In all my years of gaming, I’ve rarely heard a bad word about Contra – Konami’s 1987 hard but fair run ‘n gun shooter. It’s the game that often headlines dubious NES-based plug ‘n play consoles, no doubt much to Konami’s infuriation. Even today, when a new run ‘n gun game is announced it’s usually …
You never forget your first. This is especially true for anyone who has played a Jeff Minter game. I was introduced to the mind of Minter in 1993, discovering Llamatron 2112 on an Amiga shareware disk. The use of llamas and goofy enemies made for a memorable experience, putting a nonsensical spin on the seminal …
Star Wars games trailed off in quality during the 32-bit era, with the likes of Jedi Power Battles, Demolition, Masters of Teräs Käsi, and the Phantom Menace tie-in failing to offer more than a couple hours of entertainment for even the biggest of Star Wars fans. A couple of these duds even spilt over to …
When it comes to games based around climate change, ergo melting ice caps and rising oceans, the first bar was set astonishingly low. Ocean’s Waterworld games were, ironically, no better than the movie – and I struggle to think of anything before 1995. Since then, numerous developers have given us flooded worlds to explore, usually …
Presumably to prevent angering an entire continent, it’s never revealed where Cartel Tycoon takes place – even though it’s glaringly obvious. The same applied to the Tropico series, clearly inspired by the Cuban lifestyle but instead falling back on the term ‘banana republic’. There’s fair reasoning behind this, with the writers of The Simpsons once …
Had Cybertrash STATYX existed in the ‘90s, it would almost certainly be an Amiga 1200 title circa 1993. Not any Amiga game, but one heralded by the format centric magazines for showing the humble home computer can hold its own against the 16-bit consoles. It’s reminiscent of Elfmania and Fightin’ Spirit in particular, featuring anime …
How can you tell something is the result of passion and care, rather than cold, hard economics? For me, it is the little touches. The things that developers add in when there’s absolutely no need whatsoever. In Inkulinati, a game where you draw beasts onto a battlefield, your hand is represented by a human hand. …
You’ve doubtlessly heard of the phrase ‘running away to join the circus.’ Publisher Daedalic’s latest horror game has an altogether different proposition, based around a former circus worker’s struggle to escape from an illusionary world filled with twisted fun houses, clowns, ghost trains, and an untimely death. It’s very much a case of trying to …
For their next trick, the Sonic Mania team leaps into the world of 3D platforming. It’s a bold move, with even SEGA themselves infamously stumbling when it comes to creating fast-moving action platformers starring their blue-hued hedgehog. The team does at least have over two decades of mistakes to learn from, and as Sonic Mania …
Not every video game is for everyone, and at a time when there are more people playing games than ever, that’s perfectly acceptable. Moreover, it’s commercially viable – these days even something offbeat has a good chance of finding its niche. It may seem strange to introduce The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island – the …
If you’ve played past games from eastasiasoft, you’ll know that they tend to be on the short and easy side – experiences that last no longer than an hour or two, liberally handing out achievements and trophies. Dead End City stands out as a rare, but not entirely unheard of, exception. It’s a grungy vertical …
If you’ve never heard of the original Ufouria, chances are you aren’t alone. The 1991 NES platformer skipped the US market, all because Sunsoft’s American wing feared that the peculiar characters wouldn’t hold much appeal. Alterations were even made to the European release, recasting characters – including the penguin protagonist Hebe. This long-time-coming sequel stays …
They got it right the first time. That’s the headline here. I was going to start this review with a load of waffle about remakes and remasters and rose-tinted glasses and all that. But playing Tomb Raider, the thing that kept coming back to me was that simple phrase. The most important thing that this …
Late last year the world was presented with Prison City, a NES homage that fused together the little-known gems Shatterhand and Power Blade. Just a few months later, we’re now on the receiving end of another 8-bit mash-up, with Lords of Exile playing like an amalgamation of Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden. With so many Castlevania …
The clue is in the name, really. Geometry Survivor takes Geometry Wars glowing vector aesthetic – traceable to the dawn of gaming, with 1977’s Space War – and introduces an auto-shooting twist inspired by the far more recent Vampire Survivors. Resembling Geometry Wars was clearly intended to be the initial draw, but it plays vastly …