Resident Evil 4 review

Now on BBC2, another episode of Can't Cook, Dead Cook with your host, Zom B. Chef:

"Greetings. Today I'm going to show you show to cook up some delicious Resident Evil 4. You will need, some salt-cured spanish meat of unknown origin, a pinch of Jaws, a dash of Day of the Dead, a soupson of Metal Gear and a sprinke of Shenmue. Stir well, placed in a greased baking tin and leave for approximately 3 years until golden brown on top. Warning: Eat in small doses - excessive consumption can cause a laxative effect. May contain Parasites."

Yes, the game that has been locked away in the development labs of Capcom for the last few years has finally been unleashed on a public that is in many ways unprepared for what they will see, hear and experience. Many people never got on with the Resident Evil series in the first place, whether it was down to the clunky controls, limited ammunition or a general dislike for the horror genre, and even series stalwarts were beginning to get tired of the same old zombie formula. They've taken the watered down DNA and injected it with an invigorating shot of adrenalin, and as a result they've come up with the best game I've played in years.

There are many reasons why RE 4 is such a masterpiece. The first thing you will notice are the graphics - incredibly detailed, realistically lit and yet given a style of their own through the usage of sepia tones. If you've seen screenshots of the early village sections of the, you will have no doubt noticed just how brown everything looks, but fear not, later stages of the game have a much wider pallet of hues, including the blue-grey of the stone castle, the deep red of blood, and the bright orangey-yellows of a fireball coming straight at you.

Then there is the sound. Not long after starting the game you will start to associate certain noises with fear, and then panic. The snarl of a chainsaw, the shouting of the villagers in an alien tongue, creepy chanting, distancing snuffly breathing, and the relentless pounding of the sountrack that signals that something is out there, and it's coming for you. If you have a surround sound set-up you will hear the villagers (and other foes) behind you, or to the side. It's not uncommon to be fending off an angry mob of 6 or 7 people, and then hear a shrill scream and the angry rip of the chainsaw from behind. Of course, by then, it's too late, and your head is already rolling along the ground...

Next, there's the shear range of set pieces in the game and not knowing what is coming next. To spoil these would be mean spirited of me so let me just say that each and every chapter (all 19 of them) turns the tables on you in some way and it's up to you to instinctively try and get out of whatever trouble your in. These include some truly spectacular boss battles, many of which will see you get torn to pieces (sometimes literally) on your first try. But fear not, because although Resident Evil 4 is harsh and unrelenting in pace, it is also extremely fair.

Every time you enter a dangerous encounter, puzzle or set piece, there's a restart point, so you don't have to reload from the last time you saved a at typewriter like previous games in the series - you just try again. This gives you the freedom to experiment, trying new tactics until you get it right. In the first hour of the game, when you are still getting used to the controls, the pace, and the sheer number of enemies you have to face at any one time, you will most certainly die at least once. It's a harsh baptism into the world of RE:4, but don't give up, just try again, learn from your experience and adjust.

There are elements of RE:4 that you will recognise from other games and films. Again, without spoiling anything, most obvious of these are the codec conversations from the Metal Gear games and the Quick Time Events from Shenmue. Don't worry, the conversations aren't anywhere near as long and rambling as the ones in the MGS series - they usually don't take any longer than a minute at the most. The QTE's are far more dynamic then they ever were in Shenmue too - rather than occurring at prescripted moments, they are context sensitive. For example, if you shoot an enemie in the knee, he will fall down, and if you then close in an image of the A button will appear with "Kick" underneath. A quick press will deliver a swift roundhouse to the head, and if they've been sufficiently weakened already, the head might explode like an over ripe cantaloupe.

No game has demonstrated to the power of the Gamecube better than RE:4. I have counted at least 12 enemies coming at me at the same time with no slowdown at all, and gargantuan bosses. If the Gamecube has not performed as well as Nintendo has hoped, it's certainly not down to the capabilities of the machine itself (or the quality of the games for that matter). I'll save that debate for another time however, or I'll be here all week.

The game is also extremely replayable. The fact that enemies have "hit zones" and the game features realistic physics mean that no two battles every play out exactly the same way. Also, there is a selection of side games and sub quests, both hidden away within the main game and unlocked when you finish the game for the first time as well. I say first time, because you can use your save file to start again, with all the weapons and upgrades you gained during your first play through (or you could try the Professional difficulty).

Yes, I did say upgrades. You will encounter the rather shady looking (and sounding) merchants at various points through the game, often before a particularly nasty battle, and you can buy new weapons and upgrade old ones. There are many statistics that can be improved for each gun, including firepower, firing rate, bullet capacity and reload speed. Reloading can no longer be done from the safety of your inventory screen, it has to be done on the fly, which can lead to some very fraught moments as Leon thumbs some more shells into the chamber of your boomstick. Ammo itself is much easier to come by however, as many enemies drop it when they perish.

The other major addition to the series is Ashley, the daughter of the president, and the whole reason your in this mess in the first place. It's your job, as Leon S Kennedy from Resident Evil 2, to find and rescue he. You then have to protect her for the rest of the game. This sounds like it could be a major pain, doesn't it? It really isn't. She's intelligent enough to duck if you try and aim at enemies behind her, and you can leave her behind in safe locations while you fight. Be careful where you do leave her, however, as she can be carried off to certain doom while you're not looking (bringing back memories of Ico).

Now for some criticism. Although the new controls are a great improvement, they can still prove fiddly in the heat of battle. The laser sights are a great idea (and popping heads with a sniper rifle is extremely satisfying), but aiming still roots you to the spot same as it always has. There's also no ability to side step, but apparently the development team left this out on purpose to heighten the fear of being stabbed from the side. There is a 180 turn that you will use to get you out of many tricky situations, but all in all the controls still aren't perfect.

Then there's the hammy voice acting in cutscenes. I know, it wouldn't really seem like a Resident Evil game without all the overacted lines and ridiculous phrases, but they do undermine the atmosphere of the rest of the game at times.

These small things do very little to spoil the magnifence of the overall package however. It maintains a higher level of quality and fun then any other game I've played this year or last (including Halo 2, GTA San Andreas or Metroid Prime 2). You're never truly stumped, and you can always try again. Those of a nervous disposition should be wary however, as playing the game will inevitably make you on edge. I was very tempted to award Resident Evil 4 a 10, but after much careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that it deserves a 9.

Nevertheless, it remains an essential addition to any Gamecube owners collection, and it's well worth buying the console just to play it if you don't own one already.

9 out of 10.

Not your average Boy Scout camp fire.

The Best Games in the World, Ever Part Four

No list of the best games ever made would be complete without Super Mario 64, and seeing as the game is currently having a new lease of life thanks to the Nintendo DS version, now is as good a time as any to talk about it.

The game was released as a launch title for the Nintendo 64 and together with other titles like Ridge Racer, Tomb Raider and Wipeout on the PlayStation it truly defined the 3D revolution. Nothing like this had ever been seen before. Players got to explore the familiar world of the Mushroom Kingdom in glorious 3D, and the order in which the levels could be tackled was largely up to the player. Although each star and world was numbered, if you knew what you were doing you could collect them out of sequence.

The tasks involved in obtaining stars were many and varied, from racing Koopas, defeating giant bombs, collecting 8 red coins, reuniting baby penguins with ther mum's and many more. In total, the original game had a huge 120 stars to collect in total, although only 70 were required to face Bowser for the final time and complete the game. The DS version adds 30 new stars, and to get all 150 will take you many hours indeed. Whereas getting every star didn't really reward you with very much on the N64, in the DS version you actually get something for your troubles (a new mini game).

The N64 console, and this game in particular, also introduced players to the analogue stick (which Sony would later adopt for their Dual Shock controller). This took some getting used to, but after a while the precision of the controls became second nature. Of course, the DS has no analogue stick, and to get around this fact the touch screen and stylus are used instead. Many people have complained that this is a poor replacement, but I had no problem with it, and it many respects it is actually better (especially for swimming or flying).

Super Mario 64 has still (arguably) not been bettered to this day. Not even Nintendo themselves could come close to bettering it with Super Mario Sunshine. There are many good 3D platformers out there that are worth playing, but none of them have the same level of imagination and sheer wealth of things to do in the same way that SM64 has.

