Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 270 i Retro Gamer

After plenty of hype, the arcade version of Street Fighter IV was ready to go, and it scored 9/10 in both games™ and Edge. Praising the way that special moves were easier to perform, Edge noted that, “The inputs are the same as ever, but SFIV is generous in its interpretation of your intentions, and much less fiddly.” The new mechanics also impressed games™, with the mag stating, “If the Focus system proves as versatile a tool as it appears, then we may now have a Street Fighter to top 3rd Strike,” and also noted that the new Ultra Combos can make for “truly tense exchanges” between evenly matched players. At home, Soulcalibur IV drew almost universal praise on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with scores of 94% from Play,…

GRAPHICS SYNTHESIZER ◼ The graphical processor of the PS2 is clocked at 150MHz and contains 4MB of embedded DRAM. It has a very fast fill-rate of 1.2 gigpixels per second, with Z-buffer, alpha blending and textures. 32MB RDRAM ◼ This is the main memory for the console, and is set up as two 16MB chips with a dual channel bus – each 16-bit, clocked at 400MHz. 2MB RAM ◼ This chip is memory dedicated to the I/O processor. EMOTION ENGINE ◼ The CPU of the PlayStation 2, which also contains both vector units, the DMA controller and the Image Processing Unit (IPU) that is responsible for fast decoding of MPEG-2 data. I/O PROCESSOR ◼ This 32-bit MIPS-3000 processor handles controller and USB inputs, memory card usage and more. It’s the…

◼ If you spent a lot of time with the PS2, there’s a good chance you have fond memories of its memory card screen – whereas most consoles used simple 2D icons to represent save files, the PS2 went a step further and actually offered 3D icons, which gave an extra sense of personality. The fun didn’t stop there though, as the icons could be animated and even have an extra look for when a file was about to be deleted. “I’m not sure if any console had them as complex since the PS2,” says Dugan, who created them for games including Vietcong: Purple Haze. “Personally I always appreciated other games which put in the effort to make interesting save icons on PS2.” Of course, to prevent these models from…

Despite being responsible for the coin-op videogame that helped instigate the arcade revolution – Space Invaders, in case you were wondering – Taito was struggling by the mid-Eighties. A string of below-par or ill-received games had diluted the company’s reputation, and it desperately needed a hit. Then, in 1986, thanks to newly joined designer Fukio Mitsuji, it got one, complete with a twisty denouement that even M Night Shyamalan would be proud of. Bubble Bobble is the tale of two squat and cuddly dragons named Bub and Bob. Bub and Bob happily enjoy life with their puzzlingly human-like girlfriends when Baron Von Blubba kidnaps the lasses, ferreting them to the deepest, furthest grotto in the Cave Of Monsters. The scaly pair have no choice but to venture into the caverns, each…

C64 ◼ Quite simply, one of the C64’s greatest arcade conversions and a playable marvel from Software Creations’ Ste Ruddy and Andrew Threlfall. Bubble Bobble is also one of the best simultaneous two-player experiences on the computer, while the only downside is the twee and annoying music. AMIGA ◼ Another masterful home port of Bubble Bobble from Software Creations. The lovely music from David Whittaker is an Amiga-exclusive bonus, and the arcade game’s sheer playability is perfectly recreated. Includes all levels and the EXTEND bubble bonus scheme. One of the Amiga’s finest arcade conversions AMSTRAD CPC ◼ While lagging behind the C64 game in terms of visuals, this Amstrad port from Software Creations and Firebird is still an entertaining and smooth experience. Sadly, it lacks the speed of its fellow…

» MANUFACTURER: Atari » YEAR: 1987 » COST: £119.99 (launch, deluxe set), £200+ (today, boxed), £150+ (today, unboxed) Though Atari’s 8-bit computer line was approaching its eighth anniversary in 1987, the company was still committed to pushing those products. The problem, as Atari’s Neil Harris told comp.sys.atari.8bit users, was that mass-market stores were “retreating from the computer business” and “doing a fabulous business in game systems like Nintendo, Sega, and, of course, Atari”. Without machines in stores, software developers were reluctant to support Atari’s machine. The XE Games System (XEGS), like the Atari 5200, would offer the 8-bit computer technology in a console form factor. Unlike the 5200, it would be cross-compatible. The XEGS is an attractively designed device that certainly had a decent amount of grunt, essentially being a redesigned…

