Here's a game I wish they'd revisit: Racing Destruction Set.
As regular readers would know, my childhood in gaming was spent around a Commodore 64 - whilst not a big deal in the US it was however important enough in both Europe and Australia (y'know, places that don't matter) had had many interesting and unique games available. One such was the superbly titled Racing Destruction Set, courtesy of a company called Electronic Arts.
As the title suggests, this is racing game - and one which involves trying to sabotage your opponents efforts through any means necessary. As well as being a great two-player game, it even boasted a track-designing feature and a gazillion options.
But really, mere words can't do the features of Racing Destruction Set justice: Instead, they can be better exemplified with this video:
So there was certainly a lot going for Racing Destruction Set: Aside from track building, there was vehicle selection, gravity selection (GRAVITY!), terrain selection and a race/destruction option, the latter incorporating oil slicks and landmines. With so much options and freedom of choice for the player (this was back in 1985 mind you) it does seem mind-boggling that such an approach hasn't been replicated in the years since.
Last week I made a post talking about Super Mario Kart where I lamented how many clones that damn game inspired and how none of them really succeeded in replicating, let alone besting, the winning formula. And it always struck me that no one was looking back to Racing Destruction Set. I mean why not? If a formula can work so well, why not take the formula that made Racing Destruction Set, give it some fantastic graphics and you'll have game that can a serious competition for the untouchable Super Mario Kart.
Indeed, I thought back then that those wanting to replicate Super Mario Kart shouldn't be doing so - They should be doing something new with the formula. In fact it always struck me that if people wanted to usurp Super Mario Kart, they should try implementing a Track Builder - I mean I would've bought it - yet it is funny how took nearly twenty years before someone else thought the same with the PS3 game ModNation Racers.
Interestingly enough during research for this post I did find that Racing Destruction Set did indeed get a remake in the form of the SNES game RPM Racing - this led to a sequel called Rock N Roll Racing which is of some historical significance as being the first game made by a fledgling company that would later become Blizzard. So maybe there is some interest in keeping the original C64 game alive but I don't recall either game being a big deal.
So yeah, remake Racing Destruction Set. There certainly seem to be some great ideas in work and certainly worthy of dusting off and repackaging for younger gamers to see what their comrades did years before..
Showing posts with label Commodore 64. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commodore 64. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Come to snuff the rooster
The weirdest game I've ever played? It’s a question I’ve never been asked but the hell, I’ll go with it anyway. Now I’ve over two decades of game experience under my belt so there is a wealth of material to work from. But when it comes to weird game, one immediately comes to mind: A game on the Commodore 64 called Cock’In.
Also known as Chicken Chase, I played this game when I was a kid in the late eighties/early nineties. As was the case with most games of it’s era it wasn’t the most complex game: It was set in a henhouse and the player controlled a rooster set with the task of protecting a hen’s eggs from a host of invaders ranging from hedgehogs, rats, foxes and snakes - this was done by pecking at the intruders and forcing them to flee.
And like other games of the eighties, it was an endurance test: The general goal of the game was to survive for so long and the player’s score, which was continually increasing, was based on how long they lasted.
It sounds simple but here’s the weird part: This game is an analogy for sex! I never realised it at first (call it due to being of a young, impressionable mind) but there is some really odd sexual overtones. See the screenshot above? Take note of that door in the middle which has a love heart on it. At the commencement of each life, the rooster automatically enters the door only to reemerge seconds later. Then the hen emerges from the door, lays an egg and then returns to the inside of the door.
That may sound odd, but remember what I said about this game being an endurance test? That to succeed is to survive? Well in-between intrusions from the invaders. The player can go into the door – once there they can spend some as long as they choose and the longer they do, a series of love hearts appear at the top of the screen. And upon emerging from the door, the hen then comes out and lays a number of eggs (on top of the one’s already laid) corresponding to the numbers of hearts that came up.
So yes: You are impregnating a hen in order to keep on playing.
And that isn’t all with the game: The longer you spend on the other side of the door, the slower the rooster’s movement speed gets – fortunately by finding a worm that can appear at random intervals, the rooster can find a speed increase.
Anyway the only way to lose this game is to lose all the eggs – whether through them hatching (which leads to a chick that runs to the door and then enters it) or the eggs being gobbled up by the invaders. And when all the eggs are gone, the player loses a life: This is represented through the rooster automatically going to a corner –which is then followed by the hen that comes out the door with a club (or something) and proceeds to smack the rooster repeatedly over the head. Really I couldn’t make this up if I tried.
So yes Cock’In takes pride of place of the weirdest game I ever played purely for being a game based around the concept that having sex is the way forward (one can only wonder why there was a name change with this game). Indeed, it’s kind of weird to look back at games from the eighties and see the type of stuff they got away with.
And to cap off the true bizarreness of this game, here’s the box art:
images from: lemon 64
Also known as Chicken Chase, I played this game when I was a kid in the late eighties/early nineties. As was the case with most games of it’s era it wasn’t the most complex game: It was set in a henhouse and the player controlled a rooster set with the task of protecting a hen’s eggs from a host of invaders ranging from hedgehogs, rats, foxes and snakes - this was done by pecking at the intruders and forcing them to flee.
And like other games of the eighties, it was an endurance test: The general goal of the game was to survive for so long and the player’s score, which was continually increasing, was based on how long they lasted.
It sounds simple but here’s the weird part: This game is an analogy for sex! I never realised it at first (call it due to being of a young, impressionable mind) but there is some really odd sexual overtones. See the screenshot above? Take note of that door in the middle which has a love heart on it. At the commencement of each life, the rooster automatically enters the door only to reemerge seconds later. Then the hen emerges from the door, lays an egg and then returns to the inside of the door.
That may sound odd, but remember what I said about this game being an endurance test? That to succeed is to survive? Well in-between intrusions from the invaders. The player can go into the door – once there they can spend some as long as they choose and the longer they do, a series of love hearts appear at the top of the screen. And upon emerging from the door, the hen then comes out and lays a number of eggs (on top of the one’s already laid) corresponding to the numbers of hearts that came up.
So yes: You are impregnating a hen in order to keep on playing.
And that isn’t all with the game: The longer you spend on the other side of the door, the slower the rooster’s movement speed gets – fortunately by finding a worm that can appear at random intervals, the rooster can find a speed increase.
Anyway the only way to lose this game is to lose all the eggs – whether through them hatching (which leads to a chick that runs to the door and then enters it) or the eggs being gobbled up by the invaders. And when all the eggs are gone, the player loses a life: This is represented through the rooster automatically going to a corner –which is then followed by the hen that comes out the door with a club (or something) and proceeds to smack the rooster repeatedly over the head. Really I couldn’t make this up if I tried.
So yes Cock’In takes pride of place of the weirdest game I ever played purely for being a game based around the concept that having sex is the way forward (one can only wonder why there was a name change with this game). Indeed, it’s kind of weird to look back at games from the eighties and see the type of stuff they got away with.
And to cap off the true bizarreness of this game, here’s the box art:
Friday, November 4, 2011
31 Songs (no.1)
This month is the month of November - What does it mean? Not much - but for me it may be a good enough excuse to put together another serial. So, for the duration of November, every Friday I'll be talking about a subject over a series of posts, describing my own opinions and sharing experiences with a particular topic.
So what's the serial topic this time around?
Game music!
Yeah we should admit to it: We each have our particular favorite tunes in any game and we've even halted progression in a game just to listen to them. We may have downloaded some to listen to on the computer or Ipod and may have even sought out some remixes done by someone else who thought the tune was really cool.
So for this serial, I want to talk you all through some of my favorites. And as I've over two decades of gaming experience, there is quite a lot to get through. Therefore, this serial will be done with each post focusing on a particular gaming generation and, hopefully, track an evolutionary path through music, technology and taste.
So let's begin with the roots of my gaming experience, the third generation!
Arkanoid theme
Unlike most kids of the late eighties and early nineties, I never had a Sega or a Nintendo. Nope, I had a Commodore 64. Can't complain though: The damn thing had it's fair share of moments and some decent games. Indeed, it's fun to go online now and finally see other people share an interest in what I thought was ace at the time.
So about Arkanoid: This was a Breakout clone where, for the unfamiliar, the player controlled a bat facing a layered wall of bricks and to take them all out by bouncing a ball at them. Arkanoid however provided its own spin on the formula with power-ups and a 'space' theme with a mammoth space ship on the title screen and aliens that wander through the playing area. And of course, it had a rockin' theme tune.
I love how this tune is divided into sections starting with the explosive bass, before evolving into some electronics, followed by a mournful noise and then finally grinding to a complete stop. The end result is something surprisingly epic-sounding from the lowly C64 SID chip. Funny thing is, when I was a kid I thought that this was a theme best suited to a space-exploration/Star Trek-esque game - so imagine my disappointment that was used for a Breakout clone.
Still this was the sound of a sound system being pushed to the limit proving that anyone can make anything epic-sounding with even the most limited of tools.
