Super Conversions #2

The Need For Speed (1996)
By: Electronic Arts Genre: Driving Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Featured Version: Sony PlayStation
Also Available For: 3DO, Saturn, PC

The arrival of the fearsome 32-bit CD-based consoles in the mid-90s was a fascinating time for a gamer. There were several choices, some from newcomers, and in those days each offering needed a 'killer app' to succeed. In many people's eyes, Trip Hawkins' innovative 3DO had one in the shape of The Need For Speed - an immersive, technically stunning point-to-point driving game featuring a roster of real cars which could be driven over varied environments and landscape types against a rival. It persuaded many to commit to the hefty outlay required to play it and was a big hit with those who could afford it (or, more to the point, the expensive console which ran it). The sneers of smug 3DO owners were short-lived, however, as within a couple of years, Electronic bloody Arts had ported it to the PlayStation and Saturn, and it wasn't too long after this the 3DO itself went down as well.

First Look Xbox #2

Burnout Revenge by Criterion Games / Electronic Arts (2005) - Xbox

From the moment I played Burnout I loved it. It's exactly the kind of racing game I like. Happily for me, the sequel was even better. Both games contain among the fastest, most precise, and most intense racing action I've experienced in an arcade racer and I spent many hours going through all the races and competitions and attempting to better my times. Then the foul EA bought Criterion and, typically, they ruined just about everything I loved about the games. I played Takedown for about ten minutes and that was enough to know I didn't like it, so when I saw Revenge for a mere £2 a while back, even at that price I wasn't sure. I got it anyway in the end, to review here if nothing else, but I didn't expect to like it any more than Takedown. Expecting to dislike a game going in isn't the best idea I suppose but everything I had seen indicated a continuation of EA's nonsense, and indeed, when I finally got it going, an intense frown immediately developed as I realised I had been correct all along.

Currently Playing...

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (2002)
By: Krome Studios / EA Studios Genre: Platform Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Microsoft Xbox
Also Available For: PlayStation 2, GameCube, PC

Let's face it, as much fun as most of them were, the heyday of fuzzy animal game characters was definitely in the 16-bit era. By the time the PS2 and Xbox arrived with all their almost-realistic human characters and corresponding blood and violence, controlling a cute animal seemed a little childish didn't it? I guess that's down to personal preference but they certainly weren't seen as often. One of the more recent I've come across (outside of indie gaming) is this effort by Krome Studios which was actually the first part of a trilogy starring their feisty marsupial.

It's interesting that they've actually gone for an extinct animal for their game but the Australian setting in which he dwells immediately opens up a number of possibilities. The story is as silly as you might imagine and involves Boss Cass, an evil cassowary (a kind of bird if you didn't know) who wants to become the supreme ruler of Australia. This, he will apparently achieve, by activating 'the Dreamtime' for which he has stolen the five mystical talismans. While attempting this, Boss Cass traps all but one of the thylacines (Tasmanian tigers) in a portal to the Dreamtime before his plan is foiled and the talismans are scattered across Tasmania. Unfortunately, this still leaves the thylacines trapped, however.

First Look PSN #7

MicroBot by Naked Sky Entertainment / EA (2011) - PlayStation Network (PSN)

Exploring inside the human body in microscopic form isn't a particularly new concept for the gaming world but this latest effort by Naked Sky must surely be a contender for the most realistic attempt yet. You play as a teeny robot designed to fight infection, and are in fact the fourth generation of such a device. The previous three are still in the body and, after having apparently gone haywire, have caused a load of problems including many infections. The game takes the form of a twin-stick shooter with your job being to travel around the body destroying all of these ghastly viruses, curing diseases, and tracking down the pesky microscopic culprits themselves, which are found across five areas of the body which are each split into four procedurally generated stages.

