So I finally finally FINALLY played California Games. I gotta say, this one wasn't so bad. As far as sports games go, this is probably the most fun I've had with one. Their choice of games is kinda weird, like footbag, but the controls feel more responsive, and more intuitive than the previous sports games I played. Overall not bad, but I've never been a big sports game guy.
It also helps that this game is just FILLED to the brim with 80s cheese. It's just so apologetically 80s that it's hilarious.
Next up: International Karate Champ +
Friday, April 28, 2017
Saturday, March 4, 2017
#0136 Dungeon Master
I liked this one! Finally, an RPG that I can relate to. The standout thing for this game is that it's in first person. But in that clunky, early first person that walks one tile at a time. But! The entire game can be played with the mouse so that's amazing. Finally no more clunky, hard to follow controls.
The game was fairly slow paced and had no music, but it was charming. I like the sense of adventure here. All the different keys you have to collect. All the different equipment.
Honestly, I think I'd like to come back to this game. Play it a little more in depth. For what it was, it was actually pretty good. Definately can't wait to see where RPGs go from here.
Nest up: California games (groan...)
The game was fairly slow paced and had no music, but it was charming. I like the sense of adventure here. All the different keys you have to collect. All the different equipment.
Honestly, I think I'd like to come back to this game. Play it a little more in depth. For what it was, it was actually pretty good. Definately can't wait to see where RPGs go from here.
Nest up: California games (groan...)
Saturday, February 11, 2017
#0135 A.P.B.
So I played APB. With the crash of '83, and the rise of Nintendo, less and less kids felt the need to go to their local Arcade. So how do you lure children into dingy, dimly lit buildings? You offer them what a console can't. That's why we're seeing a rise in racing games. This being yet another one, and honestly, not a very good one.
You play as a cop and your goal is to drive bad guys off the road. But if you ram into things without your siren on, you get demerits, get too many demerits and you're fired. The problem I had with this game was there's just WAY too much going on. You have to keep track of your gas, your speed, whether or not you have your siren on, the other cars, you have to keep after them and every little bump in the road will kill you. Not to mention the graphics, while fluid, are about a generation behind. It's just... Not fun. I think it would have benefited greatly by being a more linear game like Spy Hunter. Just really disappointed me.
Next up: Dungeon Master
You play as a cop and your goal is to drive bad guys off the road. But if you ram into things without your siren on, you get demerits, get too many demerits and you're fired. The problem I had with this game was there's just WAY too much going on. You have to keep track of your gas, your speed, whether or not you have your siren on, the other cars, you have to keep after them and every little bump in the road will kill you. Not to mention the graphics, while fluid, are about a generation behind. It's just... Not fun. I think it would have benefited greatly by being a more linear game like Spy Hunter. Just really disappointed me.
Next up: Dungeon Master
#0134 NetHack
Today I played NetHack, an interesting game in that it ran perfectly on my computer without any emulators or anything. Want to know why that is? Because this version was released in on December 7, 2015. That's right. This is completely open source and has been regurlarly updated since 1987, 30 years ago. You can find it here and play right now if you like.
But how's the game itself? It's fine. Remember my Rogue review? Yeah, it's Rogue. It's not a Rogue-Like that seem to be all the rage these days, it's like Rogue2. In that it has the same concept of looking for treasure in a maze that you discover as you play, and every game you play is different, same ASCII layout, the only difference is that they upped the RPG elements and rebalanced the game to be more user friendly. There's not much more choice on who you can be and what you can do. It's a legitimately good game. Just didn't quite grip me as some other games did.
next up: A.P.B.
But how's the game itself? It's fine. Remember my Rogue review? Yeah, it's Rogue. It's not a Rogue-Like that seem to be all the rage these days, it's like Rogue2. In that it has the same concept of looking for treasure in a maze that you discover as you play, and every game you play is different, same ASCII layout, the only difference is that they upped the RPG elements and rebalanced the game to be more user friendly. There's not much more choice on who you can be and what you can do. It's a legitimately good game. Just didn't quite grip me as some other games did.
next up: A.P.B.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
#0133 Blasteroids
It's kinda weird to think that games that came out before I was born were actually remakes of games that came out even earlier. That said, I'm liking these remakes.
It started with Arkanoid, which while TECHNICALLY it wasn't a remake of Breakout, we all totally know it's a remake of breakout. But today we're reviewing Blasteroids. It's pretty dang good.
You might recall from my previous review of Asteroids, that I wasn't really impressed with Asteroids. I didn't find it challenging and compared to what was offered at the time, I just kinda prefered Space Invaders. Which is controvercial I know, but it's safe to say that, I really enjoyed this game. You can always tell how enjoyable a game is by how fast you put your next quarter in. This game sank like six quarters before I was willing to let it go. It gripped me pretty hard. The biggest imporovement over the original is the amount of flexibity you have. You can morph between three different ships which all have their advantages and weaknesses. As well as powerups that allow you to fire mulitple shots and such. The graphics look pretty legit as well. Like, on the higher end of 16 bit. This is what SNES games looked like in 1995.