Bubble Bobble - Theme
OMG is this song catchy. It has to be the most insanely catchy song every created in the history of gaming. Once heard you can't really get it out of our head! It's insane!
Now I've played Bubble Bobble in other formats namely the arcade version and the NES one on the Virtual Console and, I have to say that it is still the Commodore 64 version that works for me, in the terms of playability, graphical and, of course, the music. And how can one say no to that one tune? It's cheerful, catchy and, although repetitious, it never once gets boring. It's the time of theme that bores it;s way into the mind but in a good way - which is rare feat for any piece of music to accomplish.
What more can I say except it's so damn catchy and, even now, I'm still yet to tire of it.
Not that I want to anyway.
Last Ninja 2 - Central park
As this is a serial on my favourite game themes, I set myself a little challenge: To actively select games that I played and enjoyed, to deliberately seek out little known themes & shine some light upon them, and not fall into the trap of suggesting the obvious.
Which brings me to the Last Ninja 2. As mentioned previously in my Greatest Gaming Heroes list, this series was the defining game for the system and beloved by many a C64 owner. Sure the Nintendo kids may have had Mario or Link to champion but what would I care? I had Armakuni.
One of the trademarks of the Last Ninja series was the fantastic music. Whilst the first Last Ninja had some cool themes, it really stepped up with the sequel. I listen this theme now, after twenty-plus years of technological advancement and I'm still impressed by how the C64 SID chip is being pushed at such a rate one would never have thought possible. It's a hard rockin' theme and a damn good imitation of a metal band - I particularly like that solo/coda that wraps up the song. In fact I think this may have started the trend of having footage of ninja's fighting synced to metal music (and a gazillion and one Naruto AMVs). Okay maybe not but I'm still claiming it for Armakuni!
The rest of the soundtrack of Last Ninja 2 is indeed impressive but this still works for me - and judging by the many rock covers/remixes that exist of this theme, many more agree with me.
R-Type - Title theme
This was something of a milestone in my gaming history: This was the first time I'd actually sit at the title screen of game purely for enjoying the music being played. And how could I not? This was a fantastic opening theme and a pace setter for a brilliant soundtrack. It was energetic and perfect music for gunning down aliens and evading bullets with intensity. And the person we have to thank for this is Chris Hulsbeck - the man who wrote the equally excellent music for Turrican and, more recently, Star Wars Rogue Leader.
Funny thing is I've played various R-Types since and I can recognize some familiar themes. But I'm used to the frantic soundtrack to the Commodore 64 version - thus the other versions come across as being surprisingly stiff. True - they don't work for me. Why I heard the title music to the Amiga version and honestly it doesn't hold a candle to this one. Even hearing it now they seem to be completely different themes - but if the Commodore 64 version of R-Type truly got it's own theme then it's one up for it!
Ramparts - Theme
Not to be confused with the strategy game of the same name that made it's way to various systems (including the C64!) this Ramparts is actually a clone of the classic game Rampage. The major difference is it went for a medieval/fantasy theme with the players controlling an armored giant climbing castle towers and smashing them to pieces. Looking back it's a bit of weak game with dodgy controls, awful graphics (by C64 standards) and little to maintain interest.
But the game's saving grace is a genuinely freaky theme: Played throughout the game, this is truly a theme of giant destroying large buildings. I recall this theme being the one that frightened me as a kid - even to the point where I was more focused on the music than the actual game itself - and if the music is more engaging than the game itself then something must've worked. Okay so maybe now this theme can't compare to the likes of the Silent Hill games but for one of the scariest gaming themes ever made it sure makes a compelling case.
Tetris - Type A
Yes this is a no-brainer and yes it's inclusion breaks my own rule of not kowtowing to the obvious but damn, how can I honestly say no to this?
Interestingly enough, it is only in recent years that I found out that all the music from Tetris was based on Russian folk songs - and Type A itself originated from a song called Korobeiniki. Funny thing is, most people would probably recognize this theme almost instantly - and even then it's most likely through Tetris. Funny how game's can do that....
And on that note, this concludes the first part of the series - tune in next week when the music steps up a notch as we enter the fourth generation....
So what's the serial topic this time around?
Game music!
Yeah we should admit to it: We each have our particular favorite tunes in any game and we've even halted progression in a game just to listen to them. We may have downloaded some to listen to on the computer or Ipod and may have even sought out some remixes done by someone else who thought the tune was really cool.
So for this serial, I want to talk you all through some of my favorites. And as I've over two decades of gaming experience, there is quite a lot to get through. Therefore, this serial will be done with each post focusing on a particular gaming generation and, hopefully, track an evolutionary path through music, technology and taste.
So let's begin with the roots of my gaming experience, the third generation!
Arkanoid theme
Unlike most kids of the late eighties and early nineties, I never had a Sega or a Nintendo. Nope, I had a Commodore 64. Can't complain though: The damn thing had it's fair share of moments and some decent games. Indeed, it's fun to go online now and finally see other people share an interest in what I thought was ace at the time.
So about Arkanoid: This was a Breakout clone where, for the unfamiliar, the player controlled a bat facing a layered wall of bricks and to take them all out by bouncing a ball at them. Arkanoid however provided its own spin on the formula with power-ups and a 'space' theme with a mammoth space ship on the title screen and aliens that wander through the playing area. And of course, it had a rockin' theme tune.
I love how this tune is divided into sections starting with the explosive bass, before evolving into some electronics, followed by a mournful noise and then finally grinding to a complete stop. The end result is something surprisingly epic-sounding from the lowly C64 SID chip. Funny thing is, when I was a kid I thought that this was a theme best suited to a space-exploration/Star Trek-esque game - so imagine my disappointment that was used for a Breakout clone.
Still this was the sound of a sound system being pushed to the limit proving that anyone can make anything epic-sounding with even the most limited of tools.
Bubble Bobble - Theme
OMG is this song catchy. It has to be the most insanely catchy song every created in the history of gaming. Once heard you can't really get it out of our head! It's insane!
Now I've played Bubble Bobble in other formats namely the arcade version and the NES one on the Virtual Console and, I have to say that it is still the Commodore 64 version that works for me, in the terms of playability, graphical and, of course, the music. And how can one say no to that one tune? It's cheerful, catchy and, although repetitious, it never once gets boring. It's the time of theme that bores it;s way into the mind but in a good way - which is rare feat for any piece of music to accomplish.
What more can I say except it's so damn catchy and, even now, I'm still yet to tire of it.
Not that I want to anyway.
Last Ninja 2 - Central park
As this is a serial on my favourite game themes, I set myself a little challenge: To actively select games that I played and enjoyed, to deliberately seek out little known themes & shine some light upon them, and not fall into the trap of suggesting the obvious.
Which brings me to the Last Ninja 2. As mentioned previously in my Greatest Gaming Heroes list, this series was the defining game for the system and beloved by many a C64 owner. Sure the Nintendo kids may have had Mario or Link to champion but what would I care? I had Armakuni.
One of the trademarks of the Last Ninja series was the fantastic music. Whilst the first Last Ninja had some cool themes, it really stepped up with the sequel. I listen this theme now, after twenty-plus years of technological advancement and I'm still impressed by how the C64 SID chip is being pushed at such a rate one would never have thought possible. It's a hard rockin' theme and a damn good imitation of a metal band - I particularly like that solo/coda that wraps up the song. In fact I think this may have started the trend of having footage of ninja's fighting synced to metal music (and a gazillion and one Naruto AMVs). Okay maybe not but I'm still claiming it for Armakuni!
The rest of the soundtrack of Last Ninja 2 is indeed impressive but this still works for me - and judging by the many rock covers/remixes that exist of this theme, many more agree with me.
R-Type - Title theme
This was something of a milestone in my gaming history: This was the first time I'd actually sit at the title screen of game purely for enjoying the music being played. And how could I not? This was a fantastic opening theme and a pace setter for a brilliant soundtrack. It was energetic and perfect music for gunning down aliens and evading bullets with intensity. And the person we have to thank for this is Chris Hulsbeck - the man who wrote the equally excellent music for Turrican and, more recently, Star Wars Rogue Leader.
Funny thing is I've played various R-Types since and I can recognize some familiar themes. But I'm used to the frantic soundtrack to the Commodore 64 version - thus the other versions come across as being surprisingly stiff. True - they don't work for me. Why I heard the title music to the Amiga version and honestly it doesn't hold a candle to this one. Even hearing it now they seem to be completely different themes - but if the Commodore 64 version of R-Type truly got it's own theme then it's one up for it!
Ramparts - Theme
Not to be confused with the strategy game of the same name that made it's way to various systems (including the C64!) this Ramparts is actually a clone of the classic game Rampage. The major difference is it went for a medieval/fantasy theme with the players controlling an armored giant climbing castle towers and smashing them to pieces. Looking back it's a bit of weak game with dodgy controls, awful graphics (by C64 standards) and little to maintain interest.
But the game's saving grace is a genuinely freaky theme: Played throughout the game, this is truly a theme of giant destroying large buildings. I recall this theme being the one that frightened me as a kid - even to the point where I was more focused on the music than the actual game itself - and if the music is more engaging than the game itself then something must've worked. Okay so maybe now this theme can't compare to the likes of the Silent Hill games but for one of the scariest gaming themes ever made it sure makes a compelling case.
