Sunday 31 August 2014

Classic PC DOS 'Mario Kart clone' Wacky Wheels getting an HD Remake


In the early 1990's if you were a PC only gamer, you missed out on a wealth of fantastic games on the 16-bit home consoles, but there were always alternatives. Apogee were one of the great developers of the time, churning out a plethora of enjoyable, console-like titles for DOS gamers. One of my personal favourites was their blatant clone of the insanely popular (and insanely awesome) SNES title Super Mario Kart. Featuring a similar graphical style, as well as cutesy critters in karts, it made no attempt to cover up the fact that it was trying desperately hard to be just like Nintendo's racer. But this mattered not as it was a great game in its own right. I had a great deal of fun racing around the well designed and colourful tracks, blasting the other racers with hedgehog weapons and bouncing over obstacles. Sure, it was nowhere near as good as Super Mario Kart, but it was a great alternative option.

Thursday 28 August 2014

Review - Lovely Planet (PC)


Sugar Coated FPS

As a huge, huge fan of old school, 90's style first person shooters I usually take the time to play anything even remotely resembling classic titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, so it was mere seconds between me seeing Lovely Planet on Steam and making a purchase. Sure, the graphics looked cutesy and twee, but I figured it could be a wonderfully humorous combination of Doom and Super Mario Bros. Unfortunately I was left painfully disappointed by the incredibly linear stages and the simplistic 'infinite runner' style gameplay.

Friday 15 August 2014

Review - Rogue Legacy (Vita, PS3, PS4)


Grindhouse

Back in October 2013 I reviewed Rogue Legacy on PC. Now, 10 months later, this roguelike platformer has found its way to Sony's fantastic and painfully underrated Vita console. And do you know what? I had a far more enjoyable time with it this time around. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, Rogue Legacy is a 2d platformer in which you explore a Castlevania-esque castle, defeating baddies with your sword and spells, collecting as much loot as you can. Upon your death you choose a new character, spend the loot you gathered before dying on stats and equipment upgrades, and enter a completely new, randomly generated castle to do it all over again. The aim being to level yourself up enough to face off against one of the four bosses located in the four different areas that make up the game world. 

Friday 8 August 2014

Worst Videogames Enemies - 01 : Spawn (Quake)


'Player' was slimed by a Spawn

Some videogame enemies can make or break a game. Whether it be an impossibly difficult boss, or an adversary with an incredibly irritating movement or attack pattern. Some just annoy you simply by being poorly designed or out of place in the game world. The Spawn from id Software's sublime Quake is one of the worst offenders, being guilty of nearly all of the aforementioned criticisms. Now let's get one thing straight. I love Quake. Adore it! It is one of my all-time favourite videogames, and one I still play regularly some 18 years after its original release. But one thing has always irked me about this game. Something that makes me groan every time I encounter it, and puts a blemish on an otherwise perfect gaming experience. The Spawn.