Opinion is divided on which is the better version of the game. For the purists, the original will always be the best, while those who missed the N64 will no doubt prefer the DS version. With the addition of 36 mini games, 30 stars and a multiplayer mode, it's no simple cash-in port (that many people feared it would be). If for some inexplicable reason you still haven't experienced the masterpiece of SM64, either pick up an old N64 or a new NDS, and prepare to be dazzled. As the great Dr. Jones said, it belongs in a museum!

Bowser on the N64.

Mario on the NDS.

Coming Soon

Just a quick word to say that I plan to be back soon with a whole load of content, including (but not limited to) reviews of Resident Evil 4, Wario Ware Touched!, Star Fox Assault, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue and Gran Turismo 4. There will also be more entries to Hidden Gems and Best Game in the World Ever.

Starting right now...

Hidden Gems 2005 Volume 3

I went shopping for some pre-owned games on Friday afternoon, and one of the games I ended up buying was Sky Odyssey for the PlayStation 2. I used to own this game back when the PS2 was still fairly new on the scene, and I absolutely loved it.

Playing it evokes memories of games of old such as both of Nintendo's Pilotwings games, and an arcade machine that Namco made called PropCycle. This machine head a set of bicycle peddals and you would have to careful judge how fast you had to peddle in order to control the speed of your gyrocopter as you fly around trying to burst all of the baloons in the level.

Sky Odyssey is a the closest thing to a proper flight sim you're likely to find on a console. Although I hasten to add that if you're looking for shooting and destruction you've come to the wrong place (the Ace Combat series is perfect for that sort of thing). This game is all about the pleasure of flying and enjoying the landscape laid out below you. It's an exciting adventure that will take you through rocky ravines, ancient temples, underground caverns, snow-capped mountains, through the eye of a thunderstorm and much more.

The handling of your plane feels very authentic, and although this takes some getting used to it is a big part of the reason why the game is such good fun to play. It's immensely satisfying when you come in for a smooth landing having just spent the last 15 or so minutes dodging landslides and falling stalagtites or whatever else the game throws at you. In one memorable mission your engine fails about two thirds of the way through the level, and you have to touch down on the river and use the air brakes to steer you away of the rocks as you hurtle down the rapids.

As well as the main Adventure mode which features about 15 missions and multiple routes, there are a couple of other modes which are well worth your time as well. These include Sky Canvas, where you have to draw certain shapes with coloured smoke trails (ala the Red Devils), Target (where you have to go through 6 targets of the same colour, red or blue, and then land on the runway of the same colour for maximum points), and finally Free Flight, where you can just explore the environments at your own pace.

Graphically, the game is a bit of a mixed bag. While the weather effects, such as wind, rain, snow, the spray of the ocean and other such environmental effects are very well done, the textures are a bit uninspired at times and the levels are a bit blocky. This was a first generation PS2 title though as I said earlier, so you can't really expect too much. Besides, the game has got it where it counts, in the gameplay. You will be eager to see what challenges the game throws at you next, and the rousing adventure soundtrack only serves to increase the level of excitement and spur you on. Plus, each time you complete a mission you are given a grade based on certain criteria, such as the amount of time taken and whether you managed to go through all of the checkpoint rings in the stage. This spurs you on to retry the stages until you get an A grade, which allows you to choose an upgraded part for your plane.

If you do manage to find a copy of the game you shouldn't have to pay too much, about £10 at the most, but good luck finding it as it's fairly rare (sadly, it never sold that well to begin with). I regretted selling my copy for a long time and I'm very glad I stumbled accross another copy years later. I definitely won't be parting with this one any time soon!

Hidden Gems 2005 Volume 2

Creatures - Commodore 64

First and foremost, this game has absolutely nothing to do with the Creatures games on the PC - they are all about Artficial Life, taking care or little fuzzy critters and making sure no harm comes to them. Creatures on the C64 is almost the complete opposite of that game, and try as you might, some Fuzzy Wuzzy's (as the good guys are known) will get squished, sawed in half, burnt and just generally tortured to death by the baddies.

Creatures stands for Clyde Radcliffe Exterminates All The Ugly, Repulsive, Evil Slime, or something like that (I can't quite remember). You control the one free Fuzzy Wuzzy, Clyde Radcliffe, as he sets off to free his brothers and sisters. Each world in the game consists of two platform style levels, and then one single screen torture chamber. This is the real highlight of the game! Your poor, helpless fuzzy friends will find themselves strapped to all manner of torture devices, and it's up to you to solve the puzzle and off the baddies running the machine before they are slaughtered. It will usually take you at least one go before you get it right, and it's almost worth failing on purpose just to see the gory demise of a poor Fuzzy Wuzzy.

A few years later, a sequel followed, entitled C2: Torture Trouble, which dropped the rather frustrating platforming sections in favour of the torture chambers. This is just what the fans wanted. I also remember that Commodore Format followed the creation of both games in a diary, which was fascinating to read, and it was great to finally play the game that you'd been reading about for the past year.

Both games really pushed the power of the C64, with colourful, detailed graphics, great animation and some fantastic music. These days, they can be obtained for free from www.c64.com and played with an emulator on your PC.

So go on, join the cause and fight to free some Fuzzy Wuzzy's. Or, just watch them get sliced, diced, boiled, bashed and dunked in acid. It all adds up to a fun evening's entertainment either way!

Review: Starfox Adventures

Compared to some of Nintendo's other famous franchises, the Starfox series has had surprisingly few sequels over the years. Whereas the number of Zelda games is now in double figures, and the quantity of Mario games doesn't even bear thinking about, there have only been 3 games starring Fox McCloud and his crew (until February 14th, when the eagerly awaited Starfox Assault is released in the US).

Some of you may not have even heard of the series before. It originated on the SNES, with a game that was called Starwing in the PAL territories, and it was a first for Nintendo. In partnership with Argonaut (who recently went bankrupt), they designed the Super FX Chip, which enabled the aging 16-bit system to produce powerful 3D graphics (powerful for the time at least). Starfox was a "on rails" space shooter, with three different routes through the game, each trickier than the last.
You'd pilot your Arwing through varied locations such as Corneria, the mysterious Sector X, the ominous sounding Macbeth, and eventually end up on planet Venom for a showdown with the evil space monkey Andross. Your ship came equipped with lasers and smart bombs, and it could spin to avoid enemy fire as well as flip on its side to fit between small gaps. You were in constant contact with the rest of your team, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare and Slippy toad (and you frequently had to save them).

Years, later, Nintendo made Lylat Wars (or Starfox 64 if you lived in NTSC regions) for the Nintendo 64. Rather than a full sequel, it was really a remake of the original game, but it improved on it in many many ways. The graphics were greatly improved, and free roaming areas were adding alongside the familiar on rails levels. You also got to pilot the Landmaster tank in several of the levels, and this time the splitting path through the game depended on your performance in the previous stage.

Meanwhile, Rare were making quite a name for themselves on the N64 with brilliant games like Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo Kazooie and Perfect Dark (among others). They started work on a game called Dinosaur Planet, which was set to feature an anthropomorphic female cat called Krystal. Somewhere along the line, it was decided that the game would be moved onto the Gamecube, and also that the Starfox license would be squeezed into it. As fate would have it, Rare's first Gamecube title would also be their last, as they signed a multibillion dollar deal to make games exclusively for Microsoft (which they haven't really delivered on yet). So, does Starfox Adventures do justice to the brand name, and considering it wasn't really designed to be a Starfox game initially, does Fox's presence feel out of place? That's what I'm here to tell you.

Let me just start off by saying that these are most definitely the most impressive graphics I have ever seen on the current generation of consoles (yes I have played, Halo 2, and Chronicles of Riddick, and Resident Evil 4, and I still prefer the graphics in Starfox Adventures). The detail, the beauty, the way that there's no loading times between one area and the next. The vibrant colours, the fantastic day/night cycle. I spent quite a bit of time just standing around in the first person view soaking up all the detail. Then there's Fox himself - this has got to be the best CGI fur this side of Monster's Inc! It's not just reserved for cutscenes either, his fur is that good all the way through the game. Granted, some of this is a personal choice, as some would prefer the dark, gritty, oppressive visuals of RE 4, or the cel-shaded technique used it Wind Waker, but personally, I thought the visual style in SFA was amazing.