Tetris - Type A
Yes this is a no-brainer and yes it's inclusion breaks my own rule of not kowtowing to the obvious but damn, how can I honestly say no to this?
Interestingly enough, it is only in recent years that I found out that all the music from Tetris was based on Russian folk songs - and Type A itself originated from a song called Korobeiniki. Funny thing is, most people would probably recognize this theme almost instantly - and even then it's most likely through Tetris. Funny how game's can do that....
And on that note, this concludes the first part of the series - tune in next week when the music steps up a notch as we enter the fourth generation....
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
That's Un-Possible
Earlier this year I made a post criticizing the end of the Commodore 64 game Impossible Mission 2 and describing how puzzling and abrupt it was.
Since then, I've managed to come across the original manual (you really can find anything on the 'net so it would seem!) which sheds some light on the matter: Apparently the baddie Dr. Elvin Atombender had a full arsenal of weapons ready to destroy civilization leaving the agent to infiltrate his base, find the right computer and shut it down (hence the three computers in the final room). From there, the agent was to be picked up from the roof of the base via helicopter.
I suppose that does explain a lot. It may also account for the white shape being Atombender who, it seems, would rather commit suicide than admitting defeat. And whilst I welcome this revelation after years of bafflement it is still far from satisfying. It doesn't help that Atombender may look like the agent and share the same scream (most likely through the limitations of the hardware) and it still doesn't explain why the whole event is being viewed through a computer screen.
But then again why I am complaining about this game? It wasn't as good as the original anyway.
Since then, I've managed to come across the original manual (you really can find anything on the 'net so it would seem!) which sheds some light on the matter: Apparently the baddie Dr. Elvin Atombender had a full arsenal of weapons ready to destroy civilization leaving the agent to infiltrate his base, find the right computer and shut it down (hence the three computers in the final room). From there, the agent was to be picked up from the roof of the base via helicopter.
I suppose that does explain a lot. It may also account for the white shape being Atombender who, it seems, would rather commit suicide than admitting defeat. And whilst I welcome this revelation after years of bafflement it is still far from satisfying. It doesn't help that Atombender may look like the agent and share the same scream (most likely through the limitations of the hardware) and it still doesn't explain why the whole event is being viewed through a computer screen.
But then again why I am complaining about this game? It wasn't as good as the original anyway.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Unlucky Seven
...blah blah big news blah blah Final Fantasy X blah blah PS3 remake blah blah....
Now that we got that out of the way, reaction this surprising announcement seems to be a mixture of delight and disgust. And whilst people getting irate over decisions made by SqueeEnix is nothing new, the loudest voices of disgust come from those who wanted a VII remake. Good lord are people still demanding this?
Okay firstly, FFX for the PS3 is not a remake. No, it's a straight up port only in HD.
Now we got that out of the way....
Secondly, as SqueeEnix have said before, remaking FF7 would involve starting over from scratch and a large budget. Conversely revamping FFX in HD thus seems more easier and less costly on their end.
Thirdly, no one's really missing out on anything: FF7 is still available on the PSN the last time I checked.
Fourthly FF7 is pretty much lightening in a bottle: It happened and it's probably never going to happen again - no matter how much the fans want it to nor how hard SqueeEnix try with the Final Fantasy games since. It's a standard that can't be met so why bother? Why not just walk away from it and move on?
And finally, Aerith's not going to come back. She did her job of extracting an emotional response from the player better than anyone could've hoped for so let's just let her rest in peace - and just because the PS2 revamp of Phantasy Star 2 offered the resurrection of Nei, doesn't mean FF7 has to do the same.
Really, the more I look at this notion of remaking Final Fantasy 7 the more it become clear that people are after the same experience they had when they were ten years old. That being said, let me tell you something kids: When I was ten years old, I played Pool of Radiance on the Commodore 64. I played it, loved it, and was my gateway drug to the worlds of both RPGs and Dungeons & Dragons. Years later it got a remake - but it was one many people would rather forget.
Now that we got that out of the way, reaction this surprising announcement seems to be a mixture of delight and disgust. And whilst people getting irate over decisions made by SqueeEnix is nothing new, the loudest voices of disgust come from those who wanted a VII remake. Good lord are people still demanding this?
Okay firstly, FFX for the PS3 is not a remake. No, it's a straight up port only in HD.
Now we got that out of the way....
Secondly, as SqueeEnix have said before, remaking FF7 would involve starting over from scratch and a large budget. Conversely revamping FFX in HD thus seems more easier and less costly on their end.
Thirdly, no one's really missing out on anything: FF7 is still available on the PSN the last time I checked.
Fourthly FF7 is pretty much lightening in a bottle: It happened and it's probably never going to happen again - no matter how much the fans want it to nor how hard SqueeEnix try with the Final Fantasy games since. It's a standard that can't be met so why bother? Why not just walk away from it and move on?
And finally, Aerith's not going to come back. She did her job of extracting an emotional response from the player better than anyone could've hoped for so let's just let her rest in peace - and just because the PS2 revamp of Phantasy Star 2 offered the resurrection of Nei, doesn't mean FF7 has to do the same.
Really, the more I look at this notion of remaking Final Fantasy 7 the more it become clear that people are after the same experience they had when they were ten years old. That being said, let me tell you something kids: When I was ten years old, I played Pool of Radiance on the Commodore 64. I played it, loved it, and was my gateway drug to the worlds of both RPGs and Dungeons & Dragons. Years later it got a remake - but it was one many people would rather forget.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Game of Thrones
Last week I observed the enduring popularity of Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy 7 noting that both games are pretty much the pinnacle of a tried and tested formula. And once it’s made clear that the formula worked, the influence of such knowledge creeps into playing both the predecessors and the successors of both games.
But I want to talk more about this: namely the enduring popularity of Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy 7. Both games were released in the late nineties yet they’ve enjoyed a continued popularity and longevity that many other games would envy. Sure the likes of World of Warcraft and Minecraft may have racked up millions of users but even if those games have both revealed a surprising degree of longevity they have no hope in hell of catching up to OoT and FF7.
In a way the continued popularity/longevity of OoT and FF7 is surprising - surprising when you consider that no such thing exists in this industry where things tend to run at a sprint-like pace. Why is this attention and regard continually reserved for these two? I refuse to use the N-word because that is really more half-arsed excuse – and if N…Nos….Nostradamus is such a potent force then Final Fantasy 7 would be outpaced in acclaim and esteem by it’s younger brother Final Fantasy 6 and as we know this is not the case.
In addition, I refuse to believe that things from your childhood can still work in adulthood: More often than not, games one played as a kid look different from an adult perspective. The former is blinded by the enthusiasm of new discovery but the latter is has experience and the ability to think critically. By way of example, I recall playing Alex Kidd on the Master System when I was a little tacker but to play it now as an adult I’m wonder how the wonky controls and tough difficulty didn’t drive me off the rails. Besides, if I was recall games I played when I was ten years old, I would dust off games from the Commodore 64 era that I would rather much like to forget.
So it’s pretty much fair to say that the continued popularity of OoT and FF7 is that they are really good games. I will not deny that (even if I think the OoT camera is frustrating and FF6 was better) but here’s what I want to know: are OoT and FF7 the holy grail? The pinnacle of gaming? Irrefutable proof that things aren’t going to be better so it’s pointless to even try? How awesome does a game have to be that it can still be enjoyed no matter how much both time and technological advancements can throw at it?
It would seem to usurp the continued reigns of both OoT and FF7 a game would need to impossibly good. Is that even possible? Or even worth doing? Or do game designers have to do something different to grab one’s attention? True Portal did that with it’s black humour but that may have proven it’s undoing: Sure it made us laugh but it’s the laughter that people remember. Thus whilst everyone can recall the Cake Being a Lie, they are still none the wiser of how they came to that conclusion. Thus it becomes clear that if you make people laugh, they’ll follow you over a cliff. Why, I see GLaDOS being continually regarded as a memorable baddie but I doubt it is for any reason other than: ‘she made me laugh’.
But I digress. True playing OoT and FF7 may represent a point in time but ultimately it may be time to move on. More games have been released since and the latest gaming advancements mean that anything is possible – even that which was once impossible now being feasible. It may be unlikely that something mind-blowingly awesome will come storming in and usurp the throne held by OoT and FF7 but that is no reason to stop trying.
I mean, by way of comparison, it’s not like movies stopped being made for nearly seventy years just because Citizen Kane was made.
But I want to talk more about this: namely the enduring popularity of Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy 7. Both games were released in the late nineties yet they’ve enjoyed a continued popularity and longevity that many other games would envy. Sure the likes of World of Warcraft and Minecraft may have racked up millions of users but even if those games have both revealed a surprising degree of longevity they have no hope in hell of catching up to OoT and FF7.
