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Why Retro Games Still Matter
Recently I came across an article which called into question the point of playing older games when there are plenty of better newer games released today. I’m not going to link this article since it seems to be gaining a lot of negativity on the Internet, which is a shame as everybody is entitled to there opinion. In this article I’m going to simply give my personal take on the subject and why I still play retro games to this day.
I’ve mentioned in previous podcasts and articles that I started playing retro games even when I had modern systems. When I used to play the Mega Drive when I was younger the two games that got a lot of play time from me were the Midway Arcade Collection (which included Defender 1 & 2, Joust, Sinistar, and Robotron 2084) and another collection of older games that included Pong, Centipede, and Missile Command. I’ve always had this fascination with the past. Outside of gaming I love to go to museums and watch historical documentaries. For me personally, its always just been a general interest to learn about the games I play and see how they have evolved over time.
Origins of Shadow of the Beast
It all began in 1989 with developer Reflections Interactive showing a tech demo to British publisher Psygnosis. With Psygnosis impressed by what they saw Shadow of the Beast was originally released on the Commodore Amiga and was graphically mind blowing for the time. With several colours on screen at once as well as up to twelve levels of parallax scrolling backdrops, the game looked like it was from an arcade machine. Martin Edmonson, one of the founders of the company, was fond of very difficult video games. He wanted to be challenged and have to play a game multiple times to be able to master it. The score for the game was composed by David Whittaker, which was very atmospheric and left a lasting impression on fans. The cover art for the game was from the talented hands of Roger Dean who was well know for working on album covers for Yes, Asia, Budgie, as well as several others. Roger Dean merged a stone age look with technology to create a very unique look to the cover of Shadow of the Beast. He would also later go on to redesign the logo for Tetris.
Hunting tips for Collectors: Charity Shop’s
In the U.K a surprisingly good place to hunt for old games are charity shops. In the U.S most will know these as Goodwills or a Salvation Army store. Charity shops are not generally very large. They’re small little retail units which mostly sell clothes but some often have a little section in the back where they keep DVDs, CDs and yes video games. This article is going to cover some general tips when hunting for games in charity shops.
Original Amiga port of Shadow The Beast Unlockable in the Remake on PS4
Editor’s Note: We have a copy of Shadow of the Beast on PS4 and Fred is currently playing through it. A full review will go live Monday.
The remake of Shadow of the Beast on PS4 has arrived and is out now on PSN – and for those of you tangible collectors, there is a region free, English, disc based version you can find at import retailers. Recently the developers revealed you’ll be able to unlock the original Amiga port during the game. This isn’t an uncommon thing with a lot of these retro revival type games. Other titles in recent history that did this included Splatterhouse and Flashback on Xbox 360 and PS3 (Flashback is also on PC), all of which allowed you to play the original game. Splatterhouse allowed you to play all three of the original titles in the series making this title highly collectible to this day, especially since it’s cheaper to track down the remake as opposed to owning all of the original titles physically. Let’s also not forget the original game was an arcade and TurboGrafx-16 game with the second two sequels being exclusive to the Mega Drive. It’s somewhat surprising only the first Shadow of the Beast game will be unlocked, unless maybe developer Heavy Spectrum is planning to release the others with sequels to this remake, I guess we will see. All three original Shadow of the Beast games were released on Amiga but the first two games in the series were ported to various consoles.
Very little has been covered on this title since its original reveal over a year ago and then it suddenly was released on the world this week. Originally demoed at EGX 2015 and with only being showed off on a single game unit, I wasn’t particularly impressed with what I’d played then. The game came across as a 2D hack-and-slash with excessive waves of enemies. It seemed to lack the unique exploration and the convoluted puzzles that were present from the original. Of course a lot can change in that tim,e and maybe it has. I don’t doubt this will be more accessible to a modern audience but it just feels a chance was wasted here. Since the remake is coming with the original Amiga port, however, I think I might have to give this one another shot.
Jam’s Collecting Story
The great thing about video game collecting is there are all sorts of collectors with different goals and different reasons for getting into the hobby. If your new to the hobby this article is a introduction into my own personal story in collecting.
I have been playing games since the UK’s micro computer boom period but I didn’t start purchasing games myself till I owned a Sega Mega Drive. That is how I managed to build my first collection. I brought games and just never really sold them. I was always just kinda nostalgic for the system even before it got old. I was still playing on the system long into the original Playstation‘s life cycle. Being a generation behind is a pattern that remains today. Up to this point I was by no means a hardcore collector I pretty much just brought games I wanted to play and didn’t mind if they were cart only. When it came to the PS2 era I started delving into selling games. If you collect games you will probably be familiar with this tale, I sold my entire Dreamcast collection just to get a PS2. This was decision I still regret to this day as I haven’t been able to salvage some of the games I sold on. I would continue to trade games well into the PS2 life cycle I infamously brought the Onimusha series and sold it on twice. I now own a copy of the complete collection which I will not sell due to the likely pattern I’ll miss the game and want to play it again. When I went to University I did not care for collecting any more which was a little silly of me as it meant my brother could do as he pleased with my Mega Drive collection. During this five year vacation from gaming I lost some treasures like Sunset Riders and one of my all time favourites Rocket Knight Adventures. I also lost my entire N64 collection which included several cart only games and the expansion bay. I had left it at home so it meant anyone could have at it. Of course at the time I didn’t care but to this day I am yet to find a reasonably priced Sunset Riders on Mega Drive and replace many of the N64 carts I had collected.
