Plutos (Atari ST)

The more I delve into gaming history, the more it's becoming apparent to me just how influential a game Star Force was. I just thought it was a polished arcade shoot 'em up, and originally I thought I was the only one that gave a toss about it. Over time, I've found others who revere it as I do, which is great, but there are more clones of this great game than I'd realised, too.

Plutos is one such clone. Not a game I'd heard of until recently, but I was recommended it as a good game for the blog. The name was all I had to go on... I didn't even know what kind of game it was. So it was a very pleasant surprise to start the game and find a variant on Star Force... I just felt like a bit of a blast, as it happened.


Not a clone, but a "Space War Arcade Simulation", says the back of the box. OhhhhKaaaaay...

There's no doubting that source of inspiration. Right from the off, you've got a Star Force-shaped ship, Star Force-like enemy attack patterns, and Star Force-like ground bases and installations. As you progress, you've even got the question marks that you shoot to try and reveal extra lives. It's all very, very familiar.

Still, if you're going to steal, steal from the best. Plutos does add a hint of originality by giving you limited fuel, meaning that you have to keep your eyes peeled for fuel dumps on the ground, and naturally, in one of gaming's great anomalies, blasting these tops up your supply.


The message is clear. You know what you have to do.

It's standard fare, but it is very playable and, crucially, you make a little more progress with every game... an essential ingredient for any quality shooter. I would have loved to have owned this when it was released (and if I'd had one of the computers it was released on)... it would have made the long wait between trips to the arcade all the more bearable. And while it's not as good as the game that inspired it, Plutos is most definitely one of the better home blasters I've played from its time.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (XBox Live Arcade)

I vividly remember playing the first Tomb Raider game, on my Saturn. There had been a lot of hype before release because, hey, you played as a girl. With boobs, and that. A bit silly really, because the graphics were nowhere near today's standards, and she looked pointier than Madonna in that daft bra.

It was a bit of a shame that so much focus went on this, because Tomb Raider was a fantastic game. A true revolution, it helped to change the course of action-adventure games forever. There were some real, bona-fide jaw-dropping moments in there... the valley of the dinosaurs, where I genuinely dropped my controller in fright (hello, Mr. T-Rex), was especially notable. And there was a bit where the camera panned way, way back to reveal that you were standing on a Sphinx... stunning.


The way it used to be. One step closer, wolves, and the walls get a paint job.

So, Tomb Raider was a real landmark in gaming, and one that I played to completion and thoroughly enjoyed. Sadly, none of the many follow-ups captured my enthusiasm in the same way... the second game was decent (and preferred by many) but I couldn't get on with it, possibly because I was playing it on the PC. Subsequent versions varied in quality, getting worse and worse as the publishers concentrated on Lara's ample charms above gameplay and good ideas.

Lately, with the outsourcing of programming to Crystal Dynamics, things have taken a notable turn for the better. The last couple of games have been critically well-received, and have not been hamstrung by the awful control methods and tedious gameplay which were prevalent for a while. Lara has been getting back into top form. And now, in a very interesting move, she's making a splash with her first download-only game, on XBLA and PSN... Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.


How d'you wanna die? Spear or gun? Either way, it's gonna happen.

There are several things about Guardian of Light that make it notable. For one, the Tomb Raider title has been dropped from the game. That's fair enough... Lara Croft is a big enough name that people know what they're getting from having that name in the title. Or do they? GoL throws enough twists at the formula to make this feel really fresh and different. Most obvious is the two-player co-op gameplay... which although not compulsory, is a brave and interesting move. I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but it promises to be a significantly different game to the single-player experience.


Easy... eeeeeeasy... left a bit... right a bit...

But how's the one-player game? I have to say, I think it's fantastic. Immediately obvious is the panned-out viewpoint. Instead of having the camera close to the action, and therefore all over Lara's curves, this has an isometric 3D viewpoint. It's kind of flickscreen... which sounds weird, but it scrolls when it needs to and then will have you go through a door and into a new area. It works perfectly well, and means you tend to focus on the best and quickest way through.

This is important, because GoL encourages replaying each level by dishing out extra in-game rewards for speed runs. I've never been a great fan of speed runs or replaying games, but I must have completed level one six times now, and still haven't milked it for everything. I happen to think this is an ingenious way of expanding the life of the game, and am very impressed with its implementation.


Lara goes Robotron... or maybe Black Widow, given the horde of attacking spiders.

And what of the gameplay itself? Well, that may be the most radical change of all. The best way to describe it (seriously) is as a twin-stick puzzle-platforming arena shooter. That's a fair old hybrid, but GoL manages to blend all of those elements into a perfectly cohesive and very enjoyable game. The zoomed-out viewpoint means that more attention is paid to the game than the protagonist, and that focus has helped to ensure you get a cracking gaming experience.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light costs 1200 points on XBLA. It's a huge download... 2.02GB. You can't help but wonder if a disc-based release might have been better, but then again they'd have had to charge more for that, and it represents really good value for money as it is. That hard drive space isn't wasted... there are fourteen levels in the game, and they're a good size too. There's a heck of a lot to do, it's all entertaining stuff, and there's plenty of replay value too. It's easily one of the best XBLA games so far, a damn good game in its own right and a really pleasant and welcome surprise.