In a way the continued popularity/longevity of OoT and FF7 is surprising - surprising when you consider that no such thing exists in this industry where things tend to run at a sprint-like pace. Why is this attention and regard continually reserved for these two? I refuse to use the N-word because that is really more half-arsed excuse – and if N…Nos….Nostradamus is such a potent force then Final Fantasy 7 would be outpaced in acclaim and esteem by it’s younger brother Final Fantasy 6 and as we know this is not the case.
In addition, I refuse to believe that things from your childhood can still work in adulthood: More often than not, games one played as a kid look different from an adult perspective. The former is blinded by the enthusiasm of new discovery but the latter is has experience and the ability to think critically. By way of example, I recall playing Alex Kidd on the Master System when I was a little tacker but to play it now as an adult I’m wonder how the wonky controls and tough difficulty didn’t drive me off the rails. Besides, if I was recall games I played when I was ten years old, I would dust off games from the Commodore 64 era that I would rather much like to forget.
So it’s pretty much fair to say that the continued popularity of OoT and FF7 is that they are really good games. I will not deny that (even if I think the OoT camera is frustrating and FF6 was better) but here’s what I want to know: are OoT and FF7 the holy grail? The pinnacle of gaming? Irrefutable proof that things aren’t going to be better so it’s pointless to even try? How awesome does a game have to be that it can still be enjoyed no matter how much both time and technological advancements can throw at it?
It would seem to usurp the continued reigns of both OoT and FF7 a game would need to impossibly good. Is that even possible? Or even worth doing? Or do game designers have to do something different to grab one’s attention? True Portal did that with it’s black humour but that may have proven it’s undoing: Sure it made us laugh but it’s the laughter that people remember. Thus whilst everyone can recall the Cake Being a Lie, they are still none the wiser of how they came to that conclusion. Thus it becomes clear that if you make people laugh, they’ll follow you over a cliff. Why, I see GLaDOS being continually regarded as a memorable baddie but I doubt it is for any reason other than: ‘she made me laugh’.
But I digress. True playing OoT and FF7 may represent a point in time but ultimately it may be time to move on. More games have been released since and the latest gaming advancements mean that anything is possible – even that which was once impossible now being feasible. It may be unlikely that something mind-blowingly awesome will come storming in and usurp the throne held by OoT and FF7 but that is no reason to stop trying.
I mean, by way of comparison, it’s not like movies stopped being made for nearly seventy years just because Citizen Kane was made.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Degeneration (no.2)
Thought I’ll try something different for this blog: So for the next following weeks, I’ll get a series going discussing my thoughts on the past console generations. Each Friday, I’ll go through past console generations and sharing my opinions and past experiences.
So let’s start at the beginning…with the second generation.
Atari 2600
They say that you always remember the very first console you’ve played. However, that precise moment has been lost to me in the mists of time (no doubt aided by copious amounts of alcohol consumed in the many years since). I never owned a console when I was a kid so I had to settle for a Commodore 64 – thus it was only through other people that I was able to play the machines made by Sega and Nintendo.
However, whilst the issue of the very first console I played may be debatable, I do recall playing the Atari 2600. So for the purposes of this series, the Atari 2600 will be the first console I’ve played.
I remember the Atari 2600 from my school days. On every Wednesday, I’ll spend the afternoon in after-school care where they had four Atari 2600 set up for use on creaky TVs. I often found the Atari’s a strange beast: They smelt of dust and age, the cartridges had to be beaten in with the force of a sledgehammer to make them work and half the controllers were defective.
Nevertheless, I played many games on many a Wednesday afternoon. Many of which assisted with my gamer education. I can still recall the thrill of actually winning a racing game with Grand Prix. I can still remember seeing the visual effects in Enduro and being awe-struck. I enjoyed the multiple battle options in Combat. And I can still point to Pitfall 2 as being the first game whose theme I committed to memory. Other moments I enjoyed was laughing when the chicken got splattered in freeway, running away from the polar bear in Frostbite, enjoying the vine swinging in Jungle Hunt only to get confused with the swimming challenge. Other enjoyable games were Ghost Manor, Mega Mania, Atlantis, Moonsweeper, River Raid and Seaquest.
I even got to play some conversions of noteworthy arcade games like Donkey Kong, Berzerk, Asteroids, Centipede and Space Invaders.
Looking back, these games are indeed primitive to look at now and show just how confined the programmers were with the tools they had to work with. Yet there is indeed a sense that these games appealed to me to then because they were fun to play.
They have a timeless quality that can still maintain attention even with nearly thirty years of gaming technological advancements. I guess with such (now) technology maintaining the fun factor was the highest of priorities. That being said, it’s easy to see how this whole business got started.
And of course, many of these games can even appeal to me as an adult – seriously, Asteroids is the only game in existence that, at the mere mention, can have me enthusiastically squealing like school girl (and I’m not afraid to admit at all).
And as they say, every journey has to start somewhere…
So let’s start at the beginning…with the second generation.
Atari 2600
They say that you always remember the very first console you’ve played. However, that precise moment has been lost to me in the mists of time (no doubt aided by copious amounts of alcohol consumed in the many years since). I never owned a console when I was a kid so I had to settle for a Commodore 64 – thus it was only through other people that I was able to play the machines made by Sega and Nintendo.
However, whilst the issue of the very first console I played may be debatable, I do recall playing the Atari 2600. So for the purposes of this series, the Atari 2600 will be the first console I’ve played.
I remember the Atari 2600 from my school days. On every Wednesday, I’ll spend the afternoon in after-school care where they had four Atari 2600 set up for use on creaky TVs. I often found the Atari’s a strange beast: They smelt of dust and age, the cartridges had to be beaten in with the force of a sledgehammer to make them work and half the controllers were defective.
Nevertheless, I played many games on many a Wednesday afternoon. Many of which assisted with my gamer education. I can still recall the thrill of actually winning a racing game with Grand Prix. I can still remember seeing the visual effects in Enduro and being awe-struck. I enjoyed the multiple battle options in Combat. And I can still point to Pitfall 2 as being the first game whose theme I committed to memory. Other moments I enjoyed was laughing when the chicken got splattered in freeway, running away from the polar bear in Frostbite, enjoying the vine swinging in Jungle Hunt only to get confused with the swimming challenge. Other enjoyable games were Ghost Manor, Mega Mania, Atlantis, Moonsweeper, River Raid and Seaquest.
I even got to play some conversions of noteworthy arcade games like Donkey Kong, Berzerk, Asteroids, Centipede and Space Invaders.
Looking back, these games are indeed primitive to look at now and show just how confined the programmers were with the tools they had to work with. Yet there is indeed a sense that these games appealed to me to then because they were fun to play.
They have a timeless quality that can still maintain attention even with nearly thirty years of gaming technological advancements. I guess with such (now) technology maintaining the fun factor was the highest of priorities. That being said, it’s easy to see how this whole business got started.
And of course, many of these games can even appeal to me as an adult – seriously, Asteroids is the only game in existence that, at the mere mention, can have me enthusiastically squealing like school girl (and I’m not afraid to admit at all).
And as they say, every journey has to start somewhere…
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Time Machine
Still making my way through Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Whilst I've been intimidated before, I'm actually enjoying how things are going so far. Indeed, if people hailed this upon release and are still enamored of it some thirteen years later then it's usually for good reason.
Although I never played them, I remember being aware of the Legend of Zelda throughout the days of the NES and SNES. Indeed, it was only years later that I was able to connect Link to his likeness. And for reason the non-existent romance between between Link and Princess Zelda had some appeal - sure their actual relationship is more speculative but I liked the idea of an elf rescuing a princess. Indeed, much like his Nintendo brother in arms Mario, Link can maintain attention as a character due to that everyman quality.
Many people would've played the Zelda games in their childhood days, having grown up with Nintendo and their various console incarnations - thus much of the love for the Zelda games usually stems from that wide-eyed wonder of discovering something new for the first time. Indeed, many people now can point to Ocarina of Time as being a key moment in their childhood.
Not for me though: Tales of my childhood usually involved playing games on the Commodore 64 and playing various iterations of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - Pool of Radiance being one such title. Thus in that sense, maybe seeing the Zelda games through adult eyes may make for an interesting experience. Indeed, one thing I love about Nintendo is that many of their games have a timeless quality that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
Now, I played the original Legend of Zelda and Link to the Past when I was well an adult (ages 27 and 25 respectively) and I thought they were great. Of course I could dismiss them for having an appearance that many would consider childish but why the hell would I want to do that? I loved exploring the world of Hyrule, finding various tools and building up a character that grew stronger with each step. And most satisfying of all, playing these games helped me in banishing memories of watching that wretched eighties cartoon.
So how does Ocarina of Time look through an adult perspective? Well some of graphics look dated (but being a fifth generation game that's hardly surprising), I the player have no control whatsoever over the camera and there are some elements that point towards 'kiddie' game. But everything else is good fun: The mini-games are amusing, the combat is great, the exploration factor is as strong as ever and it's really fun using various items, not least the Ocarina, at various points and seeing what happens.
So yeah, I'm enjoying Ocarina of Time - And so far so good....
