#157 Power Drift

Posted: 2nd July 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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523rd played so far

314915-power-drift-dos-front-cover

Genre: Driving
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1988
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega

I’m not sure why we’re playing Power Drift today. It was time we played another driving game and this looked fun enough. Sometimes that’s all we’ve got – got to get to it at some point.

Our Thoughts

Power Drift shows how arcades really were ahead of the home machines in the 80s. It plays a lot like Super Mario Kart, with the mode-7 style rotations, constant behind-the-camera viewpoint and cartoony graphics. It doesn’t have the Mario trappings, but it still feels more advanced than the 1992 offering. Proper 3D hadn’t happened yet, which would create the big jump ahead, but this shines here.

The game started off with as a somewhat difficult racer, which didn’t help the initial few runs. This wasn’t as bad as it might seem in other cases, as the colourful graphics with nice backgrounds were just as good, the exaggerated characters adding something fun and the tracks themselves having some added variation. The graphics have a lot of other distortions applied as well, tilting and such, that you don’t really actually notice when playing the game, but add to the experience.

The latter is where this racer feels ahead of Super Mario Kart and other 2D era racers I’ve seen. Aside from seeing the full track, it’s not as blocky as others I’m thinking of. More notable though, there is elevation that is used as well as it can be – I’ve seen it described as a rollercoaster experience, and there is certainly a lot of fun in going up and down, and added challenges in not falling off when you have to zigzag through parts of the track.

Final Thoughts

Power Drift has a lot of elements that made later more casual racer as much fun, taking that over accuracy. It looks good and has enough of a challenge to stay a challenge for some time. It’s a pretty good game.

#40 Moon Patrol

Posted: 28th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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522th played so far

MoonPatrol

Genre: Action
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1982
Developer: Irem
Publisher: Irem

Moon Patrol is a name that evokes plenty of options. If it was a survival horror, we’d be crawling around tense tunnels. In other shooters we might be running over the surface. When in the 80s, an action arcade game makes it almost look like a racing game instead.

Our Thoughts

My initial note on this game was ‘slow and methodical’. This isn’t a racer and you’re not trying to get to the end as quickly as possible. And with that, the game’s limitations don’t feel like a limitation of technology (although I’m sure that aspect is there) but just as much an intentional design choice. Only fire ahead and straight up? That’s how your car works, and that’s all you would get.

What made the game even more interesting – in a way not often repeated – is that the environment changes based on what happens. In particular, enemy missiles create craters in the ground that you have to jump over (you can’t go up or down at an angle, it just kills you). It makes the game feel a lot more dynamic. Even if it’s simple, it’s very effective.

The looks are simple, enemies somewhat varied, but not the most complicated. Visually it works, but has nothing specifically to recommend it. It’s really what it is.

Final Thoughts

The game isn’t anything complicated, but it all fits together nicely without asking too much of the player. It’s still a tricky and fun game, but at times very much of its time.

#649 Devil May Cry 3

Posted: 24th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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521st played so far

Devil_May_Cry_3_boxshot

Genre: Action/Fighting
Platform: Playstation 2
Year of Release: 2005
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

We’ve covered Devil May Cry before. I remember enjoying it at the time, but having some problems for me when playing. Let’s be honest – I’ll need easy mode here again, I hope I can get it.

Our Thoughts

After I made it through the first level, the second went badly enough that I unlocked easy mode – so I’m happy I didn’t struggle too much.

For a large part, the game is simply a big brawler where you need to defeat the different enemies – some with different abilities, but the distinction isn’t always a big one. These are good – on the right difficulty level – but intentionally not too challenging. The real fun of the fights is in the boss fights, which are a lot more varied and have a bunch more challenges. Fighting off a giant flying worm-like thing is one of the memories that is still sticking with me as a big challenging – and fun – fight.

You start off in your own store – not sure why or what – but soon end up in another giant tower, similar to what there was to explore in the first game. It’s a fine enough setting, but already felt similar to the first game, and I do wonder how much it will affect the variety of the game – I was already starting to get confused between them. There are parts that look amazing, though – in particular the Cerberus fight looked amazing – and gross at times.

Final Thoughts

I’m not sure the Devil May Cry series are entirely my cup of tea – this,, like games like Bayonetta, is something I’d love to watch, enjoy graphics and skill, but it’s often a bit too fast and complex for my brain to catch up with. I’m willing to take the blame for this one – good, but not for me.

