is a boy, Ralph Morris, who helps his crackpot uncle (called Professor Krakenpot, appropriately enough!) to test his new teleporting machine. The test inevitably goes wrong and alters his molecular state, leaving him in a 'state of limbo'. Happily for us, however, this results in a type of game that was fairly common on the Amiga - a 2D scrolling platform puzzle game!

Film Review #6

Broken Arrow (1996)
Director: John Woo Starring: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Bob Gunton, Howie Long

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 104 Minutes

Tagline: "Prepare to Go Ballistic"

It was in 1994 that a little film called Pulp Fiction reminded the world that John Travolta exists. After over a decade in the relative wilderness, thanks to QT, he was finally 'cool' again. At this point, of course, the fickle movie business decided he was once again 'hot property' and inevitably, there soon followed a glut of films starring him. Some, of course, were utter nonsense, apparently made purely to have something out there with his name attached. Some others were actually pretty
good. Which was Broken Arrow?

Top Five MegaDrive Shmups

Games-Related Top Fives Disclaimer: I've traditionally stuck to the games I know and love so far, and these game-related top fives reflect that. One of the purposes of this blog is diversify my gaming experiences, to play games I haven't played before, so I will do new game-related top fives in a few years to see how different they are!

If I review any MD shmups in my upcoming feature that get really high scores, they don't appear in this Top Five because I hadn't played them before! (a.k.a covering my arse!)

5. Fire Shark (1990)

Flying Shark, in my view, is among the finest vertical scrollers of all-time so it's a shame it never saw a release on a system able to do it justice such as the MD. I guess we'll have to settle for the game considered its unofficial sequel - Fire Shark! Still, it's not much of a sacrifice as this game retains the basic premise and many of the distinctive features from its forebear and adds a few more of its own for good measure! It's true that the graphics and sound do not represent the pinnacle of MegaDrive achievements but they're not bad, and this is still an enjoyable, if slightly easy, vertical-scroller packed with tons of airborne and ground-based targets to lay waste to.

Budget Games #2

Caves of Doom, The (1985)
By: Mr. Chip Software / Mastertronic Genre: Platform Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: ZX Spectrum  First Day Score: 112
Also Available For: Nothing

As one of the first budget games I ever played, this title is planted firmly in my memories of the trusty Speccy, but another reason is its toughness: "Whilst exploring the planet Doom you were captured by the guards of the ruthless Lords of Darkness. You are now imprisoned in caves deep within the bowels of Doom but are determined to escape. To do so you must find five keys, one of which is in three pieces, which are scattered around the caves. However the odds are laid against you as the Lord of Darkness has laid traps in the caves and has sent many thousands of his bloodthirsty minions to thwart your mission. You are unarmed and, therefore, must use your wits to avoid certain death on Doom..." Well, that's all according to the cassette inlay, anyway! You'd think with a name like 'Planet Doom', people would be a bit more cautious before engaging in exploratory tomfoolery.

Overhead Racers #3

Cobra Triangle (1988)
By: Rare Genre: Overhead Racing Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: NES  First Day Score: 168,250
Also Available For: Nothing

One of the reasons I decided to start covering this genre of games is that it's one I've enjoyed immensely in the past, but so far this enjoyment has been limited only to a handful of titles. There are still many I haven't actually played before, so what better excuse to start? For the third game in the feature, I thought I'd take a look at one that tried to do something a little bit different. Enter Rare. This NES-exclusive is a bit unusual for an overhead racer for several reasons. Not least of these is the fact that it's single-player only! That's right, the feature that is often the main appeal of games of this nature is entirely absent! Do not despair, however - much has done by our ever-reliable friends at Rare to ensure the longevity of this, one of their first forays into the racing genre and, for a change, it features not cars but speedboats!