Isometric Games #3

The Immortal a.k.a. Wizard of the Immortal (1991)
By: Will Harvey / Electronic Arts Genre: Arcade Adventure Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis
Also Available For: NES, Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Apple IIGS

There were many examples of very striking promotional artwork being produced for games in the 80's and 90's, and one that I was recently reminded of after it having passed out of memory long before is The Immortal. How could I forget that sinister-looking Grim Reaper type fellow that adorned all the adverts, cover-art, and even title screen of the game though? Who can say? Having now returned to the game for the first time in an age, I've found myself wondering who he actually is. He's certainly not the character you're tasked to play through the game as, who, though nameless to mere mortals like us, is much fleshier and appears to be from the land of the living. He's also rather wizardly in appearance, in the finest traditions of Gandalf and other grey-robed, staff-wielding, beardy old codgers. Whatever his name and background may be though, he has a rather daunting mission before him.

Currently Playing...

Battle Squadron (1990)
By: Innerprise Software / Electronic Arts  Genre: Shooting   Players: 1-2  Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Commodore Amiga  First Day Score: 361,000
Also Available For: MegaDrive/Genesis
Download For: Android

My Sega fanboy-ness was never stronger (or more irrational, some might say) than in the MegaDrive/Amiga days and one game I often used to cite as a demonstration of the superiority of Sega's mighty machine was Battle Squadron. My review of the MD version a few years back was surprisingly impartial but the fact is I've always viewed it as the better version. My opinion has naturally been contested by various Amiga fanboys over the years but I have always remained resolute. Nonetheless, I recently decided to give their beloved version of the game another try anyway!

There is actually one immediately noticeable thing about that the Amiga version that is superior to the MD, and that's its box-art. That's (possibly) a subject for another post though. As far as the actual game is concerned, there are less dramatic differences. For all intents and purposes, they are both versions of the same game which, in case you haven't played it or seen the MD review, is a one or two-player vertical scroller which charges you with violently disassembling the evil Barrax Empire.

Next-Gen Driving Games #2

The Need For Speed a.k.a. Over Drivin (1994)
By: Pioneer Studios / Electronic Arts Genre: Driving Players: 1 Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Featured Version: 3DO
Also Available For: Saturn, PlayStation, PC

As one of the very first video game genres, I think it's safe to say that driving games have come a long way since Atari's Night Driver, the first into-the-screen example and released all the way back in '76. Since then there have been some great games released, as well as a good few not-so-great ones, but as enjoyable as they may or may not have been, they were never terribly realistic. Of course, as technology got more advanced their realism slowly improved and today's console efforts appear almost photo-realistic and often require tutorials to even 'play' properly. Between these two points though, the first example of the genre I encountered that truly felt like an actual driving game was The Need For Speed, the first of the now-extensive series that's still going strong today (there's even a movie on the way!), and for this reason it's the game I've always considered the first genuine 'next-generation' driving game.

Golf Games #5

Zany Golf (1990)
By: Sandcastle / Electronic Arts Genre: Sports Players: 1-4 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis
Also Available For: Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Apple IIGS

The MegaDrive was launched with some cracking titles here in the UK but one that failed to capture the attention of many gamers was this mini, or indeed 'zany', golf game. I was one of those who turned my nose up at it in favour of wonders like Golden Axe, Thunder Force 2, Revenge of Shinobi, etc, and for all these years have known it only for the very average magazine reviews it received and the same screen-shot that seemed to do the rounds in said reviews which showed a large hamburger of all things (the designer must've been hungry or something). My interest in golf games has greatly increased in the intervening years though, so I would say it's finally time for me to give this oft-ignored launch game a try, and seek out this most famous of fast food items in the process.

N64 Driving / Racing Games #3

Beetle Adventure Racing (1999)
By: Paradigm Entertainment / Electronic Arts Genre: Racing Players: 1-4 Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo 64
Also Available For: Nothing

There's no story so why the film strip?

Considering the apparent ease with which the mighty N64 was able to handle 3D game worlds, I always found it rather surprising that it didn't host more top quality racing games. There was the king itself, F-Zero X, of course, and a few other corkers such as the floopy Wave Race, but alternatives were few and far between. I thought I had found one when I saw a rather enthusiastic review in a gaming magazine of the day so I bought the game in question at full price only to find it sucked big floppy donkey dicks. No, I'm not talking about Beetle Adventure Racing - I'll review the actual culprit another time - but such was the horror I endured with the other title that I became far more hesitant to try any other N64 racers, and that's where the EA's Volkswagen-starring game comes in. It too received decent reviews but I was so scarred by my previous experience that I never dared to try it... until now.

