Dream Past

"If you finish the challenge, you can join our computer club, The Bit Busters!"

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:30:40 +0100

“If you finish the challenge, you can join our computer club, The Bit Busters!”

- — Melinda The Mental Marvel, Chip’s Challenge

Chip's Challenge

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:27:00 +0100

Name: Chip’s Challenge
Year: 1989
Developer: Epyx, Inc.
Publisher: Atari
Platform: Lynx, PC

Sokoban for the 20th century.

Sokoban was a Japanese puzzle game created in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi in which the player pushes boxes around a warehouse onto a number of designated goal locations. It’s a game whose depth and complexity rivals chess, and which has been used as a testbed for Artificial Intelligence applications and other science research. It’s up there with Tetris as one of the purest gameplay concepts ever created. Indeed, you might wonder how such a solid concept could be improved upon. Many had tried and either failed or ended up with a game that didn’t vary from Sokoban in any meaningful way. I expect Chuck Sommerville was pretty pleased with himself as he refined the Sokoban concept and ended up with Chip’s Challenge for the Atari Lynx. Even more amazing is that the programming for the final version was completed in a mater of weeks.

Chip’s Challenge took the core Sokoban concept of pushing things around and injected it with a good dose of humour and a bunch of extra gameplay elements, such as conveyor belts, keys, enemies, transporters, destroyable tiles, switches, power ups and more. And of course computer chips that need to be picked up to complete a level. These extra features meant that levels could vary greatly in difficulty and also in play style - some would be puzzles and others would focus more on action. Level passwords allowed the player to resume their game before battery backup game saving was the norm. The game became fiendishly difficult as you progressed through just under 150 extremely well designed levels.

The game was subsequently released on multiple home computer platforms, culminating in a version produced by Microsoft for Windows 95. This well-known version has different graphics and some errors in the gameplay logic, meaning it isn’t really the best one to play. I recommend playing the DOS version (shown above), Commodore Amiga, Atari ST or Atari Lynx version through an emulator.

Chuck Sommerville apparently completed work on Chip’s Challenge 2, but it has never been published due to the fact he didn’t retain the copyright on the game name. But you can see a video of what might have been on YouTube. He has also gone on to reuse a lot of the same ideas in Chuck’s Challenge, a pseudo sequel to the original game which keeps the majority of the gameplay elements but changes the scenario to one with much less personality. For me the master stroke of Chip’s Challenge is the more interesting scenario - kids growing up with the Atari Lynx would have much more affinity with a nerd trying to get into a computer club than with a guy pushing boxes around a warehouse with no real aim.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Watch footage of Chip’s Challenge 2 on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Read all about the game at the official Wikia
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

Music from the 3DS game Pullblox (EU), Pushmo (USA), Hiku-Osu...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Music from the 3DS game Pullblox (EU), Pushmo (USA), Hiku-Osu (JP).

© 2011 Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.

http://soundcloud.com/gingerbeardman/sets/pullblox/

Wizkid

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:02:00 +0100

Title: Wizkid: The Story of Wizball II
Year: 1992
Developer: Sensible Software
Publisher: Ocean
Platform: Atari ST, Amiga, PC

The greatest video game ever sold?

Wizkid was born in a time when British video game developers ruled the world. That such a time existed may seem strange today, as developers from Japan and the USA roll out one blockbuster game after another whilst British development companies quietly wonder where it all went wrong. Back in the early 90s a video game could be made by a small team of individuals rather than a team of hundreds - it was very a much simpler time. To put things into perspective, at the time Wizkid was released the home computer scene was in decline and video game consoles such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Mega Drive were invading UK homes.

A product of bedroom-based development house Sensible Software during the peak of their creative output, Wizkid was an ode to everything British. It was Monty Python, seaside arcades, Fawlty Towers, tabloid newspapers, The Young Ones, punk rock, Viz and so much more – all wrapped up in a game that was what can only be described as, well, completely bonkers. It was fun, but perhaps more importantly it was funny. My initial play session left me bewildered, but as I settled into the weirdness it dawned on me that I was witnessing the most wonderful game I’d ever seen.

At this point in time Sensible Software were a household name, an established company and burgeoning brand who were coming off the back of a string of considerable successes. Most recently they had scored a hit with Mega-lo-Mania and were deep into the development of Sensible Soccer, the game that would turn out to be their magnum opus. Wizkid may seem like an unlikely stop gap, not helped by the fact there are only a tenuous link to Wizball - the older game by the company mentioned in the subtitle. You’d be right to wonder how such a crazy concept was sold to the executives at Ocean, but back then it was quite common for a publisher to sign a developer on the strength of their previous games with nothing but blind faith - or perhaps just trust - in their capability to deliver. A lot like the music industry works - the record company or publisher sign an artist to make an album before they ever hear it. Jon Hare – one half of the original Sensible Software team – has described Wizkid as a game that shows the height of the team’s collective expression and imagination, a game that was undiluted by the publisher and showed just how much they were capable of achieving. The result is a game so quirky it feels almost Japanese in its execution.