#528 Super Mario Sunshine

Posted: 20th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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520th played so far

Super_mario_sunshine

Genre: Platform
Platform: Gamecube
Year of Release: 2002
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo

Somehow, Super Mario Sunshine is the mian series Mario game I’ve seen least of so far. I have seen some of the designs and seen the rough plot outline, but I’m not sure I’ve even seen it in action much.

It feels a bit like the odd one out of the series, not as acclaimed as Super Mario Galaxy, not as ground breaking as Super Mario 64, partially pushed back because the console it appeared on, the Gamecube, wasn’t as major a platform as the others.

Our Thoughts

It was fun to get the Gamecube out again. And Super Mario Sunshine was a good game to come back to. There were certainly a couple of annoying areas in the game – not quite enough autosaves or restores in some levels (one boss was impossible to fight with the situation I came in with, and backing off meant restarting the entire level, which felt unnecessary).

Still, in that sense the game takes Super Mario 64‘s formula – jumping into levels and doing a bunch of missions in them – and improves on it. The world unlocks areas more naturally – although I’m sure they’re still star shine sprite-locked, the game doesn’t actually say that, instead opting for smaller unlock battles after an explosion of paint.

Yeah, paint. The interesting mechanic is that the areas are covered in paint and graffiti, and a lot of gameplay surrounds clearing it. A number of enemies are paint-based, and generators are removed by clearing the paint, while doing so also unlocks other paths through the levels. It’s an interesting extra mechanic that creates the hook you need while fitting it well with the Mario universe.

The levels, aside from having a diverse set of missions – from small creature clean up to boss fights and extended jumping and collecting puzzles – have more of a personality than Super Mario 64‘s levels as well. There are more NPCs dotted around to interact with and, with their larger area, there is more visual story telling as well, which is quite nice. Even in a level there seems to be more variation.

The cartoonish look of Mario games comes out here as well. It makes the game look less dated than others would, while it fits the tropical setting quite well with the bold colours.

Final Thoughts

Although you might not get quite as many levels as Super Mario 64, this feels like a big step up. The world feels more alive, with the hub seeming interesting on its own instead of just the area leading from level to the other as we got there. It looks good and gives such an interesting variation of missions – mostly because it has all the standard 3D Mario characteristics while adding the paint and spraying mechanics to them. A worthy step up in the series.

#39 Miner 2049er

Posted: 16th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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519th played so far

Miner2049er_front

Genre: Platform
Platform: Various
Year of Release: 1982
Developer: Big Five Software
Publisher: Big Five Software

It has been a while since I’ve played Bounty Bob Strikes Back, the sequel to this game. It was a charming but essentially outdated game at the time I played it.

With Miner 2049er, then, I go back in time for this game and see how it compares.

Our Thoughts

The idea of having to walk over all parts of a level to proceed from the next feels oddly weird and special. It’s an idea that would get some recognition in an indie game today as a creative change, something different from other games. Instead, it’s a potential that sets this series apart from any others.

And on the second play of the series, I can say there’s something there. Sure, the game doesn’t look great, formed by the limitations of the platforms of the time, and I don’t think it would sustain me for a long time, but the game does do really well with what it has. The levels feel quite distinct, with different features in each – reminiscent of the way Donkey Kong mixes it up quite often – with slides in some and warping lifts in others.

Final Thoughts

While Miner 2049er is never going to top any lists for me, I’m glad I had the second chance at the series, as it did give me some further appreciation for it – although as much in the abstract for the game design as the actual implementation. It might not be something I’d consider worth going back to, but as a concept it’s well put together.

#695 Eets: Hunger. It’s Emotional

Posted: 12th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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518th played so far

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Genre: Puzzle
Platform: PC/Xbox 360
Year of Release: 2006
Developer: Klei Entertainment

For some reason I keep thinking of this game as something more actionny – maybe something more Angry Birds-like, or Tetris-style catch/move items that are falling.

It isn’t though, and on some level I know that – the game is more comparable to The Incredible Machine, a series I remember loving when I was younger. The hope is that it pays off here.

Our Thoughts

Eets, first of all, does what it does competently. You place objects around a field to move your character to the puzzle piece, your goal in each area. Eets walks on his own, and his behaviour depends on his mood – if he’s scared, he won’t walk off platforms, while when angry he’ll jump across gaps. Items change this – either through feeding him at points in his path or through side effects from other items.