Although I never played them, I remember being aware of the Legend of Zelda throughout the days of the NES and SNES. Indeed, it was only years later that I was able to connect Link to his likeness. And for reason the non-existent romance between between Link and Princess Zelda had some appeal - sure their actual relationship is more speculative but I liked the idea of an elf rescuing a princess. Indeed, much like his Nintendo brother in arms Mario, Link can maintain attention as a character due to that everyman quality.
Many people would've played the Zelda games in their childhood days, having grown up with Nintendo and their various console incarnations - thus much of the love for the Zelda games usually stems from that wide-eyed wonder of discovering something new for the first time. Indeed, many people now can point to Ocarina of Time as being a key moment in their childhood.
Not for me though: Tales of my childhood usually involved playing games on the Commodore 64 and playing various iterations of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - Pool of Radiance being one such title. Thus in that sense, maybe seeing the Zelda games through adult eyes may make for an interesting experience. Indeed, one thing I love about Nintendo is that many of their games have a timeless quality that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
Now, I played the original Legend of Zelda and Link to the Past when I was well an adult (ages 27 and 25 respectively) and I thought they were great. Of course I could dismiss them for having an appearance that many would consider childish but why the hell would I want to do that? I loved exploring the world of Hyrule, finding various tools and building up a character that grew stronger with each step. And most satisfying of all, playing these games helped me in banishing memories of watching that wretched eighties cartoon.
So how does Ocarina of Time look through an adult perspective? Well some of graphics look dated (but being a fifth generation game that's hardly surprising), I the player have no control whatsoever over the camera and there are some elements that point towards 'kiddie' game. But everything else is good fun: The mini-games are amusing, the combat is great, the exploration factor is as strong as ever and it's really fun using various items, not least the Ocarina, at various points and seeing what happens.
So yeah, I'm enjoying Ocarina of Time - And so far so good....
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Impossible to Define
As I mentioned previously in my list of best endings a conclusion to any game can play a key role in making or breaking it completely: It is the end result of the player investing so many hours of their life (not to mention enjoyment) so a decent payoff is crucial. Thus, it is any wonder that talk of the worst game endings inspires so much disgust?
That being said, has there been a game that left me feeling robbed of victory? Why yes there has. Now you young pups can rant about half-arsed game endings but truth be told, you don't know nothing about nothing. That being said, let me tell you about game I played on the Commmodore 64 called Impossible Mission 2.
For the uninitiated, IM2 was the sequel to a game called, funnily enough, Impossible Mission (not to be confused with the TV/movie series Mission: Impossible). Released in 1984, IM pitted an athletic secret agent, controlled by the player, running & jumping his way through a huge multi-story building and outwitting an army of intelligent robots. The ultimate goal was to search each room and find pieces of a puzzle that, when placed together, will eventually reveal a password to outsmart the game's antagonist - a mad scientist by the name of Dr. Elvin Atombender who's threatening to destroy the world (or something).
For it's day IM was something of a pioneer, doing things that were unheard of at the time - namely a) a combination of platforming action and head-scratching puzzles and b) the incorporation of speech in a computer game. The latter in particular, although primitive at the time, really made the game popular and provided such memorable phrases such as "Destroy him My Robots!"; "Another visitor, Stay awhile! Stay Forever!" and the unforgettable "AAAAaaaaAAAAAaaarrrGGHHHH!!!!" (seriously, how come these haven't been made into an Internet meme yet?!)
Which now brings us to IM2: a game, like many sequels, that seems doomed to remain in the shadow of the predecessor. On the plus side, it does what a true sequel and expands on the original concept: The secret agent now has a number of gadgets and devices at his disposal, the rooms in each tower section are now all themed and there are a number of new robots for the player to outwit. On the downside, the graphics look drab and uninspiring (unlike the first IM), the inital thrill of the voice synthesizing has significantly less impact and the puzzle element has been reduced almost completely - true there still remains a code to be cracked but now it's done through some bizarre system involving musical samples.
And then there is the ending: The agent cracks the code, finds a secret/central room to the building, locates the correct computer and...well..... see for yourself:
I remember seeing this when I was about 8-10 years old and I had no idea what the hell was going on. Some twenty years later and I STILL have no idea what this ending is trying to convey. What happened? What was the white shape jumping off the building? Was it the agent? His ghost? An astral projection?! And why is this whole scene being viewed on a computer monitor?!
Some people have complained about video games having vague/abrupt endings but this truly takes the cake - Indeed matters aren't helped with a question mark accompanying the declaration of The End.
However, reading the comments that accompanied that youtube clip, there is theory that the white shape is in fact Elvin Atombender, committing suicide rather than admitting defeat - the white shape was meant to be someone running in a white lab coat only the programmers ran out of time/memory to make it so. Such limitations may account for why the shape is a palette swap of the agent and why 'Elvin' seems to have the same death scream.
It's a plausible theory but that's what it is: A theory. It's doubtful that the ending will ever make sense - and certainly won't erase nearly twenty years of wondering what kind of ending was that.
Seriously, you kids today have it easy....
That being said, has there been a game that left me feeling robbed of victory? Why yes there has. Now you young pups can rant about half-arsed game endings but truth be told, you don't know nothing about nothing. That being said, let me tell you about game I played on the Commmodore 64 called Impossible Mission 2.
For the uninitiated, IM2 was the sequel to a game called, funnily enough, Impossible Mission (not to be confused with the TV/movie series Mission: Impossible). Released in 1984, IM pitted an athletic secret agent, controlled by the player, running & jumping his way through a huge multi-story building and outwitting an army of intelligent robots. The ultimate goal was to search each room and find pieces of a puzzle that, when placed together, will eventually reveal a password to outsmart the game's antagonist - a mad scientist by the name of Dr. Elvin Atombender who's threatening to destroy the world (or something).
For it's day IM was something of a pioneer, doing things that were unheard of at the time - namely a) a combination of platforming action and head-scratching puzzles and b) the incorporation of speech in a computer game. The latter in particular, although primitive at the time, really made the game popular and provided such memorable phrases such as "Destroy him My Robots!"; "Another visitor, Stay awhile! Stay Forever!" and the unforgettable "AAAAaaaaAAAAAaaarrrGGHHHH!!!!" (seriously, how come these haven't been made into an Internet meme yet?!)
Which now brings us to IM2: a game, like many sequels, that seems doomed to remain in the shadow of the predecessor. On the plus side, it does what a true sequel and expands on the original concept: The secret agent now has a number of gadgets and devices at his disposal, the rooms in each tower section are now all themed and there are a number of new robots for the player to outwit. On the downside, the graphics look drab and uninspiring (unlike the first IM), the inital thrill of the voice synthesizing has significantly less impact and the puzzle element has been reduced almost completely - true there still remains a code to be cracked but now it's done through some bizarre system involving musical samples.
And then there is the ending: The agent cracks the code, finds a secret/central room to the building, locates the correct computer and...well..... see for yourself:
I remember seeing this when I was about 8-10 years old and I had no idea what the hell was going on. Some twenty years later and I STILL have no idea what this ending is trying to convey. What happened? What was the white shape jumping off the building? Was it the agent? His ghost? An astral projection?! And why is this whole scene being viewed on a computer monitor?!
Some people have complained about video games having vague/abrupt endings but this truly takes the cake - Indeed matters aren't helped with a question mark accompanying the declaration of The End.
However, reading the comments that accompanied that youtube clip, there is theory that the white shape is in fact Elvin Atombender, committing suicide rather than admitting defeat - the white shape was meant to be someone running in a white lab coat only the programmers ran out of time/memory to make it so. Such limitations may account for why the shape is a palette swap of the agent and why 'Elvin' seems to have the same death scream.
It's a plausible theory but that's what it is: A theory. It's doubtful that the ending will ever make sense - and certainly won't erase nearly twenty years of wondering what kind of ending was that.
Seriously, you kids today have it easy....
Monday, February 21, 2011
Showing one's age
I use my Wii almost exclusively for the Virtual Console (and I swear I'm not the only one who does so). For me, it is the means of catching up on stuff that I missed out on the first time around - Indeed adulthood certainly makes way for a whole lot more freedom than one's teen years.
However, it is interesting to note that looking back, some games that may have seemed ace at the time haven't really aged well. The greatest offender here is Super Mario 64. Now, I've played Super Mario 64 many times and actually find it quite enjoyable. I recall when it was released it was universally praised and many people crediting it (and even now) as being the game that took the then new technology of 3d environments and made it fun. HOWEVER! Looking back at it now, the problem of the crummy camera functions are glaringly obvious - Indeed, this has been such a problem you have to wonder how Nintendo, who have prided themselves in game design, could have gotten away with it. And how many people can overlook this problem to, then and now, dub Super Mario 64, the Greatest Game EVAH.