Right from the off you’re in no doubt that the game is a little bit left of centre, as you witness Wizkid conduct a pair of cannon to an excerpt from Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”. You can’t help but raise a smile - perhaps as a reaction to the confusion that’s slowly setting in, or maybe just because the act of conduction a pair of cannon looks so damned fun - in much the same way as the parade scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The game combines two decidedly old-school concepts: block-breaking and the adventure game. You play an odd variation of Breakout, where instead of a paddle you control a disembodied head whose job is to dislodge blocks so they collide with enemies. Success results in the appearance of a musical note, of which there’s a whole tune’s worth to collect. Once you complete the melody the game switches into adventure mode, where you gain control of the fully formed Wizkid and can walk him around a series of platform-based adventure screens, collecting items and solving a series of obtuse puzzles. Between these two forms of gameplay, you’ll collect a bunch of cats, solve some crosswords, buy some useful and not-so-useful items from a shop, row a boat, ride a donkey and much more besides. If ever there was a case where a game was more than the sum of its parts this is it. The game is unforgiving at times and if you’re not careful you’ll do well enough get to the end, but not well enough to see the “real” ending. You’re unlikely to see everything the game has to offer in your first play-through so there’s a chance to discover more in subsequent replays. If you’re not going to be able to play it, make sure you at least watch the play-through videos linked below.

Could a game like Wizkid be successful today? It’s hard to say, but it would have its work cut out. The types of games it’s comprised of have long since fallen out of favour. Publishers don’t take risks any more, preferring to instead push out identikit games that cater the latest trend. On the other hand, there does still seem to be occasional room for off-the-wall presentation and humour in a game, as shown by the likes of Peggle and Tomba! - a combination of which would be a pretty good match to the madness of the world of Wizkid.

Whilst it’s not my favourite game, or even anywhere near what you might consider to be a perfect game, the sheer scope and ambition seen in Wizkid means it’s my choice as the greatest game ever sold.

(That’s not to say it’s the end of this blog, though!)

Links:
Watch a play-through of the game on YouTube.com
Read the game manual at lemonamiga.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Watch an interview with Jon Hare about Sensible Software
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

"Join The Flight Club Now!"

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:37:00 +0000

“Join The Flight Club Now!”

- — Pilotwings

Pilotwings

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:36:00 +0000

Name: Pilotwings
Year: 1992
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: SNES

Take to the skies in one of the most relaxing video games of all time.

Pilotwings is best described as an arcade flight simulator. The game enrolls you in a flying school and gives you a series of missions of increasing difficulty using a variety of aircraft from hang glider and airplane to rocket pack. Gaining enough points in each set of missions allows you to qualify for a flying licence and rewards you with a password that can be used to resume from that level on subsequent play-throughs. The game makes use of SNES graphics Mode 7, allowing a flat image to be transformed and skewed to give the illusion of 3D. These days the look might seem a little primitive, but back in 1992 this was awe inspiring stuff.

Like many classics it was easy to pick up yet difficult to master, but rewarded extended play by giving the player secret characters or missions if they were skillful enough to land their aircraft on moving platforms. You could fly a bird man across a series of trampolines, or take control of a penguin jumping from a sky high diving board - all for a handful of bonus points. It turned the serious simulation on it’s head and infused it with a great sense of humour.

The subtle jazz-pop music and idyllic island locations lent themselves to flying without a purpose. It was so much fun to take to the skies and just fly around. So much so that my Dad used to ask me to put on one of the hang gliding levels and he’d fly around catching thermals and just enjoying the view. When his time was about to run out he’d restart the level and do it all over again. It says a lot that the game was that much fun without actually competing any of the objectives.

The game saw a sequel in Pilotwings 64 on the Nintendo 64, courtesy of Nintendo and Paradigm Simulation. This version of the game added fully 3D environments and more realistic vehicle behaviour. As much as I hate to say it, this version has not dated anywhere near as well as the SNES original. It feels very clunky and slow and I really don’t enjoy playing it these days.

