Rumble Racing | PlayStation 2 Tuesdays #14

Rumble Racing is the sequel to a year 2000 PS1 game called NASCAR Rumble which is quite highly regarded by those who played it whilst growing up.  Whilst NASCAR Rumble still had some vague resemblance to the populular US motorsport that inspired it with cars that are covered in liveries that are similar to their real world counterparts, Rumble Racing distances itself even further from everything NASCAR.  It's really just the basic car designs that have anything in common with the sport by this point.  So there's not much there for die hard NASCAR fans, but for those of us who happen to enjoy a fun arcade racer now and again, Rumble Racing actually has quite a bit to offer, with a few reservations.

Firstly, this being a fairly early release in the life of the PS2, the graphics are not super detailed.  The game doesn't look ugly by any means, and it moves at a nice fast pace which is the important thing - but you can tell that the developers hadn't tapped in to the full potential of the console by this point. There are 14 tracks in the game and all of them are nicely designed, with their own unique styles.  There's quite a bit of variety from tracks set in the countryside, on the docks or in special arenas that have ramps all over the place for you to flip off of.  When you do manage to grab some big air, you can hold down the R2 button and press the left stick in a direction to flip your car, and if you successfully land it safely on all four wheels you get a temporary speed boost.  This mechanic reminds me of SSX, and Rumble Racing could quite easily have been part of the EA Sports Big brand, though it wasn't part of that series for whatever reason.

The range of power ups is actually quite good, with the stand out highlight being a twister that lays waste to anything before it.  You have to be doing really badly to get this though - think of it as this games equivalant to something like the Bullet Bill in recent Mario Kart games - the item that quickly lets you get back into the fray after you've been bumming around in last place for a while.  Some of the other power ups that I like include one that makes the front of your car glow and allows you to plow into the other racers, sending their cars careening through the air, and some more standard things like a bomb, oil slicks and acid that you can shoot in front of you.  It's a shame that you can't shoot behind you as well like in most decent kart racers.  Instead your only defensive options are a pulse that fires out in a circle from your car (and can actually help your opposition if you shoot it into them from behind, thus giving them a boost), and a temporary shield. One of the power ups seems a bit useless to me though - it just fires out a bunch of rubble that seldom hits anybody and doesn't seem to slow the other cars down if they drive into it.  Perhaps I'm just using it incorrectly.

Sound wise, Rumble Racing features an announcer that can both be amusing at times and downright annoying at others.  He reminds me of Gregg Proops, and at first I thought it was indeed him, but apparently the guy who actually does the voice is Jess Harnell who is perhaps most well known for the US TV show America's Funniest Home Videos (similar to the UK's You've Been Framed).  He has also done some other well known voices such as Wakko in the fantastic Animaniacs cartoon from the 90's, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon in some of their games, and the Transformer Ironhide in the Michael Bay films.  There is actually quite a decent variety of lines for him to say in Rumble Racing, so you don't hear them repeat too much.  Some of them are actually track specific too.  That being said, some of his one liners are a tad obnoxious, and when you're doing badly at the game they only serve to piss you off.

Finally, we come to the actual gameplay.  For the most part, Rumble Racing is a slick and enjoyable arcade racer.  It's at its best when played in multiplayer - the single player mode however has some issues with its structure.  Firstly, the game only doles out one new track per cup, with the other two tracks being ones that you've already seen before.  This makes progession a little bit repetitive - it would have been better to have had less cups overall if you ask me and have had each of them contain unique tracks, just like Mario Kart (yes, that game again!).  To make matters worse, the game insists that you come in first place before allowing you to move on to the next cup.  As winning is down to a combination of skill and luck, this can prove quite annoying and the last thing you will want to do sometimes after coming second by a point or two is to play the same cup over again.  Luckily though all of the passwords needed to unlock the other cups and cars can be easily found on sites like GameFAQ's - so I would advise you to just do what I did and unlock everything up front so that you can just enjoy the different tracks and not have to beat your head against the wall trying to get anywhere with it.