My Open Letter of Loving Advice to Sega
Recently I saw on twitter that Sega was asking its fans to fill out a online survey to help them figure out what they need to do next for the company. That or it’s a long list of tick boxes just to take our e-mail address and sell it on to third parties. Well I got half way through the survey where I had typed a long page essay of why I wanted another sexy Altered Beast arcade game only to realize, “you know what? I’m going to write a letter instead!” So here it is folks, my open letter to Sega on some loving advice – from the heart – to get them back on track:
Turok 1 and 2 Coming to Xbox One, Why This is a Good Thing
Night Dive Studios, or as I like to know them Remastered Edition Studios, are bringing Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil to the Xbox One (Xbone) in wonderful remastered form. To catch you up, Night Dive Studios has already brought us Strife (see Fred’s coverage), System Shock, and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter in remastered form and so far it has only been on PC. This comes as fantastic news that we are starting to see some love on consoles.
Now I may sound like a die hard Turok fan for writing this article, but that is not actually the case. I am, however, a fan of any classic game being remastered digitally (and subsequently making it compatible with modern hardware) as it exposes more people to lost treasures that they may have missed them the first time around. Turok 1 & 2 had quite the niche fan base back in the day, but they represent a era of gaming that has kinda been lost. Both games have you play as the warrior Turok as he literally roams large landscapes mowing down dinosaurs and even dinosaurs packing guns. The premise is just barmy and I love it. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, while quite the difficult game due to its reliance on backtracking and exploration, has some incredible level design. One moment you are mowing down lizards in a castle and the next you are deep underground hunting cyclops-like monsters. I also loved in both of these games how you literally started the game with a melee weapon and gradually obtained more powerful weapons over time like. You may first get a bow and arrow and eventually move up to the infamous cerebral bore, a weapon that shoots bullets that literally drill into the enemies’ cranium in a horrific gory display. Unlike modern shooters, you keep every weapon you obtain and your health never regenerates (although this is indicative of most shooters from the early to mid 90s). If any of this sounds interesting then go check out the first title on PC now if you can, but if you have an Xbox One you have to hold out a little while. Both titles should drop sometime this year on Xbox Live, but they may release at different times as Turok 2: Seeds of Evil has yet to see its remastered release on PC, let alone the Xbone.
It is likely Night Dive Studios won’t just be applying a lick of paint to the remasters. Much like System Shock and Strife, Night Dive Studios will probably tweak the gameplay and update the controls as well. Changes are always welcome but I also hope they include the games in there original vanilla form for weird people like me who like that sort of thing. Hopefully both these titles will sell well (provided they are priced well) and it will send the message to developers that there is an audience for these little blasts from the past.
Collecting: Is there any treasure still out there?
I have been collecting video games and hunting deals for the last few years at car boots (flea market if your in America) and charity shops. For me it’s much more enjoyable to find a game out there in the wild than do the easier stay at home thing and get it off eBay. In fact I use eBay so infrequently now that I only tend to use it if I to order games I might want to cover for the site.
What has become very clear to me from the past few years of collecting is there really is less and less probability of finding deals or hidden treasures. In this article I’m going to cover why that might be and what this means for the future of collecting.
Resident Evil: The Musical. Yes, You Read That Correct
No guys, this is not a April fools joke. Japan really does have all the fun when it comes to weird shows to bring to the musical scene. With the success of Phoenix Wright in the musical scene I guess it was only a matter of time before Capcom looked at their other franchises. I guess we just weren’t expecting Resident Evil to be the second choice. What’s wrong Capcom, Viewtiful Joe too super hero for you, Okami too arty or maybe its because you want us just to forget about Clover studios. Still, Street Fighter? I’d dig a Zangief opera number.
Maybe its part of the 20th anniversary celebration. Unfortunately for the fans this is only coming to Japan, at least for now. If I had the expendable income I would learn Japanese and fly to Japan to see the show. But since that will unlikely happen here’s my suggestions for some songs they should feature in the musical. I’m assuming this will be based of the first original Playstaion title where you play the game as Jill Valentine. Warning: the following songs may spoil the plot of the game.
Jam’s Dream List for the Resident Evil 2 Remake
Capcom really has been trying to do a make good with its long term fans even if that make good is them just re-releasing all their old games. With the recently released Devil May Cry 4 HD Remaster, Mega Man Legacy collection, and heck there is even talk the Onimusha series might make a comeback (yes please), Capcom has now pulled a Final Fantasy 7 announcement and revealed that it’s remaking Resident Evil 2. Arguably one of my favourite games of all time, this is the title that got me hooked to the series back on the original Playstation. I’m certainly excited for the project and this article covers what I’d like to see from the release. Keep in mind a lot of this “wish list” is completely barmy and probably won’t happen but hey one can dream.
Gaming History 101 