What is the first videogame you remember playing, Julian? It was Pong in Woolworths in late 1976. I walked into the shop with my mum and headed over to the electronics counter. At that point calculators were still kind of new and any kind of tech was cool. This one visit though they had a Pong machine hooked up to a TV and there were a couple of kids playing on it. It blew me away. When the kids got dragged away by their parents, I jumped on it and thought it was the greatest thing ever. When did you first become aware of home computers? So that was very late-1976. My brother was into electronics, so he used to get the Maplin catalogue. I used to flick through it,…

A brand-new graphical look ■ The Amiga version was written in 16-colour mode. The PC version, on the other hand, uses the full 256 colours of the VGA palette, giving it a more natural look and more graphical effects than the original. Original soundtrack+ ■ Thanks to Sebastian’s native TFMX player, Chris Huelsbeck’s epic soundtrack can be heard in all its original glory. An oversampling function can also be used to enhance the listening experience, although this required a very powerful PC at the time. All the content ■ All levels, all enemies, all bosses, all weapons, all power-ups: The developers didn’t cut any corners, the DOS Turrican II brings everything the Amiga original had to offer. But unfortunately nothing more, which was a bit disappointing after all these years.…

The commercial viability of text adventures, with or without location graphics was at a low point in the early Nineties. Magnetic Scrolls owned a huge slice of that increasingly niche pie, but its last text adventure releases with publisher Virgin Games in 1992 only reinforced the need for change. It needed to branch out and expand its expertise, as programmer and cofounder of Magnetic Scrolls Ken Gordon remembers. “Servan Keondjian and I think Richard Huddy had written some interesting 3D demos, and we had kicked about some code that threw textured triangles really fast, and that was the beginning of the idea of doing a first-person perspective style game.” Magnetic Scrolls touted the technology to various publishers, including some familiar faces who had been at its first publisher, Rainbird Software, and…

VIRTUA RACING DELUXE ■ DEVELOPER: SEGA CS4 ■YEAR: 1994 ■ Compared to the other two 32X launch titles, Doom and Star Wars Arcade, Virtua Racing Deluxe doesn’t feel like a downgrade from what came before it, even though it’s certainly not the same silky-smooth racer that launched Sega’s Model 1 arcade board. Perhaps that impression is born of the Mega Drive version having released a few months earlier, powered by the Sega Virtua Processor – because as fantastic as that 16-bit achievement was, Deluxe blows it away at the starting grid. With three cars to select from, five circuits and a variety of gameplay modes including split-screen two-player, Virtua Racing Deluxe was, at the time, the very best way to enjoy Sega’s racer at home. More cars and tracks would…

FORD SIMULATOR ◼ Developed by The SoftAd group and published in 1987 in computer magazines on a single floppy disk, this original MS-DOS simulator allowed players to try out brand-new Ford cars in a simple driving simulation and even send in a paper pamphlet to ask for more details. FORD SIMULATOR II ◼ In this 1990 sequel to the original, the simulator is much more improved. Along with newer cars, there is a lot more variety in the gameplay allowing the player to take cars out for a drive in the city, while trying to avoid other drivers on the road. FORD SIMULATOR III ◼ Taking more than a little inspiration from the Test Drive series, this third chapter in the series allowed players to drive to Lake Tatatonga while…

With the Monster Hunter series and titles like Exoprimal, it appears Capcom has an obsession with dinosaurs. Which makes it even more baffling that Dino Crisis has not been remade for modern systems. Anyone who has played the Resident Evil remakes must have surely entertained the prospect of seeing the Ibis Island incident brought up to date using Capcom’s remarkable RE Engine. It seems like a no-brainer, particularly as the demand is clearly there. Last year Capcom ran a poll, asking fans various questions including which series they’d most like to see receive a sequel or new game. The clear winner was Dino Crisis, finishing ahead of Mega Man, Devil May Cry and Resident Evil. A lot of people are keen it seems – although the original game’s creator Shinji…