The music is pretty damn good too. I completed the game nearly a week ago, yet the tunes are still going around in my head (some game soundtracks have been rather forgettable of late). Special mention has to go to the tunes in Thorntail Hollow, and Cape Claw, with the chanting chorus (it sounds kind of African in origin, but I couldn't say for sure). The familiar Starfox theme is also included in the game in many different guises, from the "New Item" jingle that plays when you pick something up for the first time, to the "Victory" anthem that plays when you return a spellstone to it's temple.

Voice work is generally solid throughout the game, but Slippy Toad is still as annoying as he always was (this at least, shows a degree of consistancy with the rest of the series), and sound effects in general sound authentic.

Now we come to the gameplay, and before I say anything else I should point out that Starfox Adventures is nothing like the other games in the series. It's closest rivals would have to be the modern 3D Zelda games, namely Wind Waker and The Ocarina of Time. The controls are extremely similar, as is the way that you obtain new items or level up your staff to get new powers, which in turn allows you to explore new areas. One new thing it does add to the gameplay though is Prince Tricky, a juvenile Triceratops (or EarthWalker, as they're known in the culture of Dinosaur Planet) who you have to team up with to solve many of the games puzzles. You can ask him to stand on a switch for example, or dig up items from defined spots on the ground.

Overall I'd say that Starfox Adventures is a better game than the Wind Waker, but it doesn't quite match up to the benchmark in this style of game, Ocarina of Time. Why? Well, it's a bit more challenging than WW, you don't have to spend half your time exploring the bloody ocean (although there is some backtracking) and I thought the dungeons were more believably integrated into the world than in the Zelda games.

However, at times you do notice it wasn't originally intended to be a Starfox game, especially due to the fact that the rest of team are relegated to giving out hints, maps and progress reports on the pause screen. There is the occasional Arwing mission as you travel from place to place but they don't have the depth of a true Starfox shooter and are almost impossible to fail.

From a value point of view, Starfox Adventures takes about 15-20 hours to complete and can be picked up brand new for £20 for preowned for about £12. That's not bad at all considering how much fun you will have playing the game, and it's the sort of game you might find yourself coming back to in a year or so's time (if you're anything like me).

So, as long as you know exactly what you're getting (i.e. a Zelda style adventure/puzzle game, not a space shooter) you should be satisfied with Starfox Adventures. If you've already completed Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, and are looking for more of the same, then I strongly recommend buying this game. Rare's one and only Gamecube title is a gem, and a highly memorable experience. Let's hope Kameo, Conker Live & Uncut and any other projects they have in store maintain the same level of quality.

The Retro-Modern gaming score: 8 out of 10.

Double Review - Jak 2 and Jak 3

A while ago I promised you a review of Jak 3, but I thought as I'd also completed part 2 of the series within the last few months I would combine the two together. This also helps when I come to compare one game against the other. So, let's get on with it, yes?

Back in the early days of the first PlayStation, Naughty Dog created Crash Bandicoot to try and give Sony a platforming mascot of their own. This worked to a certain extent, at least until Spyro came along and stole a lot of the limelight. The games offered traditional side on platorming with modern 3D graphics, along with a variety of other styles including levels where you had to run into the screen to avoid boulders, and later additions in the series added submarines, planes, and balls like the Atlaspheres from Gladiators to roll around in.

These days the Crash games feel a little dated, and they never really rivaled the genius of Nitendo's Super Mario 64. However, about a year into the life of the PlayStation 2, Naughty Dog in conjunction with Sony released Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. It was a breath of fresh air, featuring fantastic visuals (the animation and day/night cycles were particularly impressive) and a more free-roaming style, where you were free to travel from one level to the next and try the various challenges. Unfortunately, the game didn't sell as many copies as they'd hoped, which is always a risk with a new franchise. The game did build up a small fan base however, and rather than abandon the planned trilogy, Naughty Dog decided on a change of direction.

Jak 2 is a much darker, meaner game that the first part. It's still quite suitable for teenagers to play though - we're not in GTA territory here. At least not as far as the swearing is concerned. You see, the developers obviously took a long hard look at the GTA series and decided that was the direction they needed to go in, as a lot of Jak 2 takes part in a sprawling metropolis, Haven City. The game begins with Jak escaping from the clutches of the evil Baron Praxis, but you will find he's changed a bit since the last game. In the few years while he's been held captive in the Palace, the Baron has performed experiments on him with Dark Eco, and now he has some strange powers (which are very handy in a fight).

Once out of the Palace, you slowly get caught up in a revolution against the Baron and Crimson guards which sees you exploring sewers, pumping stations, metalhead nests, and many other locations within and without the city. To aid you in getting through all this, you are given a gun, which gets more modes the further you get through the game. The is a shotgun, normal blaster, a very fast chaingun an ultra powerful gun that homes in on enemies and takes down several at once. Changing from one gun to the other can be done on the fly just by pushing a direction on the d-pad, it's an excellent idea that avoids all the faffing around in menus that many games make you go through. You will also gain a hover board at a certain point in the game, and of course, this being modelled on GTA, you can steal a zoomer from any of the citizens wandering around the city.

Let's skip ahead to Jak 3 for a minute. When you start the game, you are initially cast out into the Wasteland. The major addition to the game over Jak 2 are buggies. There are about 10 different vehicles which you can use to bomb around the desert, from the rather pathetic model you start with, to the great behemoths that you can only drive by collecting Precursor Orbs and trading them in. There's even one with huge springs built into the suspension, which you must use to jump from one archipelago to the next. The new buggy missions include races, smuggler's run style package collecting, checkpoint racing, and shooting down huge creatures. While they are great fun and add a bit of variety to the game, I thought there wasn't enough of them.

So then, let's start comparing the two games. Graphically, both are fantastic, and from a technical point of view, the way the games stream the world from the disc so you don't notice any loading times is very impressive indeed. At various times I would just stand in a level, and watch as sun rose or set. The graphics of Jak 3 are perhaps slightly less varied that in 2, being predominantly set in the desert, but there's really not much in it.

A lot of the voice cast are present in both games, and among the games are Clancy Brown as Baron Praxis (who may be familiar to some of you as the Kurgan from Highlander). They're a highly talented and professional bunch, and the voice work in the Jak trilogy is some of the best of any games. Music is good, but it is often drowned out by all the shooting that goes on since Jak acquired his multi-purpose gun.

On to gameplay and originality, and for me, Jak 2 scores more highly in this regard. Upon it's release the addition of guns felt new and fresh, and the game still managed to contain more traditional platforming levels, vehicular challenges and mini games. While Jak 3 has expanded the range of gun even further, I found I stuck to the old favourites most of the time. The buggies are a nice idea but just when you're really starting to enjoy yourself the game ends, leaving you disappointed. Also new to Jak 3 are Light Eco powers, and one of these really sucks out the challenge of the game. Apparently, many people complained that certain parts of Jak 2 were too hard, and so Jak 3 has been toned down. When you add the ability to heal yourself, it's far too easy to survive most of what the game throws at you. While one or two missions could be annoying for a while in Jak 2, they're not as frustrating as some of the harder missions in the GTA games for example, and the fact that you can try as often as you like eases a lot of the frustration (for me at least).

How about value for money? Jak 2 took me about 20 hours to complete, but Jak 3 took much less than that. While there is a Hero (Hard) Mode, most people probably won't bother to go through the game again. Once you consider the fact that Jak 2 can be picked up for £20 brand new or around £10 second hand, it starts to look like the stronger of the two games. It also has the more interesting plot. There are many new characters introduced in the second game, and most of them are carried over to the third. Also, while Jak 3 wraps up all the loose ends, you may feel a bit underwhelmed by the "revelations" at the end. In other words, Jak 2 is the Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy, the dark, exciting middle chapter that leaves you wanting more, whereas, Jak 3 is the equivalent of the good-but-not-brilliant Return of the Jedi. Fans of the first to games will undoubtedly wish to see how the story ends, and they'll have great fun doing so while it lasts. However, it may be worth waiting until Jak 3 is a Platinum release, rather than splashing out £40 for it now.