Overall, the game was fun. It's one of the few remakes in gaming that I honestly believe can actually replace the orignal.
Next up: NetHack
It started with Arkanoid, which while TECHNICALLY it wasn't a remake of Breakout, we all totally know it's a remake of breakout. But today we're reviewing Blasteroids. It's pretty dang good.
You might recall from my previous review of Asteroids, that I wasn't really impressed with Asteroids. I didn't find it challenging and compared to what was offered at the time, I just kinda prefered Space Invaders. Which is controvercial I know, but it's safe to say that, I really enjoyed this game. You can always tell how enjoyable a game is by how fast you put your next quarter in. This game sank like six quarters before I was willing to let it go. It gripped me pretty hard. The biggest imporovement over the original is the amount of flexibity you have. You can morph between three different ships which all have their advantages and weaknesses. As well as powerups that allow you to fire mulitple shots and such. The graphics look pretty legit as well. Like, on the higher end of 16 bit. This is what SNES games looked like in 1995.
Overall, the game was fun. It's one of the few remakes in gaming that I honestly believe can actually replace the orignal.
Next up: NetHack
#0132 Super Hang-On
Fun fact about me. I'm actually a pretty big fan of racing games. Specifically realistic simulation type games like Gran Turismo. They were one of my first foreys into games not made on Nintendo Systems. But I also like arcade style racing games so today we start off 1987 with one of my favorite racing games yet Super Hang-On.
This is a motorcycle racing game made by Sega. It's fast, the controls are responsive, the handling feels tight, overall, a pretty solid racing game except for one crucial detail. It's hard. Brutally hard really. I'm a seasoned racing gamer, and I had a hard time making it past just the second checkpoint in the first, easiest level. You really gotta lay on that boot button to get anywhere close and if you whipe out, you might as well throw in the towel, you're not going to make it. It could really be more forgiving in that aspect. But for what it was, I had a lot of fun.
Next up: Blasteroids.
This is a motorcycle racing game made by Sega. It's fast, the controls are responsive, the handling feels tight, overall, a pretty solid racing game except for one crucial detail. It's hard. Brutally hard really. I'm a seasoned racing gamer, and I had a hard time making it past just the second checkpoint in the first, easiest level. You really gotta lay on that boot button to get anywhere close and if you whipe out, you might as well throw in the towel, you're not going to make it. It could really be more forgiving in that aspect. But for what it was, I had a lot of fun.
Next up: Blasteroids.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
#0131 World Games
World games is yet another Olympics style sports game. This time with the theme of games from around the world. Each game is unique in that it originated in the country its set in. Very clever idea. But it's still a sports game and still a game I just can't get into. But if it means anything, I enjoyed this better than the last Summer Games. Plus I got to play it on the Amiga, and the Amiga looks gorgeous.
And that finishes up 1986! That means we get to decide Game of the Year 1986 and the winner of this is obviously:
Legend of Zelda.
Was there really any contest? Well, because that game is so obviously first contender for Game of the Year, let's look at other games that came out that year who could be considered Runners up:
Alter Ego: An RPG who's decisions early on shape your character. It's basically like a giant word tree, but it was incredibly fun.
Darius: The Most amazing looking game I've played on this list to date. I haven't been blown away by graphics like this since Galaxian, the first game in RGB color.
Kid Icarus: It's like a more linear Zelda game that really caught me off guard.
Dragon Quest: If it hadn't been for zelda, this game would have won. It may not be as original, but You could argue that it was even MORE influential than even Zelda. Zelda was just more fun to play though.
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels: What can I say? It's more Mario, what more could you want?
Up next: Super Hang On
And that finishes up 1986! That means we get to decide Game of the Year 1986 and the winner of this is obviously:
Legend of Zelda.
Was there really any contest? Well, because that game is so obviously first contender for Game of the Year, let's look at other games that came out that year who could be considered Runners up:
Alter Ego: An RPG who's decisions early on shape your character. It's basically like a giant word tree, but it was incredibly fun.
Darius: The Most amazing looking game I've played on this list to date. I haven't been blown away by graphics like this since Galaxian, the first game in RGB color.
Kid Icarus: It's like a more linear Zelda game that really caught me off guard.
Dragon Quest: If it hadn't been for zelda, this game would have won. It may not be as original, but You could argue that it was even MORE influential than even Zelda. Zelda was just more fun to play though.
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels: What can I say? It's more Mario, what more could you want?
Up next: Super Hang On
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