PLAYSTATION 2 ◼ This version is clearly the most advanced. According to Elisabeth Pellen, the Playstation 2 was the lead development platform. It offers crisp graphics and detailed 3D models that only a late-generation title can provide, giving the game its great atmosphere. XBOX 360 ◼ This version, a Ubisoft Montréal port, released as a launch title. It offers higherresolution graphics, enhanced audio and more detailed textures. Unfortunately the visuals are quite dark and the 3D models, especially the actors’ faces, lack the charm of the original 6th console generation versions. GAMECUBE ◼ This is very similar to the PS2, Xbox and the first PC adaptation of Peter Jackson’s film, although it feels slightly weaker overall. Despite the GameCube’s control pad configuration it remains a very enjoyable version to play,…

Just as it seemed as though Tekken had the 3D fighting game world all to itself, Sega committed to a revival of its genre-establishing series, teasing a new game at The Game Awards back in December. However, this is not that game. Instead Sega has chosen to renew Virtua Fighter 5 for what we must presume is the final time, by giving it a new PC port with rollback netcode and a range of subtle tweaks to the game balance. The return of a nearly 20-year-old game would be disappointing, if it weren’t for the fact that the fast, refined combat of Virtua Fighter 5 is so excellent that it feels practically ageless. It’s a classic example of a game that is easy to learn and hard to master. The…

» Buy it for: £29.99 » Buy it from: Online Not content with being involved in some of the biggest gaming magazines in UK history, Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall has now written a book about his impressive career. It covers his early life living on a smallholding in Wales to joining Zzap!64, creating Mean Machines and its spin-off magazines, his love of sci-fi and literature and much, much more. As you’d expect, the book largely focusses on the Eighties and Nineties and is filled with enjoyable anecdotes that include competitions with Zzap!64 readers, playing Elite, Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter II and World Of Warcraft for the first time and visiting big shows like CES. Yes, it can ramble a little at times, but you can’t help but be impressed by…

OFFICIAL BBS <Games uploaded to lexaloffle.com/bbs can be accessed through the console’s SPLORE (explore) command, such as PegBall by Max0sirus. /> A BROWSER <Sites like itch.io or your own website can run PICO-8 games in a modern browser, like Brian Vaughn’s Bustin’ here. /> CLOCKWORK GAMESHELL <The open-source console allows the player to build their own custom design or use the provided shell, which gives you a bit of choice. /> POWKIDDY RGB30 <Powkiddy and other recent Linux handhelds can play PICO-8, through the alternative Onion OS or frontends such as Emulation Station. /> STEAM DECK <Using the RetroDeck frontend or built-in Proton compatibility, you can launch and play PICO-8 games on Valve’s handheld. />…

MIGHTY STEEL FIGHTERS <INFO FORMAT: AMSTRAD CPC WITH 512K RAM EXPANSION CREDITS: AMSTRADGGP (MAITREJOE CODE & GRAPHICS, JACK MUSIC & SOUND, ROUDOUDOU SAMPLES) PRICE: €4.99 (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD) WEB: BIT.LY/MIGHTYSF-CPC /> <BODY> We have been looking forward to Mighty Steel Fighters, which was previously known as Mighty Street Fighter and lets you pick from one of eight global fighters to try and win the Mighty Steel Tournament. The clever two-button/two-key layout allows for numerous kicks and punches, with timing determining their strength. Each fighter has special moves, performed by familiar inputs such as quarter-circles and charging by holding away and then pressing forward, which makes it feel very intuitive. The title screen animations describe how to perform moves as it waits for you to select Training mode or one of the…

» ZX SPECTRUM » 1989 » THE OLIVER TWINS Have you ever heard that one joke that American gamers tell about British retro games? It might be worded in different ways, but it always boils down to something along the lines of, “Those Brits choose odd things as characters, name them weirdly and then make them inexplicably vulnerable to raindrops.” There’s some truth to it, but it gets tiresome coming from people who evidently have no love for what they’re mocking, and that poor old egg Dizzy tends to get beaten more than most in these jokes. Americans tend to remember Dizzy because he appeared on the NES, and because he’s a mascot character starring in a platform game, they’re expecting a game more like Mario. The problem with that thinking…