Vanquishing the Unplayed Hordes.

OK, OK... I give up. When A Game A Day started, playing and writing about one game every day was a challenge, but it was doable. Now, it really isn't, and I've stopped kidding myself that it is. I simply don't have the time or the energy to commit to that any more.

I do, though, still enjoy playing games, and I still enjoy writing about them. And I've still got stacks of unplayed games sitting around the house. So the reason for the blog still exists, and I'll still be writing it. It's just that the frequency of posts will lessen.

So, keep me bookmarked, and keep checking back. The quantity might not be there, but the quality should be.

Scratching an itch.

You know how there are occasionally times when you just have to play a certain game? I've had that lately. In fact, I've had a hankering for some Burnout. Not Paradise, though... fine game though it is... but one of the more old-school efforts. I can't be bothered to go hooking up old systems to scratch this itch, though, so that left me with Burnout Revenge. Pity I didn't own it... but when you have that itch, you have to spend, and I popped out and (eventually) found a pre-owned copy. Aaaahhhh... I could almost feel the relief on the bus journey home.

The funny thing is, I had Burnout Revenge on the PS2, and didn't really like it. I was kindly sent it for review purposes by a lad at EA Canada, but I was so on the fence about it that I never completed the review. That's one of the problems with getting free stuff to review... it makes you feel bad if you don't like the game. Spend your own money, and you can say what you like. Anyway, sorry, EA Games lad.


Ahhh... the open road. Well, there's that car in the distance, but you can just ram that out of the way.

My main problem with Burnout Revenge was the racing. There have been a few problems with Burnout games over time... but I think I feel a feature coming on to discuss those. With Burnout Revenge, the problem lay with the introduction of "traffic checking". What did this mean? It meant that you could basically drive straight through most vehicles that were travelling in the same direction as you. It removed a lot of the skill from driving, and turned Burnout into Advanced Turbo Snowplough Simulator.


That's what you want to see... cars wrecked by your own fair hand.

Still, I bought it. The other modes are fun, and I was just in the mood to ram some cars and figured even the traffic checking wouldn't be too annoying. And I was right... I found myself enjoying the whole package, this time. The racing is still a bit silly with all the ramming going on, but it was just what I fancied. Road Rage is still great, although it seems much harder for some reason. Crash Mode is better than it was in Takedown... from what I've played of it, it seems that they've removed stupid stuff like the heartbreakers, which is definitely a good thing.

So, my itch is truly scratched. I've even enjoyed the two-player game this time around... Aidan was only four when I last played it and wasn't really up to the challenge. Five years on and he's a worthy adversary, and we battled to an epic 5-4 victory... in my favour. There will be much more of this in days and weeks to come. Good stuff.

Alpha Protocol (XBox 360)

The name's Thorton... Mike Thorton.

Nah, that wouldn't work. Fortunately, your character in Alpha Protocol, the aforementioned Mr. Thorton, has a line of patter all his own. And in becoming the latest videogame spy, you're going to make full use of it.

Alpha Protocol is not a game that was ever on my radar. Even the words "Espionage RPG", although alluring, were not enough to even make me consider it as a purchase. But last week I felt bad for Aidan, as he was looking forward to playing out one day and it pissed down with rain the entire time. I popped into GAME to try and pick up a cheap consolation for him, but that didn't work out. I spotted a Club Penguin game for the DS in the 2 for £30 offer, and knowing he loved Club Penguin on the PC, I thought I'd get him that. But what would be the second pick in the offer? It had to be something for me, but nothing really stood out... but then I saw Alpha Protocol, remembered reading a few positive accounts, and another impulse buy had taken place. Had I wasted my fifteen quid?


Fuck you, Craig! You're too old for this part!

Normally I wouldn't have answered that for about nine months. Games bought in that fashion tend to sit unplayed for yonks. For some reason, though, this one was calling to me. That doesn't mean I can answer the question though, because at this point in time, I'm not entirely sure.

There are certainly flaws. Your character is a bit unwieldy at times, for starters. There will be maddening occasions when he's stuck moving to the left, even if you're not touching the controller. For a spy, that's a hell of a character deficiency. A quick flick of the stick stops him in his tracks though, and all becomes well again.


Fuck you too, Diesel! You're not muscling in on my action!

Another time, I climbed a ladder after the guard had vacated it and scooped up some cash. I then wanted to vault over the little fence and sneak up on the two patrolling guards. But there's no jump button. You can only jump if the game gives you a prompt. And by the time I'd figured that out, I'd taken a headful of lead. I had to climb back down the ladder and go the long way around. Maddening.

So far, it's all negative. But those are niggles. And considering I've never been into stealth games at all, I'm finding Alpha Protocol quite addictive, and somewhat endearing.


Get out. Of my. ARCADE!