Jak 2 - The RetroModern gaming score: 8 out of 10
Jak 3 - The RetroModern gaming score: 7 out of 10

Jak 2


Jak 3

Review: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Anyone who's been visiting this site regularly since I started posting on here in September will probably have noticed that I've mentioned Paper Mario on more than one occasion. I discovered the original only about a year and a half ago and enjoyed every minute of it. It really made the most of the N64 hardware, with a unique graphical style, extremely fun play mechanics and lots and lots of humour. I remember shortly after I'd finished it there was a rumour that Nintendo were going to port it over to the GBA as Mario Advance 5, but that idea vanished and instead they made the amazing Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

About half a year on from that, the first images of Paper Mario 2 arrived. It looked (and still looks) like the original but at a much higher resolution. All of the rather fuzzy looking sprites are now very clearly defined. Although the sequel shares quite a few similarities with the first game, it's by no means a simple rehash however as I shall attempt to explain now.

The story begins when Princess Peach, on holiday with her faithful 'shroom butler Toadsworth, sends a postcard to Mario saying that she bought a strange looking map from a shady looking merchant in Rogueport (you'd think the name of the place would give her a clue that it's not the safest of areas, but she's a bit of a ditz). No sooner has she bought said item and shipped it off to Mario for safe keeping, then she's kidnapped by the X-Nauts (evil scheming alien guys). Mario, being the clever chap he is, realises that she's probably got herself in trouble again and sets off to Rogueport to find out what's going on. When he gets there, he discovers Toadsworth in a state of distress, and soon the map leads them to the fable Thousand Year Door, which according to local legend holds back a demon with the power to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom. It's up to Mario and the assorted pals he meets along the way to travel the world and gather the seven Crystal Stars in order to gain the power to hold the demon, the X-Nauts and Bowser at bay.

The game plays in a similar fashion to the original. Firstly, when not in a town, you can see enemies wandering around. If you jump on them then you score a free hit before the main battle even begins, but if they hit you the same thing applies in reverse. Battles are turn-based affairs, but instead of just pressing the button and watching Mario & Co. attack, you get to participate in the form of action commands. These vary from holding the stick left and then letting go on the count of three for a hammer strike, to circling the stick and other motions. Correct timing scores extra hits, and action commands also work in defense as well. Then there are a variety of moves than you can use by equipping various badges and spending Flower Points (FP) in battle. The amount of badges you can equip are limited by your Badge Points (BP). Experience is this game takes the form of Star Points, and every time you earn 100 Star Point you earn a level. Then you have to decide whether to increase your Hit Points (HP), FP or BP.

This is all very similar to the way things worked on the N64, but the twist this time is that all the battles take place on a stage. Accurate timed hits and spectacular moves are more likely to impress the audience, which in turn leads to more people coming to watch next time and more power in your Star Meter. At the end of each chapter, you get another one of the Crystal Stars and another Star Power, and you can use these to help you out. Star Power include healing spells, earthquakes and sleep inducing moves, and each uses a certain amount of your meter. Finally, you meet a number of other characters on your travels, including a Goomba, a Ghost, and a Yoshi, who each get a turn before or after Mario and each have their own strengths. Yoshi, for example, is the only character that can harm certain enemies by swallowing them and spitting them out again. Outside of battle each of your companions has a special ability as well, such as Yosh's flutter jump, and this is usually the way you gain access to new areas.

There are also a view abilities you gain throughout the game from "cursed" black chests, such as the ability to turn into a plane, roll up into a tube or turn sidewise to fit between small gaps. If all this sounds rather complicated, you needn't worry as everything is explained very clearly as you go along and it's easy to use.

The game has a very witty translation that rivals Nintendo's hilarious english version of Mario & Luigi, and highlights of the story include prize fighting in the Glitz Pit as the Great Gonzalez, and breaking a curse that means that the residents of Twighlight Town turn into pigs everytime the bell in town square rings. After each main chapter there are interludes where you take control of Princess Peach and Bowser as you follow their side of story. Peach's sections are very entertaining as you creep around the X-Naut's base and are assisted by a computer who develops a crush on her after watching her naked in the shower (the perve!).

I know for a fact that cel shaded graphics are not everyone's cup of tea (just look at the fuss that Wind Waker caused) but personally I think the graphics in Paper Mario 2 are fantastic. They look liked a hand drawn pop-up booked, with walls of buildings folding down as you enter. The power of the Gamecube is put to the test on various occasions when 100's of sprites fill the screen at the same time.

There are some nice tunes as well, but it's not the most amazing game soundtrack to ever fill my ears. I particularly like the funked up remix of the original Mario theme that plays near Hooktail Castle at the start of the game. There are no voice overs in the game, and the usual Mario sound effects such as his jumping noises, the ching of coins and so forth are also all present and correct. So aurally Paper Mario 2 is functional at best, but at least nothing is particularly offensive to the ear.

From a lifespan point of view Paper Mario 2 is a much longer game than the original. As well as the main quest, which is likely to take to from between 25-30 hours, there are a whole range of sidequests that can push that time up to 40-50 hours. These include collecting info on all the enemies in the tattle log, finding all the badges, combining items and discovering new recipes, beating a second, harder version of the Glitz Pit, defeating the 100 level dungeon, playing mini games in the Casino and solving all the "Troubles". There is a message board in Rogueport where resident from all over the world post their problems for Mario to solve, and later ones can involve traipsing back and forth across the world several times. This is great news for completist who love to do every side quest in their RPG's but those who just want to get on with story needn't worry as they're completely optional.

So, this all adds up to one of the finest RPG's on the Gamecube (although there is some stiff competition in the forms of Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos and my old favourite, Skies of Arcadia). It is undoubtedly one of my Top 10 games of 2004 and if you haven't bought a copy yet, I suggest you do so. It has more than enough game to keep you happy for weeks to come.

The RetroGaming Score: 9 out of 10

Bargains Galore

So, there I was, down the town preordering my PSP, when decided to have a little browse around Gamestation. I had no intention of buying anything, but ended up buying no less than four games! You know how it is (or maybe you don't). Luckily, three of them were only £5 each, and the fourth was a reasonable £20. I won't go into too much detail now, because they're worthy of their own reviews or Hidden Gems entries in their own right, but here's what I got...

Armed and Dangerous - Xbox - £5
This is definitely my favourite of the games I bought. It's been a long time since I've played anything that's put as much emphasis on pure fun as this game. It's a frantic third person shooter, and good one too. The sense of humour is a little depraved, but there are some great parodies of Star Wars and other Science Fiction favourites in there. The weaponry is genius, and the level of destruction and the ease of the controls all add up to make this one of the best games I've ever stumbled across by accident!

RTX Red Rock - PS2 - £5
This reminds me of the old LucasArts classic The Dig in many ways. It's starts off in a fairly realistic manner. You are E.Z. Wheeler, an RTX (Radical Tactics Expert) who's been sent on a mission to investigate what's been happening on the colony on Mars. Things soon take a turn for the worse though and you find yourself stranded on the red planet, battling strange aliens called LED's and solving all sorts of puzzles in order to save yourself and the colony. So far the puzzles have been a little obtuse, and it's not always clear where to go next, but it's a fun, well presented adventure game.

Drakengard - PS2 - £5
This is was originally known as Drag-On Dragoon in Japan, until Square-Enix wisely renamed it for US and European audiences. It plays like a hybrid of Dynasty Warriors and Panzer Dragoon except neither part is quite as good as its inspiration. The graphics are a bit underwhelming and the camera was really bad from what I've played so far, but I've only got a short way into the game so I'll reserve final judgment until I finish it.

Prince of Persia - Xbox - £20
Finally I've got around to buying the first next generation Prince of Persia, and it's very faithful to the 80's original. The ability to rewind time allows you to experiment with the puzzles, which are very imaginative and will take all your platform game dexterity and brain power to overcome. After I've finished with A&D, Shenmue 2 and Super Mario 64 DS, I shall definitely be going back to it.

Phew! That should keep me quiet for a week at least! There's some good games coming out soon though, which I'm pretty sure I won't be able to resist. Titles like Resident Evil 4, Baiten Kaitos, Gran Turismo 4, Metal Gear Solid 3, Star Fox Armada and Wild Arms 4 are all either out already or are extremely imminent. I shall post my impressions and reviews of each of them as I acquire and complete them, so keep checking back regularly!