BUBBLE BOUNCING ◼ Bub and Bob can use their bubbles to bounce to higher parts of the screen. As they progress through the Cave Of Monsters, this becomes a vital skill with more otherwise inaccessible areas, such as the question mark of level 36. RAPID FIRE ◼ Dragon buff items appear when certain conditions are met. Our favourite is the yellow sweet: gather this treat up, and the brother gains rapid-fire bubbles, useful for the ever-increasing pack of monsters. Jump 35 times to cause it to appear. EXTEND YOUR LIFE ◼ Watch out for the Letter Bubbles that drift around some stages. Collecting a letter transfers it to the side of the screen (depending on whether it’s Bub or Bob) – catch them all, and the dragon gets a valuable…

STUART FOTHERINGHAM ◼ Former artist/designer Stuart Fotheringham worked for Software Projects, Odin and finally Denton Designs. He’s now CEO of a financial advisory firm he cofounded. The company that became Odin was set up in 1984 as Thor Computer Software, with its remit being to publish games created by bedroom coders. Thor’s early successes included Chris Kerry’s platformer trilogy: Jack And The Beanstalk, Giant’s Revenge and The House Jack Built. Its final release was the equally impressive collect-’em-up Stairways, which was the work of developers who became founding members of Thor’s second incarnation. Founded to tap into an industry shift from freelance developers to in-house studio teams, Odin immediately became a force to reckon with thanks to its 1985 debut, the sci-fi arcade adventure Nodes Of Yesod. Hot on its…

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY ◼ It’s actually possible to avoid playing Donkey Kong’s first ever mine-carting jaunt (on all but the Game Boy Color version) but to do so means missing out on one of Country’s most iconic levels. Sure, it’s tricky but it’s also tremendous fun as you freewheel forward on segmented rail tracks, timing your jumps to avoid the myriad hazards while seeking to collect items. GILLIGAN’S GOLD ◼ Ocean Software’s 8-bit clone of Bagman has an abundance of mine carts and, as well as dropping bags of gold into them (and trying to avoid getting run over), you can leap to the ceiling, wait for one to pass, and fall down to enjoy a ride. It makes for a nice, early novel spin on the platform genre. GUNSTAR…

SUPER MARIO ALL-STARS SNES, 1993 ◼ 1985’s Super Mario Bros set the stage for arguably the biggest success story in videogame history, followed by a spin-off and two sequels on the original Famicom/NES platform. All four of these games were revived in Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES, with much improved graphics and sound, a save function and numerous bug fixes. DUCKTALES REMASTERED VARIOUS, 2013 ◼ Twenty-four years after the release of the original platform milestone DuckTales, Capcom released the official remaster. The game features all the levels from the original, which have been significantly expanded, shows beautiful HD graphics, an excellent soundtrack, much more story and even the voices of the original series’ voice actors! METROID: ZERO MISSION GAME BOY ADVANCE, 2004 ◼ Nearly 20 years after the release…

Need A Hand? ◼ As quickly as you can, explore the far end of the mansion’s ground floor. Appropriately in a dead-end area you will find the creepy Juju Fetish, a dismembered forearm that single-handedly prevents the wandering zombies from attacking you, unless you attack them first. The Zombie Dodge ◼ Sometimes you have to strike out at zombies in order to clear yourself a pathway while exploring. Fortunately, these dense undead aren’t very adept at opening doors, so hit one quickly four or five times then fake a dodge in one direction and dash back to the door, open it and go inside. Trap Door Flaws ◼ One particular room has not one, but two trap doors in the floor that you need to be mindful of. To be…

» GAME BOY COLOR » 1999 » BITS STUDIO/IREM  When we were both at Tesco in the Nineties, my wife Melanie and I always shopped there on a Thursday evening after work. This used to be relatively inexpensive as it was just the two of us, but as Tesco started to move into selling items outside of typical groceries the shopping slowly went up in price – even with our staff discount. We’d typically grab something to add to the shopping and it would usually be a CD or sometimes a film on VHS and later DVD. As the Tower Park store continued to expand to include TVs and other more expensive items our staff discount shrunk, but it was still worth shopping there, particularly when Tesco started selling videogames. Mel’s…

