Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition Review (Nintendo Switch)

After having success with Mutant Blobs Attack, Drinkbox Studios reurned with this Mexican wrestling themed Metroid style platform adventure. Those who lack imagination may not see the obvious potential of this mix of styles but it helps to create a unique take on a genre now dominated by identikit Samus and the Castlevania clones.

Starting out as a Mexican villager named Juan, players are soon caught up in a strange tale of the supernatural when a long dead Mexican wrestler tricks the devil into turning him into a chicken. He then returns to merge the real and super natural worlds together. Killed while trying to save the girl he loves, Juan is resurrected thanks to a magical luchadore mask and heads off to rescue the girl and save the world.

Graphically, the game does a good job of putting across the Mexican theme with a heavy Cinco de Mayo influence giving it its own unique and macabre atmosphere. The villages look straight out of a western and are coloured to look sun scorched and dirty in the way they do in all the best Western movies. There are also numerous references for gamers to find with our favourite being the 'missing' poster on one building featuring a picture of Manny from Grim Fandango. As you explore the world an enthusiastic mariachi band plays over the adventure, though it might have been nice if they had learned a few more songs. It all ends up creating a world that feels vibrant and new and is likely to draw players in quickly.

In classic Metroid style our hero starts out with only a handful of moves and then gradually acquires more as he progresses. These moves can then be used to access more areas and continue the quest. Most of these are given out by breaking statues placed around the world (which themselves reference Metroid). Most are standard things such as granting a double jump or the ability to break a certain colour block. The one which raised the biggest smile was when we were granted the power to turn into a chicken. In effect this grants the same power as the morph ball in Metroid, but that never allowed you to peck enemies to death.

You are also granted the ability to shift between the real and supernatural realms at will. This becomes an intricate part to solving problems as pillars may exist in one realm but not the other. Things like water can also often turn to lava in one of the realms and the switching offers up some satisfyingly complex puzzles to negotiate.

Away from the platforming the other big focus of the game is the combat. Our hero being a wrestler means he has to grapple and punch his way through enemies. Some of the powers granted to reach new areas also act as new moves and a selection of throws and grapples can also be purchased with gold coins found around the world.

Moves can be strung together to create big combos and it feels tactile and satisfying throughout. Pummel on a monster enough and you can then execute a throw which can be aimed at other enemies to continue the chain. As the game progresses enemies become covered in different colour shields which need specific moves used to break. It can be difficult to remember which move breaks what (and not the easiest if you are colour blind), but we rarely came up against anything that stopped us dead because of this.

The enemies may not be that tough but some of platforming certainly is. Even early on players not used to super quick button presses and timing may become stuck. Often you are required to link at least three special moves together to reach a platform and it only gets tougher. At one point we had to jump block through spikes, double jump, uppercut and then dash to reach a small platform with only tiny margins for error. We didn’t come up against anything insurmountable but more casual players may well struggle in places.

Luckily there are plenty of save points so large areas don’t need to be repeated. The game asks players to pull off short bursts of skill and is very reminiscent of titles like indie darling Within a Deep Forest - in that once you have done the difficult bit it saves soon after to try and counteract frustration.

The Switch version seems even more vibrant and colourful and the pad is surprisingly robust when it comes to those super-fast controls. The difficulty may put some off but we would highly recommend you give it a go as it is undoubtedly one of the best games available on the Nintendo eshop. This is also a decent sized adventure clocking in at around five to six hours with further scope for finishing side quests and searching out hidden chests should you so wish. The Switch version also comes with extra levels, all current DLC and extra moves for the playable characters.

In summary, Guacamelee! Comes highly recommended by us. It manages to take elements that should be well worn by now but turns them into something that seems fresh and new. It’s a great example of the type of creative flair being shown by indie developers and can proudly stand next to the Metroids and Castlevanias of this world.

Overall 8/10

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide To Side-Scrolling Beat-'Em-Ups

We’ve never had a Bitmap book come through the door we didn’t like. When this heavy tome arrived focused on side scrolling beat‘em ups we were immediately transported back to the arcades of old. Perhaps of all the books the team have released this has the potential to hit the nostalgia gland more than any other with the genre having many games that never made it to home releases.

Across the 456 pages it’s pretty much guaranteed you are going to find a ton of game you won’t have played, or perhaps even heard of, as the book covers games from all over the place. It’s set out into different decades running from 1980 all the way up to recent releases in 2021. The whole thing starts with a foreword from Renegade creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto followed by an informative and entertaining look at what makes a game fall into the genre. During this afterword section you also get the first of many double foldout pages.

In a visual representation of a side scroller, many of the articles about key games unfold to effectively create a four-page layout. This starts with Streets of Rage which is used to display a numbered scene from the game which acts as your guide to the key ingredients of the genre. The fold out pages are double sided as well so there’s no wasted space here.

Starting in the 1980’s with Kung Fu Master the amount of information you get on the games is massively impressive. For instance, Double Dragon has six pages dedicated to it covering development, gameplay, ports and classic moments. More obscure games get less or are reduced to split pages, but this certainly feels exhaustive in terms of the games featured and it’s hard to see what else could have been put in (even the notorious Bebe’s Kids is here). The big licenses are all in here as well, screenshots and all, so expect to see Turtles, Simpsons and even Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker.

There is a decent selection of screen shots and some full-page pictures but there is also a lot of text here so it’s certainly not just a coffee table book to flick through nonchalantly. The research and dedication required to get all this information together is impressive and everything is interesting and will likely send you off hunting for more than a few of the games. The fact each decade comes with a written introduction to the development of the games and market during that period is further proof that these books will likely end up on some kind of historical game development course in the future. There’s certainly enough to take you from knowing nothing to having a huge knowledge of both the titles and genre through the ages.