The game is pretty dialogue heavy. You'll be sitting through a lot of conversations, but you get to influence them. You don't choose sentences, just your character's attitude in replying. This is done really well. You don't get to pause for ages to consider how you'll reply; instead, a timer ticks down as the other character is speaking, and you have to choose your nature of response before that expires. As a result, the conversations really flow, and it feels pretty natural.

You have to consider your responses carefully, too. You can gain the trust or admiration of characters from the way you talk to them, which can result in perks that help your game, alter the way characters treat you (important, as you might need their help when you're out in the field), or even woo the laydeez. It's not really like any game I've played before, although I'm sure it's not original. It's probably a system used in Mass Effect, but I only played that for half an hour before I got stuck, so I can't remember. If anything, it kind of reminds me of the classic Law of the West.


Gordon Burns was sure that Mike had the ten points in the bag in this round.

The rest of the game is fairly standard action fare. I like the way you can use your connections to make the missions easier... if you have the money. You can "go online" to buy black market weapons, or to pay contacts for information that you can use for your advantage. It's pretty cool, and it does help to draw you into the world of espionage.

With guns, stealth, diplomacy, laydeez, lock-picking, code breaking, international jetsetting, computer hacking, hand-to-hand combat and laydeez all thrown into one package, Alpha Protocol is quite a decent way to spend some gaming time. You probably haven't got anything that compares, and will be a nice change to the rest of your collection.

PLATFORMANCE: Castle Pain (XBLA Indie Games)

I've got loads of games still unplayed, and yet I can't help buying more, whether it's a full-priced retail release in a sale, something reduced on Steam or GOG, or a 70p cheapie on XBLA's Indie Games. PLATFORMANCE: Castle Pain is one from the latter category, snapped up on a whim after a quick go of the demo. Yep, it's another 80 pointer.

I'll be honest, the main reason I tried this was because I thought the main character reminded me of a character from a Mastertronic game. Points awarded to anyone on the same wavelength that can tell me which game, but no prizes. Sorry.


Jesus! A ghost! And the reason the game is forced to be played as a speed run. The bastard.

PLATFORMANCE: Castle Pain is... drumroll... a platform game! Noooooo! Really? OK, so far, so obvious. It's a bit different to the norm, though. If you've trawled much of the internet for games-related stuff, you've probably seen sites devoted to speed runs on various games (Super Mario games being very popular for this). Well, PLATFORMANCE is a game that is designed to be played as a speed run. In fact, you have no choice in the matter.

As such, it's really good fun. It's hard, at least to me... in fact, there's a point I'm stuck at. The word "pain" in the title is quite apt, both for the player and the main character's many violent deaths. So I've never actually completed it yet. And it's not a long game... research has shown that you should be completing it in five minutes or less.


And that, right there, is the entire game. How quickly can you finish it?

Five minutes? So why should you buy it then? Well, I certainly can see it as being a game you'd play repeatedly after completion. With it being a speed run, you'll constantly be trying to shave seconds off your best time. And there are different difficulty levels to try, adding to the enjoyment/frustration. Yes, you'll get frustrated, but in that classic 8-bit "should have made that pixel-perfect jump" way.

PLATFORMANCE: Castle Pain is a charming little game. It's got 1985 written all over it (even down to not having online leaderboards, sadly), but turning it into a speed run changes the dynamic into something approaching the present day, and fun is fun, whatever era it comes from. It might be a Mastertronic game at a sub-Mastertronic price, but it's no less worthy for it and will have you shouting abuse at the tell for many an hour.

Hydorah (PC Indie game)

I can't remember where I read about Hydorah. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I have it, and I can play it. And you've probably never heard of it before now, either. You're probably at a complete loss as to what I'm talking about. So I will elaborate.

Hydorah is the best arcade game you've never played. You've never played it because it wasn't actually in the arcades. But from just one play, you'll feel as though it should have been. You'd have ploughed countless tens into it, and come away bruised but satisfied. Just like you did with most of the best arcade games.


It all looks quite sedate here. Aren't the trees pretty?

At this point, I should actually describe the game. It's Nemesis. Or Gradius, if you prefer. That's the core (haha! See what I did there?), although it's got a few bits of R-Type in there too, but yes, it's pretty much a new, independent entry into the Gradius series. And it's absolutely awesome.

The programmers have deliberately made Hydorah as 80s as possible. And they've done a stunning job. It looks, sounds and plays the part to absolute perfection. That means it's hard. Very hard. It's sixteen levels of arse-kicking. Well, they say it is... I haven't seen a quarter of them, if that's the case. But it's not unfairly difficult. I knew what I was doing wrong every time, I was just too rubbish to cope.


Eye-eye! What's going on here, then?

In fact, if anything, Hydorah is quite generous with its difficulty. There's never too much filling the screen, there's no harsh collision detection, no cheap deaths. Just a feeling of "next time, I'll do better". It's a bit naughty in one way, I discovered... shoot the wrong stuff, and you'll lose points. Again, it's not done in a cheap way... if you think about it when you're playing, you should know better.

It does have a bit of a weird weapons upgrade system, which might be a detraction for some. You collect tokens, much like in Gradius, but you can't instantly "spend" them on stuff... you have to accumulate a certain number of them, and once you have, your lasers are powered up. If you die, you lose some of your tokens, setting you back a bit.