MegaDrive Shmups #1

Battle Squadron (1990)
By: Innerprise Software / Electronic Arts  Genre: Shooting   Players: 1-2  Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis  First Day Score: 200,700
Also Available For: Amiga

The days of the 16-Bit Console Wars were an interesting time to be a gamer. If the SNES was better at one type of game, the MegaDrive was better at another. One area in which many agree the MD had a firmer foothold is that of the shoot 'em up. Yes, the SNES had some blinding examples of the genre, but the MD won the day through sheer weight of numbers. An early example of the vertical scrolling shooter on the MD is Battle Squadron, a product of the bygone era of bedroom coders which saw many talented enthusiasts try their hand at that programming lark. Most games resulting from these endeavours were of course very limited, but on the odd, rare occasion, something much more interesting would emerge. Battle Squadron's success was probably not that immense, but Martin Pedersen did well enough from it to enable him to help form Innerprise Software who subsequently went on to develop several more titles.

Top Five Ugliest Cars

5 -Tata Nano
Created by Indian company, Tata, the Nano is currently the cheapest car in the world to buy brand new. As you might imagine, it's specs reflect that, with a 624cc engine which generates a mere 35bhp, and it only has the absolute minimum of interior features. The boot doesn't even open - it has to be accessed from inside the car! All this is understandable for its price though, but did they really have to make it look so hideous?

4 - Fiat Multipla
Good old Fiat. They're never ones to make conventional-looking vehicles, are they? I guess they're relying on the old "Oh, it's Italian, it must be artistic!" cliche. Well sorry Fiat, but this offering is a monstrosity! What's with the bit under the windscreen? Granted, the second-generation model looks a lot nicer and does away with this weird bit but still! This version regularly appears on 'ugly car' polls and with good reason - the Multipla is a MultiFAIL!

3 - Ford Ka
I was a bit surprised when I first saw this stupid thing from Ford. Their cars are usually decent enough, if unspectacular, but this pretentiously-named 'Ka' (definitely NOT pronounced the same as 'Car' by me) looks like a wedge of cheese balanced on marbles! The 'Sport' Ka and 'Street' Ka (both all of 93bhp) look even more annoying. Like the Fiat, however, the new version of the Ka is a vast improvement.

2 - Citroen 2CV
This post-WW2 designed car was a monument to minimalism, and very typically French. It's practicality is to be begrudgingly respected but as a modern car it's just ridiculous! The headlights stick out on little stalks, the roof is a bit of cloth that you can push back, the wheels are about 2 inches wide, the windows don't open but instead fold in half... It's just such a horrible little car. It was orginially designed as an "umbrella on wheels" to take French farmers to market and back. You know what? They should've kept it to themselves!

1. Smart
Well, after many, many years as my most hated car, if the Citroen 2CV was ever to be toppled from its lofty perch, it would take something very special. So step forward... Mercedes? How can the designers of some of the automobile world's finest vehicles be responsible for this... I can't even find the words to describe it! This... affront to all that exists! But yes, sadly it's true. Mercedes, in collaboration with Swatch (they of weird wristwatches) unveiled this in 1998 and the world has been a worse place since. If aliens made first contact with Humans, out of all the things in the world, out of all the things we've been responsible for, this pathetic thing is what I'd be most embarrassed by. Plus, if you crash in one at speed, you're screwed!

Film Review #5

Robin Hood (2010)
Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand, Danny Huston

Certificate: 12A Running Time: 140 Minutes

Tagline: The untold story behind the legend.

Admittedly I don't buy the movie magazines like I used to but this one seemed to pop up out of nowhere for me! Once I found out about it though, the expectation and excitement immediately began to surface. How could they not? What film fan wouldn't be at least intrigued by the prospect of another Ridley Scott / Russell Crowe collaboration to begin with, let alone a Robin Hood one? Perhaps it would end up being a big ol' Summer Blockbuster along the same lines as the fantastic Gladiator! Or would it be a more cerebral piece like American Gangster? One things's for sure - anyone expecting a retelling of the classic tale is in for a surprise, for the yarn this film spins is in effect a prequel to that oft-told legend.