Overall, Go straight is an exceptional book. It’s perfect to dip into to look for your favourite game or read from front to back to get a detailed overview of pretty much every title in the genre. It’s logically organised which makes finding things easy and the intros to each decade are great encapsulations of the time they look at. Much like the Point and Click Adventure book before it, this is a real highlight in an already packed and impressive back catalogue from Bitmap books. Utterly essential for all retro fans.

 

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Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition Review (Switch)

Initially arriving about twelve years after Blade Runner came out in cinemas this always seemed like somewhat of an odd project from Westwood studios. Perhaps, even more strangely, it’s now beenr resurrected again and ported to consoles. The story runs parallel to the movie and follows detective McCoy as he investigates as number of crimes that may be related to an as yet unknown group of replicants. McCoy must gather clues and interrogate suspects as he searches for the truth, whatever that may be.

Blade Runner always was a massively ambitious game with a lot of care and attention has spent on it to keep everything in synch with the world portrayed by Ridley Scott and written about by Philippe K Dick. Voice actors from the original film such as Sean Young, James Hong and Joe Turkel return to add presence to their characters that feature again here. Choice cuts from the original Blade Runner soundtrack are present as well.

The cinematic quality of the movie is also replicated with a number of sweeping shots similar to its on screen counterpart. Locations from the film, as well as small scenes, such as the bicycles riding through the rain, are further used to make players feel they are inside the real Blade Runner world. As far as authenticity goes this game really cannot be faulted.

The game itself is a little removed from what we consider to be a traditional point and click adventure. There are very few actual puzzles to solve and even a few shooting sequences thrown in. Players make their way through the story by collecting clues, using the ESPER photo analysis machine (just like in the film) and talking to suspects. The game has six different endings and your clues can draw you in a number of very different directions. Certain events happen in real though, which can leave players guessing as they were busy investigating a different location when something goes down.

Unfortunately, the titles ambition never wasn’t executed quite as well as it could have been. On quite a few occasions you can be staring at a pile of clues and not really knowing where you should be heading. It is also far too easy to stumble onto a certain path without really knowing, or agreeing, with what your character may end up doing. It can all be just a bit too confusing at times. It’s also fairly short and just when you feel you are stacking up a decent set of clues you suddenly and abruptly arrive at the end of the game anyway.

We would have liked to have seen a little bit more patience from the developers to let players fully develop their opinion about what is going on. Far too often events happen too quickly and you end up thrust into a situation that seems to force the narrative along rather than letting the player do it. Certain sections of the game are also very hard and frustrating.

Criticism aside, the investigation you undertake really is interesting. All the characters are well acted and intriguing to interrogate and McCoy is convincing as the confused detective. The control system also works very well and looking through your clues and piecing together bits of information is satisfying. The combat is reasonable as well and more than adequate for the amount of shooting you end up doing.

The big sticking point is a flawed but ambitious game has now been ported to a less than ideal platform and it hasn’t been done in a massively successful way. For starters there are very few instructions about how anything works – this game really needed a digital manual. You also have an interface which really is not a decent replacement for a mouse and also there are no real quality of life features either. Playing this on the Switch screen really needs some kind of highlight button to show up objects within the scenes.

Fans of the film and book should still definitely check this out though. Sections of the novel that didn't make it into the movie are worked into the story here and the fan service is really worth appreciating. The game may not be perfect but it never stops being interesting and those six endings are going to take a real amount of brain power to track down. Any adventure game fan up for a challenge and something a little different shouldn't be disappointed. But, you really should be playing it on PC if you can.

Overall 6/10

Quest for Infamy Review (Switch)

For those of a certain age, you will no doubt remember Sierra’s much loved Quest for Glory series. At it’s core it was a point and click adventure series but also had elements of hybrid gameplay such as real time combat. The series lasted for five games and the mix of humour and mythology worked very well.

Quest for Infamy, is of course based heavily on this model and series of games. Indeed, in terms of how the games look the team have got the style down perfectly and it looks identical to classic Sierra games of years gone by. The tone and writing are also of a good standard and keep the humour level high throughout. Impressively, the game is fully voice acted which is some achievement.

The twist here of course is that instead of being a hero you are playing the role of a minor hoodlum. You aren’t a bad guy per say but you are certainly not going to do anything that you don’t end up profiting from. In their quest players can take on three different classes which will see them travel through the games via different routes. For the physical minded you can take on the role of a brawler, cast spells as a sorcerer or take the sneakier route of the rogue.

The game itself plays pretty well. The main criticism you can lay at it is that goals are often a little vague. This wasn’t such an issue in games of this type in the past as most would restrict your wandering around to a small number of screens until you got your bearings. In Quest for Infamy, we can see some players wandering off in the wrong direction and getting lost in the environment as these barriers and restrictions are far fewer. We also found it difficult to find some objects at times – even with the highlight option. Again, this is nothing new for the genre but these games didn’t used to be played on screens the size of the Nintendo Switch.

On the whole though the puzzles do have a crazy kind of logic to them, and the world is well realised and rich with detail. It’s clear a lot of thought has gone into this and on the whole the game holds up for the length of the quest. It also looks amazing.

As a further throw back to its retro routes the game also comes with a pretty extensive digital manual and even a guide to get players through the opening prologue of the game. Again, for those of a certain age it’s the sort of thing we all remember for those big box Sierra games of old.

Overall, Quest for Infamy is a worthy addition to the many point and click adventures that have found themselves on the Switch. It’s certainly among the most retro of those titles but it’s a great throwback to classic Sierra games of old and we can only hope more appear in the future.

Overall 7/10

The Secret History of Mac Gaming: Expanded Edition Review

Bitmap books has done a wonderful job of presenting some beautifully laid out books that show off the look and feel of gaming systems from years gone by and act as quick injections of nostalgia. The Secret History of Mac Gaming is different to the bulk of their output in that this is a much more in-depth and less picture heavy insight into a world that we dare say many gamers will have little to no knowledge of (including ourselves). It’s a good thing then that this hefty hardback can back up the promise of its premise with well researched and fascinating writing from author Richard Moss.