Indeed, it is interesting to consider how many games can be loved on their initial release only to be condemned (with venom) years later. The backlash is interesting indeed, exhibit the kind of betrayal one would think they are dealing with Marcus Brutus, Benedict Arnold or Judas. Sure nostalgia may play it's part but I don't buy that: Nostalgia only provides a positive experience that people are trying to find every since but as such an experience is a unique one, such a quest is a doomed mission. And if the first few games one plays had such an important part in one's perspective I'd be playing the Commodore 64 version of Double Dragon over Beatles Rock Band but this is not the case.
It is interesting to note how many games have staying power within an industry where everything moves so quickly: Technological advancements get developed quickly and, as such, gamer's attention is quite limited and fickle. I still enjoy games from obsolete consoles (give me Secret of Mana over any recent JRPG any day) and for good reason: They work. They have great ideas, attention to detail, efficient design and a technical spark that makes the game enjoy a lifespan far longer than it's parent console.
It makes me wonder what people ten or fifteen years from now are going to think of the games going around at the present time. Compare Super Mario Galaxy to Super Mario World: they may look like they've come from different planets (pun most certainly intended) but that's fifteen years of technological advancement right there. So when you consider Gears of War 2 you have to wonder what things are going to look like in in 2025.....
However, it is interesting to note that looking back, some games that may have seemed ace at the time haven't really aged well. The greatest offender here is Super Mario 64. Now, I've played Super Mario 64 many times and actually find it quite enjoyable. I recall when it was released it was universally praised and many people crediting it (and even now) as being the game that took the then new technology of 3d environments and made it fun. HOWEVER! Looking back at it now, the problem of the crummy camera functions are glaringly obvious - Indeed, this has been such a problem you have to wonder how Nintendo, who have prided themselves in game design, could have gotten away with it. And how many people can overlook this problem to, then and now, dub Super Mario 64, the Greatest Game EVAH.
Indeed, it is interesting to consider how many games can be loved on their initial release only to be condemned (with venom) years later. The backlash is interesting indeed, exhibit the kind of betrayal one would think they are dealing with Marcus Brutus, Benedict Arnold or Judas. Sure nostalgia may play it's part but I don't buy that: Nostalgia only provides a positive experience that people are trying to find every since but as such an experience is a unique one, such a quest is a doomed mission. And if the first few games one plays had such an important part in one's perspective I'd be playing the Commodore 64 version of Double Dragon over Beatles Rock Band but this is not the case.
It is interesting to note how many games have staying power within an industry where everything moves so quickly: Technological advancements get developed quickly and, as such, gamer's attention is quite limited and fickle. I still enjoy games from obsolete consoles (give me Secret of Mana over any recent JRPG any day) and for good reason: They work. They have great ideas, attention to detail, efficient design and a technical spark that makes the game enjoy a lifespan far longer than it's parent console.
It makes me wonder what people ten or fifteen years from now are going to think of the games going around at the present time. Compare Super Mario Galaxy to Super Mario World: they may look like they've come from different planets (pun most certainly intended) but that's fifteen years of technological advancement right there. So when you consider Gears of War 2 you have to wonder what things are going to look like in in 2025.....
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
All Your Base Are Belong to Meme
It's January 26th- Happy Australia Day! Woohoo!
Anyway, I find the All Your Base meme a curious fascination. Aside from the popularization of bad Engrish and that seemingly nonsensical combination of those three words, what I find most interesting is that it gave the seemingly forgotten game Zero Wing a new lease of life (I say forgotten in that it was never released in the US).
Could it thus be possible for another forgotten game to be resurrected as such? Of course what may have been impressive in a previous era can easily come across as down right cheesy (hence the success of the meme) but seriously, if a new life can be given to Zero Wing, then there's no reason why it can't happen to another video game.
That being said, I have a challenge in mind:
Anyone remember Impossible Mission? Not to be confused with the similarly titled TV series (and game tie-in), IM was released on the Commodore 64 and then other 8bit computers and featured an athletic secret agent ransacking a building of many rooms and dodging malevolent robots to find pieces of a puzzle. Finding said puzzle pieces ultimately leads to cracking a secret code to thwart a mad-scientist. For it's time, IM was hailed for it's then innovative combination of compelling puzzles and action platforming. But for many the major selling point was the use of synthesized voices. Although primitive now, IM's voice acting (if you can call it that) had some cool moments: The death scream when the protagonist falls down a hole, the villain's taunt: "Destroy him my Robots!" and the classic introductory line of "Another visitor! Stay Awhile! Staaaayyy Foreverrrrrr!"
My challenge is for someone to make a dance remix using those samples. That's right remixers: Someone take the six voice samples making up IM and turn them into a dance track.
I mean if Bill Bailey and Pendulum can make dance remixes out of TV News Themes then anything can be posisble...
Anyway, I find the All Your Base meme a curious fascination. Aside from the popularization of bad Engrish and that seemingly nonsensical combination of those three words, what I find most interesting is that it gave the seemingly forgotten game Zero Wing a new lease of life (I say forgotten in that it was never released in the US).
Could it thus be possible for another forgotten game to be resurrected as such? Of course what may have been impressive in a previous era can easily come across as down right cheesy (hence the success of the meme) but seriously, if a new life can be given to Zero Wing, then there's no reason why it can't happen to another video game.
That being said, I have a challenge in mind:
Anyone remember Impossible Mission? Not to be confused with the similarly titled TV series (and game tie-in), IM was released on the Commodore 64 and then other 8bit computers and featured an athletic secret agent ransacking a building of many rooms and dodging malevolent robots to find pieces of a puzzle. Finding said puzzle pieces ultimately leads to cracking a secret code to thwart a mad-scientist. For it's time, IM was hailed for it's then innovative combination of compelling puzzles and action platforming. But for many the major selling point was the use of synthesized voices. Although primitive now, IM's voice acting (if you can call it that) had some cool moments: The death scream when the protagonist falls down a hole, the villain's taunt: "Destroy him my Robots!" and the classic introductory line of "Another visitor! Stay Awhile! Staaaayyy Foreverrrrrr!"
My challenge is for someone to make a dance remix using those samples. That's right remixers: Someone take the six voice samples making up IM and turn them into a dance track.
I mean if Bill Bailey and Pendulum can make dance remixes out of TV News Themes then anything can be posisble...
Friday, January 21, 2011
First In, Best Dressed
They say you always remember the first game you ever played. I however beg to differ: I started gaming at a young age and, as a result, it is difficult to pinpoint WHAT was the first game I ever played.
So, whilst I can't recall exactly what the first game I ever played was, I do however have some likely candidates:
(treasure game)
This may be the very first game (computer or console) I ever played - but I am reluctant to count it as I've forgotten it's name! Still, I do remember it well: I played this game on the Commodore 64 and it, although basic, involved the player exploring a series of islands to find a treasure chest. Along the way, a great deal of exploration is involved, with the player discovering items - some necessary to solve problems - and evading a sea monster. Again this sounds incredibly basic but, for a young lad, this was awesome indeed.
Pitfall! 2
I have fond memories of playing this on the Atari 2600 - in retrospect it was everything a sequel should be: outclassing the predecessor in every possible way. Indeed, I found it very hard to go back to the original after playing Pitfall 2. Plus, I do recall Pitfall 2 has having the very first tune I committed to memory.
Super Mario Brothers
I recall my brother inviting his friend round with his NES. Along the games he had, was Super Mario Brothers. It must've made quite an impression on me because I'm still playing it now! Which goes to show that a great game shall forever remain a great game.
So, whilst I can't recall exactly what the first game I ever played was, I do however have some likely candidates:
(treasure game)
This may be the very first game (computer or console) I ever played - but I am reluctant to count it as I've forgotten it's name! Still, I do remember it well: I played this game on the Commodore 64 and it, although basic, involved the player exploring a series of islands to find a treasure chest. Along the way, a great deal of exploration is involved, with the player discovering items - some necessary to solve problems - and evading a sea monster. Again this sounds incredibly basic but, for a young lad, this was awesome indeed.
Pitfall! 2
I have fond memories of playing this on the Atari 2600 - in retrospect it was everything a sequel should be: outclassing the predecessor in every possible way. Indeed, I found it very hard to go back to the original after playing Pitfall 2. Plus, I do recall Pitfall 2 has having the very first tune I committed to memory.
Super Mario Brothers
I recall my brother inviting his friend round with his NES. Along the games he had, was Super Mario Brothers. It must've made quite an impression on me because I'm still playing it now! Which goes to show that a great game shall forever remain a great game.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Final Fantasy: A Love Story
As mentioned previously, I prefer western RPGs over JRPGs - which is why I'm far more keen to have a second run through Baldur's Gate 2 instead of getting off my arse and completing those various Final Fantasy games I started but never finished. Perhaps this is due to me playing a WRPG first - in the form of Pool of Radiance on the Commodore 64 - whilst many people played their first RPG with Final Fantasy 7. I guess the first time you encounter something really is the one you best remember.
Therefore, it is only as recent as 2006 that my attention finally fell on Final Fantasy. I knew little of the series beforehand: I knew it was on the SNES as well as the Playstation, and beyond seeing a lot of promos for FF8 upon it's release, inspiring many upon many fans and seeing some figurines of FFX/X2 & thinking Yuna looked kinda hot, my knowledge of FF was limited.