Gaming Memories - Part 1

It was on a family holiday that videogames first got their hooks into me. Sure, they were around before that, and I was vaguely aware of them, even 'dabbling' on occasion, such as when I played the table-top classic, Astro Wars, for practically the whole weekend I stayed over at my cousin's house, for example, or when I played Frostbite on a school friend's Atari VCS after school now and then. At that point though, they were never anything more than a passing distraction.

That aforementioned holiday was pretty much my first vacation and would see us visit the land of my forebears. Namely, the Torbay area of Devon, and we would stay in a rented cottage. I was around 11 or 12 at the time and was very excited about my first trip away. It sounded fantastic, even if it would be occurring in the school summer holidays, thereby failing to ensure that I'd miss any schooltime! For those who don't know, Torbay is a beautiful area on the south coast of England in the county of Devonshire coast known as the 'English Riviera'. It enjoys a mild climate and is home to a sizeable marina, some nice sandy beaches, and three lovely resort towns - Torquay, Paignton, and Brixham - which collectively feature a whole host of sights and attractions of magnificent splendour. I, however, ultimately saw very little of all this after I first wandered past an amusement arcade.

Overrated! #2

Marble Madness (1991)
By: Atari / Electronic Arts Genre: Platform / Puzzle Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis
Also Available For: Arcade, Master System, NES, GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, PC, Amiga, Atari ST, C64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Apple IIGS

Originally released in the world's arcades in 1984, Marble Madness was another cracker from the then red-hot Atari. At least, that's what you'd be forgiven for thinking, given the game's popularity. In truth, it was a competent enough arcade game for its time, but somewhat less suitable as 16-bit console release seven years later. Marble Madness, you see, is a very simple game - you control a marble which you have to guide to the end of the level or 'goal' within a strict time limit. Achieve this and you'll get to tackle the next level. Each level is viewed from a 3D isometric perspective and is set on a series of raised platform sections. The surface of these levels is far from even though - it leans at all manner of angles, and ramps, chutes, bridges, and other such things also adorn the landscape and must be traversed in order to succeed.

Game Music #2

Instant Remedy

As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of videogame music, particularly of the retro variety. It was around... hmm, I guess 10 years ago now, that I started my collection, initially by recording MegaDrive tunes using the splendid Gens emulator, but I didn't discover the remix community until a bit later. It was while searching for the original OutRun music that I first encountered Instant Remedy, and it opened the door to an unimaginable number of songs.

Instant Remedy is Martin Noriander (formerly Martin Andersson), a Swedish guy born in 1976, and a Commodore 64 fanatic who has spent a good deal of his time and effort remixing some of his favourte SID tunes. Now, one of my biggest embarrassments as a gamer is that I've never played, or indeed even used a Commodore 64 - I was always a Speccy fanboy until I moved onto consoles - so I've never even heard any of these famous SID creations everyone keeps raving about, but that didn't stop my elation at hearing Magical Sound Shower, one of my all-time favourite game tunes, in an exciting new way! And so began my collection of remixed game tunes. Instant Remedy was the first and I soon discovered just how many more talented enthusiasts were up to the same sort of thing!

I'm now proud/embarrassed to admit that I have somewhere in the region of 120Gb of game music, and much of it is awesome remixes (or 'arrangements') of all manner of classic game soundtracks. A vast majority of them, including Instant Remedy, are done in a dance/trance style, as you might expect, and I hope to cover some of the other awesome musicians here at some point, but for now, wrap you ears around the one that started it all for me.... Instant Remedy OutRun!



And if you like this track even nearly as much as I did, it might be worth you investing in some of Martin's other Instant Remedy tracks, available here. Apparently, Martin also has a CD available featuring the same tracks (listed below with original composers in brackets), so grab a copy of that if you get the chance too!