So then, overall I can recommend that you pick up Rumble Racing, especially if you have someone else who will play it with you. The game can be found for around £5 on sites like Amazon and eBay, and who knows you might find a copy for even less than that if you're lucky enough to have a retro games shop or car boot sale near where you live! That's all for today - tune in again next week for another episode of PS2 Tuesdays!

Shadow of the Colossus | PlayStation 2 Tuesdays #13

Sorry for the belated post - this should have gone up last Tuesday.  As a result you will be getting a double dose this week!

Shadow of the Colossus is the follow up to Ico, a much beloved action adventure title that was first released in Europe in 2002, and then reprinted in 2006 due to demand from those who had heard of the game but not had a chance to pick it up.  I bought Ico the first time around, and I really tried to like it, but it just didn't grab me.  There was something about the gameplay that I just found annoying.  Since then I have tried again several times yet failed to finish the game each time - with the most recent attempt being a few months ago.  I had originally intended that Ico would be the first episode of PS2 Tuesdays season 2, but after putting the controller down in frustration once again, I finally made peace with the fact that I would never beat it, and I should just focus on enjoying the infitely more enjoyable Colossus.

I also bought Shadow of the Colossus on the day of its release in 2006, and this time fell in love with the game almost immediately.  I had already been smitted by the concept of battling one humungous boss creature after another after reading an article in Edge, when the game was still known as Wanda and the Colossus, and after that I followed the project with great interest until the game finally became available.  I can still vividly remember setting out from the temple for the very first time, using my sword to reveal the location of the beast, and then climbing a small cliff where the creature was to be found.  Battling this behemoth was quite clumsy to begin with, as I had to get to grips with switching between my bow and my sword, and the rather unorthodox grip mechanic.

Each of the 16 colossi that your main character has to slay have rather convenient tufts of hair and other bony ridges that you can hang onto or lodge yourself in while taking a quick breather.  It's up to you to navigate their bodies and locate a weak spot, which is denoted by a glowing runic symbol if you have your magic sword in your hand.  Some of the colossi have multiple weak spots, others just have one (usually on their forehead) and battles usually comprise of two stages, at least for me.  The first is simply working out how to get onto the boss - a fairly simple process for the first few battles but a increasingly complex procedure when your adversaries can fly, swim or are covered in tough armour plating.  A few violent stabs with your sword will wittle down their health bar, whereupon the weak spot either fades away and you must find another one, or you have slain the monster.

But just who is the real monster of the game?  These lumbering creatures that your bringing down don't seem to be doing anybody any harm until you come along at the behest of some disambodied voice.  It is clear that you are killing in the name of love, as the opening cut scene shows your character on his horse with the lifeless body of a girl draped across it.  Whether this is your lover or your sister isn't made clear.  There is a legend that this part of the world holds the secret to bring the deceased back to life, and the gentle giants that populate the landscape must pay the ultimate price.  The dark tentacles that writhe out of their fallen forms and shoot into your chest each time you bring one down suggest that you may also pay a steep price, however.

Shadow of the Colossus features an amazing soundtrack, and visuals that still look great to this day.  The original PS2 version did have quite noticeable slowdown at times, something which the HD rerelease has addressed, making it the utlimate version of the game. Team Ico have teased us for years with trailers and screen shots for The Last Guardian, the planned third part of the "Ico trilogy", yet it still hasn't been released, and Sony are still adamant that it hasn't been cancelled.  Let's hope it finally makes its way onto the PS4 in the near future, as what has been shown off looks fantastic!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review

For the last few years, I was of the opinion that the best game of the last generation was Red Dead Redemption.  It is most definitely a masterpiece and thoroughly deserving of the 10 of 10 score I gave it.  However, when I tried to go back and replay it a second time last year, I just wasn't that into it.  I can't really put my finger on why - there are just some experiences where it's hard to feel the magic when you've experienced it all before, I guess.