Five years later, where am I at?
I'm not sure but that doesn't stop me writing a retrospective on Final Fantasy!
So today, I'm going to take the time to write about the FF games I have played and share my thoughts on them. It may have been done before but in my mind, I like WRPG's and I encountered my FF games well out of order. Should make for some interesting reading? Let's find out!
-------------------
Final Fantasy X
This is where it all started: This was the very first FF I ever played.
I'm not sure what set me off into the weird and wonderful world of FF: I did know, however, that when I finally got enough money to purchase PS2 I needed some games to go with it. Recognizing Yuna, I picked up FFX and, for a while, I played it at the expense of the other games.
Granted it wasn’t the best place to start explorations with FF but for some reason it was quite an entertaining game. The graphics were gorgeous, the music was equally glorious, the plot was compelling, the sphere grid was fun to use and it was generally fun to go around and bonk some heads. Plus the romance between Yuna and Tidus was actually one that was worth following all the way through. Like many people who played FF7 on the PS1, this game introduced me to the conventions of the JRPG and revealed to me how it was a very different beast than the AD&D rules I had been accustomed to through playing WRPGs.
So does the first time you encounter something leave the greater impression? Not so in this case. Now that I’ve played other FF games, the flaws of FFX become glaringly obvious: The game is awfully restrictive on where you can go, the minigames are horrifically tedious, the voice acting is plain awful, and running back and forth over the same strip of land just to find some baddies to level up is no fun at all.
Looking back, it may have been great at the time, and indeed certainly still holds some degree of appeal, but there’s a lot it’s older brothers did better. But still, ya gotta start somewhere and for an introduction to the series, I’ll give FFX that much.
And to wrap this up before moving on, seeing the rather unflattering things FFX has to say about religion, I wonder if Christopher Hitchins would like this game?
Final Fantasy IV
I should at this point stress that my encounters with the FF games are all out of order but this was more or less by accident: It just happened! That being said, it may seem a tremendous cultural shock going from wonderful PS2 graphics/sound to antiqued SNES graphics/sound but I was still willing to take the plunge: I heard IV was one of the best of the series so it would be interesting to see if the game lived up to such claims.
And you know something? It was actually quite fun to play. The graphics were bright and colourful (and in retrospect unusual for a FF game), the characters where charismatic and fun to watch (except, of course, Edward, the patron saint of useless RPG characters), the setting is truly a diverse and well-realised world. Best of all, while FF4 may be ahead of other games, at the time, in telling a story it still is quite aware it is game and requires a degree of interaction from the audience. Furthermore, it’s interesting to see how many ideas this game had – interesting when you consider which ideas have endured throughout the series right to the present day.
Mind you, there were some frustrating moments: Maybe it was me but whenever I wanted to go around trying to level up my party, FF4 seemed reluctant to let me do so: I would be levelling up smoothly for a while before the game would suddenly decide to slow down the progression dramatically. Thus the levelling-up would stop being fun and instead become laborious. It was if the game wanted to tell it’s story so badly, that doing something I wanted to do was simply not on. It’s interesting to note how certain modern games seem to be repeating the same mistake, with placing story over gameplay.
Grumbling aside, FF4 was good fun, being certainly worth coming back to have a bash and a game that has aged quite well. From a historical perspective, it is interesting to note that this game was putting forth a formula that many of the FF games have been utilising ever since. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Final Fantasy VI
Many people deem Final Fantasy 6 as the best in the series – I myself consider myself one of those people. Of course, it will never reach the level of popularity its successor achieved but who cares? If people aren’t willing to take the effort to track down this gem among gems of a game it's their loss. Nothing to do with me
So what can I say about FF6 that hasn’t been said before? What makes FF6 work is that it has a good degree of heart. Playing it now, it strikes me that Square knew that the SNES was nearing the end of its lifespan so they went all out: They drew all the elements that worked in its predecessors together. They had the biggest cast ever assembled for a FF game, each with their own back-story, quirks and personality. They had a story that didn’t hold back, had some surprising twists and really defined the word ‘epic’. They pushed the graphic capabilities of the SNES further than they had ever done before. They ditched the colourful palettes of the previous five games in favour of a grim, dark theme. They got Nobuo Uematsu to produce some unforgettable themes, particularly the haunting Terra Theme. They even achieved a milestone for gaming by writing the only opera ever conceived for a game!
Really though, there isn’t much I can say about FF6 because talking about game isn’t any substitute for actually sitting done and playing the damn thing. All I can say is that if lot’s of people dub a game the best game ever it’s usually for good reason.
I’m not for playing a particular game exclusively, I’m not one to shell out on merch, and I’m not one to canonise the people involved with making games. I’m for talking about a game I think is damn good. And FF6 is one of those games.
Final Fantasy IX
As a newcomer to this game, my understanding was that FF9 is the ‘Forgotten Child’ of the series. Some people may overlook in favour of defending the merits of VII, VIII and X, but that’s more likely to occur in the US. You see, I come from Australia – a land where the underdog is celebrated and anyone who has a go at something is acknowledged as a champion. Furthermore, I live by the principles of exploring and discovering things for myself beyond the influence of anyone else, and to give something to speak to me in it’s own words (acknowledge, whether positive or negative, beats being ignored any day). This should make me an ideal candidate to play FF9, right?
So, having completed FF9, it to me, represents a mixture of the good and the bad. Some heavy complaints have been aimed at FF9 and even I have to admit they are glaring – namely the cluttered script, the annoyingly high rate of encounters and the loading times. Me, I was playing this on a PS2 so the loading time’s didn’t bother me (maybe the game would’ve been more at home on the PS2 rather than the PS1?). As for the encounters, it bother me because I was having fun breaking heads – plus I’ve played worse (Skies of Arcadia being one such example) But yes, the script is indeed a mess. It’s a shame, because the first disc held such promise but the pace couldn’t keep up. There were some good ideas used throughout the game but some were swamped with clutter and/or didn’t live up their full potential.
But you know what? When FF9 does something well, it hit’s the bullseye. The party customising was great, the in-jokes/references were fun to pick, and the characters were an endearing bunch. I particularly liked Freya and I thought the story-book romance of Garnet and Zidane was quite charming. So yeah, Final Fantasy 9 got through to me and to that end, it’s a success.
Final Fantasy V
Another one of the forgotten children of the FF family. Being unreleased in the US during the 16-bit era, FF5 tends to be overlooked in favour of its more popular brothers FF4 and FF6. These days, it’s more likely to be dismissed by those weaned on the big budget monsters spawned on the various incarnations of the Sony Playstation. But for many people, it remains the ultimate iteration of FF’s greatest achievements: The Job System. And that reason alone is enough to play it.
Looking back at now, having played other FF titles, it seems to come across as being somewhat goofy: The script seems less serious and the music, in particular, seems nowhere near as the solemn tunes that came before. Both these elements ultimately contributed to FF finding its own destiny so it’s strange that they should be absent.
However, the real meat of the game lies in the job system: the ability to change Jobs throughout the game, mixing and matching abilities to adapt to situations and building up a team of completely unique characters. It was this formula that kept me going through FFX and, to me, is heaps more fun that going through a pre-determined role for the character (so to speak). It was this formula that made the grinding actually enjoyable and the story a lesser priority. Indeed, the Job system was so successfully pulled off in this game it makes me wonder why they haven’t managed to replicate it in many more recent FF games. Indeed, an emphasis on gameplay over everything else is something that makes you wonder why it doesn’t happen more often (FF12, take your License system and SHOVE IT!).
So, I came into FF5 thinking it had something of it’s own to say and found it be a goofy but ultimately very entertaining game. Chalk one up for the underdogs!
Final Fantasy VII
I’ve already spoken about my thoughts about FF7 so there isn’t much to add. So yeah, once I got past the hype, the intimidation and let the game speak to me in its own terms, I found it quite enjoyable to play. Which goes to show that it never pays to listen to hype.
It does seem a shame though that the phenomenal success of FF7 has kinda left its brothers in the shadows, struggling to reach a benchmark that can’t possibly be reached. And Squee Enix are milking that success for all it’s worth with spin offs. Sure people may shout and scream for a PS3 remake for as long and loudly as they like but will the thrill be the same? More importantly, wouldn’t that time spent wishing and hoping be better spent tying something new?
Final Fantasy I
And here, we reach the conclusion of this journey with, where else, the beginning. I recently downloaded this game for the Virtual Console and having an enjoyable time making my way through it. Sure, it looks nothing like the big budget extravaganzas that its younger cousins are. Sure the 8-bit graphics are hard to take seriously when compared to the behemoths residing on the PS3 and Xbox 260. Sure it had some ideas that just needed that extra bit of polish. Sure it was pretty much figuring itself out but DAMN, this is just a really fun game to play. Will this mood outlast the first few hours (as JRPG’s are wont to do)? Only time will tell…..