This is just like that movie.” In a game filled with goofball B-movie dialogue, this knowing line, uttered by operative Rick when it starts raining Raptors, is easily the best – and the most genuine. It’s a matter of record that the game’s director Shinji Mikami was directly inspired by Jurassic Park, but perhaps surprisingly, it was Michael Crichton’s original novel rather than Steven Spielberg’s adaptation that provided the key influence. Specifically, the scene where Alan Grant and friends visit the Raptor enclosure and witness the creatures hunting in packs. Mikami has commented that, in the novel, the scene is written from the characters’ perspective, at eye level, whereas in the movie it’s shown from above, a place of relative safety. It was the former approach, and the primordial fear…

When it comes to adapting a blockbuster film into a videogame, many challenges surface. The main one remains the amount of time allocated to game development. Elisabeth Pellen, lead level designer on King Kong remembers, “As a Time To Market project, we had less than two years to develop the videogame, since we needed to synchronise the game’s release with the film’s. Reaching the expected quality level in such a short period of time was the main challenge for the team.” Peter Jackson accordingly picked Ubisoft Montpellier to develop the game among many project proposals because he wanted to work with Michel Ancel, who directed Beyond Good & Evil, a game he really enjoyed playing. “About a hundred developers worked on the Montpellier site, split between the Jack and Kong…

As the full draft was almost submitted to Peter Jackson, his son found a detail he didn’t approve of on Kong’s face after playing the game with his dad. “I had to rework Kong’s head, alone in the studio, because there was some detail to change, like a muzzle too big and a disgracious eyebrow,” Florent remembers. He also tells us that, “All the textures, all the materials used to create the jungle soil, trees and leaves were created out of photographs he took in the Cévennes, a range of mountains in south central France.” Elisabeth shares that she had to draw some designs on the headed paper of the hotel she was living in during King Kong’s conception phase. She recalls, “Raptors invisible to the players were created in…

» System: Switch (tested), PC, PS4, PS5 » Buy it for: £33.50+ » Buy it from: Online The first Macross game to ever get localised to the West is a rather disappointing release. While the multithreaded story should please fans of the series, the actual shooting action is pretty forgettable. Despite offering plenty of different playing styles ranging from side-on and into-the-screen sections, Shooting Insight suffers from dull enemy waves, cluttered backgrounds and bullets that can be often hard to see. It also has numerous performance issues on Switch. Add in some brutal difficulty spikes and a bizarre life bar system that means you’ll be expected to tackle an entire new level with virtually no energy and Macross makes for one disappointing shmup. >> Score 58%…

<BODY> Developer Nathan Buckley is working in SGDK and Unity, drawing inspiration from, “Lots of horror narrative games, crossed with stealth and point-and-click mechanics!” Nathan says, “My primary reason is to appease the little child version of me that’s stuck in my head and get him a physical cart on his favourite console. I’m constructing it so it runs natively on Mega Drive/Genesis, PC, and Switch.” For modern platforms, Nathan is planning two versions of his game. “The Mega Drive version and a slightly enhanced version,” he explains. “It’s an opportunity to work with some voice actors, so I would love to have VO on the enhanced version along with other enhancements around sound. Graphics would stay the same beautiful 16-bit pixel art.” We’re also intrigued by another project Nathan…

Stephen Heywood’s love for gaming started back in the Eighties after his father introduced them to him. “I first started gaming when I was seven,” Stephen remembers. “My dad brought out his Atari 2600 and Intellivision for me and my brother to play. He loved playing bowling on the Intellivision, and that was a way we could get him to play with us.” This started a trend, and Stephen got his own console a little later. “My parents saw we took to those systems and bought us the NES Power Pad set for Christmas. I guess they figured we could get some exercise while playing videogames.” Years later Stephen started to get back into his old games and started to collect. “Collecting started in 2018 when my son was old…

» NINTENDO DS » 2009 » ROCKSTAR LEEDS As good as they are, I’ve never really been a fan of the 3D Grand Theft Auto games (although I do really enjoy Vice City). I completely understand why they’re so popular and I do think they’re incredibly ambitious games with a clever knack of accessing the zeitgeist in a way few other games can, but they’ve just never really grabbed my attention in the way they have with millions of other gamers and that actually makes me a bit sad. And yet, one of my favourite DS games is actually a GTA game, the rather brilliant Chinatown Wars, which was eventually ported to systems like the PSP and iOS and probably deserves a HD makeover as well, because it’s so insanely…