It does all look a bit familiar, but comfortingly so.

There are some insta-perks though, such as shields or an extra ship. And as you progress, there's a nice choice system in effect, where you can take your pick of earned weapons for the next level. It might have been nicer to go out there fully tooled-up, but it would also be easier...

Hydorah is a really lovely Gradius-type game. It looks and sounds absolutely superb, and it plays like an 80s dream, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I guarantee that if you have any kind of love for these kinds of games, you'll lose best part of your first afternoon with it, and will re-develop that long-lost trigger finger cramp. Best of all? It's absolutely free. There's no reason not to play this at all. So head over to developer Locomalito's website, and download Hydorah right now.

Unstarted...

Hey! I'm back again. The house has had its work completed, and things are slowly getting back to normal. So I might be able to start regularly playing and writing again!

And that's good... I've been going through my XBox 360 games, and I've got 23 that I haven't even started playing! If you add in all the games that I've played for maybe an hour or less... that must hit somewhere around 50. That's ridiculous, and I need to either play them or sell them.

Or both... I'd hate to get rid of them untouched. After all, I bought them to play in the first place, and that's exactly what this blog is for. So if I can get some good use out of them in the next three months, I can sell a good number of them to make a bit of cash for Christmas. Perfect!

Actually, the 360 list of unplayed games is down to 22... I started one up just this afternoon...

Spindizzy Worlds (Atari ST)

Oh, how I remember Spindizzy on the Commodore 64. Massive Gold Medal in ZZAP! 64, plaudits left, right and centre, lovely isometric 3D graphics, teeth-gnashingly hard gameplay. It probably didn't help that comparisons were drawn between it and Marble Madness when, as ZZAP! quite rightly pointed out, they don't play anywhere near the same.


The way it used to be. Difficult, but excellent.

I did buy the original, and I played it quite a bit, probably more down to the fact it cost £9.95 than through my great love of the game. I wasn't very good at it. I imagine a lot of people weren't very good at it. It was a huge game, with hundreds of screens which you "flicked" through, one at a time. I think I managed to complete about a quarter of it, which was probably actually quite good, now that I think about it.

Spindizzy Worlds is not a game that would have been high on my list of must-buys, back in the day. It actually got a release on the SNES as well, research shows. That makes sense... the ST version actually looks a bit like a SNES game. And it seems more like a console game in structure. Whereas Spindizzy just saw you exploring one huge landscape, Spindizzy Worlds, as the title suggests, is split into levels. Well, worlds, actually. Of course.


Coloured switches, lifts and jewels. What more could a gyroscope want?

This affords the game the opportunity to be a bit more varied than the original, and it takes that opportunity by having distinct-looking worlds. Some are lush with greenery, some are drab and concrete, some are blue and watery... you get the idea.

It also means that Spindizzy Worlds plays a little differently. Oh, sure... the game still involves piloting a gyroscopic craft around troublesome scenery, picking up energy crystals in an attempt to prolong the game. But it's generally a much more puzzly affair than the original. Or should I say, the puzzles are a bit more structured, with each world having specific goals that need to be completed before progressing to the next.


And they're under starters orders in the Spindizzy National...

Occasionally, the game will edge towards its Marble Madness leanings, and throw in some timed levels. These are short, and not particularly difficult. But they add a little bit of welcome variety to the switch-pressing that dominates the majority of the game.

So, Spindizzy Worlds is a more accessible, more structured game than the original. But is it better? Well, despite the fact you can save the game, I don't think it is. It does have irritations... the biggest of which is the "scrolling" method. The original game was a flick-screen affair. This game is flick-screen too, but it also scrolls at times, which is a bit weird. Why didn't they just make it scroll all the time? The method used here just serves to disorientate you a bit.

Spindizzy Worlds is a fine game, but somehow it didn't quite grab me as I'd hoped. That doesn't mean I won't play it again... I'm wondering just how big the game is for one thing. But I don't really think that it's the classic it could have been.

Must try harder.

I feel as though I've been neglecting my followers of late... all thirteen of you. I know I do have a few more readers than that, so hopefully I'm on the way back to giving you something to read!

On the plus side, my house renovations have been going well, and things are starting to get back to something approaching normal. And I've got loads to play for the blog. I'm thinking about having a few themed weeks... what do you think? I kind of like the variety the way it is now...

Things that I have in mind for the immediate future include those ST games, some iPod Touch games, stuff that I've bought through Steam, and a Split/Second vs. Blur comparison.

So, stick around... once I get cracking again it should be a lot of fun!

Unsung Classics. Number 10: Plaque Attack (Atari VCS/2600)

Anyone remember Silica Shop? It was awesome, especially when you were a kid. They were a mail order outlet based in the faraway town of Sidcup (I'm sure they had an actual, real shop there), and they sold Atari cartridges miles cheaper than you'd find them in the shops. I can't even remember where I got their catalogues from, but it was always with some excitement that I pored their pink pages.


