#389 Starcraft

Posted: 23rd July 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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3

350th played so far

StarCraft_box_artGenre: Strategy
Platform: PC
Year of Release: 1998
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Here we are – another fifty games done! And on my pick, I decided to go for pure indulgence (although it made sense for the stats too).

We’ve enjoyed Warcraft II before (I did at least) and I’ve been looking forward to playing Blizzard’s later RTS sequels. I’ve played through (and finished) Starcraft before, so there’s no real secrets here – but man, it’s good to get into it again.

Our Thoughts

Although these days it feels like Warcraft III – and many other games – did this better, the way the story was presented in this game felt (and in a way still feels) like such a step up. Rather than a bit of scrolling text or short intro movie with a single character talking to you that doesn’t really effect the gameplay much, the intros – mostly talking heads, with different characters switching in and out to tell a real story that threads on – feel a lot more immersive and real.

Their contents is reflected in the levels and – even more interesting – during the levels, as they develop, your objectives sometimes expand or change to change things around. At first you may just need to find someone in a quiet level, then that person (represented as an actual unit) asks you to help out defeating an enemy base – or something similar.

Standing out for the game at the time, the choice between the three armies isn’t one you make at the start, with just some stats swapped out. Instead, you play them in order – humans, Zerg and then Protoss – with a story that goes from campaign to campaign. At times it runs as expected, but the twists are enough to keep you interested. It gives far more of a reason to play through the game and try all of them.

Another part of this are the differences between the armies. All following from their thematic background, Zerg have small critters grow into living buildings, improving by mutating.Humans build and train warriors, with buildings that can move around at will. Protoss warp buildings in instead, having to stay near energy pylons. Units are similarly aligned.

How well this works is shown in the longevity of the game. Blizzard continues to patch it until 2009 (removing the CD check a few years earlier) and tournaments are, as far as I know, still ongoing, although the sequel may have changed that. Still, that longevity is a testament to how well the game has been designed.

Final Thoughts

When we get to Warcraft III, we get a game that, once again, does things slightly better, this will change slightly, but Starcraft is a game that, to my mind, changed what an RTS could be and upped the ante for everything I played afterwards. It has story, it has nice graphics, it has a good mix of gameplay concepts. Still amazing, even after all these years. Jeroen kinda tackled everything major here but what I can add is that this game caused me to add Starcraft II to my future list (okay I know this is a lame comment but it’s true).

#302 Duke Nukem 3D

Posted: 19th July 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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0

349th played so far

dukenukem3d-2Genre: First-Person Shooter
Platform: PC
Year of Release: 1996
Developer: 3D Realms
Publisher: GT Interactive

The Duke is in the house baby!

If, like me, you’re a PC gamer of a certain age you’ll probably have heard of this game. It’s not as multiplayer famous as Doom and the like, the humour and slight (pixellated) naughtiness was aimed just right for a twelve year old. And even ignoring that, it was one of the first exposures we had to FPS games.

The game series has been forever tainted by the interesting disaster that is Duke Nukem Forever – not leaving up to the hype and the definition of development hell – I remember reading excited articles about this in 1998 magazines. The big reason for the hype on that game, though, is that this specific game was that memorable.

Our Thoughts

So my first conclusion? My reflexes aren’t as good as they were, considering how long it took to get through the first level (trying the second episode was actually easier). Considering my general improvements in playing shooters, this is odd, and I suspect the limitations that are still present in this game might be a part of that. You can’t look up or down easily (there’s no real mouse look and the keyboard controls are awkward).

Oh, and I may have cheated when I played them that long ago and went far in.

 Now, yeah, a lot of the game’s initial draw came from the slightly puerile mature content, aimed at the teen/early twenty male demographic that was prominent in the time (let’s not get into arguments on how things are now – at least the age has shifted upwards, and genders are at least slightly more balanced. Everyone is welcome though). Part of it feels incredibly over the top now, parts of it immature, and not exactly politically correct these days – I suspect Duke Nukem Forever might not have gone over well in part because it’s not what we want any longer. At the same time, its simplicity – pixellated, vague images – means that there’s not much to see now. You see more on the average episode of Game of Thrones these days.

What shows about halfway through the first level though is how good the level design itself is. You walk through (a rather specific) cinema and arcade and the area actually feels realistically set up as such, not as a random collection of rooms and puzzles as you saw in Doom and the like. It feels real, with a number of the rooms that should be there used as secrets or puzzles to pass through, but it doesn’t feel like just that.

At the same time, one of the most vivid memories of this game is related to its level editor. Soon after this game was released, one of the students in our school created a Duke Nukem 3D level of my secondary school. As juvenile as it was (I recall some appropriately placed pig enemies), it was crazy, silly and fun enough that we loved and were amazed with the possibility. Quake may have brought in better looking and gameplay later, but the ease of creating content was as amazing.