Before we get into that, we should stop to admire the stunning cover design of the book. In all its glory we have an early Apple Mac computer displayed in the same graphical style as the first Apple Mac OS screen displays. Despite never owning one (and rarely playing one), the computer that emerges from the dot based art conjures instant nostalgia and we just knew after seeing the care that has been taken with it that the rest of the book would meet a similar level of quality.

It’s worth noting though that this book really is more of a serious and in-depth look at a key company and time in video game history. It’s not the sort of book that can be just flicked through like so many other of the company’s releases. This really requires sitting and reading for a decent period of time in order to get the most out of it. That’s not particularly difficult though as the stories and interviews within are really well handled which means it remains consistently interesting throughout its four hundred and eighty plus pages.

For those wanting to dive into specific sections of the story there is a very clear layout and chapter separation so that is still very much possible. But most of the bulk of this book is text with only a few screenshots used to highlight certain games being spoken about so you’ll need to read a whole chapter at a time to make much sense of it.

The book is a treasure trove of information though. Our personal favourite of which is the chapter based around Apple’s attempt to break into the console market with Bandai after creating the Pippin. We’ll admit that we had never even heard of this and the story of the chaos and different approaches the two companies had to this is a great insight into the industry at the time. It’s something that is often overlooked in the wider retro gaming community so having a spotlight placed on it here is most welcome and will hopefully get readers looking into more obscure and forgotten systems out there which can only be a good thing.

Overall, Author Richard Moss has done a brilliant job in turning a real passion project, which he clearly holds dear, into something that is both informative and interesting to read. This book is perhaps aimed at a bit more of a niche audience than many of Bitmap Books releases but for anyone who remembers the Apple as a gaming machine or is interested in the history of video games and game development this is an absolutely essential read.

Click here for store link. 

*picture from Bitmap Books website

The Sega Master System Visual Compendium Review

While we have a pretty decent knowledge of all things retro there are always blind spots. Despite the fact we’ve gathered a modest Master System collection together it would be fair to say that we are far from experts when it comes to the console. This latest Bitmap Book seemed a perfect opportunity to remedy that. So with thoughts of Alex Kidd in our head it’s time to take a look back at the much underrated ‘other’ 8-bit console.

As is standard with the visual compendiums you get the usual high quality cover and slip case. This time the colour is black which means your book won’t visually match other compendiums you have but makes sense in the grander scheme of things. As usual, the cover features a host of characters from iconic games which hits the nostalgia button right from the start. The compendium also comes with a set of old style Red/Blue 3D glasses to view some of the pages with. It’s a nice touch that ties in with the Master Systems hit and miss attempts at playing with early 3D in some of its games. Sadly, we didn’t get much from the 3D effect when looking at the pages – but then this could be down to colour-blindness so your experience may differ.

The book follows the now proven route in terms of content. You get the usual excellent intro full of information to both make you an instant expert and also pique your interest into what’s to come and an excellent selection of interviews from developers and industry veterans of the time such as Mutsuhiro Fuji and Steve Hanawa. The games are mainly presented with a single, well chosen, screen shot spread over two pages with decent amount of text to give further information about the game. 

Where this book does differ from other visual compendiums we have seen is in that some games have extra sections attached to them which fold out. This normally takes the form of level maps showing a large area of the selected game. These also come with extra written content as well as an added bonus. It’s a really nice touch that makes the compendium stand out and offers up a great physical Easter egg of sorts.

Away from the individual games there is also a host of excellent pictures of Master System peripherals sprinkled throughout and some features which focus on certain parts of the catalogue such arcade games and a section dedicated to different parts of the hardware – the photographs of which are absolutely sublime. There is also a section dedicated to the box art from different regions which showcases some of the best designs of the time so get ready to look at a lot of white square covered boxes.

Perhaps most interesting though is the section dedicated to the Master System release in Brazil. This covers a lot of the regions exclusive game and gives a good insight into the history surrounding the whole operation. Just try and resist looking for those games on Ebay or you may have a small cardiac event.

Overall, The Master System Visual Compendium is up to the same high standards of Bitmap Books other releases. We felt that this book in particular gave us a real urge to go and find a lot of these games and add them to our collection. As we weren’t experts on the console in the first place we found it a great way to get a detailed overview of the interesting and diverse back catalogue and also the systems place in the market in term of historical context. We may not have known much about the life of the Master System before this but after reading through we certainly love it more than ever.

Click here for store link. 

*picture taken from the Bitmap Books website.

The Art of Point and Click Adventure Games Review

Bitmap Books have built up an excellent reputation now with a string of extensive and informative releases. As long-time fans of the point and click genre it seemed a perfect opportunity to dive into their hefty tome based on everything involving using obscure items and dialogue trees.

The first thing to say is that this is another release that certainly gives a good impression with it being the size of a small bus – both in general size and page count. This edition of the book now contains around 500 pages organised into chronological order spanning from 1984 all the way to 2020. An excellent opening laying out the history of the genre draws readers and also gives a great overview for those looking to know more or who may be unfamiliar with it.

If there is a criticism here it’s that there is no glossary to allow you to get straight to a particular game. Luckily the exhaustive interviews in the book are indexed alphabetically meaning it’s easy to find which legend you want to read about. The amount of people interviewed is unbelievable. Pretty much every icon and legend of the genre is here meaning you get insights into just about all of the major publishers and developers that made their name in this area. Multiple legends from Lucas Arts are here such as Tim Shafer and Ron Gilbert, Sierra games such as King’s Quest, Gabriel Knight and Police Quest are spoken about, Revolution and Westwood get a solid nod and even people behind Future Wars and the Discworld games are on hand.