Does this ring any bells for you? If not, you probably paid too much for Atari games...

I know I bought a few games from there, for the princely sum of £5.95. That was an amazing price, given that I bought Activision's Grand Prix for £38 from a shop in town. StarMaster was one of my Silica purchases... I loved that game! I spent untold hours with that one. Another game that I played to death, again courtesy of Silica Shop, was Plaque Attack.

If you asked what prompted me to buy Plaque Attack, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I honestly have no idea. I even remember that I hated its bright pink box. And yet, it found itself nestling in my box of cartridges.


Mmmmm, hot dogs. Lemme at 'em! World record's 62, I think...

Maybe it was the weird premise that attracted me. You have to defend a mouthful of teeth from the scourge of dentistry... junk foods and sugary foods. You do this by blasting attackers with your tube of toothpaste. If it sounds a bit mental, you'd be right. But it's joyously so, as were so many games from the late Seventies and early Eighties. When it came to game concepts, it was pretty much anything goes.

Plaque Attack is, I guess, the unofficial sequel to Megamania. Steve Cartwright was responsible for both games, but whereas the earlier Megamania was a straight forward shoot 'em up, Plaque Attack plays with the concept, refines it and adds extra elements to make it a much, much better game.


Mmmmmm, donuts! Lemme at 'em! Lovely pink icing.. yesssss.

Imagine, if you will, the arcade classic Missile Command. Plaque Attack takes the city defending aspect of that game and applies it to the teeth. Of course, the average mouth has teeth at the top and bottom, so you've got to defend above and below. Although early enemies move slowly and don't present much of a problem, they soon speed up and start to move differently, making it much more difficult and meaning you've really got to be on your game.

Those crazy "enemies" do raise a smile... you start off fighting burgers, hot dogs and chips, and move on to fruits, donuts, candy canes and ice creams. And this is where you discover the other game mechanic that makes this more interesting. If you've ever brushed your teeth (and I hope to hell you have!), you'll know that a common problem with toothpaste is that it runs out. And that happens in this game. You have a limited supply of toothpaste for each level, so you have to pick your shots somewhat carefully... if you run out of toothpaste, any remaining teeth are completely at the mercy of those evil foodstuffs.


Erm... I'm feeling a bit sick now, actually.

The limited-shot aspect, combined with the tooth-defending, make for a surprisingly fraught and quite tense shooter. Luckily the game doesn't stay entirely true-to-life... every time you score a certain number of points, you'll earn an extra tooth. Early on this means you've got a huge gobful, but as you get into the game you'll be thankful to end a level with an extra tooth, just to top up your seriously decayed reserves.

Plaque Attack actually holds up pretty well, even today. It can be a bit frustrating... those crazy attack patterns don't always lend themselves to a fun gaming experience. But you can't help but enjoy the concept and there's plenty of blasting action to be had. With Microsoft's Game Room still up and running and with Activision's Atari games having a strong presence there, Plaque Attack must be a prime candidate for release there soon. Keep your eyes peeled for it... mine will be.

So much for that idea!

Well, I didn't manage to play a week's worth of Atari ST games, after all. My house is being renovated, and they moved the schedule forward. So I'm living in something resembling a bomb site at the moment, and gaming time is at an extreme premium, with just little snippets being able to be had at occasional moments.

I've managed to keep my Game Room updated on Wednesdays (yes, I still love it, even if there are only three companies signed up... such a massive disappointment), and I've grabbed a good few iPod Touch games (EA had a 59p sale which was nice), but that's about it, and will be for quite a while, I expect.

Can't wait to get back into Red Dead Redemption...

Full STeem ahead!

My posting has been curtailed a little lately, but that's likely to be even more the case over the coming month, with the World Cup in full swing. I love the World Cup... well, I love most footy, but the World Cup is an awesome event, even if it's almost certainly destined to provide disappointment for me as an England fan. But I'll be watching as much of it as possible, regardless.

So, how to play and write about games in the midst of this? Well, I've only just managed to retrieve my Atari ST emulator and games from my old PC. This is very handy, as I can sit at the laptop, playing and writing, and keeping tabs on any matches I might want to watch.

I'll be using STeem, the emulator, and trying to find a few ST-only (supposed) classics, or maybe playing some of the games I have that don't work on the Amiga. I think I'll do this for a solid week, and then vary things a bit. So, a week's worth of ST games are on the menu! Hope you and I enjoy!

Need for Speed: SHIFT (XBox 360)

Need for Speed: SHIT.

That's all I was going to write about this after five minutes. Why? It's because, before you even get to play the game, you have to throw an uncontrollable slidey car around Brands Hatch, and the game evaluates your performance and recommends game settings. After my first lap, the setting recommended for me was "you're shit". It just felt horrible to drive, and I was worried that I'd made a mistake in picking this up...

The Need for Speed series has had something of a chequered history... something I might go into in greater depth at some point for this blog. If the Need for Speed ride has been something of a rollercoaster, lately it's been on one of the slow, dull points where you're waiting for the fun. I appreciated where they were going with ProStreet, but there was just too much wrong in there to make it really worthwhile. SHIFT was touted as a reboot, so I was excited to play it... until those first five minutes...