◼ One name that will likely be familiar to any PlayStation 2 fan is RenderWare. You’ll have seen the name in the start-up screens of plenty of popular games, but what is it and why was it so popular? RenderWare is a type of middleware – a game engine developed by Criterion Software, which was a subsidiary of Canon, best known for its photographic products. It had initially been introduced as a graphics engine in 1993 and was later used in Criterion’s own Dreamcast games. It became exceptionally popular on the PS2 because creating a 3D engine for the PlayStation 2 was a difficult task, which proved to be a particular pain point for developers early in the life of the console. Speaking to Edge in 2000, Criterion’s David Lau-Kee…

Exclusive Subscriber Cover Every Issue! Reasons to subscribe… • NEW! Full digital access to 80+ back issues when you subscribe to print!** • You’ll never miss an issue! • It’s delivered direct to your door • Brilliant value – save money on the cover price SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE PRINT + DIGITAL ACCESS £21.06 EVERY 6 MONTHS SAVE 40%* DIGITAL EDITION £19.46 EVERY 6 MONTHS SUBSCRIBE ONLINE NOW AT www.magazinesdirect.com/RET/DH44E TELEPHONE 0330 333 1113 AND QUOTE DH44E TERMS & CONDITIONS Offer closes 01st September 2025. Price is guaranteed for the first 6 months, please allow up to 6 weeks for the delivery of your first subscription issue (up to 8 weeks overseas) the subscription rate includes postage and packaging.*Savings are based on the cover price. Payment is non-refundable after the 14-day cancel ation…

◼ Bubble Bobble remains as popular today as it was almost 40 years ago. As a consequence, there are multiple ways to enjoy the Taito classic. Hyper Mega Tech!’s Super Pocket Taito Edition (far below) handheld frontlines Bubble Bobble, while Numskull offers a beautiful Bubble Bobble quarter size arcade cabinet. Fans can play both Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands with the Nintendo Switch compilation Taito Milestones 3 or download the original from the Nintendo eShop. The original game comes bundled with the 2019 PlayStation 4/Switch game Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, and you can also stream the game on the retro streaming service Antstream Arcade (below). Basically, there’s no excuse not to play Bubble Bobble – even in 2025.…

RAINBOW ISLANDS: THE STORY OF BUBBLE BOBBLE 2 ◼ Taito quickly released its arcade follow-up to Bubble Bobble and resisted the temptation to follow a similar gameplay style. Now in human form, Bub (or Bob, as Rainbow Islands is an alternate two-player game) throws deadly rainbows as he rises up each level and attempts to defeat the nefarious Dark Shadow. PARASOL STARS: THE STORY OF BUBBLE BOBBLE III ◼ Planned for the PC Engine by Taito, Parasol Stars is officially a sequel to Rainbow Islands. Despite its subtitle and similarity, it’s nominally separate from the original Bubble Bobble line as Bub and Bob are back in human form and armed with parasols. There’s a tortuous tale to Ocean’s C64 conversion – check out gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/parasol-stars for the whole story. PUZZLE BOBBLE…

» AMSTRAD CPC » 1986 » VORTEX SOFTWARE When I went to Venice in 2024 I had the same meal every evening – a pepperoni pizza for my main and tiramisu for my dessert, washed down with a cold beer. Generally, I’m not a fan of trying brand-new things and if there’s a choice between something I haven’t eaten before and might not enjoy, versus something I have eaten before and liked I’ll always go for that first option. I’m the same way with videogames, which means I’m more likely to pick a sequel over a new IP on the basis that because I liked the last one, I’ll probably enjoy this new one too. Of course, it doesn’t always work out for me and Vortex Software’s Alien Highway: Encounter…