So it was great to find out that, after 15 years of waiting, an all-new Pilotwings game - Pilotwings Resort - was to be a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS. I’ve played the game extensively and it’s just sublime - every bit the sequel I’d wished for. Whilst it’s not without faults - there’s only one location, a handful of vehicles, less variety of landing areas and no funny bonus modes. But it is in 3D, has it’s fair share of novel rewards and bags of gameplay. It’s also a far more accessible game than either of the two previous games. It’s evident that the Nintendo of today can put out games of a higher quality than they have ever done before. Even if it takes them a while to get around to it.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

Enthusia Professional Racing

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:15:00 +0000

Title: Enthusia Professional Racing
Year: 2005
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platform: PlayStation 2

It’s brave to go up against an established franchise, but that’s just what Konami tried to do with Enthusia Professional Racing. In many ways it’s a better game than Gran Turismo but that wasn’t enough to take any substantial market share.

The first thing you’ll notice about the game is that it looks every bit as good as PS2 rival Gran Turismo 4, especially when your PS2 is connected using component cables. Courses and scenery are definitely set in more varied and interesting locales. But there’s no support for widescreen display, which is a slight annoyance especially when playig on modern equipment. Most noticeable is that the load times are very fast indeed, restarting a race is instantaneous as it should be in every game.

The game features a total of 211 cars and take a different approach to proceedings, in that you win cars rather than having to earn money to buy them. Plus, it has one of the strangest introductory movies I’ve ever seen - it includes CGI of fast cars, a dinky toy Morris Mini, a female photographer, a necklace and… an orgasm. So strange.

There are three main sections to the game. Driving Revolution gives you various driving scenarios and allows you test your driving skills and in return unlock cars for use in Free Race mode. Free Race mode allows you to race with your newly unlocked cars on any course, just for kicks. Finally we have Enthusia Life - you start off with a small number of cars in your garage, and are given a number of themed races to take part in, winning a random competing car as a prize, along with points and ranking. Quite RPG like, in some ways especially the random nature of winning a car after the race has ended. One tip - which sounds kind of obvious - is to make sure you pick a race where the odds are in your favour, with your car around the same skill level as the other competitors.

Not one for the feint hearted, you lose points for driving badly - crashing, colliding or going off road - pretty much opposite to the Kudos system seen in Metropolis Street Racer. This is probably the biggest issue with the game, as it can be a little bit too eager to deduct points especially when you also lose them in collisions that are caused by the AI.

These days I think most people would consider the game closer to the Forza series than the Gran Turismo series. However, I can see a lot of other games in there too: handling is very good with offroad sections feeling a lot like RalliSport Challenge 2, scenery is full of character a lot like another of Konami’s games GTi Club or even Metropolis Street Racer, and the attention required whilst driving is very reminiscent of Vanishing Point. So, elements of a handful of my favourite ever racers, which can be no bad thing.

I’d love to see a sequel to Enthusia, but I doubt Konami would ever consider it. They made an admirable effort but the game just didn’t excite the punter in any lasting way. Shame. Look out for a future review of Konami’s Kaidō Battle game for their take on another style of driving game.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Watch the crazy intro on YouTube.com
View images of all the cars at IGCD.net
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

Split/Second: Velocity

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:51:00 +0000

Title: Split/Second: Velocity
Year: 2010
Developer: Black Rock Studio
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Platform: Xbox 360

It’s common knowledge that video game movie tie-ins generally result in disappointing games. So it’s interesting to see a game that takes so much inspiration from the big screen and manages to wrap it up in a great game. And all without a movie licence in sight.

The look of Split/Second: Velocity will be instantly familiar to many. It will remind you of Jerry Bruckheimer action movies and super slick TV gameshows with it’s high gloss production values and all out assault on the senses.

A few minutes into the game you’ll probably wonder what the hell is going on. Your car is being throw all over the track, parts of the scenery exploding in astonishing fashion all around and all you get as a reward is a position near the bottom of the results when, or if, you cross the finishing line. But the game, with it’s completely over the top explosions, has drawn you in enough and you’ll keep playing. Just one more race.

A few hours later, you’ll have realised that whilst it’s a racing game at heart, there’s also a great deal of strategy involved. It’s very much a thinking man’s racer. You need to build up enough “juice” to be able to detonate parts of the scenery, which can be used to wreck fellow racers and change the balance of play and indeed in some cases the path of the course on which your driving. Your choice of cars will begin to grow, at a pace perfectly matched to the difficulty curve of the levels available.

A few days in, you’ll be progressing through the chapters, raced most of the courses and memorised where each of the powerplays are. You’ll have begun to form tactics or favourites ways to play certain sections allowing you to influence the race in many ways other than simply driving well. You’ll still be slack jawed at the variety of destruction on display and perhaps you’ll even have settled on a car that suits your driving style and allows you to go back and mop up a few of the gold medals you failed to get in the early chapters. The poker-like gamble of whether to spend time building up more juice for a large powerplay or use what you have on smaller explosions will sit in your mind long after you’ve switched off the game. Feeling in control is knowing you’ve got enough juice to make a change and knowing where you can make those changes.