In fact, the only real omission we found was that Ragnar Tomquist wasn’t interviewed about The Longest Journey series. That and the interview with Jane Jensen about Gabriel Knight had some strange questioning considering the game was remade in 2014. It would also have been nice to delve a little deeper into the issues regarding Discworld and what would be required to bring the games to a new audience. These are all minor point though as the amount of stuff in here is mind blowing.

The exhaustive collection of information also covers just about every major point and click game you can possibly think of. Being as pedantic as we are though we would have liked to see a 2004 mention for The Moment of Silence. Aside from that though we really couldn’t think of anything that was missing. There are hundreds of games here and it will likely send you racing to eBay to try and find adventures you’ve missed out on.

Mass of information aside the other big selling point of the book is of course the art work. As usual this have been handled expertly. Most of the titles are treated to at least a double page spread of an iconic image from the game. Key games are also given extra pages to show off more of the locations and key art work. All these pixels and screens and are presented beautifully.

Overall, The Art of Point and Click Adventure Games is an exceptionally high quality release from Bitmap Books. It works both as a casual coffee table book to be browsed through and looked at just for the art and also as a more thoughtful read containing all the information you would ever need for those looking to learn about an important and iconic genre. It’s easily worth the asking price and stands out even against Bitmap Books other excellent releases.

Click here for store link 

*picture from Bitmap Books website

Within The Blade Review (Switch)

Written by Dan Gill

As a games reviewer you may expect me to be knowledgeable, have an interest in multiple genres, and be a proficient gamer. You’d be mostly right, I’ve been playing games for well over thirty years (yeah, I’m old), and I dabble in all genres (I’m currently getting into driving and racing sims. Euro Truck Simulator is strangely mesmerising). While I will do my best to see a game through to the end (especially for review), my skills will sometimes leave me short. I’ve tried to get into SoulsBourne games, but spending my precious free time dying isn’t the most enjoyable experience. With this admission out of the way, I can move on to my Within the Blade review.

A throwback to the hardcore ninja platformers of the 8 and 16-bit eras, Within the Blade wears its influences on its sleeve. We’re firmly in Ninja Gaiden/Shinobi territory here, with your character fighting for his clan to restore order to a 16^th century Japan destined to be ruled by a demonic warlord.

Rather than being a straight platformer, Within the Blade expands on its forbears by adding stealth, a crafting system, cutscenes and a progress wheel. This adds some meat to the bones, as the initial move set is limited to blocking and slashing. As you progress, you can unlock simple moves (assassinations, spinning blade), health buffs, and more complex moves. The micromanagement side of the game is generous, offering the ability to craft weapons and items from material found throughout, and various merchants in your clan’s village. There’s a lot here to sink your teeth into should you want to.

Progression throughout is linear, so there’s no Metroid style backtracking (you can return to the village to stock up on supplies between levels), and there are optional objectives that can be met to earn a better score on each level, which provides further rewards. As mentioned, initially you’ll be hacking your way through the basic enemies on offer, but it’s not long before you come up against foes who will block, dodge or parry your attacks, so often hiding in the grass and sneaking up on them is the preferred approach, but you can barge in, shurikens flying if you wish. Just don’t expect to last too long.

The game is a challenge, though not unfair. With planning the levels and bosses can be overcome. It’s not as tough as some titles - I remember some of the original NES Ninja Gaiden sections being particularly unfair to the player – but it has its moments. While some of my frustrations through certain sections were down to my own lack of skill, on more than one occasion I felt let down by the controls.

 By jumping at a wall and pressing up, your character will wall run, then bounce off in the opposite direction. More often than not I would inadvertently trigger this, sending myself flying into a pit of spikes. While I may have been able to avoid this by using the digital controls rather than the stick due to the Switch’s button layout (I can’t really get on with the d-pad substitute), it still felt clumsy.

The game has a few other shortcomings in the form of the aforementioned crafting system. Menu navigation is cumbersome, and when attempting to purchase items from a particular merchant there was no indication as to which item I was currently hovering over. As you’ll need to use at least one of these methods to keep weapons in stock (your arsenal wears over time, vanishing from your inventory once its own “health” bar depletes), it really dampens the experience. There are some issues with dialogue too, and I still can’t decide whether this is down to a slightly ropey localisation, or if it’s a deliberate attempt to ape the broken English of games past. However, this isn’t a major issue, it just triggers the grammar policeman in me.

That said, Within the Blade offers its fair share of stylish violence and beefy combat that will satisfy Sengoku shinobis up for the challenge. The RPG-lite systems add some depth to a game that’s let down by a few minor design flaws and uninspired level design. As for me, I’ll be bumping the difficulty down to “Easy” and will continue to plug away at it. After all, it takes some of us longer to git gud than others.

 Overall 7/10

Atari 2600/7800: A Visual Compendium Review

For those of you that read our recent review of the SNES Pixel Book you’ll know we are becoming very big fans of Bitmap Books. The visual compendium series now stretches across a whole range of computers and consoles and we thought the best place to start would be with one of the earliest games machines of them all.

As its name suggests the Atari 2600/7800 compendium covers an absolutely massive range of games from the two systems. There are screen shots galore, interviews and short features from a host of industry legends and developers and it has all been curated as thoughtfully as ever. If you are a fan of gaming history then this book alone will give you a well-rounded understanding of the games, systems and general state of the industry at the time from an Atari point of view.

The cover and slip case are of the standard we have now come to expect from the company. A simple design featuring a host of characters from iconic games is used which allows for clear visual identification of which system the book is aimed at. The slip case also has a hologram element to it so you can see the characters move to different poses depending on what angle you are looking at it from. It’s a nice touch that mimics the animation style of the games in a fun way.