The same can't be said of Skyrim, however.  A few months ago I decided to replay the whole game again from the beginning, with all the DLC that was released incorporated into my new adventure from the very start.  Because of the sheer scope of the game, and because you can choose your race, there is a fair amount of replayability to the game - admittedly by the time you've been playing for around 100 hours your character will probably be much the same as anyone else’s, because by then you will have had to develop most of the skill trees in order to keep levelling up - but for a long time the experience will still feel your own.

I may be pretty late with this review, but I still felt it was worth the time to write it, as this is by far my favourite game from the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii generation.  The Mass Effect and Dragon Age series could have both been contenders, but unfortunately both had sequels that ended in a slightly disappointing manner.  Now, there are some of you out there that will probably not be impressed that the platform I played Skyrim on is the Xbox 360, as PC owners not only get better graphics, faster loading times and a more stable base game experience overall, but they also have access to hour upon hour of extra content created by extremely talented mod creators.  It is indeed true that the PC version is the definitive Skyrim experience, but the console version is still an amazing achievement it its own right.  Am I jealous of the fact that my hideously slow PC can't run the game? Yes, I am somewhat.  I have still enjoyed the Xbox version immensely though.

Just a quick note - I will be reviewing the DLC for the game separately, with short opinions on by Hearthfire and Dawnguard coming soon.  I am taking a little break from Skyrim to enjoy Watch Dogs, Mario Kart 8 and some other titles for a little while, so my review for the Dragonborn DLC will be along a little later.  Now, time to end this somewhat lengthy into, and break down what I think of the game.

Graphics: 9 out of 10

Skyrim on the Xbox 360 is for the most part, a really beautiful game.  Standing on the balcony of my homestead, and looking out on the valley below as the sun rises slowly above the trees, is quite a magical experience.  Likewise, trudging through the northern tundra with a fierce blizzard obscuring my view actually gives me chills in real life, even on a warm spring day.

Dungeons are heavy with atmosphere, with some great lighting effects and some really well designed creatures to slay.  The dragons are of course a big feature of the game, and are quite the sight to behold.  They may start to lose their wonder after you've slain several dozen of them, but when you see their shadow dart across the night sky and hear their roar reverberate around the mountains, you can't help but be impressed.

The main reason I knocked the game down a single point in this category is because at certain points, there's no doubt that the sheer size and scope of the game is pushing the Xbox 360 hardware to its absolute limit.  Frame rates can get a little dodgy outside, and the game has frozen up on me completely man times.  Load times also become noticeably longer with older characters, as the game has a lot more data and variables it needs to keep track of.  That the game still keeps running as well as it does though is overall extremely impressive, and I was able to overlook these small niggles.

Sound and Music: 10 out of 10

The Skyrim soundtrack composed by Jeremy Soule is absolutely amazing.  From big bombastic pieces like main theme of the game, to quieter and relaxing pieces like Kyne's Piece or Far Horizons, every single track is a thing of beauty.

In one of my recent reviews for Geometry Wars Galaxies on the Wii, I commented how great sound design in a game is a thing to be cherished, and Skyrim is a perfect example of just how much it adds to the overall experience, especially if you have a surround sound system.  From the immensely satisfying sound that a well-placed arrow makes as it thunks into a bandits head, to the sounds that play when you read a spell book or level up, Skyrim is a true exemplar in this regard.  The sound mix is also very well separated, so with a 5.1 set up you will be able to tell in which direction enemies are attacking from.

Finally there is the voice work.  There are a bunch of celebrity voices once again in this Bethesda release, and they all do a great job of reading their lines.  It's good that for the most part Nords speak with a strong Scandinavian accent, and they even got the legendary Max von Sydow to play the part of Esbern - quite a key character in the main plot line.  My only minor gripe would be that certain actors are a touch over used.  For example, while I am a fan of Claudia Christian due to the sterling work that she put into one of my favourite TV shows, Babylon 5, the fact that her voice pops up at least a dozen times does damage the sense of immersion I have just a tad.