1. Last Ninja - The Palace (by Antony Lees) 1987
2. Flimbo's Quest (by Reyn Ouwehand) 1990
3. Comic Bakery (Extended Version) (by Martin Galway) 1986
4. International Karate (by Rob Hubbard) 1986
5. Game On (Issue 09 to 89) (by Markus Schneider) 1989
6. Ghosts 'n Goblins (Trance Version) (by Mark Cooksey) 1986
7. IK+ (by Rob Hubbard) 1987
8. Last Ninja - The Wastelands (Club Version) (by Ben Daglish) 1987
9. Trolls (by Adam Gilmore) 1993
10. Warriors (Club Version) (by Thomas Mogensen) 1989
11. Commando (V2) (by Rob Hubbard) 1985
12. West Bank (V2) (by Fred Gray) 1986
13. Last Ninja - Wastelands (Extended Version) (by Ben Daglish) 1987
14. Comic Bakery (by Martin Galway) 1986
15. Commando (by Rob Hubbard) 1985

Thunder Force Series - Part 3

Thunder Force 2 (1990)
By: Techno Soft   Genre: Shooting   Players: 1  Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis  First Day Score: 363,130
Also Available For: Sharp X68000

My recent investigations into the origins of the Thunder Force series have yielded some very interesting results but this is where it all started for me - 1989, a friend's house, an imported MegaDrive, and a handful of games. One of the first ones we played? That's right, it was the underrated Thunder Force 2. Mere mention of the words 'Thunder Force' is enough to bring pleasant memories flooding back for a great many gamers who were growing up around the time of the 16-bit console boom, but for many, these memories concern the visual tour-de-force that was Thunder Force 3 or even the oft-heralded Thunder Force 4. The second game was not so well known. Released alongside the MegaDrive, at least here in the U.K, Thunder Force 2, while one of the best launch games money could buy, was still something of a missed gem for many.

F-Zero Series - Part 1

F-Zero (1990)
By: Nintendo EAD Genre: Racing Players: 1 Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo SNES  First Day Score: 27,200
Also Available For: Nothing
Download For: Wii Virtual Console

I have always been of the opinion that it's gameplay that counts, not graphics, hence my love of older games (increasingly in preference to new ones, in fact). This is my view and I stand by it. However, if there always seemed to be one genre that belied that stance, it's that of the racing/driving games. The way games of this type play, specifically the vehicle handling and play modes in my experience, has always been of the greatest importance, and that will always remain the case too, but due to the somewhat restrictive nature of the hardware available during the early years of the industry, we rarely saw examples of any kind. When we did, with the exception of a small number of classics, they were not often particularly spiffing. Either too much effort was put into making them look as pretty as possible, with the design and gameplay ending up tacked-on afterthoughts, or they simply couldn't make them look remotely convincing to start with. Then along came the SNES.

Overhead Racers #2

Badlands (1989)
By: Atari Genre: Overhead Racing Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Arcade First Day Score: 32,140
Also Available For: PC, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

After helping to put the overhead racing genre on the map with Super Sprint, there was unsurprisingly soon a glut of similar games. Never ones to rest on their laurels, it wasn't long before Atari offered their own 'update' in Badlands. This is one of those games that I'd been hearing about for years but hadn't actually played until now for this review! Finally playing it yielded few surprises, however - aside from a few additions to the basic formula, an 'update' is about all it is - Super Sprint in different clothes! Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, of course; Super Spint is hardly a stinker itself. So how does Badlands differ from its forebear? Read on...

Film Review #4

Iron Man 2 (2010)
Director: Jon Favreau Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L Jackson

Certificate: 12 Running Time: 124 Minutes

Tagline: It's not the armour that makes the hero, but the man inside

I don't think too many people would argue that the first Iron Man film was a surprise hit. It had all the right ingredients to be one but was still a bit of a gamble - rookie director, risky cast choices, unproven draw-power of character - but happily it paid off; Iron Man proved to be one of the most enjoyable comic-book adaptations to date thanks in no small part to Jon Favreau's sublime direction, the irresistible charisma of Robert Downey Jr. in a role he was just perfect for, and what turned out to be a hugely popular character. Thankfully, they both return in this well-timed sequel. But herein lies a problem. The first film ended up such a hit, Iron Man 2, unlike its predecessor, had a lot to live up to. The weight of expectation has killed many a film, but did it kill this one?