Ridge Racer Retrospective feature

I originally wrote this article last year, and thing's have changed a bit in the Ridge Racer series since then. I thought it would be interesting to leave the article as it was and then just add some bits for the latest games in the the series. Here we go:

The Beginning - Ridge Racer (Arcade, 1994/95?)
Way back in 1995 (or was it '94, I can't quite remember), an amazing new arcade game was released by Namco, the people behind such classics as Pac Man, Galaxians and Galaga. It was a fully three-dimensional racing game, and it took the games world by storm. Together with Sega's Virtua Racing arcade cabinet it redefined the racing genre. The game featured cutting edge visuals for the time, a thumping Rave soundtrack, blistering speed and memorable track design. Even though there were only three different tracks, players found themselves coming back time and time again because playing the game was such a thrill.

The Launch - Ridge Racer (PlayStation, 1995)
Sony benefited from Namco's almost arcade perfect port of the machine on the launch day of their PlayStation. For many, the temptation of being able to drive around the tracks without putting £1 every time was too hard to resist. A bit of extra challenge was added in the form of an "Extra" mode, which was simply the tracks in reverse with a slightly trickier opposition and time limit. There were also some bonus cars to unlock if you were quick enough to shoot all the Galaxians before the game loaded up. At the time, it didn't matter that you could finish the entire game within a few hours. Nowadays you can pick the game for around £3, and it's still jolly good fun to pick up and play from time to time.

Ridge Remixed - Ridge Racer Revolution (PlayStation, 1996)
Namco cashed in on the popularity of the original by releasing this remix a year later. All the tracks were new, save for a couple of classics that were strangely only available in the new multiplayer mode. Graphically, the game was very similar to the original, but the handling was tweaked slightly and the challenge was increased. Even so, you could still easily finish it all off in an evening. This game can now be found for the mind bogglingly cheap price of £2, so short as it is it's still damn good value for money.

Ridge Rethought - Rage Racer (Playstation, 1997)
Despite this entry to the series only having the usual paltry 4 tracks, it had a much longer one player game than the games that preceded it due to there being multiple cups for you to win, along with many different cars that could be (and indeed had to be) upgraded. The fastest cars were only available in manual transmission too, forcing automatic drivers to learn how to drive properly. The usual range of tunez was present, but the graphics had a much more subdued, grimy look which looks a bit ugly compared to it's colourful forebears. It also came out a short while before the Dual Shock pad was commonplace, and the digital steering makes it feel older than it is. At the time I thought this game was brilliant, but looking at it in the harsh light of day now it's probably the most dated of all the games featured here. Again, the game can be found on the cheap today.

Ridge Revamped - Ridge Racer Type Four (PlayStation, 1999)
RRT4 had more of everything - more tracks, cars, tunes and some of the best graphics ever seen in a racer on the PlayStation. It was the perfect antidote to Gran Turismo 2, which was about as realistic as you could get. The handling and powerslides were balanced just right and this time the game featured full analogue control and vibration. Although it was very easy to get all the way through the game with certain teams and cars, you could choose a team that was struggling with their finances and have a much more challenging time of it. Many people regard this game as the pinnacle of the series so far, but I still have a soft spot for the original. Expect to pay around £5 for this one.

Ridge Recycled - Ridge Racer 64 (Nintendo 64, 2000)
Although this entry to the series bears the Namco name, it was actually Nintendo Software Technology (NST) that programmed it. It was the biggest version of the game so far, featuring all of the tracks from the original game, Revolution and a handful of completely new ones. The graphics were a halfway house between the look of the original and the shinier cars of Ridge Racer Type Four. The only thing that let it down was the slightly floaty handling. It was too easy to go into a powerslide when you didn't mean to and slam into the side of the track. Prices vary from about £5 to £10 depending on whether you get the box and instruction manual.

Ridge Renaissance - Ridge Racer V (PlayStation 2, 2001)
The Ridge series finally entered the next generation with the launch of the PlayStation 2 and players got more of the same, only better looking and slightly trickier. The soundtrack featured some amazing music from the likes of the Boom Boom Satellites, and gameplay wise the game took the multi-cup approach used in Rage Racer. The classic track from the first game returned along with about 5 other new ones, and the handling was tightened up a bit to produce a very playable racer. The game suffered a bit from a lack of anti-aliasing meant "jaggies" were quite obvious, and the PAL version wasn't optimised leading to huge borders and a noticeable drop in speed over the silky smooth NTSC versions. Not the best arcade racer even seen then, but it can still provide quite a few hours of entertainment for around £7.

Ridge Reimagined - R: Racing Evolution (Multiformat, 2004)
Now we come to the latest entry to the Ridge Racer series, and the first truly radical overhaul the game mechanics have had since the whole thing started. The team behind the PS2 Moto GP series joined forces with members of the Ridge Racer V team to produce this new game, which features storyline elements ala TOCA Racer Driver and an altogether more realistic approach. The cars and circuits are for the most part based on their real life counterparts, and the handling has been steered in the direction of realism and away from the drift heavy feel of old. The story mode is somewhat short and easy, but there are dozens of individual challenges for players to unlock which should last a while. Fans of the series have grumbled that it just isn't the same, but I rather enjoyed this game. Still, I was glad to hear the announcement of...

Ridge Redux - Ridge Racer 6 (Multiformat?, 2004-2005)
Very little is known about RR6 as it's only just been announced, but the name would suggest a return to the series' arcade roots rather than the semi-realistic approach favoured by R: Racing Evolution. If I'm honest I've always felt that the series has had a lot of potential and although all the games have been fun in their own way they've been let down by one key aspect, either the length of the game, the handling or the overall lack of challenge. Imagine what a true next generation Ridge Racer could be like, with properly anti-aliased graphics, perfect handling, dozens of tracks, a weighty one player mode, plenty of speed, the usual thumping music, and maybe even an online mode? Come on Namco, make the Ridge Racer game we've all been waiting for.

Hmm... now we know, eh? So, here's my thoughts on the two newest, handheld versions of the series.

Ridge Renovated - Ridge Racer DS (Nintendo DS, 2005)
This is basically the same game as the N64 version, but the gameplay has been improved quite a bit in the porting process. The frame rate has been increased to a silky smooth 60 fps, there's no slowdown and everything looks nicer on the smaller screen. Handling has also improved slightly, thanks to the d-pad being better suited to the game than the analogue stick was, and there's the option of using the touch screen to steer as well. There's 12 tracks, plus reverse versions, and lots of cars to unlock (only a handful are worth driving though). Not a bad job on the whole, but not the amazing game I was waiting for.

Ridge of Rapidity (sorry, I was running out of words that start with re) - Ridge Racers (PSP, 2005)Now this is more like it. While I haven't played this version yet, all that I've seen and read leads me to believe that it is the best version ever. There's a selection of classic tracks which have all been given a modern day makeover, along with a selection of the best music from previous games and a mammoth one player mode (we're talking at least forty cups of 3-6 races). The Arrange Tour mode sounds good - choose a time from 5 to 60 minutes and the game with create a championship for you that fit's in with your requirements. I shall definitely be picking this baby up along with my PSP in March.

And there's one I missed completely originally...

Rave Racer (Arcades, 199?)
This had a completely different set of tracks, cars and tunes but it still stuck to the familiar Ridge Racer formula. Ridge Racers on the PSP features some of the tracks from this game that many fans won't have seen before due to the limited exposure of the arcade cabinet.

So there you have it, who knows what the future will bring the Ridge Racer series? It's nice to see it have a return to form though.

Review: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

American GBA and DS owners have only recently been able to go to their local store and buy the latest in the prestigious Zelda series, whereas European gamers have had their copies since last November. I finished my copy a week or two ago and now it's time to give you my verdict.

This is the fifth Zelda game that Flagship/Capcom have developed for Nintendo, having previously worked on Oracle of Seasons and Ages for the Game Boy Color, the GBA port of A Link to the Past (and Four Swords), and then the Gamecube's Four Swords Adventures (which actually came out afterwards in Europe). Their experience really shines through every moment in the Minish Cap, and they've even brought a fair few new ideas to the series that not even Nintendo have managed.