Electronic Arts or Electronic Farts?

In the long and jumbled history of video games, has there ever been another company like Electronic Arts? They're now among the very richest and most successful developers/publishers of all time but if you asked the average hardcore or retro gamer for their opinion of EA, most would probably have a venomous retort already scripted and ready to vent. I am firmly entrenched among them I have to say (as long-time readers here will already know), but it wasn't always that way.

Although founded waay back in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, I was only vaguely aware of them during my Speccy and Master System gaming years. It wasn't until the era of the MegaDrive had arrived that I really started to have sufficient information to form an opinion on the company, and that opinion was... actually a very positive one! That's right, back then EA were a splendid company whose name was held in high regard worldwide, even by me. They became a prolific supporter of Sega's 16-bit monster, pretty much from the off, and new releases were always eagerly anticipated. How could they not be when they had the quality of Battle Squadron, Starflight, The Immortal, Rolo to the Rescue, F-22 Interceptor, Desert Strike, and the James Pond series? Their releases weren't all 'Mean Machines Mega Games' of course, but the quality and, vitally, the originality and creativity were of a consistently high enough standard for EA to be regarded as one of the best and most reliable game companies around.

One-on-One Fighting Games #1

Budokan: The Martial Spirit (1990)
By: Electronic Arts Genre: Fighting Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis
Also Available For: Amiga, PC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum

Whilst born in the arcades and probably always most successful there, the immediate popularity of one-on-one fighting games meant that original titles were soon appearing on the home machines as well. I've already started looking at some of the arcade offerings, so in this new feature here at Red Parsley I'll start taking a look at some of the many computer and console exclusive ones as well. Most of these are clones, or ‘inspired by’, the arcade titles as well but some are wholly original, even creative. The first one that popped in my head for some reason was Budokan, released by EA back before they started sucking. It's been a while since I played it but I remember it being pretty good, if rather tough. This was before I got drawn into Capcom's brash, over-the-top world of Street Fighter derivatives though, so I wonder how well EA's game holds up today.

MegaDrive Platform Games #4

Rolo to the Rescue (1992)
By: Vectordean Genre: Platform / Puzzle Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis First Day Score: Still Going!
Also Available For: Nothing

Sega's splendid MegaDrive had a rather sizeable library of games available for it which covered a wide variety of genres but the two most commonly featured must surely have been shoot 'em ups and platformers. Offerings of the latter were generally either serious, combat-heavy ones or happy, cutesy ones featuring anthropomorphic animals. I personally like both kinds very much but have always had a particular soft spot for the cutesy ones. There were quite a few of these to begin with though, and once Sonic had been unleashed on an unsuspecting gaming world there were many times more. Some games understandably got lost in that avalanche and one in particular that seemed to get largely overlooked by critics and gamers alike is this British effort published by Electronic Arts (back when that was a good thing).

MegaDrive Platform Games #2

James Pond: Underwater Agent (1991)
By: Millennium Interactive / Electronic Arts  Genre: Platform (kind of)  Players: 1  Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis  First Day Score: 1,118,740
Also Available For: Amiga, Atari ST, Acorn Archimedes

During the game mascot boom of the early 90's there was a big influx of potential new heroes for consideration by the gaming public. Many were spurred on by the huge success of Sonic but it was going on long before him too. There were lots of mostly rather implausible anthropomorphic creatures thrust into the spotlight and we ended up with a veritable Noah's Ark of odd candidates including a mouse, bat, elephant, possum, ant, squirrel, duck, bobcat, dog, bee and lord knows what else, but there's one who beat them all to the punch. And he was... a fish? Many of these odd platform hero wannabes would realistically found it difficult to clamber around the environments typical of a platform game but a fish doesn't even have limbs, nevermind the inconvenience of air in place of their more natural environment! The obvious answer would be to set the stages underwater, but would it even still be a platform game then?

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.

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.