A few weeks in and you’re skills will really be tested. You’ll be having some very close races whilst having to make judicious use of your powerplays. You’ll be approaching the end of the available chapters and wondering just how the explosions and set pieces can get any bigger or better. But they do. If you’re playing for achievements there are only a couple that cause any real problem - where you have to beat times set by members of the development team. The times are beatable, but it’s a task that really will separate the men from the boys - very difficult, perhaps even requiring fundamental changes to the way you’ve been driving the course involved, but always remaining fun.

Thinking about how a particular explosion and the chain of events that follow might be able to change the race is one thing, but the absolute joy that greets you when you manage to pull it off is another. Split/Second: Velocity is undoubtedly my Game of the Year 2010 and I’m looking forward to the inevitable sequel. Very nicely done indeed.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

"Fish!"

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 03:50:00 +0000

“Fish!”

- — Sega Bass Fishing

The Wind Waker

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 03:28:00 +0000

Title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Year: 2003
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: GameCube

I’m not one for traditional adventure games - ones with a long, drawn-out main quest, lots of optional sub quests, experience points, levelling up, random battles and all of that sort of stuff. I need more direction in what to do next, although I still want to have fun figuring out how to do it and on the journey getting there.

My first Zelda experience was playing A Link to the Past on my SNES. It’s a great game and it has some clever touches throughout the story. But I can’t remember finishing it. That, in a nutshell, is my problem with The Legend of Zelda series - although it took a while for me to realise, mainly because of The Wind Waker. Whilst it’s your typical Zelda game, it looks so different to any of the previous games in the series with its cell-shaded graphical style that’s more akin to a Disney animation than a video game. The graphics alone meant I could put up with the annoyances the series had become bogged down with - the needless backtracking and relentless dungeon crawling. I know those things epitomise Zelda but The Wind Waker made me forget about them - for the better. It coated all that boring Zelda stuff in visuals to die for - visuals that would make many movie animators slack jawed. And that was enough to see me through to the final credits.

Just prior to playing The Wind Waker I’d read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist which is a beautiful novel about realising your dreams. The book moved me a great deal and I never hesitate to recommend it. Whilst playing The Wind Waker it struck me that there are a number of parallels between it and The Alchemist, and whilst I’d love to see a video game - or movie - based on The Alchemist, Nintendo had done enough to satiate my desire.

I’ve tried every Zelda since and they’ve not held my attention as much as The Wind Waker. Only as recently as The Twilight Princess, with it’s more grown-up look, I decided that I’m pretty much wasting my time trying to find a Zelda game that hits me quite as hard as The Wind Waker did. But there’s a special place in my heart for this story and I look forward to playing the game through again in 1080p High Definition when Nintendo give us capable hardware. I trust even more glorious visuals will once again help me see the final credits.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Watch the game at 1080p on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

Bubble Bobble

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:54:00 +0000

Name: Bubble Bobble (バブルボブル, Baburu Boburu)
Year: 1986
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Platform: Arcade, Atari ST

His and hers gaming at it’s finest.

Bubble Bobble is one of those old-school arcade games that stands up well today. It’s single screen platform mechanics haven’t aged one bit. Capturing monsters in bubbles and then popping them to collect fruit is a supremely addictive pursuit. Things are constantly kept fresh with power ups, expert level design and a variety of bad guys to learn how to deal with. It’s interesting that when playing with a friend the natural tendency is to play cooperatively to clear the screen in an effort to see just how far you can get, allowing for some great team building.

There have been a number of versions of the game released across most home formats but none have managed to capture the intricacies of the original game. This is a problem inherent in ports of any game - great care has to be taken to remain faithful to the original. If the developers responsible for the port do not have access to the original source code the quality of the resulting game will only be as good as their attention to detail and ability to figure out what is actually happening in the game behind the scenes. In the case of Bubble Bobble, this has resulted in levels that are laid out wrongly, bad guys that move incorrectly, power-ups that don’t work as expected and more. Some of the issues probably have more to do with the fact that the arcade runs in an odd screen resolution making a 1:1 conversion impossible. Also interesting is that, in 1996, Taito announced that they had lost the original source code to Bubble Bobble following a reorganisation. So when they were creating further ports and sequels they on had to work from program disassembly, playing the game and from other ports that had already been made. Whilst the arcade version is the blueprint, with the number of subsequent versions of the game it’s no longer obvious what exactly constitutes the core game. I do wonder why with the power of today’s machines an emulated version of the game hasn’t been released?