The storyline is our old Nintendo favourite with a few twists. Zelda is in trouble again - this time she's been turned to stone by an evil young magician called Vaati, who suddenly became very powerful when he stole a magic hat from his master, Ezlo. Before escaping with said hat, Vaati turned Ezlo into the eponymous Minish Cap. A while into the adventure, Link discovers the Cap and puts it on. Ezlo's hat form has the head of some kind of bird, and he talks to Link, giving out advice and smart remarks whenever they're needed. He's a bit like the Red Dragon boat in Wind Waker.

It's up to you, as link, to traverse Hyrule, beat the 6 different dungeons and power up the Picori Blade (more on this in a minute) so that you can defeat Vaati. The major twist this time is that the usual Master Sword is referred to as the Picori Blade in this game (told you I'd get to it). The reason for is that once upon a time, a race of tiny little people called the Picori came down from the sky, and fashioned a powerful sword for the hero of that time (also called Link) so he could banish the evil once again. Once every 100 (or is it 1000? I can't remember) years, the force field to the Picori Shrine weakens and their presence is felt once again. Now is that time.

Upon finding the Minish Cap, link is able to shrink himself down to their size and explore areas that were almost invisible to the eye before. You will find yourself surrounded by giant shoes, reeds, cats and all sorts of other everyday objects. It's a bit like Honey I Shrunk the Kids, but without Rick Moranis (thank god!).

Another big twist this time around are the Kinstones. They're like little jigsaw pieces, and if you find someone with a matching half to yours, something good happens in the land. What this is varies greatly, and includes chests appearing, rare golden monsters, and new areas to explore. Most of the kinstone trading is entirely optional, but it's addictive stuff and adds quite a bit of replay value to the game.

Thirdly, Flagship have come up with some novel new items instead of just reusing the standard Hookshot and that sort of thing. The first one you get is the Gust Jar, which you can use to blow yourself across the water when standing on a lilypad, or you can suck a stretchy mushroom into the jar from a distance and use it to fling you across a gap. I won't spoil the other items as a lot of the fun is the in the surprise of exactly what you discover next.

Graphically, The Minish Cap is phenomenal. It's definitely much more detailed than A Link to the Past ever was, yet still captures a lot of the charm from that game. The best way to describe it would probably be to tell you to imagine the Wind Waker, but from an overhead perspective. There's some impressive sprite scaling effects when you face off against some of the bosses (such as a giant Chu Chu, or green slime). It's a showcase of what the GBA can do and it's just a shame that something this good took such a long time to appear. Hopefully, an all new Zelda won't take as long to appear on the DS (you hear me Nintendo? No ports!).

Aurally, pretty much every familiar tune from past Zelda games have reappeared, but sometimes slightly remixed. For example, you think the Hyrule Castle theme is going to be the one from A Link to the Past, but then it becomes something different. It's definitely some of the best music on the GBA alongside Final Fantasy I+II Dawn of Souls.

From a challenge point of view, TMC is a little underwhelming. The six dungeons are pretty easy to get through, but are nevertheless fun the whole time. Even though TMC is a fairly easy game, there's still a lot to keep you occupied if you choose to spend some time on the side games, kinstone trading and figurine collecting.

Ultimately, this is one of the best GBA games ever made, and keeps up the high standard that most of the Zelda games have lived up to (excepting the dire Phillips CD-I game of course). While all you DS owners are waiting for some more decent games to arrive, do yourself a favour and get The Minish Cap. It's Nintendo gaming at it's best and it's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

The Retro-Gaming score: 9 out of 10.

Nintendo DS First Impressions

I've had my Nintendo DS for just over two weeks now. At first I just had the console, and spent the first few days playing my GBA games on it. It makes games like Golden Sun and Racing Gears Advance look better than ever with its super sharp backlit screens (well, screens, but the GBA only uses one of them). The stereo speakers also made them sound better than ever.

Then Super Mario 64 DS arrived, and finally I could put the machine to a proper test. The first thing I did was try each of the 8 mini games that are initially unlocked. The touch screen in conjuction with the stylus is extemely accurate and easy to use, and the games are great fun. My early favourite was Wanted, but now I've unlocked more games I find Sort or Splode and Wario's pachinko games to be the best.

The main adventure mode was next, and it looks fantastic. Imagine and N64, but going through an RGB cable, with more detail and better effects. The controls took some getting used to, I really didn't like them at first, but after I swapped from thumb strap to stylus I find them to be better than the N64's analogue stick. The game itself has loads to do, from collecting all 100 stars to unlocking the other characters and mini games (by catching rabbits).

Yesterday, I received two more packages. One of them was Ridge Racer DS, and the other was a selection of accesories. I'm very impressed with the offical DS headphones by Hori - they look very nice, are extremely comfortable and sound great too, all for about £7 from Lik-Sang. I also received some spare sytli, a UK charger, some screen protectors and a carry case. The case is a bit cheaply made, with a poor zip, but it does the job.

As for Ridge Racer DS, it may not match up to Ridge Racers on the PSP (currently the best game on that system) but it's still good fun and the best choice if you're looking for a racing game for your new DS. The graphics haven't changed very much from the N64 version (it's a port of Ridge Racer 64) but they do run at 60 fps with no slow down now which makes a difference. The music is fantastic, and sounds great through my new headphones (really bassy dance stuff). Until something better comes along, Ridge Racer DS will tide me over quite nicely.

So now it's up to Nintendo to bring some more decent games out before the PSP is officially released in the US and Europe. If they don't, any early lead they may have built up will be wasted. How about updates (NOT ports) of Pilotwings, Starfox or the Mario RPG series on the DS? Nintendo, it's over to you.

The Best Games in the Word Ever, Part 3

It's been quite some time since I did one of these. Since around 2000, there has been one game that I keep being drawn back to, no matter how many times I've already completed it. Last week, I finished Shenmue for the fifth time, and yet I still enjoyed every minute of it and even discovered characters and conversations I had missed the first four times!

Right from the beginning, Shenmue amazes you with the amount of detail present within the world. The graphics may have aged a bit, but still impress considering their age and are actually better than many of the titles on today's consoles. After Ryo Hazuki witnesses his father's murder at the hands of Lan Di, he sets off on an epic journey to track down his father's killer, and if possible, slay him for what he has done to the Hazuki family. It's a classic revenge story, and I find there are quite a few similarities and messages to the Kill Bill films (but without all the Hanzo swords and bloodshed. There is a 80 man battle though!).

Piecing together the information that leads Ryo to Lan Di's trail is slow going (indeed, this game is only Chapter 1 of a planned 15 chapter story that still hasn't been concluded today, but don't let that put you off). You take control of Ryo's life in December of 1986, and everything he does from then on is up to you, including all the little things like spending spare time at the arcades while you wait for an appointment, etc. At times all the waiting can be a bit tiresome, and it's rather annoying that you can't go to sleep until 8pm rolls around. You also have to go back home before you can save the game. Thankfully Shenmue 2 fixes a lot of these flaws.

In the neighbourhood of Yokosuka, which includes Yamanose, Sakuragaoka, Dobuita and the Amihama harbour, you will meet a colourful range of characters, some with very strange accents indeed. The strangest of all has to be Tom, the local hot dog vendor. It's clear he's supposed to be Jamaican, but the voiceover work is so bad that you will detect some scottish and cockney mixed in there at times as well. It still makes me laugh every time I talk to him. What also makes me chuckle are the dubious conversations and quests you have to go on, such as crusing around the seedier side of town looking for sailors.

When you're not trying to find the next clue to further the story, you can collect capsule toys, play a game of darts, Space Harrier or Hang On, or practice your fighting moves. Every time you enter a fight (they're all scripted into the story, there's no random battles), the battle engine kicks in and it's almost as complex as Yu Suzuki's other famous series, Virtua Fighter. In fact, you won't need all these moves to get past the fights as their very easy, but it's nice to have a choice of ways to pound their faces in.

I've already mentioned how laughable the voiceovers can be at times (although some are actually pretty good), but the music is fantastic. I love the main theme that plays during the ending sequence and the credits, and who can forget the music that plays at the Tomato Convenience Store? A lot of the tracks feature traditional Japanese or Chinese instruments, and sound very exotic to the western ear. Definitely up there with the great gaming soundtracks of our times.