Final Thoughts

It’s dated, sure, and the first person shooter genre has moved on since, but the level design – including the option to make them yourselves – make this game stand out. There’s the variety, and it’s just good fun to play even now.

#260 Doom II: Hell On Earth

Posted: 15th July 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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0

348th played so far

Doom_II_-_Hell_on_Earth_CoverartGenre: First-Person Shooter
Platform: Various
Year of Release: 1994
Developer: id Software
Publisher: GT Interactive

We have (obviously) played Doom before, the granddaddy of all other FPS games. Not the first perhaps, but the first that made it Big and put LAN multiplayer on the map. The second was released not soon after – with the third taking over a decade longer. What difference does a year make?

Our Thoughts

It’s difficult to appreciate how some games have improved over their predecessors. While Doom  II doesn’t look outstanding to our eyes, it still looks better than the first game did.

The levels also feel like they’re put together better as well. Aside from being larger, they feel less linear – even if they’re not that much, it feels like you have more options and there are more places to explore. The puzzles that are there feel more integrated as well as an area to move through, and progress flows more naturally.

What’s just as nice is that the levels feel, as much as I have noticed, more varied. There are more outside area and they are mixed together with indoor levels more nicely. The styling feels consistent with more areas of the levels seemingly having a purpose, including a prison area.

Most of the mechanics are the same (although at times improved), so with most things this feels like it is more of the same. But that doesn’t matter. There’s an expanded selection of weapons, which is more fun, and with the polish added to the levels, they are much more fun. With the additional variety in levels, Doom II becomes a lot more interesting to play than its predecessor.

Final Thoughts

If we are being honest with a game like Doom II it is impossibly to not see the age. However, in a similar to games like Dungeon Keeper and Alpha Centauri, it does not matter because what remains are the fundamentals of  good game. It has since been successfully ported to the XBox 360 and Playstation 3.

#1001 Alien Zombie Death

Posted: 11th July 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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0

347th played so far

Alien-Zombie-Death_dl_PSNboxart_160wGenre: Shoot Em Up
Platform: PSP
Year of Release: 2010
Developer: PomPom Games
Publisher: PomPom Games

After the release of the list’s second edition, 20 games were removed, with twelve of them unplayed so far. For completeness and because we wanted to try some of them, we decided to still play these twelve, but with shorter or changed write-ups. Today the fifth game – Alien Zombie Death

Now this is weird, as the new edition messed with our plans here. As you can tell by the number, this game was the original final game on the list. The plan was to play it as the final game, or something like that, so the last game on the list is actually the final one played, but that’s obviously no longer an option for this game, both because of the expanded list and because we want to finish the removed games.

 To be honest, I can sort of see why – it was at the end of the book due to recency, but when playing it’s mostly a shooter as there are more around, with some different iOS controls. Most of it is jumping and walking around the levels, while enemies attack in patterns dependent on the area. You’re judged by endurance – the longer you survive, the more you kill and the more points you get, the faster levels unlock.

It’s pretty decent, active shoot ’em up fun, with the usual heavy shooting and keeping up with plenty of enemies. The usual powerup apply – multiple shots, homing missiles and so on – as well as the out of field bonuses and such. It’s good, but mostly familiar from other games. The different level setup is nice, but it’s something I feel I’ve seen before. Worth getting as an iOS shoot ’em up, but not necessarily the best example of the genre.

#142 Maniac Mansion

Posted: 7th July 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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3

346th played so far

1392541518915Genre: Adventure
Platform: Various
Year of Release: 1987
Developer: Lucasfilm Games
Publisher: Lucasfilm Games

It’s no big secret on this blog that I enjoy the Lucasfilm adventures, especially the later ones – Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max hit the Road, Grim Fandango and so on, and I’m looking forward to playing many of the newer ones.

Maniac Mansion is the first, using the SCUMM engine that defined the later titles, and prequel to my beloved Day of the Tentacle. We have an interesting game ahead of us.

Our Thoughts

Sometimes a game shows its age. While undeniably a Lucusarts adventure, it doesn’t feel like it’s entirely there yet. Although not the death trap you find in its contemporary Sierra games, there are still many different ways to fail, not always clearly signposted, and it still requires you to save frequently, something later games don’t really have (barring stability issues).

Falling in that part of stupid camp, we played the first section of the game more often, something I’ve done before anyway.

The game has had several updates, with the graphics being one of the things improved throughout – we played one of the later, better-looking ones. As much as I try not to judge on these, the later Lucasarts games look better, in part thanks to them looking more cartoony, and the more realistic style here stands out negatively – as well as making it harder to spot some clues.