» NEO GEO » 1990 » SNK Back in 2003, I made a decision – I wanted to buy a Neo Geo AES. That probably sounds crazy, and to some degree it was. I was under no illusions that I’d be able to afford new games like The King Of Fighters 2003 and SNK Vs Capcom: SVC Chaos, but back then it was still possible to pick-up new-old stock copies of certain games quite cheaply. One particular game that seemed easy to acquire was NAM-1975, specifically copies intended for regions where the sight of a woman’s bare leg on the cover was considered taboo, which had been crudely censored with a marker pen. NAM-1975 is a shoot-’em-up that accompanied the Neo Geo at launch. As you can probably guess from…

At one point or another in our lives, we have all been prey to advertising or marketing, especially at an early age. As with all other media, videogames were not an exception to being used to sell ideas or products. Even in the early Eighties, there were already examples such as Pepsi Invaders on the Atari 2600. Still, while platformers starring corporate mascots quickly became the norm in the Eighties and Nineties, mainland Europe had more of a strange relationship with advergames. They were not only being used to sell every kind of product and service under the sun but were sometimes quite peculiar games to start with. Enter Germany, where advergames reigned supreme between the Nineties and the Noughties. Professor Björn Blankenheim recalls how the first ‘Werbespiele’ were developed…

ASTRO BOT THE BACKGROUND You don’t really get mascot characters in games anymore. Sure, PlayStation has its share of beloved and iconic characters but these are from more mature and realistic stories, not what you might find turned into a plushy or big cuddly suit on a convention floor. Except for Astro Bot, who kind of stumbled into the role accidentally. A creation of PlayStation Studios’ Tokyobased Team Asobi, Astro’s first proper ‘wow’ moment was the 2018 PSVR1 platformer Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, which garnered acclaim as the best exclusive on Sony’s headset. His next outing was in Astro’s Playroom, a 3D platformer preinstalled with every PlayStation 5 console. Despite being a fairly small game designed primarily to show off the DualSense controller’s features, from its immersive audio and haptics…

DINO CRISIS 2 ◼ This PS1 and PC sequel takes a conscious step away from survival horror, being more of an action game with strong arcade leanings. It’s excellent at what it does, with clever level design, setpiece boss battles and a relentless pace ensuring it never becomes boring. DINO STALKER ◼ This PS2 game’s Japanese title, Gun Survivor 3: Dino Crisis, identifies it as a rogue entry in the Resident Evil Survivor series. It’s a lightgun spin-off where you blast dinos in a firstperson view, using Namco’s G-Con 2 to move and shoot. It features Paula from Dino Crisis 2. DINO CRISIS 3 ◼ Yes, it’s the dodgy ‘dinos in space’ Xbox entry, where everything that was good about the series was sucked out of an airlock. If the…

VELOCIRAPTOR ◼ The ‘grunts’ of the Dino Crisis world, these guys can be found throughout the facility, often skulking around corners – listen out for the thud of their feet and pre-bite hiss! Later in the game they hunt in pairs. When you must engage, your handgun should be adequate. COMPSOGNATHUS ◼ These bird-like irritants appear twice in the game, scuttling around the facility’s corridors in packs. They will bite if they surround you, but it does very little damage, so try not to waste your precious ammo. Just run away – they’re more of a nuisance than anything. PTERANODON ◼ Keep your eyes on the skies in outdoor areas. Pteranodon fly around in pairs and will swoop down and strike/grab you. Wasting ammo on them is a fool’s game,…

» ARCADE » 2000 » YUKE’S Nostalgia has recently drawn me back to the time I became a wrestling fan – the Attitude Era of the WWF, when Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock ruled the wrestling world. While the shows are still fun, the pace can be bewildering thanks to the “Crash TV” philosophy of the head writer at the time, Vince Russo. His divisive approach championed edgier and more controversial characters and stories, as well as frequent title changes and unexpected plot twists that sometimes made little sense. The emphasis on in-ring action was reduced, so a full tag team match – complete with ring entrances, outside interference and a post-match attack – could be over in under five minutes. Though Vince Russo had left for WCW…