The book starts with an excellent and extensive historical piece before leading into the beautifully captured shots of the blocky pixels that the 2600 produced. Most games are presented as a single shot spread over a double page with decent chunk of text from industry veterans included to tell you about any interesting trivia or historical context surrounding it. Despite the basic level of graphics the 2600 was capable of producing the pictures used are incredibly crisp and show the minimalist design off to its absolute best. It’s a wonderful achievement to make some of these games look so good.

Aside from the games there are also detailed interviews with important figures from the time such as Carol Shaw, Joe Decuir and Dennis Koble and profiles of important publishing houses such as Activision and Imagic. These pieces really help to give greater insight into the time period and the process of developing and publishing for the systems and further moves the book closer to being a sort of one stop shop for all the information you might need.

As you work through to the end of the 2600 games you’ll find that an interesting section dedicated to unreleased prototypes. Here, designers and programmers give information on the aim of the titles and offer insights into where they may have fitted into the market any why they never made. It’s a brief section but again shows the level of detail that has been included when compiling the book.

There’s also a great section focusing on the box art of the games which highlights some of the awesome designers and art work that has been produced for the system. It’s guaranteed to get anyone who remembers buying games purely based on the picture on the front drowning in a sea of nostalgia.

The 7800 section of the book is just as detailed with the superior graphical power showcased in just as careful and considered a way as its predecessor. It also helps to show there was much more to the 7800 than just Ninja Golf (which everyone seems to have discovered via the Evercade).  

Overall, this is another release from Bitmap Books that is absolutely packed with content. There is so much in here that it’ll take you a good while to be able to take everything in. It’s not just the information or screenshots that set the book apart though. Everything here is considered and thought about from placement of graphics to curation to overall page design and visual signification. If only all books would take this sort of care and attention when it came to their subject matter.

Click here for store link.

Atari Collection 2 (Evercade Review)

The second Atari collection continues on the legacy of the first by adding another 20 games from the 7800 and 2600. Five titles from the 7800 make the cut and fifteen from the 2600. The quality is a bit more balanced this time around and there are a number of interesting games to get into.

The 2600 selection remains inconsistent but there are a couple of absolute gems in there. Dark Chambers is an excellent adventure/gauntlet lite style game that has you moving from room to room clearing out monsters and making your way to the exit. The action is basic but satisfying and it is strangely compelling even after extended periods of play. The star of the show though is the technical masterpiece that is Solaris.

A massively ambitious space adventure the game has you plotting a location on a star chart before blasting off. Location depending, you could be thrown into a dog fight or skim across a planets service clearing it of enemies, rescuing missing crew or looking for resources. The game looks pretty good as well and the stylised graphics still hold up remarkably well in what has to be the best looking 2600 game of all time. It’s also excellent and will keep you busy for a long time.

These two highlights mixed with the solid showings of Millipede, Radar Lock, Sub Commander and Wizard give a much better impression of what the 2600 has to offer. The 7800 fairs much better this time around also.

While there’s nothing quite as unique as Ninja Golf here what we do have is two good arcade conversions in Asteroids and Centipede which are immensely enjoyable and more than enough to keep high score chasers happy. The excellent isometric shooter in Desert Falcon is included as well and is much better than the 2600 version featured on the first Atari collection. It’s a unique looking game that requires some thought to progress and offers up something different to get your head around. Planet Smashers is also solid but the less said about Basket Brawl the better.

Overall, the second Atari collection has more than enough to recommend it to Evercade owners. The combination of three very good 7800 games and a host of solid to excellent 2600 titles mean there is more than enough to discover and play. The fact Solaris is another gem that has been unearthed and made available to a new audience is further proof that the Evercade is a vital system for retro gaming fans. 

Game Ratings

Atari 7800

Asteroids                                             4/5

Basketbrawl                                        2/5

Centipede                                            4/5

Desert Falcon                                      4/5

Planet Smasher                                    3/5

Atari 2600

Air Sea Battle                                      2/5

Bowling                                               2/5

Dark Chambers                                    4/5

Demons to Diamonds                          2/5

Human Cannonball                              2/5

Haunted House                                     2/5

Millipede                                              3/5

Radar Lock                                           3/5

Real Sports Tennis                               2/5

Sub Commander                                  3/5

Sprint Master                                        3/5

Solaris                                                   5/5

Street Racer                                           2/5

Wizard                                                  3/5

Yars Revenge                                        2/5

Interplay Collection 1 (Evercade Review)

Interplay are a company whose golden age came during the 16 bit era where innovative, fun and iconic games seemed to be spilling out of the company one after the other. The first Evercade collection from the company brings two of their most well-known characters together along with four other games in a small but interesting group.

The filler on this cartridge comes in the form of Titan and Battel Chess. Titan is a potentially interesting but slow and clunky puzzle game where you have to deflect a ball around room removing blocks. It’s a bit like Arkanoid with the twist that the reflector can be moved anywhere and the only way that you can lose a ball is if it hits one of the dangerous spots around the room. Battle Chess is a really poor rendition of chess. The whole thing moves so slowly that it becomes tiresome after only a few moves. The sequences are nothing special either and most players will leave it to gather dust very quickly.

The inclusion of Incantation is interesting as it was one of the last games released on the SNES and as such commands a crazy price to get hold of a legitimate cartridge. Unfortunately, the game itself is really quite poor with it being a very basic and simplistic platformer. That said, it’s still nice to experience something so highly sought after and offering these types of hard to get titles is a good route for the Evercade to go down in the future.

The highlight of the package is unquestionably Earthworm Jim. The character is so iconic that it spawned its own cartoon series and toy line and still remains firmly imbedded in every retro gamers mind. Apart from the severe difficult the action platformer remains a joy to play and the innovation and humour still shine through to show just why so many people fell in love with it in the first place. This is the Mega Drive version as well which means all the levels are included (as the SNES version strangely lost one).