This isn't How To Train Your Dragon - I don't think he's going to be your friend.

Game Mechanics: 9 out of 10

There are some that have called the real time combat of the Elder Scrolls series a little basic and clumsy, however I really like it.  Stealthily creeping through a dungeon with a bow and arrows and killing off enemies before they even know I'm there is especially satisfying, though perhaps a bit overpowered when combined with certain perks from the Stealth and Archery skill tree. I found myself depending on archery for most of the game, at least until I maxed it out at skill level 100 and was forced to start using other skills to level.  Though Bethesda did add the option for you to make a skill "legendary" and reset it to 15, doing this at level 30+ with your main combat skill is not a great idea as you will struggle to give your enemies a "Chinese Burn" let alone kill them!

The way you level is overall quite clever as basically the more you use a given skill the more it improves, and then once you've levelled individual skills a certain number of times you can increase your overall character level, choose whether to give Mana, Health or Stamina a permanent boost, and spend a skill point on a perk from one of the various skill trees.  Sticking with my Archery example, the corresponding skill tree includes perks that slow down time when you draw your bow, or do 3X the amount of base damage if the enemy hasn't detected you.  So you can see how this approach can be incredibly powerful (not to mention fun!).

The levelling is open to abuse for those willing to spend a bit of time making nails over and over again (to give a Blacksmithing example), though those willing to play the game properly and not resort to exploits will probably have a more enjoyable and immersive experience overall in the long run.

Value and Replayability: 10 out of 10

The sheer size and scope of Skyrim is quite frankly ludicrous, even in its most basic, unexpanded form.  You can (and I have) quite easily lose yourself in countless adventures for well over 100 hours.  Throwing the official DLC that's been released (and you might as well now that the Legendary Edition is available) and that number increases by another 30 hours or so (to give a conservative estimate).  If you're playing on a PC as I mentioned before, you can then delve into the world of fan created mods which includes such brilliant offerings Moonpath to Elseweyr and Falskaar - the latter of which features all new music composed just for the mod.  It's extremely impressive stuff.

Back to the 360 version though. Despite the lack of mods I was still more than satisfied with the amount of game on offer, and as I mentioned in the intro have even needed to take a little break before delving back into the Dragonborn DLC.  Not many people are likely to replay such a huge and time consuming game as this, but I did.  My first character was an Argonian called Deepdelver, and then I dabbled for a dozen or so hours with a Khajhit thief called Sta'bhim, before replaying the entire game and all the side stories with a Wood Elf called Dwyleth.  That adds up to over 200 hours in total, and I'm still going. When you consider that some games feature campaigns that last about 10 hours, and cost £55, that's amazing value for money.

Overall: 10 out of 10

There's no doubt that those of you who just don't like RPG's will not agree with me here but for me, there was no other game that came close to beating Skyrim in the last generation.  Those who do love their RPG's, particular action based ones, will be in absolute heaven for a long long time.  Those who aren't into this sort of experience still have many other worthy titles to enjoy.  Now, the only thing that could really beat Skyrim in my mind would be a new Fallout game on the next generation platforms, running on an enhanced Skyrim engine.  Sadly, another E3 has passed and we've still not had an official announcement regarding Fallout 4.  Hopefully it will come soon.  In the meantime, I will be spending more time in Skyrim as soon as I'm done in Chicago, the Mushroom Kingdom and Gotham!

My new Wii playlist

I just wanted to write a very quick post to let blog readers who aren't subscribed to my YouTube channel know about the new playlist I created for Wii coverage.  So far I have made video versions of the three Wii Hidden Gems articles that I've written, but soon I will be adding new ones and finally getting around to making some for Wii Essentials as well.

