I have never played any of the original series, although I have heard of them, and had an idea of what they were about - but I never went ahead and gave them a go, so with this release, it seemed a perfect chance to jump in and experience them in all their new Unreal Engine 5 glory.
I’m happy to say that the gameplay is the game’s biggest strength; it’s fun, brutal, and packs a punch. Matches are about building momentum and damaging your opponent, you use a combination of strikes and grapples - strikes are a combination of punches and kicks, which can be chained together for maximum effect; grapples can be done in a variety of positions and take many forms, they are easy to execute and have a nice variety. There is a nice fluidity to all of the combat giving a fast pace to matches.
SUNSOFT's beloved physics-based action platformer finally bursts onto current platforms enriched with a rewind feature, a time attack mode, online leaderboards, and modern extras.
The cover – which is rich with shades of pinks and purples, features a bespectacled and smiling Zelda – with Master Sword earrings, natch – emblazoned under a starry night sky, with the Tri-Force symbol behind her, and mountains rising up from a neon checker design that stretches into the horizon.
This artwork (courtesy of ONSTA) is GLORIOUS. There are nods throughout - in the designs and clothing - of Zelda to the franchise, whilst being a vibrant, stylish piece of art in its own right – it completely conjures up the melding of Zelda and synthwave in incredible detail, awesome stuff.
The rear cover art furthers the landscape set out on the front with the Duelling Peaks, black palm trees and that neon pattern drenched in hues of – again – pinks and purples. It’s very evocative of the ‘80s, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Don Johnson tucked away in there somewhere….wearing wicker shoes with no socks in sight.
The records are ensconced in anti-static sleeves and comes on double red/purple, pressed at 45RPM. – again, the colour choice and inner-circle design are completely in tune with the rest of the artwork, it’s a very mood-setting record, even when taken at first glance.
Opening the cover shows off the illustration that is spread across the double gatefold sleeve, a starry Zelda on a pink motorbike surrounded in a fuzzy dreamscape – a smile still plastered across her face. On the right-hand side are the track listing and credits, the blues of these pages breaking up the external colours whilst also being a thematic match.
Dredge starts with your character - a fisherman, nonetheless - making his way through a foggy sea before he inevitably has a shipwreck. Waking up on a deck on a small fishing island called Greater Meadows...his journey begins.
35 years later (...ugh) and, despite my best intentions, I haven’t substantially improved. I’ve often returned to dip my toe into the genre, figuring that critically acclaimed darlings like
Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, or Gradius V would finally give me the motivation to get gud.
I never did, but even though I’m crap at them I maintain an admiration for their purity, the focus they require to master, the complex interlocking systems and, perhaps most of all, for the gaming wizards that can one credit clear these bad boys.
Enter the Ray’z Arcade Chronology, which consists of best-in-class remastering studio M2’s ports of three classic Taito shmups, 1994’sRayForce, 1996’s RayStorm and 1998’s RayCrisis.
Stay Out of the House is split into four sections; the first act is named Night Shift, whereby you go to your character’s night shift at a gas station. Things start out pretty normally, you clean up, deal with customers etc. the store also has an arcade cabinet in the corner which you can play when the store is quiet - oddly enough the arcade game is about a killer chasing you, and you must collect things in order to escape. I really liked this introduction it was a nice build-up of suspense, and even though you can see what’s coming, it still made me jump.
Luckily, the codes still worked and so began my adventure into the Switch indie vortex, and thus it was a bloody fantastic evening.
The first game I dived into was Donuts ‘N’ Justice, a game that has always tickled my fancy – and, as I was very much in the mindset for some pacey arcade action, it was just the ticket.
A 2D run-and-gun game with pixel visuals and a thumping soundtrack, the way I would describe this one in a single sentence is, ‘NARC, if it was snappier, groovier, and better.’
Developer FobTi also made Gunman Tales, which I covered earlier in the year – and whilst I didn’t get quite the same punch from Donuts ‘N’ Justice, this is still a very fun game to dip in ‘n out of – especially with a friend.
Finding information. Keeping up with the news sites you follow. Forums and chatrooms. Online shopping. Web browsers have been used for almost everything you can do online, especially on PC and laptop, for a long time. However, as many a gamer is aware, they have also plagued a pretty pivotal role in how many of us have gamed, at one point or another. Here, we’re going to explore the history of browser games, as well as how they continue to survive, and are perhaps even thriving in new ways today.
It is a genre that has morphed through many permutations through the decades, and if one were to cover it, surely they’d need a pretty lengthy documentary – maybe even one that’s four-and-a-half hours long? Just like this one, in fact!
Originally published to huge acclaim and popularity in 1984, with over 12 million copies sold, Joe Dever’s classic Lone Wolf gamebook series have been fan favourites ever since but not widely available.
Author Joe Dever passed away from cancer in 2016. It was his final wish that his son, Ben, complete the remaining unfinished books in the series and bring all of the books back into print for a new audience.
I was lucky enough to get to share a few emails with Ben, talking about the rich history of Lone Wolf, as well as what the future holds for this incredible, long-lasting series.
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Sadly the format didn’t last, presumably, because the internet is swimming with free trivia quizzes. These daysBuzz! games and peripherals are most commonly found clogging up the shelves of charity shops across the nation: casual players don’t need this plastic tat in their house and retro games fans are a little snooty about this powerfully mainstream mini-franchise.
It’s now been thirteen years since the last Buzz! game and the (aptly named) developer Simplicity Games thinks it’s time for a comeback. Enter Brain Show, which waits until the dead of night, grabs a shovel, heads to the graveyard, and tries to bring Buzz! back from the dead.
A game that can be completed in under an hour – although it has multiple endings – Fishing Vacation begins with two old friends who haven’t seen each other for years driving up to a rural cabin on a fishing trip. When they arrive, the uncle that owns the cabin is nowhere to be found and everything is in disarray...oh, and the fridge is full of rotting fish-heads…
Along with the inventory-based puzzles, combined with platforming and memorable locations and sprites, the music – of course – was an integral part of the experience, giving bouncy life to the many screens traversed in your quest. Here, Matt Gray and Gavin Raeburn’s work on the NES is captured in picture disc form, and it makes a heck of a first impression!
Assisting them through the labyrinth of deadly traps and tricks is a young girl who can be guided by the aforementioned laser pointer. Working together, both must solve puzzles and make their way through the labyrinth, in a bid to survive the deadly trials laid out before them.