It’s mostly a nice systematic addition to a formula that, aside from the aforementioned Incredible Machine, I don’t recall seeing that often. A lot of it beyond the moods comes down to careful item placement, often bouncing Eets around the area, while putting in some rapid clicking to make some of the action work.

One thing that lets the game here down, though, is the precision of the placement. Quite often, it’s not just about finding out where to place an item, but to place it with closer to pixel precision to get it just right. It feels unpredictable at times, requiring loads of tries (often slow when the chain of events gets longer) and getting annoying when it doesn’t quite work.

Graphics, in the mean time, are nice, colourful and surreal to fit the weird nature of the world. It adds a lot of flavour, making it clear how it goes on (except for the bits where it wasn’t quite as easy to get them accurately).

Final Thoughts

The game looks good and has some pretty good puzzles going on, set up in a nice progression. Unfortunately, some suffer too much of having to use guesswork and unclear physics, rather than it feeling like skill – there are some places where it felt a bit too much coming down to too precise placement, while the rest of the game feels like it should be more fun, rather than being quite this tough (and this tough this early on). I’ll still play more of it later.

#800 Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Posted: 8th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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517th played so far

Uncharted

Genre: Adventure/Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Playstation 3
Year of Release: 2007
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

I don’t know why I haven’t played Uncharted before. While it isn’t my genre, it’s a big enough game that it feels like I would have given it a go – especially with how it seems to have looked and the options for exploration.

Time to play the first game then, ready to play through and see what the fuss is about.

Our Thoughts

Where do I start with this? I think our conclusion, pretty early on, was that this was clearly a Tomb Raider spiritual successor – not quite the same sort of game, but sticking in that mold while updating some elements. There’s a far greater focus on parkours and climbing, improved to be more in the Assassin’s Creed mold,, and levels feel a bit more linear, but it’s not a coincidence that the Tomb Raider and Uncharted series have been borrowing from each other for the last near-decade.

I mean, the one sentence summary is pretty much the same – our protagonist goes out to explore anicent ruins to find treasures. Nathan Drake’s motives are clearly less altruistic than Lara Croft’s, but he’s still a lovable rogue. The game also includes more cut scenes, doing its best to tell a more interesting story – still with its occasional cliches, but mostly trying to include a larger cast and creating something interesting to follow along.

The levels feel linear at times – there aren’t too many diversions and treasures are hidden in smaller puzzles in the level, or simply around a corner – but they are set up to create cinematic experiences. You topple and climb large statues, run away as the floor gives way underneath you and explore a submarine filled with dead sailors. Some of these can feel like lengthier exploration sequences, where you take a long climb up a cliff or wall to get to your place (often the long way around), but these are kept varied enough to stay fun. These, again, are set up to feel more interesting, with edges collapsing occasionally as you get past them, making it feel a bit more epic for what are really simple climbing sections.

The game falls down with the shoot-outs. They are awkward, with inaccurate shooting controls and unrealistically large groups attacking you. It’s exhausting and doesn’t feel fair, while greatly distracting from the actually fun parts of the game, when you explore these wonderful environments.

And that’s the other thing. The game just looks great and has these interesting settings. They invite you further in to see what other dangers you encounter. That’s what is just as good about it, you want to see these environments and see what other areas they’ve put it. That’s part of what makes it worth it.

Final Thoughts

That last part summarizes it best. This is a good game. It’s fun to play. There are amazing places to ignore. But the fire fights become such a drag, we got sick of them. Peter lasted longer than I did, but despite his initial plans to go through the entire game, he left it after a while as well. I understand the sequel handles it better – I sure hope it does for our sake.

#893 Canabalt

Posted: 4th June 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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516th played so far

canabalt

Genre: Action
Platform: Internet
Year of Release: 2009
Developer: Adam Saltsman
Publisher: Adam Saltsman

Canabalt is listed as one of the first, and still most influential, endless runners. Available online, as well as having buyable HD editions, it seems to have spread by word of mouth – although I didn’t hear of it before the list, Peter did. And while I’ve tried it before, now is the time to really play the game.

Our Thoughts

After the complicated nature of MechWarrior 2, the previous game, it’s nice to deal with the simplicity of Canabalt. You only need to press the jump button at the right time, making sure you clear gaps and obstacles and don’t slow down so far that you’ll miss your jumps. It’s simple, easy to understand and with the semi-random world going on forever, a simple race of endurance to see how long you can keep going for.

The graphics are in a stylistic greyscale, simple and effective, while detailed enough to provide a bunch of background details that create diversity while you’re running.