Bub and Bob - the dinosaur characters featured in the game - returned to human form for the game’s sequel Rainbow Islands and whilst it had some gameplay features in common with the original it was effectively a new concept. A more traditional sequel came somewhat later in the form of Bubble Symphony which stayed faithful to the gameplay of the original whilst added a few new elements. it also featured a rousing brass band version of the fantastic Bubble Bobble theme music. Other than using MAME to play the original under emulation, the WiiWare or PlayStation versions are probably the best home versions.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

GoldenEye: 007

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:55:00 +0000

Name: GoldenEye: 007
Year: 1997
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 64

I’d love to see somebody calculate just how much time was wasted by University students playing GoldenEye: 007. Or, perhaps, how better off industry might be had we used that time to study rather than shoot each other in the face for hours on end.

GoldenEye is one of the most lauded games in history, being lavished with heaps of praise that might be considered ridiculous were the game not able to deliver on all counts. Best FPS, best multi-player game, best movie-licence - the list goes on. Being regarded as the best Nintendo 64 game ever is a commendation not many people would argue with. The game was released on the N64 which supported four players each with analog control for precise movement. The game took advantage of everything the N64 had to offer, serving up a split-screen multi-player experience with enough depth to allow for hours, days, weeks or even years of repeat play. It was a game that showed just how good Rare was at it’s peak - the story of it’s development is a fascinating insight into the whole process.

In 2008 rumours appeared online about a HD port of the original game for XBLA, but it never saw the light of day apparently due to financial disagreements between Microsoft and Nintendo. I’m not sure how that game would have been received, though. Whilst the original game still plays very well, especially in multi-player, it’s not without problems - control settings are not per player, levels are small in size, A.I. is limited and predictable, to name just a few. I feel that a port would have been looked at not through the rose-tinted glasses the original is regarded in but rather through the critical eye of today’s discerning gamer.

So, it’s no surprise why the game didn’t receive the sequel it so obviously deserved. Lots of people tried and failed to recreate the magical formula that defined the sublime experience of the original. What it was exactly that made GoldenEye so great became the stuff of legend. A few Bond games came along and were quickly forgotten about, most notable was the excellent 007 Nightfire - developed by Eurocom and released by Electronic Arts - which was a great game but failed to capture the attention of the press or public. Interesting then, that it’s the same development team that bring us the new GoldenEye: 007 for Wii, which is a remake but one that takes numerous story and gameplay cues from the much loved original and brings it bang up-to-date in terms of graphics, gameplay and production values. Fans of the original shouldn’t worry at all - the game is as worthy successor as we are ever likely to see and an essential purchase for those yearning to relive their multi-player student days. Perhaps it’s time to settle those old grudges online?

Links:
Watch the original game on YouTube.com
Watch the new Wii game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk
Read about the development of the original game at Zoonami.com

"Superzapper Recharge"

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:17:00 +0000

“Superzapper Recharge”

- — Tempest 2000

Tempest 2000

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:16:00 +0000

Title: Tempest 2000
Year: 1994
Developer: Atari, Llamasoft (Jeff Minter)
Publisher: Atari
Platform: Jaguar

As far as “zone” games go, there are none finer than Jeff Minter’s remake of arcade classic Tempest. It built on the solid foundation of the original and added all manner of power-ups and tripped-out graphics.

There’s no doubting that the original Tempest arcade game is as much of a classic today as it was in 1980, the concept apparently appearing to it’s creator Dave Theurer in a dream. So it’s no mean feat that one man could bring the game kicking and screaming into the 90s in the form of Tempest 2000 or T2K. Released on the Atari Jaguar it was pretty much the only game worth owning on the machine, but was not enough to prevent the machine performing poorly at retail.

T2K modifies the gameplay of the original Tempest by adding in bonus levels, collectible power-ups, more sophisticated enemy types, and wildly varying level (“web”) designs. The game contains a total of 100 webs, with new frame colors and variations every 15 levels. Your progress is saved every couple of levels, and the game allows you to restart from the last stage the game saved at, albeit with your score zeroed out. Power-ups appear after shooting a certain number of enemies, floating up the web towards you. Collecting these power-ups will reward you with one of a number of items: a better laser, bonus points, the ability to jump up off the web, a helper “A.I.” droid, a warp token and a smart bomb. If a power-up is collected during your exit from a level, you’ll hear the phrase “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and the first power-up you receive in the next stage will be the A.I. Droid which is just the sort of thing you need to try to get through some of the more difficult levels, such as the infamous level 64, which punctuates a reasonably well balanced difficult curve. The game is pretty frantic, and may leave you wondering what the hell is going on but perseverance is rewarded by a fantastic experience - both in the gaming sense but also in emotional and psychological senses. It really is a trip.