Jim is backed up by another fairly well known oddity from the 16 bit age in Boogerman. Another game that is a touch pricey, it has our hero jumping through a snot and toilet inspired world taking out enemies by flicking boogers, belching and breaking wind. If that all sound disgusting, don’t worry it’s meant to be. The game handles a little loose compared to Earthworm Jim but there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had and like it’s slightly more iconic stable mate it just does things that little bit differently from your everyday platformer.

The package is rounded out with Clayfighter which is a 2d Street Fighter clone that takes the unusual approach of having the look of a clay made stop motion animation. At its core the action is quite generic but the look and characters help to add some charm and replay value which will probably see you dip into it every now and again.

Overall, the first Interplay collection is an easy recommendation. Earthworm Jim is a classic, Boogerman is very enjoyable and Clayfighter is a nice distraction. The novelty of Incantation is welcome as well and in terms of value you can’t get much better than this for £14.99. Getting the games on their original system would set you back an awful lot more than that. In our view it’s worth it for Earthworm Jim alone with everything else as a glorious bonus. A great collection.

Game Ratings

Earthworm Jim 5/5

Boogerman 4/5

Clay Fighter 3/5

Incantation 2/5

Titan 3/5

Battle Chess 2/5

Atari Collection 1 (Evercade Review)

The first Atari collection for the Evercade contains twenty game split across the Atari 2600 and 7800 systems. These two systems aren’t ones that appear too often in terms of collections so it provides those interested in a slice of gaming history a different place to start. That said, whether having a collection 2600 arcade ports is something the gaming community wants or needs is something else entirely.

The 2600 games are a mixed bag in terms of quality and many of them simply don’t hold up well anymore. This isn’t a greatest hits collection by any means and many of these wouldn’t be troubling the tops spots on any Atari 2600 games list. Gravitar, Missile Command Centipede and Asteroids offer speedy, solid representations of their arcade counterparts but the two standout games are Adventure and Aquaventure.

Adventure does an excellent job of creating an engaging quest with minimal graphics and is rightly regarded as something of a land mark title. Aquaventure has you descending into the depths, avoiding enemies so that you can grab treasure and then trying to get back to the surface in one piece. It’s remarkably addictive and will have you returning long after the novelty of many of the other titles has worn off.

The standout among the 7800 games is Ninja Golf. A crazy mix between golf and a scrolling fighter, it has players running to where they have hit their ball while fighting off a wide variety of enemies such as ninja’s, snakes and sharks. The environment and enemies change depending on if you are in the water, rough or on the fairway and once the green is reached you face a showdown with a dragon from a first person perspective. It’s the sort of hidden gem we would like to see more of on the Evercade. Unfortunately the other 7800 games aren’t anything really to write home about.

Overall, the first Evercade Atari collection is a mixed bag. There are only three games here that we would whole heartedly recommend but they are real highlights. The cartridge is interesting and does showcase an often overlooked part of gaming history. The relatively low price does make it easier to recommend in order to get hold of Ninja Golf, but there’s no hiding the fact that there are far better examples of the 2600 and 7800 out there that could have been included. A cautious thumbs up for retro fans then.

 

Game Ratings:

7800                                                                     

Ninja Golf         5/5                                                  

Alien Brigade    2/5                                           

Food Fight         3/5                                                  

Motor Psycho    3/5                                            

2600                                                                              

Adventure         4/5   

Aquaventure     4/5

Asteroids          3/5

Double Dunk    1/5

Centipede         3/5

Crystal Castles 2/5

Canyon Bomber 2/5

Desert Falcon    3/5

Gravitar             3/5

Missile Command 3/5

Night Driver     1/5   

Steeple Chase   2/5

Swordquest      3/5

Tempest           2/5

Video Pinball   2/5

Yars Return      1/5                                  

Tower of Guns Review (PS4)

Tower of Guns came out on the PC some time ago and has generated a decent buzz. The project from Terrible Posture Games takes the now popular Rogue-like template and applies it to a first person shooter. It’s designed to give you a quick blast of fun when you have half an hour spare and it certainly gives you a few different things to play around with.

Though in the first person, it certainly does follow the randomness of many other Rogue-like titles. The enemies, level design and bosses are all randomly generated during each play though and you even get a little text story that assigns itself to you. Sometimes you are trying to save the president’s daughter; sometimes you are running from zombies (among other things). It’s a minor touch but something that adds a bit of humour.

As you carry out more runs in the tower you will unlock more weapons to use and more perks and bonuses that can be selected from the start screen. There’s a decent selection of both and they make enough difference to warrant some consideration before you go blasting.

During play you can pick up money to buy power ups and there is also a minor levelling system which increases the power of your gun by picking up blue dots and tokens. Aside from that you just point your gun at things and blast. While blasting things certainly is fun for a while it does quickly show up how little depth there is going on in the game and spending any real length of time with it is difficult.

The shooting itself feels a little light weight with enemies looking a bit flimsy and a lack of punch from a number of weapons. This is a shame as something offering up bite sized chunks of Serious Sam intensity could have been a real winner. The random elements also don’t seem to create that many different things. Within our first five or six runs we noticed a large amount of repeated rooms and when a game is as short as this it becomes a bit of an issue for replayability. 

It’s the lack of intensity that really holds the game back. You can be in a room with seemingly endless turrets and enemies charging at you but it still seems a bit dull. Maybe it’s the lack lustre sound but it just doesn’t thrill and that’s a bit of a problem for game based on quick, adrenaline-fueled lunch runs.

Though the game is designed to be blasted through in around twenty minutes there could still have been a bit more going on. You do get a few surprises ever five or so runs but after we finished the game once we didn’t feel that much like jumping in again. It’s certainly a nice and fun distraction but really little else.

Overall, Tower of Guns starts out showing some strong promise that it could be an excellent little blaster. However, the more time you spend with it the more the lack of depth and variety begins to become a problem. There is nothing bad or broken here but there is also little to keep players interested after their first handful of runs.