Final Thoughts

There isn’t much to this game – it works well as a brief diversion – but it’s a lot of fun and does what it does really well. Later games build on the formula and add things, but I think this pure experience works best. Don’t think, just jump when you need to.

#286 MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat

Posted: 31st May 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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515th played so far

5058_front

Genre: Action/Strategy
Platform: PC/Saturn/PlayStation 1
Year of Release: 1995
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision

MechWarrior 2 is a game I’ve been eyeing up for quite some time – I owned it even though I didn’t necessarily get around to playing it. It’s not quite my typical game, but I remember the fun of customizing a mech and playing around with all of that.

Even so, it’s on the list, and it should be fun to play a mech game – not as memeorable an experience as Steel Battalion, but something to still play with.

Our Thoughts

Dated. It’s not a word I want to use too much here – of course every game is of its time, and plenty of them are still worthwile, so it doesn’t matter (or even looks better). For some games, however, design and control feel outdated and put you nto – or rather out of – that mindset. MechWarrior 2, for example, was an old and ddated Windows 95 game, using a very early version of DirectX and not quite working as a Windows game.

Mech customization abilities are huge even in your first mission, with several chassis options, which control allowed weight and attachment points, and plenty of weapon loadouts. Options increase as you get further in the campaign as well. Not much of what’s what is explained in the game, leaving you to experiment for what works.

Walking around is done in an early 2D world, somewhat sparse. Mech controls as they usually do, sluggish, slow to turn and using full-on tank controls, where you even regulate the speed to ten different levels. I’m not sure why you’d use anything but full speed most of the time, with notch 2 or three on approaches, but this is a genre that thrives on its own type of simulation.

The tutorials work okay, except for it just failing if you miss out on one part. Using just voice prompts meant that I occasionally missed out on instructions, making it slightly harder to continue. In the end I decided to just jump in.

The game is hard from the start, the first mission being tricky for me to complete already. It’s partially because I’m no longer used to the controls, but the game certainly expects you to bang your head against it a few times to really get the controls. It unfortunately makes the whole thing a bit impenetrable.

The story didn’t seem to get told much up to the point where I played to, but the idea of different factions is at least vaguely promising. It is mostly down to the source material – the pen and paper game this is based on describes it further – but at least makes it feel like there’s more of a story going on. That would be something to explore further.

Final Thoughts

The game’s controls were likened to a flight simulator, and I can see that point. There are a lot of things to do, further enhanced by the customization of your mech. It’s what makes the game great, but also the downside for casual gamers who, like us, only just start on it – you need to be willing to dedicate time to it. That’s probably the most dated thing about it – now it’s so much easier for us to find other games that we want to play that you don’t necessarily dive in as deeply as I would have done twenty years ago.

#982 Zeno Clash

Posted: 27th May 2016 by Jeroen in Games
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514th played so far

Zc_image

Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up/Fighting
Platform: PC/Xbox 360
Year of Release: 2009
Developer: ACE Team
Publisher: ACE Team/Atlus

I’m not quite sure where to put Zeno Clash in the list of games for me. The concept looks interesting, but at the same time a first person brawler isn’t normally my thing. The setting seems different, though, a jungle fantasy world that looks more primitive than we’re used to. Even though I feel like I might not necessarily enjoy it, I do just want to try it.

Our Thoughts

There were places where this game got incredibly frustrating – I had to look up a few enemies online to find out how to tackle them – but just as often the game was fun to run around, smash into small creatures or shoot them and defeat them. The game makes for a good 3D brawler, plenty of tight fighting with loads of variation in the different fights, needing some experimenting but put together well.

What felt even more important is the variation of looks in the game. The lush environments feel like a jungle setting, villages in drier plains and strange fantasy creatures that feel they could live in a jungle. The bigger creatures – bosses, mostly (although slightly more common than that name implies), as well as NPCs, are even more interesting. They might seem drug induced hallucinations, weird descriptions from some dream world, but you meet them in real life here – a weird creature that moves in a straight line all the time, no matter what stops it. Giant stone-feeling knights that teach you how to use your abilities. Bird-headed creatures that sneak around the cities. It’s something new each time, it looks well and makes you wonder what will be around the next corner.

Final Thoughts

Zeno Clash is an amazing looking game, with a nicely realised world that feels unique – jungle-based world, with primitive, stone age seeming technologies seems unique, but works so incredibly well. It also feels superbly suited for a brawler like this – one that’s a bit tough for me in places, but again offers enough variation to stay fun.

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