A version of T2K was released for other machines under the name of Tempest-X3 but featured a number of changes amongst was a change that saw your AI Droid all but labotomised. A second remake was created by Minter in the form of Tempest 3000 which was released for the Nuon - another machine that failed to makr an impact at retail. T3K remains one of the most beautiful looking games I’ve ever played, but suffered from the fact that it didn’t play quite as well as T2K.

These days you can play T2K using an emulator or go one better and pick up a copy of the game with the machine to play it on for next to nothing on eBay. You might want to set aside a good part of your weekend to play it, as time passes a lot faster when you’re in the zone.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk
More information on the T2K Jaguar Emulator at YakYak.org

Bishi Bashi Special

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Title: Bishi Bashi Special
Year: 2000
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platform: PlayStation

Attention! Ready? Go!

Bishi Bashi Special is a set of games originally found on a pair of Konami arcade machines, the PlayStation version of which allowed up to 8 players using two multi-taps and featured 85 completely mental minigames. This was all years before Wario Ware, Inc., Wii Party or any other mini-game compilations came along.

The games featured such things as body builders on pogo sticks jumping for a piece of meat (“Meat Catcher”), a dance-off to get the biggest afro (“Perm Mania”), a bride throwing wedding cake down the aisle (“Hyper Pie”), juggling cavemen eating different colored balls (“Uncle Bean”), and others with names like “Uncle Launcher”, “Robo Docking” and “Touch Tone Mania”. The games used control schemes that will be familiar to many a game player - for example button bashing like Track and Field, pattern repetition like Simon, and rhythm action button pressing in time with the music. Digitiser, a video game fanzine written by Paul Rose provided by Channel 4 as part of their Teletext service had this to say about Bishi Bashi Special “utterly, utterly dreadful–but… probably one of the best games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing.” That sums things up better than I ever could.

I used to play Bishi Bashi Special whilst I was lived in my first house share - the perfect place for it really. Having that many people all laughing manically at what was happening on screen was a fantastic experience. Interestingly, the few people I’ve spoken to about the game all have such fond memories but nobody could actually remember too many details so the video linked to below brought them all flooding back. In fact, I’d forgotten that a multi-player game could be so much fun until the exact same atmosphere appeared when I was recently at a friend’s house playing Wii Party, which takes what was done so well in Bishi Bashi Special and dresses it up in that special way only Nintendo seem to be able to do.

So if you’re not consumed by Wii Party and it’s horse racing mode, or sick to death of Wario Ware, Inc., and you’re hungry for more social multi-player gaming, then it might be time to revisit Bishi Bashi Special. It can currently be picked up for £3.49 on the PlayStation Store. That works out at less than 5p a game, making it quite possibly the bargain of the century.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

DS Spirits: Hanafuda

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 07:12:00 +0100

Name: 1500DS Spirits Vol. 5: Hanafuda
Year: 2007
Developer: Tasuke
Publisher: Tasuke
Platform: Nintendo DS

Nintendo started out in the entertainment business by manufacturing Hanafuda, or flower cards. There are a number of games that are commonly played with these cards the most popular of which is Koi-Koi, a game of surprising depth and one of my vices.

A Hanafuda deck consists of 48 cards split into twelve suits - one for each month. Each is designated a flower, and each suit has four cards. Typically, there are two “normal” cards, one poetry ribbon card, and a final special card. Familiarising yourself with the Hanafuda deck is the first obstacle to playing a game with them.

The object of Koi-Koi is to form special card combinations (“yaku”) from cards accumulated in a point pile. Players can gain cards in their point piles by matching cards in their hands, or cards drawn from the draw pile, with cards on the table. Once a yaku has been made, a player can stop to cash in points, or keep going (“koi-koi”) to form additional yaku for more points. Different yaku are worth different numbers of points, roughly matching how difficult it is to collect that particular combination of cards. Memorising the dozen or so valid yaku is the second obstacle to the game.

I first played Koi-Koi as part of the 42 All-Time Classics compilation of parlour games that Nintendo released for the DS. The game really intrigued me and I played it a lot to try to memorise the yaku. By then, though, the game had well and truly sunk it’s teeth into me. I search high and low for alternative versions of the game, amassing quite a collection in the process. I have Hanafuda/Koi-Koi games on pretty much every platform from older systems such as the WonderSwan, PlayStation and Dreamcast to more recent systems such as the iPhone, Wii and Nintendo DS. The main benefit of playing the game electronically is that you don’t have to keep score, but I find it fascinating that there can be such a range of quality and implementation when the rules of the game are so fixed. Some versions lay the cards on the table in a very confusing way, others over-complicate the controls so that it’s tricky to manipulate the cards or even see whose turn it is next or what your possible choices are. Then there are the games that dress up the game with licenced characters or graphics, such as Youkai Hana Asobi, in an attempt to add a story around the game.