Overall 5/10

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition Review (Wii U)

After having success with Mutant Blobs Attack, Drinkbox Studios is back with this Mexican wrestling themed Metroid style platform adventure. Those who lack imagination may not see the obvious potential of this mix of styles but it helps to create a unique take on a genre dominated by both Samus and the Castlevania games.

Starting out as a Mexican villager named Juan, players are soon caught up in a strange tale of the supernatural when a long dead Mexican wrestler tricks the devil into turning into a chicken. He then returns to merge the real and super natural worlds together. Killed while trying to save the girl he loves, Juan is resurrected thanks to a magical luchadore mask and heads off to rescue the girl and save the world.

Graphically, the game does a good job of putting across the Mexican theme with a heavy Cinco de Mayo influence giving it its own unique and macabre atmosphere. The villages look straight out of a western and are coloured to look sun scorched and dirty in the way they do in all the best Western movies. There are also numerous references for gamers to find with our favourite being the 'missing' poster on one building featuring a picture of Manny from Grim Fandango. As you explore the world an enthusiastic mariachi band plays over the adventure, though it might have been nice if they had learned a few more songs. It all ends up creating a world that feels vibrant and new and is likely to draw players in quickly.

In classic Metroid style our hero starts out with only a handful of moves and then gradually acquires more as he progresses. These moves can then be used to access more areas and continue the quest. Most of these are given out by breaking statues placed around the world (which themselves reference Metroid). Most are standard things such as granting a double jump or the ability to break a certain colour block. The one which raised the biggest smile was when we were granted the power to turn into a chicken. In effect this grants the same power as the morph ball in Metroid, but that never allowed you to peck enemies to death.

You are also granted the ability to shift between the real and super natural realms at will. This becomes an intricate part to solving problems as pillars may exist in one realm but not the other. Things like water can also often turn to lava in one of the realms and the switching offers up some satisfyingly complex puzzles to negotiate.

Away from the platforming the other big focus of the game is the combat. Our hero being a wrestler means he has to grapple and punch his way through enemies. Some of the powers granted to reach new areas also act as new moves and a selection of throws and grapples can also be purchased with gold coins found around the world.

Moves can be strung together to create big combos and it feels tactile and satisfying throughout. Pummel on a monster enough and you can then press triangle to execute a throw which can be aimed at other enemies to continue the chain. As the game progresses enemies become covered in different colour shields which need specific moves used to break. It can be difficult to remember which move breaks what (and not the easiest if you are colour blind), but we rarely came up against anything that stopped us dead because of this.

The enemies may not be that tough but some of platforming certainly is. 

Even early on players not used to super quick button presses and timing may become stuck. Often you are required to link at least three special moves together to reach a platform and it only gets tougher. At one point we had to jump block through spikes, double jump, uppercut and then dash to reach a small platform with only tiny margins for error. We didn’t come up against anything insurmountable but more casual players may well struggle in places. 

Luckily there are plenty of save points so large areas don’t need to be repeated. The game asks players to pull off short bursts of skill and is very reminiscent of titles like indie darling Within a Deep Forest - in that once you have done the difficult bit it saves soon after to try and counteract frustration.

The Wii U version seems even more vibrant and colourful and the pad is surprisingly robust when it comes to those super-fast controls. You still have the onscreen co-op action as well off TV play as well. The difficulty may put some off but we would highly recommend you give it a go as it is undoubtedly one of the best games available on the Nintendo eshop. This is also a decent sized adventure clocking in at around five to six hours with further scope for finishing side quests and searching out hidden chests should you so wish. The Wii u version also comes with extra levels, all current DLC and extra moves for the playable characters.

In summary, Guacamelee! Comes highly recommended by us. It manages to take elements that should be well worn by now but turns them into something that seems fresh and new. It’s a great example of the type of creative flair being shown by indie developers and can proudly stand next to the Metroids and Castlevanias of this world.

8/10

Nidhogg Review (PC)

Nidhogg is a game that has been wowing the tournament crowds for a little while and now the rest of us get a chance to see what all the fuss is about. A one on one fencing the game, it is a pure test of skill against an opponent much in the same way Street Fighter or IK+ is. 

On the service Nidhogg is a simple game. You have to get your fencer to run across the level and reach your opponents end zone. Here you are eaten by the big worm Nidhogg thing and pronounced the winner. In order to do this you need to repeatedly best your enemy as you progress. Starting in the middle of the level you need to kill your opponent and run, after a short time your opponent will respawn and you fight again. If your opponent kills you they can then run the opposite direction in an attempt to regain ground.

There are four levels to fight on which offer different environmental challenges and obstacles to use to your advantage. The castle has rooms and pits, so you can try and force your opponent to jump a pit and land on your sword or stay in a room so they can’t jump over you. The mine has a low ceiling which nullifies the ability to throw the sword or jump over your opponent, The clouds have disappearing ledges and the wilderness has platforms and long grass which allow for more manoeuvring and hiding.

The only stage that doesn’t really work is the cloud stage as it’s just a bit much for your eyes to deal with; it’s also a bit dull compared to the others. The Wilderness reminded us of a 2D version of Bushido Blade which is certainly no bad thing at all.

The fencer has a range of moves and techniques at their disposal. They can roll, cartwheel and jump which can be used to try and sneak past opponents if they have their sword at the wrong height. You can also perform a dive kick which knocks opponents over and makes them drop their sword. When an opponent is on the ground death can be dealt via a swift neck break. 

With the sword in hand you can thrust at three different heights. This works in a rock, paper, scissors kind of way and also defends against things like dive kicks depending on where you have the sword set. If you wish you can also throw your sword, however, if it’s parried you then leave yourself open to almost certain death.

