Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Game Fights: Fireworks
Introduction
Welcome to an all new style of article I’ve written exclusively for Gaming History 101: Game Fights.
This is an idea I’ve thought of for a while and it’s where I pick two contenders which share something special and pit them against each other. The article is designed to just be a bit of fun and while some of the facts presented will be as accurate as possible the final verdict will be based entirely on opinion. Thanks for checking this out and of course if you want to share your own views on the games in this article please share them in the comments below.
Now without any further ado…let them fight!
Fantavision Vs Big Bang Mini
The 5th of November in the UK marks Bonfire night (aka Guy Fawkes Night) which is our unusual celebration of Guy Fawkes foiled plot to blow up the House of Lords on the same date in 1605. There is a quite a lot of history behind why we still celebrate this date today but one thing you can guarantee seeing on this event is lots and lots of fireworks. Fireworks are certainly prevalent in a lot of video games such as the end level in the gun game Point Blank but few games make them the actual focus of the gameplay. The two games I’ve found to discuss were Fantavision on PS2 and Big Bang Mini for the Nintendo DS. What better way to celebrate Bonfire night (even though this article will post very late) than to pit these two games together and find out which is the best fireworks video game.
Shadowgate (2014) Review
This review originally published on The B-Team Podcast site. An agreement with that site and GH101 allows the reviews to run in both locations.
If you were around for the point-and-click adventure boom on computers in the 80s and early 90s, then you’re probably already aware of Shadowgate. While Sierra and LucasArts battled it out for the number one position – Sierra always won, by the way, even if it didn’t have the better games – there were a handful of developers that released lesser known adventure titles. Of those, one of the more prominent were known as “MacVenture” titles, which were menu driven point-and-click adventure games specifically for the Macintosh and created by ICOM. These games were so popular they ended up getting ported to microcomputers, received color, and eventually even made it onto the NES. Shadowgate was one of those MacVenture games and when I played it on my NES as a youngster I couldn’t believe the amount of horror, death, and adult themes that appeared on a console riddled with childlike concepts. Much like other adventure titles I had to try everything on everything, but unlike those other titles I would die all the time and merely be sent back to the scene just before my death. This meant that if I was patient and persistent enough, I could overcome the challenges and complete the game. The idea that I couldn’t get stuck and barely got penalized for being experimental was the key drawing point of Shadowgate and its peers with the enchanting story being the icing on the cake. Now, almost 30 years later, Shadowgate has been re-imagined and somewhat brought it into the modern times resulting in a title that is unapologetically retro and yet refreshing for veterans all the same.
Condemned: Criminal Origins Review
Condemned Criminal Origins premiers as a console exclusive on the Xbox 360 – it later came to PC – in late 2005 (launch window), but represents a striking change for video games. Sure, titles like Grand Theft Auto III and Manhunt were garnering attention for brutality, but those were still third person perspective titles that lacked true realism for the average player. On the other hand Condemned is first person, the weapons are almost solely melee, the audio is in surround sound, and the vibration in the controller combined by the jarring view on screen when you get hit makes the whole experience realistic. While violence-hating senators and parental groups hardly took notice, looking back it’s a visceral simulation of the brutality of those darker recesses of society we pretend doesn’t exist.
Celebrate Halloween with Splatterhouse 2 and Typing of the Dead
Happy Halloween from Gaming History 101! To celebrate we had Fred tackle Splatterhouse 2, a game he tragically had not played until today. Can he overcome the house of horrors and save Jennifer?
Warning: Both videos contain adult language and gameplay violence.
Then to lighten things up Fred moves over to the Dreamcast to play through Typing of the Dead.
The Countdown Horror Obscura – Day 8: The Grand Finale!
It has been quite the journey this week horror fans. Through the days of Horror Obscura we have visited various areas of deep seated fear from the virus infested Antarctic to the fear of being in a relationship. I’ve really only scratched the surface there are so many more games covering various horror themes, but I guess we’ll get to those another time. For the final entry of this series of articles I wanted to save what I consider the game that rocked me to my very core as a youngling. Retro fans, I’ve lived through many scary moments in and out of video games I’ve walked through haunted caves, played through Alien Isolation and walked home in pitch black. It takes a lot to truly terrify me. The reason for this is nothing quite rocked me to my very core more than the software I am about to speak of. Some might even not call this a game in fact it’s actually considered an educational tool in the early days of microcomputers. Just talking the title of this game will send children running to the hills in fear. You think you know fear? Then you have never played Granny’s Garden on the BBC Micro.
The Horror Obscura Finale (2015) – Granny’s Garden
Granny’s Garden is an educational program that plays out as a text adventure game with various visual aids. It was designed as a tool to help teach basic computer skills to kids in Primary school. I remember vividly booting up this software and thinking how amazing it was that I was allowed to play a game in school time. Oh if only I knew the terror that awaited me. Your quest is to go find all the missing children within the Kingdom of the Mountains. You are consistently bombarded with text based puzzles where you would have to type the answer into the keyboard to progress.
The Countdown Horror Obscura – Day 7: Catherine
Day 7: Catherine
So this is something a bit different, so far on The Countdown Horror Obscura I have covered fantasy horror, gory horror and terrible portable powered horror. Well today I’m going to cover a deep seated horror that concerns the average gamer. I speak of the horror of commitment in a relationship.