So, after much searching I was overjoyed to find DS Spirits Hanafuda, which for me is pretty much the perfect Hanafuda game. It looks good, controls well, lays out the cards logically and has a multitude of game modes including a Mission mode in which you have to play in a variety of ways such as winning without conceding a point, by collecting certain yaku or within a certain number of rounds. This mode in particular shows the great depth to the game and I’m still to finish the final challenge. The only bad thing about this version of the game is that it features only Japanese text. Dealing with Japanese is the third obstacle with the game, as the traditional Japanese nature of the game means that there’s very little Western interest and very few versions released that are English-friendly.

But obstacles are there to be overcome. If you’ve not got a Nintendo DS, then the next best Koi-Koi game is on the iPhone. This version by Hidetoshi Hayakawa plays a great game of cards, supports wireless multi-player and also features a progressive mode versus the computer. Whilst not as polished or complete as DS Spirits Hanafuda it features full English interface and instructions so it’s as probably the best starting point. Perhaps Koi-Koi will capture your heart as much as it has mine? Give the game a go and find out.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Read the objectives of DS Spirits Hanafuda’s Koi-Koi Mission
Find out more about Koi-Koi at Wikipedia.org
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk
Buy Hidetoshi Hayakawa’s Koi-Koi on the App Store

ChuChu Rocket!

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:01:00 +0100

Name: ChuChu Rocket!
Year: 2000
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Platform: Dreamcast

The Dreamcast was the first truly online home video game console, and brought with it the first wave of fantastic online multi-player games that could be played on your TV. ChuChu Rocket! was one of the best, an outstanding action puzzler with a glorious multi-player mode.

The aim of the game is to guide mice (“ChuChus”) around the screen into one or more goals (Rockets) whilst avoiding any cats (“KapuKapus”) that are roaming about. Both the mice and cats move in predictable ways - they always turn right when reaching a wall, they follow corners and they turn around when they encounter a dead end. The player places up to three arrows on the play field, which will direct anything that passes over them - both mice and cats. Arrows cannot be laid on top of other arrow or obstacles, and disappear over time and the oldest is removed if the player lays a fourth arrow. Special mice frequently appear, golden mice being worth many times more than regular mice and pink mice randomly changing gameplay in one of a number of ways. Such a simple premise quickly results in a maddening procession of mice and cats and all manner of confusion as players try to outwit each the positioning of arrows.

Single player mode saw you play against the computer or in puzzle mode where you have to figure out the solution to puzzles by placing your arrows in the correct locations to get the mice to the exit, which was an excellent part of the game in itself. Local multi-player is an absolute riot and has to be seen to be believed - there simply aren’t many other games that are this much fun played with a few friends. Online multi-player was a great backup option to have as you’d never be short of people to play against. It’s something we’re used to these days with things like Xbox Live and as we have all grown up and got on with our own lives it’s often the preferred way to experience multi-player gaming.

With the demise of the Dreamcast the game slowly faded away, briefly reentering the public eye a year later with a release on the Game Boy Advance. This handheld version matched the Dreamcast original feature for feature, with the exception of online play. However it did have slightly simplified graphics and an extra 2,5000 user-generated puzzles taken from the Dreamcast version’s online hub. There was a fan remake for the Atari ST which was an accurate but unofficial version of the game.

Recently a version of the game was released on the App Store, but with features being spread across an iPhone version and an iPad version and it not feat as much content as the older GameBoy Advance version. It’s great to see such an original game get a new lease of life, but sad that it’s still missing important features from the original, showing just how far ahead of it’s time the Dreamcast was. Hopefully the iOS versions of the game will gain multi-player support in the future and finally give us the experience that was so enthralling those 10 years ago.

This review is dedicated to my good friend Morgan, without whom I’d have never bought a Dreamcast. He will always be Mr Sega to me.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Find out more about the Atari ST version at Atari.org
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk
Buy the game on the App Store

"We got a hot one for you!"

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:01:00 +0100

“We got a hot one for you!”

- —The Killing Game Show

Joust

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:29:00 +0100

Name: Joust
Year: 1982
Developer: Williams Electronics
Publisher: Williams Electronics
Platform: Arcade

Joust was the first arcade game I ever played, at Royal Video on Breckfield Road North in Liverpool in the mid-80s. Those were the days. It’s a fascinating, old-school arcade game that still holds up well today.