Pretty cars, going fast.

Still, after a little tweaking of the settings, I figured I'd at least try a few races. I had a different car, so I hoped it wouldn't be remotely as twitchy and I could actually get around the track like something approaching a racing driver.

Whaddya know? It was miles better. Not just that, but it was actually enjoyable.

Need for Speed: SHIFT is a much more focused racer. In fact, it's steered away from the cop chases and boy racers, and into competition with the likes of Forza 3. That could be some dangerous territory... even moreso, if they'd managed to get it horribly wrong...


Those driving gloves I got from auntie at Christmas have come in handy...

Luckily, from my first couple of hours with it, they didn't get it wrong. Once you've "driven" your test lap and you can actually get into a car that works as you'd expect it to, it all feels a lot better.

It has to be said, in rebooting Need for Speed, the programmers have taken a fair bit from other games. Besides the now tried-and-trusted arrows on the track for the racing line and braking areas, you earn stars for good finishes, which unlock other cars and races, and you also level up, something which is a big part of Forza 3. Interestingly for a racing game, all the Achievements are earned in the single player game.


That reminds me, I haven't played Afterburner for a while...

The main innovation here comes with the effects used when you have a heavy bump. You get a sensation of being briefly concussed, which is pretty jarring and does affect your driving and make you think twice about driving straight into an opponent just to help yourself around a corner.

Aside from that, it's standard but high-quality racing all the way. You earn money for doing well, with which you can buy new cars or upgrades... but ~I feel that it's handled in a better way than earlier NFS games. SHIFT is certainly a massive step in the right direction for the series, being a serious racing game whilst still retaining just enough of an arcadey feel to make it easy to get into. I do miss the cop chases, though...

Shufflepuck Cafe (Commodore Amiga)

Hmmm. This one might be a bit shorter than usual, too.

I had no idea what I felt like playing today, so I just delved my hand into my lucky cardboard box o' disks, and out came Shufflepuck Cafe. I remembered it right from the off... it's hard to forget a name like that. Not that I'd ever played it... I read reviews, and it never really appealed to me. I don't think it was released on the Commodore 64, anyway.


That's a motley bunch. What the hell are they doing playing air hockey in a cafe?

Having played it on the Amiga, it turns out I have actually played it before, just not in this guise. Shufflepuck Cafe is Pong. Or Air Hockey. Or 3D Air Hockey Pong. You get the idea, though... you've got a table, with a goal at either end, and a bat-thing to hit a puck with. Get the puck past your opponent's puck, and you score a point. First to fifteen wins.

And that, as you might expect, is all there is to the game. It being set in the Shufflepuck Cafe, you have a number of different opponents that you can choose to play against... and they're intergalactic opponents, so they look a bit, umm, different. And some opponents are better at the game than others... the Elvira-esque woman, for instance, has some kind of psychic powers, so she can throw the puck wherever she likes. No fair.


Haha! Unlucky, kid. This ain't Quidditch we're playing...

If you like playing Pong or Air Hockey, then you'll probably get a bit of enjoyment from Shufflepuck Cafe. To be fair, I played it for longer than I expected, but that was more out of a will to try and actually win a game. I didn't manage it, but I was using the mouse on my thigh rather than a mousemat. Not ideal, that, and it might have impaired my ability to judge the game fairly, but I doubt it. It is what it is, it's not bad at what it does, but I can't see me rushing to load it up again.

Doppelganger (XBLA Indie Games)

Just a quick little post to tell you about something I picked up on a whim today. It's called Doppelganger, and it costs a mammoth 80 points on XBox Live Arcade's Indie Games.

Oh, alright... that would be a bit too quick. I'll go into a bit more detail.


Awww. Little cute alien versions of Defender's nasty ships. They're all still trying to kill you, though.

Doppelganger is basically a cross between Defender and Iridis Alpha. Everyone knows Defender. Most people that read this will know Iridis Alpha... for anyone that doesn't, it's a classic shoot 'em up from Jeff Minter, which splits the insanely fast shooting gameplay across two levels on a split screen.

What Doppelganger does is to remake Defender with really cute graphics, and then apply Iridis Alpha's split screen mechanic to it. So if you didn't think that Defender was hard enough as it is, try playing two games of it at the same time.


Top level... bottom level... top level... oh, hell, there's carnage everywhere!

It's not actually as bad, or should I say as hard as it sounds. The levels are kept fairly spacious, with not too many enemies flying around. At least, that's how it is for as far as I've managed to get in the game... doesn't mean it'll stay like that. And that also means in my few quick goes that I wasn't very good at it. Still, for 80 points I would say that Doppelganger is going to give me way more than my money's worth. It's a lot of fun and promises to be a real challenge for any old-school arcade shooter fan.

Getting Wasted. Part 2: School's Out.