Catherine truly is a breath of fresh air in a game. You have a simple premise a man (Vincent) is in a long term relationship with his partner (Katherine) and is conflicted about taking the next big step. Basically all those things that make up an average gamers worst nightmare, such as settling down with the same partner, getting married, having kids. One big plot hole I always questioned in this game was if Vincent was in a relationship with Katherine for as long as he had been, then why on earth was he still not living with her? Instead he lives in an apartment and spends more time with his friends at sushi bars and creepy drinking establishments then actually spending time with Katherine. But this game is Japanese, so maybe its some cultural thing I’m missing. Anyway Vincent has a moment of weakness that all men go through in life where he gazes upon another woman, only Vincent being the dumb Neanderthal man that he is drinks one to many and ends up sleeping with the most blonde just over the limit blonde girl that decided to sit next to him. After this the game plops you in this most disastrous situation you as the player are then given control of how the story progresses. You can take the weight of the situation on your shoulders and try make good with your long term partner or you can just stick with your new love interest as well as make various neutral choices. This control is what most critics and gamers rate as the highlight of the game experience.
The Countdown Horror Obscura – Day 6: Resident Evil Gaiden
Day 6: Resident Evil Gaiden
Resident Evil Gaiden is very much the misunderstood step child of the Resident Evil series. Capcom likes to put it in the corner along with its other B-list Resident Evil titles like Operation Raccoon City and Mercenaries 3D and pretend they just don’t really exist. Unfortunately like a lot of Capcoms other industry mistakes some of us can’t forget the past. I for one feel Resident Evil Gaiden is a portable title that though flawed, brings a unique take on the series formula with incredibly restricted hardware.
So stop me if you haven’t heard this one from the Resident Evil series: you play as a anti-Umbrella agent who intercepts a passenger ship on the sea and soon finds it has been overrun by monsters. Well before the series copied its own idea literally twice in Dead Aim and Revelations, Gaiden was the game that some would consider the genesis of Resident Evil’s small obsession with campaigns on a boat. The agent you play is the greatest character from the series Barry Burton. Except now you finally get to play as this beard faced hunk of manliness. I am aware he’s also recently and finally been allowed to have his own campaign in Revelations 2 but Resident Evil Gaiden was for the longest time the only way for Burton fans to get their fix of the man with the best one liners in the series history. Anyway, back to the game. Barry is basically on the ship to find Leon Kennedy but along the way he comes across a young girl who seems to be the only survivor of this horror as well as a B.O.W who has the ability to morph into human form. One of the main reasons I think Gaiden is absolutely fantastic and I wish this was an actual cannon to the Resident Evil story is because of how it ends. If you really don’t want a pinnacle part of the plot to be spoiled for you then I advise you to skip the following paragraph because I’m about to explain the ending.
The Countdown Horror Obscura – Day 5: Manhunt
Day 5: Manhunt
Manhunt is a game that I feel to this day I have to tread very carefully when I discuss it. This was one of the very few titles that was actually banned in the UK due to a very unfortunate link to a horrific news story which I will not be discussing in this article. With that short intro out the way lets get into why I’m featuring this title in the Horror Obscura.
I view Manhunt as a title in time with those gore fest films like Saw only a lot worse. Manhunt is a game that is really uncomfortable to play. For starters you don’t even play the good guy, you take control as James Earl Cash who is a pawn in a game where he is directed by a psychopath known as “The Director,” to brutally murder members of gangs and other crazy people. This game is incredibly dark and not for everyone. There are no redeeming qualities to Cash either. He is bad, he kills without remorse and even when he does meet support characters he has no interest in making friends. This is a rare video game that forces you down the dark path. If you are able to get past this you will actually be in for quite an impressive stealth title.
The Countdown Obscura Horror – Day 3: The Suffering
Day 3: The Suffering
A prison, what an ideal location for horror and dread. Several games have visited this locale, the most infamous being Batman’s Arkham series and the recent Prison Simulator on PC, a game I’m surprised was not released 2 years ago. When it comes to horror Surreal Software took the prison as there main location and created something special with the 2004 release of The Suffering.
The Countdown Obscura Horror – Day 2: Master of Darkness
DAY 2: Master of Darkness
The Sega Master System how I do love this 8 bit system. You know poor Sega never got Castlevania until the Mega Drive/Genesis so it was up developer SIMS (Soft development Innovation Multi Success) to fill that void. How this developer is still going to this day I don’t know, but I’m going to boldly state that Master of Darkenss is the best game this company developed. Other honourable mentions include the Dreamcast port of House of the Dead 2 and the best fishing game ever, Sega Bass Fishing on the Dreamcast and later the Wii.
Now before you Americans shout at me and say, “its actually called Vampire: Master of Darkness,” I will politely remind you that in Europe the “Vampire” part was removed. Maybe because of censorship, similar to how Ninja Gaiden turned into Shadow Warrior, but this is not always clear. Vampires were scary guys in the 90s (so were ninjas for that matter). In Japan this game was In the Wake of Vampire and it also came out on Game Gear.
Gaming History 101 