During the peak of video game arcades, most games were based on abstract or fantasy concepts with a small amount of realism thrown in the make the audience feel involved. These days everything is trying so hard to be lifelike and I often long for the days where games were more interested in offering something out of the ordinary. Williams’ Joust was one such game. It put the player in the game as a futuristic knight sitting astride a flying bird, armed only with a lance, on a mission to defeat a number of adversaries and collect some eggs along the way. Every young boy has, at one point, wanted to be a knight in shining armour and this game gave you the ability to do that albeit in a world closer to the one in Tron than a medieval tale.

The only controls are left and right and flap - you gain height by pressing the flap button repeatedly. That was enough to do some skilful flying and manoeuvring around the wave, using the platforms that are dotted around to help you on your way. The levels increase in difficulty with the addition of more bad guys, different platform layouts - some of which crumble away mid-wave - and a lava pit along the bottom which will pull you in if you get too close. You can rebound off platforms which is a strategy that should be used to your advantage as bad guys can be turned into collectible eggs by descending on them from above - a somewhat less risky strategy than the lancing them. Take too long to kill the bad guys and a shrieking pterodactyl will arrive to wreak havoc - you can only defeat it by lancing it in the mouth which is a task that requires pixel perfect precision.

Joust is a typical arcade game in that it’s easy to pick up but tricky to master, a trademark Williams game if ever there was one. It’s a difficult game because it was designed to take have you play for short periods of time and keep taking money from players. There are a lot of tactics to be discovered and a surprising amount of depth with bonus points being given for completing the level in various unspoken ways. A second player can join in on a different bird and it’s up to you to decide whether or not to play cooperatively or against each other, often resulting in hilarious duels or short-term falling out.

The Joust world record was recently broken by John McAllister after a marathon 53 hours, 47 minutes of play - racking up a score of 107,301,150. The previous record had lasted for 26 years and John made the decision to stop playing as soon as he broke it. He had 105 spare lives at that point so I’d imagine he could have gone on as long as he was physically able. An astonishing achievement, especially when you see how difficult the game is in this clip of wave 31.

The core gameplay concept was used by Nintendo a couple of years later for their NES game Balloon Fight, and there have been a number of unofficial versions and fan remakes of Joust since. I’d love to see a modern day interpretation of the game. Whilst I doubt it would work in 3D I’m sure there are enough ideas to give the game a new lease of life.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Watch a clip of the world record at YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk

Speed Freaks

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:37:00 +0100

Name: Speed Freaks/Speed Punks
Year: 1999
Developer: Funcom Dublin
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation

Nintendo seem reluctant to release more than one Mario Kart per console, so fans of the game will often seek out a new challenge by playing one of its many clones. It’s often a futile exercise as it makes painfully clear how far ahead of the competition Nintendo are.

That said, there have been a handful of games that manage to capture enough of the ever-elusive Nintendo magic to deliver an enjoyable and challenging racing game: Rare’s Diddy King Racing was the first contender of note, followed closely by Crash Team Racing. In fact, it was the later that caused Speed Freaks to fly under the radar of most PlayStation gamers - it was delayed by Sony Computer Entertainment to make way for Crash Team Racing at retail. I suppose it’s one thing to try to take sales away from Mario Kart on a competing platform but another to cannibalise sales of your own games on your own platform. The game was given a later release in North America under the name of Speed Punks.

The game has some really nice handling, with some subtle additions to the staple kart racer mechanics including an interesting turbo system. It has a nice enough range of power-ups and weapons that offer something new compared to Mario Kart at the expense of being quite as balanced. There are shortcuts on every track, as you might expect, which are essential when trying to beat some of the more difficult levels or challenges the game has to offer. As well as the usual tournament and time trial modes the game also offers split screen multi-player and a range of bonus characters and modes that are unlocked by playing through the game. Whilst the difficulty level is a little high you have three retry attempts that can be used to restart particular races and recover from any catastrophic errors. Compared to Vanishing Point - another of my favourite racers - this really is a most welcome feature.

A distinctly British sense of humour pervades the whole game, especially obvious in the naming of two bonus characters - Cosworth and Beamer. If Mario had grown up in Essex he’d fit perfectly into this game, and that’s a compliment. The graphics look really great and have a fantastic cartoon feel to them, character design is interesting and unusual, and track design has more going on than the standard scenarios you seem to get in kart racers like this. As with other games of this vintage, the computer AI is prone to stretching the laws physics somewhat, most noticeable in severe rubber-banding and predictable routing. However, despite these minor issues, it remains a fun and rewarding game and one well worth seeking out.

Links:
Watch the game on YouTube.com
Find out more at mobygames.com
Search for the game on eBay.co.uk