I've just recently picked up a whole bunch of Wii games - here's the complete list: Another Code R, Back to the Future: The Game, Batallion Wars 2, Cursed Mountain, Dewy's Adventure, Eledees, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, Heatseeker, Mushroom Men, Nights: Journey Into Dreams, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Punch Out!  You can expect reviews of some of these to start appearing fairly soon!  As well as retail games, I would also like to start reviewing eShop and Virtual Console titles as well, for both the original Wii and the Wii U.

Xyanide Resurrection | PlayStation 2 Tuesdays #12

Here we are with the final episode in the current run of PS2 Tuesdays.  I will be taking a break from this series for a little while - probably a month or two.  They will be coming back though, and in the meantime I have plenty more ideas for content on the channel.

This time I'm taking a look at a shoot em up by the name of Xyanide Resurrection. About a month ago, I traded in my copy of Skylanders along with the portal and all the figures I had collected, which was worth £33 in store credit.  Instead of blowing the whole lot on one new game, I decided to buy PS2 and PSP games with it instead.  While I was browsing their selection, I spotted this game.  I was a bit unsure of the quality, but it was only £2, so I decided to take the risk.  I'm quite satisfied with my purchase, with a few minor reservations.

Xyanide Ressurection has a lot of cool things going for it - the graphics are decent, with the background comprising of high quality video streaming from the disc, givig you the illusion of travelling down a tunnel, through an asteroid belt, or flying over a city for example.  It reminds me of games that used a similar technique when CD video was in fashion - stuff like Creature Shock or Sewer Shark.  My only real gripe about the graphics is the fact that every level uses the same orange colour scheme, which can get a bit monotonous after a while.  It can also be a little difficult to see enemy ships and bullets against the background, though thankfully the game does give you a warning when a missile is incoming.

The missiles can still be quite hard to avoid though, as you have to worry about enemies coming from all sides of the level, and spin around to face the threat.  Weapons wise, you start of with a rather puny cannon, a lock on attack, and a small supply of bombs.  By picking up "Xyanide" from downed enemies, you earn currency to spend in the shop between missions.  They sell various upgrades such as a magnet that makes it easier to draw in Xyanide, a shield that recharges after a while (incredibly useful) and improved weaponry.  Another cool thing is that between each level you get to choose which of two branching paths to go down, ala Outrun or Darius.  Taking the upper route is easier, and the lower route harder.

The game is quite pretty, just a little too orange.

The levels play out against some pumping techno tracks which helps to increase the excitement, but like the backgrounds does get a little repetitive by the end of a level.  As for difficulty, I was playing on the lowest setting to try and get used to the game, and I still found things rather tough.  As I was trying in vain to work out how to harm the boss of level 3-1, the game crashed on me. The other cool thing about the game that I must mention before I wrap things up are the motion comics.  These are very well done, and help set up the back story of the game.  It's a bit of a strange tale about a witch called Aguira, and a pilot who breaks the rules a few too many times and ends up getting punished.

All things considered, if you see a copy of this game nice and cheap like I did, I would say that it is worth adding to your PS2 collection.  It's not the greatest game out there, but it's decent enough. Taking a look at Amazon and eBay, it can easily be found for less than £5.  It would appear that there was also a PSP version released, which is going for roughly the same price. OK then, that's it for this season, stay tuned for the new, improved season 2 in a few months time!

Wacky Races | PlayStation 2 Tuesdays #11

I have long been a fan of the kart racing genre, ever since the very first game in the Mario Kart series was released on the SNES and I spent many hours playing against friends and my brother in both the Grand Prix and battle modes. There have been many games since then that have all attempted their own variations on the formula, and the Mario Kart series has remained far ahead of the competition in my opinion. A couple of games have come close to beating it over the years - namely Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong Racing, and then there are dozens of mid tier kart racers that are decent enough but not strong enough to be included in the A list.