These basic moves form the crux of your sword fighting strategy and can be used in a number of different ways in order to best your opponent. If you are feeling super confident you can also disarm your opponent by moving your sword to the correct position at the exact right moment. Get this wrong though and you will find your own sword flying away.

Essentially, this is a two player game and anyone going into it expecting a lengthy single player component will be disappointed. Single player acts as an arcade mode where you continually square off against computer controlled opponents on the games four levels. It’s practice for multiplayer and while a nice distraction it will only last you half an hour or so.

The game uses a bright, 8-bit styled, colour palette to build its world. The colour scheme is garish but somehow seems to work. As a fencer is slain they explode into coloured dots and quickly begin to cover the arena in pixelated blood. It helps to highlight where the choke points are in each level as well as provide some visual flair.

There’s no denying that Nidhogg is an excellent two player experience. It provides the same sort of adrenaline rush as all the best one on one fighting games and the mechanics work really well. However, we can’t help but feel that more could have been done here. There is certainly scope for a roaring Prince of Persia or Defender of the Crown style single player adventure. Even something like taking the Blood Valley (it’s an old, bad, 8 bit game), template and adding the superior gameplay of Nidhogg could work. Another option would be to have more stages. Having just four levels does make the package feel a little sparse. You could have had stages requiring some basic climbing or less footholds etc. 

Anyone who plays the game is going to have a great time and this is some of the best multiplayer action around at the minute. However, it could have been much more fleshed out in both single and multiplayer. The mechanics are great; we just hope there’s some further development of the other elements in the future as it could lead to something really special.

Overall 7/10

BIT.TRIP Presents Runner 2: Legend of Rhythm Alien Review (PS Vita)

After his exploits in the previous BIT.TRIP games Commander Video is back to running in everyone’s favourite retro themed series. To try and describe the madness of the plot is somewhat pointless but we can say it’s something to do with our hero crashing his spaceship in a strange place and then deciding to run a lot.

Unlike previous entries into the BIT.TRIP series, Runner 2 is no longer 8 bit styled in terms of how it looks. The stages are now rendered in a glorious array of crystal clear colours and everything is also much bigger on screen. There are still retro looking levels to be unlocked but the majority of the time you will be screaming along at breakneck speed in a higher resolution friendly landscape.

Gameplay is based on a fairly simple concept. You start at one end of the course and run continuously to the other. Players have no control over Commander Video’s running and he continues on until you reach the end of the stage or crash into something.

As you run along different types of obstacles will appear which need to be negotiated. This starts out with players simply needing to jump over things but on an almost level by level basis the obstacle count increases and thus, so do the moves needed to get past them.  Soon you’ll be locked in a rhythm of jumping, sliding, kicking, spinning and dancing in order to reach the end of each course.

As well as avoiding obstacles you also need to pick up the gold bars that are in each course. There are normally between thirty to sixty gold bars in each level and collecting them all triggers the chance to get bonus points by Commander Video being fired, head first, into a target at the end of the course. If you think the course is too easy you can also jump over the mid-point checkpoint to put the game into challenge mode for even more points. Still not enough? Then you can spend your fleeting free moments making our hero dance to gain even more points. The score attack aspect of Runner 2 is here to stay for a very long time.

Once you master that even more moves are introduced and everything keeps getting more hectic to the point it all begins to blur into a state you aren’t quite sure the human brain should be able to deal with. It’s at moments like this that you realise where the ‘rhythm’ part of the title comes from. Perhaps deceptively, Runner 2 is not really in the same category as endless runners such as Canabalt. It should really be grouped with games like Frequency, Parappa the Rappa and is perhaps most similar to Vib-Ribbon.

Courses are also deceptively packed with things to find and navigate. Many of them have multiple routes with some leading to hidden objects such as new costumes, while others will take you to a different exit. This in turn will lead you to hidden levels or the much sought after ‘Key Vault’. Conquering the Key Vault will then open up even more routes and collectables in the courses found in that world. 

An array of map icons is present for each course to help keep track of your progress with the ultimate goal to have each level completed, with all collectables found, the bonus bull’s eye hit at the end of the course and the mid-point checkpoint jumped so the game goes into challenge mode. Levels get hectic very early on so it’s a relief to find that each course gives you infinite lives to get through it. When you hit something you will move back to the last checkpoint and lose any points or objects you have acquired. The unlockable retro levels remain hardcore and give you three lives with which to navigate them.

The game can still be maddeningly frustrating at times as once you lose your rhythm in a level it can be near impossible to get back. You will persevere though as everything is fair and each collision results in a lack of skill from the player or in the fact you haven’t reacted to something quickly enough. Learning each level does come into play but we rarely came up against the sort of ‘memory test’ gaming with objects you had no way of avoiding first time that games like Donkey Kong Country used to employ. 

Overall, it’s easy to recommend Runner 2 on any system. On the Vita it provides a perfect slice of pick up and play action (even if it can get a little confusing at times). The charm and fun present are not easily found elsewhere and it’s great to see something which sets itself out as a pure gaming experience without the pretentious overtures that many bigger budget games now have. It’s both something old and something new and you should stop reading now and go and buy it.

8/10

Two weeks in Animal Crossing

Every now and then we will have a round up of what is going on in the village of Retro101. It won't be that often so if you aren't a fan of the charming Nintendo game then it'll be easy to ignore. It'll also be done in pictures for the most part. So then, let's get you up to date with the events of the first few weeks.

The Summer Solstice arrived, but we had no friends around to share this standee with :(

We caught our first shark!

The captain revealed a little too much information.

The swindling 'art' dealer arrived.

The camp site was opened and there was much rejoicing.

Thanks to a friend we made a killing on Turnips.

We even got a badge to celebrate.

The camel turned up and promply annoyed Tom Nook.

And finally. The fortune teller told us our fortune lay around the 'standard top'