So yeah, on the whole the game was a bit of a disappointment. It’s a good adventure, sure, but the puzzles are a bit obscure and it misses the charm and humour we expect of later games. Yeah, the humour is there, but it’s just not as strong. A bit of a shame.

Final Thoughts

I think we’ll keep this brief because we know that this is in the book because it was where the Lucasart adventure games started to take form but it’s not quite there yet. Similar to how we have got Tekken in this book, it was the start of a successful franchise that does not stand up to close scrutiny based on recent advances in gameplay and technology.

It is going to take a lot to get a point-and-clicker that can beat Broken Sword or Time Gentlemen, Please in my eyes… maybe next time Lucasarts.

#265 Little Big Adventure

Posted: 3rd July 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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0

345th played so far

Little_Big_AdventureGenre: Action/Adventure
Platform: PC
Year of Release: 1994
Developer: Adeline Software International
Publisher: Electronic Arts

For me, Little Big Adventure has been a game I’ve been curious about, but not too excited with. For Peter, well… Little Big Adventure is one of my first gaming memories. Cool Spot will always be the first game I ever completed but Little Big Adventure was stuck in my head for years (I was about 5 when I first played this) and I only re-discovered what it was called when I saw the screenshot for this in the book. Obviously I have been trying to get this into our play-stack for a while and today I succeeded.

Our Thoughts

We played through the first two minutes of the game about twenty times. We did not manage to progress. This influences our impression of the game, as we didn’t get to the ‘good’ bits, but playing through the same bit that often, not making any real progress, and being dumped at the start of the game each time without a chance to save after significant steps and while being forced to endure the same lengthy, useless cutsceney bits, we just couldn’t be bothered. It’s not worth our time.

Let’s see what we can say that’s positive… there’s quite a bit of impressive scripting going on, with characters reacting somewhat uniquely (even though they mostly seem to end in being killed by teleporting elephants). The different character poses are interesting, changing gameplay to a point (although often utterly futile in bypassing guards – in particular when the game doesn’t let you switch stances fast enough, from running to fighting).

Maybe it improves when you get further in, but the start of a game should hook you in. It doesn’t need to give you everything, but unless you’re going for hardcore arcade difficulty (and this game really shouldn’t) it should at least be fun and give you the first few wins. Else it’s just not worth it.

Final Thoughts

I remember not being able to play it as a 5 year old and we still found this game ridiculously difficult now. The fact that if you don’t think to change your ‘stance’ when you start means you will hit a brick wall without any notifications.

I talked with a few fellow gamers after our attempt at playing this and they all just gave me a blank look when I talked about it. Despite this game being considered as one of the 1001 games you must play it does not appear to be memorable. Then again this game contained elements, such as an almost open world that is progressively unlocked, that have become staples in later games.  Please comment if you played this before and actually completed it!

#84 Bounty Bob Strikes Back

Posted: 29th June 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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2

344th played so far

Bounty Bob Strikes Back Box Scan (Front)Genre: Platform
Platform: Various
Year of Release: 1984
Developer: Big Five Software
Publisher: Big Five Software

First, a quick admission: we found out, after we started this game, that it’s a sequel to another game on the list, Miner 2049er.

Both games are fairly old platformers – one that looks fairly interchangable with many of the others so far. We’ll see.

Our Thoughts

To be honest, Bounty Bob didn’t strike a chord with us as much as we wanted. The basic concepts of the game are ones we’ll see elsewhere – having to cover each part of the floor is reminiscent of Q*Bert, while the platform layout is very similar to Donkey Kong.

What might not have helped is that the controls felt really awkward. It took us a little while to work them out anyway (the usual old game syndrome), but even after that it was tricky. The main problem (when we played) is that the control over jumping isn’t that great, making it difficult to plan them, with a fall and death likely to result and no real way to prevent that other than, seemingly, luck. We didn’t manage to get past the first three or four platforms – the later levels (from what we saw) only required more precision, not something we’d get any time soon.

While the enemies (luckily) stay dead after being killed, even if you lose a life, the only way you can is by grabbing weapons, which only last a short while (lengthened, we believe, by killing enemies, but it’s tough to keep up).

The game is aimed at the early generations of consoles, and it shows in the relatively simple graphics and sounds. To be honest, for me it’s part of what makes the game less accessible. I just couldn’t get into it.

Final Thoughts

If we did not think much of Bounty Bob Strikes Back we are left to wonder at how our playthrough of the original game is going to go. If you really want to see how this game plays there are many good playthrough videos on YouTube which show players who have the patience to truly master this game. Unlike us who are counting down until 350.