Wacky Races starring Dastardly and Muttley is one such game, which was originally released for the Dreamcast before being ported over to the PS2. I used to love the old cartoon that the game is based on, and the developers have done a great job of converting the 2D cartoon into a cel shaded 3D world. All of the old favourite characters such as the Ant Hill Mob, Penelope Pitstop, the Slag Brothers and more are all present and correct, though some like Professor Pat Pending and Dick Dastardly himself have to be unlocked by progressing through the Adventure mode.

Speaking of which, the adventure mode is basically a copy of the one found in Diddy Kong Racing, with individual races awarding you a star for winning them, and more advanced racers locked away until you earn a certain number of stars. After a while boss challenges will also open up - beating the first one in a world will unlock another attack for your character to choose from, and then beating the second will open up that character. After all the individual races is an environment are dealt with, you can then choose the Wacky Cup Challenge - which is a five race tournament. Beating that then unlocks the Golden Muttley Challenge, where you have to win all the individual races and must collect the hidden golden muttleys around each track while you do so. Beating those then allows you to take part in the Battle Arena Challenge, which is similar to the battle mode found in the Mario Kart games - drive around for a fixed amount of time, hit your opponents with weapons, earn points, win. Aside from all those modes there are also time trials for you to beat.

Brrr, this looks rather chilly!

Unlike other games in the genre, there isn't a fixed range of items for all characters to use - instead each character has their own unique items. You start with three unlocked, and earn more by progressing through adventure mode. The items themselves fit into the usual types: ones that you can shoot your opponents with, speed boosts, shields and the like. As for the different tracks you'll be tearing around, there are four different environments in the game: a wild west style area, a snowy mountain, a big city and a forest. Each of these have five tracks within, which to a pretty good job of distinguishing themselves from each other. A few of the tracks can be quite annoying to beat, especially when you're still getting used to the layout.

I'm not sure whether the guy narrating the game is the same one who used to voice the Wacky Races cartoon many years ago, but it sounds remarkably close. In fact, the game has nailed the style of the cartoon all around, and is a pretty fun game all around. It even features a multiplayer mode that supports four players, though I can't really comment on how good this is as I have not had the chance to try it, sadly. In terms of cost, Wacky Races will likely set you back less than £5. At that price it's worth a look, though it's not the best kart racer money can buy by any means!

Kya: Dark Lineage & Kao the Kangeroo: Round 2 | PlayStation 2 Tuedays #7

 

Today, we’re going to look at not one, but two platformers that really took me by surprise.  I recently had some store credit for my local pre owned game and movie shop, and was struggling to find games that I wanted to make up the full amount.   There were a few games that I weren’t too sure about, but I decided to take a bit of risk and pick them up – they were only £2 each, after all.  Much to my surprise, both of them turned out to be really well put together, and I ended up playing each of them for way longer than I expected to when I just chucked them in for a quick go.  Please note that I haven’t yet finished either of these games, but the quality of what I have seen is really high, so I am fairly confident in recommending both titles especially as neither of them will break the bank.

First up, we have Kya: Dark Lineage, which was published by Atari and developed by Eden Studios in.  Eden Studios are more well known by gamers for their driving games, such as the V-Rally series and Test Drive Unlimited, but they certainly have proven with Kya that they know what they are doing when it comes to putting together a polished platformer.  The game begins with a CGI scene set in our world, where Kya hears a creepy noise in her house at night and goes to investigate.  She discovers that her half brother Frank has found a secret room that Kya’s long absent father had blocked off.  After picking up a strange amulet, Frank is sent through a portal to another world and, fearing for his safety, Kya dives in after him.

After a rather rough landing she wakes up to see a group of furry creatures called Nativs looking down at her.  Before she has long to take stock of her situation however, she is forced to run for her life as the group comes under attack from the evil Wolfun.  After a very extensive tutorial sequence the group eventually arrive to the safety of the village, when you are then told how to fight and given your first proper mission in this new world.  Kya: Dark Lineage impresses from a technical standpoint right away – the graphics rival the likes of Jak and Daxter in terms of their detail, and loading times are cleverly obscured to the point where you barely notice them.