Therefore, it is only as recent as 2006 that my attention finally fell on Final Fantasy. I knew little of the series beforehand: I knew it was on the SNES as well as the Playstation, and beyond seeing a lot of promos for FF8 upon it's release, inspiring many upon many fans and seeing some figurines of FFX/X2 & thinking Yuna looked kinda hot, my knowledge of FF was limited.
Five years later, where am I at?
I'm not sure but that doesn't stop me writing a retrospective on Final Fantasy!
So today, I'm going to take the time to write about the FF games I have played and share my thoughts on them. It may have been done before but in my mind, I like WRPG's and I encountered my FF games well out of order. Should make for some interesting reading? Let's find out!
-------------------
Final Fantasy X
This is where it all started: This was the very first FF I ever played.
I'm not sure what set me off into the weird and wonderful world of FF: I did know, however, that when I finally got enough money to purchase PS2 I needed some games to go with it. Recognizing Yuna, I picked up FFX and, for a while, I played it at the expense of the other games.
Granted it wasn’t the best place to start explorations with FF but for some reason it was quite an entertaining game. The graphics were gorgeous, the music was equally glorious, the plot was compelling, the sphere grid was fun to use and it was generally fun to go around and bonk some heads. Plus the romance between Yuna and Tidus was actually one that was worth following all the way through. Like many people who played FF7 on the PS1, this game introduced me to the conventions of the JRPG and revealed to me how it was a very different beast than the AD&D rules I had been accustomed to through playing WRPGs.
So does the first time you encounter something leave the greater impression? Not so in this case. Now that I’ve played other FF games, the flaws of FFX become glaringly obvious: The game is awfully restrictive on where you can go, the minigames are horrifically tedious, the voice acting is plain awful, and running back and forth over the same strip of land just to find some baddies to level up is no fun at all.
Looking back, it may have been great at the time, and indeed certainly still holds some degree of appeal, but there’s a lot it’s older brothers did better. But still, ya gotta start somewhere and for an introduction to the series, I’ll give FFX that much.
And to wrap this up before moving on, seeing the rather unflattering things FFX has to say about religion, I wonder if Christopher Hitchins would like this game?
Final Fantasy IV
I should at this point stress that my encounters with the FF games are all out of order but this was more or less by accident: It just happened! That being said, it may seem a tremendous cultural shock going from wonderful PS2 graphics/sound to antiqued SNES graphics/sound but I was still willing to take the plunge: I heard IV was one of the best of the series so it would be interesting to see if the game lived up to such claims.
And you know something? It was actually quite fun to play. The graphics were bright and colourful (and in retrospect unusual for a FF game), the characters where charismatic and fun to watch (except, of course, Edward, the patron saint of useless RPG characters), the setting is truly a diverse and well-realised world. Best of all, while FF4 may be ahead of other games, at the time, in telling a story it still is quite aware it is game and requires a degree of interaction from the audience. Furthermore, it’s interesting to see how many ideas this game had – interesting when you consider which ideas have endured throughout the series right to the present day.
Mind you, there were some frustrating moments: Maybe it was me but whenever I wanted to go around trying to level up my party, FF4 seemed reluctant to let me do so: I would be levelling up smoothly for a while before the game would suddenly decide to slow down the progression dramatically. Thus the levelling-up would stop being fun and instead become laborious. It was if the game wanted to tell it’s story so badly, that doing something I wanted to do was simply not on. It’s interesting to note how certain modern games seem to be repeating the same mistake, with placing story over gameplay.
Grumbling aside, FF4 was good fun, being certainly worth coming back to have a bash and a game that has aged quite well. From a historical perspective, it is interesting to note that this game was putting forth a formula that many of the FF games have been utilising ever since. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Final Fantasy VI
Many people deem Final Fantasy 6 as the best in the series – I myself consider myself one of those people. Of course, it will never reach the level of popularity its successor achieved but who cares? If people aren’t willing to take the effort to track down this gem among gems of a game it's their loss. Nothing to do with me
So what can I say about FF6 that hasn’t been said before? What makes FF6 work is that it has a good degree of heart. Playing it now, it strikes me that Square knew that the SNES was nearing the end of its lifespan so they went all out: They drew all the elements that worked in its predecessors together. They had the biggest cast ever assembled for a FF game, each with their own back-story, quirks and personality. They had a story that didn’t hold back, had some surprising twists and really defined the word ‘epic’. They pushed the graphic capabilities of the SNES further than they had ever done before. They ditched the colourful palettes of the previous five games in favour of a grim, dark theme. They got Nobuo Uematsu to produce some unforgettable themes, particularly the haunting Terra Theme. They even achieved a milestone for gaming by writing the only opera ever conceived for a game!
Really though, there isn’t much I can say about FF6 because talking about game isn’t any substitute for actually sitting done and playing the damn thing. All I can say is that if lot’s of people dub a game the best game ever it’s usually for good reason.
I’m not for playing a particular game exclusively, I’m not one to shell out on merch, and I’m not one to canonise the people involved with making games. I’m for talking about a game I think is damn good. And FF6 is one of those games.
Final Fantasy IX
As a newcomer to this game, my understanding was that FF9 is the ‘Forgotten Child’ of the series. Some people may overlook in favour of defending the merits of VII, VIII and X, but that’s more likely to occur in the US. You see, I come from Australia – a land where the underdog is celebrated and anyone who has a go at something is acknowledged as a champion. Furthermore, I live by the principles of exploring and discovering things for myself beyond the influence of anyone else, and to give something to speak to me in it’s own words (acknowledge, whether positive or negative, beats being ignored any day). This should make me an ideal candidate to play FF9, right?
So, having completed FF9, it to me, represents a mixture of the good and the bad. Some heavy complaints have been aimed at FF9 and even I have to admit they are glaring – namely the cluttered script, the annoyingly high rate of encounters and the loading times. Me, I was playing this on a PS2 so the loading time’s didn’t bother me (maybe the game would’ve been more at home on the PS2 rather than the PS1?). As for the encounters, it bother me because I was having fun breaking heads – plus I’ve played worse (Skies of Arcadia being one such example) But yes, the script is indeed a mess. It’s a shame, because the first disc held such promise but the pace couldn’t keep up. There were some good ideas used throughout the game but some were swamped with clutter and/or didn’t live up their full potential.
But you know what? When FF9 does something well, it hit’s the bullseye. The party customising was great, the in-jokes/references were fun to pick, and the characters were an endearing bunch. I particularly liked Freya and I thought the story-book romance of Garnet and Zidane was quite charming. So yeah, Final Fantasy 9 got through to me and to that end, it’s a success.
Final Fantasy V
Another one of the forgotten children of the FF family. Being unreleased in the US during the 16-bit era, FF5 tends to be overlooked in favour of its more popular brothers FF4 and FF6. These days, it’s more likely to be dismissed by those weaned on the big budget monsters spawned on the various incarnations of the Sony Playstation. But for many people, it remains the ultimate iteration of FF’s greatest achievements: The Job System. And that reason alone is enough to play it.
Looking back at now, having played other FF titles, it seems to come across as being somewhat goofy: The script seems less serious and the music, in particular, seems nowhere near as the solemn tunes that came before. Both these elements ultimately contributed to FF finding its own destiny so it’s strange that they should be absent.
However, the real meat of the game lies in the job system: the ability to change Jobs throughout the game, mixing and matching abilities to adapt to situations and building up a team of completely unique characters. It was this formula that kept me going through FFX and, to me, is heaps more fun that going through a pre-determined role for the character (so to speak). It was this formula that made the grinding actually enjoyable and the story a lesser priority. Indeed, the Job system was so successfully pulled off in this game it makes me wonder why they haven’t managed to replicate it in many more recent FF games. Indeed, an emphasis on gameplay over everything else is something that makes you wonder why it doesn’t happen more often (FF12, take your License system and SHOVE IT!).
So, I came into FF5 thinking it had something of it’s own to say and found it be a goofy but ultimately very entertaining game. Chalk one up for the underdogs!
Final Fantasy VII
I’ve already spoken about my thoughts about FF7 so there isn’t much to add. So yeah, once I got past the hype, the intimidation and let the game speak to me in its own terms, I found it quite enjoyable to play. Which goes to show that it never pays to listen to hype.
It does seem a shame though that the phenomenal success of FF7 has kinda left its brothers in the shadows, struggling to reach a benchmark that can’t possibly be reached. And Squee Enix are milking that success for all it’s worth with spin offs. Sure people may shout and scream for a PS3 remake for as long and loudly as they like but will the thrill be the same? More importantly, wouldn’t that time spent wishing and hoping be better spent tying something new?
Final Fantasy I
And here, we reach the conclusion of this journey with, where else, the beginning. I recently downloaded this game for the Virtual Console and having an enjoyable time making my way through it. Sure, it looks nothing like the big budget extravaganzas that its younger cousins are. Sure the 8-bit graphics are hard to take seriously when compared to the behemoths residing on the PS3 and Xbox 260. Sure it had some ideas that just needed that extra bit of polish. Sure it was pretty much figuring itself out but DAMN, this is just a really fun game to play. Will this mood outlast the first few hours (as JRPG’s are wont to do)? Only time will tell…..
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