Depending on how quick you are to get on with the main story, Shenmue lasts in the region of 15-30 hours. You can spend days just wandering around, playing in the arcades if you wish, but you must have reached your goal before the end of March or Lan Di will reappear and finish you off. This is still a very generous time limit and most people will have finished way before that point, however.

So there you have it. Shenmue remains one of my favourites to this day and it's worth keeping hold of my Dreamcast so I can play it every so often. Is it worth getting a Dreamcast just to play it? I'm not so sure about that. You could just go straight to Shenmue 2 on the Xbox and watch Shenmue The Movie which tells you everything you need to know about the story so far. My hope is that one day Sega will finally conclude the series and I will get to see what happens to Ryo, whether he gets his revenge and how much this ultimately costs him. Shenmue was apparently the most expensive game ever made when it was released, so it would be a shame to waste all the resources that were created and leave the tale unfinished.

Review: Racing Gears Advance

Hi again. I decided the site needs more full length in depth reviews, so expect to see more like this soon. In the meantime, find out whether Racing Gears Advance is worth adding to your GBA collection...

I've always had a soft spot for overhead racing games in the mould of Micro Machines. Their history can be traced back to Atari's classic arcade machine Sprint, and it's two follow-ups Super Sprint and Championship Sprint. The actual gameplay was quite simple - there was an overhead view of a track and four cars raced to the finish. Three of them could be controlled by a human player, which was great fun and led to many hours being spent in intense competition down the arcades.

Later, Codemasters had a genius idea. They would create a new game based on the little toy cars that come in collections of five - Micro Machines. They were a great success on the 8-bit and 16-bit consoles such as the NES, Mega Drive and SNES. The Mega Drive version was of particular note because Codemasters actually built two extra controller ports into the cartridge, therefore avoiding the need of a multitap and making 4 player gaming accessible to the masses. Later on they updated the series on the PlayStation in the form of Micro Machines 3D, before making a spin-off game called Micro Maniacs which did away with the cars altogether and just had little freaky people running around the house.

At about the same time, Supersonic, who made the original MM game on the Mega Drive, set about making their own rival games. These started with Supersonic Racers, a valiant but flawed effort, and then Circuit Breakers, which gave Codemasters a run for their money in the gameplay stakes but unfortunately never sold as many copies as it deserved. Most recently, Supersonic made the awesome Mashed, and thanks to word of mouth and a budget price tag, it's been very successful so far. The physics are spot on, and when combined with the weaponry they can lead to hilarious duels to death.

There have been plenty of also-rans in the genre too, like the latest version of Micro Machines developed by Infogrames, which just felt totally wrong to play, and Karnaj Rally on the Game Boy Advance, which actually played quite well but struggled to sell once again because it didn't have a popular license attached to it.

That brings me finally to the subject of this review, Racing Gears Advance. I first saw a preview of this game about half a year ago, and I could tell just from the few screenshots that it had the potential to be amazing. The months rolled on, and still there was no sign of the game. I forgot about it for a while, but then Nintendo Official Magazine reviewed it and gave it a very respectable score (86%, I think it was). At last, it was released just before Christmas, but I had to buy my copy online (Gamestation knew nothing about it). So was it worth all the waiting? Yes. Yes it was.

The first time you pick up and play the game, it's obvious that everything just feels right. The handling is superb - if you take your thumb of the accelerator as you turn into a corner and then quickly slam it back on again, you can powerslide all the way around the bend. This is guaranteed to bring a big smile to your face. When your car is obscured by bits of scenery, be it trees, overhanging buildings or whatever, an arrow appears showing you which direction your car is facing. Simple, but extremely effective. What's more the game features 25 tracks, 12 drivers (all in licensed cars like the Lotus Elise or Dodge Viper), and also includes a range of weapons and car upgrades which add much more depth and longetivity to the game.

A typical cup goes like this - you'll probably get beaten the first time through, but you'll begin to learn the tracks, earn some cash and spot some shortcuts. You buy some better tires, maybe a bigger engine and some weapons, and try again. This time you nail it, and upgrade again before the next cup begins. This pattern continues until you beat the final cup, and then you unlock the custom cup where you can race any combination of tracks just for fun or maybe to finish upgrading your car. Progress is only saved for the character you chose, so you could go back and play the game a further 11 times. Each character has one unique ability, such as stealing money from other racers if their car hits yours, or getting a turbo boost when shot with a weapon.

During the later cups, the game can get a little bit frustrating when all of the CPU controlled opposition decide to ram you/shoot you/zap you with a energy draining weapon, but you can always try again and the addition of Engine, Turbo, Armor, Brake, Weapon and Tire upgrades help you level the playing field. Weapons include standard Nitros, Oil Spills, Missiles, Heat Seekers, Mines, Energy Zappers and Cloaking Devices, and add a bit of strategy to the races. I mostly just stuck with the Nitros and they saw me through, but you could play the game much more aggressively should you wish. Before each race there's even a little reaction based mini game where you have to press the accelerator as soon as possible after the light turns green, which decides on your starting position.

That's the gameplay, now the aesthetics. The graphics are extremely pretty, some of the best on the GBA. Rather than trying (and failing) to produce 3D graphics like PlayStation release, Orbital Media have gone for a sort of isometric, not-quite top down angle, with your little car centre of the the screen. There's always plenty of room to see where you're going (which is another area where these games sometimes fail) and the sensation of speed is very convincing. The speed increases noticeably with each engine upgrade, but as long as you buy the best tires you shouldn't have any trouble making it around the corners. The only gripe that I have about the presentation is the number of menus and the amount of button presses it takes to get through them all before you start a race. It can take quite a few presses to repair any damage from the last race, upgrade your car, switch tires and then finally start the race.

Now the music and sound. The sound effects are nothing amazing, but the music is really good for a GBA cart. It's very funky, and features voice samples and some good drum beats. One tune called 1985 sounds (deliberately) like something a C64 would've produced.

Finally the game also has a multiplayer link-up mode, but not having played it, I can't comment on how good it is. It does sound potentially awesome though.

So there you go. I got my copy of Racing Gears Advance from www.play.com for £17.99 and at that price it's a bargain. If you have a GBA, SP or DS (it looks fantastic on the new handheld by the way) then you should search out a copy and buy it.

The RetroGaming Score: 8 out 10

Hidden Gems 2005 Volume 1

Yes! I'm back and Hiddens Gems is back, and for the first entry of the New Year I've chose a game that is more retro than usual (if you can actually call it a game).

It is Little Computer People on the Commodore 64 (I believe it may have been on the Spectrum and Amstrad as well, but this is the version I played so many years ago. Basically, when the game loaded up you were faced with the profile view of a house, with all the usual rooms and furniture that you'd expect. After a while, the front door would open and a little man would walk in, along with his pet dog.

From that point on, it was up to you, the "owner" of this LCP, to take care of his wellbeing and make sure he is happy. You don't have direct control over him, instead you type in commands and if he feels like it (or indeed understands you) he will carry them out. Sometimes he will just stand there and shake his fist indignantly at the screen if he doesn't approve of what you ask him to do.

Activities included feeding the dog, brushing his teeth (the man, not the dog), going to the toilet, playing the piano, playing some records (and dancing, badly), writing a letter (to the player of the game) and many more. Even though this little chap is merely a collection of code in a computer, you really start to care of him. Those with a mean streak could think up ways of separating him from his food though, and eventually he would become ill, turn blue and possibly even die.

So is it a game or not? Hard to say really, but one thing's for sure, it certainly is a whole lot of fun. Also, I'm not sure whether this game had a direct influence on EA's The Sims, but you can't help but notice the similarities.

The ROM of the game can be downloaded from www.c64.com along with a C64 emulator if you wish to experience the game for yourself. It's a charming little "game" that was way ahead of it's time.

Coming Soon

Sorry there hasn't been an update in quite some time. I hope you had a great Christmas! In the new year, I will be back with reviews of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Jak 3. That's just for starters. I will also have a round up of the best games of 2004, and as soon as it arrives I will have a report on the Nintendo DS and Super Mario 64 DS. Finally, Hidden Gems and Best Game in the World... Ever! will return.

See you in 2005!

Tis The Season Part 4

Budget and preowned games

Welcome to the fourth part of my Christmas gaming round up. This time, I will be taking a brief look at the best budget games currently available for each system. Firstly, the budget titles. I will only be focusing on two per system and then I'll do a short list of the others, or we'll be here all day!