The game frequently switches from one style of gameplay to another, such as floating on a stream of air, riding a magic board down a slope, or beating Wolfun into submission.   Not too far into the game, you are informed that these Wolfun are actually Nativs  in disguise.  Once they have been knocked out, you can use your power to revert them to their original form.  As you save more and more Nativs throughout the levels, new shops will be built back in the hub village.  The items sold there will usually grant Kya some new ability which she will need to learn in order to advance any further.  The currency for these shops comes in the form of Nuties, which are dropped by enemies and also found in crates that can be destroyed.

The other game I would like to cover is Kao the Kangeroo: Round 2.  I was vaguely aware of this title before buying it but had always dismissed it as just another generic platform game.  However, just like Kya I discovered a bit of a hidden gem.  Development duties this time belong to a Polish company called Tate Interactive,  and the game was published by JoWood Interactive in Europe.  I have not played the first game in the series that was available for the Dreamcast, but it would appear that this game picks up some time after the end of the first one, with Kao incarcerated in a cage by a dastardly hunter.  After being broken out by his parrot friend, you are told that the hunter as also captured many other animals, and from there in becomes your mission to set them free.  Kao, armed with his trusty boxing gloves, a deadly spinning tail attack and other items like boomerangs, sets off through several worlds with 4 or 5 missions within them, in order to help his friends.

I was really surprised with just how well this game is made.  The controls are really solid and responsive (which is of vital importance in a platformer), the graphics are excellent, and a nice variety of things for you to do just in the first world.  It is very much a collect-a-thon style platformer in the style that Rare made for the Nintendo 64, though thankfully it doesn't go overboard with it like Donkey Kong 64.  Instead your limited to three things you have to hunt down and pick up in each level: stars, which are typically dished out for defeating enemies in combat, coins, which are strewn everywhere throughout a level as well as found in breakable post and crates, and purple gems with a usually a bit more tucked away than the coins, and unlock extra mini games in the hub world.

Like I said at the beginning, I was lucky enough to find both of these games for £2, though they normally go for a bit more than that.  Should you happen to spot either of these games in your local game shop or perhaps at a car boot sale or flea market, I would certainly consider giving them a go if you enjoy a good 3D platformer now and again.

Announcing the PSP Vault series on RMGB TV

I have just launched a new video series on my YouTube channels which will showcase many different games for Sony's fantastic handheld, the PSP.  Now is an ideal time to start collecting PSP games as they are both plentiful and in most cases, cheap.

There will be two versions of each video - an overview with a voiceover by myself that will be no longer than 10 minutes in length on RMGB TV 1, and then a "XL Edition" that will be up an hour long, without any commentary.  This is in case you want to see more of a game and hear what it sounds like.

You can find the playlists for each of the different versions below. I will try and upload a new video every Friday or Saturday, time permitting. Enjoy!

Regular Edition:

XL Edition:

PS2 Tuesdays | New Videos Online | New Articles Coming Soon

I have put together video versions of my first three PlayStation 2 Tuesdays articles from last year.  Please make sure you check out the playlist below.  Next week I will be posting an all new article with a companion video, so be sure to come back then!

More Let's Plays - The Last Story and Beyond: Two Souls

I've recently launched two more Let's Plays on my RMGB TV 2 YouTube Channel, for The Last Story and Beyond: Two Souls respectively.  I've decided that two concurrent series is enough, as the lengthy upload process limits how much I can produce anyway.  Beyond: Two Souls shouldn't be all that long - maybe somewhere in the region of 20 episodes total.  The Last Story may go on for quite a lot longer, such is the nature of RPG's.  After one of these has run their course, I will then start a new one and tell you all about it here.  My intention is to include PlayStation 1 and 2 titles eventually, but I have to buy a special PS2 to HDMI cable first before I can do this.  You can find the playlists below.