Day one:

We finally decided that we couldn't hang around in the Ranger Centre forever. Sure, it's fairly comfortable... more comfortable than anything we're likely to find in the Wasteland... but we needed to see what's out there, and how bad things are. Unfortunately, it didn't take us long to find out that they are really bad... we were attacked by a Slithering Lizard as soon as we set foot out of the door. Fortunately, YJ Malmsteen had his gun loaded and likes shooting animals. I guess we could have tried the friendly route, but this guy didn't look like he wanted a pat on the head.


Oooh, look at that fella. Wonder if we could use his hide for anything?

Day two:

We set out beyond the nearby mountain range, in search of civilisation, or maybe abandoned technology. But it's so hot by those mountains! We headed inland for refuge, and in a secluded spot in the mountains found ourselves a settlement called Highpool. It seems somewhat deserted ... and it must have been a school town, as there are lots of abandoned dormitories here. It seems like a good place to rest for now... it's pretty enough, and there's a fresh water supply. At least, it seems fresh...

Tomorrow we'll explore the place.


Civilization! Or is it... it's too quiet, and we don't know how civil any residents might be...

Day three:

Well, it seems that Highpool is not entirely deserted. In the farthest corner of the settlement, we found a sobbing child. All efforts to gain information about the place proved fruitless, though... the child was so upset about something that he just blubbed at everything we said.

Having failed to coax so much as a useful sentence from the boy, we headed back to town. We found another resident... a shopkeeper, of all things. It seems bizarre to us that a shop could survive in this place... it's practically devoid of life. And yet, there he was, offering us a range of, it has to be said, useful items. Pity we hadn't thought to bring much in the way of cash...


Jesus! Erm, no thanks... that's alright... see ya...

Day four:

We've stumbled across an infirmary. When we entered it, I initially had thoughts of pilfering anything that might be of use in our travels, even if it were just a few bandages. But then, somebody stepped from behind the curtain...

I take it he was a surgeon or doctor, because he was offering to heal anyone that needed it. Luckily, nobody did... from the look of him, or should I say, his blood-soaked scrubs, it's possible he's not the most proficient at his trade... we thanked him for his offer, and then hot-footed it out of there!


Well, now. This looks interesting. Surely we can do something here...?

Day five:

Things have begun to look very interesting in Highpool. In one of the dormitories, there's a large machine. There are pipes going under the floor... I wonder if it's hiding something? We're going to try and move it later.

Then, later in the day, we went back to try and talk to the weeping kid. Turned out he's upset over his sick dog. He said he'd hidden him in a cave behind the bushes. We've searched the area and can't find any cave... is the kid deluded? Or are we just looking in the wrong place? Hopefully we'll have more luck tomorrow...

Post 250. It's a Red Dead Letter Day.

I took the day off on Friday for the sole purpose of playing a videogame while my nine-year-old was at school. It's not something I do very often... but when the game was Red Dead Redemption, I expected it would be well worth it.

Now, Red Dead Redemption is a Rockstar game. I'm not really a fan of Rockstar games, generally... nothing to do with the subject matters, I just find myself getting bored and wondering what to do next. I know there are storylines to follow, but it seems that for most people, the biggest joy of their games (and I'm talking Grand Theft Auto here) is going off the main path and finding little side quests. I'm not good with that (and yet I love Fallout 3, which does a similar thing).

I did, however, love Red Dead Revolver. And I like the old West setting. And Clint Eastwood movies. I'm not saying I like cowboys. Don't take that the wrong way.


Hehe. They won't even know what hit 'em.

Red Dead Redemption has been on my radar for a long time now. Not just because it's the follow up to Red Dead Revolver, but also because every screenshot and video released over the last few months has made the game look better and more interesting.

Typically, my Friday saw me unable to start the game until after 11am... not really how I'd hoped my day off would go. Still, that gave me four hours of uninterrupted yee-hawing to start with. Having said that, the last time I took the day off for gaming was on the release day for Grand Theft Auto IV, suprisingly enough. And after about an hour in that game, I was wandering around in circles with nothing to do. I did that for hours, before finally noticing that the next trigger point for a mission was just around the corner, and I'd missed it for that whole time. Kind of ruined my experience, and my day.


A grizzled old marshall. That's not his "pleased to see you" face.

I haven't had any such problems with RDR. The story has flowed really well, and I've been able to break from it to do my own thing (which has mostly involved playing poker) and pick back up where I left off without any problems. As for that story, well... so far, it seems like a pretty good Western tale to me. The voice acting is very good, as are the animations of the characters while talking. This is usually something where games fall down... the characters could be spouting the finest prose written by man, but it looks like they're going "Blaaaahhhh... blaaaahhhhh... blaaaaaahhhhhh...". Here, they actually look pretty much like they're talking.

I've spent a good chunk of the weekend with the game, and I reckon that Rockstar have got a hell of a lot right with it. It looks phenomenal... sweeping vistas and dusty plains are the order of the day. At one point, I was sitting on my horse on the edge of a cliff, looking miles into the distance with the sun beating down and a heat haze obscuring my view... I could have sat like that for hours. The sound, too, is really good, with little western snippets striking up at appropriate moments, and the incidental sounds all hitting the right notes.


Dead or alive, you're coming with me. Just your skin and meat if you're dead, though.