Gamecube

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Link's cel-shaded adventure is now available as one of the Player's Choice titles. It may not be the best Zelda game ever, being too easy, but it's still a fantastic experience and up there with the best the Gamecube has to offer.

Metroid Prime
Many would argue that MP is the best game available for the Gamecube, and I would have to agree. The sequel may beat it when it's released next Friday, but it won't have the advantage of being just £20. If you are a Cube owner and you haven't played it yet, then treat yourself.

Other Gamecube games under £20 that are worth checking out: Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Soulcalibur 2, F-Zero GX, Skies of Arcadia Legends, Eternal Darkness, Wario Ware Inc. Mega Party Games. There are many more that I may have missed/forgotten, so if you know of a game that I haven't included here post a comment and let everyone know.

Best Gamecube Preowned Bargains
I'm using Gamestation as a benchmark here, but other stores may offer different (better?) prices.
Beyond Good & Evil - £14.99
Billy Hatcher - £12.99
Gladius - £6.99 - BARGAIN!
Ikaruga - £16.99
Super Monkey Ball - £9.99

Xbox

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
One of the best Star Wars games that LucasArts have ever produced and also an essential purchase for RPG fans. The main quest will last you an estimated 40 hours on your first play through, and the storyline and quests change depending on whether you travel down the path of light or towards the Dark Side. If you missed it first time around, pick it up as part of the Xbox Classics range now.

Halo
If you're new to Xbox, no doubt you will have heard all about Halo and the over-hyped Halo 2. In my humble opinion, the original is still the better of the two, being less glitchy, but the one player modes are really quite similar in both. If you have the money, I recommend you get both Halo's at the same time and go on an epic battle against the Covenant over the Christmas period.

Other Xbox games under £20 worth checking out: Project Gotham Racing 2, Top Spin, SSX 3, Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Mashed.

Best Xbox preowned bargains
Again, these are based on Gamestation prices.

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon - £12.99
Colin McRae Rally 04 - £12.99
Fable - £24.99 (not quite a budget price, but pretty good)
Flatout - £19.99
Ford Racing 3 - £12.99
Panzer Dragoon Orta - £12.99
RalliSport Challenge 2 - £16.99
Secret Weapons Over Normandy - £12.99

PlayStation 2

I'm back, finally, to try and finish this post. It's turned into something of a behemoth. Anyway, PS2 budget games, here we go:

Jak 2: Renegade
There are way more PS2 budget titles to choose from, which makes selecting just two to focus on even harder. One of my favourite games earlier this year was Jak 2, which to the original protagonist, tortured him, gave him dark powers (and a voice) and then sent him into Haven City to do battle against (dum dum duhhh) sinister forces. What followed was an excellent blend of the platform action from the orignal Jak & Daxter, gunplay which was similar to Ratchet & Clank, and a huge living city to expore ala GTA. The gameplay is fun, and I don't agree with critics who said there's too much walking about (a jet bike is never far from you). The visuals are up there with the best PS2 titles and the voice acting is spot on.

Kingdom Hearts
You can't beat a good RPG, and is is one. Uber corporations Square and Disney joined forces to produce the stoy of Sora, a boy who wields a huge key as a sword, who has to band together with Donald Duck and Goofy in order to find out what happened to King Mickey and his friends Rikku and Kairi. There are plenty of familiar faces, from Alice, Tarzan and Hercules to, Aeris, Cloud and Sephiroth. This is truely a magical game, and is perfect for playing at Christmas time. Two sequels are on the way, one on the GBA and one on the PS2.

Other PS2 games under £20 worth checking out: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ratchet & Clank 2, Burnout 2, Hitman 2, Zone of the Enders, SSX 3, Final Fantasy X.

Best PS2 preowned bargains
As before, these are Gamestation prices.

Battle Engine Aquila - £7.99
Beyond Good and Evil - £6.99 - BARGAIN!
Dancing Stage Fusion - £16.99
Drakan: The Ancients Gates - £7.99
Final Fantasy X-2 - £16.99
Ford Racing 3 - £12.99
Gladius - £7.99
Gradius V - £16.99
Legaia: Dual Saga - £12.99
Mashed - £16.99
Onimusha 2 - £7.99
Project Zero - £12.99
Rygar - £12.99
Shadow Hearts - £12.99
Summoner 2 - £4.99 - BARGAIN!
The Mark of Kri - £6.99 - BARGAIN!

So there you go. These are some seriously good prices for some seriously good games. If you've always envied Nintendo owners for having the Zelda series, then I urge you to try Beyond Good & Evil, as it's the closest your going to get. It has it's own original aspects though such as taking photographs of wildlife for money.

This is taking way too long. Once again, I'll be back soon with the GBA and PC sections.

Tis the Season Part 3

Here I am back again with part 3 of my 4 part Xmas special. This time I'll be taking a look at 5 games for the Game Boy Advance and PC that you should consider pestering your loved ones into getting you for Christmas.

The GBA Xmas Season Top 5

5. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - out now
For once, lucky Europeans will be able to play Link's latest adventure months before fans in the US! I haven't had the chance to play the game yet, but from all I've seen and read it seems to continue the tradition of excellent gameplay from previous titles, with a much needed injection of originality due to the inclusion of many new items and the fact that you can shrink to tiny size with the aid of the titular Minish Cap.

4. Mario vs Donkey Kong - 19/11/04
Part platformer, part puzzle game, MvsDK features tons of tricky levels and shows that when it comes to gameplay, yet again Nintendo are the masters.

3. Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls - 03/12/04
The two games that started the huge Square-Enix series are together on one cart, with improved graphics, sound and new areas to explore. If you already own Final Fantasy Orgins for the PS1, then don't bother because this is exactly the same, but otherwise, you can have hours of quality RPG on your handheld!

2. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - out now
Okay, so it came out last year, but if you haven't played it, then this is the ideal time. Equally as brilliant as Paper Mario 2, but with the added benefit of being portable. GBA games don't get much finer than this.

1. Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green
Another quality RPG offering. Pokemon might not be to everyone's taste, but you do enjoy it (and there's no shame in it) then these reworkings of the original classics will be right up your street.

Import Corner
This time the Yankies get Metal Slug Advance and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories before the year is out, whereas we have to wait until next year. I'm really looking forward to the new Kingdom Hearts game personally, it's visually one of the finest games available for the GBA.
Sad thought - this Christmas could be the last "big" Christmas for the GBA, as the DS is likely to steal a lot of its thunder over the next year. Nintendo say that the GBA isn't going to be phased out, but I'm not convinced.

The PC Xmas Season Top 5.

You'll have to bear with me here, as I'm really not much of a PC gamer. These are the games that appeal to me most, though.

5. Half-Life 2 - out now?
If there's one game that's been more eagerly awaited over the last few years than Halo 2, then this is it. Early reports say that it doens't dissapoint either, unlike the Master Chief's new game. The Source engine that powers everything is amazing, and the game is polished like no other, but is it really worth buying a brand new PC just to be able to play it? Almost.

4. The Sims 2 - out now
The Sims are back in full 3D with many more things to do. I love games like Rollercoaster Tycoon etc, but in this one there doesn't seem to be much of an overall goal, so I think eventually I might get bored of it. Of course, that's where the expansion packs come in.

3. Medal of Honor Pacific Assault - 19/11/04
Can the new Medal of Honor redeem the series and steal back some of the glory that was captured by the likes of Call of Duty? I don't know. Go by the game and tell me!

2. Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed - out now
The orignal MMORPG sounded more than a bit dull but now you can pilot starfighters, freighters and many other vechicles things sound much more interesting. I still haven't got the time or money to spend playing it though.

1. Platypus - out now
One of the most enjoyable PC games I've played this year, Platypus was put together by just one man and features fantastic claymation graphics. It's a classic 2D horizontal shoot 'em up, featuring some excellent retro music by Chris Abbott (of Back In Time fame). Go download the demo from http://www.squashysoftware.com/platypus.php, and then buy the full version!

Import Corner
Nothing much to say here - I told you I don't know much about PC games, sorry!

I'll be back again with Part 4 - focusing on retro and budget titles for those of you with cash flow problems around the Christmas period!