Commodore Classics #1: Dragon Breed

Welcome to the very first entry in a brand new series of articles.  I decided that the blog having retro right there in the title in all, could do with a greater amount of genuine retro content.  The Commodore 64 is probably my most favourite gaming platform of all time (with the SNES and Game Boy close behind) and I would spend many an hour in my childhood playing various games on my trusting machine.  There are going to be a few different types of article within this series – some will be favourite games of mine that I am extremely familiar with, some will be taking a look at games that I never played back in the day, and some will be having a nostalgic look at the contents of classic Zzap and Commodore Force cover tapes.  I would eagerly await the arrival of each new issue of these magazines, and the first thing I would do when they arrived is remove the cover tape and load it up.  These tapes would often include complete games or interesting utilities, often just as good or better than anything I had paid money for!

So as you can see from the title, the focus of this first edition of Commodore Classics is Dragon Breed, a horizontal shoot ‘em up that was released in arcades in 1989 and then ported to the home computers.  It was originally conceived by Irem, the company most people know for the excellent R-Type series.  Their knowledge of the side scrolling shooter genre helped them make Dragon Breed a really fun game, and the twist of you controlling a little man riding a dragon was genius.  The dragon itself was really large on the screen, and the tail could be used both defensively to protect the vulnerable rider and offensively to destroy enemies and gun emplacements.  In the transition from coin-op to C64, a few corners have had to be cut obviously, but overall it remains very faithful to the original game.  One thing that is quite obvious when you first see the C64 version moving is the sprite flicker on the dragons tail.  It is a little distracting to say the least, but it is unfortunately unavoidable in order to allow that many sprites to be on the screen at the same time.

Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about the conversion though is the soundtrack.  Martin Walker has done an amazing job of taking the tunes from the arcade cabinet and adapting them into SID equivalents.  Because of the unique sound of the C64’s custom chip, the music is actually an improvement in my opinion.  But enough of the graphics and the sound, how does the game play?  I am pleased to say that despite being slightly easier than the original version aside from a lack of continues, it plays very closely indeed.  All of the stages are intact, and their various set pieces including giant dragon dreadnoughts are represented.  The various power ups in Dragon Breed – red for a flame attack, orange for curling into a defensive position, silver for homing rockets, and blue for lightning – are all present and correct.  The most useful of these by far is the orange one though, as it can be used effectively in every situation.

Dragon Breed was a whopping £9.99 back when it was published by Activision, and the child version of myself took quite a risk with his pocket money, because he bought it solely because it looked cool, and he recognised the Irem name.  Luckily the risk paid off and Dragon Breed became one of those games I would return to time and time again.  I eventually became familiar enough and skilled enough to be able to complete it, though those skills have unfortunately deteriorated over the years because I only managed to get to stage 3 whilst replaying it for the purposes of this article.  The companion video above contains footage of those first three stages.  The next edition of Commodore Classics will be a random selection of three games that are completely new to me, chosen at random.  Catch you next time!

You can download the Dragon Breed game files here, or the VICE C64 emulator here.

Commodore Classics: Coming Soon on the RMGB TV Youtube Channel!

RMGB TV - Nintendo Night

Keep checking this YouTube playlist regularly for gameplay videos of NES, SNES, N64 and Wii titles (including WiiWare and Virtual Console).

RMGB TV - The RPG Show Episode 1 - Arc the Lad Collection

Here is the first proper episode of RMGB TV's RPG Show, all about Arc the Lad Collection from Working Designs.

RMGB TV Episode 0: Test Footage and Introduction

Here is the very first episode of RMGB TV, Episode 0, or the pilot if you like. The quality of the video leaves a lot to be desired, I will try and invest in some decent equipment later on, and also write some notes so that I'm not making it up as I go along (resulting in long pauses as I freeze up). Not sure when I'll pluck up the courage to do another one, I may try and hone my skills a bit first.