But it's the gameplay that's the main part of any game, obviously, and this just feels great to play. And I'm not just talking about the gunfighting... a lot of the old West was rather mundane, but Rockstar have made even the mundane exciting. I've just spent some time rounding up a herd of frightened cattle in a thunderstorm... an everyday job a hundred years ago, but it felt important in the game, and there was a real sense of achievement at seeing them all safely home.

There's a lot left for me to do in Red Dead Redemption, and I'm looking forward to every minute of it. Whether it's sticking to the storyline, breaking off for a game of poker with the boys or just heading off with my horse for a mosey across the desert, it's an experience I'm planning to savour.

Number 1.

Halo 3: ODST

And so, we come to the game I've enjoyed the most during my time so far with the blog. And to the possible disappointment of some, it's not some obscure little undiscovered gem, but a massive gaming juggernaut. For shame.

But while it might have been nice to have unearthed an unknown classic for the top spot, it wasn't to be. There have been plenty of those scattered throughout the blog, and there will undoubtedly be more to come.

Halo 3: ODST, for me, though, is something of an undiscovered gem. I say that because I've never really been into the Halo franchise. I played the first one for the first time in March 2009, and enjoyed it quite a bit. But then I left it alone, and I haven't played Halo 2 or Halo 3 yet, at all. A mate at work lent me ODST in exchange for one of my games... I can't say I was particularly bothered in having it, and actually didn't think I'd even get around to playing it.

Still, one night I found myself at a bit of a loose end, and wasn't in the mood for any of my games. And so, I found myself turning to ODST.


I hate those little buggers with the shields. And they hate my big gun.

I'd barely even looked at the box before that point, so it was a very pleasant surprise to find that the three main characters were voiced by actors from the Firefly TV series. I absolutely love that show, and so I was instantly provided with an "in" to the game. And yes, their "acting" and the characters' interaction was a definite highlight for me.

That wouldn't have counted for much, though, if I didn't enjoy the game. Thankfully, it lived up to the promise that the voice cast provided, and then some. It wasn't just the shooting action - although that was satisfying, with some very intense moments - and it wasn't just the story. For me, it was the way the story was told that did it.

Halo 3:ODST puts you in the suit of a rookie trooper investigating the disappearance of the main ODST team. It sees you playing a level as the rookie, and at the end of the level you'll find a clue as to what exactly happened in that area. Taking the clue, you'll then play a flashback as the character involved in that particular plot strand.


That hardly seems fair, a little jeep against an armoured space craft. Let's even it up with some well-placed firepower.

I don't recall ever playing a game with this approach (although I'm sure there probably are some), and it was highly refreshing and really intriguing, and I was genuinely pushed on through the game because of this, wanting to find out what had happened. And because of the atmosphere in the levels where you play the rookie, there's a definite feeling of "what the hell happened here?".

The gameplay is really quite varied for a first person shooter, with vehicle levels, massive battles across large areas, or tight, constricted corridor sections. There's a lot of humour, both from enemies and the main characters. And of course, there's a good story which is told really well. I was thoroughly gripped from beginning to end... which is saying something, because I've hardly completed any XBox 360 games at this time.

For all these reasons, for all the hours I put into it without a single moment of boredom, frustration, anger or apathy, for its constant entertainment across the entire game and for actually making me want to play a FPS from beginning to end because I cared what happened, Halo 3:ODST is the game I've most enjoyed playing for my blog to date.

Number 2.

The Sentinel (Commodore 64)

If you've been playing games for any length of time, then the name Geoff Crammond will likely mean something to you. Responsible for some legendary, even revolutionary racing games, he's provided more computerised speed thrills than maybe anyone else. But if you look down through the list of games he's produced, one name, like the character in its game, stands alone: The Sentinel.

It's a bit odd that a man that loves fast things produced one of the slowest-moving games of all time. But just because things aren't motoring on the playfield, doesn't mean you don't need your brain in high gear.


The start of what you hope will be a long and epic journey.

It was with some trepidation that I first played The Sentinel for the blog. I'd briefly played it on the Commodore 64 back in the day, and got absolutely nowhere. I think that was because I didn't have the original, and had no idea what to do. It was really frustrating.

Playing it "properly" this time around (via the wonders of a cracked and emulated game, with instructions), my eyes were opened. It was still really difficult, but it was also doable once I knew the rules. And it gave me some of the most intense gaming I've had for some time, as I tried to plot my way across the landscape, figuring a way to stay out of sight of The Sentinel whilst accumulating enough energy to mount an attack. And all the while he's turning, turning...


That's where you need to be. But he's got his evil eye on you...

The Sentinel really is one of the best games ever. It's not to all tastes, but it's got 10,000 levels of brain-melting strategy, and it's incredibly satisfying to complete even one of them. The atmosphere is amazing too... although it's mostly silent, that just ramps up the tension, and the sound effects, although nothing spectacular, do a good job of unsettling you just a little more. It's a shame in a way that it's not more immediate... that's bound to be off-putting to a lot of people. For the rest, there's a lifetime of mentally challenging gaming ahead.