» System: Switch (version tested), PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC » Buy it for: £17.99 » Buy it from: Online, iningames.com Here’s an updated remaster of a submarine-based horizontal shmup, originally released for the Amiga by Rainbow Arts in 1990. You get the freedom to set up your fleet, so you can spend big on high firepower or buy multiple more modest craft for extra lives. The life bar tells you that it’s still a distinctly European-style example of the genre, but the difficulty has been adjusted in multiple places to make the game less frustrating than the original release. The visual upgrades are modest, though the widescreen play area is appreciated, and there are no visual options to speak of. In all though, it’s been treated with…

<BODY> Computer science undergraduate Daniel Lui explains the origins of the Pex console. “It started as a side project where we wanted to learn more about hardware and said, ‘Let’s build a console,’ grabbing some off-the-shelf components, an LCP and a microcontroller. We hacked together a really quick PICO-8 emulator over a weekend.” Maths student Maisha Thasin picks up the story. “Our main selling point is we constantly listen to our customers, the PICO-8 community. Our Discord has grown to over 150 members now. There are developers, and people doing UI designs for us; we recently had our first public meeting, and it was really nice. We went from using an ESP32 [microcontroller] to running Linux.” Daniel had tried PICO-8 on other handhelds (see PLAYING PICO-8) such as The Clockwork…

THE COVER STAR PLAYSTATION 2 Sony’s iconic console is the biggest selling and that reflects on its availability today. Loose standard systems cost as little as £20, while minty boxed examples cost over £100. Keen shoppers should look for bundles with lots of games included. BUBBLE BOBBLE Taito’s excellent arcade title plays great on the Master System with box copies costing £25, and mint ones heading towards £50. The recent reissue of this classic is also rising in price. TURRICAN II: THE FINAL FIGHT This shooter doesn’t appear for sale often, finding a good-condition PC version will cost £100. However, those just looking to play should check out the recent Switch and PS4 compilations. THE LEGACY: REALM OF TERROR Buying a complete copy costs up to £100, although copies can…

*STAR LETTER A HIDDEN SANCTUARY Dear Retro Gamer, I wanted to take a moment to share my personal journey and how videogames have profoundly impacted my life, especially in light of my recent autism diagnosis. Growing up, videogames were more than just entertainment; they were a sanctuary for me. The vibrant worlds and engaging stories provided a sense of belonging that I often struggled to find elsewhere. As I navigate the complexities of autism, I’ve discovered that these cherished games from my childhood serve as both a nostalgic escape and a powerful tool for emotional regulation. Inspired by this connection, I have started creating short video essays on YouTube, delving into some of my favourite games. Through these videos, I aim to celebrate the artistry and impact of these games…

THE CLIFFHANGER: EDWARD RANDY » Before Lara Croft and Nathan Drake, Data East gave the public Edward Randy – the one man standing between a fascist regime and the weapon of mass destruction that they seek. With whip in hand, can the young adventurer defeat the baddies and get home in time for dinner? It’s time to skip to the end… » Edward emerges as the victor of a deadly battle on top of a plane in mid-air, sending his evil foe plummeting to his doom. The battle is finally over, with Edward surviving against all the odds. » Having beaten the baddies, all Edward can think of is returning home to Charlotte. The scientist’s granddaughter will be free at last, safe from the threat of persecution by the military.…

WHAT’S ON YOUR SHELF? How many of these excellent PlayStation 2 games are already part of your collection, and which ones do you want to add? Here’s a handy list of all 61 entries to keep track of them ❏ RIDGE RACER V (Namco) 2000 ❏ RED FACTION (Volition) 2001 ❏ GITAROO MAN (iNiS) 2001 ❏ CAPCOM VS SNK 2: MILLIONAIRE FIGHTING 2001 (Capcom) 2001 ❏ ICO (Team Ico) 2001 ❏ SILENT HILL 2 (Team Silent) 2001 ❏ TIME CRISIS II (Namco) 2001 ❏ SSX TRICKY (EA Canada) 2001 ❏ HALF-LIFE (Gearbox Software) 2001 ❏ REZ (United Game Artists) 2001 ❏ JAK AND DAXTER: THE PRECURSOR LEGACY (Naughty Dog) 2001 ❏ PROJECT ZERO (Tecmo) 2001 ❏ MAXIMO (Capcom Digital Studios) 2001 ❏ SOS: THE FINAL ESCAPE (Irem) 2002 ❏ MEDAL…