#263 Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament

Posted: 25th June 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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0

343rd played so far

746012-micromachines2ttb_largeGenre: Driving/Racing
Platform: Mega Drive
Year of Release: 1994
Developer: Supersonic Software
Publisher: Codemasters

It’s been a while since we played the first Micro Machines. We enjoyed it – a colourful racer that allowed and encouraged you to go off-track, furnished with loads of household items to serve as obstacles and parts of the track.

One of the sequels’s biggest improvements (that matters to us) is its introduction of different vehicle types, such as helicopters and hovercrafts. Enough to have fun with today!

Our Thoughts

The core of Micro Machines, racing around colourful tracks decorated with household items to make the game seem more to scale, has not changed in its sequel. It’s just as much fun racing around tables (still uncleaned after breakfast), sinks gardens and so on. The graphics have been polished, the controls tightened and everything feels a bit nicer – smoother – but the same game is essentially still there, with more courses.

The bigger change then comes from the vehicles, and those are what convinced me I must have played Micro Machines 2 when I was younger, rather than the first game, as I remembered a number of them. You race around using helicopters, avoiding more obstacles, can move over water using hovercrafts, and various different cars handle differently.

Still, on the whole, the formula is still there and the game plays well as a pretty fun top down racer. They’ve not messed much with a winning formula – if anything, the chances might feel a bit too limited – but for this game that simply works.

Final Thoughts

When playing this game I began to think about all the racing games that get released now in comparison. I could not think of a mainstream console racing game in a long time that made use of a top-down viewpoint. It’s just a reminder of how far games have come as a medium in some ways but also how much of a loss this is. I mean, who wouldn’t love to see a new super realistic MicroMachines racing game?

#12 Defender

Posted: 21st June 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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1

342nd played so fardefenderGenre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1980
Developer: Williams Electronics
Publisher: Williams Electronics

How’s this for some pleasant Sunday gaming? As I was playing the game to prepare for the blog, I was told that it was apparently one of the most difficult games ever. How’s that for fun?

Our Thoughts

Defender is a game we’ve seen version of before. The basic idea – flying around a planet, killing enemies you come across, is fairly familiar and frequently played with, with games like Wizball being a relation.

Your goal is to prevent aliens from kidnapping astronauts from the planet below. You do this by shooting the aliens and possibly helping the astronauts land again. Kidnapped astronauts return as evil mutants that are also bent on destroying you.

As easy as it sounds, the game is quite tough. The speed of the game is such that it’s difficult to chase after all the different enemies and when kidnapped, getting the astronauts free is tough – leading to another speedy enemy chasing you. I’ll be honest, we couldn’t get any further than the first level and generally failed at that anyway.

Looks and sound are quite simple, as expected – nothing notable here really. Simple and sweet I suppose.

Final Thoughts

Here’s the thing, going into a game being told it is one of the most difficult ever will undoubtedly lead to an anti-climax. Yes it wasn’t easy but it wasn’t as hard as other games like The Sentinel or Elite (which we started… and have not got back to it since). In fact it was a fun game to play for a little while but probably one we are unlikely to come back to since many games have come out since that have done things better.

#25 Qix

Posted: 17th June 2014 by Jeroen in Games
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0

341st played so farQix_PosterGenre: Action
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1981
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito

 Qix! That’s today’s game. It’s a game we both know – we just don’t know the name and can’t remember it. It has just been copied that often. This should be pretty straightforward!

Our Thoughts

For some reason, I kept thinking Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor would be more like this game, not knowing we’d be playing the proper game a few weeks later.

The game is simple: only able to move around the outsides, you cut areas through the field, claiming it. Claim 75% and you win the level, moving up. This is made more difficult by both Qix, the coloured lines moving around the arena that kills you if it touches one of your lines, and sparks that follow the outside border and do the same if they reach you.

It’s a pretty simple concept, true, but it works out well. The game is pretty fast paced, pretty much from the start considering the speed your enemies move at. Aside from strategy in picking your moment, a lot of it can feel like a Mexican standoff – How far do you dare go in creating your squares, do you dare taking that bit more, or is it too close?

One of the more interesting things that we noticed about the game is how completely abstract it is. The enemies look like nothing, there’s no story and no explanation about what you’re doing. No attempt is made to explain what you are doing. You don’t need it for the game really. Games don’t need all that – as long as it’s fun.

Final Thoughts

This is one of those games that pretty much any gamer has played even if it is not the actual game of Qix. In fact we saw this a few years ago when there was a Qix-esque minigame as part of the art curriculum in Bully. What these clones don’t have, however, is a strange line-based enemy that can make you feel very uneasy for no explainable reason.

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